Written in heaven

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

WRITTEN IN HEAVEN

Luke 10:17-20

17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." 18 He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

NIV

These men returned with joy because of the great power they had over the demons, but Jesus reminds them that he saw Satan who was a great angel with much power fall from heaven in a very obvious way, like a big flash of lighting. If Satan with all the majesty and power he had can fall, who else could fall? Just because they had that kind of power is no reason to rejoice, for if Satan having pride in his power and might, thinking he could overthrow God, if they had pride in their power over demons, they too might fall. It is doubtful Jesus was actually talking about snakes and scorpions, but may have been making reference to the Scribes and Pharisees. It was customary in those days, when a king and his army defeated their enemy, they would trample on the kings and generals in a sign of authority over their new conquered kingdom. Jesus may have been telling them they would indeed have victory over the Jews who lived by the law. He also might well have been telling them because of his authority and not of their own that they had that kind of power and not to rejoice in the power but in the fact that names are written in heaven. There is also enough evidence to indicate it was also the custom for the people to have a book of register, each child who was born was written in this book recording his parents which showed who had legal claim to the inheritance of the father, if there was ever a dispute. There is several references to this book throughout the Old Testament. Moses even asked God to blot his name from God’s book because of the sin of the people when they made that golden calf to worship. We have other references to the book of life and names either in it or being blotted out of it. Jesus tells them and us the greatest reason to rejoice is having our names in that book written in heaven. Although we might have some evidence of being a believer, having some gift of the Spirit, some power over evil, some form of righteousness or what we think are good deeds, or any over type of Christ-like behavior we think we have, we should not take pride in that, rejoicing in our power. We should remain cognizant of the fact that Satan with all his power took pride in that and was cast out of heaven. Could we be in jeopardy of having our names blotted out because we have placed our pride, our rejoicing in the wrong direction, on the wrong things? What we should rejoice in, the only real thing we should rejoice in is the fact our names are written in the book of life.  Our names written there are proof of our right to the inheritance. Our names are written in heaven. 

Speaking for God

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

SPEAKING FOR GOD

Luke 10:16

16 "He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."

NIV

Jesus was telling these seventy and it certainly appears he is telling us as well that they were speaking for God. He was also assuring them that if their message was rejected those who rejected it were actually rejecting God, not them. Sometimes we take rejection personally when someone we share the good news with says no thanks that is not for me. There are many forms of rejection other than a flat out no. Some tells us or seem to insinuate they are Christians just to stop us from going on with the message. But the point is when they do not want to hear about the good news, they are rejecting God and not us, although it seems like at times, some of them actually do reject us as well. They sort of shun us or at least keep their distant and that is fine, as we did our part and their blood is not on our hands. The greater truth here in these words of Jesus is the fact that as we talk about the kingdom, the good news, we are talking for God. To these people we are that mouth of God. That is a powerful thought. To speak for God. To be his voice to people. If we consider that, if we ponder on that, mediate on that for a moment, perhaps our message might be a bit more like what God says and the way he says it, than how we say and the way we say it. How would God tell them about his kingdom? Would he tell them anything other than he loves them and he wants to give then eternal life, if they would just believe in him, accept his Sons sacrifice for their sin? How would he say it? Would he be condemning, judgmental, firm, or would he simply show them his love? The answer to any of that type of question is in how he spoke his love into our lives. We only need to do the same. What we need to always be aware of when we talk about the kingdom, is we are the voice of God to the world. Of course when we are not talking about the kingdom we might still be the voice of God, which is of course if those people know we are believers. They are watching and listening to us all the time to see if we live our words. So even in that sense we are the voice of God. Our lives are the voice of God in action. This is when actions speak louder than words. Yet we still need to be speaking the words.  How do we speak for him?

Up or Down

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

UP OR DOWN

Luke 10:13-15

13 "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. 15 And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths.  

NIV

Four cities are mentioned here of which one of them is well known to us, Bethsaida. In fact from John's account he tells us that three of the twelve disciples came from this city, Phillip, Andrew and Peter. Yet Jesus seems to be condemning these two cities for their refusal to accept the gospel message. He makes reference to these two other cities which have a large chunk of Ezekiel prophesying their destruction, which in fact occurred. Yet Jesus tells us that although Sidon and Tyre were cities God decided to destroy because of their great wickedness, had Jesus been there and performed all the miracles and healing he had in Bethsaida and Korazin those cities would have repented. But these two have not. What can we learn here on a personal level? Can we personalize these cities? When Jesus does so many miracles in our lives, isn’t it just a natural thing to repent sitting on sackcloth and ashes? Of course, to put on sackcloth and ashes is not something we do today, as it was simply a symbolic way of showing the rest of the people, a repented heart. Yet there is something about making a major change in our lives when we repent of our sin, due to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and the working of miracles by Jesus on our behalf. How can we ignore all that? It seems Korazin and Bethsaida did. That could only mean it is possible we could. It is certain those towns knew of Jesus, were witness to his miracles and yet refused to accept him as the Christ. People today have done that as well. But we have to make sure we do not become insulated from his miracles, his working in our lives. We cannot afford to be distracted by the world, conforming to our natural way of living rather than our supernatural way as empowered by the Spirit. Jesus makes a comment about one more city, Capernaum. Here is where Jesus really began his ministry doing great miracles and healing, casting out demons, teaching in the synagogue, yet he informs them they will become desolate. The word used for depths is hades, which is the place of departed souls. Again, two places to go, repent and be lifted up to heaven or refuse and be cast down to hades, which in the end will be cast into the lake of burning sulfur being competed burned up. This is true desolation. It may be that Capernaum was amazed, in fact it does say the people were at all that Jesus did, but they also must have gone back to the former way of life, once he had left the area. We need to make sure that even though he may not be doing any miracles at present in our lives we do not return to our former lives, but stay repentant, knowing we cannot even be perfect and that sin will continue to confront us. So let us hear when we step in to the elevator at the end of this life. Going up!

