Not My Will

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

NOT MY 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

We should first note neither Matthew nor Mark recorded that Jesus' sweat was like drops of blood and that many of the early manuscripts do not include verses 43 and 44 of Luke's record of this time of Jesus praying to the Father in the garden on the mount of olives. However, Matthew and Mark record three times that Jesus prayed and got up to find his disciples sleeping or resting. However, two main points stand out for us: what Jesus prayed for and what he told his disciples to pray for. First, let us take this lesson from Jesus regarding submitting our will to the Father's will. Although Jesus is indeed God, he is still a man and can experience the pleasures and pains all men can. He knows he is facing the worst pain of all, being tortured and then nailed to a cross. We think, however, because Jesus was in the beginning and all that was made was made by him, and that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh, we have to know that from the beginning Jesus knew he would do this exact thing, so to redeem his own creation that he formed with his own hands and breathed life into them. We know that life was snuffed out because of disobedience, defined as sin, and thus Jesus came through obedience to bring life back into his created beings. Once we were dead in our sins, but now we are alive in Christ. This is the whole point of what Jesus was teaching us, but praying if there was any other way, yet it is not about the will of man, it is all about the will of the Father. Sure, we would like to forgo ugly or painful experiences in our lives. Yes, we would like what we want when we want it. Of course, we would like to be the caption of our own ship, so to speak, wanting to make our own choices in life, what profession or career path we want, or where and how we live, the direction of our life, our own goals, and ambitions being fulfilled. However, is our lives about seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, praying for those things we do not what and the things we do want, submitting all of everything, submitting our will, our desires, to the will of the Father. Let us always be praying, “Not my will, but yours be done” 

Jesus is Praying for us

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

JESUS IS PRAYING FOR US

Luke 22:31-38

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."  35 Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?" "Nothing," they answered.   36 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

Interestingly, we see that Satan has asked to tempt Peter, much as he asked God to let him go after Job. In both cases, he wanted to show God the man Job and this man Peter would not be faithful and fall away, fail completely, away from Christ. However, Jesus prayed that Peter’s faith would not utterly fail, that he would sin, that he would deny Jesus three times, but that he would also turn back and be able to use his experience to warn others and to teach others, encourage their faith. When we read the letters of Peter, we see he did just that, encouraged, warned, and exhorted his readers about faith in Jesus Christ. This also demonstrates the prayer of Jesus was and is always heard and is always answered. Jesus told Peter that when he had turned back, showing Peter Jesus had faith in him, although Peter would fall short, and sin by denying he was a disciple of Jesus, he would realize his sin, repent, and become one of the strongest defenders, mighty in faith, and go on to become one of the leaders of the early church. This is an encouragement to us because Jesus is now at the right hand of the Father and He is continuously making intercession or praying for us that when we fall short, when our faith has been weakened by falling into some temptation, when we turn back, which we always will, we can encourage others that Jesus is always there praying for us and his prayers are always heard and always answered. Satan may well be asking God if he can sift us, as he did with Job and Peter, and that is why God gave us His armor, but that is also why we can be assured that Jesus is praying for us. It is like God is praying to Himself, and the answer is always going to be yes, We will protect our people, We will be with them, and We will never forsake them, and although they fail at times, We know they will always be Ours, and they will never stay down, or uttering turn away from Us because We are always praying for them. We use the terms “We, Us, and Ours, in the sense of the triune God. The Son prays for us, the Father answers and the Spirit responds, as He dwells within us. We are completely in the hand of God with all of his almighty power at work for, in, and through us. Peter became a mighty man of faith even after failing so miserably. God has delivered us so that we can be that mighty man of faith and can warn others, He has called me to that labor, all the days of my life, and I cannot stop, I must go on encouraging others, as Peter did because Jesus is praying for me and for you. 

Serving With Humility

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

SERVING WITH HUMILITY

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

Although those sitting on thrones and judging the twelve tribes of Israel may be reserved for the disciples who were with Jesus during those years, the dispute and the truth about it certainly can apply to everyone to this day and beyond. Who is the greatest in the kingdom of God? According to Jesus, it is the youngest, and one who rules like the one who serves is the greatest.  There is no problem about us wanting to serve and doing so. Many of us do many acts of service to the kingdom or at least to the church, meaning people. We must be careful not to lord our position or title over others. We are not to think more highly of ourselves than we should because someone has conferred on someone a higher rank than another. Serving and being of service to others is the truth Jesus is showing everyone through his own life. He is the greatest there can ever be in the kingdom of God, for He is God, the creator of all that has been created and yet He came to serve his people, die for them, for us, so our sins can be forgiven. He served ultimately, giving his life for us. Men and women have given their lives fighting for freedom by serving in the armed forces. However, how can we show this kind of service in the world today? Many of us have never served in the armed forces but have only lived most of our lives as believers, living within the confines of the community of faith. How can we serve in the fullness of humility? We think that if we can see ourselves honestly, then we can determine our motives for doing anything in the kingdom of God. Are we doing our righteous acts of service to be seen by others with a prideful heart because of our position or title or because our heart is full of humility that God would call us to serve others by being who we are and doing what we do? Let us always see humility when we are alone and look in the mirror then we can know when we are with others, we will be serving with humility. 

