Never Give Up

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

NEVER GIVE UP

Luke 11:5-13

5 Then he said to them, "Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, 6 because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.' 7 "Then the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' 8 I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man's boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. 9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 "Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" 

NIV

It seems like a whole lot here, but it is really just one truth that Jesus is teaching his disciples using this illustration of the man pleading for bread from his neighbor whose whole family is fast asleep in bed. The idea that he would not get up because he was a friend, but would get up because of the boldness or persistence of the man. These two words fall a little short of the implied meaning of the Greek word used here, which carries a sense of impudent insistence raising to the point of shamelessness. The importance of this meaning is carried to the point of how we are to ask the Father, being without any sense of pride at all. This is what Jesus is telling them and us. We need to come to the Father asking and asking and asking, not giving up until we receive that which we ask for, which in this teaching of Jesus is the Holy Spirit. Certainly salvation is not implied in any way here, for that is a free gift of God, we merely need to repent and ask for forgiveness and he freely gives us eternal life. But seeking for good gifts, which Matthew uses, is in fact the Holy Spirit and his gifts. Some would use this teaching to seek the father continually for things, things of this world, material goods. But that would taking only a portion of what Jesus said out of context. We cannot exclude his concluding statement, which is in fact the reason for the rest of what he said. The point here is that we should be seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, full out, all in, exclusively, relentlessly, persistently, shamelessly without any reservations. This is how we are to approach our faith in God. Will God respond? Absolutely, he will give us the Holy Spirit who brings his gifts to work in our lives. He will pour him out all over us. He will lead us into all truth, he will guide us, and he will pour out his gifts upon us. Yet how many of us seek him in that way, and in fact accept him and all his does within us? Many seek God for the things, but if we seek him in the way Jesus is teaching about, first for the Spirit and all that comes with him, other teachings tell us that the Father will also supply us with the stuff, the things we need to live here in this human condition. But our focus in not on the bread, the things, it should be on the kingdom, the Spirit who brings the kingdom within us. We need to always be forever seeking the work of the Spirit in our lives, never giving up. 

Pray like this

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

PRAY LIKE THIS

Luke 11:1-4

11:1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples." 2 He said to them, "When you pray, say:

"'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.   3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'" 

NIV

Although this is a very famous illustration of how we should pray, there are several different versions based on some other manuscripts. Some say” Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be your name, may your kingdom be done on earth as it is in heaven, give us each day our daily bread, Forgive us our debts as we forgive everyone who is indebted to us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one”. Yet the points of this prayer, no matter which manuscript is used for translation, are all the same. What Jesus was telling his disciples was not a prayer they should recite, which is what many believers have done, in fact, many churches have done. But this is not a prayer to recite but an illustration or an outline of points we should include when we pray. Jesus was in fact telling us that we should pray to his Father, who we have to know is in heaven, because where else would he be. Hallowed or holy is his name, in fact the Jews considered his name so holy they would not even speak his name, so Jesus tells them to call him Pater or Father. He is our Father in several ways. First he created us, as a father creates children, second he gave us new birth, spiritually. He is so extremely holy, and we should not get so comfortable or casual in our relationship with him. By admitting we want his kingdom here to be like his kingdom in heaven, we are confessing our absolute obedience as his servants, his slaves, so to speak. We cannot live our own lives, pursuing, fulfilling our own desires, for if we are asking for his kingdom to be here within us, then we must live for him instead of for us. In this type of living, which is living for him, we look to him, rather than to our own efforts for our daily food. Now that can be seen in two ways. The first is the daily bread or food we eat and the second is his very words. Of course Jesus is the bread of life, and that could be the meaning here as well. In either way we want to look at it we should be looking to God to supply our need, we cannot do it ourselves. Yes we work, and earn an income, and buy the food at the store, but it is he who provides us with the work. He also provides us with Jesus and we need to be full of him each and every day. The whole idea of forgiving is that fact we all have to come to grips with the fact all of us have sin in our lives. As we ask God to forgive us each and every day, not just one time when we become a Christian, but the fact is we still have sin, and need to ask daily for forgiveness. So do all our brothers and sisters in Christ, and some of them might well do or say something which either offends us or hurts our feelings, or whatever that would cause us to get upset, which in actually we shouldn’t, but when they do, we need to forgive them. That is if we want God to forgive us. This implies very strongly that if we do not forgive, if we hold a grudge, or want to revel in our hurt for a while, God is not going to forgive us. It is that simple. As to asking our Father not to lead us into temptation seems a little odd. God would never lead us into a temptation, only Satan would do that, and thus Jesus was telling them to seek God for deliverance from the temptations that Satan confronts us with. We cannot ever be completely free of all temptations, but we need to ask God to deliver us from them, even when we fall into their trap. God does not tempt nor can he be tempted. We can be and so we seek his help. This is the attitude with which we should pray, not simply recite the words. 