It is near

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

IT’S NEAR

Luke 10:8-12

8 "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.' 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

NIV

This seems to be a repeat about when they entered a house and either found a man of peace or not, but it has something else as well which we should pay attention to. Jesus tells them if a town welcomes them they were to tell those people that the kingdom of God is near. He also tells them if the town does not welcome them, even though they shake the dust off their feet against them, they are still to tell them the kingdom of God is near. Either way, with a welcomed or non-welcomed attitude of the people, they were to tell them the kingdom of God is near. This serves as our lesson today. We should be telling everyone the kingdom of God is near.  It does not depend on them accepting or welcoming our message or not accepting it. Granted, they were told if they were not welcomed to shake the dust of their feet against them. In those days it was a sign of total disrespect to a certain amount. To the Jews it was a significant act denoting that town or people were impure, profane, and even paganistic and they declined any further contact with them. The point here is that we will also encounter those who will welcome our message about the kingdom of God being near and there will be people who will not welcome our message. We still need to give them the message, but if they do not receive it, refuse it, argue against it, shake the dust off our feet and move on. They have condemned themselves, and their blood is not on our hands. But if we do not bother to tell them the kingdom of God is near, then perhaps their blood is on our hands. We need to be going into those towns. Now as we are not travelers in the sense those seventy were we cannot actually go from town to town before our Lord. But we can in the sense still go before him into all the areas of life. Where we live, where we work and where we play we encounter people, which is unless we only live, work and play in church or with church people. If that is the case then what worth are we to the kingdom, or to telling of the message, the kingdom of God is near? Who would hear it? Only other believers. So we should be going before Jesus and telling everyone, if they accept it, praise God, if not move on. It is more or less similar to not giving that which is holy to the dogs or casting our pearls to the swine, least they trample it under their feet and turn and tear us to pieces. Yet the point, the message of this lesson is we are to tell them all, the kingdom of God is near. 

Man of Peace

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

MAN OF PEACE

Luke 10:5-7

5 "When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' 6 If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

NIV

There seems to be a few ideas here that could be used for life lessons. We first should see this concept about if a man of peace lives there stay will him. In those days men were called by who they were or rather the son of, such as Judas was called a son of perdition, wise men were called children of wisdom, wicked men were called sons of wrath. So here we have a man who is known as a man of peace, which meant He was a peaceable quiet man who had reputation of good report among the townspeople. Here is our first lesson. If Jesus tells his missionaries to seek out this type of person to lodge with, it would be well for us to embrace those same qualities. We should be peaceable quiet people who have a good reputation among our community. We should not be argumentative or boastful but peaceable. Then the rest of the Lord will rest upon us. The second lesson may not be exactly meant for each and every one of us, but rather is pointed to the dispenser of the gospel, the missionary or the preacher. These words have been used by them to more or less expect the support of others for their work and their lives. Jesus told his missionaries to eat and drink whatever they received. This was to imply those men should not expect to dine in the greatest of style or have the best food in the house. Here lies the lesson for the missionaries and pastors of today. Instead of requiring such income to live in luxury, they should live according to what they are given. Instead of building empires to support their desires for fame and fortune they should live a modest peaceable quiet life, being sons of peace themselves, having a good reputation among the people. This does seem to have some lesson for us as well in that we should be seeking out a house, a house of prayer, a church where a man of peace lives, rather than a son of wealth. If we should be men of peace, it is only reasonable we should fellowship with other men of peace, stay in their house, not moving from house to house looking for a better lodging and dinner. But our first responsible here is to be a man of peace.  

