Thoughts on Luke - Day 40

                                           Luke 9:27-36

Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God."
²⁸ About eight days after Jesus said this, he took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray. ²⁹ As he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. ³⁰ Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious splendor, talking with Jesus. ³¹ They spoke about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. ³² Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. ³³ As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (He did not know what he was saying.)
³⁴ While he was speaking, a cloud appeared and covered them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. ³⁵ A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” ³⁶ When the voice had spoken, they found that Jesus was alone. The disciples kept this to themselves and did not tell anyone at that time what they had seen.


     We often suggest certain guys to our single daughter, guys that have liked her Facebook posts or pictures on Instagram and we "stalk" them to see if they are potentials or "bonafide" as they would say in O Brother Where Art Thou. There is always some factor that we aren't seeing on a screen that, in person, have kept her from having those kind of feelings for them. She sees them in a different light than we do. I often think that if we could pay a half dozen girls to swoon over the guy or talk in her presence about how hot the guy is, maybe she would start seeing him in a different light just like say a People Magazine can tell us who is beautiful or best dressed and we believe them.

      Jesus had a similar problem with the disciples.They needed to see Him in a different light. As we saw in the last verses, Peter had a wrong view of Jesus - he saw Him as a Earthly deliverer, the one who would deliver the Jews from the Romans. They couldn't even hear Him when He said He would suffer and be crucified because that didn't register in their view of Him. Therefore, He took His three closest guys up a mountain to give them a glimpse of who He really was. They needed to get a different view of Him. He wasn't just some anointed man who was endowed with special abilities by God - like healing the sick, raising the dead, calming the storm, feeding 5000 people - in order that He could deliver the Jews from the Romans, but He was God, covering up His glory with a human body. He wasn't another Moses who could turn the Nile into blood and part the seas in order to deliver the Jews from earthly bondage, He was God come to deliver His people from spiritual bondage. The problem is always, given the choice of Earthly deliverance or spiritual deliverance, people will usually pick the first. We are more concerned with our bodies than our souls.

       We too need a new view of Jesus. He isn't here to deliver us from sickness, poverty, left wing oppression, or the back pain I'm having this morning. He just might do that, but as God, He has come to transform me from the inside out. He has put His Spirit inside of me to glow so the world can see God in a new light. I am to influence people today that Jesus is awesome and proclaim His glory so that people might receive Him for the salvation of their souls.

      Lord, help me shine your light to a lost world. Help me to see with your eyes, past the Kingdom of Earth, into the Kingdom of Heaven. Help me to live for eternity and with open eyes and open ears see you  and hear You more clearly, and fall deeper in love with You. Amen

Thoughts on Luke - Day 39

                                    
                                          Luke 9:18-26




 Once when Jesus was praying in private and his disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say I am?”
¹⁹ They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life.”
²⁰ “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “God’s Messiah."
²¹ Jesus strictly warned them not to tell this to anyone. ²² And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.”
²³ Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. ²⁵ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? ²⁶ Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.


       "Who do you say Jesus is?" - is still a relevant question 2000 years later. Some say He is a mythical character. Well... there is more documentation out there from extra-biblical sources that He did exist, than any other historical figure. Not only that but look at the calendar - B.C. and A.D. Seems pretty clear that not a whole lot of thought went into that view of Jesus. Some say He is a good teacher or prophet. The problem with that is that a good man would not claim to be God - that would make Him an egomaniac, crazy, or a liar - and it's doubtful that a liar would take that lie all the way to a cross. Plus, He proved He was God by (vs.21-23) predicting His death, including how he would die, and that He would come back from the dead 3 days later and pulled it off.

     We have to consider the fact that He just might be the Son of God sent from Heaven to save us. This is what Peter came up with but as we see from other passages, even that conclusion was arrived at with the help of the Holy Spirit. But even in that answer, I wonder what he meant by Messiah. After all, the predominant view was that a Messiah would come to deliver God's people in a physical, earthly way rather than a spiritual, heavenly way. Peter, as seen in other gospels, actually rebukes Jesus when He talks about being captured and dying. That was certainly not in the Messiah's agenda, he thought. In the last few verses Jesus explains that, yes He has come to deliver, but it is a different kind of deliverance. It is a deliverance of the soul. It comes when one quits living for self and dies to self and lives for Jesus.

