Leave Everything

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

LEAVE EVERYTHING

Luke 5:8-11

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!" 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon's partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men."  11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

NIV

They left everything to follow Jesus. Does that mean all those fish too? This would have been the catch of a lifetime and surely the sale of all those fish would have brought Simon, James and John a handsome income. Of course at this point the three of them could have been thinking they will still do better to follow after Jesus because he can get them more fish again, yet he did tell them they would now be catching men. But still here is that one on one personally impacting experience with Jesus which causes a person to make some drastic change in their life. If Jesus had just come along the shore in a ho hum way, and stopped by Simon’s boat to have a chat while he was mending his nets and offered him the opportunity to follow after him, perhaps Simon would not have been impressed enough to change the pattern of his life. When Jesus does something outside the box, a miracle beyond the human norm, what other response can we have but to leave everything and follow him.  Simon will always be a fisherman, in fact we see him return to that after the death of Jesus, but then Jesus shows up again on the shore, and Simon is once again faced with leaving everything. The point is Jesus makes a difference in our life. He changes the course of our life. He changes everything about us, if we leave all that and follow him. That is the clue to a changed life. We need to leave everything to follow Jesus. Now does that mean our jobs? It could. Does that mean our passions? It certainly does. As a non-believer our main focus in life is satisfying our own passions, desires or goals. All that we do, we do for ourselves. If we refuse to admit that we only are lying to ourselves. But when Jesus comes along and does the miraculous in our life, we have to leave that self-centered lifestyle and follow after him. That implies we change, the old has passed away and all things about us have been made new, we are a new creature in Christ, we have been born again. Does that mean we will never have self-centered thoughts again? It is more than likely we will in fact have thoughts about self even after leaving everything to follow Jesus. Simon Peter refused to be identified as his follower during the trial of Jesus, because he was thinking of self, rather than of Jesus, even after he was so vehement about following Jesus even onto death. We must learn that although we follow Jesus we too will have those moments of self-centered thinking, which of course is not the best thing, but we are not perfect yet. We fail, we fall, and we sin because we are but frail humans. Yet with all our faults, we follow after Jesus trying our best to leave everything beyond, understanding that Jesus will help us not be afraid, he has changed our life. 

Success

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

SUCCESS

Luke 5:4-7

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."  5 Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets." 6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

NIV

Although this is just a portion of the whole story here with Jesus and Simon and we are going to see how it all ends next, it would be good for us to see a truth here first. Simon had been fishing all night and as we saw was sitting in his boat mending his nets when Jesus comes along followed by a crowd and begins to teach them. Then because of the crowd and the little room left on the beach, he gets into Simon’s boat and asks him to put out a little from the shore. The scene as described by some who have researched, this area seems to be a cove or bay like setting with calm waters to that it would make a rather nice amphitheater like scene, with the people gathered around the small bay and Jesus in the middle on a small fishing boat. Although Simon was not yet a follower of Jesus, he certainly has had some encounters with him, especially having Jesus in his home and healing his mother-in-law. So when Jesus asked his to put out a little from shore, he stopped mending nets and put out. He had no other choice now, but to listen to all that Jesus was teaching the crowd. Then when Jesus tells him to put out in to the deep and let down the nets for a catch, Simon first has to tell him he had been doing just that all night without any success. Nevertheless, Simon complies and the largest catch of a lifetime happens. The point to all this is plain to see. We can work our fingers to the bone in our humanity or human efforts even doing that which we have trained for and come up empty. Sure we might make a great income, but unless we are doing what Jesus asks of us, we are still coming up empty. All that we have is empty unless Jesus is giving us the success. We need to learn to do whatever Jesus tells us to do, even though we have not had good results doing the same thing in the past. Surely Simon had caught fish other nights, he was a fisherman and if he had never caught any fish ever, he would not own a couple of boats, have partners and kept on fishing. Was his empty nets that night the master plan of God, so Jesus could show him what power over all things he had, so Simon would now follow him? This was Simon’s personal experience with Jesus, having him prove himself to him. There could be no other outcome then what will happen. It would seem Jesus makes it real, he comes to us and proves he is who he is, at least he did with Simon. Could we expect any less? Yes Jesus told Thomas and the others that because they saw they believed but that those who do not see and believe are blessed. That still does not mean Jesus doesn't prove his power in our lives. He makes our life have worth. We have a success because of Jesus that we could never have alone without him. 

Our Boat

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

OUR BOAT

Luke 5:1-3

5:1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2 he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

