Luke 6 - continued...
Reading back over yesterday's thoughts, I realized that.. this uncommon life, transformed by renovated and refashioned thinking.. is what it means to live and walk by faith... It is faith in the final and exalted authority of Jesus Christ that enables us to live beyond our natural tendencies.
By faith we can be blessed even in our poverty, knowing that a greater future is ours in God.
By faith, we can endure the hunger, for we know that we will be forever satisfied.
It is because we believe that a day is coming when we will receive a greater reward in heaven, that we can survive evil men that hate us, ostracize us and throw insults at us.
It is because we believe in Jesus and His love for us that we can love our enemies, do good to those who hurt us, and say good things about those who say bad things about us.
Because we have a Father in heaven Who has mercy on us.. who takes pity on us and shows us compassion...that we can have pity on even our enemies and show them compassion and forgiveness, and forbearance.
"Give and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your measure it will be measured to you in return ." ( verse 38) That is both a positive and negative - If we give good things with generosity of heart - He will pour out His goodness upon us. But, if we grudgingly give... we will find our blessings curtailed. If we do evil to others, we will find that evil returns to us with a vengeance. Do we believe this? Do we know it to be true in our own lives?
Jesus tells a parable at this point, " A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? will they not both fall into a pit?" A true statement for sure.. but how does this fit it? He goes on to tell us that a student is not above his teacher, but will become "like" his teacher when he is fully trained.
This is our purpose... our goal... to be like our Teacher, to be completed in Him. To be trained by Him. We cannot remain blind and lead others to Christ. We must hear what He says and do what He says.. build our lives on the foundation of Truth that He is giving us here in His gracious words.
That starts with looking inward.. at our own hearts and getting rid of the "log" in our own eyes. We need to have good hearts to bring forth what is good, to bear good fruit. We cannot do that if our eyes our blinded and our hearts hold onto evil treasures.
Yes, it is an uncommon, completely renovated life that we are called to as disciples of Jesus Christ. We must believe with all of our hearts that what He has told us is TRUE.
We must believe that He has all authority and He will do everything just as He says He will.
Then, we must do just what He has asked us to do. And do it with "good measure" - for the measure we use is the measure we receive....
Father in heaven, Abba, transform our lives by renewing our thinking with the gracious Words of Jesus Christ. Teach us, train us completely, so that we will be like our Teacher. Remove the logs in our eyes and the evil treasures from our hearts. We come in the Name of Jesus, believing that He is Lord of all and this is Your will for us. Amen.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Luke 6 Jesus continues to reveal His authority over all of heaven and earth. In verses 1- 11 He teaches that He is the Lord of the Sabbath. He has the authority to do whatever He wants to do.... even if it isn't what the Pharisees like. Jesus tells us that doing good and saving a life.. is always right in the Lord's eyes... even on the Sabbath.
In verses 12-19 Jesus chooses the 12 disciples that He names as apostles. These are the ones who will be delegated to be His ambassadors. His authority will be extended to them.
Verses 20 - 49 are Luke's version of the Beatitudes. They recall some of the same teachings that Matthew recorded, but in a condensed way. Perhaps this is the contents of Jesus' messages as He went from one place to another preaching, " the gracious words" ( Luke 4:22) that even the people of Nazareth received. These words are indeed gracious and good news to us all... yet they are also challenging us to live in a way this is beyond our common abilities....
Those who are poor now... will receive God's kingdom.
Those who hunger now... will be satisfied.
Those who weep now... will laugh.
Those who are treated badly.. will find a great reward waiting for them.
On the other hand..
Those who are rich... have already received their due.
Those who are well-fed... shall be hungry.
Those who laugh.. will mourn.
Jesus taught that we should:
love our enemies
do good to those who hurt us
say good things about those who say evil things about us
pray for those who mistreat us
Give... to the one who takes from you and to the one who can't pay you back.
It's easy to treat people well when they treat you well.
It's easy to love those who love you.
It's easy to do good to those who do good to you.
It's easy to lend to those who will repay you.
"But, love your enemies, and do good, and lend expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men." ( Verse 35)
He calls us to an uncommon life.. as some author wrote ( can't remember who)... To be like Him. To be like the Father in heaven. Thankful that He gives us His Spirit so that we can walk in His ways.
