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Category Archives: Luke

Luke 12:35-40, 49-53

24 Oct

49 “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! 50 I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. 51 Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! 52 From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.

53 ‘Father will be divided against son
    and son against father;
mother against daughter
    and daughter against mother;
and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law
    and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’”

Dear God, we can’t read these verses without reading the context of what came before it. All of this started with Jesus warning the people to be ready like a servant who awaits his masters return and must always be ready:

35 “Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. 37 The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! 38 He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.

39 “Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would not permit his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”

Once again, our subject headings make some things convenient, but they can remove passages from their context if we let them.

This has always been a hard passage. Why does Jesus come across as so angry and vindictive in verse 49? Well, it’s partly related to the people not being ready when the master (Jesus) came and also knowing the truth of what was about to happen to him. And what was about to happen was incredibly destructive and then re-creational. But it would divide. It did divide. It still does.

I was listening to a recent Andy Stanley sermon this morning about Jesus being who he said he was. And I’ve seen my faith in that message divide members of my own family. I’ve literally seen children be hostile with parents over their faith. And it’s hard to watch. And when I read these words of Jesus they both aggravate me and comfort me. They aggravate me because I think, Why does it have to be this way? Then they comfort me because I see that it will simply sometimes be this way.

This passage also reminds me of the pressure and even anxiety Jesus felt about his earthly future. He certainly didn’t want it to happen. He didn’t want to be beaten and crucified. He wished the atonement cold have happened another way. But let’s for a moment say it could have happened another way and his death and resurrection wasn’t necessary for that, then what would have differentiated him in history? Had he just lived taught, and then been assumed into heaven, how would he have ever been remembered. It’s the crucifixion and resurrection, and how they inspired the people who witnessed this miracle to then go to the world and proclaim it that made the difference. It was Their witness to this story that made the Gentiles take notice. It is the reason I am sitting here this morning.

Father, there are times I look around and it seems like the world is on fire. And maybe it is. Maybe you’re breaking us down to our bare essentials so you can build us back up, once again, in your image. Maybe you want to love and inspire us through some setbacks. Through some suffering. Maybe it doesn’t matter who wins the presidential election because either way the world is spinning away from you, and we need just a little more leash before we are ready to come to the end of ourselves, repent, and come back to you. Show me the role you have for me in all of this. Show me how to love and inspire my wife. Show her how to love and inspire me. Show me how to love my children and my family. My coworkers. My friends. Everyone within my sphere, show me what to do.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 24, 2024 in Luke

 

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Luke 9:51-56

01 Oct

51 As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. 53 But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 So they went on to another village.

Luke 9:51-56

Dear God, I think I want to look closely at verse 53 this morning. The Samaritans at that time made a huge mistake. All they saw was a rabbi wanting to stay there on his way to Jerusalem for the Passover. How dare this Jewish snob (probably their view of him) use them while he looked down on them! Their pride, anger, and hurt led them into a bad decision.

How much does that still happen today? I was listening to the Voxology Podcast for this week yesterday. They were talking about the culture war and how Jesus would fight it, leaning on what he said during the Sermon on the Mount. It made me think about the controversial Olympics opening ceremony where drag queens simulated a dinner that was controversial. When many Christians saw it they were indignant and let their displeasure be known. In this story today from Luke, the people who were mad remind me of the Samaritans who told Jesus he wasn’t welcome there and also James and John who were ready to call down fire on them for their insolence. Samaritans: How dare he?!? James and John: How dare they?!?

Father, help me to see all of this with Jesus’s eyes. Help me to see those drag queens with Jesus’s eyes. Help me to love them. Help me to love anyone who comes across my path today. Let it start with the children I’m about to read to at the school. Use me this morning in your kingdom. Use me at work. Use me in my family. Use me for my wife. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 1, 2024 in Luke

 

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Luke 9:1-10

26 Sep

9 One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. 2 Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 “Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes. 4 Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town. 5 And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”

6 So they began their circuit of the villages, preaching the Good News and healing the sick.

7 When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about everything Jesus was doing, he was puzzled. Some were saying that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead. 8 Others thought Jesus was Elijah or one of the other prophets risen from the dead.

