RSS

Category Archives: Luke

Luke 2:8-20

22 Dec

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.” When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

Luke 2:8-20

Dear God, the things we always miss in the telling of this story is the “why.” Why did you have the angels appear to the shepherds? I have a theory, and it’s only a theory. In my mind, much like Hagar after she ran away from Sarai got an angel visit and she called you “the God he sees me” (Genesis 16:13), Mary and Joseph were in a terrible spot. They had agreed to follow your requests and be the parents of this baby, but now they found themselves alone without family, in a stable with their new baby. Was this really your plan? Were their previous visions of angels just weird dreams? Was there any part of Jospeh that was once again doubting Mary’s story?

Then these men show up and tell everyone their story. It was not only remarkable, but it contained a few things:

  • Third-party verification of what Joseph and Mary had each heard separately.
  • Affirmation of who this child was.
  • The knowledge that you knew exactly where they were in that moment (a stable) and that was okay.

So now Mary and Joseph have their affirmation. And not only for the moment, but for the future as well: “Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.” She thought about them when the wise men showed up. She thought abut them when they went to Egypt. She thought about them when they lost Jesus 12 years later. She probably thought about them when she doubted Jesus’s sanity. This was a huge gift for her.

So why these guys? Well, maybe I’ll talk a bout that tomorrow. For now, let me just sit with the idea that you see me, you love me, and you send me affirmations I probably sometimes miss. You are so good. I’m sorry for how I fail. I really wish I was better for you, for my wife, for my children, and for everyone around me. Help me to be better.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 22, 2020 in Luke

 

Tags: , , ,

Luke 2:1-7

20 Dec

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

Luke 2:1-7

Dear God, I’m so grateful to Luke for recording all of this. And it always amazes me how efficient biblical writers are with their words. He tells this particular part of the story with 130-ish words (depending on the translation). I probably need to be a lot more efficient in my own writing and storytelling.

Isn’t it interesting that you have this story for us at all. If it were up to me to give believers in Jesus a handbook, I would have just given them Jesus’s teachings. Here’s what he said about this. Here’s what he said about that. Instead, we get these stories about everyone around him. His second cousin, Elizabeth and her son John. His disciples. His mother and father. His siblings. The Pharisees like Nicodemus. Pilate. In this case, we have two real people responding the real challenges. They made the best of a bad situation, but you weren’t the first person to be laid in a manger and you won’t be the last. It’s just that stories like this help us to understand we are not alone. It’s possible to do it right and still face struggles.

Father, help me to face my life the way these two parents did–one moment at a time. They had their dreams and thoughts about what and who Jesus would be (and they were mostly wrong), but they had a problem to solve and provision from you to seek. And you provided. You provided a manger. Later, you would provide gold and other gifts from the wise men they could use to fund their escape to Egypt. They didn’t have to know the future or your plan. They just had to be faithful. Help me to be faithful today.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 20, 2020 in Luke

 

Luke 1:68-79 — Zechariah’s Prophecy

18 Dec

“Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people. He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago. Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us. He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant— the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham. We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live. And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

Dear God, there is so much joy here. Zechariah had been silenced for presumably a year or so and now he could speak. It was time to worship. It was time to praise. Sure, he got some things wrong in this prophecy. He didn’t know what kind of lives John and Jesus would lead. He didn’t know how they would end. I’m sure he didn’t see John’s beheading or Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection. But that stuff doesn’t really matter. He was taking the information he had at the time and worshipping you with it.

There is so much for which I have to praise you. There is also so much I do not know. I can praise you for providing for the work we do with our patients. I can praise you for loving us well. I can praise you for thus far answering our prayers for a coworker’s husband who is in the ICU with COVID-19. I can praise you for donations that are supporting our work. I can praise you for the chance to share your love with others. I can praise you that my wife and I are safe, that our children are safe, and my parents are safe. I can praise you that my father-in-law’s passing was quick and merciful. I can also beseech you on behalf of my niece and her fiancé who have COVID. I can ask that you keep those who were with them over the last two weeks, including my parents, safe. Please, Father, have mercy on them. On all of them and the ones I know of who are struggling in a myriad of ways.

