Living Gathered

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

 LIVING GATHERED

Luke 13:34-35

34 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" 

NIV

We know these words of Jesus are both historical and prophetic in nature. However, Jesus quotes from the 118^th Psalm, “Blessed is he comes in the name of the Lord”. The whole of that Psalm is about exalting the name of the Lord. The Psalmist also said, “His love endures forever”.  Jesus wants to gather his people together, and of course, he is directly speaking about Jerusalem which represents all of the Jewish people whom He came to. However, Because God so loved the whole world, which includes us Gentiles, that he sent his Son so that whosoever, which again, that includes us non-Jews, should not perish, but have everlasting life. “His love endures forever”. Therefore, we can say that we are blessed because we come in the name of the Lord. We could say rather than we come in the name of the lord that we live in the name of the Lord because “His love endures forever”. Our house is not desolate, because we have been gathered by the hand of the Lord when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We live in the hand of the Lord. He continually blesses our lives, watching over us because we are his people and He is our Lord God. We can also be encouraged, in fact, to live with courageous endurance, and encouragement because we will see Him again. Isaiah said the same thing in another way, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation”. Blessed are those who live in the name of the Lord, who proclaim the good news because we have been gathered into the kingdom of God receiving all the blessings of eternal life and the provisions of the Lord in this life. Jesus has gathered us to Himself as we live in him and he in us. Our lives could not be any fuller because we have been gathered by Jesus and are known as the people of God and we live in the name of the Lord. 

Today and Tomorrow

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

TODAY AND TOMORROW

Luke 13:31-33

31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you." 32 He replied, "Go tell that fox, 'I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.' 33 In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day — for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

NIV

We know these are prophetic words of Jesus for He is headed to Jerusalem to do that which He was ultimately sent to do, or perhaps we should say that is what He came to do. However, there is a truth here we need to apply to our lives. When Jesus was telling the Pharisees that he would drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow and on the third day he would reach his goal, we see that Jesus would not give up working for the kingdom of God until his last breath. In fact, even on the cross, his goal, he was still teaching and showing that he was the Messiah. It is also interesting that some Pharisees came to warn Jesus that Herod wanted to kill him, is it they just wanted him to leave and somewhere else, getting rid of him and his gathering followers away from their authority over the people.

Nevertheless, what we see here that applies to us is that we should be doing the work of the Lord until we reach our goal, which would be eternal life. That would mean we cannot ever stop doing the business of God, striving for the kingdom of God, keeping going, and never giving up, even if someone wants to kill us. This brings us to think that the devil does want to kill us, however, not in the physical sense of death, although that is his ultimate goal that we experience eternal death in his realm. But, he wants to kill our ministry, our labor for the kingdom of God. He wants us to sit back in our old age and do nothing for the kingdom. He wants us to just be a couch potato, so to speak, just waiting to die, giving in to our aging bodies with their aches and pains, living a tired old life, living retired from being a part of the body of Christ, doing that which God has tasked us to do until he comes for us. Then we will reach our goal, in the heavenly realms with Jesus on that last day or our last breath. Until then we will continue today and tomorrow. 

The Effort

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

THE EFFORT 

Luke 13:22-30

22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said to them, 24 "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer, 'I don't know you or where you come from.' 26 "Then you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.' 27 "But he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!' 28 "There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last." 

