Thoughts From Luke - Day 96

                                   Luke 22:39-62


Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. ⁴⁰ On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” ⁴¹ He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, ⁴² “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” ⁴³ An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. ⁴⁴ And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
⁴⁵ When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. ⁴⁶ “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”
⁴⁷ While he was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, ⁴⁸ but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
⁴⁹ When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, should we strike with our swords?” ⁵⁰ And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.
⁵¹ But Jesus answered, “No more of this!” And he touched the man’s ear and healed him.
⁵² Then Jesus said to the chief priests, the officers of the temple guard, and the elders, who had come for him, “Am I leading a rebellion, that you have come with swords and clubs? ⁵³ Every day I was with you in the temple courts, and you did not lay a hand on me. But this is your hour—when darkness reigns.”
⁵⁴ Then seizing him, they led him away and took him into the house of the high priest. Peter followed at a distance. ⁵⁵ And when some there had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter sat down with them. ⁵⁶ A servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She looked closely at him and said, “This man was with him.”
⁵⁷ But he denied it. “Woman, I don’t know him,” he said.
⁵⁸ A little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.”
“Man, I am not!” Peter replied.
⁵⁹ About an hour later another asserted, “Certainly this fellow was with him, for he is a Galilean.”
⁶⁰ Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. ⁶¹ The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.” ⁶² And he went outside and wept bitterly.


        What do you think about when you think about temptation? If I am watching a "female channel" with my wife, it is usually some kind of dessert. If it is a guy channel it is usually some possession with a double temptation of a sexy woman thrown in. So here, when Jesus tells the disciples to pray so they won't be tempted, and in the Lord's prayer to "deliver them from the evil one", I think Jesus is referring to temptations that don't usually come to our minds when we think about being tempted. What are those?

          I think we can look at Peter to get an idea because previously Jesus tells the disciples that Satan has asked permission to go after Peter. What are the temptations that Peter will be facing? First of all we see in the previous passage, it is greatness - elevation above others. The disciples were arguing about who would be greatest and you can bet Peter was in the thick of that argument, unless he already assumed that he was the greatest. I don't think I have issues with this - or do I? I don't necessarily need to feel superior but I don't want to be treated inferiorly. I demand equal treatment. I don't mind being a servant if it is coming from me but don't make me be a servant. I don't mind being in the least important seat if I choose it, but don't assign it to me. I want to be treated equally. Maybe this is a problem with greatness disguised as equality. If I am the one wanting to make the decisions, doesn't that put me at the top? Think about that one for a while.

         The second temptation we also saw at the Last Supper - the temptation to talk about other people. When they found out that someone was going to be the betrayer, they all wanted to know who it was. Sure, they disguised it as wanting to know if it was themselves, but they knew it wasn't them. And then they told John (he was the youngest) to ask Jesus who it was. Do you like to gossip? Do you like to listen to gossip? Do you like to find out the flaws about someone else so it makes you feel better about yourself? Pray that God delivers you from that desire to be nosey.

        The third temptation is to act not in love when someone attacks you.How do you respond when someone attacks your beliefs on abortion, homosexuality, politics, etc. Do we respond back the same way or in love? Peter took a sword and attacked and Jesus told him not to. Why? Because Jesus wins in the end. People that don't know Christ are just being themselves. They are just proving that Jesus cause was true, needed, and right. We need not react back to them in the same way but rather weap for them as Jesus wept for Jerusalem. I saw a post the other day of the gay community protesting Chick Fil A. The founder had once in an interview been asked what he thought of homosexuality and he said it was a sin. That must have been 5 years ago now, I'm not sure if he is even still alive, and they are still protesting. I saw a video of an angry college student tearing down anti abortion material on campus. How do we respond to freedom of speech including everyone except Christians. Will we respond like Jesus or like Peter?

       Then there is the temptation to be overcome with sorrow. Do you let this world get you down? What was upcoming were the greatest days in the history of mankind and all the disciples saw was despair. We need to pray that we will not be tempted to lose sight of the forest through the trees. Jesus is coming soon, we are going to Heaven, we are joint heirs with Christ, we will live forever and we are depressed because the stock market is down or our or our roof is leaking.

       Lastly pray against the temptation to deny Christ. All day long we have opportunities to stand up for Christ, represent Him and share the gospel. Yet, most of the time we want to be accepted by the crowd so we don't speak up. The disciples all ran away when confronted by opposition and Peter even denied knowing Christ. Let's pray for boldness today. What are your temptations? Pray that you won't fall into them today.

