Bearing fruit or else

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

BEARING FRUIT

Luke 13:6-9

6 Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' 8 "'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'" 

NIV

This is easy enough to see the spiritual content which Jesus is illustrating. God being the man with the fig tree and vineyard. The tree is the Jewish people who he planted in Judea. He expected them to accept the way he had prepared for them but they did not for three years. This is the first three years of Jesus public ministry. So Jesus, as always is asking for another year, which is in fact the total of his time in public ministry before his crucifixion. Jesus will always make intercession for sinners. But the day is coming the axe will be at the root of the tree and it will be cut off and thrown into the fire with all other transgressors. It is also easy to see the life lesson here as this truth will also be applied today. If we consider all the rest of scripture we have to conclude all of mankind is in some sense the fig tree. Jesus has come to the earth to care for all mankind, not just a few of us. He died for all, but some of the trees, people have not produced the fruit needed for eternal life. They in fact have no fruit, but Jesus is interceding on all mankind’s behave, asking the Father to hold back the axe just a little longer. Jesus sent the Spirit to convict men of their need to repent, to accept what Jesus did for them. But time will run out and someday they will be cut down. We also could apply this to us who believe, at least in some sense. We could see that we are the trees planted by God in his kingdom through our believing in Christ. We need to bear the fruit God expects us to bear. We could use the fruit of the Spirit as that fruit we should bear, but we also could use many other aspects of Christian living. Are we doing want he expects of us? Are we sharing our faith? Are we influencing others for Jesus? Are we involved in the word, learning more about how we should live? Are we encouraging each other? Are we serving each other? There are so many aspects of Christian living that we should be growing in which could be seen as bearing fruit. Do we have our roots in the word of God, rather than in the world? We could see the parable of the seed on the four types of ground applied here as well. It all ties together. The point is God expects us to bear fruit. God expects us to be what he intended us to be. We are not our own, but belong to God, planted in his vineyard, for his purpose. The vineyard, the tree, the fruit all belong to the man, God. Everything is his. So we need to bear fruit.

Repent

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

REPENT 

Luke 13:1-5

13:1 Now there were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. 2 Jesus answered, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish. 4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them — do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish." 

NIV

It is unclear exactly what these men were referring to because those events are not recorded in the scriptures, but something similar is recorded by Josephus. Never the less the point here is these men were pointing out how others had suffered at the hand of fate, perhaps, and Jesus did not save them or do anything about it. Jesus comments that all these who Pilate killed while they were doing sacrifices weren’t any worse they all the other Galileans, who were known to be a very seditious group against the authority of Rome. The other people Jesus mentions here were people who felt overly compelled to obey every aspect of the law. What Jesus was saying was it does not matter how a man perishes or for what reason because all men are going to perish including them unless they repent. This is the life lesson all mankind needs to hear, and especially any of us who hope to gain eternal life by any other method other than faith in Jesus. Good deeds alone will cause us to perish. Attending church alone will cause us to perish. Abiding by all the rules and regulations alone will cause us to perish. Being religious will not save us from perishing either. Repenting will save us from perishing. This repenting Jesus is talking about is leaving the life of sin behind and accepting him as our Savior. He is the one who can keep us from perishing and it is he alone. Nothing we can do will save us except to repent. This does mean that once we have repented will we stay repented. That is to say we will not simply repent or confess our sin, accept Jesus as our sacrifice for our sin and then just go on living as we please. The word Jesus uses that is translated repent means to think differently or change one’s mind. Our whole thought process has to change. Instead of considering how we are going to do, we now have to consider how God is going to do. Instead of looking to our own self for whatever, we now have to look to God. We cannot save ourselves, only God can, but that is not the only thing we have to think differently about. We have to change the way we think when we accept Jesus as our Savior. All the scriptures point to the way we should think. Trust in God not self. Give instead of hoard. Love instead of hate. The list is rather long, but the idea is the same. Once we lived focused on self, thinking how we could advance our own life. Now we need to focus on God, and how can we advance his kingdom. Repenting or changing our mind about everything we ever thought requires knowing what God desires us to think and that can only be done through the scriptures and without any preconceived notions about what the scriptures say. We need to approach them open to the Spirit so he can lead us into all the truth which is within them. Then our minds will be changed not only about accepting Jesus, but about how we are to truly live in the kingdom. Repent or perish!

Peace

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

PEACE

Luke 12:57-59

57 "Why don't you judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled to him on the way, or he may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny." 

NIV

Jesus had turned his attention from his teaching his disciples certain truths to the crowd and was speaking to them. He had just finished telling them how they could discern or forecast the weather but could not forecast the time they were in, that being the time of the Messiah, him. Now it seems he begins to interfere in their social life and about their disputes with one another. That is simply not the case as Jesus is always concerned about the eternal matters and their souls. Although some scholars reject this idea completely, it seems appropriate to consider that our sin had made God our adversary. Our sin has provoked his displeasure with us. He has both right and might on his side and it would seem useless to battle with him in any way. We know that Christ has been given all authority of judgement and he is the magistrate before we must go. If we try to take our stand or make our defense trying to justify ourselves, the case will surely go against us and we will be thrown into jail, hell as it were, but as we can see that will not be forever. We will not get out until we have paid the last penny, which is death, spiritual death in the lake of burner sulfur, for that is where hell is also thrown. This seems to make sense within the context of his entire message to the people. He was showing them their hypocrisy and the cost it would be to continue in that path. We know that as we accept his message and understand we have no case of our own and that we have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. We are no longer his, or is he our adversary, as we are now his children through Jesus Christ. We have been justified on the cross with Jesus. When we return to any attempt to live by rules and regulations established by men are we making some effort to justify ourselves, by righteous behavior? Do we think we are better than simply being sinners saved by grace? By our attempts at righteous behavior have we once again become an adversary of God? Should we not judge for ourselves what is right? Should we not judge that we need to be at peace with God and the only way to do that is through Jesus? Nothing we can every do, no matter how righteous we try to be, no matter how good we think we can be, nothing will give us any reason to be justified. Only Jesus can do that. Of course we should not continue to sin so that God’s grace can abound. Yet it is impossible not to sin, so that which Paul argues is about continuing to live in sin, going about doing whatever we please as if had refused salvation, or before we had accepted Jesus. But the point is still the same. We cannot justify ourselves in any way, buy any behavior. We need to make peace with God, and it is only through Jesus that we can do that. We should say it another way. The only way God makes peace with us is through Jesus. The only way we can have true peace is in Christ.  