Heavenly Father , thank You for loving us when we were yet sinners. For continuing to love us when we fall so far short of Your perfect will for us. Have Your way in us today and help us to do what the word says.. to build our lives on the firm foundation of Truth. We are poor.. but rich in Christ. Thank You..
In verses 12-19 Jesus chooses the 12 disciples that He names as apostles. These are the ones who will be delegated to be His ambassadors. His authority will be extended to them.
Verses 20 - 49 are Luke's version of the Beatitudes. They recall some of the same teachings that Matthew recorded, but in a condensed way. Perhaps this is the contents of Jesus' messages as He went from one place to another preaching, " the gracious words" ( Luke 4:22) that even the people of Nazareth received. These words are indeed gracious and good news to us all... yet they are also challenging us to live in a way this is beyond our common abilities....
Those who are poor now... will receive God's kingdom.
Those who hunger now... will be satisfied.
Those who weep now... will laugh.
Those who are treated badly.. will find a great reward waiting for them.
On the other hand..
Those who are rich... have already received their due.
Those who are well-fed... shall be hungry.
Those who laugh.. will mourn.
Jesus taught that we should:
love our enemies
do good to those who hurt us
say good things about those who say evil things about us
pray for those who mistreat us
Give... to the one who takes from you and to the one who can't pay you back.
It's easy to treat people well when they treat you well.
It's easy to love those who love you.
It's easy to do good to those who do good to you.
It's easy to lend to those who will repay you.
"But, love your enemies, and do good, and lend expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men." ( Verse 35)
He calls us to an uncommon life.. as some author wrote ( can't remember who)... To be like Him. To be like the Father in heaven. Thankful that He gives us His Spirit so that we can walk in His ways.
Heavenly Father , thank You for loving us when we were yet sinners. For continuing to love us when we fall so far short of Your perfect will for us. Have Your way in us today and help us to do what the word says.. to build our lives on the firm foundation of Truth. We are poor.. but rich in Christ. Thank You..
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Luke 5 Jesus travels about Judea, teaching and healing. As He walks among the multitudes, who press in on Him, He reaches out to individuals. This chapter records some of those interactions.
Verses 1-11 describe the calling of Peter, Andrew, John, and James. Jesus sees the 2 boats and the men washing their nets after a night of working without success. Jesus climbs onto Simon's boat and teaches the crowd from there. When He is finished he instructs Simon to go out and let down the nets once again. When he obeys, the nets are filled to overflowing! This was a life-changing experience for those 4 men. They recognized the power and authority of Jesus Christ and received faith in that recognition. They followed Him then, leaving behind everything else, for the rest of their lives.
Verses12-14 Jesus meets a man with leprosy, who falls on his face and makes a statement of faith, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus was willing and healed the man immediately.
Verses 15-26 Here Jesus is teaching; and in the audience there are some Pharisees and scribes. Some men bring their friend to Jesus to be healed of paralysis. The place is so crowded that they can't get in the door, so they go through the roof. Jesus calls this "faith". He disturbs the religious leaders by forgiving the man's sins. Then He proves His authority by healing the man, who gets up and walks.
Verses 27-32 Jesus sees Levi ( Matthew), a tax-collector, and calls him to follow Him. Levi leaves everything and becomes a disciple of Jesus. His first action is to host a reception, inviting other tax-gatherers to meet Jesus too. This disturbs the Pharisees again. Jesus clarifies His purpose for them,
"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Faith is given to individuals freely when they repent, acknowledging that they are sinners.. not those who think they are "righteous" and have no desire to repent of anything.
Verses 33-39 Jesus answers a question about fasting. His disciples are not fasting because He is with them. He is like a bridegroom and they are His attendants. It is not time to fast. It is a time to rejoice. But, a time is coming for fasting, when He is taken away.
Then Jesus tells them a parable - No one tears a new garment to fix an old garment. Also, no one puts new wine into an old used wineskin.
Jesus is not trying to take a place in the reign and authority of the Pharisees and scribes. He is doing something brand new and completely different than what they have been doing. They are trying to make Him fit into their mold, into their system of religion... but it cannot work. For Jesus is totally different and unique....
His authority includes nature and mankind.
His will is to help those in hopeless situations - physically and spiritually.
His relationships include those outside the clique of the religiously accepted.
His work will not conform to the old ways and traditions of men.
This is Who we put our faith in - Jesus Christ the Lord. He has all authority in heaven and earth.
He is willing and able to help us when we come to Him in prayer.