Thoughts From Luke - Day 95

                                                    Luke 22:23-38


But woe to that man who betrays him!” ²³ They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
²⁴ A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. ²⁵ Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. ²⁶ But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. ²⁷ For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. ²⁸ You are those who have stood by me in my trials. ²⁹ And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, ³⁰ so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
³¹ “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. ³² But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
³³ But he replied, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death.”
³⁴ Jesus answered, “I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me.”
³⁵ Then Jesus asked them, “When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?”
“Nothing,” they answered.
³⁶ He said to them, “But now if you have a purse, take it, and also a bag; and if you don’t have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one. ³⁷ It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”
³⁸ The disciples said, “See, Lord, here are two swords.”
“That’s enough!” he replied.

 

 

So, here it is, the famous Last Supper. As we have seen in previous passages, it was a God ordained, God supplied feast. My wife, who volunteers at the rescue ministry, says people show up all the time from out of town without money, out of gas, no place to stay, and say "Here I am. Meet my needs" Generally they give them gas vouchers to get back home. When we visited Hawaii, we were amazed at all the homeless people. When we asked around we were told that some rescue ministries buy one way tickets for the homeless to Hawaii. Since they can never afford a return ticket, the homeless problem in their community is solved. So when I think of the last supper and this picture, I think of 13 homeless guys coming to town, needing a foal of a donkey, a large room, and needing a spread of lamb, wine, herbs, plates, cups, unleavened bread, napkins, eggs, horseradish, etc. and it is all just given to them, no questions asked. This, in and of itself is a miracle.

 

 Karen cooks a big Thanksgiving meal every year for the family. There are usually 15 people here and my job is always to give the after meal devotion. In her mind, I am sure she pictures 15 people sitting quietly in a tryptophan coma reflecting on God's goodness to us through the year and it turning into a worshipful experience. In actuality, the grandkids start screaming shortly into the experience wanting to get out of their chairs and go play. The men want to get up and go see the football game or NBA game and so the last thing they want to do is sit till some of the slowest eaters known to man finish eating and then sit and listen to me talk for 5 minutes. So I try to do it while they are still eating and my wife tells me to stop because no one is ready. (She is still expecting the worshipful experience that she is due for cooking and cleaning the last 72 hours) And then coming up with a devotion that speaks to young and old alike is usually an epic fail. So what I'm describing is no Last Supper experience, is it. Or is it? Look at the dinner conversation. First of all, they are trying to figure out who is the one traitor in their midst so there is a distrust of everyone there. Then they are all in the midst of a power play and jealous situation probably not liking their seating arrangements or their order of being served and probably being fed up with certain people after spending day in and day out with them. They get in arguments about who will be greatest and end up having a first century discussion on the equivalent of gun control and the Christian.

 

 I like this last supper painting because Jesus appears totally peaceful in the midst of a lot of commotion going on around Him, and maybe that is the point to me today. Am I so in tune with God and in love with Him and yielded to Him, that nothing gets to me? If things aren't coming together like they should be, am I trusting that He will handle the details. If there is turmoil in the family, at work, can I just commune with God through it and not let it get to me. And if I have a stressful tomorrow coming, can I just enjoy the moment I have today in the presence of God?

Thoughts From Luke - Day 94

                                          Luke 22:14-22

 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵ And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶ For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
¹⁷ After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸ For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
¹⁹ And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
²⁰ In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. ²¹ But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table. ²² The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed. But woe to that man who betrays him!”


            The Passover meal, the seder. This is something Jews do every year and the details are fascinating as the Old Testament celebration turned into a scripted feast that has Jesus written all over it. In fact, he had to die during this feast to fulfill it. Here, in this passage, he shows them how the unleavened bread, representing His body - without yeast (represents sin), is broken and has to be taken in to our inmost being to forgive our sins. Then the same is said for the wine representing His blood which we must take into us for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus turned this part of the ancient Passover celebration into a remembrance that the Church today celebrates to signify that we are trusting in His death for the forgiveness of our sins. But it is also a remembrance. How so?

