Yesterday was quite odd without a through the Bible in a year scheduled reading.  Glad to be back on course today.  We are now two months in!  Great job.

Here is today’s Bible reading:  Leviticus 24:1-25:46; Mark 10:13-31; Psalm 44:9-26; Proverbs 10:20-21.

Mark 10:23 (NIV)
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

Mark 10:24-25 (NIV)
The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! [25] It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

These verses ought to get our attention, because if you are reading this in the United States on a computer, you are certainly rich by the world’s standard.  We can whine about gas prices, but we are still the envy of the world because of our material prosperity.  Unfortunately, it is that same material prosperity that makes true faith in God and single-minded devotion to His Kingdom very difficult.  Our pursuit of comfort and amusement don’t square so well with “take up your cross, deny yourself, and follow Me.”  God has blessed us, but that blessing is ultimately for us to be a blessing to others.  How to apply this in our culture is one of the greatest challenges of the Christian faith.