The Healer

 Luke 7  The centurion's servant.  The grieving mother's son.  The diseased.. the afflicted.. the blind.. the lame.. the deaf.. the dead..  Jesus came for "all people" .. Hallelujah!   He was the "Expected One".. that Israel had longed for.  He had compassion and offered forgiveness of sin.  ".. blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me."  He tells us.  O help us not to stumble!

Yet, the religious leaders would not believe. They refused to accept the truth that was being revealed right before their eyes. How sad it is that there are so many who have heard the Word.. who have perhaps even tasted a bit of His grace.. yet cannot admit their own sinfulness and helplessness.. and will not love the One who loves them so.. 

Jesus went to dine at Simon, the Pharisee's house.  As He reclined at the table, a woman.. known to be an immoral woman.. came and wet His feet with her tears.. anointed them and wiped them with her hair.. and kissed them.  Simon immediately judged Jesus.. for allowing this sinful woman to touch Him.  Jesus used this opportunity to teach about forgiveness and love.  The woman.. forgiven much.. went away in peace. The Pharisee.. unable to confess his need of forgiveness.. stayed unforgiven.  Perhaps there would be a time when Simon would understand.. that he would bow before the Lord.. that he would recognize his spiritual poverty.. mourn his sin.. and find the Redeemer's forgiveness.  I hope so.  As I hope for those today who are still without the salvation that Jesus came to offer to all who would believe!

This Christmas season.. my prayer is for the salvation of the lost.. in my family.. in my neighborhood.. in my country.. and in the world wherever the message is being preached.. 

Father in heaven,  we give You thanks..  " .. thanks be to God, who always leads us in His triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life." ( II Corinthians 2:14-15)  Let those who hear the Good News choose life.. in Jesus Christ the Lord..  We rejoice once again for the good news that "there has been born for [us] a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.."  for He came to bring joy to "all people". Hallelujah and Amen!  Father, may there be today.. a great harvest of souls.. brought into the Kingdom by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. 

The Teacher

 Luke 6  There is another important revelation to add to chapter five's list..  Jesus revealed His power, His authority, His willingness, His purpose, and His mission.. to this we find that Jesus reveals that He is "Lord of the Sabbath".   The Jewish leaders were very strict about the Sabbath laws. They added their own rules and used these rules to control people and to make themselves more important. So when the disciples ate some grain.. they jumped on that to judge Jesus.  But, Jesus did not submit to their false authority. Instead, He taught them that people are more important than rules..  David ate consecrated bread and was not condemned because of it.  Likewise, Jesus would heal the man with the withered hand.. for it is "lawful on the Sabbath to do good..."

After choosing 12 out of the multitude of disciples to be His apostles, Jesus again began to teach.  Luke's version of the Beatitudes is slightly different than Matthew's.. but the message is the same:

There are blessings for the poor who understand their great need.. 

There are blessings for the hungry and the weeping.. and the persecuted..

The rich receive comfort in this world and don't understand their great need for God's grace.  The well-fed are not prepared for the day of hunger.. the laughing ones are not prepared for mourning and weeping... Life is not just about the right now.. we need to live in light of eternity.. 

Jesus calls His followers to a different way of life... a life with eternity in view.. 

He calls us to love our enemies, to do good to those who hate us, to bless those who curse us, and to pray for those who mistreat us.  He calls us to give more than we are asked for, to not return evil for evil.  He calls us to treat others as we ourselves want to be treated.  He calls us to love... even the unlovable.. to do good to those who don't deserve it.. to be merciful.. to pardon.. to give.... like our Father in heaven. 

Jesus taught that we must take the logs out of our eyes.. remove from our hearts those things that produce bad fruit.. and to treasure what is good in our hearts. If we call Jesus "Lord", He says.. then we need to act upon His Words.. that is the foundation of a life that will not be shaken. 

As we focus on the Christ of Christmas this year...let us fill up our hearts with His Word.. like Mary, let us treasure these truths.. and then let us act upon them. 

