Windows of our soul

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

WINDOWS OF OUR SOUL

Luke 11:33-36

33 "No one lights a lamp and puts it in a place where it will be hidden, or under a bowl. Instead he puts it on its stand, so that those who come in may see the light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness. 35 See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. 36 Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be completely lighted, as when the light of a lamp shines on you."

NIV

We have heard, “Let your light shine” since the very beginning. We teach songs to our children about, “This little of light of mine, I’m going let it shine”. We have heard sermons about being a light unto the world, living our faith out loud. There may even be books about this topic of the candle and hiding our light under a bowl. But here Jesus make reference to our eyes being the windows of our soul. It is not that our eyes being good make the whole body full or light, yet that is true. When we keep our eyes upon Jesus, who is the light, all that he is shines into our very being influencing our personality, our continence, or demeanor, our attitudes about life, about people, about every aspect of our being. However, if we spend our time looking at the world, the things of the world, with lust, desires, wanting, pursuing after them with our eyes, then our very being will be influenced in the same way. Our personality, our continence, or demeanor, our attitudes about life and people. It will lead us to envy, jealously, even hatred. We need to keep our eyes upon Jesus, we need to look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace. Although it is generally thought that the Apostle Paul wrote the letter to the Hebrews and he wrote it in Hebrew with Luke latter translating it into Greek, the idea of fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith is in that letter. We need to see that whatever we focus our eyes upon that is the direction our mind and then our body will go. If our desire is that people see Jesus when they look at us, then we need to fix our eyes upon him. We can tell a lot about a person by looking into their eyes. People can tell a lot about us by looking into our eyes. What do they see? The eyes are the windows into our soul, they reflect that which is within. That which is within is a result of what the eyes are seeing. It is sort of an action and reaction event. If we focus on the world, the darkness, then darkness is in our eyes as well and no one will be about to see the light within us, if in fact, it is even there. We need to make sure our eyes remain focused on Jesus, and allow his light to permeate our whole being, so that we are all light within and then that light will shine outward upon others through the windows of our soul. 

Repent or Else

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

REPENT OR ELSE

Luke 11:29-32

29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, "This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.

NIV

There is no question about the generation of Jews Jesus was speaking to. Their wickedness was in their refusal to see him for who he was, the Son of God, the Messiah, the Christ, and the Savior of all mankind. Although they were always asking for signs, for miracles, but refusing to accept him as their Messiah, he told them the only sign they would see would be like Jonah. This was to tell them as Jonah was in the belly of a great fish for three days so would he be in the belly of the earth for three days. But Jonah was sent to preach to the people of Nineveh and he gave them no signs, no miracles, and no Christ, but he gave them the words to repent or God would bring judgment upon them. They repented. The Queen of Sheba heard about Solomon and all his wisdom and wealth, and when she came to see for herself, she ended up praising his God for blessing him with so much, thus recognizing the power and majestic God of the Israelites. Both these comparisions were to tell us that Jesus was and is greater than Jonah and Solomon, but these people refused to repent and they will see the judgment of God and it will be witnessed by the men of Nineveh. Here it is in a nutshell. We need to repent. Of course all of us who are born again, bible toting, Spirit filled, gift bearing believers in the whole word of God, have repented and accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and we will stand as witnesses to the wicked generation we live in when they experience the judgement of God. Perhaps that is the message we need to be telling them, the same that Jonah preached to the Ninevites, the judgement of God going to be upon them unless they repent and accept Jesus as the Son of God, and their Lord and Savior. Their religion will not save them, their church going will no save them, and their denomination will not save them. Unless they repent and acknowledge Jesus Christ, unless they are born again, they will never see the kingdom of God. This was the message of Jesus. He did not try to love them into the kingdom. That is he did not try to appease them, trying to be liked by them by endeavoring to be like them in order to gain their confidence then gently slip in the idea of salvation. He told it like it was, he called them a wicked generation, he told them unless they repent, their own words will condemn them. Do we dare get that bold? Maybe we should. Maybe that will bring the desired results insisted on by God for them. True, some of us have seen signs and wonders, miracles in order to acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. God is still in the business of doing such things in order to achieve his plan. Surely this man is evidence of that. But many of us have even lost that message, perhaps because we doubt ourselves that God will do the same for others in order to bring them to repentance. Certainly Jesus did signs and wonders, miracles, healings everyday of those several years he was among mankind publicly. He has not stopped, he continues to do those same things, but the message has to be repent or experience the wrath, the judgment of God. Sure we can say, Jesus loves you and so do I, but that does not convey the impending disaster awaiting those who do not repent. Maybe we need to be a little more prophetic in our message. Maybe we need to be bolder. Repent or else.  

Blessed

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

BLESSED

Luke 11:27-29

27 As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, "Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you." 28 He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it." 