Better

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

BETTER

Luke 10:38-42

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" 41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." 

NIV

Although there has been many sermons preached on the truth within this passage, the truth is still the truth and it bears our continued attention. Whether this event occurred when Luke records it or later as some of the other Gospels put it, the truth of the lesson remains the same. Was this the first time Jesus ever met Martha and Mary? We know at some time Lazarus, their brother dies, which Jesus allows to happen, since he was told Lazarus was sick and did not go until he died. This was so he could raise him from the grave, showing his power over death. So what is the truth we know about this situation between Mary, Martha and Jesus? Certainly the idea that Martha was so intent on doing the acts of service we would think most preachers, pastors rather, would want to focus on Martha as an example of how we the people of the church should be serving Jesus as well. But it seems that is not the case in most incidences. The focus seems to always be on Mary, sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to his every word. Yet it does seem that many pastors do in some sense, perhaps without knowing it, focus on the acts of service of Martha. The constant call for volunteers to do acts of service within the church would indicate that Martha is the right example. But Jesus says Mary is the right example. We cannot escape the fact that we should be serving our Lord, but to be so focused on acts of service that we cannot find time to sit at the feet of Jesus, may result in Jesus telling we are worried and upset about many things, but we need to be spending more time at his feet listening to his every word. There is another aspect of these acts of service rather than sitting at his feet. We can get so involved in living the Christian life, being so concerned about all the rules and regulations, the law in essence, all the things we should not be doing, and all the things we should be doing, making our life one of routines and rituals, even in our prayers that we forget to spend time at his feet. Jesus told Martha, the doer, Mary has chosen that which is better, being a listener of his words. Mary was infatuated with Jesus, she was star-stuck with him, and she could not leave his feet, hanging onto every one of his words. Mary had a passion Jesus, which it seems Martha was missing, as it appears her passion was on doing things, being the right kind of host, etc. Should we not also focus on what Jesus considers better? Would not our passion for Jesus result in our being more Christ-like, which in turn would result in our living in a manner which pleases God? Would this not also result in our doing something for him, for the kingdom, which than would be acts of service? Could we not be better off seeing them as acts of love, or a passion for Jesus? But then all our acts would be for Jesus and not so we looked like we are a good Christian. It seems the truth is in the attitudes of Martha and Mary. Martha was focused on acts, Mary was focused on Jesus. That is the better and if we focus on Jesus, it will not be taken from us. 

My Neighbor

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

MY NEIGHBOR

Luke 10:29-37

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" 30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' 36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"  37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." 

