Key Thought

As Luke tells the story of Jesus' earthly ministry (the Gospel of Luke) and the story of Jesus' heavenly ministry (the Book of Acts), he comes back to this question again and again, "What must we [I] do?" This is THE question Luke wants all of us to ask. Luke is looking for more than just, "What must I believe?" God uses Luke to speak to our times when goodness and godliness are associated only with what we feel or what we think. Yes, God wants our hearts, minds, and souls to be thoroughly convicted and passionate. Yes, without faith and love, all action is hollow and vain. But, the Bible makes clear that faith is not genuine if all it does is change what we think between our ears. Real faith leads us to action. Faith is always displayed in action based upon trust -- it is never just mere wistful thinking or good intentions. When Jesus enters our world, he changes it. When Jesus enters our lives, he changes them. So the question of each day, the ultimate question of faith, is this: "What, Lord, should I do?" So why not begin each day by asking Jesus that question?

Today's Prayer

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O God, guide my steps and lead my heart and form my character. I want my faith to be more than mental. I want my love for you to be displayed in what I do and how I do it. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

The people asked John, "What should we do?" John answered, "If you have two shirts, share with the person that does not have one. If you have food, share that too." Even the tax collectors came to John. They wanted to be baptized. They said to John, "Teacher, what should we do?" John said to them, "Don't take more taxes from people than you have been ordered to take." The soldiers asked John, "What about us? What should we do?" John said to them, "Don't use force or lies to make people give you money. Be happy with the pay you get." All the people were hoping {for the Christ to come}, and they wondered about John. They thought, "Maybe he is the Christ." John answered everyone, "I baptize you in water, but there is a person coming later who can do more than I can. I am not good enough to untie his shoes for him. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He will come ready to clean the grain. He will separate the good grain from the straw. He will put the good part of the grain into his barn. Then he will burn the part that is not good. He will burn it with a fire that cannot be stopped." And John continued to tell the Good News, saying many other things to help the people. (John criticized Governor Herod. John criticized Herod for the bad thing he did with Herodias, the wife of Herod's brother. John also criticized Herod for the many other bad things Herod did. So Herod did another bad thing: He put John in jail. This was added to all the other bad things Herod did.)

— Luke 3:10-20 (ERV)

Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. All rights reserved.