NIV

The first thing we notice is Jesus is telling them to make every effort to enter through the narrow door. Seeing this is Greek, it says to strive, as to compete for the prize to enter at the narrow gate. Paul talks about running the race, finishing the race, completing the task the Lord gave him, the task of testifying to the gospel of the Lord’s grace. He also said that he had kept the faith. Maybe it is more difficult to remain a believer than we think it is. However, we don’t know any other way to live, than to trust God for our lives. Yet, Jesus is speaking directly to the Jews, and how they will reject him and the Gentiles will come and enter the narrow gate and because the Jews refused to accept him now, they may well not get to enter, although they knew the words of the prophets and should have seen Jesus as the Messiah. But once the day of judgement comes, the last day, if a person had not entered the narrow gate before that day, they we never be able to for the door would be shut to them, and would be thrown out into the darkness. So then, what is the every effort we need to make? That almost sounds like saved by an effort, or by some kind of work. We know that is not true for we know the work that God requires is to believe in the one he sent. We believe we  should seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness which means to forgo striving for the things of this world. How can we serve two masters? How can we walk the narrow path while we keep looking at other paths, wanting what they have to offer? In this world there are many temptations that seem to satisfy our physical desires, but we must see them as distractions from staying on the narrow path that leads us straight to the narrow gate. This may take some effort to overcome those distractions. Although we have been saved by grace, it still requires us to stay in the grace, or as Jesus said, remain in him and he will remain in us. Let us always remember that we need Jesus before anything else. Let us remember the effort. 

Leaven From Heaven

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

LEAVEN FROM HEAVEN

Luke 13:20-21

20 Again he asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." 

NIV

We know of yeast and its effects on the flour, but Jesus is just using that as a way of telling us He is like that yeast and the effects God has on our souls. At first, before the leaven, or yeast we are nothing but flour, inert, just sitting there in our own bag, without any movement. However, when the gospel is mixed into our lives by the Spirit, it begins, it becomes invasive and mixes in our until it completely makes us into a different nature. We grow as that dough in the bowl does because the yeast works throughout until it wholly converts the flour into a new nature. When the kingdom of God is within us we cannot help but grow into the nature God intended us to be when He first created Adam.  We can never go back to being just flour in a bag, ridding ourselves of the yeast of the gospel. There is also another application to this parable and that involves the whole earth. When Jesus came to earth in the form of man and taught the wholeness of the gospel, healed both the physical and the souls of men, then went to the cross, paying the price for our disobedience, the world could never be the same. The gospel is that yeast, Jesus is that leaven that spreads throughout the world, changing its very nature, perhaps one soul at a time. Still, the world cannot go back to a time before Jesus, when man either lived for himself, pursuing his own evil desires ignoring any reference to God, or lived under the burden of the law God gave the Israelites, yet failing miserably to find true righteousness. The world has been changed forever, and in some sense, this and the last parable are prophetic showing us that Jesus will prevail in changing us into his nature. Our soul will expand to overflowing that bowl and spilling out all over the counter. The yeast of the gospel has changed everything, the world has changed because of the leaven from heaven. 

Growing Up

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

GROWING UP

Luke 13:18-19

18 Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches." 

NIV

A parable is not something to take lightly, and there is a deeper meaning than just considering what a mustard seed grows to become, which is what the scholars of old focus on without wanting to consider how that applies both to the kingdom of God and the people. Of course, a mustard seed, although one of the smallest seeds can grow into a tree large enough for a bird of the air to perch on its branches. However, this is what happens to the kingdom of God. Even though the Jews know about God, they have been focused on living under the law and knew nothing about the kingdom of God. Jesus introduced the good news about the kingdom of God to them. This was a new idea and it needed to take root in the hearts and minds of the people. However, once the kingdom of God did take root within them, it grew larger and larger until many could find a place to rest, or should we say find rest for their souls. This is how the kingdom of God grows within a new convert. When we first came to Jesus Christ, accepting him as our Lord and Savior, the fact is we know nothing about the kingdom of God. We were just excited to find eternal life and the forgiveness of all our sins. There was a release from the heavy burden we were carrying through life. Of course, this may only apply to those of us who came to Jesus as adults, after living a life of sin. Those who grew up in a Christian home or atmosphere might have some knowledge about the kingdom of God or learned about it as they grew up in the church. However, we still think that no matter how we became aware of the kingdom of God, our knowledge is as little as that mustard seed. But it grew and grew within us and with the aid of the Spirit, we grew into this big tree so that other people could find a place to find rest for their souls. That is because of the kingdom that took root in our lives, others could see the result of the kingdom of God within us and want that same kind of life. Although a mustard tree may not bear fruit, like a normal fruit tree would, the kingdom of God within a person as it grows within him does bear the fruit of the Spirit which others can come and enjoy. They can find comfort in our love, joy patience, goodness, gentleness, peace, and self-control. They can taste, in a sense, and see how good the Lord is, or how they too can find rest for their soul within the kingdom of God. It is all about how the kingdom of God grows within us and what we become, or should we say it is about growing up.  