NIV

What are we to learn from the documentary style narrative here? All we are told is what Jesus did on one particular day. Of course we are going to see something special take place after he is finished teaching the people crowded together in the shore. But for now what is this about? How did Jesus know the boat he picked belonged to Simon? Was there some conversation about the boats, whose were they? Was it alright to use one of them? Was Simon Peter already sitting in his boat to avoid being in the middle of the crowd? Was Simon Peter the one washing his nets instead of listening to Jesus? We cannot be sure of the time frame, how many days have gone by since Jesus had been in Simon Peter’s house, where Jesus healed his mother-in-law So why had Simon Peter been out fishing all night and now was washing his nets instead of following around after Jesus? Yes, he had to provide for his family, but we are also going to see later he left everything and followed Jesus.  We are going to see when Jesus finishing with his teaching and does this miracle for Simon, he then calls him to follow him. But for now Simon simply when back to fishing after Jesus had been in his home and healed his mother-in-law. Was he not impressed with Jesus then? Did he not think Jesus was the Messiah? What was he thinking? What kind of interaction took place between Jesus and Peter while in his home, that Peter would simply go fishing in the evening? We have to assume because Jesus is divine and thus all knowing, even in his human condition, that he knew what would happen. He knew Simon would not get the picture fully until he did something personally for him. Although being in his home, healing his mother-in-law and most likely teaching on a more personally level about the kingdom of God, Peter simply did not get it. Is that how we are? Do we not get the whole picture of who Jesus really is until he does something personal for us? We can tell people, till the cows come home, about Jesus, but they just might not get the whole truth until he does something personal for them. They can witness him doing a miracle in somebody else’s life, but that has little meaning for them, they will just go back to keep doing what they are used to doing, like Peter going fishing. They may not become true followers of Christ until he performs a miracle for them personally.  Their focus is on their own life, their own livelihood, their own needs, instead of focused on Jesus. When Jesus touches our life, we can never go back to the way we were. He is in our boat. 

Other Towns

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

OTHER TOWNS

Luke 4:42-44

42 At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."  44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

NIV

So Jesus says the reason he came was to preach the good news of the kingdom of God to all the towns he could. Does this conflict with him being sent to be the Lamb of God, the sacrifice for our sin, the redeemer, the Savior? Perhaps it was too early for his disciples to understand the message of the cross, but they could understand the idea about having to spread the good news to other towns. Do the words of Jesus sort of condemn preachers that set up shop in one church and make no efforts to reach every town or city within their reach? It would seem this is what Jesus is saying, that the good news about the kingdom of God should not be confined to one town but that he must go to the whole of the area, to reach as many people as he can for the kingdom. Toward the end of his ministry he commissioned, commanded his disciples to go make disciples of all nations, all people, every tribe, race, which included everyone. We take this also for our command, to preach to everyone about the kingdom of God. We need to tell everyone in our realm, but also to go wherever we can, not to restrain ourselves to one church, to one town, to one neighborhood. Yes it is true in a sense Jesus pretty much stayed in Judea, although he did travel into Samaria to reach that woman and then all the area. But the point he was making that we cannot stay within the confines of our own little circle of friends. We need to be always expanding that circle to include others who have not heard the good news about the kingdom of God. The rest of what was said about Jesus also speaks to that same issue which is we need to keep on keeping on preaching the good news about the kingdom of God. Does this also sort of condemn those preachers who spend all their time preaching to the choir? That is to say, constantly preaching to believers as to how they should live and never share the good news about the kingdom of God. How are the unsaved to get saved unless someone tells them about the good news of the kingdom of God? Of course it is up to all of us, but if all we do is hang out with the rest of believers in the same church then who is preaching to the other towns? And when we start thinking we are the only church in town, or at least the only one with the real truth, then we are really in trouble because we have truly pinned ourselves to one place instead of all the other towns. Of course we are not saying church is all bad, but maybe it is not all that good either, if all we do is church. The point is we need to follow the example of Jesus, if we want to be more like him. The example he gave us can commanded us was to go into all the world and preach the good news about the kingdom of God. This does not mean we dig into our wallets and pay someone to go to some foreign land, but this means we need to go wherever we can and preach the good news, however we can, in other towns. 

All

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

ALL

Luke 4:40-41

40 When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.  

NIV

It appears Jesus ministered all night long as the next verses talk about in the morning or at daybreak. This demonstrates, once again, two truths for our lives. The first truth is that great need people have for Jesus. When most people would have been in bed sleeping these people were coming to Jesus with their family members or friends or neighbors who needed Jesus. From this description of what was going on we do see it was people bringing others to be healed by Jesus. We might have thought the people who needed to be healed would have come on their own, but it certainly says that people brought to Jesus all who had, and there is that word again, all. When we think of the physical application we are once again faced with looking to Jesus for healing. But when we see the spiritual application, many people, in fact all people need to be healed by Jesus. We need to be bringing all the people who have various kinds of sickness, which in the spiritual realm that can mean all sorts of sins. Jesus will heal them, he will lay his hand upon them as he has with us. The idea they were bringing them to Jesus all night long, also speaks to the fact, these people were bringing others to Jesus when it was not convenient for their schedule, but it was because Jesus was there and available. Jesus is always available to heal the sick, both physically and spiritually. We need to forget about fitting it into our time table and just bring people to Jesus and let him do the healing. This is also the second truth here, Jesus does the healing. Instead of us trying to convince people about Jesus, we just need to bring them to him. That would mean speaking to them, telling them about Jesus and his divine ability to heal their needs. We have planted the idea of Jesus healing them and then let the Spirit introduce them personally to Jesus. True, we can bring them to church, but that does not necessarily mean we have brought them to Jesus. Most church services are for believers, not for people who need Jesus. We are the only ones who can bring people to Jesus, the church usually fails in that regard. Yet all we bring to Jesus will be healed. So Jesus heals and we bring them to him so they can be healed. Someone brought us to Jesus and we were healed, so why wouldn’t we bring others? Yes, it is good to study his word and grow in the knowledge of him, but it is also good to bring those in need to Jesus, so they may be healed, and grow as well. Are we being selfish by not bringing others? Let us move on this and start bringing more, bringing all.  