       As I recall the parable of the soils a few verses back, the difference in the soils stems from who they think Jesus is - this very question that Jesus asks them. Those that don't believe that He is God are the path. The conviction of the Holy Spirit does not get through to them. Those that believe that He is God, died for their sins and trusted Him for forgiveness but are still living for their own agenda, are the rocky or thorny soil. Peter is an example of this. He sees Christ as an Earthly benefactor and Jesus says that until you see that it is all about Him and not about us, we can't be His disciple. We can't be a follower of Jesus like that because we are actually asking Him to follow us.

       Have you understood this yet? This is what repentance is - an about face following Him rather than asking Him into your heart and continuing to live for yourself asking His divine blessing. That kind of salvation is no salvation at all. That is why the road is so narrow. Are you on that narrow road which goes against the flow and everything that the world is telling you?

        Lord, it is a daily dying to self I must experience because I keep wanting to get back on the throne. Forgive me! I surrender to You again today. Amen

Thoughts on Luke - Day 38

                                              Luke 9:1-17

When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, ² and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. ³ He told them: “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt. ⁴ Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. ⁵ If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” ⁶ So they set out and went from village to village, proclaiming the good news and healing people everywhere.
⁷ Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, ⁸ others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. ⁹ But Herod said, “I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?” And he tried to see him.
¹⁰ When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, ¹¹ but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.
¹² Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”
¹³ He replied, “You give them something to eat.”
They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” ¹⁴ (About five thousand men were there.)
But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” ¹⁵ The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. ¹⁶ Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. ¹⁷ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

        Have you ever thought you were good at something and then enter the presence of a master at that thing you thought you were good at. There have been some things like that in my life. I thought I was good at tennis until I played a person that returned my first serve so hard (and I thought my first serve was unreturnable) that I never touched it. I don't think I scored a point the whole set. Same thing happened to me in ping pong. I thought I could play the guitar OK until I sat in the presence of a master guitar player. Frankly, these experiences made me want to give up all three endeavors. Some people, it motivates to practice more and get better. Me - I say what's the use, I'll just follow them and watch them and enjoy their expertise.

      I'm intrigued by this passage in that Jesus gives the disciples some gifts like healing and casting out demons. We aren't told if He took them back or they were permanent, although Acts seems to say that these gifts persisted. I get the impression though that these gifts may have gone to their heads. Maybe not but it says that they wanted to tell Jesus what they had done. I can just imagine what that would have looked like if it had happened. I think it may have turned into a "can you top this" time of sharing knowing what we know about the disciples. Jesus quickly taught them two things. First of all He taught them servanthood - it's not about them, it's about the people they can help with those gifts. They wanted to sit around and rest, eat, possibly brag, and revel in successes but Jesus says basically that as long as there are people to serve we must keep serving because the gifts we have are not about us but about using them to help others. It appears to me that they were making up excuses to get rid of the people and Jesus won't let them. He turns the disciples into waitors and bus boys and ushers to humble them. In this serving they were able to get a glimpse of how great God is.

      Which leads me to the second point which I started this blog out with. They not only learned servanthood and that life and gifts are not about them, but they also learned humility. They saw God take care of their own needs like food when they were out on their own, but they never envisioned taking 5 loaves and 2 fish and feeding 5000 men (probably double that in total numbers) with that food. Suddenly what they had done seemed miniscule. Maybe they even realized that the little that they had done was only by the power of God given to them. Maybe they realized that they were nothing compared to Him. Maybe some of them decided, "You know what, I'm just going to follow Him and carry His bags and watch what He does because I am unworthy. Who am I compared to Him."

        Am I, are you, using the spiritual gifts that God has given you, to serve others or my(your)self? Are we using them with all our strength or are we penciling in time where they can be used. Are we taking credit for them and getting a big head because we think we are something? If so, we need to get a glimpse of who God is and how big He is and marvel in His power and glory until we see ourselves in proper perspective.