The Times

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE TIMES

Luke 12:54-56

54 He said to the crowd: "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain,' and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot,' and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?

NIV

It was certain that most Jews were well versed in the sacred writings especially those of the prophets. They were read from every Sabbath in the synagogue. Here Jesus is challenging them about the fact they can forecast the weather but they cannot see it is him the prophets forecasted about. It seems like mankind, for the most part, spends all their energy on human intelligence regarding the things of the world. Today we have great minds engrossed in what they think is science. This science which they believe in opposed to God. The whole case of evolution vs creation is largely due to man refusing to accept God because they would then have to admit their wickedness. The Jews were content to live according to what they thought was religious or righteous, but actually they were refusing the truth of the scriptures because they could not accept Jesus as the Anointed One, the Messiah. The truth is that God created science or at least science is only man discovering what God created. Man has learned in our times, not only about this earth, but also so much about our entire solar system and the universe beyond, yet they cannot see the truth contained in the scriptures. In fact many rebut the scriptures because they say they were written by man, yet they publish works they want people to believe is true. Man in his attempt to lift himself up, tears down anything that has to do with God, especially Jesus being God in the flesh. Although it is fine to discover all that we can, learn about as much as we are able to, it should not be at the loss of believing the divine truth. There is nothing wrong with having human intelligence as long as it does not sacrifice Godly wisdom. That old saying many use, “God gave us a brain” surely has been applied by those to oppose his truth, but actually the reason he gave us a brain was so we could find him and understand his truths. If all the “smart” people of this world could only see the truth of God, we might have a revival of epic proportions. They would be all over it, proving his existence through the power of what they believe is science. But the fact is they are an adulteress generation, much like the Jews of Jesus’s time on earth. Instead of being in a relationship with God, they are committing adultery with their own humanness. We cannot allow their thinking to be any part of our being. Because we believe God, we have to divorce ourselves from any part of their lives. Yes we still need to live among them, so we can speak the words of God to them, in hopes some will see the truth by hearing or sensing the work of the Holy Spirit in them. But we cannot adopt their philosophies, ideologies or even doctrines. We can only live as we understand the truth of God as revealed to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are in an intimate relationship with our Lord Jesus. He is our bridegroom and we are his bride. There can be no relationships outside this marriage. We know and have the truth, we have the power to interpret the times. Jesus is coming back for us. 

A Chasm

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

A CHASM

Luke 12:49-53

49 "I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

NIV

What did Jesus mean when he said he came to bring fire on the earth and he wished it was already kindled? Was he speaking of the fire the Spirit brings within a person that burns for Jesus? This may well be the intent within the context. Jesus knew this baptism was the cross and once he died and was risen from the grave and ultimately ascended back into heaven, the earth would not be in peace. This peace was shalom peace the Jews thought the Messiah would bring to them. They thought the Messiah would free them from all oppressors, such as the current Roman Empire, and bring them into a peaceful living nation under his rule. But Jesus knew otherwise. He knew that because of what he taught and that some would understand the truth of the gospel message and accept him as they Savior while others would oppose that truth and rather adhere to the Law instead. There would be a chasm within families because of the gospel message. Fathers would teach their sons the ways of the world, but the son having accepted Jesus would be at odds with his father’s instructions. All these examples bear the same kind of comparison. The truth is this still happens today. Some families are at odds with one another because of Jesus. It is sad, but that is the way it has to be if some of the family does not accept Jesus as their Savior. If there are people within the family that refuse to accept Jesus and desire the ways of the world instead then there is going to be division. It is difficult to understand that if a family loves each other they would not all be in agreement. But such is the case. Sister against brother, mother against daughter or daughter against mother. Children rebel against Godly instructions from their parents for the lure of the world is so great and they must live their own lives. Siblings will be divided because one sees the truth and the other sees the world. There is not much we can do about it either. We cannot force anyone to accept Jesus. We can tell them about him, we can live in him and him in us, thus showing them the love of Christ, but we cannot put Jesus into them. It is only the Spirit who can convict people of their need to repent and accept Jesus. When they refuse the Spirit, when they deny the Spirit, which is in essence blasphemy, they are lost and at odds with those who are believers. There is no real peace, real Shalom between believers and unbelievers. What does righteousness have in common with unrighteousness? What fellowship is their between light and darkness? What does God and idols have in common? There is going to be strive not harmony within a family when some believe and some do not. The truth is those of us who believe cannot allow their disbelief to infiltrate our thinking in order to create harmony. We need to stand our ground even within the most intimate of family ties. It is sad to watch family wander into the world when they have the opportunity to see the truth. But that is the way it has always been and that is the way it will continue to be. We can only live as Christ or rather Christ living as us. We can only be a believer and love them as Christ loves us. Yet there is going to be a division a chasm which exists. We cannot bridge it, but Jesus can. 