Believe

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

BELIEVE

Luke 4:38-39

38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

NIV

It would seem there are two truths we should explore with thought. First the idea that Jesus can simply rebuke a fever and it leaves should be proof enough of his divinity. Matthew says of the same event, that Jesus touched her hand and the fever left. However the situation was exactly, Jesus bending over this woman, lying in bed with a fever, touching her hand so she knew he was there, and rebuking the fever, this women was healed instantly by Jesus. Can we say it plainly, that Jesus heals? We certainly can. Can we also say that he still has that divine power to heal? Yes we can. So then why is it that there are times when we are not healed? Why do we live with either a sickness or some infirmity? Could it be due to our reliance on modern medicine rather than Jesus? We hear of some people who have refused modern medicine for religious reasons and they have had their children die. We condemn their actions, or even their beliefs. Is this proof of our abandonment of faith in Jesus for our faith in doctors whom merely practice medicine? Jesus does not need to practice, he can simply heal. So then what will we do? Will we think that Jesus uses doctors to heal us? Should we refuse to think that he would use doctors and just wait for him to do it divinely, miraculously? Could both be true? He has healed miraculously. Doctors have cured some as well, but not all, Jesus can cure all. The second truth here has to do with Simon, or Peter. There is a benefit to the family or even a friend of a God fearing man. Because Peter believed in Jesus, his family benefited from Jesus. We should have that kind of relationship with our Lord that our families, our friends, and even our acquaintances have the benefit of Jesus in their lives. This might well play out in our praying for those who are sick, or our laying on of our hands, as representing the hand of Jesus as he touched Simon Peter’s mother-in-law. However our actions, people around us should benefit by experiencing the divine touch of Jesus. Both these truths are based on one single fact, we must believe.  

Be Quiet

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

BE QUIET.

Luke 4:33-37

33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 "Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are — the Holy One of God!" 35 "Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him. 36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

NIV

There is no question that evil spirits exist, but we also have to know that once the Holy Spirit takes up residence within us, no evil spirit can occupy that same space. We have nothing to fear from any evil spirit. When Jesus sends the Holy Spirit, any evil spirits that may have been inside of someone are cast out as soon as a person accepts him as their Lord and Savior. The Baptism in the Spirit may not have happened, however the Spirit does come as well. Jesus has all authority is the point of this narrative being told to us. Jesus has absolute authority because the Father has given the Son this authority. Can we cast evil spirits out of people? In the name of Jesus, we do have that power. Perhaps we have made more out of exorcisms then we should have, making them into some special incantation exercise. Hollywood has made many films about exorcisms, all giving evil far more power then it desires. Evil spirits must obey in the name of Jesus, and we should never carry on any conversations with them. Jesus told them to be quiet and they obeyed, he told them come out, and they did. This is all we should ever do when and if we are faced with evil spirits. The lesson we can learn is we should live without fear of anything. Even if we are faced with death at the hands of an evil controlled person, such as these men of ISIS. There seems to be no doubt the devil and all his evil spirits have taken up residence in these men. We are watching a holy war of the devil against Gods people. This may be the last days, the last stand of the devil. The one thing we can be sure of is our freedom from that kind of control as we have the Spirit of Christ and power over evil in the name of Jesus. When we fail Christ, committing some type of sin, we should not blame the devil, or an evil spirit. Surely he does tempt us, but he cannot force us, as in the case of a person being possessed by an evil spirit. He can only tempt, and we have all the power to choose to yield or not. James tells us it is when we are drawn away by our own bent toward evil. That does not mean we are possessed, or anything like it, we just are bent towards doing what is wrong in the sight of God. But we have the power in the name of Jesus to resist that temptation, if we desire to do so. We can tell the tempter to “Be quiet”.

Amazed

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

AMAZED

Luke 4:31-32

31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.

NIV

His message had authority and that is why the people were amazed. Of course Jesus spoke with authority, he was God, and would we expect anything less. So why are we being told this fact? What truth can we glean for our life lesson from knowing this fact about Jesus and the people? Could this apply to pastors or preachers only? Should they proclaim the message with such authority their congregation would be amazed? They certainly have a little more of a challenge then Jesus had since he had a new crowd in Capernaum, and pastors have the same crowd week after week. What if we applied this to our message? First we would have to tell the message. We certainly have a message to tell. But can we tell it with authority, with the same authority as Jesus had? Can we teach the people with such authority they will be amazed? The answer has to be yes. If we have the Spirit dwelling within us, we have the authority of God right inside our being and thus we should be able, providing we know the message, to teach it with the authority of God. We need not apologize for our faith. We need not be afraid to speak our faith. We need not remain in the background and allow the message of non-believers to overshadow the truth we know within. Let’s amaze some people. When we speak about God, about Jesus, about salvation let the people be amazed.

