The will

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE WILL

Luke 22:39-46

39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40 On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation."  41 He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42 "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done."  43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.  45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." 

NIV

There has been much written about this time of Jesus in the garden and his prayer along with the disciples falling asleep instead of staying awake to pray also. Other gospels have some more details of this moment in the life of Jesus, but we have enough here to learn what we need. First we can know without doubt that Jesus is divine, fully God, yet by this moment we can also know he is fully man, and experiences the same anguish all men have regarding the suffering of death, and especially in his case, an awfully painful one. We at least are not aware of how we will face the moment, how death of our body will come, but Jesus knew, being divine. Yet his human nature was not looking forward to the painful journey to death of his body. But he demonstrated for us the way to live, even in the most difficult of times. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. So often we make every effort to live by our own will, rather than by the will of God. Surely if there was another way for the justice of God to be satisfied, he would have spared his Son the terrible experience, but there was no other way to redeem us. He established this as the way, and it had to be done his way, period. How can we live any other way? How can we insist on our way? We do that with other people, especially those closest to us, and more than likely we carry some of that kind of thinking into our prayer life. We pray to God for our will to be done. Maybe we can learn something about his disciples falling asleep instead of remaining awake so they would not fall into temptation. Maybe when we are always asking God for our will, we have fallen asleep spiritually and are being tempted to be self-centered rather than God-centered. Even when we pray that he will direct our paths, we are hoping for the path we want, rather than the path he has for us. We might be tempted to live our lives as we want and use God as an excuse for what we are doing, saying this is his call on our lives. But the fact is God always has a plan, he does order our footsteps. He is divine and all-knowing thus he knows the best path for us and how that path will bring him the most glory and honor.  When we decide to become his disciple, when we accept what Jesus did on the cross for us, we also have to come to terms with the fact that our old nature dies and we are born again, a new creature in Christ and we belong to God, we are his to do with as he sees fit. We are to live for his purpose not ours. Can that bring us some form a blessing? Sure thing. Can it bring us some form of suffering? Yes it can. But in either case, we need to be ready, willing and able to pray, not my will, but yours be done. 

The Sword

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE SWORD

Luke 22:35-38

35 Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?" "Nothing," they answered.   6 He said to them, "But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. 37 It is written: 'And he was numbered with the transgressors'; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment." 38 The disciples said, "See, Lord, here are two swords." "That is enough," he replied.

NIV

There is certainly a lot of discussion about this conversation between Jesus and his disciples among the scholars, all of which have a differing opinion, especially when dealing with this buying a sword. There is another idea that Jesus was telling them as long as he has been with them they were protected and all their provisions were cared for, but now that he is going to be gone, they need to be able to protect and provide for themselves. This is so contrary to everything else he has ever said, or that his disciples were inspired to pen in their letters as well as Paul’s inspired letters. Jesus is telling them all this on the heels of just finishing saying they should not be asking who is the greatest, but see to it they consider themselves as serving each other as well as others. He also had told them, especially Peter about Satan wanting to sift him, but that he prayed for him, that he would not fail, and that he would strengthened his brothers, the other disciples. This is not Jesus telling them or us that we need to provide for ourselves, or take up arms against those who attack him in the garden, or for us to take up arms, go to war against those who violently oppose God. Jesus was telling them what was written about him in Isaiah, but that also he knew a sword was used in the garden. So what can we learn from all this? What do we use as a life lesson? Certainly they had not sold everything, ran out and bought these two swords, they already had a couple laying around, evidently. Some would say that when he first sent them out they only traveled around a small territory and thus needed little, but now that he was going to send them out into all the world, they would need to have provisions, for the world was not going to provide for them. But we know that God has promised to provide for us, that he will meet our every need. Jesus has taught them and us not to be concerned about what we will eat, wear, or live. So this is not about the fact we need to have a purse, and a bag and a sword to attack the enemy with, other then word of God which is sharper than any two edged sword. Perhaps that is what Jesus was teaching here, in regard to the sword, the word of God. That we should not go out empty handed, but have resources we can use to have the word of God for the purpose of God. Jesus was going to be numbered with the transgressors, he was going to take our sin away from us, and thus we should be ready to use whatever means we have, our purse, bag and even our clothes, to get the word of God, the sword, both deep within our spirits and throughout the world. Maybe that is more then what Jesus intended with his words, but it just makes sense when combined with all his other teachings. 

Sifted

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

SIFTED

Luke 22:31-34

31 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."  33 But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death." 34 Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me." 