Father, I don’t have to know where all of this is going or how it all works out. I don’t need to prophecy or know the future. I just need you in this moment. I trust you to provide from there–and if not financial or physical provision, peace and comfort. Thank you for being a God who grants all of these things and who even cares to listen to this prayer today.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 18, 2020 in Luke

 

Tags:

Luke 1:46-55 — The Magnificat

16 Dec

Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him. His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.”

Luke 1:46-55

Dear God, it’s been almost ten years that I have been hanging out and worshipping with Catholics. While I’m not Catholic, my wife started visiting a Catholic church in 2010 and was confirmed Easter 2012. For my part, I went the the Rite of Catholic Initiation for Adults (RCIA) with her, but decided there was enough different about my personal theology that I shouldn’t be confirmed. I even did a series of posts called “Supporting My Wife Going Catholic” that corresponded with a series she did on her blog about “Going Catholic.”

All of that said, I’ve learned that the Magnificat (as this is called in Catholic Circles–I’ve always seen it referred to as “Mary’s Song”) is an important piece of the New Testament to Catholics. We are in a couples group with the church that meets once a month called TOOL (Teams Of Our Lady). I’m the only non-Catholic in the group, but they are gracious and have shown no problems accepting me as part of their family. Anyway, as part of the meetings, we close each one with a recitation of the Magnificat. I had never thought of this piece as being so important. Growing up Baptist, we just aren’t as in to some of the Advent things, and we certainly aren’t as focused on Mary, but I’ve found some real appreciation for the perspective of appreciating Mary and seeing the world through her lens (I have to add that I also have just as much appreciation for Joseph and who he was as a man).

So for this “song,” I think you first have to start with the singer. A poor girl who met an angel one day. The angel tells her that her cousin Elizabeth is going through a miraculous pregnancy of her own so I assume Mary figures Elizabeth just might believe her tale of a virgin conception. So she heads to Elizabeth’s and as soon as she enters the room she is affirmed. Any fear she had on her journey is washed away as soon she greeted Elizabeth. She didn’t even have to say, “I have something to tell you.” She just greeted Elizabeth and Elizabeth felt her baby leap and “was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” k

So that’s the stage for Mary’s response. She praised you, acknowledging her joy, love, and probably relief. Then she says everything she believes about you. You are loving. You are just. You are holy. You are mighty. You will love the Israelites and provide for them. Her knowledge is imperfect. She would never imagine what your real plan was. But that’s okay. She didn’t have to. She just knew that you were moving and she was a part of it.

Father, I don’t pretend to play 1% the kind of role in your plan that Mary and Joseph played, but I know you’ve given me a life to live. I don’t know where it is going or how it all works out. I don’t know what tragedies might be awaiting me or those I love, but I believe that nothing happens outside of your view. So help me to do my part. I acknowledge that you are loving, just, holy, and might. You love me, even as a Gentile. You provide for me–if not in this life, in the one to come. Use me in whatever way accomplishes your goals and plans for the world.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on December 16, 2020 in Luke

 

Tags:

Luke 1 – Prophecy

28 Nov

Dear God, this is the time of the Christmas season when we start to look at the prophecies that lead up to Jesus’s birth and life and marvel at how you enabled people to foresee what would happen. Isaiah. David. Zechariah (John the Baptist’s father). So many others. Sure, sometimes I read these passages that are supposed to be prophecies and I wonder if we aren’t stretching just a little, but that’s not the point of what I’m talking about here. What is the point? It’s that even those who lived to see them fulfilled didn’t realize what was happening until after it was all over.

