Luke 10:1-3

Luke 10:1-3

After these things, the Lord also appointed seventy others and He sent them ahead of Himself, two by two, into all the cities and places where He was not about to come.  And He was saying to them, “On one hand, the harvest is great.  But on the other hand the workers are few.  Therefore, inquire of the Lord of the harvest how He should cast workers out into His harvest.  Go!  See!  I send you as lambs in the midst of wolves.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The harvest is great.  In other words, there are plenty of people who can come to know God.  There are plenty of people who are in the world and of the world.  There are plenty of people who are even willing to hear about God. But, the laborers are few.  There are fewer people who are capable of genuinely talking about their faith than there are people willing to listen.  It’s just a reality.  Even among Christians there are fewer people willing to talk about their faith than there are people who profess to have faith.

Are you willing to talk about your faith?  When do you hesitate?  When are you bold?

Second Thought:

I have never really studied the second half of Luke 10:2 before.  I’ve always been taught that this verse is Jesus telling us to pray that God sends out harvesters.  That’s always sat wrong with me, and I’ve never figured out why.  First of all, the word here in the Greek is dethete (δεήθητε), which means “to ask” or to “inquire” rather than “to pray.”  Second, we hear that Jesus has the word “how” in this sentence.  We aren’t to beg God to send out harvesters, of course God will do that!  Rather, we are to humble ourselves before God and ask how the harvesters are going to be sent out.  This is a verse about submission before the Father.

How has God sent you out?  How have you submitted to God in order to listen?

Third Thought:

Verse three has always haunted me.  Who likes to think of themselves ad lambs in the middle of wolves?  But it is absolutely true.  Jesus wants us to go out with a sacrificial mindset, crucifying ourselves so that we can do the work of God in a world that rejects Him.  Of course people will take advantage of us.  Of course people will abuse us and reject us.  They did it to Christ, why should we expect any different treatment?  However, what I think haunts me even more is that Christ knows this ahead of time and still sends us.  He knows we will be rejected and mistreated yet He still sends us.  Again, this is not surprising.  He came to this earth knowing what was to happen.  We are just imitating Him and His life.  Yet it is still haunting to know and follow anyways.

Where have you been rejected for your faith?  When have you been rejected, knew about it beforehand, and still followed God?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 10:4-7

Luke 9:57-62

Luke 9:57-62

And after they travelled along the road, someone said to Him, “I will follow you wherever you should go.”  And Jesus said to Him, “Foxes have holes and the birds of heaven have nests.  But the Son of Man does not have anywhere that He should lay His head.”  And He said to another, “Follow me.”  But the man said, “Permit me first to go and bury my father.”  And He said to him, “Leave the dead alone to bury their own dead.  And you, after leaving proclaim the kingdom of God.”  And still another said, “I will follow you, Lord.  But first permit me to say goodbye to the ones in my house.”  Jesus said to Him, “After putting his hand upon the plough and while looking backwards is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Each of the three people in this passage give us an incredible circumstance.  This first man is perhaps the least incredible.  When he tells Jesus that he desires to follow, Jesus responds by telling him that He has nothing.  In other words, material possessions aren’t going to be a big part of the game.  Following Jesus means feeling like we don’t really have much of a home in this world.  That’s a reality that all of us should accept if we follow Jesus.

When have you felt the pull between the things of this world and the things of God?  Which are the things that last the longest?

Second Thought:

The second man gives us the most incredible circumstance.  Certainly Jesus is not telling us that it is bad to bury our loved ones.  But Jesus is telling us that doing the bidding of the Father takes precedence.  The work of the Father is more important; although the two are certainly not mutually exclusive.  Jesus is also teaching us a highly symbolic lesson.  In Christ, who is truly dead?  Nobody!  The dead – symbolically speaking – are beyond our ability to help them.  We should be focused on the living, not the dead.

When have you had to make a tough choice about obeying God?  Have you ever been criticized because of the choice you made?

Third Thought:

This third situation gives us another incredible circumstance.  Jesus is not telling us that it is bad to love our families and want to say goodbye.  What Jesus is doing here is giving us a lesson on priorities.  First of all, if we are truly doing the work of God, no follower of God should get offended.  True followers of God will know that the greatest priority is following God, not making family happy.  Jesus is also telling us about perspective.  For those of us who belong to God, there is no such things as goodbye.  How will we ever be separated when we have an eternal life together with the Father?