Remember

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

REMEMBER

Luke 22:14-23

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."  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 are several truths held for us within this narrative and of course, this contains the words of Jesus which we take as one of the ordinances of the Church, holy communion. However, It is interesting that Jesus eagerly desired to eat this Passover with them before he was to suffer. This was the last time he would eat Passover with them while he was still in human form. The kingdom of God is eternal and although he would suffer for us, taking our sins, being the Lamb of God, he also knew he would rise again, and go back to the right hand of the Father, and be God for all eternity. Yet, this was a time with his disciples that was meaningful to Jesus. This demonstrates how personal Jesus was with them, and that is the same kind of intimate love and caring Jesus has for us. Sometimes, it seems to us that we just go through the ritual of communion without understanding the closeness we are with Jesus when we share, the cup and eat of the bread. However, whenever we do share the cup and break the bread together, we are to do this in remembrance of Him, who, and what Jesus did for us. He wanted his disciples to continue celebrating Passover until the kingdom of God and everything associated with it came to completion. This means that once we experience the resurrection and all of us believers are in the kingdom of God in the new city of Jerusalem, we will all gather around reclining at the table and celebrate Passover, or communion with Jesus. We will all drink from the fruit of the vine with Jesus, as we will be one with Jesus, there will be no breaking of bread. However, until that day, we are to continue to share the cup and break the break in full remembrance of Jesus. How can we make a ritual of this? How can we determine how many times and what exact dates we are to remember Jesus with communion? Although no matter how we determine how often we share in communion it is always some kind of pattern. Perhaps it does not have to be a pattern, yet Passover was once a year. Certainly, we want to have our communions more often than once a year. This makes us wonder if every time we sit to eat, drink from the fruit of the vine, and have a slice of bread with our meal, we should remember Jesus. Maybe this communion thing at church is just some religious act we perform, thinking we are doing what Jesus meant, but in reality, just being religious, yet it does allow us as a church to remember Jesus together and that is a good thing. However, let us always remember. 

Our Passover

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

OUR 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 are shown the divinity of Jesus, knowing things in advance of them happening. He knew the man would be carrying a water jar and he knew exactly which house the man would enter, and that house would have an upper guest room that was large enough with a large enough table for thirteen men to lay around eating a Passover meal. Only some houses in Jerusalem would have such a guest room available, but Jesus knew which one did. This was to be the last Passover Jesus would have with his disciples celebrating the passing over of the death angel in Egypt. However, two Passover lambs were at that dinner with the disciples, the one they prepared, and Jesus.  He was going to be the last Passover lamb, however, because He is the Lamb of God, he was going to make it possible for the death angel to pass over us, but just as the people in Egypt had to eat all of the lamb, we have to ingest all of Jesus. We not only must accept him as our Lord and Savoir, but we must take all of Jesus within our being, fully invested in Jesus, consuming all of him into our lives. Although we do quote Paul more often during the time we celebrate the Passover, except we call it communion, we still eat the bread and drink from the cup, as Jesus did on the night with his disciples before and after the meal. We do it as a remembrance of Jesus being the Lamb of God who gave his life for us. However, we do not think too much about Jesus being our Passover lamb, but more of our Savior. But the reality is that Jesus is our Passover Lamb because that death angel has no more power over us than he had over the Israelites in Egypt. Jesus promised as long we are in him, and He is in us, although we die, we will live. There will be a day when we take our last breath on the earth, and our next or first breath in glory. We should always be in the mode of preparing for our passing over or Passover to Glory. 

Betrayal

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

BETRAYAL

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

We have difficulty with how Satan entered Judas when Judas was one of the disciples of Jesus. We know from the gospel of John that Judas kept the purse, or the money bag for Jesus, that contained all the support money people gave for his ministry and that Judas would take money or steal money for his own needs. There was something off about him from the beginning of his following Jesus. This betrayal was about the money, although Luke tells us that it was about Satan prompting or entering Judas and we do know that Satan would want to take any possible way to get rid of Jesus. We would also think that although the chief priests and officers of the temple were supposed to be holy and righteous men dedicated to serving God, they too were being influenced by Satan because they were looking for a way to kill Jesus. How can sacred men who devote their lives to God even think of committing murder? Then Judas, a follower of Jesus thought of betrayal. This would make us think that even though we believers think we are always steadfast in our following Jesus, or have faith in Jesus, or think of ourselves as Christians, it might be possible that Satan could or is trying to influence us in some way. Perhaps it would be so sly, or sneaky that we are not aware of his scheme until it is too late, and we are sucked in. This is why we have to get dressed each and every morning, or maybe we need to even sleep in the armor of God, so that our mind and heart and our faith are completely guarded against any of the flaming arrows, or a sneaky scheme of the devil. It was only one disciple out of twelve chosen that fell prey to Satan, so it would seem our odds are fairly good that Satan is not even trying to get to us, but then there are forces of evil in the heavenly realms and dark forces of evil in this world, so attacks could come from many directions, many fronts all around us. So we must be constantly on guard being fully dressed at all times in the armor of God, so that Satan has no opportunity to even get close to us, let alone enter us, for besides the armor, we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within and He would never give Satan any open door into our hearts and minds. We can live in peace, and security fully dressed, living indwelled by the Spirit, and we would therefore never think of betrayal. 

Waiting with Courageous Endurance and Anticipation

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

 WAITING WITH COURAGEOUS ENDURANCE AND ANTICIPATION

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

Now is not the time to become complacent and get lost in the daily grind of life with all its worries and anxieties. This is the time to always be aware of the kingdom of God and what is about to happen. We can see the signs when they begin if we are watching and waiting for them. Just as in the parable, we are in the season of spring, and we are seeing all the trees beginning to bud up and leaves sprouting so that a beautiful hue of green is overtaking that sad shade of grey we lived with during the cold miserable winter months. We know summer is on the way because we can see the green sprouting. That is how we will know the kingdom of God is coming to us. We know the signs; we know how it will happen and it will be wonderful compared to this current earth. However, it is also true that God designed and created this great planet with all its complexities just for us to live and enjoy all its benefits and provisions. However, now is not the time to become complacent, overindulging ourselves with all the pleasures of this place, along with all the pains or troubles that life also has to offer. We can become so distracted by life itself, that we might lose true life. We can never become so involved with this life, that we are not cognizant of the life to come and look forward with a watchful heart to that day. If we are on guard, diligently keeping watch, we will escape all the terrible things that are to happen to this creation in advance of the new everlasting creation, the new birth of our eternal home where we will walk and talk with our Lord and God, being able to stand before him in all his glory. In the middle of the grey and gloomy winter,  we cannot wait for the beginning of summer and that is how we cannot wait for all the signs to begin before Jesus comes for us. Come, Lord Jesus, we wait with courageous endurance and anticipation. 

