Luke 18  Jesus taught His followers that they should "... at all times..pray and not.. lose heart." 

The example is a widow who is desperate for "legal protection".  She never stops coming to the one person who can help her, and even though he is not a godly man, he helps her.   Jesus teaches that if an ungodly person can do something good... what will God.. who is Good.. do for the one who prays?
Then He asks this question... "However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?"


Do we have the faith to bring every need, great or small, to our God?  If Christ returned today, would He catch us praying?

Jesus also tells another parable about prayer.  There are two men who go into the temple to pray.  One, a Pharisee, considered himself righteous and prayed, "God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people; swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer.  I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get."  

The second man, couldn't even lift up his eyes.. prayed, "God, be merciful to me, the sinner!" 

It is the second man who receives mercy.. the answer to his prayer.  The first man received nothing. He never even asked for anything, firmly trusting his own self-righteousness.

What does this teach us about prayer?
 Pray at all times.
Pray about all things.
Ask for what is needed, humbly surrendering to the One who alone can help us.

Come like a child to his father, Jesus tells us. Totally depend on the God who made us, saved us, and cares for us... He alone is our Help.

Father,  I bring my needs before You.  Thank You for reminding me once again that I am Yours and that You are mine. You know me better than I know myself.  Touch my heart with Your healing hand that I might be fully Yours in every way.. Be glorified in my life today.  I thank You and give You all my praise and worship.  You are the Mighty God, the Maker of Heaven and earth and all things are in Your Hands... including me and my family.  May Your will be done.  May we be found to have living faith on that day when we meet You face to face.  In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Luke 17: 11-19   There were 10 lepers.  All 10 waited to see Jesus.  All ten called out to Him for mercy.  All ten obeyed His command to go show themselves to the priest.  All ten were healed.

But, only one was saved.
One turned back.
One fell at the feet of Jesus and worshiped.
One glorified God.
One gave thanks.
One, a Samaritan, had faith that "made [him] well". 

We all have the same desperate needs.
Yet, only some of us will wait on Jesus, call out to Him, and obey His instructions.
And, even fewer of us will turn back to give Him glory, thanks, and worship.

A leper knows that his need is desperate.  He knows that he needs help.
A sinner who knows his desperate need for forgiveness and cleansing will turn to Jesus, repent of his sins, and find salvation in Christ alone.

But, so many people ignore the truth that they are sinners.  They try to cover up their sins.  They drown their guilt with worldly distractions.  They tell themselves that all is well, while struggling in their hearts with the darkness that fills their lives.

Jesus is willing to cleanse us when we call to Him for mercy.  But, it is not enough for us to just go on our merry way.  He calls us to follow Him.  That means we must turn back to Him. We must acknowledge who He is ... by glorifying His Name, giving Him thanks, and worshiping Him.  He calls us to lay down our lives.

"Whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall preserve it." ( v33)

The Pharisees wanted to know when the kingdom of God was coming.  But, they missed the truth that it was right in front of them. For Jesus was there.  It was not the kind of kingdom that they wanted. Jesus tells us that the kingdom of God must be received like a child.  We enter with humility not pride or wealth or self proclaimed righteousness.

Father in heaven,  Your kingdom come.  On the day we meet You we will be forever alive... more alive than we are right now in these worn out and decaying bodies.  This is our hope in Christ Jesus and we turn to You and give You glory.  Thank You for salvation through grace by faith in Jesus Christ the King.  We truly worship You and surrender our hearts, souls, and bodies to You.  In Christ we pray, amen.

Luke 17

Jesus gives His followers another hard lesson - to forgive.. ".. if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying 'I repent, ' forgive him."   The apostles know how impossible it is to do this and ask Jesus to "Increase [ their] faith." 

Faith, Jesus says, only needs to be "like a mustard seed" to accomplish great things.

Father in heaven,  please help me to have the kind of faith that pleases You. Help me to not cause anyone else to stumble in their faith.  Help me to forgive... even those who don't repent and ask for forgiveness.  I am an unworthy slave. Let your Spirit fill me and draw me nearer to Your heart. Make me more like Jesus, my Lord.
Thank You for cleansing me of all unrighteousness. I give You glory!  Amen.

Luke 16  Was it the steward that was unrighteous, or was it the rich man?  One commentary suggests that it was the master who unfairly fired the steward based on a rumor that he had done wrong.  Others suggest that the accusations against the steward were true and he was justly removed from his position.  In both interpretations we get the lesson - we need to be "shrewd" - thoughtful, cautious, practical, and intelligent - when it comes to money... ours or our employer's.

Jesus calls us to be faithful in "very little" as well as in very "much".  He calls us to be faithful in what is "mammon of unrighteousness" as well as in "true riches".   He calls us to be faithful in what belongs to another as well as in what belongs to us.

We know that everything belongs to our Lord.. our Master.  We are to serve Him and Him alone.  He knows our hearts.  He sees our motives and actions.

Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus, a poor beggar.  One lived the charmed life and one suffered severely.  When they each died.. it was the poor man who went to heaven.  The rich man ended up in Hades, suffering torment continually.  It is Abraham who speaks of the reality that awaits all of us.. The choices we make now in this life... determines our eternity.

Comfort now... or comfort for eternity?
Suffering now... or suffering for eternity?
These are our choices.
He does not give us the choice of selfish living now and "good things" to come.