Reapers

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

REAPERS

Luke 10:1-4

10:1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

NIV

There is much more that Jesus tells this seventy-two or seventy which seems to be the more correct number according to most scholars who research all the old manuscripts. Why some use seventy-two is unknown, but it would seem seventy is right because Jesus was using the same format that Moses used. He had the twelve patriarchs of the twelve tribes and Moses appointed seventy to assist him in the government of the people. This is what Jesus did, twelve to be his close disciples and seventy to assist in the government of the kingdom, so to speak. They were tasked to go before Jesus proclaiming the gospel. Jesus was telling them there are many people, many souls who are ready to hear the good news and who will accept it, but there are few workers. Are we to take this command as well? Are we to go to every town and place Jesus is about to go? This appears to be just about that time in history, yet there also has to be some life lesson for us within. Could we say that Jesus is coming to a town near us? Could we say that if Christ is in us, he has already come to the town we are in? Are we called to be the workers in this field, this town? Are there many souls who are ready for the harvest? This warning not to greet men along the road does have some meaning. Jesus was telling them not to get distracted by social demands as they have a task to do for the kingdom of God. Yet at the same time understand as we share the good news among those who are ready to hear it, there will also be wolves who would rather destroy us, destroy our efforts to bring the good news to those who are ready to hear it. There are many wolves in our society today. It seems Christianity in general is under attack from some, but it is the truth which is under attack by many. Liberalism in its purest form opposes the kingdom of God. The ideas and ideologies of man oppose the truth and they attempt to influence as many followers as possible for their own personal gain. Some supposed preachers of the gospel are even the wolves Jesus speaks of here. Those people had the Pharisees and other sects who proclaimed they had the truth but were in fact using their perverted form of the truth for their own gain. Jesus told these seventy to not take any purse or bag or sandals as well. While they are going before him, they are to live in an austere manner. We will see more of this manner in some of the rest of the orders Jesus gives them. Should we encompass this command into our lives as well? It would seem we surely live above that austere condition. Some believers live in abundance of wealth while others live in near poverty while many live somewhere in between.  Yet the idea was that they and we should not spend our time and energy in the pursuit of social acceptance or that of personal material gain while there are souls, who by their own beliefs condemned are to perish, and we have been tasked to bring them the good news, that they can find eternal life in Christ. Are we to consider to be like the seventy? Are we the workers? Do we simply resign ourselves to pay a few preachers to do that job in hopes those souls who are ready for the harvest will wander into the right church? Are we truly workers going before Jesus if all we do is fellowship with other believers or spend our energy on our own spiritual journey? We really do need to get out in the town, among the people, sharing the good news. We cannot do that inside the church building, nor can we do that as a church just doing good works in the town. We have to go into their houses as we will see Jesus tells them later. Go where they live, work and play. Live among them, with them so we can share the good news, and there will be souls ready to hear. We will see a harvest, but we need to be reapers. 

Say Goodbye and Move on

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

SAY GOODBYE AND MOVE ON

Luke 9:61-62

61 Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." 62 Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." 

NIV

Here we have the third man in this series of answers by Jesus. This man is somewhat like the first in the sense he was indicating he would follow Jesus, unlike the second man whom Jesus told to follow him. But the response of Jesus to this comment of the man is different than the first man. Here we see this man wanted to follow Jesus but first he desired to say good-by to his family. Did Jesus say don’t bother saying goodbye because if you do, you are not fit to follow me? Not exactly. In the example of putting his hand to the plow and looking back, it meant much to an agricultural people. If a man was walking behind a plow which would have been a hand type plow pulled by oxen most likely and he did not keep his eye on the furrow he was plowing but looked away, the furrow would not be straight and his field would not be fit to plant. But this is not want Jesus was talking about. He did not say don’t go back, but don’t look back. We have another story about two man that have similar markings, Elijah and Elisha. But the story is a little different in that as Elisha was in fact plowing and Elijah threw his mantle over him as to pass on his ministry to him, Elisha asked to go back and say go by to his family first and Elijah consented. What Elisha did was to kill his oxen, use the plow for fire wood, and cook the oxen for a feast for his family and when he has finished left to follow Elijah. We also have the story of Lot’s wife looking back, not going back, but looking back mostly with a longing for what she had left. This is the lesson Jesus was teaching this man as well as us. When we decide to follow Jesus it is fine to say goodbye to the things of the past, but it is not alright to look back with a longing for them. It is not alright to want the things of the world. It is most likely Jesus knew that if this man returned to his family he would have never leave them to follow Jesus. The pull of the world and its ways are very strong, and if we try to follow Jesus and hang on to some of the past life and its ways our walk will be like that furrow, not very straight. Once we decide to follow Jesus we have to follow Jesus, not wondering about the things we once had, or did, or wanted to do, but our path must be straight. If we are distracted by the world in some way, our path will not be straight, we will wander all over our field and then it is not fit for having the truth planted within. The point is there should be no looking back, just say goodbye, burn the oxen and plow and move on to follow Jesus. 

No Procrastinating

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

NO PROCRASTINATING

Luke 9:59-60

59 He said to another man, "Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 

NIV

At first glance Jesus seems a little offensive in his response to this disciple, but we need to understand exactly what was going on. First of all we should note this man did not offer his services, but was called by Jesus to follow him and proclaim the kingdom of God. Not all men, not every disciple of Jesus might have been qualified to preach the kingdom, but this man was. Second we should also note that it is highly unlikely this man’s father was actually a corpse lying in wait of a burial, as it was the custom to bury a person the very day they died, unlike today. There were no wakes, or viewings, when the person died, they took the body to the grave. So we might expect his father was about to breathe his last very soon and this man desired to be there to respect his father, doing the right thing as a son. Jesus was most likely indicating to this man that there were other family members who could care for his father, but not many were as qualified as him to preach the kingdom. What we learn here is a lesson about two kingdoms, the one of nature and the one of grace. The kingdom of nature all the children of the world, even the ungodly are fully alive, to the other it is only the children of light. It is not that we, the children of light, the believer are so totally indifferent to the common humanities of social life, but we are set more on the things of spiritual and eternal. When we hear the call of Jesus to go into all the world and preach the good news, we cannot say, but first let me take care of some of the physical needs of this world I live in, then when I have earned enough, when I have enough to live securely then I will take off and do your work. If not that kind of excuse, we might find some other reason to procrastinate about doing the will of God. Yes, we do live in this world and, yes it seems we should be living in some kind of quarters, with all the trimmings, and it does require us to work in order to afford all the required things of this life. But if we use those things as a reason not to preach the good news, then Jesus is talking directly to us in his response to this man. We have to be willing to do his will first, seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto us as well for our Father knows we have need of them. No excuses, we need to be doing whatever it is Jesus asks of us, when he asks it. 

What's in your spirit?

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

WHAT’S IN YOUR SPIRIT?