        Lord, thank you for the gifts you've given me. Help me to serve others tirelessly with them and in humility knowing that they come from You and I am nothing compared to You. Amen

Thoughts on Luke - Day 37

                                                    Luke 8:40-56

Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. ⁴¹ Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house ⁴² because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. ⁴³ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
⁴⁵ “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”
⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”
⁴⁷ Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. ⁴⁸ Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
⁴⁹ While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”
⁵⁰ Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”
⁵¹ When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. ⁵² Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”
⁵³ They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴ But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” ⁵⁵ Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

             We talked last blog about coming to Jesus when your life is a mess. It is hard to convince people that they need to do a 180 in their life and repent of their sins and follow Jesus, when they are cruising through life at a good speed. It's when things break down that people start searching for answers. Here in this account we have two people whose lives have reached a desperate point. We have a synagogue leader named Jairus who risks the anger, mockery, exclusion, even firing from his fellow synagogue leaders by reaching out to Jesus, the man that they had determined was a blasphemer worthy of death. However his daughter was dying and what good is pride and a job and a reputation when your child is dying. You will do anything at that point. And then we have a woman who is exanguinating from blood loss probably secondary to female problems. She has spent all her money trying to get fixed and visited every doctor and no one can help. She is desperate so she comes to Christ. In both of these situations, Christ does not disappoint.

           Now if I was Jesus I might be inclined to say, "Why didn't you come to me in the first place; why am I always the last resort." I get this in the office a lot. Tactless people say to me things like, "I tried a lot of other doctors offices but you are the only one that takes people without insurance." Or last week, "I tried to get into that office but they didn't have an appointment open until 3 months from now so I came to you." Or, "That doctor delivered all my babies and did my surgery but he won't see me anymore." I once told a patient that she needed surgery and she said she was going to find a doctor in the big city to do it and then come back to me for followup. I told her that I wouldn't followup with her in that case, the doctor that she trusted to do her surgery should be the one she trusts afterward. I still can't believe I did that - what a jerk! Why did I do that, because my ego was bruised, my feelings were hurt. God is a God who doesn't mind being the last resort. He is a last resort God. However, once you come to Him, He expects to be your only resort from that time on.I'm sure this is a bad illustration but it's the only one I can come up with now. I know some people on hospice care. They have tried everything and nothing is working so their last resort is hospice. Hospice says, we are glad to take you. We will give you everything you need. However, if you go to the hospital you will lose your hospice. Do you agree to that, and the desperate person does because they have exhausted all other means and nothing has worked. They are desperate.

        This is the humility of Jesus. He never needed to say, "Do you know who I am?" or play the God card or get His ego bruised. When you are God, you don't have to defend that - it just is. If you don't accept that, it isn't His problem, it is yours. Not only did He not feel the need to defend His ego but He didn't demand the "perks" that come with being God. Here He is coming back from a trip on a boat that weathered a near drowning, spent a few minutes on land, was told to leave, got back on the ship, sailed back to land and then was met by a crowd saying, "me first, me first." I have seen crowds like that on mission trips, people crowding, pushing, fighting others, for fear they won't be seen by the doctor. They cared nothing about me, they just cared for themselves. If I were Jesus, I would have said, "I will be back in 6 hours, I need to rest relax and unwind. I need some food and "me time". When I return, I will have someone give you numbers so that you can all be seen in an orderly fashion." Jesus didn't do that! Why? Because it wasn't about him, it was always about others. He saw them as sheep without a shepherd and had compassion on them. What an amazing man; what an amazing God.

        Lord, help me and my fragile ego. Help me to consider others as more important than me as I die to myself and model Your son's actions, attitudes and behavior.. Amen

Thoughts on Luke - Day 36

                                                    Luke 8:26-39

 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. ²⁷ When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” ²⁹ For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
³⁰ Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. ³¹ And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
³² A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. ³³ When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
³⁴ When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, ³⁵ and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. ³⁶ Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. ³⁷ Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.
³⁸ The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, ³⁹ “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

      "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation - old things have passed away, behold all things have become new." 2Cor.5:17
        "The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy. I (Jesus) come that they might have life to the full." John 10:10

       When I was a kid growing up along the banks of the Wisconsin River, we could go down to the river bank which was densely wooded and walk for miles. If we walked to the right we would eventually get to the little league diamond which I believe was called Memorial Park. If we went to the left we would come to a mental asylum with people not in their right minds. As kids we would observe this from a distance always in fear that some crazy person would see us and try to kill us. This account in Luke always reminds me of this because in one direction you have the towns people. They are going about their everyday life raising pigs coexisting with this dangerous mad man on the other side of town. It was a comfortable coexistence. The possessed man was free to do his own thing - scream, cut himself, run around naked, etc., and the townspeople were free to raise pigs and say, "I'm glad I'm not like that guy. Life may be a boring grind but it could be much worse."

