Tell Someone

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

TELL SOMEONE

Luke 9:34-36

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

NIV

Although we took a look at the transfiguration of Jesus and having Moses and Elijah appearing in a glorious form, and we know that will be our form someday, there is this one more exciting moment that we need to consider if that has any bearing on our lives. Here Jesus is in his glorious or radiant splendor, shining like the sun, and the three of them must have been something extraordinary to behold. Here is Peter, James, and John watching and they must have been amazed, after of course, they had shaken off their slumberous continuance they saw His glory. Of course, it is Peter who speaks up and makes somewhat of a fool of himself suggesting there is a way to contain the glory of Jesus, Moses, and Elijah. Then God intervened enveloping them all in a cloud which caused them to be afraid. But that wasn’t enough they heard the voice of God. We do not know that if we had a vision of Jesus in all his glory and heard God speak to us, telling us that Jesus is His Son and that we should listen to him, we would be able to keep our mouths shut and keep all that to ourselves.

We would want to tell the whole world, or at least all the people at church. Of course, would anyone believe us? Maybe that is why Peter, James, and John kept all that to themselves. Still, God has spoken before, and people have heard his voice from heaven or from within a cloud or thundering from a mountain. Moses, saw the glory of God when he was still on earth, and now Moses is standing in all his glory with Jesus. We have heard the voice of God in one way or another. Sometimes we have heard his voice in our ears, sometimes from within our heart, or spirit. We hear his voice every time we read his words. But to be enveloped within a cloud and hear God speak, wow, that would be overwhelming. Yet, should that happen to us, and it is possible for he has done it before and if God never changes, He could do it again. Would anyone believe us? We know that when we witness all that God has already done in us and for us, some might think we are strange, or maybe they don’t believe God has done all that for us, because they don’t see him doing that for them. Peter, James, and John surely did not keep what happened to themselves forever, for Luke and Matthew have recorded it from at least one of them telling them. Let us not keep quiet about what we have seen God do. Let us tell our story with Jesus everywhere we go, or at least tell someone. 

Transformed

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

TRANSFORMED

Luke 9:28-36

28 About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. 29 As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. 30 Two men, Moses and Elijah, 31 appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. 32 Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 33 As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, "Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters — one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." (He did not know what he was saying.) 34 While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and enveloped them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 35 A voice came from the cloud, saying, "This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him." 36 When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves, and told no one at that time what they had seen.

NIV

We are what is referred to as transfiguration and it simply gives us a clue what will happen at some time in our future. The appearance of Jesus’s face changed while he was praying. Matthew includes that the face of Jesus shone like the sun and his clothes became as white as light. Luke uses as bright as a flash of lightning. Two truths we should explore. First, this being transformed into a glorious form as the three saw Jesus at that moment, will happen to us when we are resurrected and changed from this corruptible body into one that is incorruptible, and we will also be transformed from this perishable body into one that is imperishable. According to the revelation of Jesus that was given to John, we will be clothed in a white robe and walk with Jesus. There is no doubt that we will appear glorious in this new place Jesus has prepared for us. The fact that Moses and Elijah were also in glorious forms, gives us more reason to believe that is how we will be when we see Jesus. However, there is something else, a second truth. We cannot be sure if this actually happens because we are not looking in a mirror when we pray. But we do wonder how much the appearance of our face changes as we are fully engaged through the power of the Spirit in prayer, or having a conversation with Jesus. We know whenever we pray in public it seems that there is no change in our faces, but what about in the time when we are in our prayer closet, at least figuratively, and we have shut out all the distractions of this world.  After all, we are full of the Holy Spirit, or maybe we should say the Holy Spirit dwells within us. Once again, we could liken having the Spirit within us to a tank of helium in a room. The tank is in the room, but it is contained. We might have the Spirit within us, but we may well be containing him, even when we pray. When the tank of helium is released the whole room is filled and anyone in that room has a changed voice. Perhaps,  if we released the power of the Spirit while we prayed, we too would have a changed voice. That is our words would be those of the Spirit speaking through us. Those who are of the Pentecostal persuasion referred to that as the gift of tongues, that is the Spirit is speaking through them, giving them the power to use a language not their own, so their words are coming through the Spirit, as he has been fully released. But, even if some do not believe that way, letting the Spirit free during our prayer time would have the same result. Let us release the power of the Spirit, not just in prayer, but in the whole of our life so that will be transformed, reflecting the glory of God in ever-increasing glory.

Not Ashamed

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

NOT ASHAMED

Luke 9:23-27

23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." 

NIV

Now that we looked at how we should deny ourselves as we take up our cross daily to follow Jesus, and we briefly examined the idea of gaining the whole world, we need to go further into that as well as being ashamed of Jesus. Once again, we should contemplate if we are pursuing, in any way, part or some of the world. Certainly, as followers of Jesus, we have chosen him over the world. However, have we allowed ourselves some latitude in this matter? We do have to live in the world and we know that we use the phrase, “but not of the world” to justify any of our worldly pursuits. We need all the things to live in this world, like food, clothing, housing, transportation, and all the other things that make our lives as easy as possible. But are we chasing after them? We have watched people we know to be Christians, posting on social media pictures of their expensive taste in cars as an example. Some have posted their accomplishments, with some trying to show how much they are doing. Have we succumbed to the ways of the world? We must always be aware of taking up that cross daily and follow Jesus and the way he has shown us. It is not that we should not have things, Jesus said that if we pursue him first and foremost, that is seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, He will add all the things to us that the pagans chase after. Of course, having God add all the stuff to us should not be the reason we take up our cross and follow Jesus. Although many of the times during His life on Earth many people did chase after him, because of what he did for them, the miracles, the healings, and even feeding them fish and bread. That should not be our purpose, although why did we decide to follow Jesus? Was it to attain eternal life? Was it to make sure our sinful lives were forgiven and we don’t have to pay the price for our sinful ways? Perhaps this was true in the beginning, when we first decided to follow Jesus, but now after years, knowing we have been set free, assured that we have eternal life, what does it mean to pick up our cross daily, which means every day of the rest of our lives. Have we changed the way we think about everything? Yet the hardest question is, are we, in any way, ashamed of Jesus? Have we accepted being simply called a Christian? Because there are so many in the world, and of the world that have taken that name, or believe they are Christian, but do not bear any resemblance to Jesus whatsoever, and are in no way caring or have ever taken up a cross to follow Jesus, we should not be satisfied with the title Christian, for then we are by the name associated with them. The other parts of the world put us all in the same group. But if we can express our true title as born-again, spirit-filled, cross-carrying, Bible-believing followers of Jesus, then maybe the world might see us as different than all the rest. Maybe we will reflect his glory in ever-increasing glory. Then, we can say that we have lost our lives, and we are not ashamed of Jesus. It is not just being a Christian, it is being a Jesus follower, so we will not be ashamed of Jesus. 