He loves us, individually, personally, even when we aren't part of the in crowd.
He will do a new work in our lives if we let Him.
E.M. Bounds writes this about faith, " It is the initial quality in the heart of any man who essays to talk to the unseen. He must, out of sheer helplessness, stretch forth hands of faith. He must believe, where he cannot prove...... Faith does the impossible because it brings God to undertake for us, and nothing is impossible with God.... Prayer projects faith on God, and God on the world. Only God can move mountains, but faith and prayer move God."
Father in heaven, we come to You in faith, in prayer, asking for healing of our bodies and souls. We need You and have no other help. Our help comes from the Lord of Heaven and Earth . We ask for for Your perfect will to be accomplished in each of our lives, so that You will receive glory and honor and praises. Open our eyes to see Jesus more and more clearly, that our faith will grow and our prayers will move Your mighty Hand of power and glory in our world today. We need You so much.
We ask this in His Name, Amen
Verses 1-11 describe the calling of Peter, Andrew, John, and James. Jesus sees the 2 boats and the men washing their nets after a night of working without success. Jesus climbs onto Simon's boat and teaches the crowd from there. When He is finished he instructs Simon to go out and let down the nets once again. When he obeys, the nets are filled to overflowing! This was a life-changing experience for those 4 men. They recognized the power and authority of Jesus Christ and received faith in that recognition. They followed Him then, leaving behind everything else, for the rest of their lives.
Verses12-14 Jesus meets a man with leprosy, who falls on his face and makes a statement of faith, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean." Jesus was willing and healed the man immediately.
Verses 15-26 Here Jesus is teaching; and in the audience there are some Pharisees and scribes. Some men bring their friend to Jesus to be healed of paralysis. The place is so crowded that they can't get in the door, so they go through the roof. Jesus calls this "faith". He disturbs the religious leaders by forgiving the man's sins. Then He proves His authority by healing the man, who gets up and walks.
Verses 27-32 Jesus sees Levi ( Matthew), a tax-collector, and calls him to follow Him. Levi leaves everything and becomes a disciple of Jesus. His first action is to host a reception, inviting other tax-gatherers to meet Jesus too. This disturbs the Pharisees again. Jesus clarifies His purpose for them,
"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." Faith is given to individuals freely when they repent, acknowledging that they are sinners.. not those who think they are "righteous" and have no desire to repent of anything.
Verses 33-39 Jesus answers a question about fasting. His disciples are not fasting because He is with them. He is like a bridegroom and they are His attendants. It is not time to fast. It is a time to rejoice. But, a time is coming for fasting, when He is taken away.
Then Jesus tells them a parable - No one tears a new garment to fix an old garment. Also, no one puts new wine into an old used wineskin.
Jesus is not trying to take a place in the reign and authority of the Pharisees and scribes. He is doing something brand new and completely different than what they have been doing. They are trying to make Him fit into their mold, into their system of religion... but it cannot work. For Jesus is totally different and unique....
His authority includes nature and mankind.
His will is to help those in hopeless situations - physically and spiritually.
His relationships include those outside the clique of the religiously accepted.
His work will not conform to the old ways and traditions of men.
This is Who we put our faith in - Jesus Christ the Lord. He has all authority in heaven and earth.
He is willing and able to help us when we come to Him in prayer.
He loves us, individually, personally, even when we aren't part of the in crowd.
He will do a new work in our lives if we let Him.
E.M. Bounds writes this about faith, " It is the initial quality in the heart of any man who essays to talk to the unseen. He must, out of sheer helplessness, stretch forth hands of faith. He must believe, where he cannot prove...... Faith does the impossible because it brings God to undertake for us, and nothing is impossible with God.... Prayer projects faith on God, and God on the world. Only God can move mountains, but faith and prayer move God."
Father in heaven, we come to You in faith, in prayer, asking for healing of our bodies and souls. We need You and have no other help. Our help comes from the Lord of Heaven and Earth . We ask for for Your perfect will to be accomplished in each of our lives, so that You will receive glory and honor and praises. Open our eyes to see Jesus more and more clearly, that our faith will grow and our prayers will move Your mighty Hand of power and glory in our world today. We need You so much.
We ask this in His Name, Amen
Monday, October 6, 2014
Luke 4: 14 - 44
Jesus was "full of the Holy Spirit" as He returned from the Jordan.