      Enter Jesus who messes everything up. Jesus casts the demon out of the crazy man and all the crazy is gone. He now looks like a guy your daughter could date, well dressed, hair combed, bathed, strong, and with happiness on his face - and he is glowing for some reason. Could it be that now he is better off than the townspeople? Who will they compare themselves to now to feel good about their meaningless lives?

      Jesus has a different way of trying to reach the townspeople. It's easy with the demon-possessed guy. He knows that he is a mess. He is the guy at the bottom of the food chain. There is no one worse off than him. All he wants is a changed life and when Jesus offers this, he gladly receives it and wants to leave everything, because frankly he has nothing, and follow Jesus. I talked to a guy yesterday and asked him when he got saved. He looked down at the ground and said in a sheepish voice, "I'm embaressed to say that it was in prison." - Exactly! With the townspeople it's different. They have a comfortable, stable, safe existence. Why would they want to leave that and follow Jesus. What Jesus does is show them first of all that He has the power of God to change lives. Then He shakes up their lives by showing them that they aren't as good as they think they are and then taking away their security and what they are finding their meaning for life in - their pigs and the money they bring to them. What is their response? "Leave us alone; we have a comfortable life. Quit trying to mess it up."

      Tomorrow I get to share the gospel around a fire at the corn maze probably to about 15-20 groups of 30. That's 450 - 600 people that get to hear about the transforming power of Jesus Christ. How do I get through to them if Jesus, who was God, couldn't reach a town by performing awesome signs and wonders? Today I am going to pray for the one who has reached the bottom. They realize their life is a mess and they need to be a new creation. I pray that they might come, listen, and receive the salvation that Jesus has to offer and their life might be transformed by the Holy Spirit. The road is narrow and few there be that find it.

Thoughts on Luke - Day 35

                                                            Luke 8:22-25

One day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they got into a boat and set out. ²³ As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
²⁴ The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. ²⁵ “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, “Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.”

      
           My wife has a tendency to over-react. She and my daughter are in New York City this weekend and before going to the airport, my daughter wanted to visit a donut shop in Queens which didn't sit well with my wife who likes to be at the airport 2 hours early. The thought of taking a Uber and then taking a different Uber with the uncertainties of this and traffic and flat tires and road repairs was pushing Karen over the breaking point. She also gasps a lot when I drive, you know, the kind of gasps like if a child would run out in the street in front of you chasing a ball - those kind of gasps, only hers are when she saw someone's reverse lights go on in a parking lot that you are driving through. It makes me slam on my brakes for fear some deadly wreck is about to ensue and then after asking her, very nicely of course since this is my blog, not to gasp because it is taking years off my life, she will do it again because she is wound very tight. Fortunately she falls asleep fairly easily in the car which I'm sure is God's way of helping our marriage.

         I picture the disciples in the boat a bit like my wife in the car although their gasps were well founded. Like a semi going 70 on an interstate and slamming on his air brakes in front of me and starting to fish-tail, these guys had legitimate reason to gasp. They were professional sea men and they knew their lives were in jeopardy. Have you ever seen the YouTube videos of people driving in a car with one person asleep and on the count of 3 they all scream like they are about to wreck? The person sleeping will wake up screaming and assuming a crash position. It's hilarious, yet mean. This is not how Jesus reacted. Why? Because for one thing He knew He wasn't going to die in a shipwreck, He was going to die on the cross for our sins. He knew that nothing could happen to Him that God didn't want to happen to Him. That relieved any anxiety He could have. Secondly, like I say to my wife, "I saw that coming". Chances are, Jesus knew this was going to happen and was using it as a faith building experience in the disciples life. Lastly, the other thing I say to Karen is "I have it all under control". Jesus didn't need to be anxious because as God, there is nothing that He can't control, even a storm.

        What is the application here for us? Stop worrying, stop being anxious. If your lives are surrendered to God then any threatening, scary situation coming our way is no big deal to Him. He knows your future and it is bright. He has seen this trial coming a long way off, maybe He even ordained it to strengthen your faith, and He will be in the boat with you during it. And lastly, this is really no big thing in God's eyes. It may look big and insurmountable to you, but to Him, He can make it stop in an instant if He says the word. And don't forget, like the disciples, He loves you and has big plans for you so the safest place to be is in the Lord's will and following Him with Him in the boat with you. Stay close, intimately connected to Jesus and stop worrying. Stay calm.