NIV

There is a case that could be made over the fact that the Greek word for wheat is plural. This could mean that although Jesus was addressing Peter, he was telling him the Satan has asked to sift all the disciples. That is to separate the grain from the shaft, or separate the disciples from Christ and his protectiveness. That is the same kind of conversation Satan had with God over Job. He charged that Job loved God so much because of all that God had blessed him with. Here again in his asking to separate them from Jesus, he is charging the only reason they are hanging around Christ is because he has done so much for  them. Jesus is informing or addressing Peter because of perhaps two reasons. One he has already been establishing Peter as the one who will be in charge after he is gone, or that because of the impetuous nature of Peter, Jesus knew how he would respond and was trying to teach him, as well as the others, about steadfastness in the face of trouble. Whichever the case, as Peter can usually be counted on, he responds with a bold affirmation of his faith.  But Jesus assures him, no matter how bold he thinks he is, no matter how much he says he will follow Jesus, he will still have those moments of denial. That denial was simply motivated by self-preservation. As we know the others sort of scattered when the mayhem began in the garden and Jesus was arrested and taken. Peter did at least follow at a distance, but we know what happened there as well. Our life lesson here is in the steadfastness of our faith. Are we believers only when it is convenient to be one? Are we believers only because of the blessings we have received from the hand of God? Are we believers only when everything is going our way? If we are rich, like Job, or poor, hoping to be rich like Job, is that our motivation for believing? If we are experiencing the protective hand of God against harm at the hand of Satan, is that our reason to believe? What if things start going bad? What if we do not have financial security, do we still believe? What if we do not have perfect health, do we still believe? What if we lose some or all of what we do have, do we still believe? What if our job depends on our keeping silent about our faith, or even use the name of Jesus other than in vain, do we still believe, or is that a form of denial? What if because we might experience some other form of hardship if someone knew we were believers, would we remain silent so to be spared that hardship? Do we profess boldly our faith, like Peter did, but when tested in some way, fold under the pressure? What can man do to us? They can kill the body, but not our spirit. They can cause us great turmoil, but they cannot destroy our spirit. Although Job went through a sifting by Satan worse then any of us might ever have to, his final response was the one, Peter and we need to hold fast to.  “Should we receive good from the hand of God and not trouble?” Satan asked to sift Job, and was allowed, Satan also asked to sift Peter and perhaps all the disciples, and he was allowed to a point. Satan cannot do anything to us as well, unless he asks permission from God. So anything that happens to us, whether it is for good, a blessing from God, or something bad, either materially, emotionally, physically, it is permitted by God, or therefore as Job says, it is from the hand of God. Our faith in Jesus Christ cannot depend on our circumstances in this life. Our faith must be steadfast throughout the course of our life, no wavering, no doubting, and no fainting or even discouragement. God has us in the shadow of his wing, we are his and his to do with as he pleases. Our purpose is to bring honor and glory to him. No matter what, even if we are sifted. 

The servant

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE SERVANT

Luke 22:24-30

24 Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. 25 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. 26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. 27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. 28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials. 29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, 30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

NIV

It is just human nature to make ourselves into something we should not be, the greatest. These men have spent the past three years or so with Jesus in the flesh. They have heard all his teaching, they have spent time in prayer with him, they have seen him heal people, even raise people from the dead, yet they are disputing which one of them is the greatest. Can they not see that Jesus is the greatest yet he lived to serve them? He did not lord his authority over them like he did over the demons that he commanded to leave people. He lived as a servant, he even was the one who washed their feet. But here we are, just people, just the creation of Jesus, disputing who is the greatest. This type of human behavior did not stop with the disciples as we are still wanting to see who is the greatest. Some of us want to be the one with the most influence with the pastor, whether that be because of our wealth or spiritual prowess.  Some of us want to be considered the best versed person about the scriptures. Some of us want to be the best worshiper, or the most eloquent public prayer. Some of us think we are spiritual giants among weaklings. Some of us act as if we have more faith then others, being the greatest person of faith. But, in reality most of us in some way are disputing in some fashion who is the greatest among us. It might be spoken, but for the most part this dispute is in the unspoken, but it still is there. Jesus is teaching them about the difference of the way the world, the unbelievers, living in pride of wealth or position compared to how they should live, as humble servants. This is in fact one of the most important life lessons we can learn. We cannot live making our life effort focused on impressing all the others, trying, at least in our own minds, to be the greatest, or the best, at whatever. Jesus was the greatest yet he came to serve us by sacrificing himself for us. If we profess to want to be more like Jesus, as the song writer penned those words, then should we not be serving one another in humility? Jesus told his disciples that if they understand a life of humble service, they would be sitting at the banquet table with him in the kingdom of God. This serves to teach us as well. We need to see our life as one who serves, both God and men. This would mean we do not live, but Christ lives in or as us. He came to serve, we should be serving, rather than excepingt to be served. When we live thinking we deserve to be served, or even deserve something, or that people owe us in some way, it is a form of thinking about our greatness. Jesus taught the one who is the least is in fact the greatest, the one who is last will be first. It all fits together, so the fact is none of us are great, we are simply sinners saved by grace, the grace of God. If we cannot impress God with our greatness, why should we try to impress each other? Pride comes before the fall, let us be the servant. 

A Betrayer

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

A BETRAYER

Luke 22:20-23

20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. 21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. 22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him."  23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.