He was "led about by the Spirit" into the wilderness.
And He "returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit".
Jesus begins teaching in synagogues and is well accepted and praised as He goes. Then He returns to Nazareth where He grew up. He went into the synagogue and "stood up to read".
The scroll containing the book of Isaiah was handed to Jesus to read. He turned to the section that we label chapter 61 and read about the coming of the Redeemer. Starting in Isaiah 60 and through chapter 62 the Lord revealed His future plan for Israel. A new and glorified Zion, the City of God.
Jesus explains to the people of Nazareth that this promised Redeemer had now come.
At first the people are happy and receptive of Jesus, but then they start questioning His family background. They seemed to have wanted more proof, perhaps miracles, since Jesus says,
" ... Whatever we heard was done in Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well." Mark tells us that Jesus didn't do many miracles in Nazareth due to their "unbelief". Luke tells us here that they got so upset with Him that they tried to kill Him by throwing Him off a cliff. However, He simply walked away and went to Capernaum, which became His home base from that point on.
In Capernaum the reception was much warmer and Jesus healed all that were brought to Him.
He rebuked evil spirits and freed many from that bondage also.
Jesus reveals His authority in His speaking and in His power over the unclean spirits.
With authority He spoke the message that the Kingdom of God, the new Zion, was coming. It was the favorable year of the Lord. The Redeemer was among them.
With authority He fulfilled the Words of Isaiah, releasing the captives, giving sight to the blind, and speaking the good news to those who were poor and downtrodden.
Jesus told His disciples right before He returned to Heaven, that all authority in heaven and earth was given to Him. Listen to these words from Daniel 7: 13-14 " I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed."
Both Paul and Peter write about the authority of Jesus, authority over the living and the dead, authority over all rule, all powers, all authorities and all dominions in every generation and in the age to come. He has been seated on the throne at the right hand of God the Father, and He has been given a Name that is above all names. This word "authority" is the greek word "exousia" and holds the sense of ability, privilege, capacity, competency, freedom, mastery.. power, strength and right.
This is Jesus, our Redeemer, our Friend, who is King of kings and Lord of lords. Everything He speaks is spoken with "exousia" and everything He does is done with this same authority. He is worthy of all our worship and praise. He has come to bring good news to us... that the Kingdom has come and we are welcomed into it - into Zion the City of God.
Abba, thank You for being gracious and merciful, for sending forth Your Son to redeem us from sin. Thank You for the Good News He came to proclaim among men. We rejoice in Your salvation through Christ the Lord. Lead us in Your ways we pray, amen.
Jesus was "full of the Holy Spirit" as He returned from the Jordan.
He was "led about by the Spirit" into the wilderness.
And He "returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit".
Jesus begins teaching in synagogues and is well accepted and praised as He goes. Then He returns to Nazareth where He grew up. He went into the synagogue and "stood up to read".
The scroll containing the book of Isaiah was handed to Jesus to read. He turned to the section that we label chapter 61 and read about the coming of the Redeemer. Starting in Isaiah 60 and through chapter 62 the Lord revealed His future plan for Israel. A new and glorified Zion, the City of God.
Jesus explains to the people of Nazareth that this promised Redeemer had now come.
At first the people are happy and receptive of Jesus, but then they start questioning His family background. They seemed to have wanted more proof, perhaps miracles, since Jesus says,
" ... Whatever we heard was done in Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well." Mark tells us that Jesus didn't do many miracles in Nazareth due to their "unbelief". Luke tells us here that they got so upset with Him that they tried to kill Him by throwing Him off a cliff. However, He simply walked away and went to Capernaum, which became His home base from that point on.
In Capernaum the reception was much warmer and Jesus healed all that were brought to Him.
He rebuked evil spirits and freed many from that bondage also.
Jesus reveals His authority in His speaking and in His power over the unclean spirits.
With authority He spoke the message that the Kingdom of God, the new Zion, was coming. It was the favorable year of the Lord. The Redeemer was among them.
With authority He fulfilled the Words of Isaiah, releasing the captives, giving sight to the blind, and speaking the good news to those who were poor and downtrodden.
Jesus told His disciples right before He returned to Heaven, that all authority in heaven and earth was given to Him. Listen to these words from Daniel 7: 13-14 " I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him. And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed."
