Dave's Diary

Prayer

Briefly prepare your heart in silence, and ask the Holy Spirit to awaken your sense of anticipation that God is about to speak to you through His Word. Then, before you read, I invite you to pray this simple prayer based on Psalm 112:4-6:

Lord, even in darkness, may light dawn for me.
Show me how to be gracious, compassionate, righteous, and just
so that I will never be shaken;
and my heart will be steadfast, trusting in You, Lord.
Amen.

Reading

John 10:31-42

In John 10:30, Jesus had claimed, “I and the Father are one.” That’s why His Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone Him for blasphemy, because, as they said quite correctly, He had claimed to be God (v.31 & 33).

Jesus’ response to their threats was sublime:

³⁷ Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. ³⁸ But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.’

Jesus had spent His life doing what was good and pleasing to the Father, and what was beneficial for others. He had healed the sick, fed the hungry, comforted those who mourned, and even raised the dead. He had done things so full of love and compassion, kindness and power that they obviously came from God. So He pleaded with them to believe in Him on the evidence of the works which He had done. These were not the deeds of a swindler or a madman. These were surely the deeds of the Son of God!

I suggest we take a lesson from this today. There will be many people in our lives who will never allow themselves to be persuaded by our Gospel presentations, our clever arguments or explanations. But those same people will find it very hard to argue against the acts of selfless love, compassion, generosity, kindness and grace that we perform in the Name of our Lord Jesus.

Here’s a challenging question to ask ourselves: If someone watched my life closely today, would they be more (or less) inclined to believe in my Lord, because my life bears witness to His presence and power (or doesn’t?

Now there’s something worth aiming for! To live a life worthy of Jesus our Lord, so that the world might believe in Him.

Contemplation

Please take time to ponder what Jesus has commanded us. Turn these declarations over and over in your mind. Keep them in mind throughout the day and live in step with Your King, Jesus.

As a disciple of Jesus Christ:

• I will live my life in step with my commitment to Jesus as Lord.
• I will act in selfless love, compassion, generosity, kindness and grace.
• I will strive (in the power of the Holy Spirit) to represent Jesus really well.

Holy Spirit, please help me to act in selfless love, compassion, generosity, kindness and grace, so that my life may mirror the life of Christ to the world. Amen.