Luke 9:57-58

57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." 

NIV

Although this is not a direct teaching from our lord, it is a teaching nevertheless. Matthew records this conversation, but at a different place within the timeframe of the ministry of Jesus. This matters not as it is still a conversation that took place and it shows us several truths. First we see this man, who Matthew tells us is a teacher of the law who would be a learned man. Also we should note that many scholars or teachers of the Law had disciples who followed them so as to be able to have discussions about the Law and thus increase their knowledge of it. We do not know that this teacher of the law had acknowledge Jesus as the Christ or that he simply wanted to learn more. But we know by the response of Jesus this man may have had other motives for wanting to follow after Jesus. Maybe he did think Jesus was the Messiah and being a teacher of the Law he understood, even if it was incorrect, that Jesus would be setting up his kingdom to rule over and if this man would become a follower he would be among the inner circle and gain either status or perhaps even a room of his own within the palace of the Messiah. But Jesus tells him he has nothing, he has no palace, he has but the clothes on his back.  We might also gather that this man was making his claim based on what he thought he could do himself. We are not told that he was inspired by the Spirit, or that Jesus choose him, knowing his heart. So here is our lessons. We should not make a promise to the Lord we cannot keep. That is to say we should not depend on our flesh to follow Jesus. The corruptible cannot inherit the kingdom of God, which is why some day, this corruptible will put on incorruptible. We cannot follow Jesus in our human efforts, it requires the presence of the Spirit, first to convict us of our sin, and second to lead us into all truth. We need the power of the Spirit to follow Jesus, we cannot do it alone in our human condition. The other truth is in the words of Jesus saying he has no place to lay his head. If we think that becoming a follower of Jesus is going to gain us material wealth, as it seems some have from time to time, we are sadly mistaken. That is not to say God will not provide all our needs. He surely will. But what we set our heart towards is the test. Do we seek first his kingdom or do we seek it so that all these things will be added onto us as well? Do we follow Jesus because we want, or do we follow Jesus because he is Jesus, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Lord and Master? Do we want a special place in his kingdom? Do we want recognition, fame and fortune because we are his followers? Do we think or say, “Look what I am doing for the Kingdom”? Jesus was being humble both in his humanity and his divinity declaring he had nothing. Should that serve as a lesson for us? Certainly seems it should. Instead of looking to see “What’s in your wallet or safe” we should be looking to see what’s in our spirit.  

Vengeance

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

VENGEANCE

Luke 9:51-56

51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them, 56 and they went to another village.

NIV

It was time, Jesus had kept himself from Jerusalem long enough as it was there some had the design to kill him and that would have been before his time. But now was the time for him to complete his mission and he set his course for that purpose. It seems a little strange why we are told about this incident in this particular Samaritan village. We know there was always tension between the Jews and the Samaritans, as the Jews kept the law, or faith in Yahweh and the Samaritan, although they may have feared Yahweh they also worshipped other Gods. They were not true Jews both as they had intermarried with heathen clans and diluted their once pure Jewish heritage both physically and spiritually. But our life lesson is not about who the Samaritans or about Jesus setting his path for the cross. It is in the response of James and John regarding the unwelcoming attitude of the Samaritans. Because they felt shunned or unwelcomed where they thought they should have been accepted, they wanted to call down fire from heaven on this village, which would have not only destroyed the town, but most likely killed all the inhabitants. Even after spending that much time in the presence of Jesus they still wanted to exact vengeance on these people. It does seem that all throughout the Old Testament we can find where God told he will have vengeance or is going to, or will if someone does or doesn’t do something. But that word is not found in the New Testament at all. There is a new covenant in Jesus and the vengeance of God is now the grace and mercy of God. This is why Jesus rebuked them and moved on to another village. But we should learn that when we are mistreated as Christians, or treated as if we are foolish for believing in Christ, believing he will provide, believe he will heal, believing we have to be born again to see heaven, or any other aspect of our faith, it is not us who is being mistreated, it is Jesus and we should not want to exact any form of vengeance upon anyone for their attitudes, words or actions. Only God has the authority, if he desires to take vengeance on anyone, we do not, and yet Jesus would not for he had set his course to die on the cross, and yes even for those Samaritans who did not welcome him. The Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans admonishes them and us not to take revenge, but to leave room for God’s wrath, again he being the only one with that authority, but here we see Jesus abounding in grace and mercy and this is what should abound in us instead of vengeance. 

Bigotry

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

BIGOTRY

Luke 9:49-50

49 "Master," said John, "we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us." 50 "Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you." 

NIV

This serves to illuminate a rather important life lesson for us today. This attitude of John reveals a certain amount of bigotry. This man who was driving out demons surely must  have had the power of God resting on him, otherwise the demons would not recognize his authority and leave the possessed person. He might well have been one of John the Baptists disciples who John had told to go follow Jesus, but after spending some time in the party of followers retired back to his own village, but still believed, had faith and was under the influence of the Spirit of God. The point John was trying to make was the same point Joshua was trying to make to Moses years ago when he was reporting that two man who were still in the camp were prophesying and he wanted Moses to stop them, because they were not part of Moses's leadership team. The lesson here is that we might have this same kind of attitude or bigotry toward differing denominational beliefs. We are the ones who have the truth, the rest just don’t get it. If you are not one of us, then you are not saved. If you are not one of us, you just are missing the truth. Jesus told John that just because this man was not in the current party of close followers, it did not mean that he was not about the business of God. Just because someone belongs to another denomination does not mean they are set against us, or our beliefs and we should not be against them or any of their beliefs. This is  not to say that those who are merely religious but do not practice the truth of God in their lives are necessarily in the same camp as us, but at the same time they are also not set against destroying any evidence of God in our society. If people are doing something for others in the name of God, it should not matter which denomination they fellowship with, as long as they are worshipping God in their service to others. It is those who have rejected God, and want to demolish any evidence of him from the public square who are against us. We need to see the truth of banning together as the Body of Christ rather than allowing this bigotry within to divide us and destroy us and the work of God. 

