Luke, the gospel writer, shares that Jesus “selected seventy” of his followers, “and sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go. He gave them this charge: “What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands” (Luke 10:1-3 MSG).

 

After their time of serving and sharing God’s message as they traveled in pairs, the seventy disciples returned “with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’” (Luke 10:17 NRSV). Jesus assured them that they had been protected by God, but the real reason to rejoice is “Not what you do for God but what God does for you—that’s the agenda for rejoicing” (Luke 10:20 MSG). Much like the disciples in Luke chapter 10 we can become focused on celebrating what we do for God and what we do to serve others in Jesus’ name. Yet Jesus’ message to them applies to us as well, our reason to rejoice isn’t in what we do, but what God has done for us through his Son, Jesus. “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8 NLT). What an awesome reason to rejoice!

 

*For a full version of this Your Faith Journey devotional download the Worship Guide from the Avon UMC website: www.AvonUMC.com

 

The Your Faith Journey Bible verses for this week are listed below:

 

Today I am going to offer God ________________________________________________________________________.

 

During the worship service God revealed __________________________________________________________________________________________.

 

I am going to respond by __________________________________________________________________________________________________________.

 

 

Read Jesus’ messages from Luke 6:17-23 and notice where “JOY” is described in the verses, then pray for God to reveal a word, phrase, or verse that is specifically for you for today.

 

Read Luke 8:1-15 and pray for the people you know who haven’t been transformed by God’s message of love and salvation in Christ. Invite the Lord to use you and other believers to help prepare the soil of your hard-hearted family members, friends, co-workers, and neighbors to become good soil where the gospel message can take root and “produce a crop.”

 

Read Luke 10:1-16 and “ask the Lord of the harvest…to send out workers into his harvest field” (Luke 10:2b NIV). Offer yourself to Jesus as a disciple willing to go where He sends you. Trust that the Holy Spirit will give you the right words at the right time. Invite the Lord to make your heart ache for those who haven’t yet been saved.

 

Read Luke 10:17-24 then think about what Jesus reveals about our heavenly Father, God Almighty. Thank God for what you know about him, how you are able to know him through faith in Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit. Ask God what you should do during the coming days, weeks, and months to know and understand Jesus more clearly.

 

Read Luke 19:30-38 then praise God for the miracles you have seen and experienced. If you are unaware of miracles, consider praising Jesus for the miracles he did, including healing the sick, casting out demons, feeding thousands, walking on water, and bringing the dead back to life. You may find it helpful to listen to a hymn or praise/worship song while you pray to help you praise the Lord.

 

Rest, enjoy recreation, and re-read verses or phrases that stood out to you from this past week. The questions below can be used to reflect upon the past week:

How did you see, hear, or encounter God during this past week?

 

Who needs to hear about your experience sometime in the coming days?

 

 

*If you don’t have a Bible, consider downloading the YouVersion Bible App for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play for your smartphone or tablet. You can also use www.BibleGateway.com to look up and read various translations of Bible verses online.