ADDENDUM:

We need to discuss for a moment this distress of Jesus regarding the the baptism he must go through until it is accomplished. Jesus was not distressed as we understand the word distressed but the Greek word means to be held or hold onto, or held fast as a prisoner. Jesus was a prisoner of sorts in the body which was subject to pain, suffering, and even death. Once he was risen from the grave he was in the glorified state, and could actually walk through walls, and ascend into the heavens. This is the same sense in which we are distressed, held prisoner in our bodies. We are not the body, but we are spirit and we are held fast in the body, subject to pain, suffering, sin and even death. This body is corruptible but we will put on the incorruptible at some point, but until then we are held fast in this body. It will never gain perfection, and so we, like Jesus, are distressed, held fast, until we leave it to be with Jesus forever.  

Improvement Needed

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

IMPROVEMENT NEEDED

Luke 12:47-48

47 "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. 48 But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

NIV

This is certainly a difficult statement as it infers God punishes his children. But there is more here than might first meets the eye. We know what the Master wants. We know that God desires above all else that all should come to the saving knowledge of his Son Jesus Christ and that none should perish. We know God wants us to accept his Son and be saved. We also know that because what may be known about God is plain through his creation and so all men are without excuse. What Jesus is saying here is that when we have the opportunity to know God and refuse to do so it is a crime deserving of great punishment, hell and ultimately the lake of burning sulfur. However Jesus also makes the point that some of us have had great opportunities while others may have only little opportunities to accept Jesus. Some people have grown up in Christian homes and lived among the enlightened, having many versions of the bible available to them. That even as children they attended Sunday school or children’s church but as they grew they left Christ behind for the things of the world. Having the ability to have great knowledge about Jesus Christ and salvation yet deserting him for a life of self-pleasure indulging in the ways of the world will bring greater punishment then those who may not ever heard the gospel at all. Although those who have never heard the gospel are still without excuse because God has given them enough information in his creation for them to find him. Jesus is really talking about the Jews here, specifically the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. They have all the knowledge of the scriptures but refuse to see all the scripture points to Jesus. Their punishment will be grave. We must ensure that as we learn more and more about Jesus Christ and the way in which God desires us to live, that we continue to improve. Certainly we are not like the Pharisees in that we know the laws of God, but we also have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and we strive to obey all the rules and regulations of the scripture. But are we truly improving or have we hit our stride and just plot along within some denominational guidelines. With all the knowledge we learn, we all the study of scripture and supposed listening to the Spirit have we just settled in, instead of continuing to grow, to improve? If we have replaced Jesus with religion then perhaps we are like the Pharisees and are deserving this punishment. But if we are not like the Pharisees, if we have maintained our trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation, and are keeping our faith and trust completely in him, even to the point of improving in our faith and trust, growing, learning more and more each day to look to Jesus for everything, then we have no need to be concerned about any form of punishment at all. Will we fail? Yes. Will we fall short and commit some form of sin? As certain as the sun raises in the East and sets in the West. But this sin is to be human and that is what Jesus died for and as we ask forgiveness we are forgiven and shall not receive punishment for it. But if we leave what we know to live in sin, woe to us.  We can never leave Jesus, for without him we are truly lost. There can be no leaving, but there also should be more improving. 

Appointed

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

APPOINTED

Luke 12:41-46

41 Peter asked, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?" 42 The Lord answered, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? 43 It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44 I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45 But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

NIV

After Jesus told them and us to be dressed and our lamps burning, being ready for his return, Peter wants to know if that lesson was for the whole crowd or just for the twelve disciples. In response to his question Jesus goes on with another parable. We would have to assume he was telling Peter that was for everyone, but this is for you twelve who became the forefathers of the church in a sense, knowing that Jesus built the church which is the only way the gates of hell could not prevail against it. But he is talking about those who are ministers of Christ, whom the twelve would be after he was gone. This parable could also apply to any of us in the sense we are all ministers of Christ in some way. But it might specifically apply to those who are in full time ministry, those who have been called to be spiritual leaders of others. What Jesus was telling them first of all was that no man can appoint himself a servant, or minister to others, he is appointed by the master, Jesus in this case. Here is the difference of what our generation has evolved into. We have developed a highly technical method to become a minister of Christ. We need to attend a denominational institute of higher learning, earn a degree and then sign an agreement with their statement of faith in order to be considered worthy to apply for a position of pastor in some church. It is mostly about being appointed by man, rather than by the Master. Jesus continues about how these must consider themselves, not as a master of the family of God, but as a servant to them. Servants do not live in abundance. Jesus, although he was the ultimate Master, lived as a servant, not in the abundance of things, not even having a place to lay his head. He served others wherever he went, healing them, feeding them, serving them with the bread of life, the word of God, giving them true nourishment that would bring them eternal life. This is how a true minister of Christ should be living. A true servant or minister of Christ needs to be extremely faithful and exact in fulfilling the commands of his Master, Jesus. Perhaps many have wandered from this sort of lifestyle, looking more to the financial matters of the church, limiting the commands of God, by the amount of current  money on hand and that which is projected to come in. A true minister of Christ leads his people in faith, believing God will provide for whatever he commands us to do. This is how we all need to live. Each of us has throughout our lives others who we are responsible for. All men are the spiritual leaders of their family and as such would be subject to all these same ideals of true servanthood. Woman who bear children bear many of the responsibilities of raising children would be prudent to see themselves also as servants, ministers of Christ to their children. Yet the main point that it appears Jesus is concerned about is the servant not being self-appointed, but appointed by Jesus and how that servant is to behave. We should all behave in such a manner, as we minister the word of God to others. If all we do is witness to others about how Jesus changed our lives, we are still ministers of Christ and should be subject to these ideas. However, if we more than witness, lead a class or bible study, teach Sunday school, or preach in any way, write books, or articles in periodicals or any other form of sharing thoughts about the word of God, we should pay special attention to, first have we been appointed by ourselves, or God. Then we should examine how we minister for Christ, how we behave, as a leader or as a servant of the Master. Self-examination is needed here. Are we appointed?