To Deny Self

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

TO DENY SELF

Luke 9:23-27

23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. 27 I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God." 

NIV

These words of Jesus are a lot to take in and we may have to spend more then one look at them. The first that we must consider is taking up our cross daily and following him. Taking up our cross daily requires denying ourselves. To deny ourselves is about saying no to the passions of the flesh. This is not our daily needs to eat and drink, or to have a place to live, or some form of transportation to get to our work, which is this daily life we all must endure at some level. However, it is the passions of sin which Jesus it speaking about, and perhaps the passions this world has to offer in the physical sense. Jesus made it clear that we cannot serve two masters, God and money. We either have Almighty God as our master, or we serve the almighty dollar. This could also be part of denying ourselves. We must look at all aspects of what would be considered not to deny ourselves. It is possible each one of us may have some different area in life that we must deny in order to take up our cross and follow Jesus. However, it is centered on the cross, where Jesus denied himself, giving his life to be the ransom for our sins. If we are taking up our cross, it involves offering ourselves as a living sacrifice to God.  This means that we serve God rather then serve ourselves, which again means we cannot serve both or two masters, God and self. This does not mean we cannot enjoy a good cup of coffee, or the sweet taste of good chocolate, or the savory taste of a perfect filet mignon. But to say yes to every sinful thought or behavior would mean trying to live for all the passions of the flesh, and that would not be living for God, or even coming close to any cross to pick up and follow Jesus. Yet, Jesus is making the point of gaining the whole world, which would imply to us that he is speaking again about the love of money, which we know is the root of all evil. Not the money itself, for we all need some amount of it to buy food, clothing, housing, etc. However, when we are obsessed with gaining as much as we can, or building bigger barns to store it in so we can sit back, relaxing, taking life easy, then we could be in danger of having some sort of love affair with money, which is the world. Let us consider this more as we continue to explore all the avenues connected with taking up our cross, to deny ourselves. 

The I AM

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

THE I AM

 

Luke 9:18-22

18 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?" 19 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life." 20 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God." 21 Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. 22 And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." 

NIV

Luke simply tells us once, when Jesus was praying in private, while Matthew records this conversation took place when they were at the region of Caesarea Philippi. When we consider this place, which we had the opportunity to visit, we saw the ruins of a temple that Ceasar built for himself, who was a man that wanted to be a god, along with what was once a temple to a man made god named Pan, who it was said to be a god who wanted to be a man, for his image was that of a man. This bears greatly on the question of Jesus when he asked his disciples, “Who do you say I am”? As we ponder this question, and verbalize it, the place that we put the emphasis makes the question more meaningful. Because they told him who the people thought he might be, putting the emphasis on the words, “I am” puts the question exactly where it should be, rather than making the words, “Who do you say” the more important ones. However, in some sense that is also important as it is important to Jesus, they see him for who he is. This brings us to the same question. Who do we say Jesus is? Peter’s answer was correct, in that he said that Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ of God. We would think that all of us believers know that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, the anointed one of God, sent to save us from our sins, taking them to the cross. We also would know that which he warned them not to tell anyone. We all would know that he did suffer many things and he was rejected and was killed and rose on the third day, which is why we celebrate Sunday as our Sabbath. We serve a risen Savior, one who went back to the right hand of the Father and is always,  or consistently interceding on our behalf. It is not that God the Father needs Jesus to always remind him of what Jesus did for us, or that if Jesus stopped asking the Father to forgive us, that our sins would be then held against us. It is simply that Jesus is back where he always was before he came to earth to die for our sins, setting us free and giving us eternal life. All is as it was in the beginning when we, who are now in Christ, like Adam was supposed to be, a man without sin who would live forever. The difference being, we are seen as holy and righteous in the eyes of God because we are in Christ, and one day we will actually be like Adam was supposed to be, sinless and eternal beings, living in the Paradise Jesus has prepared for us, walking with him in the cool of the day, which will always be the perfect day because God will be the Light. All this is because we know who He is, The I AM. 

Give Them Something to Eat

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT

Luke 9:12-17

12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, "Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here." 13 He replied, "You give them something to eat." They answered, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish — unless we go and buy food for all this crowd." 14(About five thousand men were there.) But he said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each."  15 The disciples did so, and everybody sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

NIV

Although this is one of the best-known miracles of Jesus, feeding five thousand with two fish and five loaves, there is something else that stirs us to consider. Of course, we also know there were far more than five thousand for that was the number of men, then the woman and any of their children could have made the number eating to up to ten or maybe fourteen thousand, and there were still leftovers. It is the words of Jesus that give us a moment to pause. “You give them something to eat”. It is commendable that twelve were thinking about the needs of the people. It is a good thing to think about the needs of others, but to tell them to go and buy your own food, may not be the best way to handle being concerned for their hunger. This is why Jesus told them they were to give the people something to eat. First, we wonder if Jesus was teaching his disciples to exercise their faith. Second, we wonder if Jesus was teaching them to show compassion for the people by feeding them from their own resources. We do have those ministries today, such as the Fairborn Fish Pantry, that do indeed feed the people real food, meeting their needs with the resources that are made available from many different sources. However, there is another type of feeding the people that also meets their needs, although this food is for their spiritual needs. This is feeding the people from the word of God. This should not just be the responsibility of the pastor, or maybe we could say the prophet, evangelist, apostles, pastors, and teachers for the perfecting of the saints or to prepare believers for works of service so the body of Christ may be built up and we all reach unity in the faith in the knowledge of the Son, and become mature, attaining to the full measure of Christ. Perhaps, this feeding from the word of God should be up to all of us, just as Jesus wanted his disciples to feed the thousands. Yes, we should see to the physical needs for food of those who have a difficult time providing for themselves, but then many are also having problems finding food from God for their souls. Let us always be open and ready to give them something to eat. 