         First of all, we get so caught up in the daily grind and even in the service of the Lord that we forget to remember why we are doing it, how we got there, and who it is we are serving. Just like the 12 tribes of Israel were told to take 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan River as they passed thru the parted river to remember what God did for them every time they passed those stones, so communion is to remind us of all Jesus did for us. Every time we take it we remember how He suffered and died for us on the cross and we are brought back into that awe, wonder, and love for Him. Also, secondly, the communion ordinance reminds us that Jesus is coming again. Jesus said to the disciples that he would not drink from the wine again until He comes back. We see this in Revelation as we partake at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. During the Seder there were four cups of wine poured. The third cup was the one from which Jesus instituted communion. The 4th was a concluding cup called the cup of praise. Jesus did not drink from this one but says that this one is reserved for when I come back and I call my bride up. Then we will celebrate with praise.

        Do you have remembrances built into your life? Certainly Communion is a great one but if you are from the baptist tradition like me, you probably only do it 4 times a year and if you are from the Catholic or Lutheran tradition you do it so regularly that you have become numb to it. We need something else. I keep a notebook where I record evidences in my life of God working that I go back to and remind myself of His presence in my life. I have a piece of granite rock on my desk that reminds me of God's power. This was given to me by a missionary to Brazil who saved the pieces of rock struck by lightening that seemed to be an insurmountable obstacle to building a church on a piece of land until God blew it up it with lightening. Lately, I have been taking advantage of Christian movies to remind me of what Christ has done for me. I know what you are thinking, Christian movies are lame. I know, but every time I watch something like War Room, God's Not Dead 1&2, I Am Not Ashamed, Case For Christ, I am moved to tears when I think of the reality of what I believe. They challenge me and renew my faith regardless of how critically acclaimed or unclaimed they are.

         What remembrances are you availing yourself to? You need to have some.

Thoughts From Luke - Day 93

                                               Luke 22:7-13


Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. ⁸ Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”
⁹ “Where do you want us to prepare for it?” they asked.
¹⁰ He replied, “As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters, ¹¹ and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’ ¹² He will show you a large room upstairs, all furnished. Make preparations there.”
¹³ They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.


        I love how God has taken care of all the arrangements for this passion week. He has provided the foal of a donkey, a betrayer, and now a room for the Passover feast. But what is even cooler than that, He has revealed to Jesus these items even down to the man carrying the jar of water. Does Jesus just know all these things because He is God or is He just in such close communion and conversation with the Father that the Father is revealing all this to Him? It's hard to say, but I prefer the latter because that inspires me to seek that same close communication with the Father that Jesus had.

      We see evidences of this in Peter's life where he is led to visit Cornelius. We see evidences of this in Paul's life where he sees in a vision a man begging him to come with the gospel and God closing other doors to different regions. He also is warned by God that when he gets to Jerusalem, there is persecution waiting for him. Have you ever had such specific leading by the Lord? I believe it is available to us but most of us aren't living the totally dependent on God life that those saints who were led so specifically, were. We aren't living a life of prayer like them so we aren't accustomed to hearing God's voice even if He would speak to us.

       My dad once gave a guy a poem about God's love for him and my dad didn't know it till later but the guy was about to commit suicide and my dad by hearing from the Lord and being obedient, saved his life. I was burdened for a doctor who was having issues with his heart rate going 180 and when we were in the elevator, I felt God telling me to lay hands on him and pray for him. Later I saw him and he said, "Your prayer worked, my heart is doing fine." Karen in her quiet times occasionally has a burden for a certain person and will send them a card. One lady in particular was going through a terrible time and her card brought her through it. We recently started a 6 week home fellowship group and invited some couples. Karen was surprised by the people I invited but I just had a burden for certain couples. It turns out by inviting one couple, we were able to be involved with a great redemption story of their prodigal son and the salvation and eventual marriage of his girlfriend.

       I heard a story, once, about a guy who in the middle of the church service yelled out "corn flakes". When asked later why he did it he explained that he felt God telling him to and he had to be obedient. Turns out there was a visitor there who I believe worked at the Kellogg's plant and was deeply depressed and wondering if there really was a God and if He really loved him. When he heard "corn flakes" it changed his life. I can't say I have some Peter or Paul or for that matter Jesus and jars and donkeys or "corn flakes" moments, but as I get closer to Jesus, who knows. Do you have any of those? Seek Jesus' face with all your heart. Ask to hear from Him and be obedient when He does speak.

Thoughts From Luke - Day 92

                                                Luke 22:1-6

Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, ² and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. ³ Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. ⁴ And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. ⁵ They were delighted and agreed to give him money. ⁶ He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.


