The month of June was not what I call easy or comfortable.
Because of the crazy stuff going on in life I didn't have time to post extra post after the first 25 devotions from Luke. I have a lot in the draft pile but I didn't have time to get them ready.
However, tomorrow the devotions will return. I hope they are a blessing as you are growing as a disciple
Charlie
Luke 7:11-17
There are some questions that can never be answered. Why this young man and not some other or all young men? There was no doubt there were many funeral processions across Palestine that day. But it was this one that Jesus interrupted. Some questions are easy to answer. Why did Jesus do this act of kindness? Because of compassion! The Greek doctor Luke writes the gospel to Theophilus who would have been well aware of the Stoics. Every religion and philosophy has to deal with the problem of pain. The approach of the Stoics was if you don't care then you'll never get hurt. They projected this toward their concept of the divine; God was completely apathetic about suffering. Nothing hurt him because he had perfect apathy. This worldview both explains the presence of evil or suffering and at least, in theory, provides a way for them to deal with suffering.
In a worldview where god cares not at all, Jesus comes and is full of compassion. It is expressed for this poor widow. Compassion so strong His stomach was tied in knots. It was compassion so intense that it compelled Him to heal the young man. In verse 15, Luke uses the medical term “sat up”. This is a term used by doctors to describe a completely healed person.
In the world religions it is not hard to find a god that is vengeful, vindictive, peevish, angry or apathetic. But a caring deity, this is the greatest of rarities. Luke by the guidance of the Holy Spirit links these two stories. First is the story of faith great enough to ask and then a story of the God who cares. We can live in the realization that what breaks my heart is known to God and beyond that He cares.
So, what are my fears, what are my hurts, where do I need the Lord to do what only the Lord can do?
Luke 7:1-10
Jesus and “The Long shot”. Luke who was the only gentile Gospel writer, brings us this story of an outsider being treated amazingly well. There are plenty of reasons that the man should not have received this blessing. First, he was a gentile. Jesus himself said that he was in pursuit of the lost sheep of Israel. The effort to reach the gentiles was not yet on the schedule. Second, the elders of the Jews were making the request. These were likely the leaders of the synagogue. Is it from this synagogues that the opposition to Jesus was being formed? These leaders were not necessarily supporters; in fact, they may have been part of the opposition movement. Third, their claim as to why Jesus should do this miracle was that the Centurion earned it. To say, “he is worthy of” about any human being must be said in the context of punishment, hell, or damnation. This man had not earned God's favor; no one has!
But there was something about this man; it was his faith. In fact, Luke tells us that Jesus marveled at him. The word “marvel” is often used for and translated “wonders” the tremendous miracles of God that cause people to be awestruck. Such faith is so rare in that moment that Jesus was awestruck by this man's faith. God is never left speechless, but for this instant God made flesh comes close. Jesus was in wide-eyed wonder.
Nothing could be a better recommendation than to have the Lord say, “Your faith amazes me.” Where in my life is there a place where my faith can so be described?
"Lord, Help me have a faith that amazes You. AMEN"
Luke 6:43-49
How many times have we heard after the conviction of a person for some horrible crime their parent, friend, or spouse or the convict himself/herself says he/she is not a bad person or protests they’re really a good person. Jesus takes a different position. Jesus says that the evil that we produce and manifest comes from that which we have stored up in our hearts. Behavior is the overflow of the warehouse that we call the heart. We are the ones who admit or reject the packaging or the cargo that comes to the warehouse of the heart.
There is an unbreakable link between our hearts and our behavior. Talk is cheap, especially religious talk. Mouthing the right religious or pious words without the heart commitment is in Jesus' opinion a perfect plan for disaster. When behavior does not conform to the will of the Lord (note He said nothing about words) it is like a house built on sand. Jesus says nothing about the motivation for such a building plan. He expresses the fact that ruin is the only possibility for a house built without a foundation. Comforting and pious words that are not true words, that do not warn, are the most deadly poison. While not stated directly, we can suppose without doing violence to the Scripture, that the man who built without a foundation was shocked. He had no idea that his home would be completely ruined. For him ruin was inconceivable, the inevitable never occurred to him.
What fills out heart inevitably comes out; that is inevitable. We need to learn to ignore our own pious words and take careful, serious inventory of our hearts.
“Lord, bring your judgment on the contents of my heart. AMEN”
Luke 6:39-42
There is no point at which a disciple can say, “I have arrived.” A disciple will never surpass the one who is teaching them; the most we can hope for is to be fully like the teacher. As a disciple of Christ, I am therefore in pursuit of being fully like Christ. In my pursuit of being like Jesus others may help me, but if they are not in pursuit of Christ they will blindly lead me into a pit. They may have a piece of lumber in their eye as they try to correct my vision. Others may help me along as I follow Christ, but it is Christ alone whom I follow. It is also incumbent upon me that I make sure people do not follow me as my disciple; if they follow me it is only as we follow Christ together.
