Month: January 2024

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Where would you be?

Luke 24 What would you be doing if you had been there thousands of years ago after the death of the Savior? Would you have been ministering or sitting? Would you have been among those who went to the tomb? Would you be on the road out of Jerusalem to Emmaus? Dr. Luke shares with us that some went to the tomb early in the morning, others sat sequestered in the upper room as they were fearful of the authorities. But, then two decided to leave and go to another city. We aren’t told why and we are only told the name of the one. Each circumstance shows us the heart of those who had followed Jesus. 

The women’s hearts were turned toward serving just as they had done while Jesus was alive. Several were sequestered in the upper room, but we aren’t told what they were doing. Were they praying? Were they rehearsing scripture? The two who left Jerusalem walked and talked about the past three days.

What would you be doing? Where would Christ find you?  

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Forgiveness

LUKE 23 As hard as it is to read this chapter and to walk the road of suffering with our Savior, it is noted that even in the hardest time of the life of our Master, His one thought was forgiving men for their sin. Is that our thought when others condemn us or say lies about us? Can we have a forgiving spirit and words to tell those that they are forgiven or does the enemy come and tell us to be silent or worse do we, like the fearful disciples hide ourselves away from the crowd? 

Today, may we have the heart of Jesus in these hard times. May we earnestly desire that our words and actions prove we are His disciples, His followers, His trusted ones. 

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God Sees the Heart

Luke 21 God Sees

In the book of Genesis we find two individuals who said, “God sees me.” Both Hagar and Jacob knew that no matter what was happening in their lives, God sees all. Fast forward to the gospel of Luke. Jesus now in human form sees all because he is both man and God. In chapter 20 He remarks about the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy about their giving and taking of other’s wealth. In Luke 21 Jesus suspends his teaching to have his disciples and others to see what true wealth is and true giving is. The religious leaders loved to have others stop and praise their giving, but with the destitute widow they scoffed. Jesus taught us that our heart giving is seen and blessed by God, but the heart that gives with a desire to be praised by men is not. 

Today as you give either with your coins or give in your works; check your heart. Is your heart’s desire to have God praise you or do you seek praise from men?

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Why are we surprised?

Luke 19 When God tells us something is going to happen or He gives us directions to do this and so, why are we surprised when it actually happens? Jesus told the disciples to go into the city and find a colt tied. He said untie it and bring it to me. Just as He said, the bystanders asked the reason they were untying it. As Jesus had directed, so they said, “He needs it.” End of story! We can’t be a fly on the wall but we can imagine the discussion as they wandered back through the city streets to where Jesus was. It is things like this that cause us to stop and wonder, what has God told me to do step by step. Have I been as obedient as these disciples had been without question or do I question the reasons? One thing is true: any partial obedience is still disobedience and total obedience is blessed by the Lord. 

 Stop and ponder your day. Were you totally obedient or only partially obedient? He said to go and make disciples. How are we doing with that command?  He said to love our enemies. How are we doing that? He said to forgive; how are we doing that? What would be the grade He would give us this day? 

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Children are our gift!

Luke 18. But Jesus called for the children, saying, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them. 

In today’s world children are seen as a problem to be cast aside. We have many who support abortion rather than carrying a child to term. If it breaks your heart imagine how it breaks God’s heart!  Psalm 139 reminds us that we are fashioned by the Creator God from the first two cells that join. “Your eyes saw my unformed substance;in your book were written, every one of them,the days that were formed for me,when as yet there was none of them.”[Ps 139:16]

Today stop and give God praise for the work that He has done and for the gift of children. They are the next generation. We must protect them at all costs and we must raise them up to honor God. 

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Are you trustworthy?

Luke 16 Winning the lottery is all many think of and so they pay out each week a sum hoping that this will be the winning ticket. And if they win they will do thus and thus with the winning pot. Jesus used a similar story about the unrighteousness steward. He too hoped to cash in big one day but then his boss, the manager caught him “cooking the books,” as we say today. He might have hoped to win the lottery but instead the manager caught him red-handed. As the steward thought about this he formulated a plan.

He called the debtors and made a deal to have those debts forgiven or reduced. Jesus pointed out the principle that if you are not righteous in the small things, you will not be righteous in the big things.  God looks for those who can be trusted to take care of his wealth in the present time. Those who are trustworthy can be assured that one day God will have them take care of His wealth both here and in eternity. 