           Karen and I love watching Survivor and we usually watch it with our good friends the Czajkowskis often combining it with going out to eat, prior. This week there was a guy, who I predicted to win, who, when his back was up against the wall at tribal council, outed a transgender guy saying that they couldn't trust him because if he was deceitful about that, just imagine what else he would be deceitful about. You can imagine the immediate horror among the tribe mates saying that coming out should always be the person's own decision and how dare he. There was shock on the transgender's face - a look of betrayal like this secret he shared with one person had been used to betray him. Also he had a look like, will my tribe still accept me and forgive me for not being completely honest with them. And then there was the shame of the betrayer who then realized, for the sake of money with the justification that he was helping Zeke to "come out", he had crossed the line and what he thought was a good move would be something so bad that he was immediately evicted and frankly now will even have a hard time living in the real world after this blunder. Think Bartman and the Cubs. Think Jane Fonda and vets. And then there is the conspiracy theory over-arching all this, that this was scripted because the immunity challenge had them spelling out the word "metamorphosis" which really isn't a Survivor word.

         You might see a little correlation with this passage. Judas, pretending to be Jesus' friend knows His itinerary. Jesus has shared with him where they will be staying so Judas knows when Jesus will be away from the crowds. He shares this with the High priests for money maybe with the rationalization that if Jesus wants to be the Messiah, He needs a little help. We will see in the future, the look of betrayal on Jesus' face and the remorse of Judas when he realizes what he did. He won't be able to live with it and will kill himself. And yet there is the over-arching conspiracy theory as suggested in Jesus Christ Superstar, that Judas was a pawn used by God to bring about His purposes. After all, didn't the Psalms predict that Jesus would be betrayed by a friend? Was not the whole scenario scripted out and Satan and Judas were used to their own demise?

       Obviously, God used this betrayal, and since He knows the future, wrote about it 1000 years prior in the Psalms through the Holy Spirit inspiring David. Yet Judas always had a choice. Unfortunately, his love for money opened him up to do the Devil's bidding. Also, his pride of thinking he had a better plan than Jesus may have been the impetus of the betrayal. Today, these factors are what allow Satan to run people's lives and eventually send them into eternal destruction - the love of money. pleasure, and the things of this world, and the belief that I have a better plan to get to Heaven - it's being a good person. Unfortunately, at judgement day - at tribal council, the judge will say depart from me, and then the regret, remorse, shame and finally realizing the mistake that they willingly made will haunt them for all eternity.

       Don't think you know better than Jesus. Don't miss eternity for the things of this world. You are getting duped by the "producer" of this world, Satan. Say "NO" and join into the plan of Christ for your life. It won't be easy as we will see the disciples fleeing for their lives, you won't be rich, you won't be popular, but you will be on the right side for all eternity and you will be the winner at the end.

Thoughts From Luke - Day 91

                                             Luke 21:5-36

⁵ Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, ⁶ “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”
⁷ “Teacher,” they asked, “when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?”
⁸ He replied: “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ Do not follow them. ⁹ When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away.”
¹⁰ Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.
¹² “But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. ¹³ And so you will bear testimony to me. ¹⁴ But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. ¹⁵ For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. ¹⁶ You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷ Everyone will hate you because of me. ¹⁸ But not a hair of your head will perish. ¹⁹ Stand firm, and you will win life.
²⁰ “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. ²² For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. ²³ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. ²⁴ They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
²⁵ “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. ²⁶ People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. ²⁷ At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
²⁹ He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. ³⁰ When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. ³¹ Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
³² “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
³⁴ “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. ³⁵ For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”³⁷ Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, ³⁸ and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple.


              People always want to know what the future will be like. If you have a prophecy series in Sunday School, Sunday Evening Church services, or have a guest speaker come in for a series on it, you can bet it will be highly attended. I just got an invitation in the mail to a cruise conference sponsored by Steeling the Mind, which tells me in the brochure that Christ will come back in 2018. Then there was the book 88 reasons that Jesus will come back in '88 which caused quite a stir, until He didn't. Look at the sales of the Left Behind books - surpassing 65 million copies. The Adventist Church draws people into it's church with prophecy conferences as does Calvary Chapel. As I was growing up I remember the book, The Late Great Planet Earth being a best seller and then there was the terrifying Thief in the Night movie ending with a guillotine that kept me awake with nightmares. It's nice to know we aren't alone in this curiousity as the disciples quizzed Jesus about it just days before He would be crucified. You would think there would be more important immediate questions to ask Him, but then again, they didn't understand that He was going to be leaving them. Still, Jesus honors their request with some details and some instructions which tells me that if Jesus taught about it, Churches that refuse to talk on these passages are probably remiss.

