Tag: gospel of luke

By Your Endurance You Will Gain Your Lives.(LK 21:19)

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Be patient.  Sometimes patience is really hard to grasp.  I like the word “endurance” used here.  Endurance is the key to gaining your life.  Endurance or patience is the key because it holds on to the promise that Christ will do all that He said He would do.  Endurance is faith when the chips are down and the persecution is hot.  Endurance is holding on with the knowledge that Christ is returning and all will be as it should be.  Endurance is facing war, famine, persecution, and tragedy knowing that even in the face of grief… It is not finished.

Those who are not patient will lose their lives.  They will play their hand on the here and now looking for benefits, though they only be temporary.  They will spend their time, their talents, and their money on the immediate.  When something doesn’t pan out they will keep looking.  They give up easy on the right way and pursue dead ends because initially they look like they will pay off with big returns.

“Hold on,” He says. “Hold on, it will be a bumpy ride. Many things will happen, but they won’t be the end.  It will take a while.  My timing is not your timing.”

I guess that is really the key.  His timing is perfect, mine is comfortable.  I like knowing how things will work out.  I would like to know how the next ten years of my life will go.  The truth is I may not have 10 years to spend.  I should trust Christ now.  Even when it looks like the world is against me, I should trust Him and know that His timing is perfect.  You see patience is the ultimate statement that life isn’t all about me.

Father,

Thank you for your Word that is truth.  I continue to be amazed at how you speak to me through your Word.  Today I am waiting on you.  I am working in your Timing.

“Whose Likeness and Inscription Does it Have?” (Lk. 20:24)

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“Render to Ceasar the things that are Ceasar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (Lk. 20:25).  Do you see the real value of these statements?  Jesus is talking about more than taxes.  He is talking about more than government.  Jesus is talking about you!  You see… you were made in the image of God!  Whose likeness and inscription are written on you?… God’s!

Think about it.  You are made in the image of God.  I think God looks at you like I look at my children.  While I love them and value them for who they are, I also see a little bit of me in them.  When God looks at you He sees you as different than the animals.  He sees His image in you!

Yet somehow we have also marred His image in us.  We have rebelled against Him.  We have each turned to our own way.  We have worshiped things that we were not made to worship.  We have made ourselves out to be gods rather than beings created in the image of God.

Yet now here Christ.  The ultimate image of God because He is God now says, “Give back to God the things that are His.”  And we stand stained, corrupted, and defiled.  Would God even want us back?  We have taken his image and spoiled it in our rebellion.  Can we even be restored?… The answer is Yes!  For Jesus Himself was headed to the cross for our sake.  The ultimate image of God, the word of God, taking on our sin, suffering God’s wrath, clothing us in His righteousness, rising from the dead and now standing at the right hand of the father interceding on our behalf.  So then he says, “Give to God the things that are God’s.”

Father,

I am reminded again today that I am twice yours.  Once by creation in Adam and second by redemption in Christ.  I have nothing to offer you, other than what you have created me to do.  Today I give you glory and seek to live my life in such a way as to point all other to you.  Thank you for the glorious good news of the gospel, that you still take rebels and turn them into worshipers.

because “They Supposed That The Kingdom of God Was to Appear Immediately” (Lk. 19:11)

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He had just proclaimed in Zacchaeus’ house that he had come to “seek and save that which was lost.”  To their minds they couldn’t fathom what would be more lost than the city of Jerusalem under Roman rule.  Some had already sought to make Him the king by force.  But they didn’t understand the full magnitude of what Jesus had come to do.  They were looking to be saved from Rome, never did they imagine that He had come to save them from an even greater enemy.

I wonder if sometimes we might ever underestimate what Jesus is really up to in our lives? We have plans and ideas about how things should play out.  We have taken the liberty and written out all the plays that God should make.  We even take the time to find the verses that support our theories.  Yet in the midst of it we forget one thing: He is God and we are not. We don’t see the big picture.  We don’t have full knowledge of how things will play out. We don’t understand the full ramification of our own actions, how then could we fully fathom the mind of God.

They would have stopped Easter from ever happening in order to have a temporal king. They would have been free from Rome, but dead in their sins.  They would have national hero, but the world would be lost forever.

How many times along the road to the cross would he have been stopped if he listened to those around Him?  Have you ever Praised God that He didn’t listen to our foolish plans or ideas? His are always better, even if their is a bit of pain in the mix.  Have you ever thought that God provides for us exactly what we need in Jesus Christ, and this is often more than we have the foresight to want?

Father,

I thank you today for your patience with me.  Like those around Jesus at this time, I often try to fit you into my understanding of things.  I have ideas on how things should play out, but I am reminded today that your ways are greater and your plans are better.  I am following you today.

 

“Will He Find Faith on the Earth?” (Lk. 18:8)

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Why don’t we ask God for more?  Why do we give up on our prayers?  Is it because we doubt Him?