         Lord, I confess, I get anxious about things and worry a lot. Help me to relax, trust You, and look for the fruit and growth that is going to occur in the midst of this. Amen

Thoughts on Luke - Day 34

                                             
                                                       Luke 8:16-21

“No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. ¹⁷ For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. ¹⁸ Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.”
¹⁹ Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. ²⁰ Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”
²¹ He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”


       If there is any question on which soil are the Children of God in the previous passage, compare vs. 21 - “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”- brothers of Jesus = Sons of God = putting God's Word into practice , with vs. 15 - "good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop" = producing fruit with God's Word.

       In the midst of this soil analysis, however, is an underlying theme of "hearing". The word "hear" occurs 8 times between  vs8 and 21. In fact, I grew up singing a song, "This little light of mine, I'm gonna' let it shine" which is taken directly from this passage and may not even, in context, be talking about me shining for Christ and being unashamed. If that were the case, why wouldn't Jesus say, "Be careful how you shine"? Rather He says, "Be careful how you listen." There are plenty of other passages that tell me to shine, but this passage seems to be relating to Jesus' truths being taught about the Kingdom of God and how He cannot keep them under wraps. Jesus talked about cloaking them in parables in the previous verses so that only those who really desired to know the truth would find it. He uses the word "retain" in verse 15 which means to keep and hold onto . He uses "produce a crop" in verse 15 which means to demonstrate the word taking root in your life by an inside out change. We start looking and behaving like Christ. The "putting into practice" in vs. 21 means to do it. The Greek word is basically "actions which have a life of their own"

      Putting this all together, I think Jesus is saying, "I am and I have the light. I know the truth and I can't hide it. Everything you need to know, I am revealing. The question is how badly do you want it and do you think my teachings are the pearls that I say they are. And do you think that I am worthy enough to consume your every thought, or did you just come here for a show. If you did, you got the show but nothing else. If you believe I am from God, then do you want God bad enough to meditate on my words and seek the truths that God is trying to communicate to you through them. Then when you understand them, are you willing to let them come inside and change you into a new person? If so, then you get it. You are sons of God. You are born again by the Word of God."

     In this day and age where teachers are telling us that the post-Christian era doesn't believe the Bible is reputable, therefore try not to use it in witnessing, this chapter has been telling us that it is the Word of God that germinates the heart, takes root, and saves people. It is a supernatural work done through a supernatural word by a supernatural God which produces a change in lives. Those that reject it are the ones whom the devil has hardened their hearts. We can't win people to the Lord through intellect, that will only take you so far. To believe that Christ's blood had to be spilt because blood and death is what takes sin away from us who deserved to die for our sins - that is from the Bible. That can't intellectually be arrived at. That is the leap of faith intellect can take you to but not through without God's word. Memorize God's word. Use it in witnessing. It is alive. It is powerful. It is the seed that transforms.

      God, thank You for Your word which I have gladly received and it has saved my soul and changed my life. Amen

Thoughts on Luke - Day 33

                                                        Luke 8:4-15

 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: ⁵ “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. ⁶ Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”
When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
⁹ His disciples asked him what this parable meant. ¹⁰ He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,

“‘though seeing, they may not see;
    though hearing, they may not understand.’

¹¹ “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. ¹² Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. ¹⁴ The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. ¹⁵ But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

             When I took genetics many years ago, we learned a mendelien box that explained transmission of genes to progeny. That's a fancy way of saying, how do parents pass their genes to their children. This passage makes me think of that. Lets say there are 2 genes we are looking at - J is fully committed to Jesus and j is not interested in Jesus.

            The parable starts out with a person who you present the gospel to or bring to church and they aren't interested. They reject it because Satan has blinded their hearts and minds to the truth. We will call them jj - they are homozygous for rejecting Christ.