Father in heaven, whatever You bring my way today.. may I draw from the love that You have poured into my heart.. and act out of love.  May I be generous and merciful, kind and just. May I love and comfort and encourage others. May I speak truth in love.  May I be Your witness to those I come into contact with. Spirit of God,  fill us with the power of love, patience, kindness, and self-control.  May good fruit be produced in us by the Your Holy Presence.  May the Life of Jesus be seen in us today we pray, Amen. 

The Authority

 Luke 5  In this chapter Luke gives us examples of the way that Jesus revealed His authority as the Anointed One.. the Son of David.. the Christ who came to be the Light of the world.

Verses 1-11   Jesus was teaching by the lake of Gennesaret and the crowd was pressing in.. so He got on Simon's boat and asked him to pull out just enough so He could teach from there.  Afterwards, He told Simon to go into the deeper water and put down his nets.. which were then filled so completely with fish that both that boat and James and John's boat were beginning to sink.  Jesus revealed His power over nature .  This also marked His calling upon these men to become fishers of men...

Verses 12-14  A man "full of leprosy" came to Jesus and "fell on his face and implored Him, saying 'Lord if You are willing, You can make me clean.' "   Here, Jesus revealed His willingness and His power to cleanse completely.

Verses 15-26  As Jesus was teaching and healing.. a group of men brought their paralyzed friend to Him.  Unable to get into the house, they went up on the roof and made an entrance so that they could let down the man on his stretcher "right in the center, in front of Jesus."  To the astonishment of the Pharisees and teachers of the law.. and to everyone else.. Jesus said, "Friend, your sins are forgiven you."  The scribes and Pharisees took issue with this, but Jesus told them, "Which is easier to say, 'Your sins have been forgiven you,' or to say 'Rise and walk'? But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,' - He said to the paralytic- ' I say to you, rise, and take up your stretcher and go home.'"    Jesus revealed His authority to forgive sins.. 

Verses 27-32  Jesus saw Levi ( Matthew)  a tax-gatherer and called him to follow Him.  Immediately, Levi left everything behind and became a disciple of Jesus.  He gave a reception at his home and invited "a great crowd of tax-gatherers".. which caused the Pharisees and scribes to grumble again.  But, Jesus revealed His purpose.. "It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance." 

Verses 33-39  In these last verses of this chapter, Jesus reveals that He is doing a new work... The disciples weren't fasting because He was like a bridegroom and was with them. When He went away, then they would fast.  He wasn't just trying to fix the old religious system.. He was completely changing everything.. new wine.. into new wineskins.  New life.. into new creations.. This is the mission of Jesus... HE came to make all things new!

This Christmas season.. as we come to celebrate the birth of our Savior.. let us remember and meditate upon these revelations.. 

Jesus came with power and authority..over nature.. over sin.. over disease.. over old systems that were not complete.  He came for a purpose.. to call us to repent... and to make us new creatures in Him. Let us share the good news.. He Is Willing! He Is Able!  He Is Lord of All!

Father in heaven, thank You for the love that You have lavished on us.. sending us Your Beloved Son to be our Savior and King forever! Blessed is the Name of the Lord and greatly to be praised! Let Your Kingdom come in power and grace.. that the whole world will know that Jesus Christ is Lord. Amen!

The purpose

 Luke 4   Jesus was "led about by the Spirit in the wilderness".  Full of the Holy Spirit, He spent 40 days fasting "and being tempted by the devil".   We are told of three specific tests:

First, the devil wanted Him to prove that He was the Son of God by changing rocks into bread.  Jesus answered with the Word, "Man shall not live on bread alone." 

Second, the devil want Jesus to worship him in exchange for dominion over all the earth.  Jesus refused, answering, "You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only." 

Thirdly, the devil wanted Jesus to prove the promise of God to not allow Him to be hurt when He threw Himself off the pinnacle of the temple.  Jesus refused, "You shall not put the Lord Your God to the test." 

