January 21
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“‘Why are you sleeping?’ he asked them.  ’Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.’”  (Luke 22: 46, NIV)
 
The most compelling temptation is not the urge to do something that is wrong, but it is the urge to do something that is good but falls far short of excellent.  It is the urge to settle for the near-term tactical advantage at the expense of the long-term strategic victory.
Sleeping is not a bad thing.  It is while we sleep that our bodies repair, refresh and regenerate.  However, in today’s scripture verse, something was happening that called for a response from the disciples that sleeping could never deliver.
To choose to pray is to aspire to see the world as God sees the world.  In prayer, we avoid temptations to settle for anything less than God’s will in the challenges we confront each day.  – Luther
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January 20
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“For those who find me find life, and receive favor from the Lord.”  (Proverbs 8: 35, NIV)

(Warning: Another Kansas University reference today! Go Jayhawks!)

The testimony of the Lord is everywhere.  We only need pay attention to see (and hear) it.

As you may remember from Saturday’s posting, today’s scripture, from the book of Proverbs, is inscribed on the museum building of the University of Kansas.  Just across the street and up the block a bit in the Kansas School of Religion is a large stained-glass window of Moses before the burning bush — which is also depicted on the University’s seal.

There it was (and is) for every passerby: An invitation to life, divine favor, and communion with the Holy.

What invitations from God will we see today?  And what will be our response?  – Luther

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January 19
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Martin Luther King holiday

“And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.  There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female.  For you are all one in Christ Jesus.  And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham.  You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.”  (Galatians 3:27-29, New Living Translation)

The U. S. holiday we observe today honors both a man and a movement, the impetus for each being the Gospel of Christ.

All of humanity’s propensity to divide; to discriminate based on those divisions; and to elevate one group above another, is evidence of our corrupt nature.  The antidote to this poisonous practice is the acceptance of — and obedience to — our Jesus.

It is important to note that the movement for racial equality in our nation did not begin in the courthouse; and it did not begin in the statehouse; and it did not begin in the schoolhouse.  It began in the community of Christ: The Church.  The Civil Rights Movement’s anthem, “We Shall Overcome,” was sung in the worship services and prayer meetings of the Christian faithful long before it appeared on folk music play lists.

Only in Christ is there true equality of persons.  This message is both our heritage and our future.  – Luther

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