Have you ever put the needs of your family ahead of the desires of God?  Have you ever forgotten to live with an eternal perspective on relationships instead of a temporal perspective?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 10:1-3

Luke 9:51-56

Luke 9:51-56

And it became in His days to be received, He set His face firmly to travel into Jerusalem.  And He send out messengers before His presence.  And after traveling, they entered into a Samaritan city so as to make preparations for Him.  And they did not receive Him, because His presence was traveling into Jerusalem.  And after the disciples James and John saw this they said, “Do you desire that we should speak fire to come down from heaven and to consume them?”  And after turning back He rebuked them.  And they travelled into another town.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus begins the march towards Jerusalem.  The beginning of the end has come – and we’re only in chapter 9!  Jesus is prepared.  The disciples can be prepared the rest of the way in what time remains.  But as Jesus heads towards Jerusalem, this Samaritan village doesn’t receive Him.  They don’t receive Him because He is a Jew headed to Jerusalem.    This is a highly symbolic story.  As Jesus goes to the cross, we know that the crowd of Jews and their leaders will reject Him.  But as we see here in this story, the leaders of the world reject Him, too.

Where do you see the rejection of Jesus in the world around you?  How do you resist that element of humanity?

Second Thought:

I love the humanity that we see here in James and John.  They want to defend Jesus’ honor.  They want to whip people into shape.  They puff up in bravado.  But have you ever thought about their request?  Where in the Bible have we ever seen a disciple call down fire from heaven?  Where have we ever seen Jesus do it?  I’m not saying Jesus couldn’t do it; I’m saying that it is a totally inappropriate response.  I love that the disciples want to defend Jesus.  But their thoughts are misguided.  They start is a reasonable place and quickly go into the unreasonable.

Have you ever spent time condemning people?  Is that your place? 

Third Thought:

Jesus moves on.  This is a simple thought.  It is easily overlooked.  Do you notice the incredible lack of negative response on Jesus’ benefit?  Jesus doesn’t feel the need to condemn them!  God will take care of that in due time.  If these people are deserving of condemnation, God will do it.  If they aren’t deserving of condemnation, then Jesus certainly doesn’t want to go against God!  The point s, Jesus came here to act and encourage people to draw close to the Father.  He will leave the condemnation to the Father.  People have a right to make up their own mind.  Jesus moves on to those who will receive Him.

Why can Jesus move on in this story rather than bring down fire as the disciples desire?  How can you learn to imitate Christ in this regard?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:57-62

Luke 9:49-50

Luke 9:49-50

Answering, John said, “Master, we saw some who were casting out demons in your name.  And we forbid him, because he does not follow with us.”  And Jesus said to them, “Do not forbid it, for whoever is not against you is for you.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Once more we have a story in the bible about spiritual warfare.  There are many people waging war against the forces of evil in the world.  Jesus takes this topic seriously.  The disciples certainly take this topic seriously.  We should take this topic seriously as well.  If we believe that there is an all-powerful God in the universe drawing us towards Him and His righteousness, we should also take seriously the idea that this God has forces working against Him in His endeavor, too.

Where have you seen evil at work?  Where have you battled spiritually against this evil?

Second Thought:

The disciples forbid the man who was casting out demons in Jesus’ name.  Again, I think we see the pride of the disciples coming out.  A few days ago they didn’t understand.  Yesterday we talked about how they argued, likely to cover up the fact that they didn’t understand.  Now, we get a story about how the disciples try to take control.  This is why it was so important to understand the story from a few days back.  When the disciples are afraid to ask because they don’t want to look stupid, they make mistakes in judgment again and again.  Because they don’t ask, they don’t learn.  When they don’t learn, they can’t act as they should.

Does it make sense to see how the mistakes of the disciples are coming from their inability to understand?  Why is it important to ask questions?  How does this help us understand why mentoring is so important?

