Loving to Carry

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

LOVING TO CARRY

Luke 14:25-27

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

NIV

We knew we needed to further consider these words of Jesus, as yesterday time was pressing us to be at church on time considering we are the pastor. What we needed to do is compare how Matthew recorded what Jesus said, and it is different. Matthew’s record quotes Jesus as having said that if anyone loves his father and mother more then him is not worthy to be my disciple. He said the same thing about loving sons and daughters more than him. Because Luke uses hate, it is the same sense as if we love our family more the Jesus. Of course, the Lord expects and demands that we love our father and mother and our children, as well as love our neighbor more than ourselves. The whole of the truth of God is about living a life of love, and not of hatred for anyone, In fact, Jesus warns us about hatred, that it is the same as the command not to commit murder. If God is love, in fact, he loved us so much he sent Jesus to come in the form of man, to go to the cross and take all our sins upon himself, being the sacrifice for us, to satisfy his own justice, reconciling himself to us, paying that price we were supposed to, and then was buried and Praise God, he was resurrected being the firstborn of all who believe in him so that we too will be resurrected into an eternal life where there is no death, no hatred, no sin. Life is all about loving each other, yet we are to love Jesus more than anyone or anything in this life. He must be the first and the last love of our lives, before all else. However, we are still to love one another rather than having any hatred in our hearts whatsoever. Because we love Jesus more than anyone, we can take up our cross and follow him. This means we are willing to carry our cross to our execution or bear our cross to our death. We will never lose our faith, our trust to our last breath. It is doubtful we who live in this country would experience death because of our faith, although believers in other parts of the world have been put to death in horrific ways devised by evil men driven by the power of Satan. Nevertheless, we will carry our cross, and we will follow Jesus all the days of our lives, no matter what. 

Following

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

FOLLOWING

Luke 14:25-27

25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

NIV

This is not a new concept, the fact is that we need to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will added to us. There can be no distractions between us and Jesus. There will always be some members of our family or our extended family that do not get it. They cannot see how we want to live by faith. They do not understand we cannot be invested in the world because we are invested in Jesus and cannot have both. Therefore, there will be some tension, or conflict within the family even though we still love one another. Hate is a strong word that Jesus used here, that if we do not hate our family, we cannot come to him. The Greek word here does mean to hate, to detest, but by extension, it can mean to love less.

Nevertheless, the point is that Jesus has to be the first in our hearts, above anyone else. Now the word of God tells us husbands to love our wives and to manage our children or family. However, the point still is about putting Jesus first, picking up our cross, and following him, which means forsaking our own interests or ourselves for him. This we must ponder on more tomorrow. 

Eating at the Table

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

EATING AT THE TABLE

Luke 14:15-24

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." 16 Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' 18 "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' 19 "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' 20 "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' 21 "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' 22 "'Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 23 "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'" 

NIV

Now that we have considered being blessed because we are eating at the table in the kingdom of God, we should look at this parable. It is a straightforward look at the Jews who Jesus came to first, and all their excuses not to see him as their Messiah. Therefore, Jesus sends out the invitation to all the Gentiles all over the world. We know that was God's plan all along because he knows all things, as well if we are to take the words given to John about how God so loved the world, which means that included from the being, all mankind, that he sent Jesus to be the sacrifice for the sins of mankind, so that whosoever believes should not perish, but have everlasting life. that is us, we are the ones on the roads and country lanes, and we are now in the house of the Master. There is one more way we could look at this, which might be stretching it a bit. This idea of making excuses could relate to all the community of faith. We could make an excuse not to do that which God has called us to do. We think sometimes that we have our plan as to how we will live in the community of faith rather than sit at the table with Jesus. When we accept the invitation to come to the banquet, it is not a carry-in, so to speak. That is we cannot bring what we want to bring to the table, we must eat the food the master has offered us. To personalize this, I when I entered the kingdom of God I brought my skills, my talent as a photographer, and my insight into visual communication, but Jesus had something else on that table for me to eat. He said to leave your skills and talents, outside, I want you to eat from the table of verbal communication, I am making you into a preacher. This is where we get the words of a song that says, “Break me, melt me, mold me, and fill me”. When we accept to come to the banquet, we need to eat from the table what Jesus has prepared and placed before us. We cannot make any excuse, but to consume, and devour, the call upon our lives. So there you go, that is the other look into this parable. Let us praise our Lord because we are eating at the table. 

One of the Blessed

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

ONE OF THE BLESSED

Luke 14:15-24

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God." 16 Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, 'Come, for everything is now ready.' 18 "But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' 19 "Another said, 'I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I'm on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.' 20 "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' 21 "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' 22 "Sir,' the servant said, 'what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.' 23 "Then the master told his servant, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.'" 

NIV

It is always interesting how Jesus tells stories to get a point across, rather than just slamming people, and putting them down for their rejecting him as the Messiah. However, this statement by one of those at the table with Jesus heard about those whom someone invites to a luncheon and how the rich guest could pay him back, but the poor, the lame, and the blind could not, and so which is more of a blessing, this one said, “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God. We are going to have to wait on the story Jesus responds with although it is all about who responds to the invitation to the luncheon, although Jesus now made it a great banquet. However, the fact still remains we will be blessed beyond measure when we sit down at the feast in the kingdom of God. That may some presumptuous to say we are going to sit down at his great banquet in the kingdom of God, yet because we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and have received the Holy Spirit that Jesus sent to dwell within us and lead us into all truth, and have followed Jesus through the waters of baptism and are people of faith, believing in Jesus, following him, trusting him with our lives, we have the confidence and the assurance that we are one of the blessed who will sit at the table in the kingdom of God. In fact, we have already been sitting at that table many times when we take of the bread and the wine, although we use grape juice to avoid offending anyone’s sensibility about wine. Nevertheless, we are sitting at the feast in the kingdom of God, toasting, or we say remembering all that Jesus did for us, at the cross, and through being buried and then remembering his resurrection. All that is the reason for the feast on the table in the kingdom of God, having abdicated our citizenship of the kingdom of the world and have become a citizen in the kingdom of God, we are feasting at the table in the kingdom of God and thus we are one of the blessed. So when we have communion at church, we must remember we are one of the blessed. 

