Focus

Take a few minutes to push the “pause” button on whatever is going on around you and be still with God.

 

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Read

Matthew 18:6-9 (NRSV)

“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!
“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell[a] of fire.

 

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Reflect

I was driving to my parent’s home with my two young daughters. The farm with all the animals and attention from grandparents was a fun time for the girls and the one and one half hour drive seemed long to them. My four year old daughter said, “Mother, driver faster and I will watch out the window for the police.”
It occurred to me that everything we do is being watched by someone and they may think it is alright if a trusted person is doing it. Jesus is telling us we must have self-discipline and not influence others who trust us to sin.

 

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Pray

God, remind us to always be aware that our actions are being seen by someone. Give us the courage and strength for self-discipline. Forgive us for those times when we have caused one of your little ones to stumble. Amen.

Go with God!