Faith Daily | 16 October 2021

PRAYER of the DAY - PENTECOST APBA p591

Almighty God,

in your wisdom you have so ordered our earthly life

that we must walk by faith and not by sight:

give such trust in your fatherly care

that in the face of all perplexities

we may give proof of our faith by the courage of our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen..

GOSPEL for the Day: Luke 12: 8-12

8 ‘And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before others, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; 9but whoever denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. 10And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and the authorities, do not worry about how* you are to defend yourselves or what you are to say; 12for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you ought to say.’

GOSPEL Reflection: Contributed by: Meredith Nicholls

Acknowledging Jesus before other people I believe, will come from how we see him and from our relationship with him.

When we deeply love someone we support them, honour them, and stand by them.

Jesus knew his disciples loved him but he also knew their human frailty and fear in the light of persecution, be it humiliation, rejection or the fear of torture, imprisonment or death.

Jesus was speaking to people he knew would face persecution both in his time and today.

Jesus reassured the disciples of their priceless worth in the Father’s eyes ‘indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered.’ This speaks of One who values and treasures every one of us.

Many disciples may well have feared their lack of ability with language and oratory skills to adequately do justice to the message of the gospel. Jesus promises them that when a person is on trial for his/her faith, the words will come through the Holy Spirit. This promise holds true for us today and is a great source of encouragement.

It is our choice to stand alongside Jesus or disown him before others.

FINAL PRAYER: Dan Schwager

Lord Jesus, you are my hope and salvation.

May I trust you at all times and rely on your grace in times of temptation.

Let the fire of the Holy Spirit burn in my heart,

And fill me with a consuming love for you,

Amen.