Category: Luke

Luke 18 The Rich Man

11/22/2011

The Rich Man: Luke 18:18-21 “Once a religious leader asked Jesus this questions: ‘Good teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life? Why do you call me good? Jesus asked him. Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. Honor your father and mother.’ The man replied, I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

I think He was testing this man with things that did not affect his heart and did not challenge him in his walk. As a religious leader he would have known these and could tell everyone what they needed to do, but he couldn’t live out his faith and totally die to self. Jesus knew this and then hit him in the heart. What he desired more than God was money and material things.

In verse 22 Jesus says, “When Jesus heard his answer, He said, there is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasures in Heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

What in our lives is keeping us from truly following Jesus? It might not be money, it could be any of our selfish desires that keep us from hearing Jesus say “…then come, follow Me.” We need to understand that when we say we believe in Jesus and we do what happened to the believers in Acts – they heard the Good News about Jesus, they believed, they confessed, they repented and they were baptized. Those things are what help our selfish journey to end. We should say not my will be done but yours. And we should let the Holy Spirit, which is our advocate; lead us even when we want something differently. I ask the question again; what selfish desire is keeping us from abiding in Jesus and doing what He says by living out our belief by obedience?

In verse 26 the people ask “… then who in the world can be saved?” And Jesus says in verse 27, “What is impossible for people is possible with God.”

When we give up our lives and let Jesus lead us through the Holy Spirit we will truly show that we believe and have accepted Him in our hearts and have surrendered and are saved. Amen

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Luke 18

11/18/2011

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Luke 18:1-5 “One day Jesus told His disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. There was a judge in a certain city, he said, ‘who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care for people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant request.”

We see how important it is to pray and ask God to show us things that will help us in our walk with Him. This is important but what is more important is that we live our lives to glorify God. We can and need to continually pray but we need to understand its God’s timing and His will that will be done.

Look what Jesus prays for in John 17 verses 20-21, “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in Me through their message. I pray that they will be one, just as you and I are one- as you are in Me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent Me.”

I was researching prayer and what I found was that it is for our growth and for other people’s growth in Him, for wisdom, strength in situations and not for individual gain. It is the way we build a relationship with Him.

In Romans chapter 12 verse 12 Paul says, “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”

Our prayer is important because it is how we talk and have a relationship with God. When we pray constantly we build up the Spirit of God who lives in us and we learn to live a changed life transformed in the image of Christ.

Jesus goes on to say in verses 6-7 “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to His chosen people who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you, He will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will He find on the earth who have faith?”

Our lives must show that we are God’s chosen one’s and we must understand our constant praying and building that relationship, asking, seeking and knocking is what God desires from us. Think about how we are living when we are praying, are we in Him as He is in the Father or are we living for ourselves and separated from Him? We should be seeking wisdom and discernment as we continually grow to be like Christ. The definition of prayer is, “To address God with adoration, confession, supplication, or thanksgiving; to intercede.” It is 100% relational and a constant discussion and should be done always. Amen

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Luke 14

11/14/2011

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Luke 14:16-20 “Jesus replied with this story: A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready! But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me! Another said, ‘I have just bought five oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me! Another said, ‘I now have a wife, so I can’t come!”

This is amazing to me, but when you look at it we do the exact same thing. We make excuse after excuse of why we can’t give or serve or even open God’s word. When I read this I noticed the feast is ready for us. He has sent His Son and He has returned to the Father by His resurrection. We should be at the feast dressed properly and ready to do all that God requires, but we struggle to get past the selfishness in our own lives. God is love and He wants a relationship with us, why do we fight it and think we can do it on our own? We think when we go to church and know certain verses or sing certain songs we are good, but God wants us to be like Christ. That changes everything because Christ did nothing without the Father telling Him and He prayed all the time to have a relationship.

