{"id":22074,"date":"2024-05-30T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/urc\/urc-daily-devotion-30-may-2024"},"modified":"2024-05-30T06:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-30T05:00:00","slug":"urc-daily-devotion-30-may-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/urc-daily-devotion-30-may-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"URC Daily Devotion 30 May 2024"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mark 10:46-52<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus and his disciples went to Jericho. And as they were leaving, they were followed by a large crowd. A blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting beside the road. When he heard that it was Jesus from Nazareth, he shouted, \u201cJesus, Son of David,have pity on me!\u201d <\/span> Many people told the man to stop, but he shouted even louder, \u201cSon of David, have pity on me!\u201d Jesus stopped and said, \u201cCall him over!\u201d They called out to the blind man and said, \u201cDon’t be afraid! Come on! He is calling for you.\u201d 50 The man threw off his coat as he jumped up and ran to Jesus. Jesus asked, \u201cWhat do you want me to do for you?\u201d The blind man answered, \u201cMaster, I want to see!\u201d Jesus told him, \u201cYou may go. Your eyes are healed because of your faith.\u201d At once the man could see, and he went down the road with Jesus.<\/p>\n

Reflection<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

I love how Jesus doesn\u2019t assume anything and asks a simple and direct question. Kosuke Koyama, a Japanese theologian says, \u2018don\u2019t we get the strong impression in the gospels that Jesus was a man who was good at asking questions?\u2019 Yet in our evangelism I\u2019m not sure we are always good at this.  We are often too distracted by the important theological factoids we feel we should be delivering.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why does it occasionally feel that an evangelistic encounter is something akin to a visit by a sales rep? A few years ago, I had such a visit to replace a secondary front door in the old bookshop where I live. I showed him what needed to be replaced and anticipated a number of questions about exactly what I required. As I might have expected, I was met with a sales spiel. Ted had clearly memorised a text to be regurgitated in a particular sequence. We got to the point where he asked me what type of letter box and door handle and locking system I wanted. I explained it was a false door so it didn\u2019t need any of those things. He was stunned, bewildered that he hadn\u2019t realised, and walked around the room scratching his head trying to work out what came next. During his \u2018pitch\u2019 he had completely missed what I was actually asking for because he was so concerned about delivering to me the \u2018important\u2019 information. <\/span><\/p>\n

Often, we come to people full of answers to questions they may not be asking. Often our evangelism is essentially monological. I want to suggest a more generous understanding. Good questions can crack open people\u2019s hearts to God\u2019s grace. Perhaps we can learn to be askers of good questions, curious about people, believing that God is already at work in them before we come with all we have to offer? As Martyn Percy says we need to be people, \u201cgrounded in listening first and foremost, rather than proclaiming and pontificating.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Prayer<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

Abba Father,<\/span>
who sees and knows every human heart,<\/span>
help us to see how your Spirit is at work in the people we encounter.<\/span>
May we, like Christ Jesus, be good askers of questions. <\/span>
May our questions open up those who do not yet know you,<\/span>
to the beauty of your grace. Amen.<\/span> <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mark 10:46-52 Jesus and his disciples went to Jericho. And as they were leaving, they were followed by a large crowd. A blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting beside the road. When he heard that it was Jesus from Nazareth, he shouted, \u201cJesus, Son of David,have pity on me!\u201d … <\/p>\n

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