        First of all, some details, and one thing I don't think Jesus does is give them a time sequence as He mixes the near future with the distant future, but He does say what will happen.
     There will be natural disasters the likes of which we haven't seen before - earthquakes, famines, pestilences, signs from Heaven in the sun, moon, and stars including shaking, and roaring and tossing of the ocean. These will be so intense that people will faint in terror and have great apprehension.
     There will be false Messiahs deceiving people to follow them and they will even have some supernatural powers given to them by Satan. Many will be deceived by them.
      There will be increasing persecution of Christians not just by leaders but by the populous. Christians will be imprisoned and put to death. Christians will be hated so much, even their own family members will turn them in.
      There will be an increase in wars around the world.
      Lastly, Israel will be a hotbed of persecution. People will have to flee Jerusalem and run for their lives as gentiles persecute the Jews.
       You can see why many believe that the end is near because the news reports these signs happening throughout the world. It appears, however, that when Christ's return is immenent, there will be an intensity like we hadn't seen before.

       Then Jesus gives some instructions for believers on how to react in these times of trouble.
     First of all He says, "Look up"! We don't need to fear, worry, have anxiety, tremble, quake because we are on the side of the One causing these things to happen. We may not be exempt from let's say dying in an earthquake, but we do know that when our eyes open again we will be in Heaven. What is there to be afraid of when death leads to a better condition than life?
      Secondly, expect people to hate you because you are a Christian. We are to stand firm, don't cower, keep in step with the Spirit and He will tell you how to respond and how to behave. We don't need to be secretive, compromise, be ashamed because we are the ones who are on the right side. We have the truth and we know the Truth who will soon turn the questioning on them.
       Third, He says that we are to live as short-timers. What are you doing this evening that is going to make a difference in eternity. My brother-in-law recently went to be with the Lord. As my sister was watching the NCAA tournaments, she was saddened because she knew that he would have been so excited at how well the Badgers did.  I'm pretty sure he does't care about that stuff now. If I die before my wife I will have to tell her to tell me how The Walking Dead turns out when we meet up in Heaven. Haha. How meaningless compared to eternity.
        Lastly, be informed about prophecy and watch and expect His return at any minute. I mentioned the conference that says He is coming back in '18. They say this because Jerusalem was given back to the Jews in 1948 so the time of the Gentiles must be over. That means the "fig tree" has budded which means the generation (70 years) will not pass away before the Lord returns. I don't know about all that but what if it is true? What would you do differently this year?

Thoughts From Luke - Day 90

                                                        Luke 21:1-4

As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. ² He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ³ “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. ⁴ All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”


        I recently read a book by Randy Alcorn called "The Treasure Principle". It was recommended to our class by Cherie Crook a missionary to Thailand. It once again challenges me to think outside the box as to giving. The "box" is give 10% of your money to the Church and then if God moves you to support other ministries, and you can afford it, do so. I guess it is hard to call that "the box" when Christians, on average give 2-3% of their incomes and of the Christians who say they tithe, only 8% actually do. But anyway, growing up in the church, I would have to say that the previous view of giving that I mentioned is probably what most Christians espouse to.

        So what is thinking outside the box in regards to giving. In this passage we see it. The wealthy people are giving of their excess. It doesn't hurt. It doesn't inconvenience them. It probably elevates their standing in the church because they are known as "big givers". Then you have the widow. She has nothing and is giving what little she has to the Lord and trusting Him to meet her needs because He has promised to do that. The rich person is lets say a 10% giver and the widow is a 90% giver. Outside the box thinking says, shouldn't it be the other way around? Let's say someone is making $40,000 a year. (we will not factor in taxes for the sake of discussion) If they tithe, they are living off $36K a year and giving $4K. Let's say someone makes $400,000 a year. If they tithe, they give $40K a year and live off $360K. Now if the person at $36K per year is surviving, why can't the $360K per year live at the $36K level also and give $364K to the Lord a year? Imagine how many missionaries that would support? Imagine the impact on the poor, the third world countries, the rescuing ministries, etc. that you could make if you thought like this.