Wait For It

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

WAIT FOR IT

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

Even though all that Jesus said before this was in history, it has not yet come as all that happened in Jerusalem in AD70 is nothing compared to what is to come on the earth and in the heavens when Jesus comes back to rule and reign for one thousand years, or all that could also happen just before he appears in the sky to call his people up from the graves and those that are still living to meet him in the air. All that is still not fully understood because we all could meet him in the air and then return with him to rule and reign with him for the one-thousand-year period in which he chains up the devil in the abyss. Nevertheless, no one knows the hour or the day all this will happen. It is always interesting to hear the doomsday environmentalists predicting how much the oceans have risen because of a couple of icebergs melting. The earth is 71 percent water with 97 percent of that salt water, which means all the oceans. A few melting icebergs are like spitting in the ocean. When it is time for Jesus to return those doomsdayers haven’t seen anything like what will happen to the rising ocean levels. They will look like they are boiling over, so much so, ships will be tossed around like little toys. The skies will be ablaze with the glory of God. All of creation will respond to the coming of Jesus, for he is the creator of all that was created, and he is his, and under his authority. Man has no authority over creation no matter how much they want to think they do, or can have any effect on what God has created, for He God and when He acts, when Jesus returns in the clouds it will be with power and great glory. When we see all this happening on the earth and in the skies, all we need to do is look up, Jesus is coming for us. But until then we will live with courageous endurance, waiting for the day of our redemption. We wait for it. 

Living Free of Fear

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

LIVING FREE OF FEAR

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

This is certainly all about the destruction of the Temple by the Gentile Roman army in AD70 which history records for us. These prophetic words of Jesus do not seem to have anything to do with our lives today and yet because all scripture is profitable for all that Paul told Timothy, we need to gain some insight into our lives. If we envisioned Christianity, our individual local body of believers, or even our own selves as Jerusalem, then we could see the army of the enemy surrounding us, trying to destroy us. We also know that we should flee from evil, in fact, we pray that God would not lead us toward that evil, but to deliver us from any evil that is attempting to seduce us, tempt us, trying to destroy us. If it were possible evil would attempt to trample on us, overpower us, entrap us, or snare us in its grasp. It will be dreadful if we fall into the grasp of evil. However, we have a defense that cannot be penetrated. We have the full armor of God so that we can take our stand against all the dark forces of this world, all the enemies in the heavenly realms that would attack us, even those with flaming arrows cannot get through God’s shield of faith he gave us. We can stand our ground and need not turn our backs, fleeing from the enemy, giving him credit for making us give up ground. Of course, it would seem right to be afraid of the enemy, as the Jews living in Jerusalem would be in fear during the great destruction of Jerusalem. Still, once again, we need to be mindful of the armor God has clothed us in, and we also need to get dressed in that armor. It is one thing to be given the armor, but we do need to allow God to dress us, to put it on or within us. As we have explored this armor of God many times, and as we have seen each piece a symbol of Jesus, or representing Jesus, we then understand our complete defense against all evil is Jesus. He is the full armor of God and we need to accept Jesus into our lives, allowing him to be our stronghold, our great tower, our fortress, our defender, shield, salvation, truth, our peace, and our great sword that we can smash that enemy down. That old enemy will always be there until the number of gentiles is fulfilled. When God decides that is enough and comes, chaining that devil up for a thousand years until his end will come later. Knowing he is already defeated should give us great hope. So let us live fully clothed in Jesus, and live free from all fear from evil. 

Gaining Life

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

GAINING LIFE

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

We know this was meant just to for disciples and many of them had happened to them what Jesus said. However, there is some truths within that could apply to the body of Christ today. Throughout the world, believers have been persecuted, tortured, and killed in horrific ways. These words are prophetic directly to those who gave up their lives for faith in Jesus Christ, and because of the news, they were witnesses and because they stood firm, we know they gained life. However, in this country, we have freedom of religion and are protected against persecution because of our faith. But that may not be as true as we believe it to be. We have personally seen families torn apart because of faith in Jesus Christ. It is beginning to look as though we are not as protected by our constitution as we once were, with the government passing laws making it unlawful for Christian symbols to be in the public square. They have taken prayer out of the schools which aids in the non-Cristian doctrines of the progressive agenda in the public school system, owned by the government. In some parts of the country, it does seem as if Christians are hated, in fact, there are areas controlled by Muslims who chant death to America, and we now have some in the national government who have professed hatred for America, wanting to make a fundamental change in our country. Our faith is under attack, but it may be done a little more subtle than taking us out and hanging us on a cross. We also know that we must always stand firm until the end, which may simply mean the end of our peaceful lives, for now, we do not personally experience a lot of resistance to our faith, and we can speak our mind in most situations we experience, although maybe not so much within our own family. Maybe that is just the beginning, but however any resistance or opposition appears, we will still stand our ground to the end, for life is our reward. 

Faithful to the End

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

FAITHFUL TO THE END

Luke 21:10-11

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

Jesus said a lot more about what would happen, and most of what he said was what going to happen to his disciples which history recorded did happen. However, before we get to that and see if anything relates to us we spend some time on what will happen on the earth and in the heavens before the end times or at least as one of the signs of the end time. We have seen nations rise up against nations for many years throughout history, however, the great wars, World War One and Two were vast in reach of nations rising up against each other in our generation. Then we had the conflicts in Korea, Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, Iraq and Kuwait, then Iran, Israel, the Gaza Strip, Hamas, and on and on conflicts, wars, rumors of war, the Cold War, the Berlin Wall, and its fall. We have records now of hundreds of earthquakes all around the world, great tsunamis, hurricanes, typhoons, and tornadoes all causing chaos and death across the globe. There have been famines from time to time, even in this country during the great depression, and others throughout the world. As far as pestilences in various places we have to refer to the Greek because then we can see it can mean either a person who is a pest, or a troublemaker, and in that sense, we have witnessed troublemakers everywhere in the world, and perhaps even in our personal lives. But this Greek word and also be used for a disease. In the time of Jesus, it was leprosy, a disease of the skin. Today, although we have seen some plagues, the greatest has been cancer, which has been a pest to many. When we think of the fearful events and great signs from heaven, it could take us back to tornadoes, hurricanes, and typhoons. The Greek word translated as heavens has the meaning of the vaulted expanse of the sky and all that can be seen in it, so these great storms are in the expanse of the sky, in that sense. But did Jesus mean these kinds of signs, or will there be even greater events in the sky that are more fearful? Yet, the end has still not come, we are continuing to wait. Will we see more signs, even greater signs, and more fearful signs than the world has ever seen before? We cannot know, but what we do know is our task is to be faithful to the end, and perhaps even in our lifetime we will see the end, but if not, we will still need to be faithful to the end of our lives. Jesus informs the terrible things they will endure, and maybe some of us have endured some horrible things in life, but being faithful to the end is what is required if we are to have life. 