You see as much as we try and make faith an action that we take, it has it’s root in the confidence that God has already or will act on our behalf.  Faith at it’s core is believing God.  Faith is taking God at His Word.  Faith is trusting God.

We can try and make faith about us, but it really isn’t.  Faith is not something you conger up.  You don’t psych yourself out about faith.  You see if you have faith or not, God is still God.  If you have faith or not, God is still good.  If you have faith or not, God has acted on our behalf in Jesus Christ.  If you have faith or not, God will bring all things to a conclusion in Jesus Christ.

So our faith, or should I say lack there of, doesn’t really have a bearing on the matter.  What does matter is that God has acted.  God has moved.  God is good.  God is just.  Our right response to who God is and what he has done is called faith.

So when we pray, we should have faith that God will do whatever He said He will do.  (And we should also be careful not to put words in His mouth.)  So if we know about injustice in the world and we know that God hates all injustice, then we should pray that He will bring justice to the world and we should pray knowing that God will bring justice to the world.  We should also note that when His justice comes it may look different than what I might have pictured in my head.  You see God is God and by definition He doesn’t seek my approval on anything.

Father,

I ask that today I would simply trust you.  Where I am weak I ask that you would increase my faith.  Renew my mind and transform the way I think.  I want all my confidence in you and not in my own flesh.

“We Have Only Done What Was Our Duty (Lk. 17:10)

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Sometimes we are all about the recognition. Sometimes we just want people to say our name.  To see that we have been holy.  To see that we have spoken truth.  To see that we have studied and put in a great many hours of preparation so that they could feast at the table of God’s Word.  Sometimes we want to be recognized.

Sometimes we just want people to feel inferior. Sometimes we hold grudges.  Sometimes we believe we have a right not to offer forgiveness.  Sometimes we think we deserve a reward when we do forgive. Sometimes we think its an option.  Sometimes we forget that the master told us to forgive.  You see it’s his forgiveness that we offer our brother.  When we find our selves able to forgive, we shouldn’t think that it was anything extrodinary. Forgiveness is a way of life for those who follow Jesus.

Do you forget who you are sometimes?  Do you forget that you were bought with a price?  That you were transformed out of the kingdom of darkness and into the light? That you have been called out, set apart, chosen?  Do you forget that you are to be holy even as He is holy?  Do you forget who you belong to now? Do you forget how He has seen past your sin and forgiven you in Christ?  Do you forget?

Don’t be proud today. Be humble.  When given the praise for what God has done in your life be sure to point to Him and say, “I have only done what was my duty.” You see, in Heaven there will be no shrine set apart for you.  It’s not about you.  It’s all about Him.

Father,

I want to do only what you have called me to today.  I ask that I would walk with you with a joyful heart and a cheerful spirit.  I realize now that I can do whatever you have called me to do.  I am your servant.  Bid me as you will.

“One Who is Faithful in Very Little is Also Faithful in Much (Lk. 16:10)

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Sometimes it is the small things that matter.  It’s the habit of returning small change that makes you credible to handle large amounts of money.  It’s the habit of trying to cheat the vending machine that makes you untrustworthy over larger matters.  Sometimes it is a matter of small things.

To follow Jesus and be in charge of big things is to be trustworthy in the small matters.  Do you read your Bible?  Do you pray?  Do you look for opportunities to tell others about Him?  These are small things.

Maybe it’s not the size of the task that’s the issue, but the character of the one carrying out the task?

Father,

Thank you for the simple, but profound truth that faithfulness doesn’t wait for big things to happen before it kicks in.  Those who are faithful even in the little things can be trusted with greater things.  I ask God that you would make me aware of any “small” area’s of my life that have gone unchecked.  I want to be faithful even in the small things.

 

“It Was Fitting to Celebrate and Be Glad” (Lk 15:32)

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What do you know about God?  Do you know that He is a forgiving God?  Do you know that He delights in running to lost sinners who turn to Him in repentance?  Do you know that He is right and good to celebrate the repentance and return of those who have wandered away?  If you didn’t know this, you don’t know much about God.

The older brother was bitter that his brother had returned.  He was angry that his father threw a party for the “lost”son.  The other brother was comparing conduct.  He counted out his righteousness deeds to the Father, rather self-righteousness deeds.  He missed it.  Somehow there wasn’t any room for love.  No love for his own brother.

This older brother represented the Pharisees.  They were self-righteous.  They thought God had to love and bless them for their deeds.  But they missed the heart of God.  You see there is an unstated message to this parable.  Where was Jesus in this message?  He was right in the middle.

Jesus is the true and better brother who was not content to leave his rebellious younger brother in the far country.  He himself went after the prodigal, leaving the pleasure and comforts not of a farm, but of heaven.  You see, that is God’s heart.  The one thing the story does not contain that is should contain to fit with the other two in this chapter is someone who is searching.  The widow was searching for her coin and the shepherd was searching for the sheep… but who went searching for the son?  Who went to him and said, “come home!”