        R.G. Letourneau invented earth moving machines. He gave away 90% of his income. But the money came in faster than he could give it away. Letourneau said,"I shovel it out and God shovels it back, but God has a bigger shovel!" Andy Stanley often talks of percentage giving. He says that you should decide ahead of time, what percentage you are going to give and set it aside to make sure you do. If you just give throughout the year without a plan, you will always find that at the end of the year you gave less than you thought you did. We in America are all rich. If we own a house and a car, we have more than 95% of the rest of the world. What % are you giving? 10% is the minimum. Have you considered 25%? That is a good start and my guess is, it would barely hurt. Let's trust God and watch Him start trusting us with more once He knows our hands hold money with an open hand rather than a clenched fist. And don't you want Jesus bragging about your giving rather than being unimpressed with you?

Thoughts From Luke - Day 89

                                              Luke 20:41 - 47

⁴¹ Then Jesus said to them, “Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David? ⁴² David himself declares in the Book of Psalms:

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
⁴³ until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet.”’

⁴⁴ David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”

⁴⁵ While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, ⁴⁶ “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁷ They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.” 


         So Jesus has been defending himself from accusations and negotiating His way through traps set by the spies trying to trip Him up and reveal Him as a pretender. As Jesus skillfully weaves His way through and above these failed attempts, He suddenly takes the offensive. Jesus quotes a passage from Psalms and questions them. In effect He says that you have an incomplete view of the Messiah; you see him as a political rescuer but He is more than that - He is God. His argument leaves them speechless and ends their interrogation.

          I have read multiple books on apologetics. Apologetics is a study of Christianity that gives answers to help us defend what we believe against the objections to faith posed by skeptics. There are so many questions like

     If God is all good and all powerful, why doesn't He stop suffering
     Isn't it narrow minded to say Jesus is the only way to Heaven
     What about the people that have never heard
     How can a good God send people to eternal suffering in Hell
     How can you say the Bible is the Word of God when it is written by men
     The Bible contradicts itself
     How can we believe the Bible when evolution has been proven to be true
     If Christianity is true, why are there so many hypocrites

There are so many other questions, too, and I have dealt with these in a lot of my previous blogs. At some point though, wouldn't it be nice, like Jesus, to go on the offensive? Wouldn't it be nice for once instead of defending our belief to ask a question that makes them defend their unbelief? I wish I had a fool proof question like that. I've been thinking of one which I haven't used yet, but the next chance I get, I will. The question is, "How's that working for you"? My guess is they will say, "fine". So then I think it's time to meddle, sort of like Jesus did with the woman at the well. Follow-up questions would be, "So has your belief system given you a healthy marriage(s)." "How have your kids turned out being raised in that belief system?" (the Bible does say, "wisdom is proven right by her children") "Has your belief system given you happiness or are you on anti-depressives?" "Has your belief system given you peace or are you taking nerve medicine?" "Are you seeing a counselor?" "How much do you worry about getting older and dying?" Maybe you are thinking, this is not a good question at all and you will get punched in the face if you use this line of reasoning. OK, possibly, but that just shows it is hitting a nerve. Why don't we punch people in the face when they mock our faith? For one reason we are told to turn the other cheek and return love for hate. But the other reason is because we know we have the truth so we feel bad for those outside the faith. I do believe this offensive and offensive question will stop their line of questioning and even if they storm away, I believe, if the Holy Spirit is working on them, these questions will tug at their soul.

       Give it a try, if you dare, and I will to!

Thoughts From Luke - Day 88

                                              Luke 20:20-40

20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?”

“Caesar’s,” they replied.

25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”

26 They were unable to trap him in what he had said there in public. And astonished by his answer, they became silent.

27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question.28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second31 and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children.32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

39 Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

             It's interesting that this very line of questioning and spying is still going on in our day. We, in America, recently had a new president elected, Donald Trump. As we saw in the previous passages, people in general don't want someone in authority over them. It is especially difficult when you voted for someone else, to submit to the authority of the election winner. Therefore, the opposition party, rather than submit to his authority for four years, tries to trap him in words he says, thus worst case scenario undermining his credibility, best case scenario getting him impeached. Trump calls most of these accusations "fake news" but the fact is that he said so many outrageous things during the campaign and still got elected, he is pretty much Teflon. Just last week I noticed that they went after the vice president, Pence. He, a born again Christian, stated that he would not have dinner alone with any member of the opposite sex other than his wife. The "spies" who heard this immediately likened it to the Muslim treatment and disregard for women. Obviously, they said, he treats women differently than he treats men. All Pence was saying was that it is not wise for a married man to go out to dinner with another woman. But it all comes from not wanting that person in authority over you; if it was their party they would cut people slack.