The Temple

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

THE TEMPLE

Luke 21:5-9

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." 

NIV

We know from history what happened to the temple was exactly what Jesus told his disciples would happen. In AD70 under the command of Titus a Roman Emperor, the temple was torn apart, every stone was torn down to a point not one stone was left atop another. What is amazing is it recorded some of the stones were 70 feet long 10 feet wide and 8 feet high. We cannot imagine the weight of those stones and how the Roman army managed to disassemble the whole temple, with everything that adorned them. We see two ways in which we can interrupt this to apply to our lives. First, because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we have to be on watch so that the enemy of our soul does not get a chance to tear down the temple and disassemble every stone. We would certainly think because the Spirit lives in this temple the army of evil could not tear it down, yet the Temple was where God dwelled with His people and the army of evil tore it down. However, God has adorned us with his very own armor, to protect us from that army of evil, however, we do need to get dressed each morning or recognize that God has dressed us in His armor, therefore the temple of the Holy Spirit will take its stand and stand firm against the forces of evil in the heavenly realms and the dark forces of evil in this world. The second way we can see the tearing down of the temple applying to our lives is we could be building our own temples and adorning them with beautiful things. This could be seen in the physical sense, as well as in the spiritual sense. Physically, we can see how some have created a display of abundance of wealth for themselves, adorning themselves with all the stuff of this world. God will tear that down someday and lay everything bare as we stand before him naked and exposed without anything but Jesus. Spiritually, we can adorn ourselves with pride, self-esteem, and self-worth, flattering ourselves, congratulating ourselves, with this self-love almost to the point of smugness or a sense of loftiness, being on an ego trip or snobbery taking satisfaction in our achievements and accomplishments. God will tear all that down someday as we stand before him bare and exposed for who we have become. It is imperative, as we have been dressed in the Armor of God, and indwelled by the Spirit, that we remain standing humbly before him each day, both bearing his image, reflecting His image, not ours, to the world, knowing that all we have, all we do and all we are is totally because of God. Without Jesus, we can do nothing. God is our refuge, He is our fortress, our shield, let us live humbly before him. 

A Heart Issue

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

A HEART ISSUE

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

Of course, the wealthy can give a larger amount than the poor can, but that is not the measure of a person. However, it does seem in the church today that those who have a great deal of means, and give large amounts out of their wealth, although it might be just their tithe, are treated a little better than those who cannot give that large amount of money. We have seen it, witnessed it in a few of the churches we have attended. Those of large means were always found to be on the church board of other positions overseeing the financial position of the church. Jesus made it clear we are not measured by the amount we give but by the condition of our hearts. This poor widow had a heart that was sold out to God, as she gave all she had, although it was not anything in value compared to the gift of the wealthy. We should not be measured by the amount we give but by the amount of our hearts. God is the only one who should be measuring us. Interestingly, we seem to measure each other more than we should. We look at how others are attired, what kind of cars they drive, and all the other physical things in this world, including what kind of influence they have in the church. We look on the outside, just as Jesus said we do, while He looks at the inside, he sees our heart. This is not to say the rich cannot have a heart for God. Jesus is simply comparing their giving has no effect on their lifestyle, while this widow represents those who give and it costs them in a greater way. Perhaps they give and then cannot pay a bill, or something else, like not being able to go out to eat, or some other need is foregone, or must be put on hold. Let us not get caught up in that kind of mismeasuring of others, but simply try to live our lives with a heart sold out to God. Whatever that looks like may be different for each of us, but what it looks like on the outside is not the issue, for all we need to be concerned about is what God sees in our hearts as our lives in Christ are a heart issue. 

For Show or For God

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

FOR SHOW OR FOR GOD

Luke 20:45-47

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

Once again, Matthew goes into more detail about what Jesus said about the teachers of the law, however, Luke makes the point clear. These teachers of the law did a lot of religious-looking things, especially in the clothes. The more religious one looks was supposed to be a sign of how close to God they were. But they were not about living under the grace of God, but only wanting to appear they were so the people would think highly of them. Because all scripture is beneficial for us as it teaches us, gives us instruction for our lives, rebukes, convicting us of errors in our lives, it corrects, straightens us up again, and it trains us in the way of righteousness so we will be thoroughly equipped to serve or do the works of God, we know there is a warning about those today who do the same thing as those teachers of the law did. We are aware of those who make a big deal about being one of the super religious ones, looking as if they are “holier than thou” and those who have silver tongues and fine clothes, living in luxury while telling their deceived followers to give more to God, meaning to them, and God will give back more. But they wear the most expensive clothes and jewelry, driving extremely high-end cars, and lavish homes, while not lifting a finger to help the poor. However, what we also need to consider is how we live and if we are living off the backs of poor widows, devouring their homes, so to speak. Do we give back? We tithe to the church, but does the church use our tithe to give to the poor? Perhaps most of our tithes and offerings are used in the administration of the church with a portion given to those who do the work of God in other countries. Maybe we provide some works of service to the poor here around us. But we cannot get too self-absorbed as the teachers of the law were, trying to look like we are religious but not really doing anything for God, which means, not the church, but God. Then we also have to be careful not to try to impress everyone with our prayers, making an effort to use all sorts of spiritual words, many of them, even quoting God’s word in length. If we have a need or are praying for someone, God already knows what he said, and we only have to ask for the need, plain and simple, with a humble heart. Let us not make a show for men, but let us live humbly before our God and before men. 

Bow Humbly Before Him

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

BOW HUMBLY BEFORE HIM

Luke 20:41-44

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?" 