Look what Jesus says in Luke chapter 14 verses 25-27, “A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them. If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison- your father and mother, wife and children, brother and sister-yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. And if you do not carry your own cross and follow Me, you cannot be my disciple.”

Are we willing to do this and be apart of the banquet or do we not really think that God’s word applies to us in every way? Do we think, well we do some things but His grace will cover what we don’t want to do.

Look at what Jesus says in Matthew chapter 22 verses 11-14 about the wedding feast. “But when the King came in to meet the quests, he noticed a man who wasn’t wearing the proper clothes for a wedding. Friend, ‘he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes? But the man had no reply. Then the King said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

We can’t make excuses for why we won’t follow what God wants and live our lives like Christ. He has given us everything we need to be dressed properly and He has showered us with love. We can’t hope we are dressed good enough we must show Him the love we have and live out our salvation (which is free) so we will hear well done good and faithful servant. Amen

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Luke 13

11/10/2011

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Luke 13:6-9 “Then Jesus told this story: “A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener; ‘I’ve waited three years, and there hasn’t been a single fig! Cut it down. It’s just taking up space in the garden.’ “The gardener answered, ‘Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year and I’ll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.”

Just read that and pray. Why do we wait so long to truly realize what Jesus did for us? Why do we not go all in and passionately seek everything we need to be Christ-like.

Paul shares with us in 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 24, “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to Win!”

What does Jesus mean to you? Is this whole thing we’re doing real or make-believe? To me it is real and that means God’s word is my instruction manual and everything I read in it will inspire me to be better and Christ-like. This is God’s will for us, that we take His love seriously and do all we can to learn how Jesus lived and then model our lives after it and bear fruit.

Look what Paul goes on to say in verse 27, “I discipline my body like and athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”

What does our walk take? It takes hard work, focus, devotion and love. And that is exactly what Jesus showed the Father when He said not my will but yours.

In Luke chapter 13 verse 24 Jesus says, “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail.”

Salvation is free through the blood of Jesus but we can’t be satisfied thinking we can do anything apart from Him. Jesus goes on to say in verse 25, “When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late.”

When that happens there will be no more chances, we need to understand we are called to be different. Once we hear the Good News and accept it we need to confess, believe, repent, be baptized and turn from the world and seek the Kingdom of God. And remember God has sent us the Holy Spirit to lead us in this adventure. Amen

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Luke 10

11/8/2011

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Luke 10:21 “At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and said, “O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way.”

This just made me think about how it’s not about what we know from the world it’s about what we learn from Him. We can be the smartest person in the world and have no smarts at all because we haven’t surrendered to Him and let the Spirit of God fill us with truth. God will give us all we need to know and even more when we are faithful with what He has taught us already. Intelligence is important to get through this world but wisdom from God is important to have eternal life. We can’t let our intelligence keep our mind in this world because then we think we are smart enough to be in control. This leads to arrogance and a lack of seeking God’s will and our sinful desires fill our minds and keep us from growing. Whatever we know we must thank God for it and continue to ask Him to show us more, but we can’t think that the more we know and the more we have is how God wants it.

2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”

This has to be our standard of living; we must know it and show it by how we live and act. When we are studying for a trade or a career we spend countless hours studying and learning what to do. We have colleges and universities that teach us how to be a great doctors, lawyers, accountants, and whatever else and we will work so hard to be the best so the world thinks we are a success. God is asking us to have a relationship with Him and open His word so we can learn how to be like Jesus, and He is teaching us how to live a way that will lead you to know Christ and through Him we will have eternal life. Which is better than any job or thing we can acquire on earth, yet we struggle with that.

2 Timothy 3:17 says, “God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.”

The wisdom of the world dies when our bodies die but the wisdom that comes from God lives on for eternity so we should be learning from God more than we study for our jobs and careers. We need to be able to function in life and God has created us to do so with many talents but we need to extend that thanks and learn all we can to follow Christ’s example and be filled with the Spirit so we have a desire to be led not lead. Amen

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Luke 7

11/4/2011

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Luke 7:35 “But wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it.”