           Next you have the people that believe the gospel and pray the prayer to receive Christ but they are uncommitted. The typical story goes like this - "I grew up in a Christian home, got saved in Vacation Bible School and went to church and youth group whenever my parents took me. When I turned 16, I got a car and I started working for some spending money and college and missed Church a lot but came whenever I could. Then I went to college and all my friends were partying and having sex and I joined in because it was fun and the Bible really isn't relevant today anyway. I met a girl my senior year at a party and we started 'dating' and when we graduated, decided to get married. We had a child and felt like she should be raised in Church like we were because we turned out well, so now we have our children in Sunday School and we are in church and occasionally Sunday School when we aren't out camping, at soccer tournaments, or at the lake."  I call this person a Jj  - they are heterozygous for Christ. They have one foot into Christ and one foot out. They are lukewarm as Revelation says and John says that those will be "spewed out by Jesus". During their college years you would have said they were burned out like the rocky soil but not as adults they look like the thorny soil. Either way, partial commitment to Christ is unacceptable to Him because that means that you are still calling the shots - you are still Lord of your life not Him. Repentance means a "180", a turn from running your own life, living for yourself, and following Jesus. Jj's have not repented.

       Lastly you have the JJ, the homozygous for Christ. Those that are surrendered to Jesus and He is in control of their lives. The degree to which they are filled with the Holy Spirit probably determines the amount of fruit produced.

      Back to the Mendelien box. Lets say these two thorny or rocky soil people get married and have 4 kids. The box would explain what these kids, on average, should look like.

                                            Jj x Jj

                     J                  j
         ________________________  So here is the interpretation. The double-minded,
                                                           half hearted, lukewarm "Christian" has part Jesus
     J           JJ                  Jj               and part non-Jesus and passes that to their kids.
        _________________________If both parent is like that, they will have one JJ fully
                                                          committed follower, two Jj half-hearted followers,
     j            Jj                  jj                and one jj unbeliever.

        __________________________
      
       You can change the combinations. If a fully committed follower JJ marries an unbeliever jj you will get all double-minded children Jj. That only makes sense because if mom really is in love with Jesus, what did she see in a guy who doesn't even believe in Jesus. It confuses them so out of respect for their parents they ride the fence. If one parent is fully committed JJ and the other is half hearted Jj, half the kids will be fully committed and half lukewarm.

            After saying all this, it probably doesn't work this way because salvation is more than genetics, but after observing Christians and Christian families for the last 50 years, I believe there is some truth to this. Oh well, I bet you never have heard this passage explained in Mendelien principles before, but that's why this is Thoughts from the right brain.

Thoughts on Luke - Day 32

                                    Luke 8:1-3

After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, ² and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; ³ Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

        Have you heard of Susanna? She's the one with the banjo on her knee - right? But seriously, here we have 3 Biblical heroes that don't get any press but were vital to the ministry. We had talked in a previous blog on how the disciples were dependent on God for even every meal as they had left their homes, their money, and followed Jesus. In this passage we get a glimpse on how some of those needs were met. Although Jesus could have miraculously fed them every meal, He used people to feed them, thus the people would get rewards in Heaven, would be participating in Christ's ministry on Earth, would get the intimacy with Christ as they serve Him, would get the fellowship and love from others following Christ, and by giving of what they had would also see that their needs were met.

      I was picturing dinner time with the disciples and it took me back to a mission trip outside of Haiti in Dajabon, D.R. We were staying in a tarantula and rat infested campground for two weeks. It was common to be woken up in the middle of the night by shrieks of terror from the girl's cabin as a rat was found looking through their luggage. During the day, from sun up to sundown we would do surgery at a hospital and then come back to our campground and eat at an elongated picnic table under a roof with a little kitchen staffed by Maria and two other women. There would be a gas generator running giving the kitchen light and power, and they would make some sort of meat with black beans and rice, some lettuce, and some plantains every night. When we were done eating, the generator would go off, the camp would be dark, and we would sit around a fire discussing what God had done that day and sharing from the word and praying. If we had dirty clothes, including underwear, we would give them to these three women and they would wash them by hand in the river and then we would take them down off the clothes line. I imagine that was somewhat similar to the disciple's daily lives.

       Yesterday, I prayer-walked through a vacant field where our church is putting on a corn maze/fall festival next week. The field was mowed, the corn stalks were neatly aligned and the maze was cut out. There were covered wagons, wooden towers, ramps, bridges, gates, signs, and all kinds of preparation done by unnamed people who had spent hours at the field working behind the scenes, to make this event happen. Chances are that when this event happens, a whole lot of other people will be in the limelight but it couldn't have happened without the Marys, Susannas, and Joannas of our church.