NIV

Now that we have seen the point about trying to justify ourselves we should take a look at the question Jesus asks this man about so he can decide who his neighbor is. Of course Jesus had to use a Samaritan in the illustration as this man, being a Jew, would have nothing to do with a Samaritan, a half breed. There are several points or truths that we could use here for a life lesson. The idea of the first two people who were supposed to be men with religious training, background, and practice. The priest of all the people who should have helped did not, nor did the Levite a man from the tribe of Levi who all took their turns serving in the temple, such as we have seen with Zachariah, the father of John the Baptist. Both these men professed their belief in God and devotion to the Law of Moses as established by God. But they had no mercy, worse yet, they not only did not show concern, but actually went out of their way to avoid any contact at all with this injured man. We might suspect the reason they crossed the road was so if ever asked about this man, they could say, “What man, I never saw any injured man, surely if I had, I would have helped him”. This is our lesson here. We cannot avoid seeing someone in need just so our daily routine is not disturbed. Do we pass by a stranger in need because we don’t want to be bothered, or it might cost us either some time and maybe even money? Maybe in today’s world we might think it is too dangerous to stop and help, it might be a trap. Whatever the reason, are we like that priest or Levite? The Samaritan, even though with all the hatred toward them by the Jews, not only stopped but took the man with him and cared for him. He did not just stop and ask if he was alright, he got involved with this man’s life. Sometimes we might tell someone in need we will pray for them, that is our commitment in helping them, after all God can do so much more for them then we could. But that is not the truth we are being shown here. If we are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, strength and mind and our neighbor as ourselves and if our neighbor, like this illustration, can be a total stranger, then showing the mercy is up to us, even if it cost us, time and money. Sometimes we can become so focused on our own lives, we do not even see the needs of others, or we cross the road so we would have to see the need. This is not an easy lesson, but nevertheless it is one we need to ponder on, and make sure we are not missing the opportunity to show mercy to our neighbor. 

No Excuses

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

NO EXCUSES

Luke 10:29-37

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" 30 In reply Jesus said: "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.' 36 "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?"  37 The expert in the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." 

NIV

After Jesus tells this man in order to inherit eternal like he must love the Lord our God with all his heart, soul, strength and mind, as well as love his neighbor as his self, this man certainly has a problem. It is not with loving God, as he is an expert in the law and thus tries to live by it, to please God. That is at least what his outward appearance is. But when he hears this answer, he tries to justify himself by asking who is his neighbor. Before we even get to the question Jesus poses to him in response to his question, we have a life lesson that should be explored. When we read the scriptures, or hear a sermon which speaks to our heart, do we try to justify our actions or inactions for that matter? When we are not doing what we know we should be doing, do we try to justify our inaction with some excuse? Certainly we might think we get away with it when dealing with other people. When we have a responsibility or have made some commitment, but then decline to fulfill it because we are not feeling good, or perhaps just lost interest or something better came up, are we simply trying to justify our lack of commitment or because we just don’t want to do it. Do we justify what we do, especially when it is wrong in the eyes of another person? We might get away with it, if we are smooth enough in our defense. But what about God? Do we ever think we can get away with justifying either our sin, actions, or our sin, inactions? When God declares that we should do something or behave in a certain way do we try to justify ourselves by claiming we are just human and we are bound to fail? Perhaps we find another reason why we should not do what he has asked of us, or behave in the way he desires us. Whatever our reasons for not doing or behaving there is no word other than disobedience which defines our refusal and no attempt to justify that will work. We simply cannot justify, give God an acceptable excuse for our bad behavior. We also cannot give him a satisfactory reason for our failure to comply with his directions for our lives. We simply cannot justify ourselves, God is the only one who can and already has justified us to himself. He did that through being his own sacrifice which he demands for sin. How could we who have already been justified attempt to justify ourselves to him? There is no excuse for what we do or do not do. We are sinners, plain and simple and we need the blood of Jesus to cover us. God has provided for our justification. But we still should try to live in a manner which pleases him, but knowing there is no need to attempt to render any excuse for failure. Yes, we need to repent and ask forgiveness. Yes, we failed. Yes, it is wrong, but no excuses, no trying to justify what we did or didn’t do. Admit error and keep trying to do what is right and not doing what is wrong. There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus. Satan might try to make us feel guilty and the need to justify our behavior, but God does not make us feel guilty. The Spirit will convict us of our errors, but only to show us so we can repent and seek forgiveness and live in the justification God did for us. 

All of us

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

ALL OF US

Luke 10:25-28

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 "What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"  27 He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" 28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."  