Childlike

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF JOHN

CHILDLIKE

Luke 9:46-48

46 An argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. 47 Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. 48 Then he said to them, "Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all — he is the greatest." 

NIV

Although Luke uses the word welcomes in reference to this child, Matthew records that Jesus told them unless they change and become like children they shall not see the kingdom of God. This agrees with the last portion of what Luke recorded in that the one who is the least is the greatest. Two truth here for us. First we note there was an argument among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. We can be pretty sure they had not yet really grasped the spiritual nature of the kingdom of God. It would surely seem they were thinking as Jews who were waiting for the Messiah to set up his earthy reign on earth, kicking out the Roman oppressors and having Israel once again at its glory. Because they were so close to him, chosen in fact by him, they surely must have thought they would be one of the principle players, the hierarchy of his kingdom. This kind of thinking is based on pride and ambition. This first of two lessons for us today is in the fact Jesus knew their hearts. It does not matter what we say, or how we seem to act, Jesus knows our thoughts. We can put up that façade for the rest of the church, or even the world, appearing to be Christ-like, or at least saying we are, but Jesus knows our thoughts. Are we filled with selfish ambition? Do we want to be in the leadership of the church? Do we think more of ourselves, as special because we are on the board, teach Sunday school, or some other position with a close relationship to the pastor? Do we want others to see us as spiritual giants, able to quote the scriptures? Do we want them to think we are so humble and obedient to Christ? Jesus knows our heart and thoughts, we might be able to fool some of the people, but we cannot fool Jesus.  So Jesus takes a child and tells them they must be like that, welcome that child, change to be like a child in respect to being in the kingdom. What did he mean? It would seem children for the most part are without pride, ambition and haughtiness. They are humble and teachable. The have complete trust in their parents and teachers. They believe what they are told, for the most part they do not question it. This is the second part of our lesson. We need to be like children in that respect, without pride, without ambition and haughtiness. We need to remain teachable throughout out whole life, always willing to learn more truth, hungering for more truth, eager to grow in the truth, but remaining humble before God and men. We need to trust our Father, believe what he tells us. It would seem if we allow ambition, even spiritual ambition to creep into our life, we border on the dangerous. What is the purpose for our doing anything, those good works in the kingdom? Should it not be for the benefit of our fellow believers, just as the fruit of the Spirit? All that we do, should be as a servant to others. Even if it is teaching, or preaching, writing books, or being on the board, or vacuuming the carpet, we should be doing it out of respect for others, serving them in some way, without any ambition, without any pride, without self-aggrandizement. We need to be like a child, then in fact according to Jesus we are one of the greatest of his children. It seems easy, but it may not be that easy to be childlike. 

Listen Carefully

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

LISTEN CAREFULLY

Luke 9:43-45

While everyone was marveling at all that Jesus did, he said to his disciples, 44 "Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men."  45 But they did not understand what this meant. It was hidden from them, so that they did not grasp it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.

NIV

Although it is true that people flock to see miracles, the words of Jesus have a greater meaning. Just as in the days Jesus walked among the people, today, people, especially if not exclusively, Christians flock to a meeting where someone claims to have the gift of healing, or miracles. Perhaps their gift is genuine but the point is people come in droves to see these great signs of God. Some of these individuals are not genuine, but still hordes of people crowd into auditoriums to marvel at the show. We too could focus our attention on all the true miracles of Jesus, living a life of always expecting to see miracles, focused on that portion of his ministry only. But it is his words which have such extreme content that we should be focused on them. Here he tells his disciples and us to listen carefully to what he is about to tell them and us. The original word Jesus used was to let it sink down into your ears. This implies to be very clear in want we hear, ponder deeply on what he is about to say. Do not overlook the significance of his words. Do not gloss over them, let them sink deep into our mind and heart. Of course in this particular case he was letting them know he would be betrayed into the hands of men. As a historical fact, we know that was true, but at the time, his disciples did not really have a handle on exactly what that might have meant, or the significance of it to their redemption or salvation. In hind sight we have full knowledge of this saying, but still we should take extreme care in rightly dividing the word of God, listening carefully to it, allowing the Spirit to guide us into the truth within. Although in most cases we should not always be about trying to find some esoteric meaning, but rather take the word of God for the plan and open truth it is, there are times when we need to ponder carefully with the guidance of the Spirit to find the significance of the truth for our lives. This truth Jesus spoke to them was in fact hidden from them, even though he told them to let his words sink into their ears. They did not understand but yet they were afraid to ask him to explain further. Here too lies a life lesson. When we are not sure about the truth of God, are we afraid to have it explained? Did they just pretend to understand what he meant? Do we just pretend to understand all the truth of God because as Christians we are supposed to? We need to study the word, search it out, ponder, pray and ponder more seeking the guidance of the Spirit so that we hear, and understand the truth within, being careful to not allow the thoughts of men to distract us from the voice of the Spirit. Listen carefully. 