Delighted

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

DELIGHTED

Luke 13:14-17

14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, "There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath." 15 The Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Doesn't each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?"  17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.

NIV

Here if the rest of the story regarding Jesus setting the woman free from her infirmity of eighteen years. There are two sides here, the opponents and the delighted people. We don’t think the ruler of the synagogue really cared about the woman but was only concerned about the law. Jesus used the law to show him this hypocrisy and, in essence, made a fool out of the ruler of the synagogue in front of everyone who was there. Then there were the people who were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing. It is interesting the Greek word " delighted ", means rejoiced, cheerful, calm delight. Because we trust in Jesus, that is we have accepted him as our Lord and Savior, being born-again and being baptized in the Spirit, we have found a life of rejoicing, a life of being cheerful and of calm delight. We are reminded of the little song that says if you’re happy and you know it your face should surely show it. We wonder if we reflect the kind of life we are living in delighting all the glorious things Jesus is doing in our lives, instead of reflecting all our aches and pains, and the hurts in our lives. We also wonder if what we see in some others are attempts to live under some kind of law, they think the word of God puts on them. We see the sternness in their faces as they live under the burden of being righteous by their acts of service. We cannot allow the burden of the law to take away the joy of the Lord in our lives. Jesus has shown us the foolishness of living under the law, the hypocrisy of trying to live under the rules and regulations set up by man in that living by one law, we break another. However, what Jesus tells us is to live a life of love, and to live rejoicing in all the God has done for us and is doing in us and through us. If we are rejoicing in the Lord then our faces would show it. If we are glad then we would be reflecting the glory of the Lord in ever-increasing glory. 

See What God Can Do

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

SEE WHAT GOD CAN DO

Luke 13:10-13

10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity."  13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

NIV

There is more to this narrative including the response of the indignation of the synagogue ruler and how Jesus humiliates him with his response but let us first deal with what set off the rest of the narrative. To have an infirmity for eighteen years seems more common than just this woman who encountered Jesus and was set free. How many people today are simply living with their infirmity for eighteen or more years? Then we wonder is it possible that some of our infirmities are caused by some spirit, as this woman was? Can evil spirits cause us believers who have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us to be inflicted with an infirmity? We think that this could or would not happen because the Spirit protects us from evil, just as we pray the way Jesus taught us to pray, “do not lead us into temptation, but believer us from evil”. How could we believers ever be in the situation this woman was in with her infirmity being caused by a spirit, which an evil spirit is implied. Jesus healed whoever came to him, and it did not matter when or where. However, we still have to come to terms with the fact that we still have believers who have infirmities, some of which we are told are incurable by medical professionals. Are our incurable infirmities impossible for God to cure? Are we living a “settled for” life, accepting our infirmity without going to Jesus for healing, or is it that we really do not have the faith, or believe the Lord can heal us today? After eighteen years of being bent over not being able to stand straight with her head held high, Jesus sets her free, by his word, and by placing his hand on her. Let us look to Jesus for our infirmity, he is calling us to come forward to him. We also notice this was not done privately but in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Perhaps we should come forward in church on Sunday and be healed so that Jesus will be glorified, and everyone will be amazed and give God all the glory, honor, and praise he desires. We could say that Jesus has already set us free from the infirmity of sin and death, healing us and giving us eternal life. But what about the physical condition of our bodies? Have we resigned ourselves to living with our physical infirmities? Let us go to Jesus and believe and see what God can do.