Follow and Be Welcomed

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

FOLLOW AND BE WELCOMED

Luke 9:10-11

10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

When the people found out where Jesus was, they followed him, and he welcomed them all. The first thing we notice here is that when the people found out where Jesus was, they followed him. Is that different from our story? There was a time in our lives when we did not know where Jesus was and, in fact, truth be told, we did not care to know nor did we care to find him, much less follow him. However, then came the day, we heard where Jesus was and where he had been. We were amazed to find out that Jesus was in the heavens in the beginning and that everything that was made was made by Him. We began to understand that Jesus was God who was called the Son of God, and that He came to earth in the form of the man He created, but not as a king, but as an infant and lived a sinless life, redoing what Adam was unable to do. When we found out all about what He did for us, we then began to follow Him. To our amazement, He welcomed us, and he healed us because we needed healing. Perhaps not a physical one, although we have experienced physical healing by Him later in our walk with Him, but at first, He healed our sinful state, forgiving our sins, and cleansing us with His blood, making us holy and pleasing to the Father. It is awesome to know that Jesus has welcomed us into the kingdom of God. It is interesting the Greek word, apodechomai, means to accept or receive or simply to give one access to oneself, which is the case in this verse. He welcomed them, he gave them access to himself. That is what Jesus has done for us as He has given us access to Himself. He has welcomed us into the family of God. When we think about having access to Jesus, it means that all He is, all His power, and authority is available to us, as long as we follow Him, which carries far more than just following. The Greek word, akoloutheoo, means to follow the one who precedes, to join him as his attendant, accompany him. We have followed Jesus through the waters of baptism and we will follow him in death and also in resurrection, and then He is coming back for us so that we can follow him to the place he has prepared for us.

 

Trying to See Jesus

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

TRYING TO SEE JESUS

Luke 9:7-9

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

NIV

It is interesting how those who do not know who Jesus is are perplexed. Herod knew that he had beheaded John, but when he heard some say that this new person who was doing miracles was John, he could not come to grips with who this new man in town was. So, he tried to see him. How did a man such as Herod the tetrarch try to see Jesus. Did he walk among the streets making an effort to get close to him and see who Jesus was? A king walking among the common people does not seem to be right. Looking into the Greek word, zeeteoo, we find it to mean, to seek after to find or can be used as, desired to see. However, Herod did not see Jesus until the time of his trial, then he just wanted to see some miracle performed. Is it fair to say that those who do not know who Jesus really is, cannot see him either? Sure, we who are born again, Spirit filled, bible toting followers of Jesus have not seen him with our eyes, although one day we will, we see him with our inner being, our spirit, and we see in throughout the bible. The world does not know who he is, and they cannot see him no matter who they are looking to see. However, we can show them Jesus, because we reflect his glory in ever-increasing glory, and they should be able to see Jesus when they look upon us. The question is whether that is true or not. Do we really reflect enough of Jesus for people to see him within us? Reflecting Jesus is not about being a good person, or even doing good things, for many of the world do good things, even through they may harbor some evil within them, but then do we not also struggle with having some evil within us, for we have not yet attained perfection? Therefore, we would think to reflect Jesus would mean to reflect his grace, his peace, and his love. Are we? Can people see Jesus? Maybe, just maybe, some are trying to see Jesus. 

Given Authority

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

GIVEN AUTHORITY

Luke 9:1-6

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

NIV

We know this was strictly a command given to the twelve and it is not meant for us to learn a lesson from, except all scripture is profitable for correcting, rebuking, teaching, and training us in righteousness so we will be fully equipped for every good work. Could we then think that Jesus has also given us power and authority to drive out demons and cure diseases? Certainly, we should be speaking about the kingdom of God, and we know that if any among us is sick they should call the elders to anoint them and pray over them, and the prayer of faith, which again, faith is the issue, will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. In addition, if that person has sinned, their sin will be forgiven. The key is that it must be a prayer of faith, then it is the Lord who will raise up that person, or heal them, but we have that power and authority to pray in faith believing for that healing. That is the same power the twelve had, not to heal people themselves, but the power to pray in faith, in the name of Jesus. As far as driving out demons, we should approach this with great care, and plenty of faith in Jesus. Many years ago while I was spending much time at the Teen Challenge Center in Chicago, I and my mentor Paul, who was the director of the center, had a young man come wanting to enter the program, but when we came into the waiting room, we could tell he was possessed by a demon, and we prayed over him, casting that demon out, and it did leave and that young man was changed forever, a different person. I know we have that authority, and we should be open to the inspiration of the Spirit when and wherever we are supposed to preach the good news about the kingdom of God, heal the sick, drive out demons, and learn to depend on Jesus for all we need to do all we are supposed to do. Now, there are times when there will be people who, if what we have to say about the kingdom of God is not welcomed and they reject that good news, then we should shake the dust off our feet, and leave them alone. However, the point here is that we should be living with the authority Jesus gave us. 

Let Them Laugh

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

LET THEM LAUGH

Luke 8:49-56

49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," he said. "Don't bother the teacher any more." 50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed."  51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child's father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. "Stop wailing," Jesus said. "She is not dead but asleep."  53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, "My child, get up!"  55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

NIV

Having looked at the words of Jesus telling us, “Don’t be afraid; just believe”, we see one more truth here that we need to note. We also considered that we should “Stop wailing” about our infirmities, or our aches and pains, but the other truth we want to look into is about the people who laughed at him, knowing, or believing they knew the facts. How many times have we been laughed at because of our faith? Some people think they know the facts but because of our faith, we do not have to deal with facts because we know the Living God, and Jesus told us that if we ask anything in His name, he will do it, and when Jesus does anything it usually, if not always, defies the facts. Like the fact those many years ago when I did not have two dimes to rub together, and God told me He would give me a new home in the suburbs. When I testified on Sunday morning, in church, what God was going to do, I heard some laugh. On the day I needed three thousand dollars to put down to start the mortgage proceedings, it came to me the night before from an impossible source. God did what he said he would do. Or like the time I had my heart attack and I asked Jesus to let me live because my wife was not ready to be alone. God kept me alive overnight until the doctors were ready for me, and when they looked at my heart, they said I should be dead, but I told them God was keeping me alive until they could clear the brokerage that should have killed me. Or like the time I walked into a model home here in Ohio and God spoke those words, “Move here” clearly in my ears, and I put money down on a home to be built and went back to Illinois and sold our home of twenty-seven years within one day. Faith will defy the facts, and throughout people laughed, not believing that God would do that much for me. If we live by faith and believe what Jesus said, and act upon our faith, people may well laugh at us, because they live by facts instead of faith. Time and time again, God has given me more than I desire, yet maybe it is simply because I believe what He says. Faith moves mountains, facts try to move them, but fail every time. Let them laugh, they only see with their eyes, we see with our faith. They laughed at Jesus, seeing a dead girl, Jesus saw a sleeping girl and woke her up. Let us live by the faith we profess, believing what Jesus said, believing the truth the Spirit has led us to, faith overpowers their laughing. So let them laugh. 