The Truth

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE TRUTH

Luke 9:37-43

37 The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. 38 A man in the crowd called out, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. 39 A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. 40 I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not." 41 "O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here."  42 Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. 43 And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

NIV

Although we have another miracle, one where Jesus cast out a demon from a boy, there is a truth within these words of Jesus that we should focus on. When he called them an unbelieving and perverse generation he was in essence telling them they had turned their eyes from the truth. The original word translated perverse means to distort, misinterpret or corrupt. This is what the Jews had done to the Law of Moses. They had distorted it, misinterpreted it and corrupted it into something of their own making, rather then what God intended it for. He knew they could not keep the law and it was to show them they needed a Savior, the Messiah, who was Jesus. And with all the miracles he did in their presence and for them they still did not understand who he was. It was not being impatient with them, but rebuking them for being so entrenched in their perverted interpretation of the scriptures. Here is our life lesson. Are we guilty of perverting the scriptures, misinterpreting and corrupting the truth that God desires us to know and live by? Although Jesus was speaking to the Jews, not his own disciples this truth speaks to the church rather than to the unchurched. It would seem the unchurched would not even give any thought to the scriptures, but the church spends it energy in pursuit of the scriptures. Yet with so many differing opinions based on denominational bias or on the position of one of two man who lived years ago, it would seem some of the church is guilty of being a perverse generation. Although we all believe in Jesus so that we are not in that unbelieving category, there certainly is evidence enough to say some of us have misinterpreted and corrupted the truth.  So who is right, or are any of us right? Are we missing something? It would seem the appropriate course of action is to reject all opinions of men and simply allow the Spirit of God to lead us into all truth. That is not to say no man has the truth as some may have the right truth as they are led by the Spirit, but when we are forming and basing our faith on the words and opinions of other men, we may be in trouble of engaging in this perversion of the truth. The point is we have the scripture and we have the Spirit. What more do we need? Only to hear the truth. 

Listen

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

LISTEN

Luke 9:34-36

34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.

NIV

Peter was in the process of trying to convince Jesus they should make three shelters for Moses, Elijah and Jesus when this cloud appeared and enveloped them. Just out of the blue, from nowhere this cloud appears. It certainly must have been like a heavy fog, but something even more as this cloud brought fear in the hearts of Peter, James and John.  Surely they had been in fog before in their boats during their nightly fishing times. But this was something like they had never seen or been in before to make them afraid. This was the presence of God the Father within that cloud and they must have sensed that presence even without knowing it was him. The Father could not allow those men to see him, or they would not survive the experience. It was the Father who spoke to Peter, correcting him, giving him instruction. Do not make shelters, do not start thinking how you are going to do something, instead listen to my Son. If there was any doubt before they could not have any now. They had heard the voice of God telling them that Jesus was his Son. What an experience these three must have had. Seeing the radiance of Jesus along with Moses and Elijah and then hearing God tell them Jesus was his Son and they should listen to him. But they kept it to themselves at that time, but obviously they shared this experience with the others. What do we learn from all this? What is our life lesson? It would seem that if we start thinking in the natural as to how we should be spiritual, that is making a shelter for Jesus, so to speak, God will correct us and tell us to listen to his Son. It is possible that we humans plan how we are to be Christians. We establish a statement of our faith, what we believe, what scriptures we decide to use as the basis for our beliefs. We create new denominations so we can be different from those we think are wrong in their chose of scriptures to base their faith on. We have kept up that process until we have so many differing denominational beliefs it is difficult to know who is correct and who is not. But the point is we cannot make our shelters for Jesus, we must simply listen to him. Jesus is not a denomination and cannot be held or sheltered by the hands of man. Man must hear the words of Jesus, man must hear the word of God. Jesus is the word of God, the scriptures, all of them are the word of God, each and every scripture is God breathed and therefore we must listen to the word, to Jesus. We cannot dismiss any of what the word says, we cannot discount any of the scripture. We cannot declare that some of it was just for then, but not for now. That is making a shelter by our hands for God. God is telling us to listen to his Son. We need to listen more and believe.

Glorious Day

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

GLORIOUS DAY

Luke 9:28-33

28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters — one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.)

NIV

Here we have two evidences of the truth for a life lesson. First it is evidence of the divine nature of Jesus. Here we see that his face changed from the natural face of a man, to the brilliant face of God. Only God can make that kind of change. The second truth is in the everlasting life. Both Moses and Elijah returned from heaven to earth to speak with Jesus about his departure from earth and thus his return to heaven. Moses and Elijah were in a glorified condition, full of all splendor. Proof of what the condition of man will be like in heaven. If this does not lift our spirits, what will? We have the witness of three men who actually were there to see this event. Of course Peter being Peter, even after being revealed by God that Jesus was the Christ, the long awaited Messiah, he still was thinking like a man. He did not see the evidence of life after death. He did not understand the meaning of the glorious appearance of Moses and Elijah. He wanted to build some kind of human made structure for each of them. Here is another truth. We men cannot build anything which could contain Jesus, or for that matter anything or anyone of the kingdom of God. We should know we cannot contain the kingdom here in manmade anything, but that which God made, us, we can have the Spirit dwell within us. There is here on earth and there is there in heaven. Yes the kingdom of God is here, but that is in the sense that we are now citizens in the kingdom, but foreigners to this earth. We live here in the human condition, but that is only a temporary moment in time. One day we will be as Moses and Elijah, standing in glorious splendor speaking to Jesus about his departure, but we will be doing it in heaven, or perhaps rather on the new earth, in the new city where everyone who acknowledged Jesus as their Lord and Savior will live eternally in glorious splendor along with Moses, Elijah and all the other souls who preceded us in this step from earth to heaven. What a day that will be when our Jesus will we see, with his face shining all full of glory. One day he will take us by the hand and lead us to the promised land, oh what a day, glorious day that will be. 

