February 17, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“ Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon.” (Luke 4.38a)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

We are called to be disciples, followers of Jesus Christ. Our task as believers in Him is not simply to walk around with Him like beggars looking for a handout. Maybe a better illustration, since the first “synoptic” disciples were fishermen, are remoras. They are sucker fish who feed off the sharks and what prey they leave behind. They are also protected by the shark’s presence from natural predators. This is not what it meant to be His disciples. The call to “follow Me,” was an invitation to experience living in the world without being of it. It was a challenge to “walk by faith and not by sight.” It was a mentoring for the life of pursuing righteousness. Many times, Jesus was more a test of faith for the disciples than an affirmation. The same should be said for each of us, mighty ones of God. I fear the Church is more remora than zemora. Zemora is a Hebrew term which alludes to a musical reality of praise and praiseworthiness. This difference could be identified in the Church as more of a house of hand out than a hand up, a house of intake instead of a house of praise. Look how Jesus spoke of the Temple as He had found it to be in His own lifetime. He said, “My Father’s house was intended to be a house of prayer [and worship], but you have turned it into a den of thieves and robbers.” I would remind us from yesterday’s reflection the teaching of “the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy but I have come to give you life and give it to you abundantly.” How powerful a statement Jesus was making in the Temple that day. Remember, according to the testimony of Luke, Jesus and His family were in Jerusalem at least at Passover every year. Jesus had seen the temple at least thirty times before accepting the call of God to minister to His people. It would seem that the Temple practices had reached a point of “no return” when Jesus made His demonstration either at the beginning of His ministry (according to John) or during the final week of His ministry (according to the Synoptics). The very description of the presentation of the sacrificial offerings for Pentecost fifty days after Jesus’ resurrection would tell us that things had returned to “business as usual.” Of course, His own crucifixion at the urging of the High Priest to “Rome” would solidify that understanding as well.

In that train of thought, I remember Jesus declaring, “Tear down this Temple and I will rebuild it in three days.” (John 2.19) The disciples understood, after His resurrection, that Jesus was speaking of Himself. What they would learn to understand was that Jesus wasn’t merely speaking of His physical/spiritual resurrection of the body. Jesus was speaking of “the body of believers.” Jesus had come to empower the faith of those who would be His disciples to be the true and authentic community of righteousness which the Temple was intended to represent in Israel for the entire world. The Temple, however (and following the aforementioned “water” imagery), had become a shark in the “waters” of Israel. It was a predator among the most vulnerable population. The adherents of the Temple leadership were like the remora which included “publicans and tax collectors.” Don’t think for a moment that the Jewish elite did not benefit from those “undesirables” any more or less than Rome. The Jewish elite, aka the Temple Leadership, were married to Rome. They were more Gomer and the woman at the well, than they were Ruth or Deborah. They fed off of each other in order to preserve their way of life. Granted not all of them were this way. John provides us the story of Nicodemus who was a member of the Sanhedrin. There were others like him, such as Joseph or Arimethea, who were opposed to the riotous behavior of their colleagues who “repurposed” the Law to suit their needs and desires. Jesus often calls them into accountability. Little wonder why He was so hated by them and pursued with a vengeance calling it “righteousness.”

Mighty ones of God, disciples and followers of Jesus the Christ, we must take a look at our own discipleship. What is our desire to be followers of Jesus? Are we in authentic pursuit of righteousness? Are we living out grace or are we living to earn grace? Are we promoting ourselves as believers or are we promoting God as did Christ as true believers? The answers are critical to our future and to our present day. We will be held accountable for the type of discipleship we are following and pursuing. We must bear this in mind especially as we consider that “dotted line” we agreed to and signed off on as His true disciples. It is called “The Great Commission.” It is the metric by which our “love for one another” shall be defined and judged. In the coming days we will look at the call of these disciples and the call to discipleship by which they received their newness of life.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.