The rich man was not faithful in the "much" that he was given.. and would stay in eternal agony.
Lazarus had nothing to offer, but he was faithful to the end of his life... and was welcomed into Abraham's arms.

How do we measure our faithfulness?  The Pharisees were measuring theirs by their own self -righteousness.  We cannot force our way into the kingdom of God.  We cannot ignore the Truth of God's Word.  We cannot measure our own faithfulness by any human standards.

 We can only trust in the One who is Lord of all.

Father in heaven, teach us Your Word, write it on our hearts, that we might trust and obey.. that we may walk in Your paths and be good and faithful servants of our Lord.  All to You we surrender.  All our hope is in You and we look towards eternity with our faith in Jesus Christ alone. amen.

Luke 15  

The tax gatherers and the sinners were drawn to Jesus and He received them - He allowed them to come near, He accepted them just as they were, and He led them to repentance...

But, the Pharisees and scribes did not approve. They would never do such a thing, lest they become unclean themselves.  They did not realize that in doing this they were actually being more sinful. f
Filled with pride and hypocrisy, they showed no mercy or love.

Jesus tells three illustrations to teach what it means to God when we repent and come back to Him.

A man leaves the 99 sheep to go search for the 1 that is lost and rejoices greatly with all his friends and neighbors when he finds it.

A woman rejoices with her friends and neighbors when she finds the lost coin.

And, finally,  a father rejoices when his lost son returns home after squandering his inheritance and almost starving to death.

Our heavenly Father and all the angels rejoice,  Jesus tells us, when a sinner repents.  The tax-gatherers and the sinners that came to Jesus, repenting of their sins, brought joy to heaven.  The pharisees and scribes.. who did not repent because they didn't recognize their own sinfulness.. brought no joy to heaven.  Like the older son, they were  angry that the "sinner" had been forgiven and received by the Father.

Today, Christmas has come and we stop ( hopefully ) to think about the Babe in the manger.  He came to receive us... He has allowed us to come near... and He has brought us to repentance.  We were lost - we were perishing - but He has welcomed us back home. He has delighted in our repentance.  He rejoices that we are back in the fold with our Almighty Shepherd.

Father, we praise You and thank You for saving us by sending Your only Begotten Son in whom we believe and trust, so that we will not perish but have everlasting life.

Merry Christmas!

Luke 14:25-35   Jesus does not lead us to think that following Him is an easy thing.  His next lessons are the hardest yet:

"If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, even his own life, he cannot be My disciple." The decision to follow Jesus must be total surrender and total sacrifice. "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." 

Count the cost.. like a man who wants to build a house needs to know if he has enough money to finish it;  like a king who wants to go to war needs to know if he has enough power to win... Jesus tells us to count the cost of discipleship.

"So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." 
Give it up - say adieu; depart from, dismiss, forsake, take leave, send away - everything;

Count the cost.

Father, there is nothing that we have that does not come from You or belong to You.  Our family members, our homes, our bank accounts... our bodies.  It is all Yours and we dare not cling to anything except Jesus Christ our Lord.  So, we lay down our lives and take up our crosses and follow You. It is not an easy thing to do.  Yet, as we count the cost, we know that it is worth it all - to know You and be with You for eternity.  There is nothing or no-one that can stand in the way of our love for You.  Please help us to be faithful to the end.  In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Luke 14  

Jesus was at the house of a leading Pharisee.  He already disrupted the status quo by healing the man with dropsy and chastising them for caring more about their animals than their fellow countrymen.

Now, He has something to say about their character.  The men invited to dine were probably all important men of the city.  But, some tried to make themselves more important by claiming the more honorable places at the table.   Jesus suggests that they might do well to be humble and pick out the lower places, lest they be humiliated by being asked to move for someone more important.

The truth that Jesus conveys is this, "For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."   Pride is an awful and deadly sin.  Over and over again we are reminded of this in Scripture.
Be humble.
Be last.
Be a servant.
Follow the example that Christ Himself has given us.

Jesus goes on to give an example of humble service... when hosting a dinner,  instead of inviting only those who can repay you in turn... invite those who are in need - "the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind... "  It was a radical idea in those days.. and in ours too.  But, it is exactly what Jesus did for us!

Jesus also tells a parable about another dinner..  A man prepares a great feast and invites many to come.  But, when the time comes, those invited reject the offer, making excuses to not come.   This makes the man angry, but he sends out his servants to invite everyone they can find.. those in need especially - "the poor and crippled and blind and lame."  So, many come and still there is room, so the servants are sent back out to "the highways and along the hedges"  to "compel" more to come in and fill the house.  His house is filled with strangers and beggars.. but the original guests will not receive any of his feast.

Those who reject the offer that God has given us through Jesus Christ will miss out on His Kingdom.. the most wonderful and amazing blessing.. more than we could ever imagine.  Jesus came to us - though we are poor and needy.. unable to repay.. strangers and beggars  - and He brought us into the Kingdom of God, to sit at His table, and to partake of His provisions.  What an amazing God we serve!

Father in heaven, we thank You for giving us life in Jesus Christ.  We pray that You will hold us closer and speak Your joy and peace into our hearts this Christmas season.  We need You and desire to be with You in Your Kingdom.  Eagerly we wait for the return of our Lord. May we be ready.  Fill us now with Your Spirit so that Your will is done in us and through us today.  In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.