Don’t Walk Around the Need

Week 1: Who Is My Neighbor? Wednesday

This Week’s Memory Verse

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”; and, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Luke 10:27 NIV

Psalm

Psalm 25:4-5: Read this passage slowly and let it turn your heart toward God.

Proverbs

Proverbs 21:13: Read this verse and consider how God’s wisdom shapes the way you live today.

Today’s Thought

As Jesus tells the story, He says the priest saw the wounded man and passed by on the other side. The Levite did the same.

Jesus doesn’t tell us why. Maybe they had reasons that made sense to them. But the result was the same:

a hurting person was right in front of them

and they kept moving.

We can do exactly the same thing.

• I’m already late
• Someone else will help
• I don’t know them
• I wouldn’t know what to say
• I have enough problems

We can always find a reason to walk around someone else’s need

Following Jesus does not mean we can personally meet every need; wisdom and appropriate boundaries matter.

But it does mean we should pay attention when our first response is to explain why someone else’s need is not our responsibility.

Sometimes mercy begins when we stop looking for reasons not to care

Pray

“Jesus, show me where I make excuses for walking around people in need. Give me wisdom to know when You are asking me to stop, listen, and respond. Amen.”

Today’s Mercy Step

Notice one excuse you commonly use to avoid getting involved. Write it down. If an appropriate opportunity to help someone comes today, choose one simple response instead of automatically walking around it.

Following Jesus by loving the people right in front of us…or next door,

Pastor Mark