Third Thought:

I think this is one of the more important teachings for the modern church.  Whoever is not against you is for you.  This is drastically different than what often feels like the motto of modern Christianity: Whoever is not for you is against you.  How often do we like to spend time arguing in church? How often do we squabble and fight and make others feel badly because they don’t agree with us?  I think in this arena the Moravians have it right.  Their church motto is simple: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in everything, love.”  Jesus tells us quite bluntly.  If someone is not your enemy, then they are on your side.  When it comes to faith, this is especially true.  Religion is an incredibly divisive topic.  If someone doesn’t want to fight you on it, they are likely your friend.

Have you ever fought with someone when you should have welcomed them?  Why is it easy to let things divide us that shouldn’t?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:49-50

Luke 9:46-48

Luke 9:46-48

And a debate became among them, about who is the greatest of them.  And having known about the debate within their hearts – after taking a child – Jesus set him near them.  And He said to them, “Whoever should receive this child upon my name, he receives me.  And whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.  For the least who begins in you all, this one is the greatest.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I always find it interesting that the debate about greatness is told to us immediately after the disciples don’t understand the message of Christ.  In fact, I think this is meant to teach us about humanity.  When human beings feel threatened, we often react in bravado to cover over our deficiency.  All of the disciples just demonstrated that they don’t understand what Christ taught in the last section of scripture.  They compensate by filling their own hearts with aspirations of their own importance.  This is simple human nature.

Why do human beings react this way?  When are you tempted to react out of your bravado rather than confess your shortcoming?

Second Thought:

How does Jesus deal with human bravado?  Jesus grabs a child and sets the child among them.  After all, who expects a child to have life figured out?  Who expects a child to be best?  Jesus says, if you want to be great, accept a person like this into your life.  Isn’t this a neat call to discipleship?  If we want to be great, we need to receive people who haven’t got life figured out and then mentor them!  This should truly make sense.  After all, isn’t that what Jesus does?

Ave you ever thought of mentoring as an indicator of greatness?  How do you think the world at large would react to this teaching?  What about pop culture?  What about the business world?

Third Thought:

Jesus’ conclusion in this passage is subtle and easy to miss.  Jesus isn’t really saying that the least among the followers is the greatest.  Don’t get me wrong.  That is a message that the rest of scripture makes, so I am not saying that such a message is incongruous with the Bible.  What I am saying is that Jesus is making a different point in the Gospel of Luke.  If a person of least stature wants to become great, they need to begin the process of being a disciple of Jesus.  How does one become great?  One becomes great by becoming a follower.  One becomes great through submission.  One becomes great by following in the footsteps of Christ.  One becomes great by letting go of his own aspirations and embracing the will of God.

Have you begun the process of being a disciple of Christ?  How are you submitting to God?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:49-50

Luke 9:43-45

Luke 9:43-45

And while all were marveling upon all the things that He was doing, He said to His disciples, “Place these words into your ears!  For the Son of Man is about to be handed over into the hands of mankind.”  And they were not understanding this saying – it was even being concealed from them in order that they should not perceive it.  And they were afraid to ask Him regarding this saying.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The world wonders at Jesus.  The disciples wonder at Jesus.  It is natural to wonder at all of the amazing ways that God interacts with us.  However, notice what Jesus does.  Jesus doesn’t let them wonder.  He doesn’t let them stay amazed.  Jesus begins to teach them again.  Jesus doesn’t miss an opportunity.  They want to be amazed and bask in the glory of it all.  Jesus is moving on into the next lesson.  His focus is always on what God is about to do, not what He has already done.

Do you ever get caught marveling at the past instead of preparing for what God plans to do?  Have you ever missed a lesson because you were too busy being caught up in the moment?

Second Thought:

Jesus tells His disciples the honest truth.  Jesus is about to be handed off into the power of mankind.  Jesus begins to prepare the disciples for what God is ultimately going to do.  But they didn’t get it.  They didn’t understand.  They were too overwhelmed by what God had done that they couldn’t grasp what God was getting ready to do.  Of course, I’m not sure that I can fault them.  Had I been in their shoes, I doubt I would have had any more of a clue than them.

Why is it dangerous to be focused on the past?  Why do we have an inherently difficult time being able to understand the present and future when we focus upon the past?