I had to read that four times today before it sunk in. When we are seeking wisdom from the Lord our lives will be right and we will die to what we want and live for Christ. That brings me to the story of the sinful woman that washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and perfume. Simon a Pharisee is upset because Jesus didn’t stop her from washing His feet with the expensive perfume. As you read the story in Luke chapter 7 verse 36-50 you can understand what was going on. What really stood out to me is what Jesus says to her in verse 50, “And Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you; go in peace!”

She didn’t want anything from Jesus, she had faith in who He was and she loved Him and was led to serve Him. She had wisdom and it was evident by her actions of love. I believe her life did a 180 and she was thankful for what Jesus had come for. Faith is amazing when we show it by our actions. We can talk about it all day long but if we don’t live it out we really don’t have it.

James says in chapter 2 verse 17, “So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds it is dead and useless.”

Does our faith in Jesus shine so people know we are following Jesus or is it just for show so people think we are followers? God knows our hearts, we can’t fool Him, we need to continue to grow in his wisdom and live a life that people can see is different. Our words are not as convincing, people want to see that we believe what we say and that is shown by our faith in Him. Is what Jesus did for us 2000 years ago enough for us to consistently seek Him and wash His feet in thanks? Or do we need what this world calls the American dream and financial security before we can have faith? Is our faith subject to how our lives are going or do we have faith because we know Him? These are questions I like to ask myself in my quiet time. I also think of these questions so I can be continually working on my heart; Why do I serve at church, or why don’t I? Why do I give a tithe or why don’t I? Why do I help people in need or why don’t I? When we surrender and ask for wisdom from the Lord we receive what we ask for and then our lives will be shown to be different because we are doing what the bible is showing us. We need to understand that our learning and growing will never stop while we are alive on earth, so I pray that we have the excitement to devote to Him for what He has done already and we focus on living to be a light and give glory to the Father. Amen

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Luke 6

11/2/2011

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Luke 6:46-47 “So why do you keep calling Me ‘Lord Lord! When you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to Me, listens to my teachings, and then follows it.”

I love this question and the challenge that Jesus gives us to test Him. “I will show you what it’s like…” I want to see what He is talking about in this Scripture. I know my walk takes constant growth and knowledge and there will be pruning that takes place because I know Him. Our focus needs to be on Him no matter what and our lives need to show the transformation from our old selves to our new creation in Christ.

Jesus goes on to say in verse 48, “It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.”

It just jumped out to me today what Jesus was saying here. He is saying work hard to learn and live out what I am showing you so you can be exactly like Me. A person that digs deep has worked their tail off, are we willing to work so hard with our reading and praying that the Spirit is jumping in our bodies ready to react just like Christ? That constant learning is what makes us obey what we learn because we die to self and let the Spirit lead us, and the Spirit is able to lead us where we are weak.

Now look at verse 49, “But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

This is talking to most Christians that go to church do some service but have no desire to grow on their own. The message on the weekend is enough or reading God’s word in moderation can help. It’s reading God’s word for information not transformation. Thinking my life is so busy I will patch Jesus on when I need Him but that is it. A good foundation takes great effort and willingness to never be satisfied. Look what’s next, “…when the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.” That’s later when the trials of this world come and we aren’t ready or able to handle them and we shrink back. When you get bad news and you are crushed and don’t see that everything can be used to glorify God. When things of this world keep enticing you and you don’t have the foundation to be the passenger and let the Spirit drive. You can’t give up the control of your life and hand it over to God. We are called to be like Christ, this takes continual work and development, seeking answers and wisdom from God and filling the Spirit which lives in us to answer and react to all situations.

Earlier in chapter 6 verse 45 Jesus says, “A good person produces good things from a treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.”