Dressed and Burning

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

DRESSED AND BURNING

Luke 12:35-41

35 "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." 

NIV

This is all about being ready for when Jesus comes for us. But this being ready encompasses more than just saying we are Christians, or followers of Christ. This being ready is being dressed for service and keeping our lamps burning. We cannot become lazy in our relationship with our Lord. We cannot simply say we are believers and then go about living as if we are part of the world, with the same goals and ambitions as those of the world have. We cannot make Jesus a part of our life, he has to be the reason for our life. Being dressed for service carries the meaning of looking like we are in the wedding party and keeping our lamps burning implies that we are actively participating in the wedding, as in fact the bride of Christ. He is the bridegroom which is the way Matthew records this same type of parable with the ten virgins waiting for the bridegroom and only five maintained their lamps burning. Do we allow the flame of Christ to burn out in our lives, by embracing too much of this world? Do we allow our lamp to become dim and almost extinguished because we pay more attention to the rules and regulations of denominational pressures? Are we letting our flame flicker and our clothes become tattered by accepting false teaching? Are we truly dressed for service and have a bright shining lamp, full of oil, if we are distracted by all the things we want? Jesus needs to be the center of our life, the whole reason for our existence. We need to be ever ready for his return and that means we cannot ever allow distractions of any kind to kindle within us. Even thoughts about wanting to live long enough to see this, or do that could be considered a distraction from our being dressed and ready for his return. Being ready is being ready, as in a race. The runners are at the starting line, the starter yells, “On your mark!”, at which point they take their place and with every fiber of their being, without any other thought then hearing and responding instantly to the sound of the starting gun. Although they know the sound of the gun will happen, they do not know the exact moment of its sound and thus they have to be posed, focused, ready to leap into action. The slightest distraction could cause a delay in reaction time and thus perhaps lose the race. This is how focused Jesus is telling us we need to be, waiting for his return. We have to be at the line, posed and ready for the sound of the trumpet, the moment Jesus will return for us. This is being dressed and burning. 

Treasures

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

TREASURES

Luke 12:32-34

32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

NIV

This is a hard saying of Jesus. Matthew records it a little differently in that Jesus said that not to store up treasures for ourselves on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal but to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. The point is the same, yet we also need to see this within the complete context of his whole dissertation to his disciples. It comes in context with the before mentioned rich foolish farmer who stored everything to spend on himself and he was not rich toward God. This farmer, had he said to himself, “I have so much, I am already rich and now I am even richer, I can share some of this with people in need” he would have been rich toward God and he would have lived a great life. Perhaps Jesus was telling his disciples they actually needed to rid themselves of all possession in order to be his disciples, but we see that after Jesus was buried, Peter went fishing and it can be assumed it was in his boat that was still sitting on shore where he left it. Men did not just use other men’s boats. We also have to assume these men had families which lived in some kind of house which again had to be owned by them. Some of them were professional fisherman, Luke was a doctor, who surely had an office and charged for his services. Others had some source of income and continued to live after Jesus was gone, without depending on others for their support, such as Paul did making tents. So it is not that Jesus intended his disciples to be poor and homeless by selling all their possessions, but rather not to be like that rich farmer and store everything up for their own pleasures only. This statement of Jesus would certainly have drastic effects on the church today if we all, including the pastor, and for that matter, the denomination itself, sold all thier possessions. The denomination could not have a building, the pastor could not have a home, we all would be homeless and poor as we sold everything and gave all the money to the poor who would then be rich and in turn would have to give it all away in order to follow Jesus. So within the context this means we need to make sure we are not storing up wealth for ourselves without being rich toward God, or giving of our wealth to help others who have little to nothing. Are we fulfilling this with our tithe and offering? That is a good question, but the answer may not be so good. Perhaps if our tithe and offering went to help the poor, rather than to support an enormous budget of salaries, building improvements or expansions, lighting, sound equipment, and the such, it would be fine. But because of all those church expenses it hardly seems much of what we give goes to the poor, except for those occasional special offerings for special projects that actually help the poor, rather than sending our children on a vacation/mission trip. So when it comes down to it, we need to be aware of the poor and be willing when the occasion presents itself to share from our abundance. We cannot be stingy or selfish with our wealth storing it up for our own use. This would surely imply investing for retirement, as the rich farmer had thought he was doing. We certainly need to live, but not be greedy, which again is in the context of the whole message Jesus is telling us. So we need to be able to see the need of others and give what we can. In doing so this makes our treasure, or what we consider of value, the kingdom of God. If we put our value in our saving accounts then that is where our hearts will be. But if we put value in our relationship with Jesus, our hearts will be there, and we will live accordingly, giving what and when we can to those who are presented to us with a need. How that actually looks is not easy, but if we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit we will know when and where and to who or what. It is all about treasures.

