Day 290, or October the 17th. Positively the
best you can do. Our thoughts today come from
Luke chapter 7, verse 32. They are like children
sitting in the marketplace and calling out to
each other, we played the pipe for you and you
did not dance, we sang a dirge and you did not
cry. Now the big picture surrounding this verse.
Luke tells us more about Jesus' ministry in Galilee.
Keeping the Sabbath as well as the other laws
of Moses is very important to the Jews, so Luke
records Jesus' teaching on this. Some great preaching,
including the Beatitudes and other parts of the
Sermon on the Mount, are also found in this Gospel.
Luke records the raising of a widow's son from
Nain, too. I visited this village, and everything
in it points to this amazing miracle. After two
thousand years, it has nothing else to say. Significantly,
Luke is the only gospel writer who tells us about
it. In fact, Nain is not mentioned anywhere else
in the whole Bible, yet it remains intact as
a village in an ever-changing Middle Eastern
world. And now today's action step. Have you
ever met anyone who was totally contrary? You
comment on the good weather and they say, it's
not that good. You approve of action just taken
by the government or your church leaders and
they immediately tell you all the reasons it
will fail. Well, Jesus met them too. And he told
them they were like children who rejected John
the Baptist because he had a strange diet and
lived in the wilderness. Then when Jesus ate
and drank with lots of different people, they
rejected him because he was a winebibber. For
some people, the only good idea is the one they
have. Anyone else's are simply there to be picked
at and criticized. This sort of negativism can
destroy. Try thinking of a positive comment when
you hear something new rather than simply attacking
it. I don't mean being a yes person, but I mean
being a builder up rather than a knocker down.
Try imitating Christ today and reject your negative
thought. Thank you.