NIV

There is a little more, in fact a lot more detail about this betrayal by Judas in John’s account but the fact remains, Judas did betray Jesus. The fact is also that Jesus knew he would do it, and that God had a plan all along for this to happen. Now should we say that God determined Judas to be a bad man, a betrayer? Then we would have to leap to the fact God has determined some to be saved and some to perish and he has already decided who would be so than we have no choice in the matter. That is the position some take using a few examples in the scripture, perhaps only three, Pharaoh, Esau and Judas. Yet we should not get distracted by this sort of discussion for it does not lead to a life lesson. What we should focus on is that fact that Judas was one of the twelve, a beloved disciple of Jesus, who Satan used to accomplish the will of God. This also serves to prove Satan does not know everything, for if he did, he would not have prompted Judas to have Jesus arrested so the Jews could have him killed. If Satan knew the plan of God, that Jesus’s death on the cross served to free men from death, from the grip of Satan, he would have prevented, at all costs, having Jesus go to the cross.  Should we examine that it might be possible for us to betray Jesus? Surely we love him and perhaps as much or even more than Judas did before Satan used him. There has been arguments that Judas thought he was helping Jesus by what he was doing, but that cannot be supported in scripture. Yet could we in some way betray Jesus? How would that look? Would committing some sin be a form of betrayal? If that were the case all believers would be betrayers. So what would a betrayal look like? Could not going forth into the world to spread the good news be a form of betrayal? If we never personally told anyone about Jesus, about the good news, would we be in effect betraying him? Would living a secluded life, separate from those awful sinners betray Jesus? Would living among the world, engaging in the same behaviors of the world, not the awful sinful stuff, like murder, rape, armed robbery, adultery, or such, but just living in the same everyday manner as those good people of the world who have spiritually refused to accept Jesus, be a form of betrayal? This would look like living for self-gain, self-dependency, self-satisfaction, self-centered, self, self and more self. Even taking pride in our self-righteousness might serve as a form of betrayal. Whenever we center our lives on self, we are in some way betraying the work of Christ in our lives. Yes he gives us that choice to accept him or not, but once we have accepted him, once we applied his blood to our hearts, then we no longer live, but he lives in us. We cannot deny or betray his power within us, he has to be the center of us. We become Jesus to others. What they see in us, hear from us has to be Jesus, not us. If we look like them, act like them, speak like them, live like them with all the same goals and ambitions to promote self, where is Jesus? Jesus came to save that which was lost, should we be anything less? If it was God’s plan for Judas to betray Jesus, then it is also God’s plan that we stand up, speak up and share the good news. If we are not about our Father’s business, then perhaps we are betraying his plan for our lives. We cannot afford to do that, any form of betrayal is unacceptable.  

Worthy is the Lamb

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

WORTHY IS THE LAMB

Luke 22:14-19

14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. 15 And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."  17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."  19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." 

NIV

Although the order of things is different that Matthew records them, and we celebrate communion according to the order in Matthew and what Paul reminds us in his letter to the Corinthians, Luke still give us an account that shows us a truth the others do not focus on. We take this communion using various symbols of the cup of wine and the loaf of bread. We have made them either denominationally biased or with dietary correctness, as well as a religious ritual, instead of an experience of great spiritual significance. That is not to say all believers behave in that manner for many partake with a sincere and spiritual heart. But the truth which is revealed for us here is that Jesus says he will once again sit with his disciples and partake in some experience of Passover. It would seem right to consider that fact that as we have applied his blood, the blood of the Lamb of God over the doorposts of our hearts, and the death angel will not come to us, but we will gain eternal life, that once we have been reunited in bodily form with Jesus we will sit at the banquet table with him and celebrate a new type of Passover. We will actually be having communion with our Lord. Jesus said he would not eat the Passover again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God. This fulfillment is found in us being there with him. Once all is said and done, Satan is defeated, he, the beast, and the false prophet along with all those who refused to accept Jesus, and were deceived by Satan, are thrown into the lake of burning sulfur and it is truly over. The new heaven and earth are established and the new city of Jerusalem is set upon the new earth, we will be at that banquet table with our Lord and he will once again drink of the cup and eat of the bread with all his disciples which include us. What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see, what a day, glorious day that will be. What a day that will be when I celebrate the Passover with my Lord. We will once again celebrate. This might well be the focus of our attention when we do these things in remembrance of him. Yes, we surely do need to examine our hearts, but not to see if it is unworthy of sharing in the elements of the Passover, for we can be assured it is in and of itself unworthy. But what makes it worthy to partake is the blood of the Lamb poured out all over it. That is what we should examine it for, has the blood of Christ been applied to the doorpost, the entrance to our heart. There is nothing in our hearts which can make us worthy, but if we partake without recognizing the body of Christ we bring judgment on ourselves. This is what we must do, we must recognize the body of Christ which was broken for us. We must apply his blood to our hearts and then we are worthy, because of him, not us, to partake. If we think we need to be free of sin in order to partake in communion, we are sadly mistaken, for it is not about us, but about Jesus, his body and blood. He and he alone makes us worthy and it will be those who know this who will be with him in the fullness of the kingdom of God. 

Passover

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

PASSOVER

Luke 22:7-13

7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover."  9 "Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked. 10 He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, 11 and say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 12 He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there."  13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.

NIV

Once again we see the divinity of Jesus in the knowing his disciples would meet a certain man carrying a jug of water in a very crowded city full of visitors from all over who were filling the streets looking for a place to celebrate the Passover. The only way Jesus would know the exact man they would meet and to which house this man would go, and the owner of the house would have a guest room available to use, was because he was omniscient, knowing all things, because he is divine. The fact that the streets were full of travelers all seeking accommodations to celebrate the Passover and this room had not yet been booked, was again another example of his foreknowledge of things. It was the custom of the people who owned houses in the city, to let out their rooms to guests so as to celebrate the Passover. This was done with no rent required because it was the Passover. The lesson we can learn from all this is that which we already are well aware of. The Jews celebrated the fact the death angel past over their homes because of the blood of the lamb on their doorposts when they were in Egypt. This was in fact leading the Jews to see the need for the sacrificial lamb and his blood which is needed to be applied to the doorposts of their hearts in order for the death angel to once again pass over them. This also applies to us. In order for the death angel to pass over us we need to apply the blood of Jesus to the doorposts of our heart. Just as the Jews needed eat all of the lamb with their cloak tucked into their belts, their sandals on their feet and their staff in their hand. They were to eat it in haste. This is in contrast to coming together leaving sandals at the door, having the host wash their feet and then reclining around a table on pillows taking pleasure in the dining experience. They were to eat this Passover lamb, ready to leave at a moment’s notice.  This is how we need to approach the applying of the blood of Jesus upon the doorposts of our heart. We should be ready to leave at a moment’s notice. We should not become too comfortable in our Christianity, in our man-made religious experiences. We should not become too comfortable in our lives, that we are not ready to leave immediately if called to go. We have no need to worry about death, or the death angel because he cannot take us, we have the blood of the Lamb of God poured out all over our hearts and minds. He must pass over us, and therefore we will have life and life eternal. But let us not lounge around the table, with bare feet and our cloaks hanging on the hook, with our staff sitting in the corner. Let us be always ready for the time of our Savior’s coming for us. As the Jews were supposed to consume all of the lamb, and if they failed to eat it all, they had to burn the remaining portions, we should consume all of Lamb of God, leaving nothing behind. We need to consume and be consumed by the Lamb of God. Not only should his blood be applied to the doorposts of our heart, but our heart should be that upper room where Jesus is celebrating the Passover with us. He has told us:

Rev 3:19-22

19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." 