No Throwing

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

NO THROWING

Luke 4:22-30

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked. 23 Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'"  24 "I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed — only Naaman the Syrian."  28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

NIV

Once again we have to take a rather large amount of scripture in order to get the full picture, the full truth with which to apply as a life lesson. The first thing we are told is that all the people, not some, but all of them spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips, until of course, he slams them with truth about themselves. Here is our life lesson in a nutshell. As long as Jesus was speaking gracious words everyone liked him and spoke well of him, but as soon as he revealed what was in their hearts, they wanted to kill him. This is a double sided life lesson. First it could apply to how people act toward us, and secondly how we act toward others. People may speak well of us as long as we use gracious words. It is interesting in that the Greek word translated gracious is ‘charis’ which is defined as the divine influence upon a heart and how that is reflected in a life. Jesus was certainly all that, but then so are we if we are believers. But it can also be used as an act or manner of graciousness which might be the application here, except his words are a reflection of his manner. Yet as long as we speak graciously, people will like us and speak well of us, but let us speak too much of the truth especially that which would speak about their sins, and they may well take on an attitude of wanting to throw us off a cliff. Of course in our society that kind of action would not happen, but an ill-tempered attitude might well set in and the next thing we know, we are being shunned. Secondly all that was just said can apply to us. We might encounter someone whom we like very much because of the gracious words they speak, and perhaps even about us. But if they proceed to tell us too much truth about our sins, we might chance our attitude about them and no longer speak well of them, but shun them, even speaking against them. The point is not too many people want to hear the truth concerning the condition of their heart, which can include us, unless we learn to open our hearts to Jesus. When we hear that kind of truth and we think John or Mary really should be here to listen to it, we have closed our hearts to the truth. But if we hear this sort of truth and allow it to speak directly to us, we do well.  We should make sure no one is thrown off the cliff. 

His Plan

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

HIS PLAN

Luke 4:16-21

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,   19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."    20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." 

NIV

We need to remember Jesus is still full of the power of the Spirit when he arrives in Nazareth, the town of his youth. He is not a stranger here, the towns people have watched Jesus as a young boy, perhaps playing in the streets. They had stopped by Joseph’s carpentry shop and saw Jesus as a young man working with, his supposed father. The men of Nazareth were with Jesus every Sabbath in the synagogue throughout his entire life before this moment. It is most likely Jesus had his turn reading from the scrolls before. They certainly were there at his Bar mitzvah when he had to read from the scrolls for the first time, and as he stood up to read this Sabbath, it is interesting the scroll of Isaiah was handed to Jesus to read. He did not pick the scroll, but merely found the place in it to read this prophetic portion. We might also consider the whole of what the prophet Isaiah said may not have been contained in just one scroll, so it could also have been that this particular scroll containing these particular words were handed to Jesus as he stood up, taking his turn to read. Of course we could focus on those prophetic words and how they point directly to Jesus, which is in fact what he says to them. But it is also interesting how God, the Spirit made sure that scroll was handed to Jesus by the attendant. The plan of God, the will of God will always be accomplished one way or another. We might think we have some say in the matter, which we do in our free will, which God gave us, but if we do not comply with his will, he will find another who will. If God’s plan is for us to do something specific and we refuse, thus not accomplishing his will, God will simply find another who will get that task done. In this case, if the specific attendant had not picked out that particular scroll, another person would have spoken up insisting that scroll be read. What we should see here is our need to make sure we are listening to the Spirit, which is if we want to be a part of God’s plan. Of course we could say that it is his plan we refuse so he will pick another, who is actually the one who is supposed to accomplish that plan in the first place, but then why were we given the plan to refuse in the first place? That line of thinking could go in to infinity. The point is God will accomplish his plan. This scroll was to be read and it was, so Jesus could tell them it was fulfilled in their hearing him read it, which meant it was about him. The point is God does have a plan for us as well, and we are where we are for a specific purpose at a specific time, so that his plan will be done. 

The Power

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE POWER

Luke 4:14-15

14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

NIV

So often we talk about being more like Jesus, but it is all too often that implies loving our neighbor, or being when we say we want to be Christ-like we are thinking in terms of how we behave, or response in our relationship with others. Yet how often do we think in terms of being Christ-like as going to places in the power of the Spirit? Does arriving somewhere in the power of the Spirit usually cause news to spread about us through the whole community? This would be a whole lot different than being a reserved quite person who desires no attention at all, appearing, at least, humble. Perhaps if we truly want to be more like Jesus we should be living a life full of the power of the Spirit which would cause news about us to spread. People would be talking about us, because we would be different than they are. We would be full of the power of the Spirit. We would teach in the churches, we would teach, speak where ever we were, telling about the good news, and people would praise us. Now that is a little out of our comfort zone, to have people praise us, as all praise should be given to God, to Jesus, but if we consider the fact we are full of the power of the Spirit, when we are praised for doing an exceptional job at work, or doing a great job at teaching a truth of God, at church, or whenever we do something really good, they are really praising the Spirit who we are full of his power, which of course we give the credit to. Although it is not recorded Jesus told them when they praised him, it was because he was full of the power of the Spirit, but then Jesus was God and due all the praise anyway. Yet the point here is that if we want to be more like Jesus, more Christ-like than we need to be full of the power of the Spirit and our life should reflect it. 