Seek and Find

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

SEEK AND FIND

Luke 12:27-31

27 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

NIV

Jesus just keeps on driving the same point home, this time using flowers and grass. He continues to keep up the theme that we should not worry about our lives. But this time he makes it a special point to show how the unbelievers, the pagans, the people who have not accepted him as their Lord and Savior live. These may be very nice people, even good people, but they are pagans because they do not know or love him and have eternal life. These people run after all such things. Those who do not know God run, which the Greek word means to search for intensively, to demand, to crave after the things of life, food and drink, clothes, meaning material things. We are not to set our heart on those things as God knows we need them and he will provide all of them for us but there is a catch. We have to seek his kingdom. This word seek means to look for until we find it, to seek after, seek for, aim at, or strive after. This implies we should set our hearts on the kingdom of God. That is our goal, which is the place we are striving to get to. Of course we ourselves cannot actually strive for it in the sense that we can do something, good deeds or actions in order to obtain or enter it. Our only seeking should be after Jesus, and then once we found him, accept him as our Lord and Savior, then we will have found this Kingdom of God. Jesus was telling them and us that we need to be searching intensively for him. He is the key to the kingdom. No one can enter except through him. If our heart is set on Jesus, following him and not the ways of the world, then God will make sure we have all that we need to survive in this world. Some would preach that because we are children of the King of kings, we should be living in absolute abundance, and so they run after the abundance of worldly things, missing the whole point. Jesus wants us to not only seek after him, but make him our number one priority as he is the only way we will ever see the kingdom of God. We need to make Jesus our lifestyle, the center of our existence. God will not allow us to neither starve nor go naked. He will provide and what he provides will be greater than even the splendor of Solomon, because it comes from the hand of God, rather than the hand of man. So it seems we can have both, eternal life as well as the things of the world we need to sustain our lives and those things are all good things because God gives them to us. God has not hidden it so that it is a game of hide and seek, but rather it is seek and find. 

Worry or Believe

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

WORRY OR BELIEVE

Luke 12:22-26

22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

NIV

Jesus just finished talking about the rich foolish farmer trying to store up his wealth for his retirement and now he begins a discourse on life and our value to God. He is not done as he has more to say which will include his concluding statement, but we should stop here for a moment and ponder on this first point. His concern for us is that we should not worry about our life. That is we should not be so focused on how we are going to live, what we are going to eat and wear which in essence is about gathering wealth. As he just finished with the wealth and the farmer, he is carrying that same concept into our daily lives. Because he is using the ravens not sowing or reaping or having any storerooms or barns, he is making that same point about trusting in God instead of money. But he also adds how valuable we are to God as well as that fact we should not worry, which of course accomplishes absolutely nothing. If we trust in God, then we would not worry. Worry translates into not trusting God and that translates into disbelief. If we worry about our life, or how much or little money we have than we do not believe God. This is a transcultural truth which transcends all moments in time and every country. The fact is that the medical profession has determined that worry, stress or anxiety can actually cause physical illness, it can do harm to our body. Now if our body belongs to God and harm it because of disbelief, have we endangered ourselves even more? We could also see this in light of not being concerned about what type of food or clothing we eat or wear, but that does not fit within the context of the whole of Jesus’s teaching. The point here is that we have great value to God and if he cares for all the needs of the ravens, then he will care for all our needs. We need to remain believing God at all times, no matter what our circumstances are. It comes down to worry or believe. Jesus also tells us that if we cannot by worrying add a single hour to our life, or as some manuscripts have, a single inch to our height, then why worry about the rest? We have value to God. He puts so much value in us that he sent his only Son to die on a cross in our place, so we could be forgiven. He satisfied his own need for justice with the death of his Son for us. That is because we are so valuable to God. So once again, the choice is ours, worry or believe.

Greed

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

GREED

Luke 12:13-21

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." 14 Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?"  15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."  16 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' 18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '  20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." 

NIV

What else can we say about this truth that we have not already written chapters about? Greed, it is a horrible way to die a slow agonizing death while still being alive. Greed robs us of all joy, it steals our heart from God. We have been told by God that we cannot serve two masters, we will either hate the one and love the other, or we will be devoted to one and despise the other, that we cannot serve both God and money. Greed’s most common subject is money, but it is not exclusive to just money. Yet all things in this world which pose a temptation to possess require the greed for money in order to obtain them. Most lusts are provided by greed. Jesus is specific about the greed for money in this parable and thus we need to ensure we have not been entrapped by its evil lure. Although we do need money to buy goods and pay our own way in this social setting, not being dependent on other people, we should not make the accumulation of wealth our main focus. It is not that we should not have wealth, as Jesus was merely saying that if we focus on the accumulation of wealth and are not rich toward God, that is give of our wealth instead of be selfish with it, we are in grave danger, pun intended. Greed is rooted in the love of money and that is the root of all that is evil. So how do we deal with our needs? The answer to that is seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and God will add all the stuff, the needs in our life. We have to depend on God, we cannot even depend on our own self. Either we trust him or we don’t, it is that simply. We might think we have all the solutions to all our money issues, but in reality all we have is the feeble thoughts of man when there is the divine thoughts of God. We need to seek God and God alone. He will take care of the rest. That is in fact truly being rich toward him. We have to be on guard against all forms of greed. 

The Spirit

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE SPIRIT

Luke 12:11-12

11 "When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say." 