NIV

It is when we look at this same exchange in the gospel according to Matthew, Jesus asks them the question as to who they say the Messiah is, and they answer, “The son of David”. Matthew starts his gospel with the genealogy of Jesus, the son of David, and son of Abraham. Through the prophets Jeremiah the Lord said that David will never fail to have a man sit on the throne of Israel. This is all in their history and yet Jesus humbles them with this question, showing although they profess to be so knowledgeable and so religious they do not see he is the Lord who sits on the throne of David. We do not have that same problem, do we? Do we need to be more humble? Is the Lord showing us that we should not consider ourselves so knowledgeable or educated in the scriptures that we become somewhat puffed up or prideful? Is this caused by others holding upon some stand, seeing us as better, or more educated than they are, and looking to us to explain the scriptures, or is this our own doing, seeing ourselves or thinking ourselves to be more highly than we should? There is always someone who knows more, and always someone who knows less. There could be another problem in that many denominations put too much emphasis, on and even require a level of education to qualify to be ordained, or even licensed. However, the most important question is do we know who Jesus is.

Do we know him as our Lord and Savior? Do we know him as the creator of all that has been created? Do we know him as the one who formed us and put his very breath in us? Do we know him as the Lord of lord, the King of kings, the Son of the Living God? If we can answer those questions with an emphatic yes, then we are qualified to share the gospel message. Is it important to know all the answers to every question regarding the scriptures?  No, but we can always find the answer to many of the questions through a little bit of research. Still, because He is Lord is all important, and because He is our Lord, we  bow humbly before him. 

Rejoicing We are Worthy

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

REJOICING WE ARE WORTHY

Luke 20:27-40

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."  39 Some of the teachers of the law responded, "Well said, teacher!" 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

NIV

We have confirmation of two truths within the words of Jesus. First, there are two ages, which means this age that we live in now, and the age to come where we will live for all eternity. Second, there is a resurrection, but there is a qualification of being considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection. Thirdly, which is not something that we should even spend time on, is the fact we are not going to be married in the age to come. The current spouses we love and adore here in this age, will not continue to be our spouses in the resurrection and the age to come. Jesus makes it clear that because we will all be children of God, we then will all be brothers and sisters, members of one family. However, it is this being worthy of the resurrection that has some need for us to explore. We are of the understanding that all people, both believers and non-believers will be resurrected to stand before God for the final judgment. Per this final judgment, every knee will bow and confess before God, “Jesus Christ is Lord”. Still, those who never accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior in this age will never enter into His rest, for they will be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur and be no more, for that is the second death. However, we think Jesus is talking about being able to partake in the age to come, that is to live for eternity, so that in the resurrection, we will stand before God in Christ, holy and blameless, and we will be given the keys to the kingdom of God, the new city of Jerusalem that will come down out of heaven and we will live in this paradise with God the Father and Jesus the Son, and although it is not mentioned in that revelation given to John, we would think the Spirit is also with us. Being worthy is being in Christ, that is the only worthiness we can ever have and will ever need. This belief that our only worthiness is in Christ does away with all pride, all boasting, all ego trips, and thinking we are more than we should be. Let us rejoice because we are in Jesus and He is in us, so we have the confidence of being worthy of the resurrection and the age to come. Let us always rejoice, and again we say, rejoice. 

Give God what is God's

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

GIVE GOD WHAT IS GOD’S

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

Although this was a setup to trap Jesus, his response gives us a truth that has to be explored. First, it is right to pay the governmental authority we live under the due amount owed to them, “Giving to Ceasar what is Ceasar’s”. Living in this country supplies us with benefits that can only be paid for by our taxes. However, what is owed in taxes is always based on a percentage. When it comes to owing God what is God’s, no percentage is acceptable. We are to give God all of what is due him, which is our “self”. There is nothing of ourselves that we can withhold from God. We cannot live our own lives, and include God, and church as a part of our lives. The whole of our being, the very core of who we are must be bent toward God, for we are his people, and He is our God. He has formed every fiber of our being, down to the last detail, our breath which gives us life. Without the breath of God that he put into Adam, and thus us, we would be inanimate objects, art sculptures to display on a shelf. However, God put his breath into us, making us in their image, displaying us to the world, his creation, the crowning glory of all he made. Therefore, we owe him everything, our whole undivided self. We are to offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is our spiritual act of worship. We cannot do that based on a percentage of ourselves unless we consider one hundred a percentage of one hundred. Although we must concern ourselves about the percentage we owe Ceasar, let us be fully engaged in the amount we owe our Lord and Savior, our creator, the Lord God Almighty. 

Hating or Loving Jesus

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

HATING OR LOVING JESUS

Luke 20:9-18

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." 

NIV

Although the people said, “May this never be!”, it had already happened by the ancestors of those Jewish people. Of course, God is the owner of the vineyard and he sent prophets to tell of their dome should they reject the owner, which they did, they worshiped other gods, and as a result, they always were captured by other empires. They killed the prophets because they did not want to give God his due by worshipping Him only. After killing several of the prophets, God then sent his one and only Son whom he loved to the people, but we know, that ultimately they killed him too, so they could have their own form of God, their own form of religion, they had devised and even using the commands of God for their reason, but they did not worship him., but instead worshiped their own brand of beliefs. However, we have come a long way from them, yet we still have those three people groups. Some consider there is no God, basically putting Jesus to death. Then some profess to be Christians but decide to live under a set of rules and regulations they make up using the word of God as an excuse for the worship of their own brand of beliefs, much like the Chief priests, teachers of the law, the Pharisees, along with the elders. Finally, we have the people who see who God is, know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, have decided to follow Jesus, and live a life of faith, because they are born-again, Spirit-filled, believers living under the influence of God’s grace. They understand living by faith means a transformation will happen within them, and a change will occur in the way they live in this world, but their lives are not based on the rules of men but on the word of God. These believers live in a living Christ, and He lives within them, Jesus and they are one, as Jesus and the Father are one. Living by the grace of God brings peace, contentment, love, joy, kindness goodness, gentleness, patience, and courageous endurance faithfully waiting for Jesus to return. Oh, How we love Jesus because he first loved us. 