Both Paul and Peter write about the authority of Jesus, authority over the living and the dead, authority over all rule, all powers, all authorities and all dominions in every generation and in the age to come. He has been seated on the throne at the right hand of God the Father, and He has been given a Name that is above all names. This word "authority" is the greek word "exousia" and holds the sense of ability, privilege, capacity, competency, freedom, mastery.. power, strength and right.
This is Jesus, our Redeemer, our Friend, who is King of kings and Lord of lords. Everything He speaks is spoken with "exousia" and everything He does is done with this same authority. He is worthy of all our worship and praise. He has come to bring good news to us... that the Kingdom has come and we are welcomed into it - into Zion the City of God.
Abba, thank You for being gracious and merciful, for sending forth Your Son to redeem us from sin. Thank You for the Good News He came to proclaim among men. We rejoice in Your salvation through Christ the Lord. Lead us in Your ways we pray, amen.
Friday, October 3, 2014
Luke 4:1-13 "And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led about by the Spirit in the wilderness... " As followers of Christ we are also commanded to be "filled with the Holy Spirit" ( Ephesians 5:18) To be continually filled and under the influence of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus went into the wilderness as He was led by the Spirit. He did not eat for 40 days. At the end of this time of fasting He was hungry. And this is when the devil shows up. We know that there are 3 specific temptations recorded here:
Make the stones into bread - feed yourself ....do your own will.
Worship the devil and receive the world. ...do the devil's will.
Throw yourself down and see if the angels will catch you like the word says... test the Father's will..
Jesus does not yield to these temptations but submits fully to the Father's will as found in the Word:
"Man shall not live on bread alone" - Jesus fully trusts His Father to provide for His needs. This quotation comes from Deuteronomy 8. Hear what the Word says in verses 2-3 " And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord."
There are too many parallels here to be a coincidence :
Israel was led in the wilderness - Jesus was led in the wilderness
Israel was hungry - Jesus was hungry
God allowed them to be humbled - Jesus humbled Himself
God provided manna for the Israelites. God sent His angels to provide food for Jesus. ( Matthew 4:11)
The second temptation has to do with the kingdoms of the world and satan's price for them - worship.
Jesus says, " It is written, You shall worship the Lord Your God and serve Him only." This is also from Deuteronomy. 6:13 " You shall fear only the Lord your God and you shall worship Him and swear by His name." And again in 10:20-21 " You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen."
Jesus, the Son of God, would never worship a corrupted creation of God... and neither should any man. Only the Lord our God is to be feared and worshiped and served.
In the third temptation, Satan tries to use the Word to test Jesus. But Jesus answers, " It is said, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test." This is a quote from Deuteronomy 6:16 " You shall not put the Lord Your God to the test as you tested Him at Massah." What happened at Massah? This is where they came to a place with no water and the "quarreled with Moses". The Lord instructed Moses to strike the rock and water came out. They named the place Massah, which means quarrel. Exodus 17:7b says " .... because they tested the Lord, saying, 'Is the Lord among us,or not?"
When Israel failed to trust God for His provisions.. and they quarreled with His servant Moses, they were found guilty of testing God Himself. Jesus had absolute confidence in the provisions of His Father. He would never quarrel with or test God. Do we?
Satan could not shake Jesus' confidence in the Heavenly Father. He left Jesus in the wilderness ,
" until an opportune time."
Satan's tactics have never changed.. from the time of Adam and Eve in the garden until now. He uses the same ploys.. trying to shake our confidence and trust in God's provisions, in His power, and in His place as the only true and holy God. Our world, especially our society it seems, has this weird, distorted view of Satan. There is a revolting and horrid fascination with the occult, with death, with horror, and with evil. It seems that everything at this time of the year is a competition to see who can have the scariest haunted house. Instead of the old-fashioned jack o'lanterns and scarecrows.. we now see gravestones and zombies! Why?
Satan's tactics still involve trying to take our eyes off the Truth!
He is a defeated enemy of God.
His time is coming to an end.
He hates mankind.
He wants us to be wrapped up and warped by morbid imaginations.
Jesus shows us the Truth about satan.
The Word of God defeats him.
The Truth dominates him.
When we know the Lord our God, worshipping Him alone, believing His Word, we have nothing to fear!
James says it this way, " Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (4:7)
Heavenly Father, You alone are God and we give You all our worship! We praise You and seek to draw near to You. Draw near to us. Fill us with Your Spirit continually. Give us clean hands and pure hearts. Transform us by renewing our minds with Your Holy Word that we might discern Your will.. that which is good, acceptable and perfect. We put on the belt of Truth.. Thank you for providing everything we need. Loving Father, we run into Your arms and give ourselves to You fully.