NIV

Is this to replace education? Does the Holy Spirit give us insight into what to say without our having knowledge of the word of God? Can we defend our faith without going to some denominational institution of higher learning? Have we replaced the influence of the Holy Spirit with education? Do we put more emphasis on education then on the power of the Holy Spirit in regards to defending our faith, as well as any other aspect of Christian living? Perhaps it is the education which gives us the rules and regulations like the Pharisees and the teachers of the law tried to live by. Maybe it is the education which gives us the lists of do’s and don’ts to check off each day. Can the Holy Spirit give us words if we have never read any of the scripture? Have we put limits on the power of the Holy Spirit by believing we must first know the scriptures in order for him to remind us of them, or inspire our words? Have we replaced the power of the Holy Spirit with the power of our own mind? Do we lift up those who appear to be so intelligent regarding God’s word because they have all the degrees, but maybe have little to no relationship with the Holy Spirit? Have we been sucked into this kind of thinking? Jesus tells his disciples they should not worry what words they need when defending their faith in front of unbelievers. The Holy Spirit will teach them at that time what they should say. The key here is, at that time. We cannot prepare all our words in advance. We cannot prepare what we are going to say, rehearse it, memorize it, because then it would be our words and not word taught to us by the Holy Spirit. We cannot even sit down with him weeks in advance and try to get inspired as to what we should say at that time. It would appear all we really need to do is to wait for that time and then hear the words the Holy Spirit inspires us to speak. Talk about walking in the Spirit, this is it full out. Does this also apply to other aspects of words, like sermons, or books, or even these devotional writings? Certainly preachers spend an enormous amount of time in preparation for their sermons, with notes or even a complete text to sort of read. Certainly some authors spend hours, even days or weeks in research preparing the information they are going to write about. Does all that negate the power or influence of the Holy Spirit in their words? These are tough questions, but at the same time we should be aware of the power of the Holy Spirit and that he can and will give us the right words at the right time, even without any preparation of our own. It would make sense, at least in the mind of man that we should have, at minimum, read the scripture once. Then the Holy Spirit could bring it back to our mind so we could say the right words at the right time. But Jesus did not include that requirement as he simply told them and us to rely completely on the Holy Spirit. Certainly the Spirit knows all the words and then some. With his power he can teach us words we have never seen or heard before. This is living in the Spirit. This is real faith, this is the Spirit.   

In Agreement

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

IN AGREEMENT

Luke 12:8-10

8 "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. 9 But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

NIV

Two great truths here which we need to explore. There is no question about this idea of whoever acknowledges Jesus before men that he will acknowledge us before the angels of God. There is also no question about the fact that those who do not acknowledge Jesus before men, or disown him will be disowned before the angels of God. But there is a consensus among some religious people and even some unreligious people that if God is a God of love then all people get to go to heaven, expect of course the most vial of evil men, like Hitler or John Wayne Gacy or the like. But the truth is a person has to acknowledge they have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior that he died on the cross for them, for their sin. They have to confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that God raised him from the grave. The fact is all people do not get to go to heaven, even some who claim they did righteous acts in his name. This word acknowledge is translated from the Greek word Homologeo which simply means, man word, or say the same thing, agree with, concede. This then comes down to much more than being religious or saying we are Christians.  It is saying we agree with everything Jesus said. It is saying we believe every word of the scripture, that each word is God-breathed and true. Therefore we agree that in order to get into heaven we must be born again. This is agreeing with, acknowledging Jesus before men, telling them we agree with Jesus. The second truth here is a little less cut and dried. There has been so much said about forgiveness and even the fact that if we say something nasty about Jesus before we come to repentance we will be forgiven, but we can never be forgiven if we say something nasty about the Holy Spirit. What is the difference between Jesus and the Holy Spirit that makes this speaking reproachfully, this railing at, this revile against the Holy Spirit unforgivable? It might seem right to consider what function both of them perform. Jesus is the truth, the light and the way. No one comes to the Father except through him. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ. Anyone who comes to repentance and acknowledges, or agrees with Jesus will be forgiven. The Holy Spirit has two functions. The first is to convict men of their sin and need for Jesus. Here is the truth of it. If we refuse, or speak against him, rail at his conviction, revile his attempts to convince us of our need to repent, we will not repent, nor acknowledge Jesus, agreeing with him and therefore will not be forgiven and see the kingdom of Heaven. There is also another truth in that once we have accepted Jesus, listening to the voice of the Spirit, he then leads us into all truth. If again we refuse the truth, revile against the truth, thus speaking against what the Holy Spirit is revealing to us, we might be in danger of becoming like those who Jesus said he never knew. This may be the reason for so many different interpretations of the scripture. Many are using the scripture for their own benefit, making the words say what they want them to say, rather than hearing the voice of the Spirit. It would seem imperative to be continually open to seeing the one truth for there is but one. As the truth is, there are not many paths to God, but only one, Jesus. It is also true there is only one truth, which is revealed by the Holy Spirit. It would seem that each denomination would claim they have the one truth, but they have differing opinions of what that truth is and therefore some have to be without the whole truth and that reason is because they have reviled, disagreed with, spoken against the Holy Spirit for he speaks only one truth. Harsh words yet when it comes down to us personally we have to see this  truth and not be in agreement  with men but with God, hearing the voice of the Spirit, repenting, acknowledging Jesus before men, and hearing the one truth as revealed by the Spirit. This one truth he speaks brings understanding as well as he brings fruit and gifts which we need to accept as well. By refusing to accept the gifts he brings is just another way of reviling against him. By refusing the fruit, we refuse the work he does in our lives and again that is reviling him, speaking against him. Our lives need to be available to all the Spirit reveals to us and does within us. We need to be in agreement with the Jesus and with the Holy Spirit. 

