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.