"Don't Be Afraid; Just Believe"

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

DON’T BE AFRAID; JUST BELIEVE

Luke 8:49-56

49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," he said. "Don't bother the teacher any more." 50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed."  51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child's father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. "Stop wailing," Jesus said. "She is not dead but asleep."  53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, "My child, get up!"  55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

NIV

Just believe, that is the key to the whole Christian life. Just believe. However, there lies the problem. We think for the most part we believers have a struggle with believing. Maybe we want to look at the scriptures with too much of an intellectual approach and forget that Jesus told us to just believe. However, there is one aspect to this just believing and that is with no fear. This is one of the most common phrases in the scripture, “Don’t be afraid” “Do not be afraid” or “Fear not” if we use the KJV version. Fear will cripple our faith, and force us into a state of disbelief, rather than “Just believe”.

Then we also find this command, “Stop wailing”. Of course, Jesus was speaking to the women who were accustomed to wailing in grief over someone who died. However, how much to we wail over our aches and pains, complaining about everything that is wrong with our bodies, and then adding our troubles in this life. Why do we not ask Jesus, especially when he has told us to ask him anything in His name and He will do it. Do we not believe that? Do we hide from asking because we do not think that is true, or that Jesus will tell us, No or wait? Where in the scripture does God say to wait for what we ask for? Where does God say he is not ready to give us what we ask for in the name of Jesus? Certainly, we wait for His return, but that is not waiting to receive what we ask in the name of Jesus. Why are we afraid when Jesus has also said not to be afraid to ask him for our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Let us voice our hearts' need to the Father, in the name of Jesus, and expect to receive that which we ask for now. Jesus told that woman who just touched the hem of his garment that her faith had made her whole, and healed her, immediately. When He took that little girl by the hand, her spirit returned to her immediately. Just believe, and we will see miracles upon miracles. 

If We Could Just Touch

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

IF WE COULD JUST TOUCH

Luke 8:40-48

40 Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come to his house 42 because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying. As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 45 "Who touched me?" Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you." 46 But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me." 47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace." 

NIV                                                                                                                                                              

Although Jesus is on the way to the house of Jairus, we will get to what happens there next, for we must stop at this moment when the power had gone out from Jesus. This woman had been ill for years, having gone to every doctor in town, and not one could solve her illness, none of them knew how to heal this poor woman, she had spent all her money on doctors and nothing. Then she heard about Jesus, and she knew that He could heal her, if she could just touch the hem of his garment, that would be enough to get healed. But the crowds were pressing in on him and it was nearly impossible to get close to him. There is the most powerful tile picture in the Catholic church in the city of Magdala, Israel, that we were privileged to view. It depicts all the feet in sandals, with a single hand reaching through them to touch the hem of His garment. When she touched Jesus, the healing power flowed from Him and she was instantly healed. Here is where the rubber meets the road for us. Jesus knew power went out of Him and he asked who it was who touched Him. Eventually, she came forward, and here is what we need to grasp deep within our souls. Jesus told her that her faith had healed her and to go in peace. Faith is the key to healing, faith without any doubt whatsoever, the perfect faith of this woman, without question, she knew if she could just touch His garment she would be healed. Can we not touch Jesus any time we want? Can we not ask Him anything in His name, and expect that He will do it, for that is what He told us. Doesn’t the Apostle James tell us as inspired by the Spirit, to call the elders of the church and when they anoint a person that is sick and offer a prayer in faith, the sick will be healed. This is where faith means faith, not a pretend faith, but actual faith without any doubt whatsoever. We talk about being people of faith, but are we really people of faith, or do we just talk like we have faith. Let us reach out and touch Jesus and we will be healed, even if we can only touch the hem of His garment. 

Go Tell Everyone

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

GO TELL EVERYONE

Luke 8:34-39

34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, 35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. 37 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 "Return home and tell how much God has done for you." So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

NIV

Why would the people of that region be so afraid because this man who had been so possessed by demons was cured? Did all those people think that Jesus was going to drive the demons out of them too? That could not be right, for they were simply normal people, not like this man who acted so crazy and lived in the tombs. But why so much fear. Perhaps they were just sinful people who enjoyed their sinful lives and did not want Jesus to interfere with their way of life. If he had the power to drive out demons from this man, they may have thought he had the power to drive out the sin from their lives. We wonder how many people today do not want anything to do with Jesus for the same reason. How many people today enjoy their sinful lives? We have to be truthful about sin, for the most part, it is enjoyable for the moment. But living in sin has to have some effect on a person’s inner being, for we all have the knowledge of God within us. Every human being has that knowledge, but those who prefer to live in sin have suppressed that truth within them, we know from experience having lived in sin, that we were still aware of God, even though we may have voiced the opinion we did not believe in God, or that there was a God. However, when faced with the choice, when confronted with the thought of death or life, we had to choose life and the only way, after a careful search through other paths, found only the one way to life and that was through Jesus Christ. This is what this demon-possessed man found, life through Jesus Christ and he wanted to go with Jesus and follow him wherever he went, but Jesus had another plan for this man. True, in one sense this man was still following Jesus, by returning home and telling how much God did for him. Jesus was always about telling the good news about the kingdom of God, and this man was to tell how God did so much for him, doing the same that Jesus did. That is our story, we follow Jesus, not in the physical sense that man wanted to, but in a spiritual sense, telling how much God did for us. Maybe some of us get confused about what our testimony is, but telling all the things that we do for Jesus, instead of telling all the things Jesus has done for us. We have been in churches where that is the testimony of the church, how much they do in the community for Jesus, but they never told how much Jesus did for the church. No, our testimony is all about him much Jesus has done for us. We can never stop telling our story, from where we were, and how Jesus came into our lives, and saved us from the penalty of sin, and gave us eternal life. But that was just the beginning for Jesus has been doing great things in our lives. Everything we have, all that we are, the transformation that has happened within us, and the calling he has upon us is marvelous, wonderful and we have been filled to the brim, in fact, to overflowing with the Holy Spirit, first, in that he has revealed all truth to us, and second, he gives us that glow, that refection of the glory of God in every increasing glory. Then on top of all that He has provided us with so much we just have to tell everyone about Jesus. We have to tell how much God has done for us. 

