Wholly Devoted – The Presidential Prayer Team

No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. – Luke 16:13

Every 50^th year the Israelites observed the Year of Jubilee. Property would revert to the original owners as allotted when they came into the Promised Land. The Lord made provision for various situations, but His word was clear: “It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan… The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me” (Leviticus 25:10, 23). The Israelites were not to become attached to the property for which they were stewards; the land was not their final resting place.

When Peter addressed the Christians dispersed throughout Asia Minor, he said, “I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which war against your soul” (1 Peter 2:11). There is a constant battle against tempting, worldly pleasures. Believers are called to love and serve God with all their hearts so their conduct is a testimony to the unbelieving.

Jesus explained something similar in today’s verse. When the world’s allures of wealth and material goods entice, believers are admonished to be wholly devoted to the Lord. Pastor Warren Wiersbe advises that it is only when God is your master that money will become your servant.

You will look for opportunities to steward the resources He has given you in ways that further the spread of the gospel and help relieve distressed and suffering people.

Plead today for this nation, particularly those in leadership roles, that hearts may be drawn to the Lord with penitence and devotion. As sojourners in this land, may its people love God above all things.

Today’s Verse: Luke 16:13

No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Recommended for further reading: Matthew 6:19-21, 24-26, 31-33

¹⁹“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

²⁴“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

²⁵“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

³¹Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.