“But everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.” What do the words “fully trained” mean? It is a little difficult to translate with a single English word. It could be translated fit, repair, perfect, bring to proper condition and adjust. It is a compound of the words meaning “down” and “complete” or “fitted”. An imperfect picture is that of a jigsaw puzzle-the right piece in the right place is the perfect fit. This is an imperfect description because the word implies that the piece is being shaped and does not come ready-made. Our role as a disciple requires our shaping. The word implies that there is a place in the puzzle for each disciple, but before they can be put into the puzzle they must be trimmed, cut down, or formed. This carries an implication beyond simply learning. We have assumed that becoming a disciple is almost synonymous with learning. Oftentimes discipleship training is a little more than an academic exercise. The reality is discipleship is about reshaping us to fit the shape of Christ. It includes knowledge, attitude and actions in which we are to be reshaped to be like Jesus. We will never fully arrive, but the goal and the direction is clear.
“Lord, shape me by whatever means necessary that I can be like Jesus. AMEN”
Luke 6:27-38
Verse 38 is often used to motivate generosity and giving. More than a few ministers have used this verse to teach that if we put money in the offering plate God will bless us with fabulous wealth. The problem is, that is not the context of this passage. It seems unlikely that Jesus would suddenly break his train of thought to give a proof text about financial generosity.
Proactive mercy is a uniquely Christian concept. Some religions teach mercy or forgiveness in a limited way. Some actually teach revenge. Most support a negative form of the golden rule, “Don't do to others the things that you would not want them to do to you.” This passage is a radical departure from everything else we see in faith systems. Jesus calls for proactive mercy. Not just mercy in response to evil perpetrated against us, but mercy actively directed toward those who have or likely will hurt us.
Giving and sharing with people who are like us has no real proof of moral quality or character; child pornographers share their pictures with each other. If we share with those with whom we have much in common we are at least as good as a child pornographer. God gives to those who are His enemies even while they are His enemies. He is kind to ungrateful and evil men. So, that is my goal, to be like my Father and to be kind to those who hold me with some antipathy. The last line in verse 37 is unnerving, “pardon and you will be pardoned”. This is not talking about earning salvation by forgiving, but rather, if we don't forgive we become a person so twisted that we will not want to be forgiven. But as we forgive we realize how precious it is and we begin to desire it. We desire it even for others. If verse 38 were paraphrased to include the context, it might read, “Give loving kindness and it will be given to you; loving kindness will fill every corner and crevice of your life and then more. The way you pour it out is the way you will want and get it.”
“God grant that I will be person of Your kind of mercy. AMEN”
Luke 6:20-26
The Sermon on the Plain is very like The Sermon on the Mount, but with a different context. Both were directed at Jesus' disciples. In this context, Jesus has just begun to be rejected by the religious elite and they were filled with rage beginning their discussions that would one day lead to his murder. Having been rejected and then appointing His apostles, Jesus tells his disciples that a completely different system of values and priorities needs to be theirs. Notice the contrast that Jesus sets up:
Blessed are you who are poor vs Woe to you who are rich!
Blessed are you who hunger vs Woe to you who are well fed!
Blessed are you who weep vs Woe to you who laugh!
Blessed are you when men hate you vs Woe to you when men speak well of you!
The list could have been nearly endless, but Jesus provides examples enough to demonstrate that the values of the world’s system are the opposite of the values of His kingdom. We ought to also note that the blessings are kingdom values, and relative to behavior. If a person is poor because they have given up all for the kingdom, they are blessed. But if they are poor as a result of addiction, or gambling, or investments and get-rich-quick schemes, there is no blessing there. These are kingdom values not circumstantial ones.
The four woes Jesus presents are a near perfect description of any self-centered culture especailly ours. What more could a person want other than to be well off, satisfied, having fun, and well liked? How much of our energy is directed at one of these four? But the result is that in the long run, none of them lasts. They all end in vanity and emptiness.
The Lord points out that with every blessing or woe there is a judgment. With each statement there are two parts-the current situation and the end result. The values of the world will always focus on the current condition. The disciple will always focus on the Kingdom condition. If all we look at are the current conditions, it makes no sense to be a disciple. But if what Jesus says about the Kingdom condition is true only a fool would desire the values of this world.
Blessed are you who are poor, you possess the kingdom of God.
Woe to you who are rich there is nothing more for you.
Blessed are you who hunger now, you will be satisfied.
Woe to you who are well fed now, all you have to anticipate is hunger.
Blessed are you who weep now, you will one day laugh.
Woe to you who laugh now, you will live in deep regret.
Blessed are you when men hate you, in the Kingdom you will be in great company.
Woe to you when men speak well of you, popular opinion is wrong and you are in the wrong company.
“Lord, help me to live the values of Your Kingdom and not this world. AMEN”