Paradise or the Pit

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

PARADISE OR THE PIT

Luke 8:26-33

26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. 27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don't torture me!" 29 For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places. 30 Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him. 31 And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss. 32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into them, and he gave them permission. 33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

NIV

Interestingly, this legion of demons did not make the man run down the steep bank into the lake and drown, but as soon as Jesus gave them permission, it appears they caused the pigs to run down the steep bank into the lake and drown. The question is what then happened to the demons, did they drown with the pigs or go somewhere else when they were done with the pigs? What the demons were most afraid of was being cast into the Abyss. This Greek word, abussos, directly means an immeasurable depth or a bottomless pit. This is the same bottomless pit spoken about in the revelation given to John. The fifth angel was given the key to it and smoke rose out of it, as well as Jesus sent the devil into this bottomless pit and shut him up in it for a thousand years. Is it any wonder, that those who were once in heaven with God, and were cast down because they took Lucifer's side against God, knew who Jesus was as they called him Jesus, Son of the Most High, and were deathly afraid of the bottomless pit. This gives us a clue that even the demons may not be eternal beings. If they chose to drown with the pigs rather than be sent into the bottomless pit, they could die. Perhaps this is the same in the spiritual world referred to as the second death, the death of the spirit, which would follow the first death of the body if a person’s name is not found in the Book of Life. Because of being in Christ, it is so assuring that because we are in Christ because we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and we worship God and God alone, we will not have to suffer that second death, but we will indeed have eternal life, living with Jesus, the Son of the Most High in a paradise that Jesus has prepared for us. This bottomless pit may have some similarities with the Lake of burning sulfur, for it too may well be bottomless, an Abyss, also referred to as the depth of the sea. Whatever this bottomless place is, we do not want anything to do with it, and praise God, because we have Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we will never see that pit. We would think if people who refused to acknowledge Jesus as Lord were to know the pit is waiting for them, maybe they would change their thinking. The demons were already with God but chose poorly, and the pit awaited them. So we have chosen correctly, and each chooses, but as for me, and my household, we will serve the Lord. 

Where is Your Faith?

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

WHERE IS YOUR FAITH

Luke 8:22-25

22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let's go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. 24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we're going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."

NIV

There is no doubt that we are going to experience a few storms in our lives. We can never predict when they might happen, just as the disciples could not predict that squall that almost swamped their boat. They were afraid they would drown. We would think that a few of them, being fishermen, would know how to handle the boat in a storm. But it appears they were just as afraid as those who were not fishermen, such as Matthew, an ex-tax collector. Nevertheless, we notice the squall did not affect Jesus whatsoever, in fact, amid the storm, he was so calm that he could sleep. This gives us the confidence to know that no matter what kind of storm comes up in our lives, Jesus is so calm that he is not bothered by our storms and is always there to calm them for us. We get so nervous, or anxious about the storm we are facing, and think that our troubles or problems are going to drown us, Jesus will calm that storm, of course, just as he asked the disciples about where is their faith, we too, must have faith that Jesus will handle that situation for us. Even if we are fishermen, that is even if we have our training, or education in the area we have this storm appear in our lives, we may not be able to row our own way to shore because that storm has become overwhelming. However, nothing is impossible for Jesus, he can and will bring calmness to the situation, if we ask him, knowing in faith, because he said so, that we can ask him anything in his name and he will do it. Just as he stood up and calmed that squall and all became calm even to the amazement of his disciples, He will calm our storms, and maybe even to our amazement. Everything is obedient to Jesus, just as the winds and waters were in that boat, so will any storm in our lives. Let us not wait for Jesus to ask us, “Where is your faith?” 

Hearing and Doing

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

HEARING AND DOING

Luke 8:19-21

19 Now Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you." 21 He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice." 

NIV

Certainly, Jesus is not disrespecting his mother in his answer but is merely taking the opportunity to make a point. He is using this situation as a teaching moment. We must think that Jesus did at some point greet his mother and brothers even amidst the crowd of people surrounding him. The point Jesus was making is that to be part of the family of God we must first hear God’s word and then put it into practice. Now, here is where some might diverge in other directions regarding the meaning of “Put it into practice”. Some might say this means to do good work, to serve in some way so that we are doing everything the right way, following the rules and regulations they believe are scriptural. That may be what is putting into practice God’s word. But those things do not make us part of God’s family. To be in the family of God, to be a brother or sister to Jesus, to have him as our brother, and to be a child of God, is to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. As in any family structure, the father is the head of the family, and so our heavenly Father is the head of His family. Certainly, the Father has all authority in his family and so we should listen to Him and obey his voice. However, here again, we could become confused as to what obeying his voice looks like. We could get caught up in creating all sorts of deeds we think are the work that God requires of us, but the word of God is clear that the work that God requires of us is to believe in the one he sent, Jesus. Of course, out of our love for God, we want to be of service to Him and do what he says, and therein lies the problem. To serve Him, to do something to benefit the kingdom of God, we first must hear his voice, his calling us to a particular area of service. We can think that our human skills, what we are educated in, our learned talents, so to speak, would be how God uses us, but that is not always the case. If we are using our talents for God, then who gets the credit? But then God calls us to serve him outside any of our abilities, then He gets all the credit for our service. This is not to say God would not use our talents, He is still sovereign. The world functions by using our education, our degrees in whatever, and all our abilities, we list in our resumes to get a position. God may well function altogether differently by calling us to a place of service where we have no talent or ability, and He empowers us, with his gifts, to do that which he has determined where we are to best serve him. Then it is about hearing the voice of God and putting it into practice. 

The Light

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

THE LIGHT

Luke 8:16-18

16 "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, he puts it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. 17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. 18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him." 

NIV

Consider carefully these words of great significance. We must listen well to the words of Jesus. There are these two truths in what Jesus said, so we should address each one separately. First, is the truth about the light. To not hide it, we first must have that light. Of course, we know Jesus is the Light, but he has told us that we are the light of the world and as such we are to live with our light shining brightly so that whoever comes into our presence can see the light. What is important is that we must shine our light into the darkness. What good is having the light, or being the light of the world, if we do not go into the darkness, for they can see the light? What good is shining our light with everyone who also has the light? If we only shine within the building of the church, then we could be guilty of hiding our light, putting it under the bed, or in a jar. We are required to put out light on the stand, so all can see our light. Now, there may be people in the church building who have not yet received that light, or if they have, are hiding it somewhere, and perhaps we should not just shine our light into the darkness of this world, but also in the building, so everyone can see the light. When the light of Jesus shines within us and through us, it will reveal the truth. But first, the light of Jesus must reveal the truth within us, we cannot hide from the light either, and it reveals all our faults, so we know the truth about ourselves, and can allow the word of God to correct, rebuke, teach, and train us in all righteousness. When we think we don’t need that light to reveal all the truth about ourselves, then maybe that is when it will be taken from us, and we will be living in the darkness. Let us always allow the word of God, the Light to shine brightly within us so that we can shine brightly into the darkness around us. 