              Jesus experienced the same thing. Those who liked Him said, "Well said" and those who didn't yelled "blasphemy". But, even at the end, when before the trial, witnesses could not get their stories right against Jesus because He was so above reproach in everything He did and said.

                That's the people that don't want Jesus as an authority in their life. Then you have the ones who do bow to Jesus but want to argue about theological issues as illustrated by the Saducees. (not that they received Jesus but they liked to argue theological issues) I recently stumbled upon a website called The Pulpit and the Pen. I guess I am one of the last to find it because some of their posts have 300,000 hits. When you scroll through their headlines they are criticizing Beth Moore for having a divine revelation, Nabeel Quereshi for having a vision, Matt Chandler for celebrating Lent with his family, Kari Jobe for teaching a dangerous theology, Andy Stanley for criticizing expository preaching, Dr.Craig for agreeing with Andy Stanley, Planetshakers, Hillsong, Elevation worship for prosperity theology, Southern Baptist Church for not coming down harder on the Shack, and that's page 1. It's interesting that Jesus, even though being drawn into a theological debate by unbelievers wanting both to trap Him and argue, still answers their question in one of the few Biblical insights we are given into Heaven. Why does He stoop down to their level? Because it was a theological discussion of utmost importance - is there a resurrection of the dead? This is an essential Christian doctrine along with the trinity, the depravity of man, substitutionary atonement, Christ's complete humanity and deity, the sufficiency and exclusivity of Christ's work, the need for a personal relationship with Christ, and the authority of the scriptures.

           I recently read that the number of Christians in America is approximately the population of New York state. The author said to picture that, take a map and color NY green and the rest of the US red, and you have a picture of what a minority we are. Still, 22 million Christians uniting can be a powerful force. We need to quit dividing over things like Carrie Underwood singing at Passion conferences yet when interviewed said she approved of gay marriage, so AFA was after Louie Giglio for allowing her to sing. We should be glad to have someone of her influence on our side. Then there is Nabeel Quereshi, the premier voice in the world arguing for Christianity over Islaam, who has lost family, friends, career, and soon his life as he battles cancer, and we are taking pot shots at him for having a vision?? And what's wrong with lent as long as you know these traditions don't save you? We need to quit fighting over things that don't matter like the King James Version vs. NIV or premillennial vs. amellenial, or Republican vs. Democrat and join hands as we follow and submit to Christ. Just picture these Pharisees and Saducees arguing over theology missing Christ standing right there in their presence. We as believers cannot do that!

           

Thoughts From Luke - Day 87

                                          Luke 20:17,18

Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone’?

¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

 

 

                   It's baseball season, YAY, and if you follow my blog at all, you see that I basically blog about two things - Jesus and baseball. I do blog about Christian music but I kind of include that under the broad heading of "Jesus". As the Brewers start the season, they have 7 players on their roster that have been rejected by other teams and are poised to add an 8th - Jared Hughes. They are hoping that like Junior Guerra, who the WhiteSox rejected and now has become the cornerstone of our pitching staff, that guys like Thames and Aguilar will do the same. To me it just says that one third of your roster is so bad, they couldn't make 30 other teams. Then you have guys that the Brewers let go like Diaz, who is going to make the Padre's team and Gennett who the Reds kept, and hopefully won't come back to haunt us like Nelson Cruz did.

 

            So this is what I think of today, as I read God's word. (Sad, isn't it) Jesus, the Son of God, the eternal King of the Universe, the hope of all mankind, comes to Earth, training camp, and they cut Him. Have you ever done anything like that? Maybe you passed on a good deal or an investment and it just exploded and now you are kicking yourself. Maybe there was a guy or girl who liked you and you weren't interested and now you regret it when you see how they turned out. That is nothing compared to this. Jesus' appearance on this planet is about your eternal life in Heaven or your eternal death in Hell and in this case the Pharisees had Him killed. Everyone today who rejects Him, as He appears in their life, commits the same tragic mistake as the Pharisees and when He appears before them in all His glory at the end, they will receive His crushing judgement - "You didn't want me in life, you can't have me in death". The good news is that if we are broken before Him today and say, "I fall before You and ask that You have mercy on me and forgive my sins. I surrender control of my life to You." - He forgives us for previously rejecting Him and comes into our lives. He doesn't really join our team, but we join His.