Amen!
Jesus went into the wilderness as He was led by the Spirit. He did not eat for 40 days. At the end of this time of fasting He was hungry. And this is when the devil shows up. We know that there are 3 specific temptations recorded here:
Make the stones into bread - feed yourself ....do your own will.
Worship the devil and receive the world. ...do the devil's will.
Throw yourself down and see if the angels will catch you like the word says... test the Father's will..
Jesus does not yield to these temptations but submits fully to the Father's will as found in the Word:
"Man shall not live on bread alone" - Jesus fully trusts His Father to provide for His needs. This quotation comes from Deuteronomy 8. Hear what the Word says in verses 2-3 " And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. And He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord."
There are too many parallels here to be a coincidence :
Israel was led in the wilderness - Jesus was led in the wilderness
Israel was hungry - Jesus was hungry
God allowed them to be humbled - Jesus humbled Himself
God provided manna for the Israelites. God sent His angels to provide food for Jesus. ( Matthew 4:11)
The second temptation has to do with the kingdoms of the world and satan's price for them - worship.
Jesus says, " It is written, You shall worship the Lord Your God and serve Him only." This is also from Deuteronomy. 6:13 " You shall fear only the Lord your God and you shall worship Him and swear by His name." And again in 10:20-21 " You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name. He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen."
Jesus, the Son of God, would never worship a corrupted creation of God... and neither should any man. Only the Lord our God is to be feared and worshiped and served.
In the third temptation, Satan tries to use the Word to test Jesus. But Jesus answers, " It is said, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test." This is a quote from Deuteronomy 6:16 " You shall not put the Lord Your God to the test as you tested Him at Massah." What happened at Massah? This is where they came to a place with no water and the "quarreled with Moses". The Lord instructed Moses to strike the rock and water came out. They named the place Massah, which means quarrel. Exodus 17:7b says " .... because they tested the Lord, saying, 'Is the Lord among us,or not?"
When Israel failed to trust God for His provisions.. and they quarreled with His servant Moses, they were found guilty of testing God Himself. Jesus had absolute confidence in the provisions of His Father. He would never quarrel with or test God. Do we?
Satan could not shake Jesus' confidence in the Heavenly Father. He left Jesus in the wilderness ,
" until an opportune time."
Satan's tactics have never changed.. from the time of Adam and Eve in the garden until now. He uses the same ploys.. trying to shake our confidence and trust in God's provisions, in His power, and in His place as the only true and holy God. Our world, especially our society it seems, has this weird, distorted view of Satan. There is a revolting and horrid fascination with the occult, with death, with horror, and with evil. It seems that everything at this time of the year is a competition to see who can have the scariest haunted house. Instead of the old-fashioned jack o'lanterns and scarecrows.. we now see gravestones and zombies! Why?
Satan's tactics still involve trying to take our eyes off the Truth!
He is a defeated enemy of God.
His time is coming to an end.
He hates mankind.
He wants us to be wrapped up and warped by morbid imaginations.
Jesus shows us the Truth about satan.
The Word of God defeats him.
The Truth dominates him.
When we know the Lord our God, worshipping Him alone, believing His Word, we have nothing to fear!
James says it this way, " Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (4:7)
Heavenly Father, You alone are God and we give You all our worship! We praise You and seek to draw near to You. Draw near to us. Fill us with Your Spirit continually. Give us clean hands and pure hearts. Transform us by renewing our minds with Your Holy Word that we might discern Your will.. that which is good, acceptable and perfect. We put on the belt of Truth.. Thank you for providing everything we need. Loving Father, we run into Your arms and give ourselves to You fully.
Amen!
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Luke 3 John the Baptist was called out of the wilderness where he was living, to preach the "baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;"
He preached the coming of the Lord.
He preached the coming of judgement.. the wrath of God.
He preached that a life of true repentance will be revealed by good fruit.
He preached that those who had bad fruit would be cut down and burned up.
Verse 10 - the multitude asked, "Then what shall we do?"
Verse 12 - the tax-gatherers asked, " Teacher, what shall we do?"
Verse 14 - the soldiers asked, " And what about us, what shall we do?"