Jesus did not have to prove anything to the devil. The devil and the demons, as we see shortly, knew exactly Who He was!   May we not lose focus on the truth of God's Word.. We don't live by bread.. but by the Word of God.  We worship and serve Him only. We do not test His promises but simply trust in Him alone. 

After this, Jesus begins to go through Galilee preaching the Good News. Verses 18-19 tells us the essence of Jesus' purpose on earth:

He came in the power of the Spirit of the Lord.. anointed to "preach the gospel to the poor". 

He was "sent to proclaim release to the captives." 

He would give sight to the blind.

He would "set free the downtrodden".

He would "proclaim the favorable year of the Lord."

This is the Word, the purpose that Jesus would fulfill in His time of ministry on the earth.  His message would be received by some and rejected by many.  His own hometown became angry because He would not do their will.. But, in Capernaum, many heard the authority of His Words and were amazed.  Jesus cast out demons.. again, as we read in Matthew, proving that the Kingdom had come.. and He healed the sick.  Release to captives.. sight to the blind.. freedom to the crushed and bruised....

The Babe in the manger.. is the Christ Who came to free us from sin and death, open our eyes to see the Truth, heal us from the crushing and bruising that this world sometimes delivers to us.  Jesus came in grace and truth.. "He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power." Hebrews 1:3.  He was "made.. for a little while lower than the angels;" so that He would later be "crowned.. with glory and honor" and all things "put.. in subjection under His feet." 

Father in heaven, hallowed be Your Name.  Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.. the bread of Life.  Forgive us every trespass as we forgive others. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from all evil. Come Jesus!  Let us live" by faith in the Son of God, who loves us and delivered Himself up for us."  Father bring to mind these truths often.. through this season especially.  Jesus Christ came for us. What wonderful, good, good news! Amen. 

The Baptism

 Luke 3 John, the son of Zacharias, began his ministry in the wilderness.  He was called to be "the voice of one crying in the wilderness, 'Make ready the way of the Lord.. '"  John came "preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;"  We must remember that the word "baptism" refers to being overwhelmed.. completely immersed or washed.  So what John preached was that we need to be completely overwhelmed and immersed in our repentance.  Repentance begins with compunction .. a pricking of our conscience.. a sense of guilt that brings remorse and regret. When we repent.. we make a conscious decision to turn away from sin.. to reconsider our ways.. to think differently than we had before. 

John preached that true repentance would bear fruit... good fruit.  When asked he gave some specific examples:

The man who had more than enough.. would share with those who were in need.

The business man (tax-gatherer) would be honest and not take more than what was necessary.. 

The soldiers were not to take money by force.. nor accuse anyone falsely.. but to learn to be content with their wages. 

The people wanted to know if John was the Messiah.. and John set them straight.. ".. One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. And His winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 

Jesus came to John to be baptized.. not for repentance.. but for the Holy Spirit to descend "in bodily form like a dove.." The announcement from heaven came then.. "Thou art My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased." 

Luke finishes this chapter with a genealogy of Jesus.. showing His legal right to the throne of David.  The way had been made ready.. the Lord Jesus was preparing for His ministry to go public.  There was one more thing that needed to be done.. and that would happen in the wilderness in the next 40 days. 

This Christmas season.. as we think about the coming of Jesus.. the babe who was born in a stable and laid in a manger.. let us be reminded of the gospel that John preached.. This baby came to be King.. He came to baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.. He came to clear the threshing floor.  He came to claim His own and to judge with righteousness and truth.  He came to the lost and the needy.  He came to show the way to true repentance and forgiveness of sins.  He came to bring life.. abundant life to all who will believe.  Hallelujah!  What a Savior!

Father in heaven, You are gracious and kind.. to send Your Beloved Son for the salvation of mankind. Overwhelm us with Your Spirit that we might live for You..  always bearing good fruit.. truly repenting of every sin and following Jesus in grace and truth.  We lay down our lives.. take up our crosses... and follow Jesus, our Mighty King.  Wonderful Counselor.. speak to our hearts today. We want to hear Your voice and abide in You through every moment of this season of celebrating Your birth. Let us not be distracted by the thoughts and feelings of this world.. the focus on lights and trees and gifts and parties.. but let us truly come and adore You.  Amen. 