 

            Once we do that, He becomes the cornerstone of our life. Everything in our life takes off from Him, our foundation. That's why I can say the music I blog about is under the heading of Jesus. My occupation, money, movies I blog about, family raising hints, books I read, everything in my life falls under the heading of "Jesus". He is my foundation. He is my life. I haven't rejected Him but have come to Him broken and He has built me up and put me back together with Himself at the core and it is a great life!! Have you chosen to receive Christ? Do it today!! Don't be a fool like the Pharisees. Jesus is coming to your camp. Are you going to keep Him or cut Him?

Thoughts From Luke - Day 86

                                           Luke 20:10-16.19

 He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. ¹⁰ At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. ¹¹ He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. ¹² He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
¹³ “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’
¹⁴ “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ ¹⁵ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶ He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”
¹⁹ The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.


         Here in this parable we see the Christian world view. First of all, our lives, our very existence, everything we have and are, is due to a good benevolent Father and all He asks of mankind is their recognition of that and submission to His rule over them. Unfortunately mankind has said that they don't want His rule over them nor do they want to recognize that everything they are and have is due to Him. How dare He tell us what is right or wrong, what to do with our money, or interfere with my sex life for example. I recently watched a season of the Bachelor with my wife and there was this one young woman that was trying to win him over with her sexuality. One night she even snuck into his bedroom to try to get an advantage. At the "women tell all" episode, it was interesting to see how many women stuck up for her saying we are all free to express ourselves sexually any way we want to and how dare we judge. In other words, "God, you have no right into this area of my life." No wonder we are in a post-Christian time in our country, people don't want God telling them how to live.

      Does this post-Christian society kill the messengers like they did in this parable? No, we're too civilized for that, so we use the legal system to destroy them. I was just reading a book by Randy Alcorn who tells of his experience with Operation Rescue, which was an anti-abortion movement late in the 20th century, that tried to rescue babies before they were killed. I use those harsh terms because that is what the Bible teaches these fetuses are and how God, whose rule we are under, views them. He was imprisoned and fined $9.5 million by a court ruling. All this because women don't want God telling them what they can or can't do with "their" bodies.

      Let me explain evolution to you. Hundreds of millions of years ago, lightening struck a pool and the right combination of elements were present to form the precursor amino acids to life, Somehow a single celled organism came to life and replicated and over time grew legs and breathing ability and crawled onto dry land. Over millions of years this turned into monkeys which turned into us, this all happening despite the fact that in this world disorder doesn't turn into order, random doesn't turn into complex, there are no transitional forms walking around in our world to illustrate this happening, and if it did happen, there would have to be one of the opposite sex forming at the same pace in the same vicinity for the species to survive. The amazing thing to me is that people believe this and you can't get a job in a university science department if you don't. Why? Because if evolution is true, then there is no God in authority over you and that is what the vineyard people in the parable wanted and it is still true today.

       The APA, American psychiatric Association listed Homosexuality as a psychiatric illness until 1973 until a group of activists engineered the change in definition. Over 40 years it has evolved from abnormal behavior to something so normal that it should be taught in schools to our children as an alternative life style and if people feel differently they should attend cultural sensitivity classes. In fact, it has become a crime in California to counsel a person out of a homosexual lifestyle even if they ask for help. How could things have changed so much in 40 years that it has been proposed that now there be a psychologic illness called "intolerant personality disorder" where people that exhibit racism, sexism, or homophobia are the mentally ill ones? It happens because God calls homosexuality a sin and people don't want God telling them how to live their life and who they can and can't have sex with. Therefore the messengers aren't killed today, they are just removed from their positions of influence.

           Even in the midst of this, God, the vineyard owner, sends His son to them as their last chance because He doesn't want to remove them from His presence. He doesn't want to judge us. Don't they realize that without God's goodness, there is no vineyard- there is no food- there is no home- their family would starve... Everything good in life is from God and they are pushing Him out of their existence. The choice is up to us - are we willing to bow our knee to Him and surrender our lives to Him or will He some day say to you, "you didn't want me in life, you will not have me in death either. Go into an eternal existence without me, without any goodness, a place so bad I call it Hell."