NIV

Jesus wants to celebrate the Passover with us, in our hearts. We should have no room for anything else but Jesus. 

Our Heart

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

OUR HEART

Luke 22:1-6

22:1 Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, 2 and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. 3 Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.

NIV

An interesting take on Judas is at hand here. He is none other than a minister of the gospel, as he was one of the twelve who Jesus sent out to preach the good news to and to heal the sick and drive out demons. Judas was also the keeping of the treasury for the twelve, he was the money man. He also agree to do this thing for a price, for some personal gain of his own. This is no doubt the work of Satan and not of Judas alone, yet was Judas guilty of serving two masters, God and money? How could Satan have entered the heart of a devoted follower of Jesus? It would seem the only way Satan could have entered Judas was the Judas left a door open within his heart for him to enter, and that door is due to his own desires, his own passions toward money. Of course he decided to betray Jesus even before the offer of money was brought up, at least that by the chief priests. But here we need to see the actives, the mode of operation of Satan.  It is most likely he did not actually enter Judas physically of even spiritually, but that he influenced the mind of Judas. We should also consider that Satan cannot influence us beyond our own natural sin nature. That is he tempts us with that which we already have a weakness toward. This is the case with Judas, he was tempted by greed and that is what Satan used to influence his behavior. This is what we need to be extremely aware of in our lives. We cannot allow ourselves to hide our weaknesses, especially from ourselves. If we think we have overcome all temptations and we are truly, wholly dedicated to God, completely sanctified so to speak, as one denomination calls it, we have done nothing but deceived ourselves and may be in danger of falling prey to the very temptation which we have refused to admit exists within us. As with the case of Judas, any minister of the gospel who falls prey to greed does more harm than good to Christianity. Considering that all of us are in one sense of another ministers of the gospel, we too should be careful of this greed. We might see the evil temptations listed in the scriptures, the evil of smoking, drinking, dancing, movies, that are equal to murder, stealing, cheating, adultery and the such, but we might miss greed, because we want more money, we do not have enough of it. Money provides for what we want, and for our secure future, so we hoard it, we invest it, we massage it, we fall in love with it, and the temptation of it has begotten our hearts. We have become servants of two masters, which cannot be, so we have left one for the other, in our hearts. This can happen with any temptation, not just that one of greed. Whatever our natural inclination is toward, Satan will use it to draw our heart and mind away from God. This we have to see for what it is, and pray God will guard our heart and mind from that which would give Satan a foothold. When we know our weakness we can be more aware of the tempting when it comes. But if we deny we have any weakness, we may not see that temptation for what it is, and fall to it before we notice we have. Remember Judas loved Christ, he heard the voice of Jesus call to him, “follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”, yet he was tempted by Satan with something from his own weakness, greed. Was that the plan of God? Maybe, perhaps he had another way for Jesus to get to the cross. We will never know. But a fallen minister of gospel did what all the chief priests, Pharisees, teachers of the law and elders could not do, betray Jesus. Let us learn that lesson deep within our heart. The world asks what’s in your wallet, but we need to ask, what’s in our heart? 

Stay Focused

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

STAY FOCUSED

Luke 21:29-38

29 He told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 "I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 34 "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. 36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."  37 Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, 38 and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.

NIV

We have arrived at the concluding statements of Jesus’s dissertation to his disciples. He makes one final thought to them about being able to detect when all this will happen, when the kingdom of God is near. If we thought his words were only for his present disciples then we would have to assume the kingdom of God already came and we missed it, it is all over, all the signs already happened and we are a whole other generation of people who are all left behind to fend for ourselves. But that is not the case, because God made sure his words will never pass away, as Jesus says here. As far as this generation not passing away until all these things happen, that word can mean either an age, such as the age of man on earth, or successive generations after another such as this word was used in Matthew to say that were fourteen generations from Abraham to David and from David to Jesus. So Jesus did not mean it was just those twelve men but the age of man would continue until all those signs happened and he returns for his people. Then the age of man on earth will be over. But the words we should focus on are his next words. We should not get headaches from being drunk, that is spending our life in a drunken state, but instead be of sound mind, understanding the signs of the times. If we were drunk, even on life, on the material life of this world, we might not have the right frame of mind to see the kingdom when it comes. If we are living in anxiety, that is always concerned about our life here, and what we are going to eat, what we are going to wear, where we are going to live, what we have and what we don’t have, that day of the Lord will come and we will not be ready, not looking up, not seeing the truth. Here again Jesus tells us that if we do not get so weighed down with this life, and all the ways of the world, but rather stay in communication with him, we will escape all the things that will happen and we will be standing in the presence of the Son of Man. This certainly would imply that he is coming back for us to get us even at the moment all those signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth begin to happen, for it is as he said, when we see all that start to happen, stand firm, don’t run, look up, our redemption is near. We cannot allow ourselves to get distracted by the things of the world. Yes we have to live here, eat here and wear some clothes here, but to get so distracted that those things become the focus of our lives, when we drive ourselves to accumulate as much as we can, to secure our future here in this life, it may become so overpowering that we are not looking up when the times comes, in fact we may not be looking up at all. If we are so anxious about this life, we may be looking inward rather than looking upward. That is we are focused on us rather than God, we live a man-centered life instead of a God-centered life. We need to stay focused on God, on his plans for us, his desires for us, his divine will for our lives and the reason he created us.  We need to stand firm, and stay focused. 