Third Thought:

Furthermore, they are afraid to ask.  I can see them being afraid for multiple reasons.  First of all, I can see them being afraid because they don’t understand.  They don’t want to look stupid or slow.  They don’t want to give Jesus the idea that they aren’t worthy of following Him.  But it might also be that they are afraid to ask because they can’t figure out how what Jesus is saying could be any good at all.  How can being handed over into the hands of mankind end well?  They may not want to know, so they don’t ask.  In any case, they stay in their ignorance because of their fear.

When has your fear kept you from understanding?  What are you afraid of enough that you would not want to know about it from God?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:46-48

Luke 9:41-43

Luke 9:41-43

Answering, Jesus said, “Oh, faithless generation having been turned away from the right path!  For how long will I be with you and endure you all?  Bring your son here to this place.”  While drawing near, the demon rent him and convulsed him completely.  And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit. He healed the child and gave him to his father.  And all were being astonished at this mighty power of God.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus no doubt feels a combination of sorrow and disappointment for the crowd around Him.  The evidence of our sinfulness is always present.  We cannot live out of our faith in all circumstances.  We can get a sense of Jesus’ frustration here.  I can only imagine what it is like for God to see generation after generation fall to sin.  He knows it will happen; but He also knows that we were created for better than this.  We should live in our walk with Him.  Instead, so often we live in the world and its limited perspective.

Where is your perspective limited by your humanity?  How can you learn to live out of your faith instead of your fallen humanity?

Second Thought:

The demon pts up a final struggle.  When sin takes root in our life, it doesn’t go away easily.  It never goes away without putting up resistance.  It usually comes to a head before being dealt with in a final manner.  As we saw yesterday, this scenario is a great lens through which we can view the struggle against sinfulness that each of us face.

Where have you felt the struggle of sin in your life?  When have you felt that struggle come to a head before dealing with it?

Third Thought:

Jesus heals the boy.  Jesus gives the boy back to his father.  The people are amazed.  It all seems so normal.  But there really is a great element to notice when we hear these words.  Jesus heals the boy and then gives the boy back into the care of his father.  While this seems completely natural – and it is – remember that the boy was under the care of the father when this evil spirit came upon him.  Jesus could have easily condemned the man for not being the guardian that he should have been.  But Jesus brings no such condemnation.  Jesus heals and trusts.  Jesus looks to a sinner and entrusts something that He just made right again.  That’s how God deals with all of us.  We are all sinners.  God places His creation into our hands, whether we deserve it or not.

Where does God trust you?  How does this show God’s compassion?  How does this show God’s forgiveness?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:43-45

Luke 9:37-40

Luke 9:37-40

And it became on the next day, after He came down from the mountain, a great crowd met Him.  And behold!  A man from the crowd cried out, saying, “Teacher, I beg you to look upon my son because he is my only-begotten.  And behold!  A spirit takes him and it cries out suddenly and it convulses him with foam at the mouth.  And it goes away from him with great difficulty while breaking him.  And I begged your disciples in order that they should cast it out, and they were not powerful enough.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Here is a bold father.  He is driven by compassion.  His only-begotten son is affected by a horrible spirit.  He is willing to rise above the crowd for the sake of his son.  He is willing to risk the rejection of Jesus for the possibility of receiving the healing of Jesus.  There is much to be commended in this man.

Where are you willing to risk?  Where are you willing to stand out against the crowd and call attention to your needs and shortcomings?

Second Thought:

Look at how the demon interacts with the boy.  The demon attempts to gain control.  Once it has control, it attempts to bring harm to the boy.  Once it has control, it is hard to get control back.  This is just what demons try to do.  This is what anything that influences us into sin tries to do.  It takes us where we do not want to go while making it seem like we do.  Once we get there, it makes it feel like we don’t have what it takes to get back to a place of health.

Where do you wrestle for control against sin in your life?  How do you get control back when sin has taken it from you?

Third Thought:

The disciples are not powerful enough to cast out this demon.  This is an interesting point.  I don’t want to make too much of it, however.  I think we can learn a lesson here, but we shouldn’t be critical of the disciples in doing so.  The disciples aren’t powerful enough.  Who among us is powerful enough?  Can any of us cast out a demon on our own power?  Of course not.  We can only do great and amazing things when we turn to and rely upon a great and amazing God.