A Good Crop

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

A GOOD CROP

Luke 8:9-15

9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, "'though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.'   11 "This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

NIV

If someone has not accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior they are most likely not the least bit interested in what Jesus said, and they are blind to the truth of God. We understand that because before we entered the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus Christ, we did not understand a word that was written in the Bible, we could have been reading Greek for as much as we understood. However, being in Christ and having the Spirit dwell within us, the scriptures are full, actually, dripping with truth. Therefore, we are among those to whom the knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God has been given. Still, Jesus gives us the meaning of this parable. We have had the word of God sown in us, and it behooves us to understand which of the four types of people we are. Of course, we are the good soil because we have a noble and good heart, at least, we would think we do, for we have heard the word, and we have retained it, we have kept the word of God alive within us, and again we would think and hope that we are producing a good crop. But we are concerned if, in any way, we might have allowed the worries of life, riches, and pleasures to keep us from becoming as mature as we should be. We have known believers in the past who appeared to be not producing as good a crop as they should because of the distractions of worry, trusting in money more than God, and enjoying perhaps too many of the pleasures they have obtained for themselves. We must be careful not to become envious, or jealous of those who have become more invested in the ways of the world than in God, and yet consider themselves Christians. Let us live as good soil, always retaining the word of God in our hearts and minds and producing a good crop. This good crop could exist in different forms. It could be seen as the fruit of the Spirit, which would require becoming mature, as a tree must mature before it produces any fruit. This producing good fruit could be seen as bringing others into the Kingdom of God, which could be done through evangelism efforts, or being the light of the world, reflecting the glory of God in ever-increasing glory, so that people see Jesus in us and want peace we have within us. We do not think we reflect the glory of God by just being good, or doing good, but there must be a glow, like the light glows, giving light to the whole area we are in. Let us persevere and thus be the producer of a good crop.

 

 

 

 

Ears to Hear

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

EARS TO HEAR

Luke 8:4-8

4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 

NIV

We have read this parable and its meaning many times and understand it because Jesus explained it in full to his disciples, and so we will leave looking further into the different types of people when we get the explanation that Jesus gives to his disciples. What we need to focus on now are these words that Jesus called out after telling the parable. We would hope that we have ears to hear, and that we do hear what Jesus has said and is still saying to our hearts and minds. However, looking into the Greek we find this word akouoo, which is typically used to mean, to understand, to perceive the sense of what is said. It is one thing to read the word of God, to quote it, as if we know it, but it is entirely a different thing to perceive the sense of what is said in the scriptures. Sometimes, we need the enlightenment of the scholars, or to hear the words of a preacher who has studied and has perceived the sense of what is said in the scriptures. There could also be preachers that have not perceived the sense what is said, speaking with silver tongues to gathered people unto themselves rather then lead them to God. However, we also have the Spirit dwelling within us, and He is the one who leads us into all, not some, but all the truth, which would indicate that because he is leading us we would perceive the sense of what is said within the word of God. But oud still comes down to whether we are actually listening to hear. There are so many loud voices all screaming for our attention, at times the noise can be deafening. There is even our own loud voice, telling us to follow our own path, seek our own desires, plan our own future, secure our financial portfolio for retirement, trust our choices for ourselves. However, can we hear that small still voice of the Lord, speaking the truth into our hearts and minds amidst all the noise of this life? Can we hear him? Can we understand what him speaking to us? If we do hear him and perceive his meaning, then we are left to do two things, ignore it, and do our own understanding, our own interpretation of the truth, so that it fits into our way of thinking, or we can perceive the truth he indents for us to hear, and apply it to ever aspect of our lives, making all the necessary changes of our thinking and thus living as to be in accordance with the truth we have heard. The question that is before us is do we have ears to hear. 

Proclaiming the Good News

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS

 

Luke 8:1-3

8:1 After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; 3 Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod's household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

NIV

One of the things we rarely consider is these women had their own means. They supported Jesus and we would think the twelve as well from a source of sustenance. What is usually thought of women during that time was that they did not have this own identity. They  were first the daughter of a man, then a wife of a man, or seen as the mother of a man, such as Joanna is referred to as the wife of Cuza. So how did they support Jesus and his disciples from their own means? However, the point here is that it was right and still is to support someone who is proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. Now whether the person proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God is a traveling evangelist as was the case with Jesus or someone who is constantly in the same place, such as a pastor, it is right to support that person from our own means. What we should consider is the other scripture that establishes the of supporting the pastor or shepherd of the flock, which Jesus is referred to as the Good Shepherd, for he did feed his people, the good news of the kingdom of God, plus so much more teachings as to how we live in this kingdom. Still, being able to proclaim the good news of the kingdom traveling from town to town does require some support and that is what this woman did. We do wonder how much difference there is in proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God and proclaiming aspects of living in this kingdom. We also wonder if we all, as followers of Jesus, should be proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. That is, if we say we are followers of Jesus, rather than just saying that we are Christians does it have a different meaning. If we are followers of Jesus then we would think we would follow what Jesus did or said, such as when he said that we would do even greater things that he did. But the action that Luke tells us here about Jesus is that everywhere he went, he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God.  The one truth we can stand on is that news about the kingdom of God is good news. In this world that seems to be obsessed with bad news, we would think we are the one person who can share some good news, and in reality, it is the only truly good news there has even been and is now and will forever be. Let us not just be Christians by name, but follow Jesus, being the one in this world who has the good news about the kingdom of God and proclaiming it wherever we go. Maybe we could just start a conversation asking someone if they heard about the good news. 

By Faith

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

BY FAITH

Luke 7:39-50

39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is — that she is a sinner." 40 Jesus answered him, "Simon, I have something to tell you." "Tell me, teacher," he said. 41 "Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?" 43 Simon replied, "I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled." "You have judged correctly," Jesus said. 44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.   46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."  48 Then Jesus said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."  49 The other guests began to say among themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" 50 Jesus said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you; go in peace." 

