Day 289, or October the 16th. I just don't feel
like it. Our thoughts today come from Luke chapter
4, verse 16. He went to Nazareth, where he'd
been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went
into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood
up to read. And now the big picture surrounding this
verse. After telling us about the birth of Jesus,
Luke then lays out his genealogy, which, unlike
Matthew's, goes all the way back to Adam rather
than stopping at Abraham. Many explanations have
been put forward to explain the big differences
in the two lists, but I believe the most acceptable
one is that Joseph, husband of Mary, had two
fathers. Deuteronomy 25 tells us, when a man
dies with no children, his brother has a responsibility
to father an heir for him with his widow. The
child is then accepted as the dead man's child,
but biologically another man is the child's father.
Matthew, writing primarily for the Jews, probably
chose the traditional father, whilst Luke, a
doctor, chooses the biological one. Luke also
tells us much about John the Baptist as well
as relating the baptism and temptation of Jesus.
The calling of the early disciples is also recorded.
Virtually all of these events in Jesus' life
are rooted in the northern province of Galilee.
And now today's action step. Doing things without
thinking is often thought of as not a good principle.
Actually, where breathing and pumping blood through
vessels are concerned, I beg to differ. I still
remember an old friend who would regularly ask
at church meetings, Why? It annoyed some, but
I often find it helpful to regularly question
our motives. Many habits are very good, like
Jesus' custom of attending synagogue each week,
as we heard in today's verse. Linked to this
are the good customs of Bible reading and prayer.
Often the less you feel like doing the right
thing the more you need to. Now what good habit
will you be nurturing in your life today even
if you don't feel like it?