Look up

DEVOTION

 THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

LOOK UP

Luke 21:25-28

25 "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

NIV

Although many men have predicted the end of the world over the course of time, nothing which has or is going to happen on the earth alone is the fullness of signs signifying the day of our redemption, the day Jesus is coming back to call us heavenward. Even this so called blood moon thing that has so many thinking this is it, is not it. When we see something awesome happen to the sun, moon and all the stars, then we should start looking. One or even two tsunamis is not enough to look up. However when all the oceans begin to roar, and tsunamis crash against shores all over the world, at the same time the heaven are shaking, the sun, the moon and the stars start doing something really weird that we have never seen before, then we should stand up, and lift our heads up looking intently because Jesus is coming for us. The whole earth is going to see him. This is going to be an awesome display of his mighty power. No more will he be the humble man in the white robe riding into town on a donkey. He will be the conquering King of kings coming is all his glory for his own, for us. There is not going to be any guessing about when he is coming. It will be a clear and present danger to those who have refused to acknowledge him as their Lord and Savior, but to us it will be the most awesome event in our lives. We can only hope that it will happen while we are still alive, but if not we will still get to see it, for our bodies will be raised from the grave to be reunited with us, however we are, in spirit, and all the glory of God will be on display. We can only hope that our redemption is drawing near. We need not pay any attention to all the nut cases out there who claim to know when it will happen based on prophetic fulfillment. Yes, many of the prophesies have already been fulfilled but nothing like what Jesus is describing here has even come close to happening, especially all at the same time. So we need to keep on keeping on, doing the work of the Lord, what he has called us to do, bringing him glory and honor in our lives, until we see all this happening, then we can we stop and stand up, looking upward to see our Lord coming for us. A day is coming for us to look up. 

The Great Escape

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE GREAT ESCAPE

Luke 21:20-24

20 "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22 For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

NIV

Certainly we know all that Jesus says here happened to Jerusalem and the Jewish people. History has recorded it and so it is what it is. But can we apply any of this truth in history to our lives today. The account which is similar to this in Matthew seems to speak more of the coming age rather than the historic one. The point is there a dreadful experience coming for those who reject Christ. There is a dreadful experience for those who create their own form of religion from what God established. Religion will not save us from the dreadful days that come. Church membership will not save us from those days either. Good deeds, whether done in the name of God, or in the name of man, will not save us from those dreadful times ahead. Clinging to our own lives, family members, material goods, fleeing from the truth will bring us right smack into the middle of those dreadful days. Who can save us? Jesus! The wrath of God is coming against this people, the people of this world, those who live for self, and in opposition to God. They will fall by the sword of his mouth. They will be taken as prisoners to all the nations, to the world, which is controlled by none other than Satan. When we conform to the world, we are in fact prisoners to it, and to him. But praise be to God, he has set us free from the bondage of the chains of sin, and conformity to this world’s way of living. He has freed us from all that, and has given us the right to be call his children, co-heirs with Jesus, and we shall have escape from all this wrath, all the dreadful days that will come, and be with our Lord in heaven when they fall upon those who refuse to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. Although there will be many who experience these dreadful days, among them those who practice Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Shinto, Sikhism and Taoism, just to name a few, some who profess Christianity may be among them as well. We have to make sure we are not just practitioners of Christianity, but rather receivers of Christ into our lives. We must always be worshippers of the Most High God, and in so accepting his Son the one and only way to the Father. New birth, being born again is the only way to enter the kingdom of God. Without Christ living in us, or as us, as one man puts it, we are in fact doomed to experience those dreadful days. Jesus is the way, truth and the light. Our very freedom from those days depends on him. Through Christ we can make the great escape.

Standing Firm

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

STANDING FIRM

Luke 21:12-19

12 "But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. 13 This will result in your being witnesses to them. 14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 All men will hate you because of me. 18 But not a hair of your head will perish. 19 By standing firm you will gain life.