        Are you, am I, doing anything behind the scenes to serve? Are we giving of our time and resources sacrificially to allow the gospel of Christ to be preached to the world. If we aren't we are missing out on the fellowship with Christ and other believers as we serve. We are missing out on rewards in Heaven. We are missing out on being part of the harvest of ministries. We are missing out on seeing how God miraculously meets our needs as we sacrificially give to others. We are missing out on the mission trip that is called "life on Earth."

      Lord, help me to serve without being noticed for the sake of Your kingdom advancing. Amen.

Thoughts on Luke - Day 31

                                             Luke 7:29-50
 (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus’ words, acknowledged that God’s way was right, because they had been baptized by John. ³⁰ But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)
³¹ Jesus went on to say, “To what, then, can I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? ³² They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling out to each other:

“‘We played the pipe for you,
    and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
    and you did not cry.’

³³ For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ ³⁴ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ ³⁵ But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

³⁶ When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. ³⁷ A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. ³⁸ As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
³⁹ When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
⁴⁰ Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
⁴¹ “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. ⁴² Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
⁴³ Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
⁴⁴ Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. ⁴⁵ You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. ⁴⁶ You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. ⁴⁷ Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
⁴⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
⁴⁹ The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
⁵⁰ Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

             Jesus lived in a "pre-Christian" culture and we are said to live in a "post-Christian" culture. What they both have in common is that people have their minds made up that Christianity is wrong so when they are exposed to the truth of the gospel, it's kind of a "don't confuse me with the facts, my mind is already made up." Therefore, they look for reasons to reject it rather than accept it. Here we see that principle in action. The Pharisees are saying, "We've rejected John so we can't accept Jesus. What should our rejection be based on? I know, He hangs out with sinners and goes to parties that He shouldn't. Not only that but He allows prostitutes to touch Him and sit next to Him and talk with Him. He even accepts things bought with their sinfully made money in worship of Him. We reject Him on that basis." Jesus basically says, "You hypocrites, everything that you are accusing me of doing - John the Baptist didn't do, yet you rejected him because you saying he was out of touch with reality for isolating himself. If I went to a funeral and cried, you would say that I should have danced in celebration of the person's life. If I danced and celebrated their life, you would say that I should have been grieving. If I rejected this prostitute's kindness then I would have been a cold, uncaring jerk but if I was kind to her, I should have not made it look like her behavior was acceptable but have spent my time with people exhibiting good behavior."

        How do we present the gospel in an age where "we can't win for losing"? A lot has been written about this lately. Even this morning I read a blog from "Relevant Magazine" on the topic. They emphasized 1. Not being in a Christian bubble - Jesus certainly wasn't guilty of this in this passage as He is accused of hanging out with sinners. 2. Not by intellectual superiority - Jesus just loved sinners in this passage which wooed people to Him. Lane Craig, the brilliant Christian apologist came to belief even though he didn't believe in the virgin birth. He was able to look past that because of the winsomeness of Christ, and then once he received Christ, he realized how easy it is for God to supersede  the laws of nature. 3. Not by culture wars - Jesus didn't try to legislate His morality, He just tried to save people from their sins. He didn't say, "No alcohol at this party and I will come", but rather He came to save people from their sins by following Him. If you follow Jesus, He will take you away from sinful behavior because He isn't going in that direction. 4. Not by telling people we are better - this is why the prostitute came into His presence; she knew He was better but He didn't project superiority but rather an approachable presence.

        I have to add one more to these 4 listed. In this day and age where there is no absolute truth, no Judge we eventually answer to, and where deep down everyone is good - it's just their upbringing that messes them up, I think it is important to somehow get across the bad news, that we are broken, before people will accept the good news. The woman realized she was sinful yet Simon didn't. Maybe doing the above 4 things where we get into people's lives in a loving accepting, non-judgmental way will shine a light on their sinfulness like a light exposes darkness. The passage says "wisdom is proved right by her children". I think this is key. The "children" are our fruit. Unbelievers can argue all they want about what we believe, but when they see our fruit, and literally godly children and a family that everyone would want to have, it may shine a light on the inadequacy of their system of beliefs.

     Lord, help me be Jesus to the unbelieving, post-Christian world around me. Help me to present a Jesus that they want and realize they need, which in reality is the true Jesus. Amen