How much do you rely upon God?  How powerful are you?  How powerful are you when you are resting in God’s hands?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:41-43

Luke 9:34-36

Luke 9:34-36

And while he said these things, a cloud became and it was overshadowing them.  They were afraid in their entry into the cloud.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, the one who has been chosen.  Listen to Him!”  And in the coming of the voice, Jesus was being found alone.  And the kept silent and they told nobody in those days anything that they have seen.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Ever have that moment when you speak and only after the words are out of your mouth do you realize you shouldn’t have spoken?  I can only imagine that’s just how Peter feels in this story.  He’s in the middle of nervous babbling when a supernatural crowd surrounds him.  That’s God’s way of telling Peter to shut up.  Peter is babbling; God wants to interrupt Him and remind Him what is truly important.  God puts the focus on Jesus and stops Peter from continuing his nervous babbling.

When has God intervened into your life in a dramatic way that got your attention? Do you find that God frequently or rarely interjects Himself into your thoughts, words, and actions?

Second Thought:

I also can’t fault the disciples in their fear.  They wake up and see Jesus talking with two long-dead people.  Suddenly they are surrounded by a cloud.  The cloud would serve to limit their visibility.  If it was thick enough it might have also isolated them from one another.  All things being equal, I’m pretty sure I would have been afraid, too.  I can’t really even fault them for not saying anything after the event, either.  How exactly do you explain what just happened to them without the people around you thinking that you are crazy?

Are you ever afraid when you are in the presence of God?  Why should fear be one of our natural reactions?

Third Thought:

God gives the disciples great advice.  Listen to Jesus.  It’s so simple, isn’t it?  Just listen to Him.  He is the one who has been chosen.  He is the Messiah.  He is the redeemer.  He is the one who makes sanctification possible.  Why wouldn’t we listen to Him?

Why don’t we often listen to Him?  Why do we need to be reminded to listen to Him?  When are you most likely to need to be reminded to listen to Him?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:37-43

Luke 9:32-33

Luke 9:32-33

And Peter – and the ones with him – were having been weighed down in sleep.  And after waking they saw His glory and the two men who stood with Him.  And it became in their departure from Him, Peter said to Jesus, not knowing what he was saying, “It is good for us to be here and we should make three tents: one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Peter, James, and John were weighed down in sleep.  They were tired.  This description gives us the idea that they were exhausted to the point of not being able to keep their eyes open any longer.  They didn’t choose to sleep because they were being disrespectful.  They didn’t sleep to ignore Jesus.  They were exhausted.  Ministry exhausts us.

When have you been tired after doing ministry?  When have you needed sleep so badly that you had to stop doing ministry and rest?

Second Thought:

Notice that Jesus doesn’t chastise Peter, James, and John.  We should be careful to not compare this story to the Garden of Gethsemane.  Jesus doesn’t mind Peter and James and John sleeping while He is meeting with Moses and Elijah.  Their presence was not required; it was not necessary.  They were invited to come, but they really had no significant role to play except to witness the encounter.

How does this passage show Jesus’ compassion?  If you were meeting with Moses and Elijah and those close to you were sleeping through the encounter, how would you have felt about their action?

Third Thought:

This story teaches us a great lesson about human beings.  Most of us aren’t really all that comfortable in the silence.  When we don’t know what to say, we usually just babble.  We tend to speak nervously.  Peter does that here.  He wakes up.  He’s probably a bit flustered and embarrassed that he almost slept through his opportunity to meet Elijah and Moses in person.  He doesn’t know what to say, so he speaks.  He tries to prolong the encounter while his brain catches up to the situation.  He would have been better served to be patient and accept the moment that God created in the manner that God created it.