9 “I beheaded John,” Herod said, “so who is this man about whom I hear such stories?” And he kept trying to see him.

10 When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he slipped quietly away with them toward the town of Bethsaida.

Dear God, I want to focus on verses 7-9 this morning, but I wanted them in their context. Luke tells us this story of the disciples going out and doing great things, but he also gives us a little bit of insight into what’s happening with Herod. Luke told us about Joanna, the wife of Herod’s business manager Chuza being one of Jesus’s supporters. Was that his source. It’s certainly plausible that she was. I’m sure Herod was learning things about Jesus from Chuza, and Jesus and the disciples were learning things about Herod from Joanna.

I would love to be able to get inside of Herod’s head and see what he is thinking. I think there was actually something about John the Baptist that touched him. He didn’t want to kill him. And now there was this Jesus guy. I don’t think he saw Jesus as a revolutionary threat, which is ironic because that is what the Jewish people wanted him to be. Yeah. I don’t know. I could be completely wrong here, but I almost get the sense that this generation of Herod was a little Jesus-curious. Would Jesus be someone who could bring him a peace he was striving for but couldn’t attain?

I wonder what kept Herod from actually seeing Jesus at this point. Surely he could have just summoned him through Joanna and he would have come. Did he have too much pride to let others know he had this curiosity? Was he afraid Herodias would have Jesus arrested? Was he afraid Jesus would confront him like John did?

It’s important to note how Luke eventually represented Herod’s and Jesus’s interaction when they finally did meet during the Passion:

8 Herod was delighted at the opportunity to see Jesus, because he had heard about him and had been hoping for a long time to see him perform a miracle. 9 He asked Jesus question after question, but Jesus refused to answer. 10 Meanwhile, the leading priests and the teachers of religious law stood there shouting their accusations. 11 Then Herod and his soldiers began mocking and ridiculing Jesus. Finally, they put a royal robe on him and sent him back to Pilate.

Luke 23:8-11

He was excited to meet Jesus, but then when Jesus let him down and didn’t answer any of his questions, he mocked him and condemned him to what he thought was death.

Father, Herod was just a man. He was sinful. He had needs. He had an ego. He was everything I am. And I have a choice to make. Will I be prideful, or will I die to myself, take up my cross, and follow you? Herod had more to lose that I do, so the choice should be easier for me. And I do. I come before you to lay down my life, take up my cross and follow you. Here I am to worship. Here I am to bow down. Here I am to say that you are my God.

I pray to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 26, 2024 in Luke

 

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Luke 8:1-3

20 Sep

8 Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, 2 along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; 3 Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.

Luke 8:1-3

Dear God, I don’t know that I’ve ever spent much time thinking about these women. But it is interesting that Luke takes the time to tell us about these women. The one who really caught my eye this morning is “Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager.” What an interesting person to have in your entourage. To have her be one of your patrons. I wonder what experience brought her to this role in Jesus’s earthly mission. Had she been cured of diseases or had evil spirits cast out of her or someone she knew? And how did Chuza’s proximity to Jesus through her, including giving some of his money to Jesus, impact Herod? Did it do something in his heart that directed his actions on the day Pilate sent Jesus to him to adjudicate his potential crucifixion? It most likely gave Herod some additional anecdotal information about this amazing Jewish man. Did it make Herod more scared and insecure?

Scared and insecure. I’m sorry I’m chasing rabbits now, but those two words I just used brought me back to a couple of things I read this morning. I read a document called Evangelical Confession 2024, which was largely related to how Christians should relate to politics. Then I read a piece offering caution and warnings about that Evangelical Confession. I’m not going to pretend to have thought through either of these things completely or thoroughly. But I will say that I see fear and insecurity everywhere I look right now. There is fear where our politics are headed, from liberals to conservatives to everyone in between. There is fear where the church is headed. There is fear where our societal norms are headed. When it comes down to it, however, it seems to me that there is fear that things are going in a direction that individuals don’t like.