Being

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

BEING

Luke 9:21-27

21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life."  23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." 

NIV

We could have separated these two sayings of Jesus and focus on the fact he told his disciples the plan for his death and life, but that is also history. It was as he said it would be and that has had a profound impact in the lives of many people including us. The life lesson we learn from that is to know it happened as he said. But he continued with words that are more difficult to incorporate into our life. What does it mean to deny ourselves and take up our cross? Certainly we have to admit that before knowing Jesus we spent all our time in pursuit of self-satisfaction, doing everything for the benefit of our own gain in one way or another. When we decide to follow Jesus we need to do it with a sincere heart. This means we need to put aside those selfish pursuits as well as self-dependence. We are no longer our own person, but we belong to Jesus, his bond servant, which also includes being his friend, his co-heir, now being a member of the family of God. If people remain in the state of self-pursuit, Jesus tells us they will lose their life, as if we remain as the world lives, we too will lose our life, that meaning eternal life. But if we follow Jesus, putting aside that self-pursuit, that wanting what we want and wanting it now and doing whatever it takes to get it attitude, we will gain eternal life. Jesus tells us that it does not matter how much of the world’s wealth and pleasures we gain, if we are not his follower, we lose. There is also another truth here in that Jesus tells us not to be ashamed of him. Certainly we say “Praise the Lord” in church, but what about in the presence of the world? Although we might tell some we are Christians, or that we go to church, do we tell them we are born again believers in Jesus? Do we tell them that Jesus baptized us with the Holy Spirit and he lives within us? How bold are we when it comes to Jesus? Maybe if we have a tendency to hang back, to keep our faith quiet, it is a form of being ashamed of him.  The consequences of being ashamed of him and his words are too devastating to image. It is far better to suffer the consequences of trouble with the world by boldly proclaiming the truth about Jesus and his words then to be friends with the world by our silence. Let the world call us crazy, let them call us preacher, let them call us any name but friend. That is not to say we should not befriend them in order to tell them about the kingdom of God. But we should not be like them, living in pursuit of self whatever, we cannot be like them, yet we do need to love them. True loving them would mean we do not want them to die in their sin, in their self-pursuit and lose their life. True love, being a true follower of Christ would mean we need to tell them about Jesus, and how they can gain eternal life. Being a follower of Jesus is not just all about us, but it is about being what Jesus is to the world. 

The Christ

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE CHRIST

Luke 9:18-20

18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"  19 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." 20 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God."

NIV

Are we really to believe Jesus did not know what the crowds thought of him? Are we really to believe his disciples did not try to correct the crowds when they were saying such things about Jesus? Wouldn’t they have told the crowds that he was not John the Baptist or that he was not Elijah or for that matter some prophet from long ago? Why would they not have told the people that this is Jesus of Nazareth? Surely Jesus knew what the crowds were saying and this was simply a moment to see if his disciples had discovered the truth about him, although he also knew their hearts. So he asks, and we have to see this as giving them the opportunity to acknowledge who he is. It seems Peter is the vocal one, or at least he is the only one who is recorded as speaking up. It has been revealed to Peter by the Spirit, although he has not been given yet, that Jesus is the Christ of God. Some manuscripts use the word Messiah of God, but the Greek text uses the word Christos which is to mean anointed. You are the anointed one of God, which is the Messiah, the Christ. Although Peter was chosen by Jesus to be one of his disciples, Peter did not have the knowledge of who Jesus was until it was revealed to him by the Spirit. Still Jesus uses this moment so that Peter and we have to believe the rest of his disciples acknowledged that he was the Christ. They might have thought he could be. They might have murmured among themselves that he could be the Christ, the Messiah, but we are not told of their personal discussions with one another. But we are told that at this time, Peter makes the statement that he believes Jesus is the Christ. We can see this same situation today. We have many people who know about Jesus, but do not know who he really is. It is the Spirit who reveals who Jesus is, and unless we hear the voice of the Spirit we cannot know the true identity of Jesus. Man can investigate, look into history, read the scriptures, as must have many Jews, looking for the signs that would mean the long awaited Messiah had come, but unless they hear that still small voice of the Spirit they cannot know Jesus as Peter did, and as we who have heard that voice. Peter was not a Jewish Scholar, or a teacher of the law, he was a simple fisherman, yet still a Jew who attended synagogue and heard the scriptures read. Yet with all the knowledge of the scriptures and the prophets being read, Peter had not known who Jesus was until he was revealed to him by the Spirit. Matthew's account says that Peter said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” And Jesus told him that truth “…was not revealed to you by men, but by my Father in heaven.”  This truth holds true today, it is only by the Father in heaven, the Spirit of God we may know the true identify of Jesus. Praise God we heard his voice and we have acknowledged that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God and as such we have been born again, a new creature in Christ, and have everlasting life. 