I say let the Spirit in your heart be the one that powers what we say. The more we learn the more we can change and the more we can change the more significant the transformation. Work to build a sound foundation and never stop asking and seeking to know more and have the ears to hear what God is telling us. Amen

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Luke 3

10/31/2011

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Luke 3:15-16 “Everyone was expecting the Messiah to come soon, and they were eager to know whether John might be the Messiah. John answered their questions by saying, “I baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am- so much greater than I’m not even worthy to be His slave and untie the straps of His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”

I was reading this and I just felt I needed to write what was on my heart. John says this because he knew what Jesus was coming to do and when He was done with His time here He would give people the Holy Spirit to guide all who believe. When we believe in our hearts that Jesus is the Messiah we would receive the gift (which is the baptism from Jesus that John was talking about.) The Holy Spirit is the gift and our Advocate to help us live our lives fully devoted to Christ. Jesus wasn’t baptizing anyone while He was alive; He was the advocate at that time, showing people how to live.

John chapter 14 verse 15-17 say, “If you love Me, obey My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him. But you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you.”

That is Jesus baptism of the Holy Spirit and we are blessed to have Him in us to reveal all that we need to know to be salt and light. When we read God’s word and pray the Holy Spirit gets fed ands we learn how to live our lives like Christ did, totally surrendered to God. Kyle Idelman writes in his book “not a fan” that “Fans eventually get burned out from trying to live the Christian life out of their own efforts. If you are depending on your own strength to follow Christ you will soon find yourself drained and defeated. Jesus promised His followers that the Holy Spirit would come on them in power. Followers of Jesus understand that it’s a journey they were never to make alone. Instead we keep in step with the Spirit and He supernaturally gives us the strength and power we need.” Have we surrendered to understand we are not driving or leading our own lives? We should be following Jesus’ example and saying not my will be done but yours Father.

In John chapter 14 verse 26 Jesus says, “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative – that is, the Holy Spirit – He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

We must be willing to learn continually and understand that we are to follow His promptings and live our lives like Christ. We need to work hard to feed the Spirit and listen to our hearts which is where He resides, helping us daily to mature our walk. We can never be satisfied with what we know or who we are, we need to die to self and pick up our cross daily, loving God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. Amen

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Luke 22

5/21/2010

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Luke 22:31-32 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to Me again, strengthen your brothers.”

This stood out to me today as I read. Jesus has prayed to keep Peter strong and to turn to Him again. If Peter would have to turn to Him again that means he could have chosen to not follow and live as he wanted. We need to continue to grow in the Lord and do our best to stay strong by filling ourselves with the word of God and in prayer. There is no magic prayer to keep us safe from our own choices, we must embrace Jesus and love God with all our heart, mind and soul realizing that our fight won’t end until we hear “well done good and faithful servant.” When we fill ourselves with the wisdom of God and the Holy Spirit leads us we choose life. But when we live for this world and don’t feel learning and growing matter we choose death. Don’t be comfortable in what you know, be willing to continue to grow and learn from the Lord so you can remain strong in Him. Amen

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Luke 16

5/6/2010

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Luke 16:13-15 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at Him. Then He said to them, ‘You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.”

After reading this the last part really stood out to me, “what this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.” What do we hold tightly in our life that we think we can’t do without? If we have things like that we should think about why it is so important to us. We should love God above all else and hold all the worldly things loosely realizing that they really don’t matter.

In verse 9 Jesus says, “Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.”

Jesus had nothing and never wanted, He was focused on the Father and helping people see the light. Where is our focus? If it is not on God and living your life as Christ did you should re-think what you are doing. Open God’s word and study all that it says, asking God to show you what to do. We need to live our lives in a way that resembles the perfect example, Jesus. This can’t be done without an understanding of how He loved. Embrace the gift of eternal life that was given so freely to us and have peace on earth because we are like Christ. Remember Jesus’ prayer said thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Amen

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Luke 18 The Rich Man

Luke 18

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