NIV

There might be a better rendering of what Jesus said when investigating the Greek text and understanding the intent of those words. His response may well have been along the lines of, “Blessed rather are those who hear the divine expression, the Christ of God and preserve or keep him.” If we see these as the word of God and obey, we have to come to the conclusion that we cannot obey it one hundred percent just as the Israelites could not obey the Law of Moses either. That was the point God was making to them, so they would see they cannot justify themselves by the law and they would need a Savior, the Christ of God, the word, as it is expressed by John in his gospel. John said the word was with God and was God. So here we have to conclude that Jesus was referring to himself as the word of God and that a person is blessed if they receive, keep watch, to guard the Christ in their lives. It has nothing to do with obeying the law, in that sense. Yes we should live in a manner which pleases God, but we cannot obey one hundred percent otherwise we would then be perfect and have no need for Christ, the word of God. On the other hand, that is no reason to reject his commands and live in any manner we please, for that would be rejecting God, himself and we would be condemning ourselves. But the point Jesus was making is the truth of the whole gospel, the complete good news. We are to perceive Jesus, understanding who he is, that fact he said he was the truth, the light and the way, that no man could come to the Father except through him. That is what we need to hear in order to be blessed. This woman saw Jesus as a great man, who was born of a woman and that Mary deserved the praise for raising such a great man. But Jesus told her that she needed to perceive who he was, the word of God, and to guard her heart with him. To look to God, not a human to give praise. This is the truth of our lives. We hear, we perceive Jesus, the word of God and we obey in the sense of knowing, understanding and accepting him as the truth, the light and the way, and accept his work on the cross for our sin, knowing he is the only way to the Father. That is why we are blessed. 

All In

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

ALL IN

Luke 11:21-26

21 "When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. 22 But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils. 23 "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters. 24 "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' 25 When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first." 

NIV    

Jesus is still talking or defending the charges that he cast out a mute spirit from this man with the power of Satan. After talking about a house divided, he continues with another parable of sorts about a strong man who guards his own house. Once again this is about Jesus being more powerful than Satan, or this demon. We see that Satan guards the house, the palace, the man, and his possessions are safe, he has complete control over his house, the man. But when a stronger man, Jesus comes along he takes the armor in which Satan trusted and gathers then man’s soul for himself. Again he tells them that he and Satan are opposed, and therefore it is not by Satan’s power, but by his own power, the finger of God. This is keeping in context with the whole narrative. But the rest of what Jesus tells them concerns how diligent Satan and his demons are in fighting to regain control of the house, the man, whose soul has been put in order. This is the point here Jesus is making about making sure after having our souls put into order by him, we need to make sure we stay with him, inviting him into our house, into our heart and not be empty, for if we remain empty we will be worse off than when he put our soul in order. We cannot live in two camps. We cannot love Jesus and also the things of the world. We cannot say we are Christians and still pursue our own dreams and desires. We cannot love Jesus and continue willingly yield to every temptation that Satan faces us with. Jesus is stronger the Satan, but we must live in the power of God, rather than in our own power, for we do not have enough power to battle Satan and his demons with all their temptations. If our heart and mind, soul and strength are not given completely to Jesus, demons more wicked than anything we have ever dealt with before will be gathering to attack us. It comes back to the beginning about any kingdom that is divided cannot stand. When we have a divided heart, mind, soul and strength we will fall to the legion of demons and their temptations. It may not seem like much and we might not even see them coming, and we might even think we are being a good Christian, but if we have divided our heart between Jesus and the world, there is a void within us that is subject to their attack. So then we need to make sure we are completely filled to the brim with the power of God in our lives. We need to be all in. 

The Kingdom has come

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE KINGDOM HAS COME

Luke 11:14-20

14 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. 15 But some of them said, "By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons." 16 Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. 17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: "Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. 18 If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. 19 Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 20 But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

NIV

In response to these challenges and charges against Jesus that he was casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub, who is Satan, Jesus gives them an important lesson. But it is also interesting these people felt that Satan had more power than Jesus or God for that matter. Why would Jesus cast out demons in the name of Satan? But that is what they thought he was doing. It is odd that even today people give more credence to the powers of darkness, or the supernatural, the paranormal than they do God. Here Jesus tells them it is absolutely stupid to think that Satan would cast out demons from people because he would be working against himself, divided. His own purpose is to have his demons possess people, to overtake them, control them, lame them, blind them spiritually to the things of God. Why would he want to free a man from the control of his demons? But this is the kind of people who lived then and live now who refuse to accept the power of God in their lives. This teaching of Jesus about a house divided cannot stand is exactly what Satan would have among the body of Christ. Although this teaching is about how Satan would not be the power by which he drives out demons, but that it is by the finger of God, many of us have taken that verse slightly out of context. However it is true that a house divided cannot stand. This applies to marriage as well as to the body of Christ. If a husband and wife are divided on the direction their lives should go or a host of other issues, it may well be the reason so many marriages fail. As far as the Body of Christ goes we have witnessed it being divided in so many ways through denominationalism over the many years. Some agreeing has occurred and certainly the church has not fallen at this point. This is not because of the power of man, or the power of Satan, but by the finger of God. He has kept his church, his people from falling. Although many of us may differ on some issues, some interpretations, the vast majority of us believe Jesus is the Son of God and it is by him alone we gain eternal life. United on this single issue we will stand against all the powers of darkness. The other truth we see here is about knowing the kingdom has come to us. When we see the finger of God at work in our lives, we can be certain the kingdom has come to us. There is no supernatural, no paranormal, no power of darkness that can counterfeit the finger of God. Satan might attempt to in order to deceive even the elect, but those who have the indwelling of the Spirit of God will be able to discern a lie, a counterfeit, from the truth for the Spirit brings with him the gift of discernment. We can be certain, without any doubt whatsoever, the kingdom has come to us. We live in the kingdom of God. 

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.