LET'S PRAY TOGETHER Lord, let our souls rise up to meet you as the day rises to meet the sun.  Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. Father, we pray for Greece, Belarus, the Congo, Romania, Qatar and the church in these countries as well as the lost. Today Father care for the caregivers and give them strength. Be with the widow, the orphan, the stranger and the prisoner. Show those in power how to lead with humility and diligence. May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us: wherever He may send us; may You guide us through the wilderness: protect us through the storm; may You bring us home rejoicing: at the wonders You have shown us; may You bring us home rejoicing once again into our doors. Amen

MEDITATION Yeshua was inside the house surrounded by a crowd, again! His family stood huddled outside the house quietly conferring, “Should we try to go in? No, Let’s send someone in to give him the message. We’ll tell him Mom is here, that should get his attention.” It was embarrassing, who did Yeshua think he was? 

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.  When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” Mark 3:20-21 NIV

“Crazy Uncle Jesus, out of his mind, what in the world!” Jesus’ family was appalled by his actions. We know from scripture that Mary had some inklings about who and what He was, but by the time He was in His thirties, having been a carpenter for so long, it seems she was swayed by His sibling’s concerns and fears. They were out to bring Him home so He could stop embarrassing the family with His “antics”. But Jesus is not going to “go quietly”. He knows who He is and what He has to do.  Following Jesus’ footsteps may end up being uncomfortable, embarrassing, and at times difficult to explain but it will always be full of love; love for this shattered and broken world, love for the messy people around us, and deep, deep love for the God who first loved us. God never prioritizes efficiency, effectiveness or practicality. Instead, He reaches out to unexpected people in unexpected ways. He works for righteousness, justice, and reconciliation as expressions of His faithful love. He never seems to work in a straight line but allows for seasons of explosive growth followed by collapse and die back. And it can leave us wondering, “Why? Why work this way? Why work through this person? Why at this time? Why let this happen?” It takes all the faith we can muster to remain at His feet. John chapter 6 records, “After this a lot of his disciples left. They no longer wanted to be associated with him.” This is the real deal, following God requires everything but we are free. “Then Jesus gave the Twelve their chance: “Do you also want to leave?”   God doesn’t force us to stay, it is truly a choice. Will we, like Peter, reply, “Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God.”

DAILY SCRIPTURE READING-pastor mike Our daily scripture reading comes from the following link… http://listenersbible.com/devotionals/biy/ If you have any insights into our daily readings, please feel free to share them with me. I would encourage you to visit https://bibleproject.com/explore/1-2-chronicles/ for an overview of 2 Chronicles and https://bibleproject.com/explore/1-corinthians/ for an overview of Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. These videos will help with the “big picture” and the main themes. 2 Chronicles 24:1-25:28 Both in Kings and Chronicles, we find these cycles of those who "did right" in the eyes of the Lord and those who "did evil" in the eyes of the Lord. Jehoiada as a priest did right. What will happen upon his death? In chapter 25 we see how easy it is for people to worship “other” gods. Look at what Amaziah did. (25:14-15) We think of “worshipping” other gods as something that only happened in the Old Testament. But if it was that easy, we need to be careful. If we don't necessarily have shrines in our homes to other gods, how might we be turning from God, and what else might we turn to? 1 Corinthians 16:5-24 Today ends Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth. In Paul’s concluding remarks, he identifies those who can be trusted. I find it interesting how difficult it must have been to know who to trust and not trust. How do we know who to trust and not trust? Think back over 1 Corinthians. What do you remember? What stood out to you? Psalm 102:18-28 Psalm 102 continues from the perspective of one who is experiencing suffering. In his suffering he turns to the Lord. Keep this in mind as we come into our teaching from Amos this week.