I'll Be Back

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

I’LL BE BACK

Luke 4:13

13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

NIV

This verse seems rather straight forward that the devil tempted Jesus in those three areas and we know Jesus resisted, so he left, for the time being, until he could find another opportunity to tempt him again. What better life lesson could we have? The devil will come around us with some temptations and if we resist him when he does he will leave us alone, for a while that is. We can be sure he will be back when the time is better to tempt us again. How can we deal with temptation without recalling what James says about when we are tempted by our own evil desires we are dragged away and enticed? We also should mention what Paul told the Corinthians about when we are tempted God will not allow us to be tempted with more than we can bear and that he will also provide a way out so we can stand up under it. So whether we are tempted by the devil or our own evil desires, the fact is we are tempted, and it appears we are never finished with temptation. One way or another more temptation is coming our way. The example we have here is that the devil did in fact leave Jesus alone. This again would agree with what James had to say, that if we submit ourselves to God and resist the devil, he will flee from us. But when he does flee, it will not be forever, as he fled from Jesus, but only until another opportune time. So let us not deceive ourselves and think we are done with temptations. We should not lie to ourselves, that we are free of sin, for sin is the result of yielding to some temptation, and if we think we are finished with yielding, we have just yielded to the temptation of pride. We need to realize that the devil will never quit trying to get us to yield to some temptation and we are, because of our own evil desires, most likely to yield occasionally. That is not to say we are living a sinful life as we did before we accepted Christ, but we cannot say that we never fail, that we are as perfect as Jesus and always overcome those temptations. But when we do, we also know that God will provide a way out, which is of course Jesus. If we are in Christ, if we are believers, Jesus is our salvation, he has already paid the price for our sin. This payment was not just for that sinful life before being in Christ, but it is for each and every time we fail to resist the devil or our own evil desires, even after we have accepted Jesus as our Savior. The point is temptation will always be a part of this life and we will be faced with it until we step into eternity. We need to accept that fact, but also that we should do everything in our power to resist it. The best way, is with the example Jesus just gave us, use the word of God. If we have the word of the lord hidden in our heart, when we are tempted we can use that word to overcome that temptation. But we also need to know what temptation is, as it comes in many forms. We cannot fool ourselves into thinking certain attitudes and or behaviors are not sin because of yielding to temptation. Each of us can name a few or many, but most likely we forget about some attitudes or behaviors being sinful. So let us be honest and face those temptations head on, resisting through the power of the Spirit, but understanding the devil will be back. He will leave us, but he will tell us, “I’ll be back” 

No Testing

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

NO TESTING

Luke 4:9-12

9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; 11 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'"

12 Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" 

NIV

It matters not which order these particular temptations occurred because Matthew has them in a different order. The point is that the devil took the opportunity to tempt Jesus when he may have been at his weakest due to not eating for so long, as well as being alone, without any supporting friends to encourage him to stay the course. This in itself is a life lesson for us. We can be sure temptation will be at its strongest when we are alone in the solitude of our minds, separated physically, emotionally or spiritually from any supporting family or friends. But we should deal with this particular temptation and see what we can learn. The first thing we notice which is different from the others is the devil uses scripture to justify his tempting Jesus. Perhaps that is why Luke records this as the last temptation. We are not always tempted by an evil act, but rather by some perversion of the Word of God. We can be tempted to have pride in our knowledge of scripture. We can be tempted by hearing false teaching which would lead us away from the truth. This sort of temptation would tell us we should have it all, we should be healthy wealthy and wise because we are the children of God, and he will give us the desires of our heart, and anything we believe we can have, we can, we only need to claim it. That is true, but it can also be a temptation. What the devil told Jesus was true, it was the scripture, and it was in fact scriptural. All of scripture is true, but it can be used by the devil to tempt us just as he used it to tempt Jesus. As Jesus answered not to test the Lord, he was quoting what was recorded about the children of Israel when they were led out into the desert after their deliverance from Egypt. They were thirsty and questioned if God was with them or not. They wanted God to provide water through Moses. Jesus is telling the devil that if he were to jump, it would be trying to prove if God was with him or not. He knows God is with him so he need not prove it by some act. This has bearing on how we live. Do we test the lord with our lifestyle? Are we in fact jumping off the cliff trying to prove God is with us? That is to say, do we act first and then expect God to show up and make it all good? Who is leading who? We should not make any moves, any jumps, or any life choices before we hear from God. Jumping ahead of God and expecting him to keep up is testing whether he will or not, or in some sense, he is or not. We simply should not test his ability or his presence in our lives. Sometimes when we do not feel his presence we might be tempted to do something to prove he is with us. But as Daryl Scott said the constant presence of God is different from the conscience presence of God. It does not matter if we feel his presence, he is present and therefor there is no need to test him to see if he is there, and will do something for us. God is with us and there is no reason to test him.  

Worship and Serve

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

WORSHIP AND SERVE

Luke 4:5-8

5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.   7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours."

8 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'" 

