daily prayer

Good morning! I've always wondered about what this meant;

Luke 14:25-27
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
NIV

The word hate. Hate your parents? Hate your brother and sister? We gotta do that to follow Jesus? Nope, listen up! The word hate used in this context doesn't mean "despise" or "deplore" like we know the word in english. Yes there is a context where that is true but in this context it means to "put one before the other". The Greek word, "miseo" holds different meanings when used in certain ways. That word is used as a verb in this context. There are other Greek words that we translate to English as "hate" or "hateful" or to "hate". There is "stugetos" or "stugeo" which means hateful. The nouns are "echthra" which means hatred, then there is "theostuges" which means haters of God. That word is a combo of "Theos"- God, and "stugeo" translates, "hater of God". All this to show that when you question how something reads, search and look up the translation. The verses we are talking about today have to do with us following God and putting him before everything else and the comparison to what is usually the most important thing in our lives, parents and siblings and even kids is driven home by verbiage used. Do we cast off concerns for our kids or other relatives? No, of course not. We have responsibilities in this world but this is to put into perspective what is indeed of more importance than anything else in our lives. God before self or anything else and we are not talking ritual or church, we are talking about the relationship with God. Our responsibilities such as raising our kids, our jobs, our households are given for us to live here and to learn. We must learn to cultivate that God relationship so all this other stuff we do on earth glorifies him. You think about that..

Remember those traveling this Thanksgiving weekend, my self included...

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for your wisdom and love that reveals who you are and how you love us. Thank you for the sacrifice of your son for us. We praise you and honor your name. Thank you for literacy and the opportunity to study and learn in this nation. Lord you are worthy of our praise and you have it. Keep those traveling safe, in Jesus' name, amen