Luke

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“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:13 NKJV)

April 13, 2015

Many have started out loving God, but when resulting blessings come, switch allegiance. Rare is the rich man who holds wealth with an open hand, serving God with it. However, one doesn’t have to be rich to love money. The poor man can struggle as severely with the covetous love for the riches he does not have, as the rich man struggles with his unquenchable desire for more. Serving mammon never satisfies. “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10). Yet, those who serve and love God are fully satisfied. Who have you chosen to serve: God or mammon?

“I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7 NKJV)

April 12, 2015

Luke 15 has three “lost” parables in a row: The lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. The verse above is from the parable of the lost sheep. Jesus taught the importance of seeking the lost, which Israel had forgotten. They had become inward focused and self-absorbed. Today’s church can be like this. The focus tends to be on keeping the “ninety-nine” members happy and meeting their needs. But the mission of the church should be to help rescue the one. If we want our churches to experience the “joy of heaven,” we will get out of our comfort zones, take our eyes off ourselves, and put them on seeking the lost.

“Also I say to you, whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8-9 NKJV)

April 7, 2015

The gospel moves us from a religious response to a relational one. The question it asks is not ‘have you been a good person,’ but ‘have you acknowledged Jesus as the Christ?’ This acknowledgement is not only internal, but external, causing us to confess Christ as Lord and Savior before men. How we decide to treat Jesus on earth affects His response to us in eternity.

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42 NKJV)

April 4, 2015

Martha was working hard in the kitchen while her sister, Mary, sat at the feet of Jesus listening. Martha was hurt, feeling that Jesus didn’t care that her sister had left her serving alone. But Jesus approved of Mary’s choice to rest in Him and to enjoy His presence without working. He instructed Martha that resting in Him was the “good part,” the “one thing” needed.
Today is the 7th day of Passion Week, the day we remember Christ’s crucified body lying in the tomb. Just as God finished His creation by making man on the 6th day and rested on the 7th, so Christ redeemed mankind on the 6th day and on the 7th day, rested.
What are you “worried and troubled about” today? Rest in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who has defeated sin, death and the grave. Rest in Him, for He has already done what is needed to save us.

“Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:30 NKJV)

April 3, 2015

When the 70 disciples that the Lord sent out to bear witness returned, they were overjoyed that even the demons were subject to the name of Jesus. But Jesus told them not to rejoice over such things. Spiritual warfare is real and Christ-followers have been given authority, but we are not to glory in this. We are to “rejoice” that we are saved and that our names are in the Lamb’s Book of Life. On this Good Friday when we remember the price that our Lord paid for our inclusion into that Book, we rejoice in Him.

“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23 NKJV)

March 31, 2015

What is the cost of discipleship?
After Jesus described how He would suffer, be killed, and rise on the third day, He explained the cost of being one of His disciples. His instruction?
1) Deny yourself – Surrender your will to Christ’s Lordship.
2) Take up your cross daily – Die daily to sin through Christ’s sacrifice.
3) Follow Me – Walk in the Spirit, filled with Christ’s resurrection power.

“Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you” (Luke 8:39 NKJV)

March 29, 2015

When Jesus freed the demon-possessed man living in the tombs of the Gedarenes, he begged to go with Jesus. But Jesus instructed him to go home and bear witness to “what great things God” had done for him. This was also the instruction Christ gave His disciples before He ascended when He told them to begin in Jerusalem (Acts 1:8). We are still called to begin our Christian witness at our “own house.”

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. …Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity” (Luke 8:11, 14 NKJV)

March 28, 2015

Of the four soils that Jesus described in his parable about receptivity to God’s Word, the thorny soil probably best resembles American hearts. There has never been a generation so blessed with access to the Bible and the gospel message. Yet, American believers have a stunted spiritual maturity. They spend their days distracted by so many worldly things that they fail to focus on the eternal. Are you cultivating the seed of God’s Word or is your spiritual life getting lost in the weeds?

“So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed” (Luke 5:16 NKJV)

March 22, 2015

The more that crowds gathered around Jesus, the more often He “withdrew” to pray. Jesus modeled an important rhythm between doing ministry and personal devotion. We recognize the need for food and rest for our physical bodies after exerting work, but we often overlook the need for our souls to be replenished after doing ministry. Do you ever withdraw to pray?

“Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13 NKJV)

March 20, 2015

The devil departed from tempting Jesus after three failed attempts. These are the same three temptations to which Adam succumbed. Yet, Jesus overcame them all. The temptation of Adam and Eve began with Satan’s question, “Did God really say?” (Gen.3:1). And so, he introduced the doubt of God’s Word into their minds, making them susceptible to his wiles. So Eve was deceived, deciding that the forbidden fruit “was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise” (Gen.3:6). The apostle John described these three temptations as targeting “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Satan tempted Jesus and Adam with the same three tests: 1) The flesh (Adam: fruit; Jesus: bread), 2) the eyes (Adam: pleasant; Jesus: glory), 3) the pride (Adam: wisdom like God’s; Jesus: prove you’re the Son of God). While Adam doubted God’s Word, Jesus answered all three of Satan’s tests with quotations from God’s Word. Satan still uses the same bag of tricks today, but we can learn from Christ’s example and depend on His power to overcome temptation as He did. As the psalmist said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:11). In Christ, we are overcomers.