NIV

The man asked and was answered with a question. Why did Jesus ask him this? He went straight to the truth with Nicodemus about having to be born again, so why would he ask this man what the law said. We have to conclude as Jesus knew the heart of Nicodemus, he also knew the heart of this man, and he needed him to find this answer. The man quoted both from Deuteronomy and Leviticus which Jesus told him if he actually did that he would live. We are going to see this man seemed to not have a problem with the  first part, about loving the Lord God with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength and with all  his mind, but he is going to have a problem with the neighbor thing. Yet for now we should remain focused on all this loving the Lord our God. To love God with every fiber of our being carries a very important message. To love God with our heart implies we are willing to sacrifice all else, all other desires in order to please him. Nothing in this world should draw our hearts to them. We should have no other desires other than for God. This is difficult at best, for we live here, with certain needs. Surely God does not intend for us to be homeless, jobless and destitute, but at the same time we should not make all the things of the world our focus, he is our Lord and our God and we should love him with all our heart, not some of it, not divided between him and stuff. Our soul, is in fact our life. We should love him with all our life. That is to say, if we need to, we should be willing to give up our life for his sake. Surely many of the disciples did. Most of us may never be asked to die for the cause of God, but the fact remains we need to be willing to do just that. When we talk about strength and loving God with all of ours, it requires action on our part. We cannot simply talk the walk, but we should be walking the talk. How much physical effort are we putting into our love? Certainly not all of us can be in full time ministry, making all our efforts toward advancing the kingdom. But then even those individuals have to maintain their own homes, shop for food, and live in the realm of daily life. How much physical effort do we do for God? Is that just about doing acts of service in the church? Can we serve God with all our strength in our daily living? When we work are we working for the Lord or for ourselves? When we maintain our homes are we doing to bring glory to God or ourselves? When we play, either at some sport or hobby, do we do that to bring glory to God or self? When it comes to our mind, our thoughts, our intelligence, are we focused on knowing God, knowing more of God, knowing more about him, his word, his design and desire for our lives? Do we spend as much time learning about God as we do in order to achieve some degree from a university? Do we spend as much time learning about God as we do learning about anything else? What do we think about most of our day? Is it God? If we are to love him with our mind, which would imply that is exactly what we should be doing. Thinking about him with all our thoughts which would mean not thinking about self so much. This is a big life lesson. We know it, but to actually implement it requires constant attention. Will we succeed all the time? Maybe not, but that should be our goal, our desire, to love the Lord our God with all of our being. 

See and Hear

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

SEE AND HEAR

Luke 10:21-24

21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.  22 "All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."  3 Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24 For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it." 

NIV

Although there are three distinct phrases Jesus says here, it seems as though he said them in one breathe, as if it was all one thought, one truth. First we see that Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit and praising his Father, the Lord of heaven and earth. That alone would be a great life lesson for us. As we are full of the Holy Spirit we too are full of Joy and praising our Father as well. It may be that unless we are actually full of the Holy Spirit we cannot really praise God in the manner he should be praised. Human praise may fall short of the praise God deserves and desires. The other life lesson is also in the reason Jesus was so full of joy and praising his Father. This reason was because God has hidden his divine truths from the wise and learned but has revealed the truth to little children. Here we can understand that difference between human intellect and Spirit filled. It would seem no matter how much bible education one has it does not reveal the truth of God. He hides his truth from those who determine to find it through the human effort of study. Instead as anyone with or without any human knowledge about God and the scriptures, knowing Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic or any other language of the past, when they come as little children, open to being taught by the Spirit, God reveals himself and his truths to them. This is what pleases God. He is pleased to reveal himself to those who seek him as a child would seek the affection and approval of his father. Children only desire to be loved and provided for by their earthy father and so this is how we should come to God, if we truly want to know him and his truths. Jesus also made this statement about who knows him, and who knows the Father. He said that only the Father knows the Son and the Son is the only one who knows the Father except those who Jesus reveals him to. Although the NIV used chooses, the original language implies reveals. Through Jesus Christ we can know the Father. This coincides with all the rest of scripture. There is one mediator between God and man and that is Jesus Christ. No man comes unto the Father except through the Son. He is the truth, the light and the way. Once again Jesus tells them and us that it is not about how much we try to learn, how many years we spend in some bible college, or other institution of higher learning, how much we earn, our position in life, or who we are. Unless we come as children, like his disciples, without any foreknowledge or preconceived ideas, we cannot see or hear the truth. It is all about simply being open to the Spirit, as Jesus told Peter when he said that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus told him no man revealed that to him, but it was revealed to him through the Spirit. That is the simple truth of how we can know Jesus, and know the Father. How we can see and hear.