NIV

Here is another temptation of man. We are seeing the temptation that the devil presents to Jesus, to own all the kingdoms of the world. The fact is that Jesus will own all the kingdoms of the world. The Father has promised his Son that he will inherit all the kingdoms, his righteousness will be the scepter of his kingdom.  Our lesson seems to come alive in this temptation of Jesus. The devil wanted to give Jesus that which he would already have. The temptation of not having to endure the cross in order to attain all this might seem appealing, but to have to give up the throne in heaven and bow down to the devil could never be an option for Jesus. But what about us? Can the devil tempt us with riches, the riches of heaven, if we worship him? Christians would never admit to worship of the devil, which is for some, dark-sided, black hooded group who gather in the candle lite darkness, chanting some incantations in worship of Satan. Christians know he is the enemy of their soul, and give him no credibility at all. Yet are we tempted with the riches of this world? Does the devil tempt us with that which we have been promised? Of course it can be difficult to wait for it, as well as we have to endure death, the end of this life in order to have it. We also have to adhere to all the commands of God while we are here. Yes salvation is free, but as believers we are faced with all the changes in thought, attitude and behavior, which is within his Word, that we need to strive for. The devil says we can have riches here and now, not having to wait, just say we believe in God and call it a day, while we actually worship all the things, all the riches of this world, that he will give us, and thus in actuality we are worshipping him. Jesus responded again with the word of God, telling the devil that it is written that we are to worship the Lord our God and serve him only. That in itself is the whole of all theology. Worship and serve God and God alone. We should not allow the devil to deceive us into believing it is alright to store up earthy riches for our future life, or to seek after them with such passion or desire. Oh yes, he whispers in our ear, and tells us he can give them all to us now, we need not wait. Just choose desire instead of God. But we must worship and serve the Lord.  

Truly Living

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

TRULY LIVING

Luke 4:3-4

3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."

4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'" 

NIV

Jesus is quoting from what Moses told the children of Israel before they were about to cross over the Jordon into the land of Canaan. He was giving them his last instructions as he was not to go with them. The Gospel of Matthew records the complete quote which Luke does not. The rest of what Moses said was, “But on every word that comes from the mouth of God”.  The whole of the lesson was that God led them into the desert for forty years, to humble them and to test them in order to know what was in their heart, whether or not they would keep his commands. He humbled them, causing them to hunger and then he fed them with manna, which neither they nor their fathers had known, to teach them that man does not live in bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Jesus had not eaten anything and he was hungry and the devil brought the temptation of bread. Of course both the devil and Jesus knew who Jesus was so it was not about proving he was Jesus, but about the temptation of the bread to relieve his hunger. As the children of Israel were led into the desert for forty years, so was Jesus led into the desert for forty days. Both were hungry and God fed the children of Israel bread, so the devil wanted Jesus to provide himself with bread. But was this the lesson? Of course we need bread, in essence food, to sustain life. So many lessons about using scripture to overcome temptations have been taught which certainly bear much truth, but could there be one more lesson that is not commonly thought about? Although bread certainly sustains our earthly life, it is every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord which will give and sustain us in eternal life. This may well be the lesson Jesus is telling the devil and demonstrating to us. First we can learn that God may lead us through some difficult times to test our hearts, to see it we will continue to obey and trust him, but he will also provide for us. If we look to ourselves for the bread, that is our own efforts, our own abilities we have failed the test, our hearts are not focused on God, but on ourselves. We have proven we do not trust him in his leading us, even if it is into difficult times. Secondly, it is every word that comes from his mouth which is where our trust should be and if that is our heart than we pass the test. It is not about the Lord providing every whim and fancy of ours, with material things, although he certainly cares for us and makes sure we have what is needed to live in this life, and at times more then we need. But that is not a transcultural or trans-society truth. Some people in other countries other cultures can live for God and in huts with dirt floors. Some people in our very country can love God and be homeless. Some believers have far more than we do, and some have far less than we do in the material sense, bread. But we all, no matter how much or how little bread we have need every word that comes from the mouth of God if we are to have life eternal, where all believers will be the same, praising God. We do not truly live on bread, true life requires the words of God.

Full and Led

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

FULL AND LED

Luke 4:1-2

4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

NIV

We are about to enter into the time where we will see the narrative between Jesus and Satan showing us three of the temptations placed before Jesus. Because of what was written about him in the letter to the Hebrews it gives us the impression that Jesus suffered temptations even more than a normal human so that he could help us through ours. The point is Jesus was fully God and fully man, we have to understand that he was faced with temptation every day as we are, even though we are told in this passage that he was tempted for forty days by the devil.  If the only three temptations he ever faced were what we are going to see next, he would not be fully human. We will examine this further as we get into that narrative but for now we should focus on the fact that first Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and second he was led by the Spirit in the desert. Of course we would expect nothing less than Jesus being full of the Spirit, as they are both part of the trinity, the God head. So why are we being told he was full of the Spirit. It would seem this is to show us an example of how we should live our lives so that when we are faced with temptations we will be able to withstand them. If we are full of the Spirit we will be able to take our stand against the flaming arrows of the evil one. It is the Spirit who provides us with that shield of faith as well as the helmet of salvation, protecting our minds from those thoughts that would lead us to sinful behavior. Temptation first starts in the mind, then it motivates behavior and when that behavior is completed it becomes sin. So we need to be full of the Spirit so that we might overcome temptation. The second lesson here is that Jesus was led by the Spirit. Again, could we expect anything less? So once again this serves to show us we should also be led by the Spirit. That would not only imply, but would forthrightly shout it right out. We should be led by the Spirit. This means we do not own the right to make life decisions, that belongs to the Spirit and he will lead us. We might also learn, because Jesus ate nothing for those days, that resisting temptations is not without cost. It may very well be that we will have forgo something in our resistance of certain, if not all, temptations. We see here that Jesus ate nothing for those days, but in other accounts we are also told that after, the angels feed him. God will always provide. That is to say we cannot go about living life as if we have no temptations and do whatever suits our fancy. Being full of and led by the Spirit is totally different than living life our own way and if we most forgo something, God will provide something better. It is far better than anything we could ever live. Let us be full and led. 