I don’t know why you do what you do. Why did Nazi Germany rise up and commit so many atrocities? Why did World War I before that happen? Those are large scale questions. Closer to home, why does this person or that person die tragically? So why did Donald Trump become president in 2016? Your choice? Joe Biden in 2020? Your choice? We all assume that you are doing things so they work out for the agenda we have, but we can be so myopic and not see the big picture. What if we need to sink into a morally defunct liberal pit in order to hit bottom and have true revival? What if your intention is for us to go down further before we can come back to you with true humility, reverence and worship? Or, what if you are calling us to lead that revival right now before it’s too late? What if we miss our window that is slowly closing? Will it close forever?

Father, I’m all over the place this morning, and I don’t know that I’ve come to many conclusions except to say that I will put my trust in you. I will not be afraid. I will believe that you will put the right people in my life who will, on your behalf, teach me, comfort me, and love me. They might not be the people I expect. They might not be the people I miss and long for. But I believe you will be there with me regardless of how things turn out. In the case of Joanna above, she didn’t know that Jesus, the man she was supporting, would need to die, to sink down and literally go to the bottom first, before he would be victorious. I’m sure the crucifixion was disappointing, devastating, and disillusioning to her. Help me to accept the realities around me with my faith in you keeping me from being disappointed, devastated, or disillusioned.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 20, 2024 in Luke

 

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Luke 7:48,50

19 Sep

48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

50 And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Luke 7:48,50

Dear God, I want to follow up on yesterday’s prayer and stay focused on this woman for a bit. Let’s assume she wasn’t paying attention to what Jesus was saying to Simon the Pharisee. She was just focused on her sorrow and shame as she anointed, washed, cried over, and kissed Jesus’s feet. If that’s true, in the midst of her shame, what she heard was, “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

So how does that land for her in that moment? How does she hear that?

  • Forgiven: Has she ever felt forgiven by you before? Could all of the sacrifices at the Temple make up for what she has done? I’m going to go back to Jenny from Forrest Gump. Forrest is not Jesus, but in the scene where he asks her to marry him he has forgiven anything she might have ever done. He holds nothing–absolutely nothing–against her. But what’s her response? “You don’t want to marry me.” She’s implying, “You don’t know everything you are forgiving or will have to forgive in the future if you marry me. I will be bad for you.” I wonder if this woman carried that kind of shame around. “God, you don’t want to forgive me. There’s too much that I have done, and there’s still a lot more for me to do.” But then she hears about Jesus. She believes he’s from you. Interestingly, at least in that moment, she was not looking for a king to conquer and to kill the Romans for here. I would guess that she just needs release from her shame and goes to Jesus for proximity to you. I don’t even know that she expected forgiveness from that interaction. But she got it.
  • Faith: She believed Jesus was who he said he was. I have no idea how she got into Simon’s house. I don’t know if she barged in past the other guests. I don’t know if she was weeping as she walked in. Did she have her head down? Did she crawl? But somehow she had intelligence on where Jesus was in that moment and she believed in who he was enough to endure the scorn of others to get there. In fact, her faith in Jesus being the Messiah was unique in that home. Simon was there to question Jesus, not worship him. I don’t know if he came to faith later, but in that moment, the person with faith was the sinner. But she was also the most desperate and had the least to lose in that room. It is really too bad we need to hit bottom and come to the end of ourselves before we are willing to come to you in faith. It makes me think of Jairus. He was probably a lot like Simon, but then his daughter was dying. He was at the end of himself. All he had left was desperate faith. For this woman, she was the one who was wasted and spiritually dead.
  • Go in peace: I wonder what her life looked like after that. Sure, Jesus had forgiven her, but that didn’t change the people who knew her and knew of her. What was her path to societal redemption like? Did Jesus’s followers now accept her willingly? Did she join the traveling party? I hope she was able to live into the new life that Jesus offered her in that moment. We don’t know that she did. But it makes me think about what our role as the church is in helping people like her. She needed Jesus’s followers to accept his forgiveness of her and apply it to her as well. She needed them to help her rise up. There are plenty of people in our community who need the same thing.

Father, first, forgive me. I’d like to say that I’m not as bad as she was, but is that true. Have I not grieved you and hurt myself and others through my sin? I need your forgiveness. Even in this moment. Please forgive me. Please help me to go in peace. Help me to live into the life you have for me to live. Help me to take that forgiveness and apply it to others. Help me to help others to rise up. Oh, Lord, thank you. I worship you as my God. I am here to serve you. “Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee.”