By Whose Authority

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

BY WHOSE AUTHORITY

Luke 20:1-8

20:1 One day as he was teaching the people in the temple courts and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, together with the elders, came up to him. 2 "Tell us by what authority you are doing these things," they said. "Who gave you this authority?" 3 He replied, "I will also ask you a question. Tell me, 4 John's baptism — was it from heaven, or from men?"  5 They discussed it among themselves and said, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will ask, 'Why didn't you believe him?' 6 But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, because they are persuaded that John was a prophet." 7 So they answered, "We don't know where it was from."8 Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things." 

NIV

Of course, we know by what authority Jesus taught the people. It was by his own authority, or by the authority of the Father, but Jesus and the Father are one. However, that is not the point of this narrative. What happened here is those who thought they were authority, the chief priests and the teachers of the law together with the elders wanted to silence Jesus by asking who gave him the same authority they thought they had over the people. Some men take it upon themselves to have authority, while only God can give someone the authority to teach the people and preach the gospel. It is also interesting that Jesus did not answer their challenge but challenged them in a way that put them in a trap so they could or would not answer. It is also interesting they had to discuss among themselves as to how they could answer him. If they were indeed men of God, they would have instinctively known the answer and would not be afraid to declare who John was and by whose authority he baptized people, declaring repent make straight the way for the Lord. John was sent by God to declare Jesus was here. We always have to be aware men are pretending to be religious and acting spiritual in an attempt to have authority over people. But their motives, seen in the fruit of their labor, can be seen by their self-edification, self-indulgent and lavish or luxurious lifestyles. They are the silver-tongued purveyors of deception much like those who tried to challenge Jesus. We can also clearly see those who have been called by God, gifted by God, filled with the Spirit by God, by the fruit of their labor, and by their living out their faith among the people God sends them to. God has given his church those gifts of prophets, apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers,  to prepare God’s people for works of service, and to build them up until we all reach unity in the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God and becoming mature, which is defined as attaining the full measure of Christ. This is only accomplished by God calling some to be those gifts to the church, having His authority rather than the authority of men. 

Hanging on his words

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

HANGING ON HIS WORDS

Luke 19:45-48

45 Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling. 46 "It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be a house of prayer'; but you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"  47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.

NIV

Having thought through how we consider the house of God our church and what appears to be a normal way for us to act in the sanctuary, there is this other truth we should look into. This is his last week arriving in Jerusalem on the day of the Sabbath, which would be Sunday on a calendar, he is spending his days teaching at the temple. It was most likely one of the colonnades where he taught the people. Luke does not record what he taught, but we know two people groups are reacting completely differently to his presence at the temple. The first are the chief priests, teachers of the law, along with the leaders among the people. Matthew records conversations between Jesus and those who were looking for a way to kill him. Some of it was about by what authority does he teach these things. However, we do not have the full exchange recorded by Luke, he just says they were trying to find a way to kill him. The other people group were hanging on his every word. Nothing has changed over these last two thousand-plus years, since the time Jesus taught at the temple. There are people today who want to put to death anything that has to do with Jesus or God. First, it was taking prayer out of the schools, then not wanting any reference to God in the public square. We could spend weeks going on and on about the ways this people group is trying to kill the idea of God. But it is the other people group that we find ourselves attached to, as we hang on every word of Jesus, in fact, on every word of God. We base our lives on the word of God. We form our way of life because of our faith in Jesus and the truth of his word. If we have an opinion it is because it aligns with the word of God, in fact, some might say that we are too opinionated and unwilling to accept any other idea about how to live. We do not know about everything that went on in the culture of that day, but today we think there is one other people group, the apathetic group. These are the people who sort of are right knowing God exists but have no concerns regarding him, or his word. They are not trying to kill the idea of God but they are in no way hanging on his every word. We must always be true to our faith, and our belief in every word of God. All of the scriptures are God-breathed, so we hang on every word. 

A Place of Prayer

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

A PLACE OF PRAYER

Luke 19:45-48

45 Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling. 46 "It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be a house of prayer'; but you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"  47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.

NIV

Jesus quoted both Isaiah and Jerimiah as he entered the temple, where there should have been a prayer and spiritual contemplation but had been turned into a common marketplace. What made matters worse was that men were taking advantage of those who did not have the proper type of currency or sacrifice, engaging in dishonest gain, a den of robbers. This is what men who love money rather than God have disgraced God’s house. We have to put the indignation of Jesus in context and not think it is right for us to become angry. This is all about the house of God. Of course, our church today is nothing like the temple in Jerusalem, but it is still a place of worship, a sanctuary where we meet with the living God. Certainly, we know that God is always with us, and in fact, the Spirit dwells within us. However, there still is something special about the sanctuary in our church. The whole building is just a building, and it has been used for all sorts of gatherings or events that have nothing to do with spiritual matters as it has been used as a voting place for example. But the sanctuary has been kept sacred and held as only the place to meet with God, to worship him there. Yet, it has not been as sacred as it should be as we enter for worship. Perhaps we should be more reverent in this special place of worship, holding it to a higher standard than the rest of the building. Perhaps we should leave our bantering laughter, and social hour exchanges at the door and be a little more quiet as we prepare to enter worship to our God. We wonder if we have, in a sense, turned our church into a den of money changers. Let us remember, that this is the house of God and a place of prayer. 

How Could We Tell Them?

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

HOW COULD WE TELL THEM

Luke 19:41-44

41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you." 