John's answers reveal his deep understanding of the Truth:
Verse 11 - he tells them to love their neighbors - sharing with those in need.
Verse 13 - he tells them to be honest and just - taking no more than they should.
Verse 14 - he tells them to be kind and content and peaceful.
And to Herod, who had taken his brother's wife, John spoke up about purity and morality. ( verse 19)
The good fruit of a life lived in right relationship with the Coming King will be evident in all circumstances. We all need to ask the question that John's audience asked, " What shall we do?"
In light of the Truth given to us through the Word spoken through John and then later by Jesus, we know it begins with a heart of repentance. A laying down of our lives and taking up the cross and following Jesus.. in loving others, in giving, in honesty and kindness, in being content with what we have and in being thankful to the One Who has saved us.
Father, overwhelm us.. baptize us by Your Spirit, in Jesus Christ the Eternal and Beloved Son, that we might walk as He walked and do the things that we should do... We pray in His Name, Amen
He preached the coming of the Lord.
He preached the coming of judgement.. the wrath of God.
He preached that a life of true repentance will be revealed by good fruit.
He preached that those who had bad fruit would be cut down and burned up.
Verse 10 - the multitude asked, "Then what shall we do?"
Verse 12 - the tax-gatherers asked, " Teacher, what shall we do?"
Verse 14 - the soldiers asked, " And what about us, what shall we do?"
John's answers reveal his deep understanding of the Truth:
Verse 11 - he tells them to love their neighbors - sharing with those in need.
Verse 13 - he tells them to be honest and just - taking no more than they should.
Verse 14 - he tells them to be kind and content and peaceful.
And to Herod, who had taken his brother's wife, John spoke up about purity and morality. ( verse 19)
The good fruit of a life lived in right relationship with the Coming King will be evident in all circumstances. We all need to ask the question that John's audience asked, " What shall we do?"
In light of the Truth given to us through the Word spoken through John and then later by Jesus, we know it begins with a heart of repentance. A laying down of our lives and taking up the cross and following Jesus.. in loving others, in giving, in honesty and kindness, in being content with what we have and in being thankful to the One Who has saved us.
Father, overwhelm us.. baptize us by Your Spirit, in Jesus Christ the Eternal and Beloved Son, that we might walk as He walked and do the things that we should do... We pray in His Name, Amen
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Luke 2 records the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. Joseph and Mary traveled to Bethlehem because of a Roman decree. But, we know it was God's plan for Jesus to be born in this city. There is so much that we can say about this passage. Something that stands out to me today, as I read through this is the testimonies that Luke includes in his writing:
Verses 9-14 The angels were the first to proclaim the Truth about Jesus.
They proclaimed that this is "good news of a great joy".
That "there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord."
That the sign would be the baby wrapped in cloths and laying a manger.
That this baby was from God and He would bring peace on earth to those with whom He is pleased.
Verses 15-20 The shepherds were the next witnesses of the Truth.
They acted on the words from the angels, acknowledging God's revelation.
They found the baby just as they had been told.
They told everything that the angels had told them.
They praised and glorified God.
Mary and Joseph followed the Law, having Jesus circumcised and presenting Him to the Lord as required. They offered the required sacrifices. ( Verses 21-24)
Verses 25-35 Simeon is a witness for the Truth about Jesus.
Simeon was a man who lived for the Lord. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit.
He was called righteous and devout.
He was looking for the Messiah.
He knew God in such an intimate way that he was told that he would not die until he saw the Messiah.
Simeon recognized Jesus immediately ( by the Holy Spirit) and makes these proclamations:
He has seen the Lord's salvation, who God had "prepared in the presence of all peoples.
Jesus is " A light of revelation to the Gentiles"
He is the glory of Israel.
He is "appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel."
He would be opposed.
A sword would pierce Mary's heart.
God would use this to reveal the "thoughts from many hearts".
Verses 36-39 Anna was also at the temple that day. She was an 84 year old, devout, woman who had been widowed for many years. She also recognized Who Jesus was immediately.
She gave thanks to God.
She told everyone who "were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem" about Jesus.
Luke skips over the first 12 years of Jesus' life and tells of Jesus and his family traveling to Jerusalem for Passover. The family leaves to head home and has to return to find Jesus. They find Him in the temple listening and asking questions of the teachers there. Once again there is a testimony given.
"And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers." ( verse 47).