How much better can life be

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

HOW MUCH BETTER CAN LIFE BE

Luke 12:4-7

4 "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

NIV

Jesus is certainly talking about eternal life here. He tells us that we should have no fear about those who can merely kill our bodies. They are only the temporary container in which we live as we are eternal spiritual beings. Jesus is not talking about fearing Satan either for he does not have the power to throw us into hell, he might be able to kill our body but not our spirit. Jesus is telling us we should fear God. He has the power to throw us into hell, the very hell that will be cast into the lake of burning sulfur in the ends days. Those who are cast into hell will then also perish in that lake, that is their spirit will perish. This is the reason we should fear God. Now that word fear which is but only one Greek word can be defined in several ways. The first is to be afraid, to be frighten, terrified. The second is to be in awe of, to revere, or to treat with reverential obedience. As Jesus is speaking about fear, he might well be using that word in both senses within this statement. But the point he is making is that God has all the power and that God knows us so well, that he even has the very hairs on our head numbered. He assures us that we are worth so very much to God. Our worth is beyond counting, beyond measure when it comes to God. There is nothing in this life that should cause us to fear, to be afraid, to be frightened of, but we certainly need to be in awe, in reverence of God, yet at the same time understand how much worth he considers us to be. Living a life of worth in the eyes of God should inspire us to be all that we can be. Knowing that God not only has the power to cast those who refuse to acknowledge him into hell means he also has the power to bring those who are of worth to him, those who fear him, those who revere him, into the eternal life of heaven and thus the new city of Jerusalem upon the new earth, with new heaven. This is going to be a completely new realm, totally different than anything we can ever image. Jesus tells us to not be afraid, God considers us to have value, to have worth. How much better can life be? 

Unleavened

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

UNLEAVENED

Luke 12:1-3

12:1 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

NIV

Hypocrisy is the key here. Building those facades so others are only looking at the shiny new exterior while the inside is still the old rotting interior. That is what Jesus was saying about the Pharisees, but also that they were like yeast. Hanging around them, it is easy to become like them. Their form of religion is infectious. This is how it can be when we join some fellowship, church or denomination. We are infected with their brand of religion which may be nothing else then like the Pharisees, all good looking on the outside, but no real spiritual life in the inside. But the rest of what Jesus said is rather haunting. It does not matter how good looking we are on the outside for nothing concealed will remain some as it will be made known. God knows our heart, our very thoughts and it is absolutely impossible to conceal anything from him. So why do we try so hard to conceal all our sin from each other? If we are afraid of what others might think of us, then we have indeed been infected with the yeast of the Pharisees. If we want others to think we are “Good Christians” while we are in fact struggling with some area in our life then of what value are fellow believers and for that matter what value do we have? True spiritual life is without hypocrisy. True fellowship, Koinonia, carries the meaning of social intercourse which is in fact an intimate act which would prohibit hypocrisy. If we cannot hide it from God then why should we hide it from others? The answer to that is because we all do it, and that is just the way it is. We have no true fellowship because the infection has spread throughout the whole assembly. Honesty is a forgotten trait, at least as far as the whole is concerned. There are a few people, hopefully at least one, our spouse, who know who we really are. They know our faults, our temptations, our weakest link in our daily walk and still they love us as a true believer of God would. Within marriage there absolutely cannot be any of the yeast of the Pharisees. But that is also the way it should be in the assembly.  If it is not that way then that kind of Christianity will be exposed in the end. Maybe that verse of scripture where Jesus tells those who did all that outward stuff that he never knew them speaks directly to those who were infected with the yeast of the Pharisees, hypocrisy. How do we get rid of this yeast? Where can we begin? Do we need to start over, a church of true believers? A real church, a true fellowship where there is no yeast at all, where all the people of God are unleavened. 

Needing Jesus

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

NEEDING JESUS

Luke 11:45-54

45 One of the experts in the law answered him, "Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us also." 46 Jesus replied, "And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them. 47 "Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. 49 Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.' 50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all. 52 "Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."  53 When Jesus left there, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, 54 waiting to catch him in something he might say.

NIV

After Jesus said what he did to the Pharisees with his three woes, now a teacher of the law, who thinks he must be above a Pharisee complains about Jesus insulting them when he spoke to the Pharisees. So three more woes and these are pointing directly to the teachers of the law and that would also apply to us, otherwise it would not be in there. The fact they were teaching people that they had to adhere to the law was true, but Jesus was telling them they did not even abide by what they were teaching. He was telling them to walk their talk, or practice what they preach. Isn’t that something we should be doing? We cannot tell people how they should behave when we cannot behave correctly. The gospel is not about rules and regulations which many denominations burden down their people with, rules and regulations which no one can actually keep. It is true we should live in a manner which pleases God and he has established certain behaviors which are required and the ones which are not acceptable. But the point Jesus was making is that these teachers of the law required people to obey the law when they themselves did not. We all fail, we all fall short, and all of us, not a single person can ever abide by every single law, or denominational rule or regulation. We cannot fulfill every requirement of God for righteous living and that is why we need Jesus. Without Jesus we are doomed. The rest of the woes continue this same theme. The fact they decorated and adorned the graves of the prophets which their forefathers killed is in fact a practice that still continues in Israel today. Jesus was telling them how they lifted up the dead who in fact they killed, which is related to their hindering others from the knowledge of God. They could not be truthful about the past, they could not admit their ancestors murder the prophets because they spoke for God, and spoke against the behavior of the Israelites, warning them of the coming wrath of God upon them if they did not repent. The reason for this was because they wanted to be like the prophets in the sense of warning the people about how their need to abide by the law otherwise God would not be pleased. The whole idea was they held themselves up while keeping others down. They were not truthful about human error and the need for the Messiah, the Christ who would take away their sins. This is our lesson as well. We cannot go around telling everyone how righteous they need be. The fact is we all fail, we all fall short, not one of us can live a perfect life, and so we should not be preaching perfection, but preaching Jesus. It is not about how we should do this or that or what we should not be doing, but it is about Jesus. The key to knowledge is not the law, but it is Jesus. They were not only hiding the key from others, but by burdening them with the law, they were hindering others from finding Jesus who is the key to all knowledge. We should not be preaching denominations and their doctrines. We should not be preaching perfection. We need to be showing Jesus. When we fail, we need to be open about our failure, because that is why we need Jesus too. No one is better or worse than another, as both the Pharisees and the teachers of the law thought they were. We cannot get into that trap for we are but sinners saved by grace. We all need Jesus. 

