Pause

To find our way somewhere, we first need to know where we want to go. Any directions we get, otherwise, are pretty much useless.

In these next quiet moments, think first about where you want to go as a believer. The Spirit awaits to take you there.

Listen

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

Mark 9:33-37

Think

Your mom or dad is driving somewhere and you are arguing with your siblings in the back seat. Finally the parent chimes in, “What are you fussing about?” Guess what? They already know what you’re arguing about because they can hear everything you’ve said! That’s why I grin when Jesus asks, “What were you arguing about?” Duh! Jesus knows!

It’s election time, and you can hardly turn on the TV without a political ad smacking you in the face. You hear from every direction why you should vote for one person and not another, how this one is better than that one, and what makes one person the greatest. Thank God that Jesus redefines our understanding of greatness. We want to be first; Jesus says be last. We think power equals greatness; Jesus says weakness does. We look for strength; Jesus says look for service. So we say, “If that’s the case, how can we expect to win?” And Jesus answers: “By losing.”

Steve Cothran

Pray

Though everything around today
says “losing is the worst,”
remind me that to follow you,
I must be last, not first.
Amen.

Go

Go now with great confidence that the Spirit who has led you so far will continue to lead you into your future. Stay alert to any new direction the Spirit might take you and then go willingly, with delight in new discovery!