Sons

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

SONS

Luke 3:23-38

23 Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, the son of Melki, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melki, the son of Addi, the son of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Salmon, the son of Nahshon, 33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Ram, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34 the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah, 36 the son of Cainan, the son of Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Kenan, 38 the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

NIV

What is the point of Luke telling us the complete lineage or genealogy of Joseph considering he had nothing to do with the birth of Jesus? Mary is the only human portion of Christ but as life has generally been recorded through the line of men it would seem this is why Luke gives us this record. Yet it is also interesting that Joseph was in the line of David, Noah and thus all the way back to Adam who was the son of God. Could the reason Mary found favor with God is she was betrothed to Joseph, a man in the line of David.  Many Scholars have examined this record against that of Matthews and there is much difference and discussion by Rabbinic scholars very knowledgeable both in Hebrew and the customs. We do not have the time nor the space to include all their study and discourse, yet we have to believe there is some reason for Luke to tell us all this. The one point which we should include is there is enough evidence this might actually be the lineage of Mary. This is due to the use of sons-in law being named as in the Rabbinical custom, daughters were not named. This is why Luke’s record differs from Matthew. Yet there has to be some life lesson we can learn from a record of genealogy.  The point is Jesus came from the line of Adam no matter how we look at it. Although it is true Adam was a created man, and Jesus was a conceived man, in the human sense, both are referred as the son of God, Adam a small son and Jesus a large Son because he is in fact God which is always capitalized. The point that God, from the very beginning, knew who he would come in the flesh through and made sure each man had the right son to have the right son and so forth in order that both Mary and Joseph would be engaged and thus bring forth Jesus in the town of Bethlehem and live in Nazareth in accordance with all of his inspired words spoken through his prophets. If we learn anything, we learn God is in control. He is in fact speaking into our lives, directing our paths in righteousness, so we will see him, both in the life we live here and in the life we will live in his Kingdom for all eternity. God has us in the palm of his hand, our life is that as he has directed it to be. We were born at the exact place and time, to the exact parents he chose so that we would be who we are and that we would find him. Of course that does not discount our free will or choice to refuse his invitation, but we still see him at work to bring us home. We are his sons.

Well Pleased

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

WELL PLEASED

Luke 3:19-22

19 But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of Herodias, his brother's wife, and all the other evil things he had done,   20 Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison. 21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

NIV

Luke does not mess around with all the exact details about both these events as some of the others have. First we should note that the imprisonment of John did not happen at the moment Luke mentions it, at least in the chronological order of his recording it, but rather we could suppose it is mentioned as to put an end to recording about John and transition to Jesus. We should also note that Jesus had been baptized by John, so he was not in prison at the time of the Baptism of Jesus as well as Jesus came out of the water before the Spirit descended upon him, as recorded by the others. In some sense this is purely academic as any life lesson is not dependent on this form of transition from John to Jesus. What we do know or could learn here from John is that telling the truth about Godly living can bring hardship and even death in some cases. Of course this happened to be about a ruler with power to do that to John, but the point is some people may oppose the gospel and do so rather violently. But this also serves to show us we should not shrink away from speaking the truth. When we make this transition to Jesus, we see the event which somewhat transcends all events. This is the one moment in time when the whole of the trinity is present with man. This may have occurred before in Old Testament times, but it was not as plainly seen as this. Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Father were all there. What a moment that must have been. Surely the words of the Father were not said for the benefit of Jesus as he already knew who he was and that the Father was well pleased with him. This was said for our benefit, so we would know the Trinity was real, and Jesus was being validated as the Son of God before men. Jesus was not just a man, he was the Son of God, and he was God. Yet it would be something if we could hear those words from God concerning ourselves. Not that we can compare ourselves to Jesus in any way, as he was perfect and we are not, but to hear the Father tell us that he is well pleased with us. It would seem it is absolutely impossible to please the Father based on our behavior. So how can we please him? How can we hear those words? Surely we know it is the Father’s will that none should perish as we are told through a letter Peter wrote in which he says, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance”.  So then how do we please the Father? Certainly we cannot please God by all our good deeds, by being “Goody two shoes” so to speak, because it is not possible to be that good all the time, to be perfect, to be completely free of all sin. It is by faith in Jesus that we please the Father for we are told by the writer of the letter to the Hebrews that without faith it is impossible to please God. Because it is God’s desire that none should perish, so he is not pleased when men refuse to believe in Jesus because they will perish and that does not please him. But when we believe in Jesus, when we come in faith, believing, repenting of our sinful life, and accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the Father is well pleased with us. Just think of that, we have the right to be called children of God, and co-heirs with Christ, and thus the Father speaks those words into our hearts and minds, this is my child in whom I am well pleased.

An Event of Biblical Proportions

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

 AN EVENT OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS

Luke 3:15-18

15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ.   16 John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 18 And with many other words John exhorted the people and preached the good news to them.

