LIVE IT TODAY: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
My way is not vengeance but mercy. Walk with Me in patience and peace.
LIVE IT TODAY: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
A GREAT WAY TO BEGIN TODAY!
SUBSCRIBE FREE: LiveITToday.us
GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
My way is not vengeance but mercy. Walk with Me in patience and peace.
INVOCATION
Come, Holy Spirit! Through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother Mary, open my heart to hear and receive all that You desire for me. Draw me ever more deeply into the Love and Life of the Blessed Trinity!
GOSPEL | Luke 9:51-56
When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled,
he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,
and he sent messengers ahead of him.
On the way they entered a Samaritan village
to prepare for his reception there,
but they would not welcome him
because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.
When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,
“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven
to consume them?”
Jesus turned and rebuked them,
and they journeyed to another village.
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
Christ conquers not with fire from above, but love from within.
Luke tells us Jesus “resolutely determined” to go to Jerusalem. The Greek word here, sterizō, conveys a firm, unwavering setting of the face. Jesus does not drift toward His destiny; He fixes His whole being toward the Cross. Yet along the way, He experiences rejection—ironically not from pagans but from Samaritans, a people who also awaited the Messiah, though from their own mountain. The disciples respond with righteous anger, ready to invoke Elijah’s fire upon those who resist. But Jesus rebukes them. His mission will not be secured by force, but by a love willing to be rejected.
Notice the paradox: the very Lord of heaven could call fire at will, but He restrains His power. Heaven is opened not in consuming wrath, but in self-offering mercy. The Kingdom advances not by destroying enemies, but by laying down life for them. What the disciples mistake as strength, Jesus reveals as weakness; yet what appears weakness is true strength.
Families today know rejection too. Parents pour themselves out, only to be met with silence, eye-rolls, or rebellion. Spouses seek reconciliation but meet walls of indifference. Children try to live their faith at school and encounter ridicule. The natural instinct is James-and-John fire: to lash out, to punish, to scorch. But Jesus shows another way: to keep walking, to keep loving, to keep the face set toward Jerusalem.
The domestic church must become the first school of patient mercy. This does not mean passivity or indulgence. Jesus’ rebuke of His disciples shows real authority. But His rebuke redirects their zeal from destruction toward salvation. Parents are called to correct with love, not crush with wrath. Couples are called to endure wounds with prayerful honesty, not escalate with vengeance. Children are called to forgive peers and siblings, even when dismissed or mocked.
Here is the pithy paradox of discipleship: Fire may win the moment, but only mercy wins eternity.
Parents, resolve today to lead your family with the mercy of Jesus. Set your face firmly toward heaven, and in moments of rejection or anger, resist the fire of retaliation. Instead, pray over your children by name, invoking the Spirit who turns hearts of stone into flesh, and makes your home a sanctuary of peace.
“By forgiving one another from the heart, we imitate the infinite mercy of God.” (CCC 2842)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
Resolute Face: Where is Jesus calling you to set your face firmly, even when it means suffering rejection?
Fire or Mercy: When hurt or opposed, do you instinctively call down “fire” or choose the way of mercy?
Family Witness: How can your home become a place where rejection is met with patience and peace?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, share one situation where you were tempted to lash out in anger recently.
After sharing, each family member should pray over another by name: Lord Jesus, pour out Your grace so that [Name] may know Your deep love today. Free [Name] from every lie of the Enemy. Strengthen [Name] to overcome anger and hurt. Fill [Name] with joy to live Your Gospel in daily life, and make our home a witness of Your peace.
DAILY PARENT & GRANDPARENT BLESSING
LORD JESUS CHRIST, let Your holy anointing be upon each of our children, grandchildren, and godchildren this day and week, including all to whom they are called in vocation, and all future generations! In Your Sacred Name we claim them for You! We renounce all whispers, lies, and influences of the Enemy! We pray right now that each know Your loving Presence, be forged in virtue, and be flooded with an abundance of Your Holy Spirit to live fully their identity and mission in You now and through all eternity, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother! Amen.
PARENT BLESSING PROJECT: bit.ly/ParentBlessing
GOING VERTICAL
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
Just as the vertical beam upholds the horizontal beam of the Cross, so too does undistracted, dedicated daily turning to God as our lifeblood uphold and strengthen every part of life. Start with just three minutes. Wait patiently for the breakthrough beyond the noise. Let Him speak.
ENTER THE RIDE OF A LIFETIME: LifeTimeRide.com
Listen to the moving song, Ride Of A Lifetime:
Spotify | Apple | Other
THIS MONTH’S LIVE IT TODAY is made possible by the generosity of Jeff Barefoot
Ressourcement | 114 W. Third St., Perrysburg, OH 43551 | (419) 874-9300
WE WANT TO PRAY FOR YOU!
Please share your prayer intentions in the comments at LiveITToday.us