Key Thought

Today's Prayer

Father, please increase my courage and open the hidden places in my heart that I have not fully offered to the Lordship of your Son and my Savior. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Today's Verses in Context

Jesus went to the lake again. Many people followed him there. So Jesus taught them. Jesus was walking beside the lake, and he saw a man named Levi, son of Alphaeus. Levi was sitting at his place for collecting taxes. Jesus said to him, "Follow me." Then Levi stood up and followed Jesus. Later that day, Jesus ate at Levi's house. There were many tax collectors and other bad people eating there with Jesus and his followers. There were many of these people that followed Jesus. The teachers of the law (they were Pharisees ) saw Jesus eating with these tax collectors and other bad people. They asked Jesus' followers, "Why does he (Jesus) eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Jesus heard this, and he said to them, "Healthy people don't need a doctor. It is the sick people that need a doctor. I did not come to invite good people. I came to invite sinners."

Related Scripture Readings

But the followers did not answer, because their argument on the road was about which one of them was the greatest. Jesus sat down and called the twelve apostles to him. Jesus said, "If any person wants to be the most important, then he must make all other people more important than himself. That person must serve all other people." Then Jesus took a small child. Jesus stood the child before the followers. Jesus held the child in his arms and said, "If a person accepts children like these in my name, then that person is also accepting me. And if a person accepts me, then that person is also accepting the One (God) that sent me." Then John said, "Teacher, we saw a man using your name to force demons out of a person. He is not one of us. So we told him to stop, because he does not belong to our group."

Jesus started to leave, but a man ran to him and bowed on his knees before Jesus. The man asked, "Good teacher, what must I do to get the life that never ends?" Jesus answered, "Why do you call me good? No person is good. Only God is good. {But I will answer your question.} You know the commands: 'You must not murder anyone, you must not do the sin of adultery, you must not steal, you must not lie, you must not cheat, you must honor (respect) your father and mother

If a person will not carry the cross (suffering) that is given to him when he follows me, then that person cannot be my follower.