Verses 40 and 52 tell us that Jesus grew physically - becoming strong and increasing in stature; spiritually - increased in wisdom and grace and favor with God; and relationally - gaining favor with men.
There are lessons here for us - how to be a witness for Jesus:
Be joyful - there is great joy in the good news that a Savior has come Who brings peace.
Share what you know - listen to the Word, act on the Word, and share was you have heard.
Be Spirit filled and led - live for the Lord, fully devoted to Him, look for His coming, know Him so well that you are ready when He comes.
Be faithful in service and thankful in all that God has done.
Treasure the truths about Jesus in your heart. Ponder them often. Rejoice in this great salvation, giving thanks and praise to our heavenly Father.
Father in heaven, this is Your beloved Son that we read about here. This old, old story is the one we love so much! May we hear it again with open hearts and with new understanding. May we increase in wisdom and grace as we ponder these truths in our hearts. May we rejoice with the angels and the shepherds, with Simeon and Anna, at Thy salvation that has come in Jesus Christ our Lord. We give You thanks for allowing us to see the Light of revelation to the Gentiles. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit that we might also proclaim the good news of Jesus to those around us. May we not stop talking about the redemption provided through Jesus Christ. Many need to hear this old old story over again. Fill our mouths with these wonderful words of life. In His Name we pray, Amen.
Verses 9-14 The angels were the first to proclaim the Truth about Jesus.
They proclaimed that this is "good news of a great joy".
That "there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord."
That the sign would be the baby wrapped in cloths and laying a manger.
That this baby was from God and He would bring peace on earth to those with whom He is pleased.
Verses 15-20 The shepherds were the next witnesses of the Truth.
They acted on the words from the angels, acknowledging God's revelation.
They found the baby just as they had been told.
They told everything that the angels had told them.
They praised and glorified God.
Mary and Joseph followed the Law, having Jesus circumcised and presenting Him to the Lord as required. They offered the required sacrifices. ( Verses 21-24)
Verses 25-35 Simeon is a witness for the Truth about Jesus.
Simeon was a man who lived for the Lord. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit.
He was called righteous and devout.
He was looking for the Messiah.
He knew God in such an intimate way that he was told that he would not die until he saw the Messiah.
Simeon recognized Jesus immediately ( by the Holy Spirit) and makes these proclamations:
He has seen the Lord's salvation, who God had "prepared in the presence of all peoples.
Jesus is " A light of revelation to the Gentiles"
He is the glory of Israel.
He is "appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel."
He would be opposed.
A sword would pierce Mary's heart.
God would use this to reveal the "thoughts from many hearts".
Verses 36-39 Anna was also at the temple that day. She was an 84 year old, devout, woman who had been widowed for many years. She also recognized Who Jesus was immediately.
She gave thanks to God.
She told everyone who "were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem" about Jesus.
Luke skips over the first 12 years of Jesus' life and tells of Jesus and his family traveling to Jerusalem for Passover. The family leaves to head home and has to return to find Jesus. They find Him in the temple listening and asking questions of the teachers there. Once again there is a testimony given.
"And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers." ( verse 47).
Verses 40 and 52 tell us that Jesus grew physically - becoming strong and increasing in stature; spiritually - increased in wisdom and grace and favor with God; and relationally - gaining favor with men.
There are lessons here for us - how to be a witness for Jesus:
Be joyful - there is great joy in the good news that a Savior has come Who brings peace.
Share what you know - listen to the Word, act on the Word, and share was you have heard.
Be Spirit filled and led - live for the Lord, fully devoted to Him, look for His coming, know Him so well that you are ready when He comes.
Be faithful in service and thankful in all that God has done.
Treasure the truths about Jesus in your heart. Ponder them often. Rejoice in this great salvation, giving thanks and praise to our heavenly Father.
Father in heaven, this is Your beloved Son that we read about here. This old, old story is the one we love so much! May we hear it again with open hearts and with new understanding. May we increase in wisdom and grace as we ponder these truths in our hearts. May we rejoice with the angels and the shepherds, with Simeon and Anna, at Thy salvation that has come in Jesus Christ our Lord. We give You thanks for allowing us to see the Light of revelation to the Gentiles. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit that we might also proclaim the good news of Jesus to those around us. May we not stop talking about the redemption provided through Jesus Christ. Many need to hear this old old story over again. Fill our mouths with these wonderful words of life. In His Name we pray, Amen.
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