Temporal or Eternal

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

TEMPORAL OR ETERNAL

Luke 14:12-14

12 Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." 

NIV

It might be possible that we would have a luncheon or a dinner that we would invite a bunch of our friends to join us, but it is doubtful that we would know any of the poor, crippled, lame, and blind to invite instead of our friends. However, that is different from what Jesus is talking about. There is the temporal realm and the eternal realm and that is what everything is about. When we live in this temporal realm and do all our good deeds, that we think are being a good Christian, it is still may be about looking good before man and expecting some sort of compensation, or recognition for all our hard work. It is also quite possible that we are working, putting much effort into this temporal realm to advance our position, make ourselves more comfortable with all the stuff this world has to offer, and even store up as much as possible for our future days in this temporal realm. Jesus made it clear when he said that we should not work for food that spoils, but rather work for eternal food. This is the whole idea of living in the eternal realm where Jesus will give us this food that endures to eternal life. Living by faith rather than by works is the difference, although we do serve our Lord, doing that which he has called us to do would benefit the kingdom of God. That is far different from working for our benefit in this temporal realm. Who are we inviting to the party, Jesus or ourselves? We might think that if we work hard enough in this world, we will get paid back somehow, with a better position, a raise in pay, more recognition, etc., but what good is that in the eternal realm. We cannot even work hard enough in the spirit realm, thinking somehow, we will get more jewels in our crowns. Jesus made it very clear, that the work that God requires is to believe in the one he sent. So when we believe in Jesus we are given the eternal payback, it is given freely, without labor, except then to love the Lord God with our whole being and to love our neighbor which includes those that have far less than we do, inviting them in, giving them food that endures to eternal life, while still providing for their temporal needs. We do live in the temporal, but we live for the eternal. 

Prideful or Humble

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

PRIDEFUL OR HUMBLE

Luke 14:7-11

7 When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8 "When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. 9 If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10 But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." 

NIV

As far as a wedding feast in our days we do not get to pick our place at the table, for the seating chart is already made out by the bride and most likely her mother. So they have already decided who gets the upfront tables, who gets to sit far in the back, and maybe even with some of the children. No worries, we would not have this situation that Jesus is discussing. However, the general idea of being either prideful or humble certainly can apply to many areas in life, however, we should focus on the area of the church where we gather and where we all sit, especially when we have a carry-in, or go out together at a restaurant as a group. Then we come to the specific area of pridefulness, and where we might see that in our lives, versus those same areas where we could exhibit humbleness. Of course, as a follower of Jesus, we should always exhibit humbleness because that is what is in our hearts, or that is our nature because Christ is in us and we are in Christ. We wonder how as a believer, as a follower of Jesus Christ, as one who has the indwelling of the Spirit of God could even become filled with pridefulness, and yet that temptation stands before at every turn. We see prideful Christians, we watch them being so puffed up over things they think made them superior to others, their educational level, their position, or title in the body of Christ, their importance in the church because of the amount they give, or how much they do. We have seen it over the years, the puffed-up believers, and we wonder if we have ever joined in with them. Then we wonder if we can become prideful of being humble. True humility understands we are who we are, a sinner saved by grace. It does not matter what title or position or what we do or have in this world, all that is temporary. Humility should mean we are nothing more than a child of God, a friend of Jesus, although it seems we want to see ourselves as a servant of God, serving God. In the realm of the heavenlies, we all stand at the same place, at the feet of the Lord. In the eternal, there is no distinction between any of mankind except whether we are the sheep or the goats, whether we are in our out, whether we have eternal life or perish. If we focus on the eternal then this temporal has no reason for being prideful, but only being humble before God and men. 

Law or Love

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

LAW OR LOVE

Luke 14:1-6

14:1 One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. 2 There in front of him was a man suffering from dropsy. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?"  4 But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away. 5 Then he asked them, "If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?"  6 And they had nothing to say.

NIV

It is always difficult to defend yourself when you attempt to live by an exact list of laws or rules and regulations because it leaves absolutely no room for error whatsoever. Healing on the Sabbath was all about the rules they determined could be done on the Sabbath. We recall the time we spent in Israel and stayed at a hotel on Shabbat. The hotel was full of Orthodox Jews.  The elevators automatically stopped at every floor without pushing any button, because it was unlawful to push a button on the Sabbath. The Pharisees, if they had answered Jesus knew they would be caught in hypocrisy. In most of our denominations of today each has its published statement of faith and may or may not have a published list, but nevertheless have a set of rules and regulations to live by, with any ever higher list of qualifications for any position of leadership that does not have any scriptural basis to justify those qualifications. The point is, that our lives should be based on the word of God, living in a manner that pleases the Lord. No one can follow a set of human-established rules and regulations perfectly and usually will be found out by others as missing the mark and seen as a hypocrite. Jesus set us free from the law, except he did establish that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and that we should love our neighbor in the manner we love ourselves. This would mean we do no harm, and judge no one for missing the mark, especially because we have all missed the mark. Let us live a life of love and then we would not have to be concerned about what rules are for what occasion. If we all tried to live by the rules and cannot do it perfectly, when we are asked about our failure, what could we say, we would have to be silent as the Pharisees were. Let us not get entrapped and entangled by the rules and regulations, that are needed for order, such as the speed limit, but we cannot put the religious laws before our life, rather than the law of love.