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Step 7: The Petition: Humble Asking; Step 8: The Damage: Named Those We’ve Harmed

March 13, 2025
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Daily Scripture

1 Peter 5:1-7, Philippians 2:5-8, Luke 19:1-10

1 Peter 5
1 Therefore, I have a request for the elders among you. (I ask this as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and as one who shares in the glory that is about to be revealed.) I urge the elders: 2 Like shepherds, tend the flock of God among you. Watch over it. Don’t shepherd because you must, but do it voluntarily for God. Don’t shepherd greedily, but do it eagerly. 3 Don’t shepherd by ruling over those entrusted to your care, but become examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive an unfading crown of glory.
5 In the same way, I urge you who are younger: accept the authority of the elders. And everyone, clothe yourselves with humility toward each other. God stands against the proud, but he gives favor to the humble.
6 Therefore, humble yourselves under God’s power so that he may raise you up in the last day. 7 Throw all your anxiety onto him, because he cares about you.

Philippians 2
5 Adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus:
6 Though he was in the form of God,
        he did not consider being equal with God something to exploit.
7 But he emptied himself
        by taking the form of a slave
        and by becoming like human beings.
When he found himself in the form of a human,
8         he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
        even death on a cross.

Luke 19
1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through town. 2 A man there named Zacchaeus, a ruler among tax collectors, was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but, being a short man, he couldn’t because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree so he could see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to that spot, he looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, come down at once. I must stay in your home today.” 6 So Zacchaeus came down at once, happy to welcome Jesus.
7 Everyone who saw this grumbled, saying, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
8 Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much.”
9 Jesus said to him, “Today, salvation has come to this household because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 The Human One [or Son of Man] came to seek and save the lost.”

Daily Reflection & Prayer

This week’s GPS offers a very brief introduction to the Bible principles in John Ortberg’s book Steps. Please use this GPS to whet your desire to read the book, not as a substitute for it.

“Humble yourself, and you grow ready for God to do in you and with you and for you what you could not do for yourself. So wisdom does not simply say that we are to ask God to remove our shortcomings. It starts with an adverb: ‘Humbly asked.’…. we come before God and get ready to humbly ask for his help.” * “Our next step is to make a list of people we have hurt, emotionally or spiritually or physically or financially…. We make a list—not of people who have harmed us but of people we have harmed. And we begin to become willing to make amends, because bitterness wants to get even, but love wants to set right.” **

  • “Defect-removal will not be a one-and-done request. It will be a process. As we ask, God will reveal to us the nature of our character defects so that we can become people of integrity and wholeness.” *** We smile at a cartoon in which a person prays, “Lord, I want patience, and I want it NOW!!!” But the process of letting God remove our shortcomings requires patience (whether you have it or not). How can you learn to value progress rather than demanding perfection?
  • In Zacchaeus’ story, “He realizes he cannot be in a relationship of love with Jesus and continue to harm the people around him. And so a miracle happens…. He has a new list: those he has harmed. ‘This widow, these children, that elderly person, those beggars… for the sake of this possibility of life I have found through my new friend Jesus, I am now willing to make amends.’” **** How can your relationship with Jesus focus you, not on those who have harmed you, but on those you have harmed?
Prayer

Compassionate God, thank you for the times you have strengthened me and given me new courage. Make me the kind of person whose caring strengthens others. Amen.

GPS Insights

Picture of Janelle Gregory

Janelle Gregory

Janelle Gregory serves on the Resurrection staff as Human Resources Lead Director. Janelle finds that her heart is constantly wrestling with the truth that she needs a Savior, and the times when she's at her very best are when she's just too tired to put up a fight.

I exercise with a professional trainer, which essentially means I’m paying someone to make me miserable. Two to three times a week, I put my body through agony—push-ups, leg presses, bicep curls, and more. It’s brutal. I’m probably the biggest whiner during the entire session:

“That burns!”
“That’s too heavy!”
“Are you sure you didn’t add weight while I wasn’t looking?”

Working out is hard. To build muscle, you first have to break it down. Exercise creates tiny tears in muscle fibers, which is why it hurts. But through nourishment and repair, those muscles become stronger.

I believe this process applies not just to our bodies but to our egos as well. Think about a relationship with a friend or coworker. Now imagine discovering that you wronged them. Admitting our mistakes—even to ourselves—is difficult. But apologizing out loud? That’s even harder. Saying, “I’m sorry. I was wrong.” can feel painful, like tearing something inside us.

I’ll be the first to admit—I’m not great at owning up to my shortcomings. It’s uncomfortable. But I also know that when I’ve humbled myself, acknowledged my mistakes, and apologized, God has redeemed both the relationship and my heart.

Maybe there’s someone you owe a sincere apology to—someone you’ve avoided because admitting fault is painful. I encourage you to take that step. It may hurt in the moment, but trust that God will nourish your soul, making it better and stronger in the end.

© 2024 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References

* Ortberg, John, Steps: A Guide to Transforming Your Life When Willpower Isn’t Enough (p. 158). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
** Ibid., pp. 180-181.
*** Ibid., pp. 163-164.
**** Ibid., p. 184.