No woes

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

NO WOES

Luke 11:42-44

42 "Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. 43 "Woe to you Pharisees, because you love the most important seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 "Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without knowing it." 

NIV

Three woes to these Pharisees which translates into three woes we should watch out for in our lives. The first is about how we make sure we tithe at church, making that a ritual, or rule we can check off that we do, but do we omit the weightier matters of the God? Do we neglect the soul, spirit and practice of godliness? This is what Jesus was telling the Pharisees they were doing and we need to see if that is exactly what we are doing. Do we act according to justice and equity toward all mankind? Do we show mercy to the distressed and miserable? Do we see our faith in God as the fountain of all righteousness, mercy and truth? Jesus was telling them they began nor ended their works in God nor did they give God any respect for doing what they did. They did what they did to be seen by men and they had their reward in human applause. Jesus certainly did not object to their paying tithes, but they did not live according to the way God desired. Surely we can continue to tithe, but we should be living out our faith in our relationships with others, and not to get the praise of men, but the praise of God. Why we applaud singers can never be understood. Why they accept it is even worse. Why don’t we applaud the preacher when he is done? If we are all living in the truth of God, all praise, all applause should be to God and him alone. Once again with the second woe, Jesus was telling them they look for high titles and a show of how great their religion is by seeking the best seats in the synagogues and the greetings in the marketplace. All their actions, their, what appears to be, acts of righteousness is all a show to get thought highly of by men, rather than by God. This again translates to the same for us. For what reason do we preform acts of righteousness? What is our motivation for doing any acts of service at church or for that matter in public? Is it so others will think we are “Good Christians” or think highly of us because we do this or that? The only reason we do anything should be so we can give God the glory. We have absolutely no talent, no abilities other than what God has given to us, for he knit us together in our mother’s womb and designed our being with all the talent, all the ability we have and then gifted us with his Spirit to be able to use all that we are for his glory, and not for our own. No applause please. The third woe is once again the same. Jesus was telling them they were like unmarked graves, which is people could walk right over or past them, and not see the corruption that is beneath their feet. The same sense of the white washed tombs. This again speaks to our lives. Do people see us as nice and pleasant on the outside but cannot see the corruption that exists on the inside. The lesson here is that we should not have that corruption on the inside while presenting a holier than thou attitude on the outside. People need to be able to see who we really are, and the fact is we should be the people God desires us to be, so people see God in us. We need to live in such a manner we never hear that word, woe.

Inside and out

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

INSIDE AND OUT

Luke 11:37-41

37 When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 38 But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised. 39 Then the Lord said to him, "Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give what is inside [the dish] to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

NIV

We could suppose Jesus was actually talking about the dishes or cups and plates, but that is just not the case with Jesus. He never speaks about such mundane subjects, but rather uses parables or illustrations to make a point in a person’s life and their relationship to the kingdom of God. Jesus tells them they might look clean on the outside but on the inside they are full of greed and wickedness. Is this a statement we can apply to our lives as a lesson? Are we also simply concerned about how we appear to others? Do we only want to look like a “Good Christian” on the outside, doing all the right things. Are we standing with arms raised in praise, at least in church, while harboring ill feelings toward another? Are we acting like a believer, but get distracted by the desire of things, or impure thoughts, or any form of greed or wickedness? Jesus was telling them if they gave alms to the poor, that is shared a portion of their goods with the less fortunate, basically getting rid of their greed and wickedness, then they would be clean on the inside instead of just on the outside. Do we satisfy that truth with our tithe? As long as we bring a tenth of our income to the church, can we still have all that greed for the rest of all the things of the world using our ninety percent? Perhaps the truth is even deeper than that. Maybe Jesus was talking about our beings. The fact that we look like we are believers on the outside, but are we believers in the inside. We might appear to give God our heart on the outside, but have we given our heart to him on the inside? If we truly have offered him our whole being, our heart, soul, mind and strength then we will be clean also on the outside. We will be washed clean in the blood of Jesus. Although there is also truth in the giving to the poor, but Jesus also said we will always have the poor among us, so it may well be more a lesson about the giving of that which is in the inside rather than being concerned we look clean on the outside. Greed and wickedness make the inside dirty. No one else, not a single person knows our inside, our thoughts and desires, our lust or greed, what or who we actually are on the inside. Others may know portions of who we are, but for the most part they only know what we show them, with our words and deeds. But God knows our real inside, our true self and we need to be clean inside and out.