NIV

These words of Jesus came true about forty-some years later as history records how the Romans, in AD 70, laid siege on the city and took the whole of the temple down, every stone, and it is said by Josephus some of the stones were 6 feet high, 8 feet wide and 40 feet long. Tons of stone were gone, so much so it was said that Titus the Roman commander put a plow over the temple area, so much that anyone who came later would never know the temple ever existed. Although all this is good history, what does it mean in our lives? How do we apply this truth to the world we live in today? We know we are not in danger of the enemy building an embankment against us, or encircle us within, for we have recognized that time God came to us. We have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior and so the enemy, who would be the enemy of our soul, cannot encircle us. He is not able to tear down our lives, stone by stone, so to speak. However, there are people whom the enemy has encircled and is destroying their lives, even if they cannot see it. When there is no hope, there is nothing left but despair. We can see the sadness in the eyes of those who live hopelessly, although they think they are slaying the world, busy getting ahead while satisfying every craving. The day is coming when they will be laid bare before the Lord and cast away into everlasting destruction. Our task, our calling as believers, disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ is to go out into the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and teaching them the commands of God. Jesus told his disciples to go and do that and if we are disciples of Jesus our task is to follow and go out into every aspect of the world and do what he said. We cannot do it, if we keep our mouths shut, or hide ourselves off, wall ourselves in, keeping company with only the saints of God. Perhaps we should take a note from Jesus and weeep over the lost in the world around us. If only they knew, but they could, if we tell them. How can we tell them? If they are still like Jerusalem, destruction awaits. 

Cry Out Forever

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

CRY OUT FOREVER

Luke 19:28-40

28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 "Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.'"  32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?" 34 They replied, "The Lord needs it." 35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. 37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" 40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." 

NIV

This entry into Jerusalem on a colt follows Zechariah's prophetic words, which the people would have some knowledge of, especially those Pharisees telling Jesus to rebuke his disciples for singing the prophetic words of Psalm 118. Everything happening has already been spoken pointing to Jesus being the Messiah, the anointed one of God to bring salvation to his creation. What is interesting is that if for some unknown reason, his disciples should be silenced, then the stone would cry out. Here is where the rubber meets the road. All creation will cry out if we the people of God do not. We can never be silent in our praise and passion for our Lord. Let all men hear our voice crying out, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”. All creation is already shouting out the praise of Jesus, the creator of all that has been created, for nothing has been created that he has not created. Men cannot create, only God, only Jesus can, and thus as we look at creation, we look at his spoken word, the reality of His voice at work. How can we not walk through our daily lives without praise and passion for our Lord and Savior who being the creator of everything created and the one who formed us from the dust, go to the cross to bring us salvation, to reconcile himself to us and us to him. Right now, on this very day, the sun and the moon will cry out his glorious creation as we witness his power in the heavens and on the earth. Let all the voices of men, let our voice forever cry out, “Glory in the highest, praise and honor to our Lord Jesus, He is God almighty come to save us”. Now Jesus lives in us and we live in him, so never will our voice be silent. We will cry out forever.

 

 

Blessing in Change

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

BLESSINGS IN CHANGE

Luke 19:11-27

11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12 He said: "A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. 'Put this money to work,' he said, 'until I come back.' 14 "But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.' 15 "He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 16 "The first one came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned ten more.' 17 "'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. 'Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.' 18 "The second came and said, 'Sir, your mina has earned five more.' 19 "His master answered, 'You take charge of five cities.' 20 "Then another servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.' 22 "His master replied, 'I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?' 24 "Then he said to those standing by, 'Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.' 25 "'Sir,' they said, 'he already has ten!' 26 "He replied, 'I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them — bring them here and kill them in front of me.'" 

NIV

The first and foremost thing we must remember is that this is a parable; thus, it has nothing to do with money but everything to do with the gospel.  We also should note that some people at that time thought Jesus would be king over Jerusalem by overthrowing the Roman oppressors. We should also remember the Jews hated Jesus and did not want him to be their king, so they killed him, or at least had the Romans do it for them. However, the whole of this parable is regarding the fact that Jesus gave us the gospel, and it is what we do with it that is the point. It is true that some of us humans have more abilities than others, that is just a simple fact. Although God created all mankind equal, some have invested more time and study in the gospel and made more changes in their lives than others have. This is not about who has gained a better position in the body of Christ, or who has gained a higher degree of education in the bible, but who has made the gospel more effective in their own lives. How have we invested the gospel that Jesus gave us within ourselves? From the parable, we can know some have made more changes in their lives than others, and as we use the gospel, the grace of God, which in this case, this grace would be how the divine influence of God, as seen in the gospel, is upon our hearts, and how that influence is reflected in our lives. How much have we changed under the grace of God? What is sad, is there might be some who either grew up in a Christian setting, or accepted Jesus later in life, found salvation, as it were, and never invested their knowledge of the gospel, going any further in their walk with Jesus, more or less, just hiding the gospel in their hearts, never expanding the grace of God within them. We always have to be doing just that, investing, expanding the grace of God within ourselves, and becoming all that God intended us to be. The more we change the more we receive greater blessings just by the sheer changing within us. 

Filled with Enthusiasm

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

FILLED WITH ENTHUSIASM

Luke 19:1-10

19:1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today."  6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. 7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.'" 8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." 9 Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." 

NIV

Once again the words of Jesus are always in the center of attention, yet the narrative also has a valve of seeing a truth. First, Zacchaeus was seeking to see Jesus. We do not know the purpose of his heart, but we can conclude, because of his response to having Jesus in his home, giving, and making restitution, that the Spirit was already working in him and that he was seeking to see Jesus. In fact, so much so that he had to climb a tree just to get a view of Jesus as he walked by. Second, we notice the all-knowing divinity of Jesus as he called Zacchaeus by name, a man he had never met before or had any knowledge of, other than he was a man who made an exceptional effort to see Jesus. This makes us think of how we first sought after Jesus and the excitement when He found us, calling out our name, “Come with me, I must stay at your house, ‘in your heart’ today”. We saw the transformation of Zacchaeus from a cheating tax collector to a repentant follower of Jesus. We had that kind of transformation when we found Jesus and allowed him to stay in our hearts. Yet the truth is that Jesus sought after us because we were lost, but praise God we have been found. We always need to maintain that same enthusiasm in our walk with Jesus because our whole life is not in him. Let us never become half-hearted, lukewarm, or tepid in our walk with Jesus, to the point that we almost become lethargic or apathetic. It was not just that one day that salvation came to our heart, but it is every day, all day that Jesus is working within through the power of the Holy Spirit, gifting us, empowering us, to be who we were intended to be, a fully armed enthusiastic soldier of Christ, doing that which we have been called to be and to do. Life in Jesus is all about being filled with enthusiasm.