Take Zechariah, for example, in Luke 1. He gets his angel visit and then is muted until eight days after John the Baptist is born. For those 10-ish months, he had a lot of time to think. He presumably communicated via writing to Elizabeth because she knew to name their son John (Luke 1:61), but he sat silent. During that 10 months, he saw Mary come and visit them. She had her own extraordinary story about an angel visit and being pregnant. Elizabeth’s baby in the womb leapt when he heard the sound of Mary’s voice. Some really great stuff was happening. So what did he do? He misinterpreted it. Here are some examples of what he got wrong in his own prophecy (at least as he understood it in the moment): (Verse 71) “Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us.” (Verses 74 and 75) “We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live.” Sure, out of 12 verses he only missed on three, but, still, I know he would have been shocked if someone had told him exactly what was going to happen over the next 34 years. I’m sure he didn’t live to see it since he was “very old” (verse 7) when he got his angel visit, but it would have devastated him that day to know how his son’s life would end.

I think that’s why it is important to not try to figure out the bigger meaning of what is happening or what might happen right now. I have a friend who is an Aggie football fan. Okay, I have two friends who are Aggie football fans, and each of them sent me a long text this week detailing what has to happen for Texas A&M to make the college football playoff. I replied back that they just need to win and not worry about the rest because it will work itself out. They are ranked 5th. There are four teams in front of them and two of them play each other one more time. But Texas A&M still has three games left. There is no chance they get into the playoff without winning those games, so just win. Take each moment at a time–each play at a time–and win your games. The odds are that the rest will take care of itself.

The same is true for me. There are too many moving parts in life for me to figure out. I have my hopes for my children, but I have no idea which actions I take today will lead them down your path for them. The same is true for my work, my marriage, my community, my church, and my world. I don’t can’t sit and make the list of all of the steps that need to happen to achieve what I want to achieve. I just need to play the next play as best as I can. Today, that means starting this Saturday with this prayer time before I get about helping my wife decorate for Christmas, watch some college football, and meet with a friend about appraising some furniture.

Father, help me to just take life “one play at a time.” And sometimes the right play might be to lose a battle. I might need to take an intentional safety in order to get where I want to go. I might have to let the other team score to get the ball back one more time. So I put the outcomes of each activity in your hand, trusting that you will not let anything happen that is outside of your will. I will just show up for the next play. Holy Spirit, please be with me, guide me, and empower me to do what I need to do.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 28, 2020 in Luke, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

Luke 21:12-19

25 Nov

“But before all this occurs, there will be a time of great persecution. You will be dragged into synagogues and prisons, and you will stand trial before kings and governors because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you, for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you! Even those closest to you—your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends—will betray you. They will even kill some of you. And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. But not a hair of your head will perish! By standing firm, you will win your souls.

Luke 21:12-19

Dear God, several months ago, Andy Stanley preached a sermon I loved called, “Not in it to Win It.”

It helped put words to what I was feeling and what. You were showing me through these times of prayer. You are not dedicated to the success of the United States. You are not dedicated to my success. You are dedicated to the world. You will gladly lose a battle to win the war. You will choose the loss of being crucified for the victory of saving my soul. You will allow hundreds of years of Hebrews being enslaved in order to form the Israelite nation. Why would I assume that you wouldn’t sacrifice me for a greater purpose? I just pray that I am ready to accept my fate should that day come

As I sit here on Thanksgiving morning, there is so much for which I’m grateful. I can think of friends and family who died this year and wonder what life would be like today if they were here. I have a friend who lost her dad last night. And her husband and one of her sons cannot be with her because they are with her husband’s ailing father in another state. While you don’t promise us every victory in battle, you do promise us that the war is yours and you will be there to comfort us in the losses. I know a man who died from COVID-19 last week. I know our hospital had someone die from it on Tuesday. These families are experiencing loss. They lost their battles. Please comfort them as they continue on fighting for you. Help them to be stronger and closer to you as a result of these struggles. Don’t let this pain be wasted. Make it count.