It was Jesus in that very moment.  He was calling.  He was saying, “Come home!”  Where are you today?  He is saying, “Come Home!”

Father,

So many times I try and take your Word and try to figure out what I need to do to please you.  The truth is that you have satisfied my sin debt and pleased God for me.  All I need to do is trust you and walk in the grace that you have given me.  It really is that simple.  You delight in repentance.  Their are no fancy deeds that I can do to impress you.  I ask for rest in you today.  Let me rest in the gospel, my hope of ressurection.

“Any One of You Who Does Not Renounce All that He Has (Lk. 14:33)

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I think there is more at stake here than meets the eye.  I think there is more at stake than our relationships and our possessions.  I think the renunciation of all that we have is the means by which we find our identity in Christ. We must abandon everything in our lives that would seek to define us apart from Jesus Christ.

Do not let your money define you.  Do not let your possessions define you.  Do not let your relationships with other people define you.  Christ is your identity.  Your identity should be found in following Jesus, not in your favorite sports team, the clothes you buy, the car you drive, or the way you present your family.

To be found in Christ is more than being a dad.  To be in Christ is more than impressing others in a worldly system.  To be found in Christ is to be following Him, worshiping Him, and trusting Him. Christ is our true and better riches, those found in him are wealthy beyond all compare (He is our treasure).  He i s our true and better family who has gone to great links to  to adopt us into his family.

Father,

I am yours today.  I renounce all other claims on my life.  I am what you define me to be.  I am trusting in your plan’s and purpose.  Lead me, I’m following… whatever the cost

“Teaching and Journeying toward Jerusalem” (Lk. 13:22)

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He was on a mission.  He was headed to Jerusalem. Yet all along the way he healed, he taught, he told about His kingdom.  Eventually he had to reveal the meaning. Eventually even the healing had to make sense in a larger picture, a larger portrait.

He was headed to the cross.  The one place where it would all come together.  The one place where it would all finally make sense.  He said he was going there, but they thought He spoke in a metaphor and they did not understand.  They thought He would ride in like a king and take over, the did not know how deep their problem was and they did not know how far He would go to deliver them.

Like a disease or a disfigurement mars the body of an otherwise healthy person, sin has disfigured the entire human race.  Like a blind man who has eyes but he cannot see, we are made in the image of God, yet we have profaned Him. So he came healing and proclaiming that His kingdom was at hand.  In Heaven there will be no more disease.  In Heaven their will be no more sin.  Christ has born it all on his own body on the cross! He stood in our place so we could stand in His!

You see, that was the mission.  The mission was not to heal a few thousand people (if that many) in Palestine a few thousand years ago.  His mission was not to come and make our lives comfortable again.  His mission was to reconcile us to God by taking on our sin debt! His mission was to save and he couldn’t do that without going to Jerusalem first.  Jerusalem was the appointed place and his appointed hour was quickly approaching

Father,

So often I am eager to glean a principle for practical living as if this whole Christian walk has to do with the exercise of my will.  While I know that my will is important, I also know that you have already completed everything I need to be reconciled to you.  Today I rest in that.  Today I rest in the fact that you are God and you know what you are doing.   Thank you for all you have done to bring me to faith in you.

“Blessed Rather are Those Who Hear the Word of God and Keep It (Lk. 11:28)

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Have you ever wondered that hearing might not be enough?  Hearing doesn’t really do anyone any good.  To hear the Word of God is only part of the matter.  To keep the Word of God… now that is something other than hearing.

What does it mean to keep the word of God? Do we hold on to a Bible somewhere for safe “keeping” or do we keep it like we “keep” our wedding vows?  The one who hears and keeps is blessed, more blessed than Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Does all this Word of God “keeping” sound like good works to you?  Maybe it’s just a good relationship.  Those who know God will relate to Him like He is God. It’s a far greater blessing to know Jesus as the Messiah than to know Him like a mother knows her son.  Isn’t that the point.

Keep the Word of God, not because it’s a work by which one merits eternal life… no rather, keep the word of God because one has stood in your place and kept the law for you.  One has made you holy.  One has made you perfect.  One has made you acceptable before God.

Isn’t that the “word of God” we are supposed to hear… the gospel?  And doesn’t the gospel require faith from us? And in that faith we respond to what Christ has done by trusting him to do what He said He would do.  Keeping the Word of God then is to keep Christ as our righteousness.  To keep trusting Him, to keep a hold of Him, to allow him to transform us… change us… make us into his image.  It’s better to know Jesus as a Savior than a son indeed.

Father,

Thank you for working our my salvation.  Thank you that I come to you, not in my own merit and strength, but through the power of the Holy Spirit by faith in Christ.  I pray that I will not just hear your word today, but that I will keep it.  I pray that I will be the blessed man in Proverbs 1.