Daily Devotionals
March 12, 2020
I Want To Be More Like Jesus
March 12, 2020
DAILY READINGS
FIELD NOTES
Today’s readings begin with Psalm 95, a call for us to worship joyfully the Rock of our Salvation, the Lord our Maker, the Giver of all good things. But it is also a reminder that dissension and conflict are a hindrance to our worship, and a quarrelsome attitude prevents us from entering into the joy of all that God provides in abundance.
Throughout the Bible, God is the Giver of bread. The story of the manna in the wilderness (Exodus 16) points to the equity of God’s provision—each family or individual was to gather only the amount that was needed for the day: “Give us this day our daily bread.” God gave bread and quails to eat every day in spite of the people’s grumbling at Meribah, the audacious ingratitude that prevented a generation from entering the promised land.
Colossians 1:15-23 is a Christological hymn written, perhaps, as a baptismal creed in praise of God’s greatest gift, Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. In these verses Paul reveals a profound and beautiful understanding of who Jesus Christ is and what he came to do for the world. If we aim to draw closer to God, we do so by drawing closer to Jesus, “in whom the fullness of God is pleased to dwell” (v. 19). Jesus comes as peacemaker, the One who reconciles God to “all things on earth or in heaven” (v. 20). Once we were alienated from God and from each other, but through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are presented “holy and blameless” in God’s sight, not because of our own righteousness, but because of our unmovable faith in the hope set out in the gospel. The gospel proclamation is not just for us, but for “every creature under heaven” (v. 23). No one is excluded from the gospel.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FIELD
- Why do we need to be reconciled to God?
- How can we learn to be peacemakers like Jesus?
FAMILY FIELD TALK
Sing “Lord, I want to be like Jesus in my heart” and talk about what it means to be like Jesus. (UMH 402)
PRAYER GUIDE
God of wisdom, your Word revives our soul. Give us grace to see and follow Jesus, and to offer his compassion to those in need, to walk in the steps of his passion for justice, that we may worship you in spirit and in truth. In his name we pray. Amen.