(Translated version, original article written in Chinese by Pastor Mickey Hsiao)

Worship

By singing praises and hymns, awake your soul, open your heart to the Lord, and prepare yourself to welcome the presence of God and receive the Word of God that will be given to you.

Thanksgiving

Petition with thanksgiving to God for a wonderful day and pray sincerely for a focused Scripture reading time! (Do not rush into reading the Bible without starting with prayers!) (e.g., you may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what will you be speaking to me today?)

Scripture Reading

Get the following items ready in advance: your devotional notebook, paper, pen, and/or electronic devotional articles so that you can easily write down the Bible verses, questions, and thoughts you have noticed! You are encouraged to open your Bible and vocally read out the scriptures (Try to practice this reading method daily or once a week)!

Scripture Reading: Luke Ch. 10 (ESV)

Meditation

Take a moment to quietly reflect on today’s Scriptures. Through such exercises, let God’s Word be gradually written into our hearts and be inscribed to our mind.

Devotional

Read the devotional articles prepared by CBCLWA (*Read the Bible first before reading any devotional materials.)

（vv. 1-20）At this stage, Jesus appointed more disciples and sent them away ahead of him to proclaim the Kingdom of God. His intention was to prepare his disciples for the future when he was no longer with them in person. Let us review the fundamental guidance from Jesus:

• Two by two: Let’s not forget the importance of partnering and working together
• Ask and go: Those who “Ask” the Lord of the harvest are the group of people who are sent out and “go”. Because they see what the Lord sees “The harvest is plentiful”, and they hear the Lord’s voice saying: “the workers are few”.
• Like lambs among wolves: Be alert, listen to the voice of The Great Shepherd at all times, not to be influenced by the World.
• No need for extra belongings and no greetings with anyone on the road: Stay focused and rely on God’s provision during the journey.
• Find someone who promotes peace: Lord will surely prepare such a person especially in a new mission field
• Preach the gospel of God’s Kingdom: Disciples are the ambassadors of the Heavenly Kingdom who preach the great gospel
• Be prepared to face rejection: Our duty is to preach faithfully. Whoever rejects us actually rejects God.
• Glory to God: When someone repents and gives glory to God, only God deserves thanks. We too are saved by God.

（vv. 21-24）Discipleship is very important to Jesus. We can relate to the joy of Jesus from reading these verses. The disciples were sent out to preach the gospel of God’s Kingdom in every town and place, working in the harvest field and calling people for repentance to God. They fulfilled what the Lord had commanded. Jesus had fulfilled what Heavenly Father had commanded him to do and His joy was great!

Similarly, such joy still exists today. Whenever we see someone among us confessing their belief in the Lord and be immersed in Christ, we are all glad and cheering!! We have all been blessed with the deep grace by Jesus. What could be more glorious and celebratory than being able to participate in the ministry to share the grace of God? Haven’t you felt such kind of joy recently? Would you be willing to start planning something to evangelize to those around you who haven’t heard about the gospel?

（vv. 25-37）Regarding the parable of the good Samaritan, if we are attracted to the same question asked by the lawyer “Who is my neighbor?”, we may be putting ourselves in the same situation as this lawyer, desiring to justify himself (showing he was doing the right thing). And this may limit the potential of our love for people. Jesus’ intentional mention of the Levites, priests, and Samaritans in this parable indicated that even if we believed we have done a lot of things to justify our love for God and for people, our deeds are small in comparison to the actions of this Samaritan in this parable!

It was not Jesus’ intent to specify the name of our neighbors, our adjacent units, or the door number of nearby units that we need to love.

Jesus put our hearts to the test because our hearts are indeed easily cold and indifferent to others around us. In this parable, a Samaritan, who was often looked down by Jews, came by this half-dead man, and he took pity on him, giving him far more than we could ever imagine!

Are you still struggling with the questions “Who is my neighbor”? At any time, God may send someone, a neighbor, before you in your life. The question may be whether if you are willing to make a change in response to the Lord’s command!

（vv. 38-42）Some people may wonder if the church has so much to do, don’t we all need someone like Martha? If this is the case, we may be overthinking, multitasking, too busy and distracted, and become anxious and troubled by many things. But Jesus’ words are clear: God’s Word is the “good portion”. We should overcome all difficulties, and choose the good portion by listening to God’s words. Also, we are to learn to use God’s Word to serve people and bring them blessings. Do not let other “secondary things” to distract you from sharing and receiving the “good portion”! Is that clear?

Pray

Give thanks to God for His enabling us to read the Scriptures and for our response for living out the Word of God today! (e.g., You may start with a simple prayer like this: “Dear Lord, what/where are you going to lead me to today?”)