Monday
Fast From Television and Movies
prayer
Give me a deeper repentance, a horror of sin, a fear of its approach; Help me to purely flee it, and jealously resolve that my heart will be Yours alone. Give me a deeper trust, that I may lose myself to find myself in You, the ground of my rest, the spring of my being. Give me a deeper knowledge of Yourself as Savior, Master, Lord, and King. Give me a deeper power in private prayer, more sweetness in Your Word, more steadfast grip on its truth. Give me deeper holiness in speech, thought, action, and let me not seek moral virtue apart from You. Dig deep in my heart, great Lord, Heavenly Vine-Dresser, that my whole self may be a plowed field, the roots of grace spreading far and wide, until You alone are seen in me, Your golden beauty reflected in my life like summer harvest, Your fruitfulness like a plentiful harvest in autumn. I have no Lord, no Master but You, no standard to live by except Your will, no delight but in You, no wealth but what You give, no good but what You bless me with, no peace but what You give. I am nothing except what You make me, I have nothing but what I receive from You, I can be nothing but that Your grace makes and adorns me to be. Dig deep in my heart, dear Lord, and then fill me to overflowing with living water. PRAYER FROM “THE VALLEY OF VISION”
passage
One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” Luke 7:36-50
devotional
Jesus and his disciples returned to Jerusalem on Monday morning. He cursed a fig tree along the route because it had failed to bear fruit. Some scholars argue that God's curse on the fig tree symbolized God's judgment on Israel's spiritually dead religious leaders. Others believe that the symbolism applied to all believers, emphasizing that true faith is more than only visible spirituality; true, living faith must generate spiritual fruit in one's life. When Jesus arrived at the Temple, he encountered the courts full of dishonest money changers. He overturned the tables and cleared the Temple. Luke 19:46 “It is written,” He said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” That evening, Jesus stayed in Bethany again.