NIV

Jesus had just said the temple would be destroyed, people would come claiming to be him, that the time was near, that they would hear of wars and revolutions, nations would rise up against nations, kingdoms against kingdoms, there would be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places. He also told them there would be fearful events and great signs from heaven. He told them all these things must happen first but that the end will not come right away. Now he says that before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. We know from history most of the disciples were persecuted and in fact killed for their faith in Christ. All what Jesus had told them came true in their lives. Thus when he told them that by standing firm they would gain life, we know he meant life eternal. When he told them that not a hair on their head would perish it was of great significance. Although we could spend hours exploring all the prophetic words Jesus said about what must happen before the end will happen it would not serve us as well as the words of encouragement he gives them. Men have for all the ages after Christ looked into those words about what must happen and they have seen many of them happen and those things have happened throughout the ages since Christ, except for one thing, the fearful events and great signs from heaven.  These things will continue to happen, but the end will not come yet. So let us not focus on these things, but on the fact that no matter what happens in the earth and for that matter what man might do to us physically, mentally or emotionally, that if we stand firm, not a hair on our heads will perish and we will gain eternal life. What this means is that our bodies will not perish, there will be a resurrection of our body and it will be perfectly intact in the life to come. It also means for those who refuse to accept Jesus their bodies will experience perishing. This certainly agrees with all the other text about the day of the Lord. It agrees with the fact that whosoever calls on the name of the Lord will not perish but have eternal life. With so many who pay so close attention to all the external signs and wonders that need to happen before the end will come, it behooves us to pay attention to the internal things of our life. Standing firm in our faith even under the persecution of others. Yes, we here in this country may not have experienced the type of persecution Christians have and are experiencing in other parts of the world, yet the word tells us that when one suffers we all suffer. But at the same time those who oppose God would have him and any signs of him removed from the public square. More recently one pastor has been arrested and jailed for refusing to marry a gay couple, which is now the law of our land. That is persecution at the hands of our government. There will be times when we will experience more persecution. The point is we cannot allow the world and its hatred toward God to silence our voice. Standing firm means more than hiding in our churches or homes clinging to each other for support. Standing firm means facing the world head on, voicing the truth, eliminating dark places with the light. We need not to be concerned as to how we should speak, as Jesus promised he would give us the words. This confirms the fact we are to speak, we are to voice our faith before men, before those who oppose God and may endeavor to attack us in numerous ways. We cannot allow the world to silence us, we need to stand firm. 

Give me Jesus

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

GIVE ME JESUS

Luke 21:5-11

5 Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, 6 "As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down."  7 "Teacher," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?" 8 He replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near.' Do not follow them. 9 When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away."  10 Then he said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

NIV

We have begun a fairly long discourse by Jesus and it would only be fair to break it up into sections because of how much he said and the significance of each statement. From history and other gospels these words were spoken as they left the temple and Jerusalem to sit upon the Mount of Olives which had a view of the city and the temple. He continued his discourse there. As far as the not one stone will be left on another, it is historical fact that did happen. Under the command of the Roman general Titus, according to history, he had the entire temple plowed up, that is down to and including the foundation. Most of the city walls were also demolished. What we learn from this serves to show us the divine will of God. First we should understand the Jews had constructed a religious system that had not been established by God, but by their own making. Yes he had given them the law through Moses, but that law was to show them they could not find salvation through keeping it, for no one could keep it, perfectly, and thus they would need the Messiah, the Savior, who was Jesus. They made it into something else, rather than what God intended it to be. So the destruction of the Temple and the City was just because of their sins. It was also merciful of God to allow it to be destroyed to take away their opportunity to continue in Judaism. Without a temple or the city of the temple, the Jews were without the ability to practice their religious ceremonies. This also served to somehow, in a spiritual way to show the end of the Jewish sacrifices and the beginning of the dispensation of Christianity. What do we learn from this? First that God is not pleased with the religion of man. If he allowed all of the temple and most of the city of Jerusalem to be destroyed because of the sins of the Jews, the way they had corrupted his commands, how long will he put up with the corrupted Christian religion of today? Man has taken what God intended to lead people to Jesus, into a business of self-gratification and self-aggrandizement. Churches are being built or renovated into places of theatrical performances able to seat thousands for the purpose of garnering followers who will support the leader’s luxurious lifestyle. The Gospel has been preverted to serve those who desire fame and fortune.  It is even possible that some believers have perverted the gospel for their own benefit, using scripture out of context to justify their own behaviors, or partnerships with the world. We have to make sure we do not allow this kind of false doctrine to infiltrate our way of seeing the truth of God. Jesus continues to tell his disciples and us to be careful not to be deceived. Jesus says there will be many who claim “I am he” and “The time is near”. But we are not to follow them. There are many who claim to know the truth that they have the correct interpretation of what is going to happen, but we are not to follow them. We have the word of God, and we have the Spirit of God who leads us into the truth. We have to make sure we listen to the Spirit. Can all men, all Christianity be corrupted? Maybe, maybe not, but that is also why the Spirit gives us discernment. Rather than being drawn in by the silver tongues of false teachers, we need to listen to the tongue of the Spirit, using his gifts to us to live as Christ demonstrated. Of course the only way to do that is through Christ living in us, or as one person puts it, Christ living as us. Manmade Christianity may well follow the way of the temple and the city of Jerusalem, being destroyed, laid bear with no evidence it ever was there. This should serve as a warning to us, not to be deceived by the religion of man, for that matter, denominationalism, and a device created by men. God has given us his word, Jesus, and the Spirit to lead us to Jesus and to the truth of the word. What we need is Jesus and Jesus alone. As one women puts it, “Give me Jesus”. 

GIving

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

GIVING

Luke 21:1-4

21:1 As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins.   3 "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." 