How many times have you spoken when you should have kept your mouth shut?  When are you most likely to say something that shows your ignorance?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:34-36

Luke 9:28-31

Luke 9:28-31

And it became after these sayings – about eight days later – after taking Peter and James and John, He went up into the mountain to pray.  And in His praying, the appearance of His face became another; and His clothing became white while glistening.  And behold!  Two men were talking with Him; they were Moses and Elijah. These ones who were being seen in glory were talking about His departure, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Once more we see Jesus taking His three closest disciples away from the rest of the people.  We aren’t really told why Jesus does this, but we can make a good speculation.  Jesus knows that He is going up the mountain to speak with Moses and Elijah.  That’s going to take a certain amount of faith to see.  Jesus knows that they are going to talk about the coming trial and His death.  That’s going to take a certain amount of faith to hear.  Jesus takes the disciples that are closest to Him because He knows that they are going to be willing to see and hear these things.  Jesus also knows that He’ll be able to explain the meaning to them far better as a small group than as a big group.

Have you ever been in a situation when you knew that a small group would be better than a big group?  Have you ever had to explain something to a group of people and you were happy it was to a small group and not a big group?

Second Thought:

We should not be surprised to hear that this happened while Jesus was praying.  It should make sense to us that when we look to commune with the Father we will be most likely to hear from Him.  It isn’t that He is more willing to talk to us when we pray; it is that we are most likely to hear Him speaking when we pray.  Jesus knows this too, although He certainly isn’t ever in a position to not hear the Father.  He is modeling good posture between human beings and the Father.

Do you ever struggle hearing from God?  In those moments, how is your prayer life?  Why is it important to have a routine about your prayer life?

Third Thought:

Jesus speaks to Moses and Elijah about His departure.  In telling us this, Luke is telling us a great deal about the character of Jesus.  Jesus knows that He is going to die.  He talks to Moses and Elijah about His death.  When he comes down off of the mountain and finishes His ministry and then heads to Jerusalem, He knows what He is doing.  He knows what is coming.  Yet He does it anyways.  Jesus came to atone for our sins.  He knows it, He knows what it will cost, and He surges ahead with submissive obedience to the Father.

Are you ever impressed with the consistent obedience by Jesus?  How do these passages inspire you?  How do these passages help you imitate a godly life?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:32-33

Luke 9:24-27

Luke 9:24-27

“For whoever desires to save his life will destroy it.  And whoever should destroy his life for my sake, this one will save it.  For what man gains an advantage after gaining the whole world after also destroying himself and suffering loss?  For whoever should be ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of this one when He should come in the glory of Him, His Father, and the holy angels.  And I speak truth to you all: some of the ones standing here are ones who should surely not taste death until they should see the kingdom of God.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus talks about seeking to save life in the opening part of this passage.  What Jesus is talking about is people who are living their life to get the most of what they want.  Jesus is speaking about people who are pursuing their own desires.  Such people will lose their life, even though they have sought to attain all of their hopes and dreams.  However, the people who give up on their own hopes and dreams and instead embrace the hopes and dreams that God has planned for them find their life.  They find their true life because they are willing to lose their worldly desires.

Have you given up on a dream because of something God desires for you instead?  How has that worked out better for you than your own desires would have worked out?

Second Thought:

Jesus also talks about being ashamed of Christ.  Those who deny Him before others will be denied eternally.  Those who feel shame because of their faith will be shamed before their Eternal Father.  Whoever is ashamed of Jesus’ words and tries to manipulate the words of Jesus to align with the common practices of the world will find that Christ is ashamed of them.

Have you ever been ashamed of your beliefs?  Have you ever reacted less firm in your faith than you should have because you were afraid of how people around you might react?

Third Thought:

This concluding statement of Jesus is shrouded in controversy.  There are some people who think that it is proof that Jesus is not God, because all of the people who heard Jesus say this died before He would return.  In fact, this was one of the major controversies of the early church.  Many people were ceasing to believe in Jesus because He didn’t return before many of the people who saw Jesus in the flesh died.  However, remember the first message of Jesus in the Gospels.  Jesus tells us that “the kingdom of God has drawn near.”  When people meet Jesus, they see the kingdom of God.  When people meet Jesus, they get a taste of the kingdom.  When people follow Christ, they enter into the kingdom of God.  Therefore, Jesus is spot on correct about this passage.  There are people around Him who would see the kingdom of God before they taste death!