NIV

Two truths John speaks here. The first is about Jesus baptizing us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The second truth is about the threshing floor which we will deal with as well. But first we should explore this truth about the Holy Spirit and with fire. It would seem absolute this is a one-time event of biblical proportions. We understand for the part about being baptized with the Holy Spirit. This is when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, when we were born again, which in itself is an event of biblical proportions, we seek for Jesus to baptize us with the Holy Spirit. This moment in time does not automatically happen, but is the result of asking for. When Jesus was leaving and he told his disciples to wait and he would send them the Spirit. They were in anticipation of this moment. They were all together in the upper room praying and we have to consider their prayers included waiting for the time Jesus told them what would happen when the Spirit arrived. This is the moment with fire. They burned with power, with greatness of overwhelming enthusiasm they poured out into the streets speaking in tongues praising God. This is our first life lesson. We cannot, should not, that is if we have been baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire, walk around in a stupor or with bent over continence. We should be living life with great overwhelming enthusiasm pouring out into society speaking in tongues praising God. As far as the tongues is concerned we witnessed in the Book of Acts the disciples were speaking in the languages that the various foreign speaking Jews spoke who were in Jerusalem for the Passover. The disciples were praising God in the language they could understand. Could it be that we might have this tongues wrong in this sense. Could it be that when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire we pour out into society praising God in a language unbelievers understand? That is not so much in some strange tongue which we ourselves do not understand, but in the vernacular of the unbelievers. It is also true we may very well receive some odd foreign sounding language which allows us to pray in the Spirit which is absolutely in accordance with the will of God. Yet if we go about speaking in this strange foreign tongue, not many unbelievers will hear us praising God. The second truth regarding the threshing floor is clearly about the day when Jesus will separate the believers from the nonbelievers. Those who believe will be gathered into his barn, into heaven and those who refuse to believe will be consumed with fire, as the Greek word implies. This is not burning for all eternity, but will be consumed by the fire, which agrees with the gospel of John when he uses the word, perish. This term or analogy of John the Baptist, of Jesus burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire, shows us the chaff is consumed. No one would ever expect the chaff to remain chaff in the fire, but they would expect the chaff to be completely consumed into nothing. This is that word, perish. We can be exceedingly, overwhelmingly, overjoyed we are the wheat that will be gathered into the barn. We should live accordingly, praising God with our lives, pouring out into the streets of our society telling of his greatness, praising God so people will understand. 

Relations

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

RELATIONS

Luke 3:9-14

9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." 10 "What should we do then?" the crowd asked. 11 John answered, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized. "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" 13 "Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely — be content with your pay."

NIV

We have started with the last statement of John which we already dealt with so this narrative would have a context. The people understand what John had told them about the ax and the production of good fruit in order to avoid that ax and the fire. They asked, “What should we do then?” What good fruit can we produce? Rather than reciting the fruit of the Spirit, which had not yet been given, John tells them in laymen terms, the result of love. Those who have should share with those who do not have. This is rather subjective in some sense, for everyone has more than someone, which could become a real debacle in that no matter how much we have and give, someone has more than us and should be giving to us, and someone has more than them and should be giving to them and so on it goes, as well as the one we give to might well have more than someone who they should be giving to. If we all are being in compliance with what John told them it would be a real mess. Yet the truth here is about our relationships with our fellow man, and how it should be based on love, which is selfless. John’s response to the tax collectors and the soldiers is based on that same kind of love. It would seem our human nature is to be self-centered rather than selfless. This does not only apply in the material sense, but also in the spiritual or emotional or mental sense. This self-centered condition drives us to want to be right about everything. Selflessness would not insist on being right and thus would be more in tune with the attitude of loving our neighbor as ourselves. This whole discourse by John is all about that very idea. How we relate to each other, and how that should be with the attitude of love.  

The Ax

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE AX

Luke 3:7-9

7 John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

NIV

This are the first words recorded of John the Baptist in the beginning of his public ministry. From what we have been told before he went out into the country around the Jordon preaching the baptism of repentance, but this is the first we have heard of what he preached. His words certainly were not words that would win friends and influence people, yet he must have done just that for crowds came to hear him. The truth here is loud and clear. Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Claiming salvation through having Abraham as their father was simply not acceptable. They needed to produce fruit, or we could say the evidence of a change of direction of their lives. Let’s update this truth a bit. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, having repented of our sinful life, we need to produce the fruit, the evidence of that experience, that event in our lives. This certainly could be a case for the fruit of the Spirit being that fruit, that evidence. The point is there should be an absolute change in our lives. We cannot claim our place in the kingdom of God by having Abraham as our father, that is to say, one, we claim we are believers because we were raised in a Christian home, or two, that we are believers because we follow all the rules and regulations of a denomination. They may be many others reasons we cannot claim our place in the kingdom, but we can be certain we must produce good fruit in order to not be cut down and through into the fire. Would this be a case where we could say faith in dead without works, or production of good fruit? We know works is dead without faith, but here is that case for faith being dead without works. But the works are not the works of man, good deeds as it were. But  the works is the production of fruit for without that kind of change in our lives, that kind of evidence, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, no matter what we say we believe, it appears the ax is at the root and the fire is at our feet. That is a hard truth, but it appears that is exactly what John was saying. Yes, he was making that case for the need for accepting Jesus, rather than Abraham. This could also been seen as the good fruit. That all we need to escape the ax is the good fruit of accepting Jesus. Although it is true that we need Jesus for salvation, it is also true that this claiming Jesus as our Savior should also be seen in the evidence of bearing fruit. The claiming of Jesus without the change or repentance, and the production of the evidence of that claim seems to fall short of the need to avoid that ax.