Scripture Union Daily Discovery 23rd October 2020 Today Message
TODAY’S TOPIC: WEATHER WARNINGS
Opening Prayer: Open my eyes to see what You are saying in the midst of the world around me.
Read Luke 12:49–59 – Not Peace but Division
49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Interpreting the Times
54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?
Today Scripture Union Daily Discovery 23rd October 2020
57 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect: Scripture Union Daily Discovery 23rd October 2020
How do we understand the age our world and society is in?
Jesus continues with his theme of a gathering crisis, but this time he’s speaking about a more immediate eventuality. Something is about to happen that will divide opinion, disturb the peace and shatter stable relationships. The status quo will be irrevocably changed. He says that he must undergo a baptism and he’s compelled to see it through. This same imagery of baptism is used to describe Jesus’ death in Mark 10:39 and the apostle Paul will later describe the rite of baptism as the believer’s participation in the death of Christ (Romans 6:5).
Within the Judaism of Jesus’ time, baptism signified a renewal of faith, a cleansing from past unrighteousness, and an immersion into God’s ways. It marked a separation from life as it had been lived and into a new commitment under God’s rule, choosing a more authentic faith. The challenge for his hearers and readers then and now is whether we will understand the power of the cross and live accordingly.
Apply: Our days are spent in the loud volume of TV, social media, advertising, and face-to-face conversations. How will you experience the crisis of the cross and the empty tomb and turn to follow Christ?
Closing Prayer: God, quiet my heart as I seek You in the middle of all the noise. Help me to see Your hand at work and to follow You.
THROUGH THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Jeremiah 40, 41; John 14
Thanks for reading Today Scripture Union Daily Discovery 23 October 2020 – Weather Warnings. Please share this with other people.