Have you seen the kingdom of God?  Where?  What catches your attention and points you to the kingdom of God at work in your life?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:28-31

Luke 9:23

Luke 9:23

And He was saying to all, “If someone desires to come behind me, let him deny himself and daily take up his cross, and follow me.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I noticed something the in the Greek text of verse 23 as I was translating it that I had never seen before.  The verbs in this verse are all 3^rd person imperative.  The imperative is the voice of command.  These are not suggestions for getting God’s attention.  These are commands that should be followed.  In this I am led back to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s famous quote, “Only those who obey believe; only those who believe obey.”  Following God – imitating Christ – is fundamentally rooted in obedience.

How willing are you to submit in obedience?  What makes it easy to submit to God?  What makes it difficult?

Second Thought:

Look at the first of these commands.  Deny yourself.  That’s a very huge command.  We are to deny ourselves.  That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ever do anything we enjoy.  What it means is that we need to do the things God’s desires for us.  We need to learn to put our natural desires aside and embrace God’s desires, making them our own.  When we can honestly say that God’s desires are our desires, then we are denying ourselves.

Where have you learned to deny yourself?  Where have you failed to deny yourself and continue to pursue your own desires over God?

Third Thought:

The last two imperatives are “take up your cross” and “follow me.”  Taking up your cross can mean many things, but my favorite way to think about it is to examine our lives for the influence of sin and to struggle against it.  Of course, this influence of sin can be an internal struggle; but it can also be an external struggle as it was for Jesus.  With respect to following Jesus, once again we return to the idea of obedient submission.  To follow Jesus implies that we aren’t in charge and He is.

How do you take up your cross daily?  How do you follow Christ?  In what ways can others see these dynamics at work in your life?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:24-27

Luke 9:21-22

Luke 9:21-22

And the one who rebuked them commanded them to say this to nobody, after saying that it is necessary for the Son of Man to suffer much and to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be killed and to be raised on the third day.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

I find it interesting that Jesus seeks a confession from His disciples and then commands them to tell this to nobody.  The usual explanation given here is that Jesus doesn’t want to stir up more resistance than is necessary any sooner than it is necessary.  In other words, Jesus wants to make sure that He has the full amount of time to accomplish the will of the Lord.  While I think this is a completely valid and logical rationale, I also think that there is something more to this.  I think Jesus is trying to protect His disciples.  We’ve seen that while they have the faith to believe, they don’t necessarily understand.  This also means that they aren’t ready to defend themselves, either.  Furthermore, I think that Jesus is also indicating that the people need to come to this conclusion on their own.  People need to come to faith on their own terms, not believe because other people told them what to believe.  It is good to get the opinions of others.  But in the end, faith must be our own.

Why do you think Jesus would make a comments like this to the disciples?  Would you have had it within you to obey if you knew that Jesus was the Messiah?

Second Thought:

I am also amazed that Jesus can declare His destruction as articulately as He did.  He tells the disciples exactly what is coming.  Now, of course He is god.  Of course He can know what is going to happen.  I’m not amazed that He can do this.  I’m amazed that He can say it and mean it and still go forward with the plan.  This shows the character of God.  He is willing to die for our sake.  He is willing to set Himself aside so that we can know restoration in Him.

Where have you been led to imitate Christ in making sacrifices for others?  When have others made sacrifices for you?

Third Thought:

I can only imagine what it is like to be completely rejected by the leaders of a population yet still love them.  Jesus is rejected by the chief priests.  He is rejected by the teachers of the Law.  He is rejected by the scribes.  The majority of all of the people with power would reject Jesus.  This also meant that most of the population of followers would reject Jesus, too.  Yet, Jesus still went through with the plan.  Jesus did it for His disciples.  Jesus loved His disciples so much that He went through with all of the rejection.  How does Jesus respond to rejection?  Jesus loves.