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What do you celebrate?

Luke 15 The story of the prodigal son is very familiar but lest we only read that part of this chapter we are most negilgent to the truth Jesus is teaching. He wants the audience to see what brings God glory and what causes men to celebrate. So what do you celebrate?  Do you celebrate the salvation of one God calls wicked and unrepentant who comes back to the fold?

The first part of this chapter is teaching that which is lost and then found we are to celebrate. The lost son is the capstone of all of this chapter. Yet, again we see two sons, one is obviously uncaring and unrepentant at the first. It took a major event to bring him to his knees. The father watches lovingly for his unrepentant son to return to the fold. Because he was faithful in the little, that is his prayer,  the son did indeed repent and the father called for a celebration. But what about the other son who had stayed home, was faithful to do what was commanded? Had he been praying for his brother? How did he respond to the arrival of his “wicked” brother? Did he celebrate? We see he did not so what is the lesson we can glean from him? You may have all the blessings God pours out but if you do not celebrate the unrepentant who comes to the Lord and is saved, you are worse for you had the blessings but only cared about yourself not  your brother. 

What about the father? How does he fit in this story? His life is one of celebration for both boys but was blindsided by the elder son’s response. How often is that us as well. Pray that God open your eyes to see the truth of those who are closest to you. 

How often does one celebrate our own life but we fail to honor that celebration of another family member who returns? 

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A Dinner Party

Luke 14: “A Dinner Party You Don’t Want to Miss!”

As we read this chapter, it is as if we are a “fly on the wall” and can see, smell, and experience the dinner party in real-time action. But sadly, this is not one dinner party that leaves one with a feeling of joy. What a contrast to the dinner party waiting for us in heaven!

If we were one of the guests at this dinner party, we would have seen the religious leaders watching Jesus closely. They had skillfully and slyly planted a man suffering from dropsy to test Jesus about his observance of the Sabbath. As we look around, we see guests choosing seats of honor and others who had been presumptuous being told to go and sit elsewhere. Invitations were only issued to friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors. The meal was sumptuous and prepared as one would do for a Sabbath. Yet at this party, there was silence, caution, and humiliation.

What a contrast to the banquet our Lord prepares for us in heaven! There will be an enormous crowd that no one could count, not sitting but standing before the throne dressed in long white robes and with palm branches in their hands. The guest list includes some from every nation, tribe, people, and language. The menu will consist of springs of living water, the water of life, clear as crystal – pouring out from the throne of God and of the Lamb, and twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month of the year.

This is a dinner party I want to attend, how about you?

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Preparing for Eternity

Are you ready?

Luke 13: “Repent…”
Jesus is asking if we are prepared for eternity. Without the work of the Holy Spirit to bring us to repentance of the heart, we are the most desperate people.

In Jesus’ journey around Israel, people asked him about repentance and his message of grace and mercy. The recent calamities of that time revealed how quickly life can be terminated. Even today, when faced with such circumstances, we often wonder, as they did, if it was caused by sin.

Jesus took that opportunity to say that time is short and one must repent and accept God’s gracious gift of salvation. He wanted them to prepare now for the future. because, as Jeremiah reminds us: “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.” [Jer 17:9] Only by repenting what we know as sin are we ready to enter heaven and be with Jesus. Please don’t get caught like the synagogue leader who thought another day would be better. Today is the day of salvation. To delay is to test God and His patience. Many woke today thinking of what they had to do and where they had to go but did not consider eternity. They kept saying tomorrow, tomorrow, but God said today.
We are all sinners in need of repentance. Today is the day of salvation; do not delay.

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Mining for God’s gems

Proverbs 2 Do you go through day after day wondering about the questions that surface in your study and your job and etc. etc. etc. Solomon offer the answers to that by saying “if you will receive…if you cry for discernment…if you dig as miner..” then you have the answers and you find God’s gems for each dilemma you face!

Why do we find taking those steps in our own lives so hard? I think sometimes we are just plain lazy. We also are not taking to heart this verse from Paul to Timothy. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” [2Tim 2:15]

The wisdom that God gave Solomon is evident in this passage. Today, take time to mine the riches of God’s Word so you can be that workman.

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