ACTS: A Way to Live

Monday, April 11

ACTS: A Way to Live

The Gospel of Luke—Lent 2022

Read Luke 19:28-44

Focus Verse—Luke 19:41-42

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”

ACTion for Reflection: Weeping for the Lost

This passage is what we refer to as Palm Sunday. By this time Jesus was very well know. The mood began favorably towards him and the people praised him as he rode into Jerusalem on a colt. They knew Jesus was living out the prophecy in Zechariah 9:9. He was the Messiah that was going to free them. However, they missed the mark by mistakenly thinking he was the national leader that would restore their nation to its former glory. They were blind and deaf to his real mission which caused many people to turn away from him. Oh…we humans can be so short sited.

Jesus , knowing what lay ahead, wept for the people that were about to crucify him. The Jewish leaders rejected him and refused God’s offer of salvation in Jesus Christ when they were visited by God himself (“the time of God’s coming” Luke 19:44). Soon their nation would suffer. This is a picture of what our broken selves can do when a false idea grows so big and results in death and destruction.

Jesus was and still is offering love and salvation to anyone who accepts it. Eternal life was in their reach just as it is for all today, and there still will be those who choose to refuse it. What can we do this week to share that with someone who needs to hear the truth of why he came?

ACTion to Live Out: Share God’s peace.

An idea for today is to give someone a “piece of peace” by sharing God’s peace. A few examples would be to write out John 14:27 in a card and give to someone who needs peace in their heart, paint Isaiah 26:3 on a rock and leave it somewhere for someone to find, give someone a bouquet of peace lilies just because.

Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you for teaching us how to live! After we daily reflect on your life-giving words, help us to then, through your Spirit, get up and ACT. Give us hearts of compassion, hands of generosity, and feet that take your good news to the world. What an honor it is to be your image bearer. Amen.

Audio of Luke 19: https://youtu.be/_w9Jfyxa18s