Is it easy for you to love in the face of rejection?  What makes it difficult?  What can ease the difficulty?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:23-27

Luke 9:18-20

Luke 9:18-20

And it came to be while He was praying by Himself that the disciples were with Him.  And He inquired of them while saying, “Who does the crowd say that I am?”  And the ones who answered said, “Joh the Baptizer, and others Elijah, and others a prophet who was risen from long ago.”  And He said to them, “You all, who do you say that I am?”  And answering, Peter said, “The Christ of God.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Once more we see Jesus modeling.  What do we see Him model?  Of course we see Jesus modeling prayer.  Prayer is important, and Jesus does it regularly.  We also see Jesus getting some time by Himself.  Again we see Jesus making sure that He has time to abide, to recuperate His strength, and make Himself ready for the next task God has Him do.  We also Jesus modeling the need to make Himself available for His disciples.  Whenever Jesus goes into the public, the public demands His time and He doesn’t have much time left for the disciples.  Therefore, the disciples get their time now.  Jesus makes sure that the disciples get time with Him.  This works out to their favor, because this is truly quality time.

Do you model prayer in your life?  How well do you do with abiding and preparing yourself for the work of the Lord?  How well do you make yourself available for the people around you who can learn from you?

Second Thought:

When Jesus asks for the disciples to give Him the crowd’s opinion, you notice that the opinions are all over the place.  Some are looking for the Messiah, so they want Jesus to be Elijah because that would mean that the time of the Messiah was near.  Little did they know how close the Messiah was!  Others thought that He was John the Baptizer reincarnated because they were looking for Herod to find judgment for His sinful lifestyle of corruption.  Still others thought that Jesus was just a prophet from old.  In other words, they thought that Jesus was just a really good teacher with a sharp message to get us to think about God and His ways.

Who is Jesus to you?  How would you respond to each of these ideas from the crowd?

Third Thought:

Finally, Jesus asks the disciples who they think that they are.  Peter leaps at the opportunity to proclaim that Jesus is the Messiah. Peter knows the truth.  Peter isn’t afraid to proclaim the truth, either.

Are you as willing to proclaim the identity of Christ?  Are you so confident in your discernment so as to be so bold?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:21-22

Luke 9:14-17

Luke 9:14-17

And there were about five thousand people.  And He said to His disciples, “Sit them down in companies of around fifty.”  They did this and they got everyone to sit down.  And after taking the five loaves and two fish, after looking up into heaven, He blessed them and broke them.  And He was giving them to His disciples to set down near the crowd.  They ate and they were made full.  And the parts of pieces that remained were being take up by them, twelve baskets full.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus takes over.  He knows how to put the power of God on display.  His disciples are just that: disciples.  They are still learning.  Therefore, Jesus demonstrates what God can do.  Jesus takes two fish, five loaves of bread, and feeds five thousand people.  I can only imagine what the disciples would have felt when they saw Jesus do this, especially after just proclaiming that it was impossible.  But I don’t believe Jesus was attempting to show them up or make them feel dumb.  I do think Jesus was trying to put them in their place and then open their minds.  Jesus does want us to grow, but sometimes we need to be confronted with our shortcomings before we can do it.

Have you ever doubted that God could do something only to watch it happen?  How does that make you feel?  How can those situations help you grow?

Second Thought:

There is a significant part to this story that we should not overlook.  Before handing out the bread and the fish, Jesus pauses and blesses them.  Jesus looks to heaven, letting the people see a visual sign of the place from where the power is coming.  In other words, Jesus pauses for a second just to make sure that everyone understands that God deserves the credit.  This should be a part of our spiritual routine.  Before we do anything that matters, it would behoove us to pause, make sure God gets the glory, make sure that we are following God’s will, and then act.

Are you good at pausing before action to make sure God gets the glory?  Are you good pausing to make sure you are in line with God’s will?  Why is it tempting for us to just rush in and do it the way that makes sense to us?

Third Thought:

I love this passage because of its deep symbolism.  Twelve basketfuls are left over.  Remember that there were twelve tribes in Israel and that this is a largely Jewish audience.  Jesus is telling the crowd that through the power of God He can take a small handful of easily overlooked things and in the end have done his will and had plenty of leftovers.  In other words, Jesus can take a dozen easily overlooked men and through His will He can create His people who follow Him.  This parable should be a huge warning to the Jews.  If Jesus needs, He can raise up a faithful people out of anything!

How is this miracle symbolic of the church?  Have you ever seen God work through unlikely people?  How does it make you feel to see God work through people who are not the ones that others would choose themselves?

Passage for Tomorrow: Luke 9:18-20