NIV

It would seem easy for those rich men to put something in the temple treasury, as they are rich and have an abundance of wealth. It seems it would not be so easy for this widow to give so very little yet to give all that she had to live on. Is our lesson about giving to the church? It would seem the obvious lesson, yet there is also something to see about the divine nature of Jesus and his observations of both the rich and the poor. Perhaps it is about the motives for giving that he noticed and mentioned. It would seem the rich make it public as to how much they give, and perhaps Jesus knew the percentage of their giving was minuscule in comparison to what their spent on their lavish lifestyle, while this poor lady who lived in poverty gave so little yet it was all she had. Jesus sees our motives. He sees the hearts of the rich and the poor. He knows why we do what we do. The rich certainly do not need to trust God for their daily bread, they material needs, as they have made sure they have all they need. The poor, on the other hand, certainly need to trust God, if they are going to survive this life. If those of us who might be considered poor and we do not give to God, especially which belongs to God, but in this case it is specifically money, we should consider ourselves having been corrected by this lesson. It does not matter how much we give, as the rich can give much and the poor have little to give. What matters is the attitude of our hearts in our giving. Sure the rich do not need that which they give because they have so much more, and therefore they might experience a little pride in their giving, perhaps not publicly but within. Of course we do not and cannot know their hearts, but Jesus does. Those of us who are not rich, or at least in comparison to the rich, are more likely to miss the amount of money given.  But Jesus knows the heart of those who are poor and sees the trust they have in him, giving even though they could use that money for their own survival. The point we should take from all is not just about giving, but about the attitude of our heart in trusting God for every aspect of our lives. Yes we need to give to the Lord, but once again what is the point of giving. Here we do see the people gave to the temple treasury. Was it to support the temple, the upkeep of the temple, or to pay the temple staff, or was it their tithe to God? We simply do not know which, but what we know is Jesus sees our giving and the attitude of it. Today we have turned giving into either an obligation as well as a tax deduction or an opportunity to be known as a generous giver, by the volunteers who count the offering, the staff who records all the giving and most likely the pastor who gets a report on the giving. Maybe those who give from their abundance have the right attitude, only Jesus knows, but it is certain, the church has turned giving into a business. It makes sense to this man, my giving is between me and God so cash is the only way to give, no records can be kept, no person can know the amount and my attitude, only God sees both, and that is all that is needed.  

Humbling

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

HUMBLING

Luke 20:39-47

39 Some of the teachers of the law responded, "Well said, teacher!" 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions. 41 Then Jesus said to them, "How is it that they say the Christ is the Son of David? 42 David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: "'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand 43 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." '    44 David calls him 'Lord.' How then can he be his son?"  45 While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, 46 "Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. 47 They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely." 

NIV

This “Well said, teacher!” response from some of the teachers of the law was to his teaching on rendering to Caesar that which is Caesar’s and render onto God that which is God’s. So Jesus continues with another question to them about himself, but they are not sure just what he said, yet he makes it clear he is the Son of David. He is the Messiah that comes from the line of David and he is the Lord. When he turns to his disciples to give them a warning, it is in the presence of all the people who had been listening to him which included the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders. Jesus warns his disciples about those who appear to be religious, taking advantage of the poor for their own personal gain and glorious living. It would serve us well to also pay attention to this warning. First to be aware of those who live the life Jesus was describing here. Second to make sure we are not living in the manner described by Jesus. There are people within Christianity today who wear those flowing robes and love to be greeted and have the most important seats in church as well as in social settings. Their robes are ones of self-righteousness and self-importance. They want everyone to greet them because of their importance to the church. They garner followers appearing to be intellectual scholars of the word. They devour the poor to support their own personal gain, either those poor in money or poor in spiritual understanding. Their prayers are more like sermons then prayers to show how spiritual they think they are. We should stay clear of this type of Christianity. Second we should make sure we do not become like them. We need to see our place in the body of Christ with all humility. If we are used by the Spirit to serve within the body we need to serve with all humility, knowing our gift, our service is the result of God and not of our own making. We should always point to Jesus rather than ourselves. Is there any one of us who is more important than another in the sight of God? Then we should also see the body of Christ as God sees it. Yes, we all are a part, but each part member is dependent on all the other parts, or members, none being more important than the others. This is in sharp contrast to those Jesus describes here. Anything we do, anything we say, anything we are, is completely due to God. We are and can do nothing apart from him. We are because of him. Knowing this is truly humbling.  

The Day is coming

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE DAY IS COMING

Luke 20:27-38

27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. 28 "Teacher," they said, "Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?" 34 Jesus replied, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'   38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive." 

NIV

Certainly we could spend a great deal of time exploring the history of the Sadducees. Much has been written concerning their doctrinal beliefs which one of them as we see here is not believing in the resurrection. If there is no resurrection then the only life a person has is the one in the present age. This leads to looking at this life as a god in itself rather than seeing God as who he is. The Sadducees were trying to trick Jesus with a question about the resurrection which they did not even believe in. He knew their hearts and his answer was in accordance with the fact of a resurrection. Indeed in this life we do marry and it is for the reason which God gave to Adam and Eve, to populate the earth. The population is constantly losing ground because of the death of the body and so we must continue to marry to keep the earth populated. That only makes sense. But in the age to come, after the resurrection we will be immortal. There will be no longer a need to repopulate because of the decrease of people through death. Jesus assures them and through his words to them we can also be assured there is a resurrection. Because they used the law that was given through Moses, Jesus uses the account of the burning bush to show them that God said he was the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. In the present age, when God spoke to Moses these three man had been dead for many years, but because God said he was their God, present tense, these man were still alive with God. Although it was true their bodies were in the grave, their spirits, their souls were in the presence of God. This certainly agrees with the teaching of being absence from the body is to be present with the Lord. Jesus also teaches here that someday the bodies will be resurrected from the grave just as he did. This is the joy of our hope, to be with God after this age is over. This teaching also refutes the belief of one religion in this age, which performs marriage ceremonies for the age to come. There is no need for procreation in heaven as there will be no death, we will be immortal. Although we experience love, passion, and yes, even lust in this age as we are in the body which God designed with these emotions in order to bring forth more humans as he commanded Adam and Eve to do, we will not experience those emotions in heaven. We will still love each other but in a far greater sense than what we experience in the flesh. But we still see here that we should be living with the sense of the resurrection and the fact that someday we will be in the presence of God in heaven or paradise or the new city of Jerusalem. This should give us a reason to live in accordance to his pleasure rather than ours. Will we ever be free, completely free from sinning, which would be in accordance with his pleasure? It is doubtful as long as we are in this flesh. The teaching of being free of sin because the old man is dead, and we have become a new man, born again, and therefore we are free from the bondage of sin, and yes free from the law is true. Although it is also true that because we are in Christ, God sees us as free of sin, we are still in the flesh and it is corruptible. No, we should not simply go about sinning so we can take advantage of his grace, but we are going to sin because we are in the flesh. Yet the day is coming when we will leave this flesh and we then will be completely free of all sin, and we will enjoy being in his presence, yet there will be another day when, by the power of God, our bodies will be raised and we will encounter something wonderful which no one really knows what it will be like except God. So we can rest easy, for we are the children of God, we have a day of resurrection ahead.  The day is coming. 