NIV

As we already noted, Jesus had been invited to dinner by this Pharisee, who is Simon, the leper, and Jesus accepted the invitation. We have looked at the fact we have invited Jesus to sup with us and he has accepted our invitation. Now this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisee brings us to our exchange or conversation with Jesus. However, it is not just a conversation but is centered on a question. First, it stems from the actions of the woman, and second from the non-actions of the Pharisee. Jesus is making a compassion of the actions of a sinful woman, and those of a self-righteous pharisee. Jesus asks the question, who loves him more, the woman or the Pharisee? Of course, he used an illustration to drive that point home, and now we wonder if that could apply to Christians today. Surely all of us love the Lord and want to serve him with our whole being. It would be completely judgmental to think one Christian loves the lord less than any other. But the question that is before us is; is there a difference between, if there is, a righteous, and dare we say, a self-righteous, or at least a religious  Christian and sinful person saved by faith? Because I do not have the wonderful experience of growing up in a righteous home, with believing parents, and accepted Jesus as a small child, but rather lived a sinful life for years, do we have differences in our life or conversations or exchanges with Jesus. Do we have differences in our actions or non-actions toward Jesus? We would hope there is none whatsoever, yet we see how the difference between the sinful woman and the religious pharisee was in their actions toward Jesus. What we know is that some have been forgiven for much, while others may or may not have been forgiven for as much of a sinful life as we once lived, yet we all are sinners saved by our faith in Jesus Christ. Yes, we serve him because we love him, but nothing we can do can save us other than our faith. 

Reclining With Jesus

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

RECLINING WITH JESUS

Luke 7:36-38

36 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. 37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

NIV

Before we get into the complete scene and the exchange between Jesus and the Pharisee, Simon, regarding the actions of the woman and the non-actions of Simon, we are interested in three facts. First, why did one of the Pharisees invite Jesus to dinner? Second, why did Jesus accept the invitation? Third, is this the same account we see in Matthew, Mark, and John when it is said that a woman named Mary did the same thing that Luke simply says is a woman who lived a sinful life? There is also this difference that Luke records it was a Pharisee that invited Jesus, the others say it was Simon the leper. However, we are looking at Luke here and this is what we should consider, except we cannot escape the facts of the other gospels. Still, why would a Pharisee invite Jesus, unless he came to the realization of who Jesus was and wanted to spend time with him, or was wanting to see if he could trap Jesus into doing something he could accuse him of. Either way, Jesus accepted the invitation which will always be the case, no matter who is inviting him to dine with him. We know the words of Jesus as recorded in the Revelation given to John, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and sup with him, and he with me”, in the KJV version, the NIV translate to eat, both meaning what happened here in the invite of the Pharisee. He must have heard the voice of Jesus knocking at the door of his heart, and Jesus entered and supped with Simon the Pharisee. We heard the voice of Jesus and opened the door to our hearts and lives, and he entered and reclined at the table of our lives. The question that comes to our minds is if we are weeping at his feet, and offering him our tears? Of course, we cannot do that physically as this woman did. Still, metaphorically, we can sit at the feet of Jesus, listening to him, offering our bodies as a living sacrifice, like that expensive jar of perfume she poured on Jesus. No matter the expense of material things, nothing is worth more to Jesus than us, as Paul puts it, poured out like a drink offering to Jesus. Nevertheless, we have invited Jesus in, and he has accepted our invitation and is reclining with us in our lives. We can have no greater thing in life than to recline with Jesus. 

Looking to See

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

LOOKING TO SEE

Luke 7:31-35

31  "To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.'

33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." '  35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children." 

NIV

When we consider what Jesus said to the Pharisees and the experts in the law concerning myself and John the Baptist, we see the problem with mankind. What this problem is that we, the people, look at the outside and make misjudgments which is another problem with us, we the people, we judge each other based on what we see and have no clue who the real person is. When we make a misjudgment based on appearance or even an outside behavior, such as when John and Jesus were being misjudged, we are only acting out of self-defense for we know in our heart that we are neither perfect nor rightly qualified to make any judgment. This self-defense is all about wanting to think that we are better the whoever we are making this misjudgment about. We are going to get to the part of this gospel when Jesus tells the Pharisees they want to look clean on the outside, but on the inside, they are full of greed and wickedness. Man sees only the outside, but God looks into our hearts. Who cares if a person decides not to eat or drink certain things or if they decide to eat or drink certain things, that is the misjudgment the Pharisees made about John and Jesus. But wisdom is proved right by all her children. If we are a child of wisdom, we will know what is right and never make a misjudgment based on a person’s appearance or their choice of food and drink. Who among us can rightly call another a sinner, without first looking in the mirror? Then we can call us all sinners saved by grace. Jesus tells us to love each other, no matter who we appear to be based on the outside. Jesus loves us no matter who we are on the inside, although as we step into the grace of God, accepting the love of Jesus, we do go through the metanoia, that transition on the inside, changing from that caterpillar, consumed with satisfying only our own appetite, to a beautiful butterfly, spiritually flying in the grace of God. Let us sing a sweet song in our hearts to Jesus, and when we do that, perhaps people will see someone else on the outside than just us. 

What Are We Like?

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

WHAT ARE WE LIKE?

Luke 7:31-35

31 "To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other: "'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.' 33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.' 34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." '  35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children." 

NIV

Jesus is speaking about those who rejected God’s purpose for them, in this case, the Pharisees and the experts in the law, for they would not be baptized by John with his baptism of repentance, for they did not want to change the way they thought. Therefore, Jesus is telling them they are like children sitting in the marketplace calling out to each other. That is all they want to call each other the same truth over and over again, never looking to see a reason to change the way they think. There is more here which we may need to deal with later, but what stands out to us is this never wanting to change the way they think about what they see as the truth. Yet, that was not and still is not God’s purpose for them and now for us. Of course, we also know the Pharisees and the experts in the law, added so much more than God originally established for them. He did not tell them how many steps they could take on the Sabbath for example. They made over six hundred laws from the few that God commanded them to obey. This was not God’s purpose for them, as the law he gave them was to prove to them they were going to need a Savior, a Messiah who would rescue them from their sins. What is the takeaway for us from this lesson Jesus was teaching the Pharisees and the experts in the law is that we should always be open to hearing God’s purpose for us and that we cannot get so stuck in the one way that we are always thinking that we refuse to see the truth the Holy Spirit is leading us into. True, we have already changed the way we used to think before we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Still, we need to keep open to constantly being willing to see truths the Holy Spirit shows us and therefore,  be willing to change our thinking about the truth of God, because we could be so stuck in the one way we look at the word of God, we cannot see the tree inside the forest, or the truth beyond our current thinking. In addition, we have to be very careful about simply calling to ourselves the same old stuff we believe or adding some of our own rules and regulations which God has not insisted upon in his purpose for us. We must be thoughtful when we hear something different than what we thought for years or create some of our own truths. If we simply sit around in the church calling to each other our same thinking over and over again, perhaps we are no better than those Jesus was speaking to. Let us always be open to God’s purpose for us, growing into the likeness of Christ, and following Jesus, and his plan for our lives. We need to ask ourselves, “What are we like?”