The birth of Jesus

 Luke 2  Joseph and Mary went up to Bethlehem.. for the census.. but also because that was where God wanted them for the birth of Jesus Christ. 

The first to testify of this marvelous birth are the angels.   They told the shepherds:  ".. good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people.."  The good news is still.. "in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."   He was born for us! He is Christ the Lord.. the Savior for all people! This good news brings praise from the angels and from us.. "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." 

The shepherds are the second ones to testify about Jesus.  They go to Bethlehem.. they find Mary, Joseph and the Baby.. exactly as they were told.. and they "made known the statement which had been told them about this Child."  Even Mary seems to need to hear the words of the shepherds.. for she "treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart."   The good news once again produces praise to God. 

Two more people testify about Jesus as Mary and Joseph go to Jerusalem to fulfill the requirements of the Law.  Jesus is circumcised, named, and dedicated to the Lord.  Simeon and Anna, by the power of the Holy Spirit, announce the truth of this Child's identity.. "For my eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, A Light of Revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel." 

 As time passed we are told that Jesus "continued to grow and become strong increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him."  When He was 12 He went up to Jerusalem with His family and stayed behind in the temple speaking with the teachers there.  When Mary and Joseph came back to find Him, His testimony was this, "Did you not know that I had to be in My Father's house?"  Again, Mary had to ponder these things.. not fully understanding.. but treasuring "all these things in her heart." 

This is the Good News of Christmas.. Christ the Lord was born for "all peoples".  He came to bring salvation. He came to bring Light into the darkness.  He came to bring us to the Father.  Glory to God in the highest!

Father in heaven, we hear the testimony of the angels.. of the shepherds, and of Simeon and Anna.  We take these words into our hearts and treasure them, just like Mary did. We have come to know this wonderful Truth.. Jesus Christ is Lord!  Thank You. Fill our hearts with joy! May we grow in confidence and understanding of Your Holy Word as we ponder these things in our hearts today and through this Christmas season.  Amen. 

The announcements!

 Luke 1 ..Taking a brief pause from the Psalms.. I am turning to Luke.. to  focus on Jesus, the Christ who is the True gift of Christmas... 

This first chapter is introduced by Luke.. who tells his readers that he is writing "so that you might know the exact truth about the things you have been taught."  

The truth is.. that Zacharias was visited by Gabriel.. an angel who "stands in the presence of God."  Gabriel tells Zacharias that he and his wife, Elizabeth, were going to finally have a baby. This son would be John.. chosen before his conception.. to be "a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah.. "  His role was to "turn back the hearts.. "  of the people.. "to the attitude of the righteous; so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." 

And so it happened!

The truth of Mary's visit with Gabriel is stunning.  This humble young woman was chosen by God to bear His Son.  Her song of praise reveals her true heart:

"My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has had regard for the humble state of His bondslave.. "  She heard.. she believed.. and she praised the Lord with all her heart.

There is so much to be said of these truths.. but the main message that I want to focus on through this season.. is this: like Mary.. may we exalt the Lord for He has regarded us.. in our humble states..  He has shown us mercy.. He has done mighty deeds.. He has filled us with "good things".. He has given us help.  We have all been chosen.. to bear the image of God's Son.   May the Holy Spirit fill us to the full with His power.. doing what is impossible for mankind.. but never impossible for God.. to make us all that He desires us to be. 

Father in heaven, may Your will be done in each of us today.   May we grow in the grace and the knowledge of Jesus Christ. May His fulness fill our lives with truth and love. Holy Spirit, come and to all that is needed in us as we yield to Your will and purposes.  Thank You for the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.. the Savior of the world! We rejoice in You, God our Savior..  amen.