Bearing his image

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

BEARING HIS IMAGE

Luke 20:20-26

20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" 23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 "Show me a denarius. Whose portrait and inscription are on it?"  25 "Caesar's," they replied. He said to them, "Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."  26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.

NIV

There is a massive truth, which of course all of the scripture is, but here we have a distinction between the two worlds. There is the kingdom of this earth and the kingdom of heaven. In the time of Christ it was the custom for a ruler to have coins stamped with his image. If a king conquered another land using their own currency he would order them to re-coin all their currency with his image thus denoting him as the king of that land and all taxes and obedience were due him. Jesus explains that if the coin has the image of the king, Caesar in this case, then that coin and all it represents belongs to Caesar. But what belongs to God should be given to God. We know of course that we humans bear the image of God on us. We were created in the image of God, therefore we owe God what his image is on, ourselves. The question which arises is what we owe the civil government. Surely Jesus was implying we owe the government our taxes, as well as our civil obedience. The laws of a land are based on protecting the rights of people from those who would violate those rights.  Laws are for the common good of the people, at least that is the way it is supposed to be. Nevertheless we should give the government what it is due. Although the truth Jesus was making is that we bear his image and thus we should be giving him our soul, our spirit, our mind and our strength, for they all belong to him. The fact the government has no rights over that which belongs to God should imply the government has no rights over spiritual matters at all. We could get into a whole discussion about separation of church and state, but that is not the real matter here.  God should have ultimate authority over us. If we acknowledge him as our Lord and Savior then we are in essence saying we bear his image, we are his image. If that is the case then we should also acknowledge his sovereign rule over us. We owe God our very being, all that we are, all who we are. Must we live in this world, of course, and he has told us that if we acknowledge him as our Lord and Savior first and foremost, he would as our king, provide for our earthly needs. So if we are his image, if we bear the image of God, than the world should also know that we belong to God. Our current currency bears the image of men, some are the founders of our country, and some are simply various leaders in our government. They might even create some with images of people who they consider doing good things, at least liberal man centered things. But we all know that money was created by the government and it in essence belongs to the government. So should the case be that all men know we belong to God. If we hide ourselves within the confines of Christianity, either within the church, or within fellowship, than how can the world see us to know we belong to God? If we bear his image, just like currency that flows throughout society, we should be flowing throughout society as well. All mankind bears the image of God, some just do not know it, or are ready to acknowledge it, but if they are told, many will see that truth and acknowledge who their true ruler is. But if we hide his image within us, covering it up with our humanity, no one will know we belong to him. We need to bear his image boldly. 

The Vineyard

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE VINEYARD

Luke 20:9-19

9 He went on to tell the people this parable: "A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. 10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12 He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out. 13 "Then the owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.' 14 "But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. 'This is the heir,' they said. 'Let's kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' 15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. "What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others." When the people heard this, they said, "May this never be!" 17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, "Then what is the meaning of that which is written: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone'? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."  19 The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.

NIV

Certainly this is a parable spoken directly to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. It has its meaning in the history of the people of Israel and the prophets they rejected or killed. The people are the vineyard or at least in this case, Jerusalem or the people of Israel. They were supposed to produce fruit for God, but they wanted their own lives, so they could not accept the truth. This is about God sending Jesus to collect his people, the fruit, but they killed him, wanting again their own religion. Without spending hours and paragraphs explaining the parable in it fullness, we should see if we can apply this truth to our lives today. It would seem somewhat easy to apply it to the church in general, or Christianity in general, but what about in a personal way? Let us say we are that vineyard. Let’s say God planted the truth in us and then left us alone for a while. But he never leaves us alone, he said he would never forsake us. So it is difficult to see a lesson here. Yet God does expect to yield that which he has planted in the vineyard. Perhaps that is our lesson. God has indeed planted the truth into us and expects that truth to bear fruit. He is the vine and we are the branches, as we live and breathe in Jesus we should be bearing the fruit for him. We cannot have our own ways, our own lives. God is the owner of the vineyard, of us, of our lives. Those chief priests and teachers of the law did exactly that, they rejected the truth and created their own religion, which did not serve God, but their own lives. We cannot be guilty of that type of religion, we need to be consistently connected to Jesus in order the bear the fruit the owner of the vineyard desires. When people who have rejected the truth, reject Jesus and thus cannot bear any fruit that is pleasing to God, he will come some day and kill them. That is a fact. But we need to be careful not to reject the truth by turning the truth into our own form of religion. Jesus finished his parable with the truth about the capstone, who he is, and if we fall upon the mercy of Jesus we will be broken, which is our sinful lives will be broken and we will be received, redeemed by God. But if we do not fall upon Jesus, then he will fall upon us and we will be crushed. This is that truth. It is about our relationship with Jesus, with God and how we produce the fruit for the benefit of the owner.