Father, I really am grateful. There are some things in my life that confuse me, and I’m not sure if they are the way you want them or not. There are broken and dysfunctional relationships. I don’t like it, but maybe you are using this for your purposes. It feels like the battles are being lost–and maybe they are–but I trust you that if I keep simply pursuing you day by day you will eventually work all things out for my good (whether I live to see it or not). So thank you for every single circumstance in my life–the many good and the few bad.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 25, 2020 in Luke

 

Luke 19:41-48

20 Nov

But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”

Luke 19:41-44

Dear God, I think I need to go through and see how many times Jesus “wept.” In fact, I just stopped typing this to go check. According to the NIV, NASB, and the NLT translators, the only two times it is recorded that he “wept” is this instance and when Lazarus died. I think that gets overlooked here. He knows what’s coming. He knows what’s in his future. He knows the state of Jerusalem’s heart. All of this drives him to “weep.”

I pray that his prophecy for Jerusalem is not a prophecy for us as well, but it may very well be. I am disturbed by our country and it’s situation. The division is growing like a cancer. I’ve been trying to ignore it lately by staying away from social media, and while I think that’s been the right thing to do for my own soul, that certainly doesn’t mean that the divisive spirit has stopped. In fact, if I take my unifying voice out of the conversation–a voice that tries to speak of trust in you, peace, and love–am I becoming part of the problem.

Father, I don’t really care about this stuff as much as I should because I haven’t even come close to tearing up about it, much less weeping. I’ve been meaning to do prayer walks around our local hospitals and schools this week due to the COVID-19 outbreaks, but I’ve been too tired or too selfish. But I am concerned about all of this. I’m concerned about the spirit of division in our country, which is being fueled by media of all types (social, traditional, etc.) and on all sides. I’m concerned about sicknesses and deaths. I’m concerned about my friends who are sick, some of whom are in serious shape. Please help them. Please make this pain count. In fact, please make everything I’m praying about here that is happening to count. Help it to count for your glory and for your kingdom to come and your will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on November 20, 2020 in Luke

 

Luke 10:17-20

03 Oct

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Luke 10:17-20

Dear God, I’ll admit that I spend too much time celebrating the wrong things. I will accidentally celebrate the good that you’ve done instead of celebrating the fact that you are there, you care, and you did it through me. I think it’s okay for us to enjoy, celebrate and be thankful for good things, but if we stop there we miss the bigger picture. The world we cannot see, the world that you see, is the one I must remember. In that world, you are everything. Your love is everything. Your presence is everything. And if you choose to work through me or in my life in some way then the good thing that was done is important to recognize, but I must also remember that the fact that my life is in you is the more important.

There is so much going on in the world right now. And it’s interesting how the presidential race and the pandemic unexpectedly intersected yesterday. Of course, I ask for your mercy be on President and Mrs. Trump as well as every other person on this planet who had contracted COVID-19. Use this pandemic to accomplish your purposes on the earth. Make the pain and anguish so many have experienced count for your glory. Please don’t waste it. And help us to celebrate you even in the midst of our distress because, again, the world we can see is such a small part of the world that you see. We cannot see what you are doing. You might be doing something now that will bring about your outcome 200 or 300 years from now. So we don’t celebrate our economy, health, bank accounts, marriages, children, government, or even our church. We celebrate that we are your children, you love us, and everything you do–whether it looks like a good thing to our eyes or not–is about accomplishing your purposes on the earth and you love us.

Father, make me an instrument of your peace. It is in giving that I receive. It is in pardoning that I am pardoned. It is in dying that I am born to eternal life. I want to know more and more what it’s like to follow you. When people look at me I want them to see the light of the world (you) inside.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on October 3, 2020 in Luke

 

Luke 4:40

02 Sep

As the sun went down that evening, people throughout the village brought sick family members to Jesus. No matter what their diseases were, the touch of his hand healed every one.

Luke 4:40

Dear God, I’ve always struggled with healing. Just how much do I believe in it? I pray for sick people, but I’m always cautious because I am acutely aware that your answer is often, “No.” Do I need more faith? Does my level of faith affect your answer?”