God's Way is Right

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

GOD’S WAY IS RIGHT

Luke 7:29-30

29(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)

NIV

We are shown two different types of people here: sinners and the self-righteous. Why do the experts in the law reject God’s purpose for them? Clearly, the law points directly to God’s purpose of seeing Jesus as the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah, and for anyone to find the truth and life. How can anyone miss the fact that Jesus came to give us a life that God intended his creation to have from the being of time? God’s purpose for Adam was to live perfectly in paradise, being an eternal being, with no evil, and sin. But man failed and death came into the world. Now Jesus redid what man could not, he lived a perfect life, reset the plan of God, and had his creation live in paradise free of all evil and sin. God’s way is right. His plan for man is right, and Jesus came to show us the way of God, the new creation, a place where we can live as God intended, eternally. What we see in the baptism of John is repentance, for that was his message. It is interesting the Greek word, metanoia, simply means a change of mind, we can see the base word of metamorphosis, like what a caterpillar goes through in becoming a butterfly. So when we repent we change the way we think, we go through a metanoia. This is what Jesus was telling them. The tax collectors and sinners already had a change of thinking, for they were baptized by John for repentance for the forgiveness of sin. That was John’s message. We have heard that message and have changed the way we think, and we have been baptized, although not by John, but the idea is the same, we are following the way of God, acknowledging his way is right. Jesus has already prepared the place for us, for he has been there for the past several thousands of years since his resurrection and ascension. Just as he created the first earth, a perfect place for his creation, with nothing but life. But we know evil and sin entered and ruined this perfect place for us. Therefore, Jesus came to reset everything and now we will live with him, walking and talking with God on the perfect earth, the perfect new creation Jesus prepared for us. We cannot get confused and distracted by the law, or the laws and regulations that we set before us, just as the Pharisees and the experts in the law did. When we start looking at living under any form of law, we are not seeing God’s way as right, but to find our own way to life, if we do that we fool ourselves because we are not changing the way we think, and we do not see that God’s way is right. We must go through that metanoia, that change of mind, living by faith in Jesus, acknowledging that God’s way is right. 

The Least

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

THE LEAST

 

Luke 7:24-28

24 After John's messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swayed by the wind? 25 If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written:

"'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'  

28 I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." 

NIV

Jesus reaffirms the special calling on John’s life, the one who was prophesied by Malachi to be the messenger ahead of Jesus the would prepare the way before Jesus. There is no question that John the Baptist was called by God for something extraordinary. What is troubling in this witness of Jesus concerning John he said that among those born of woman, there is not one greater than John. The first problem we see is that Jesus was born of a woman, although John was conceived through the human process, while Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. However, if there is no human greater the John why then is the person who is the least in the kingdom of God greater than John? We wonder as to who might be the least in the kingdom of God? Is it just one person who can qualify to be the least in the kingdom of God? On the other hand, could it be all who seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness? If we are one of those who actually humbly seek the kingdom of God first, or above all else, it would be wrong to claim that we are greater than John the Baptist.  That would not fit the character of being humbly seeking the kingdom of God first. A person who is the least in the kingdom of God must see his total dependence on Jesus Christ. Pride cannot exist in the one who is least in the kingdom of God. If we were to make a list of all the people who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, or all believers, do they all qualify as the least, or is being the least mean putting all others before self? It is interesting the Greek word Jesus used for least, is Mikros, which of course we can see in the English word micro, meaning small, little. Can we say with all humility that we are nothing without Jesus? Can we say that all we are, all we do, all we have is completely through the provision of God? We can say that we are amazed at how God has lifted us up out of the muddy pit we used to live in and has put his Spirit within us, to guide us into all truth. We don’t understand how God could use us, because we have nothing, not one qualification, not a single ability within ourselves, in fact, we see ourselves as useless in some sense, with nothing to give in this life, the least of the least, of little consequence in the grand scheme of things. Yet, because we seek God, looking for his divine plan for us, wanting nothing less than to be a benefit to God’s kingdom, we still cannot understand how we could be greater than John, even if we are the least. 

Never Give Up

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

NEVER GIVE UP

Luke 7:18-23

18 John's disciples told him about all these things. Calling two of them, 19 he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" 20 When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, 'Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?'" 21 At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. 22 So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. 23 Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." 

NIV

Of course, the hidden message, and yet not hidden, here is about John the Baptist being in prison, a time he was going through an extremely tough time after being on a mountain top for a long time. He had been called from birth, set apart by God to do something extraordinary, Baptize the Son of God. John was also a rising star among the Jews as many were coming to him, hearing his preaching of repentance, and being baptized in the Jordan. A spiritual experience, we were privileged to take part in by baptizing some people in that same Jordon River. What a spiritual high moment in the life of John the Baptist after he baptizes Jesus, knowing he is the Lamb of God, in fact, John declared that when he saw Jesus passing by one day. We don’t know for sure if that was before or after he baptized Jesus and when John saw the Spirit descend on Jesus like a dove and heard the voice of God from heaven declaring that Jesus was his Son in whom He is well pleased. Can we say we have been in the presence of Jesus and the Spirit and the Father’s voice all at once? What an extremely high moment for John, and now he sits in jail, maybe more like a dungeon, cold, dark, and damp, perhaps in the presence of rats. It is no wonder why he is questioning if Jesus is the one? Faith requires constant believing that Jesus is the One, the Holy One of God, the Savior of the world, our Savior, our Redeemer, Our Lord, no matter the circumstances of this life. We have had some high times and some low times, but the one thing that we must always know is that Jesus died for our sins, and set us free from the burden of death, giving us eternal life. Jesus is always our Lord and Savior, even when we are going through a hard time, perhaps even the roughest time of our lives. We are always blessed by God because of Jesus, and we will never fall away, no matter what. We have to consider that he proved to the messengers from John that the blind received sight, the lame walk, those with leprosy, or in our case, skin cancer, are cured, the deaf hear, and the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. All that is also proof in our lives, for we were once blind but now we see, we were once crippled, but now we walk with God, our skin was once dead, but it is now it is made alive, once we could not hear the truth, but now we do, and yes, we were once dead in our sin, but Jesus raised us up and gave us life. we have been transformed by Jesus, the Word of God who became flesh and dwelled among us. As Winston Churchill once said at a graduation ceremony, “Never give up, never, give up”. Since we have graduated from death to life, we can never give up, not ever, for Jesus has transformed us, and once transformed we can not be untransformed, never going back, never giving up.