Welcome

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

WELCOME

Luke 9:10-17

10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing. 12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here." 13 He replied, "You give them something to eat." They answered, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish — unless we go and buy food for all this crowd." 14(About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each."  15 The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

NIV

We certainly could focus on the miracle of feeding the five thousand men. We should also note that it was only the men that were counted, but we can be sure there were women and perhaps even children in this crowd that had learned about him being there. But instead of looking into this miracle itself we should first take notice that Jesus withdrew with his disciples to a lonely quite place. We could suppose he wanted to spend some alone time with them, perhaps to teach them more truths, to hear more about their travels, to fellowship with just them and pray together. But his plans were invaded by thousands of people. He could have sent them away or he could have tried to get further away from them, but he welcomed them, spoke to them about the kingdom and healed all those who needed healing. Here is our life lesson. We might make our plans, have something specific we want to do, but sometimes people may have some expectations from us and invade our plans. How we respond to this type of invasion is up to us, but we have the example of Jesus as our guide. He welcomed them, and we should also have that same attitude, even if those who interrupt our plans also want something from us. We have to assume all these people who found out Jesus was there came to him because they wanted to hear what he had to say, or wanted a healing, or to see a miracle. So when we have our plans and along comes someone or even a couple of people looking for something from us, we need to welcome them, making them feel welcomed, as if we were looking forward to seeing them and doing for them whatever is needed. It certainly coincides with the rest of the teachings of Jesus. Love your neighbor as yourself. Consider others before yourself and all the other scriptures which deal with that same sort of attitude. Welcome. 

Seeing Jesus

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

SEEING JESUS

Luke 9:7-9

7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, 8 others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. 9 But Herod said, "I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?" And he tried to see him.

NIV

So this Herod was the one who put John the Baptist to death by having him beheaded because of lust for his current wife’s daughter, along with such a sinful life which John spoke the truth about. It seems as though Herod had not heard of Jesus before until the time of this narrative. Being one of the sons of Herod the great, he ruled over but a forth of Israel and with his lavish and isolated lifestyle it is unlikely he concerned himself with the goings on of the common people. He may also have been on an extended travel to his winter, or summer palace and just now returned to the home palace, the place where he behead John. It certainly appears upon hearing about all the events about Jesus, and not knowing who Jesus was, his guilty conscience must have convinced him it was John back from the dead to torment him more. Some of his advisors did not have that guilty conscience, but saw this Jesus as perhaps one of the other prophets of old returned. None of them even considered he could be the long awaited Messiah. But we are told that Herod tried to see him. The Greek word here means to seek to see, to inquire about, and to find out about who this is. It does not imply the Herod wanted to have an audience with Jesus, but wanted to know who he was, if he was actually John back from the dead. So what do we learn here? Men might seek to discover who Jesus is, but that does not mean they wish to worship him. Sin can have such a grip on our lives that we are not willing to acknowledge who Jesus is, but what to simply prove who he is not. It seems this is the way of the world today. They want to prove who Jesus is not, rather than seek him for who he is, so to worship him. There is a sense in this Greek word that it can carry the meaning to seek to worship, or seek to destroy. This may have been the intent of Herod and it may be the intent of many today. But we know who Jesus is, and as the Spirit convicted us of our sin, we did not hide from it, nor try to dismiss it, nor endeavored to attempt to destroy or discredit Jesus as someone he is not. This is a lesson we need to be forever in our hearts and minds, as we live in a human condition which is still subject to sin. We need to always be seeking Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We need to always know he is our Savior, our redeemer, our sacrifice, the one and only sacrifice needed for the forgiveness of our sin. Herod did not, and the world today does not see Jesus for who he is, but praise God we do. We are seeing Jesus. 

Go Tell

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

GO TELL

Luke 9:1-6

9:1 When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 He told them: "Take nothing for the journey — no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. 4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. 5 If people do not welcome you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave their town, as a testimony against them."  6 So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.

NIV

This is certainly just a record of what took place between Jesus and the twelve and apparently has little to do with us. It would seem we are not to identify with these twelve in any sense, such as, going on a journey without any supplies to preach the gospel with the power to drive out demons and cure diseases. So what can we learn here for our life lesson? How long were they gone? How many towns did their visit? Were they fed and housed by the owner of the house who invited them in? How did they live? Nothing is said about any of that, expect they set out as Jesus told them to, without any provisions. Perhaps this could only apply to missionaries as they are sent out to preach the kingdom of God, but they usually do not have the power to drive our demons and cure diseases and certainly not without provisions,  so we are back to just the twelve. Maybe this is a lesson in just doing what Jesus told them to do. A lesson in believing God will provide without us helping him. They had no idea where they  would sleep, no extra tunic for those cold nights, where they would eat, no food taken, no staff for defense, or hunting, nothing, just the clothes in their backs. They would have to depend on God for all their provisions, hospitality of strangers would be their provisions. As we do not know what towns they visited or how long they stayed in each or if they knew anyone in any of these towns. We are still left with believing God will provide even when we have nothing of our own, without us helping him. But then have we been told to go into every town and preach about the kingdom of God? It seems we have because Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation”. We certainly have accepted those words, but it seems we only do that through paying missionaries to do that. Maybe we just need to see this as a twofold lesson about, first doing what Jesus tells us, and second believing God will provide for us. However that looks may be different for each of us. But the end result should always look like more people hearing about the kingdom of God. Some will accept it and some will not, and if they reject it, shake the dust off our feet and move on to the next person. We cannot hammer the kingdom into their hearts and minds, all we can do is tell them about it and maybe, just maybe if we are telling we might just also get some power as well. But the idea here is to go tell.