August 8th, 2017
Luke 3:14
" 'What should we do?' asked some soldiers. John replied, 'Don't extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.' "

There are multiple important points to this verse the first is that this is a crazy act in it's self, Roman soldiers were asking a Jew, "what should we do?". When I was analysing this it was important for me to remember that these people hated eachother. But sure maybe on the off chance that they did got along I can imagine that they would only be getting along because they would be making those around them agree by force or because they had been given bribes. These people would not have been seen as moral men, infact they were probably hated by the Jews.
So why is it then that they were asking what they should do? They didn't even believe in the same God as the Jews. This just goes to show us how radical the movement of Jesus' coming was, John was preaching that the Messiah was coming and all those who heard the good news wanted to be apart of it, even if it went against everything that the government said.

Are people like this today? Being from Canada I get to see a lot of comfortable living, as it is considered one of the richest countries in the world. I have started to come to the realization that although Canada is an amazing and beautiful country there is too much comfort. We as citizens aren't asking "what should we do?" we are asking only of issues that concern our; corporate gain, revenue, marital status etc.  An example of this is on the east side of Vancouver, there is a sector that is full of homeless people and it is very well known for this fact too. Sure there are a couple of ministries that take this amazing oppertunity to minister to these people but the majority of citizens living in and around Vancouver completely avoid this section of the city, they won't even drive in this area of the city. These people are seen as the modern day lepers. Churches are ignoring the call to invite these people into the body of Christ and extend a helping hand. God states quite clearly that we are to help the poor, would they not classify as the poor? So why then is nothing being done? It is because of comfort. They say that money is the root of all evil but comfort is a by product of that, it keeps us ensnared there for the rest of our lives.

What is the difference between contentment and comfort? I believe that contentment is the joy of serving the Lord and in that you can find comfort but you will not be found comfortable because Jesus is consistantly telling you to move.

Application: This week I will wake up at a different time every morning so that I don't get stuck being comfortable in a routine for my devos.