What Do You Want me to do for you

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO FOR YOU

Luke 18:35-19:1

35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him, "Jesus of Nazareth is passing by." 38 He called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" 39 Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" 40 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, 41 "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord, I want to see," he replied. 42 Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."  43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God.

NIV

We could focus on the blind man and how he would not be silenced but was persistent in his plea to Jesus. We could focus on how the crowd tried to silence him, and how that crowd, being those leading the procession would have been disciples of Jesus, believers who did not want anyone bothering their time with Jesus. However, what is important to focus on are the words of Jesus, “What do you want me to do for you?”. Interestingly, the blind man did not spend much effort in a long drawn-out prayer using his most eloquent words and quoting some words from the prophets to express his need. He merely asked, “Lord, I want to see”. Jesus still asks us that question today, “What do you want me to do for you?”. We know Jesus has already done so much for us, shedding his blood so that we were cleansed from our sins because of what Jesus did, the Father no longer counts our sins against us. We also know that Jesus was resurrected so that we can be assured that we will be resurrected and have the peace that Jesus already gave us. We know that He has already prepared a place for us in our Father’s house. But it is this question, “What do you want me to do for you?” is in the present tense which means this question is for us right now. Jesus wants to know what he can do for us today, at this moment. We should not allow anyone to silence us, but just ask what we need, right now, I need this, or I need you to do that for me, right now, “Lord, I need to be healed”. Jesus told the blind he would think about it, asking if the blind man felt he desired to see, or if he was worthy of seeing, or that when I come back by, I would do it, you have to wait a while. No, no, Jesus simply told him, “Receive your sight, your faith has healed you”. When Jesus asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” just ask! He already told us that we can ask him anything and he would do it so to bring glory to the Father, so we simply need to ask him, when we hear him tell us, “What do you want me to do for you?”

Hide or Reveal

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

HIDE OR REVEAL

Luke 18:31-34

31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. 33 On the third day he will rise again." 34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.

NIV

Because we have all the prophets, the gospels, and further writings by Paul, Peter, James, John, and Luke, plus the complete revelation of Jesus that was given to John, we know the whole story. Everything has been revealed to us because the Holy Spirit has led us into all the truth. However, his disciples did not understand because it was hidden from them. We know there are people today who the truth is hidden from them because they do not understand the truth. It is not that the disciples did not want to know the truth. They had been following Jesus for several years, hearing all his teachings, seeing all the miracles, watching him heal hundreds of people, give sight to the blind, speech to the mute, clear leprosy, the lame walk, and they had knowledge of the prophets, yet this truth was hidden, or concealed, covered, which is the direct meaning in the Greek word translated as hidden from them. What this proves to us is the absolute sovereignty of our Lord. He can hide, he can reveal, and it is totally in his hands, or authority to give knowledge or to withhold knowledge. If we think we are the ones who obtain all the knowledge through our efforts, or studies, we think we are deceiving ourselves. It does not matter how many years of study, how many degrees we might hang on our wall, or what position we hold in the body of Christ, the truth is either revealed to us, by the Spirit, or hidden from us by the same Spirit. This also means that it does not matter if we have not spent years of study, gathering degrees, it is the Spirit who reveals or hides the truth. However, Jesus promised that he would send the Spirit who would reveal the truth, so if we accept this baptism in or of the Spirit, allowing him to not just dwell within us, but to have his influence over us, flowing through us, filling us, then we will understand, nothing will be hidden from us, but all truth will be revealed. Let us constantly walk in the Spirit, walking in his revelation of the truth. Still, it is up to God to hide or reveal. 

Running After Jesus

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

RUNNING AFTER JESUS

Luke 18:26-30

26 Those who heard this asked, "Who then can be saved?" 27 Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."  28 Peter said to him, "We have left all we had to follow you!" 29 "I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God   30 will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life." 

NIV

In this age and the age to come covers a lot of time, although the age to come is beyond the time spectrum we are now functioning under. Jesus made it clear, first that what was impossible with men is possible with God, and after Peter said about leaving everything he had behind to follow Jesus, he told this other truth. We think most people of faith believe they will get a reward in heaven. In fact, we have heard some believe because of how much we do here on earth that we will get more jewels in their crown. There is no evidence in scripture of that thinking, and the crown that we will receive is the crown of life is simply metaphorical for eternal life. There isn't going to be any believer walking around heaven with a jeweled crown. A few of the the Psalms of David speak of God crowning us with love and compassion and the other is God will crown the humble with salvation. Let’s just put this foolish crown with jewels away and think about receiving many times as much in this age and the age to come because we left everything behind to follow Jesus. Of course, we may not have left everything behind like Peter or the others did, but we left our old life behind. But what consisted of our old life? We think some believers just feel that was a life of sin, and when we were first saved, they told us our new life was one of no smoking, no drinking, dancing, going to movies, roller rinks, and bowling alleys, along with a lot of other don’ts with a list of the do’s, which were the list of good deeds that is part of our new life in Christ. Times have changed, many of those rules of men have gone by the wayside which only points to the rules of men are not the rules of God for he never changes. What Jesus said has and will continue to come to pass. We have been blessed in so many ways in this life, physical ways, blessings one after another. God has provided us with more than we need, and done it because Jesus promised he would. However, we still struggle with leaving some things behind, well, one thing, and that is the system we live under in this world. If we believe this world is not our home, and our treasures are laid up beyond the blue, the treasure of eternal life, and the angels beckon us from Heaven's open door, then we can’t feel at home in this world anymore, then we need to live in the kingdom of God, and not by the kingdom of this world. Plainly, that means we need to leave beyond the worldview of success, or achieving all our wants and desires with our own efforts, or by our own skills, talents, education, or in general, ourselves.  Jesus said to trust in him and to trust in God. How can we trust in ourselves and in Jesus at the same time? How can we serve two masters? Following Jesus brings more love, joy, peace, and comfort than we could ever want, plus all the things of this world, the pagans run after. Turning to Jesus is turning away from the old system of life. Let us always be running after Jesus.