It reminds me of the story in the next chapter (Luke 5:12-14) when the leper comes to Jesus and says, “Lord, if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” Then it says Jesus reached out his hand, touched him (which was a risk in and of itself) and said, “I am willing. Be healed!”

Note the exclamation mark and where it’s placed. “Be healed!” I don’t often pray with that much confidence. Is confidence the difference.

Father, I can think of several patients here at the clinic that need your healing. I can think of friends and family that need your physical healing. If you are willing, please heal. I also have friends who have tragically lost people close to them. Please draw them to yourself and heal their hearts. Please use all of these situations for your glory. Do not let one ounce of pain be in vain, but use it all so that each life that touches these situations will find its peace in you.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
1 Comment

Posted by on September 2, 2020 in Luke

 

What would Jesus say to this?

20 Aug

Dear God, I was having a texting conversation with a friend last night. He is someone I met on a vacation over three years ago, and we have kept in touch through Facebook.

Anyway, we were talking last night and he wanted to know what Jesus would have to say about a lot of the wrongs happening in the world. In this particular case, the thing on his mind was corruption he witnessed firsthand at a food distribution for the the poor. He saw volunteers taking food before the needy were able to go through the line, and it disgusted him. He finally walked away.

So what would Jesus have to say about all of this? My reply to him was to listen to Andy Stanley’s sermon from last Sunday called, “Not it it to win it.” This man isn’t a Christian so I know it was a tall ask. He’s very likely not going to listen to Andy’s sermon, but I’ve listened to it three times this week, and I plan to sit with it and pray through it over the weekend.

The big thing I think Jesus would do right now is rebuke the church. Andy told the story from Luke 9:51-56. Jesus was wanting to stay in Samaria, but the Samaritans didn’t want him and his entourage there. James and John then asked if Jesus wanted them to call down fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritans. Jesus’s response was to rebuke them and press on towards his crucifixion in Jerusalem.

Why do I think Jesus would rebuke the church right now? Because Andy is right. The church has fallen into the worldly trap of wanting to win. We want to win the battle for influence and power. We want the world the yield to our way of thinking. We want to exercise political power and defend it when it starts to slip away. We want our morality to be legislated throughout the earth, and to do that we need more power. To get that power, we need politicians who will do our bidding, whether we believe they are Christians or not. If they say they will support our morality then that’s all we need to know. In chess terminology, if they will give us their queen, they can have most of our chess pieces. Then the world will be the place we want it to me…Oh, I mean you want it to be (sarcasm implied).

What would be included in Jesus’s rebuke? Frankly, I shudder to think of what he might have to say to his church. What he would have to say to me. But I’m pretty sure he would start with something close to the parables he taught about the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is something that starts from the bottom and grows from a grassroots level through love, the receiving of your grace, and then the sharing of your grace with others. There are moral standards in there to be sure. There is a need for asking for forgiveness of you. But these are what we need to do to be free. The kingdom of heaven is also like people who don’t care about their own rights and delight in the progress of others (see the parable of the workers hired at different times of day, but all were paid the same amount). And the kingdom of heaven is like the man who found it and sold everything he had to attain it because it was worth more than all he held on to.

Father, I’m about to go and do a prayer walk around one of our school district’s campuses that includes the high school, the primary school, and the district’s administrative building. Put my head into the right place as I do this. And better prepare me to answer the question, “What would Jesus have to say to this?” I want to always be about pointing others to you. Oh, and forgive me. Forgive us as the church. Help us to turn loose of our quest for power and influence so that our morality might be forced upon people. Help us to turn loose of that idol. Help us to turn loose of the idol of the Supreme Court, the President, the Congress, and any other person we think will do our work for us. Help us to do the work you put in front of us for your glory’s sake and not our own.

In Jesus’s name I pray,

Amen

 
Leave a comment

Posted by on August 20, 2020 in Luke, Miscellaneous, Musings and Stories

 

Tags: , , , ,

← Older posts
Newer posts →