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 19, 2024 in Luke

 

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Luke 7:36-38

18 Sep

36 One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat. 37 When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. 38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.

Luke 7:36-38

Dear God, we often read this story–okay, I often read this story and kind of skip over the woman. What she was experiencing in her life in that moment. What she felt compelled to do. Why she did what she did. I skip to the judgmentalism of the Pharisees, but when I read the story this morning, I just stopped with her. What her week had been like. What she thought when she heard Jesus was around. What drove her to bring her expensive perfume, enter that home, and just break down, literally, at his feet.

The movie Forrest Gump is interesting for so many reasons, but this story reminds me of Jenny, Forrest’s life-long love. So damaged. Acting out in so many ways. I watch “reaction videos” on YouTube of young people watching old movies for the first time, and I would say nine out of ten of them are always mad at Jenny for how she acts and treats Forrest. But the other one or two out of ten harken back to the trauma from her childhood and give her empathy. To use the phrase a lot of us know, they are curious and not judgmental.

There are people I love whom it would be amazing for them to find themselves at your feet like this woman. They have childhood trauma. And they have acted out for decades. What would it be like for them if they were able to come to the foot of your cross, pour our their most precious earthly possessions that have not brought them the peace they sought, and then worship you? Accepting your forgiveness? Accepting your healing?

Then there is me. Is there anything I’m holding back? Am I holding back any possessions? Am I holding back any repentance? That is something for me to really consider today. Holy Spirit, speak to me this morning. Help me to see if there is anything I am denying you, and, in turn, denying myself of you. And help me to also see the people in my life who are like this woman. Help me to love them well. Help me to guide them to the foot of your cross.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 18, 2024 in Luke

 

Luke 6:12-23

11 Sep

12 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. 13 At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:

14 Simon (whom he named Peter),
Andrew (Peter’s brother),
James,
John,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
15 Matthew,
Thomas,
James (son of Alphaeus),
Simon (who was called the zealot),
16 Judas (son of James),
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

17 When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil spirits were healed. 19 Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.

20 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,

“God blesses you who are poor,
    for the Kingdom of God is yours.
21 God blesses you who are hungry now,
    for you will be satisfied.
God blesses you who weep now,
    for in due time you will laugh.

22 What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. 23 When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.

Luke 6:12-23

Dear God, I’ve never pictured this before, but the beginning of this passage paints a picture of a group of people sitting there and Jesus picking among them like a team captain picking his players. I can imagine the people looking around as he made each pick. “Will it be me?” “He picked him?” “Yes! He picked me!” “Why didn’t I get picked?” I would imagine there were all kinds of things going on in everyone’s minds. It’s also interesting that Jesus did this so publicly. That he identified these 12 among everyone else. It’s not that the others stopped following at that moment. It’s just that these guys got to the next level with the Messiah.

Then they come down the hill and I can imagine the pride that those 12 felt. I can imagine it because it’s the kind of pride I would have in that moment. Looking around at everyone looking at you and thinking, “Yeah, I’m special. Did you hear about him choosing 12 special people? Yeah, that’s me. I’m in that group.”

Then Jesus starts talking and things start to take a different turn: “What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. 23 When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.“

Excuse me. What? People are going to hate me? But I’m a lieutenant of the Messiah. They are going to exclude me? Mock me? Curse me as evil? Well this doesn’t sound nearly as cool as I thought it would be. I mean, he’s talking about a reward waiting for me in heaven, but I really don’t want to be treated like Jeremiah and some of the others. Wow.

As for me in my life today, I must admit that I don’t suffer much for following you in my current South Central Texas culture. It’s politically correct for me to love you. Worship you. Talk about you. Yes, there are times when I see an injustice and I poke my head up with as much discernment as I can muster. And I take a risk when I do it. But for the most part, the more I wear my faith in you on my sleeve the more rewarded I am in my community. In fact, I have to be more careful about pride and ego than I do about avoiding scorn and hatred.

Father, I come this morning to eschew all of the things the world offers me and simply worship you. Yes, I do these prayers to you and publish them publicly, but it’s not for anyone who knows me. It’s so that others will be inspired to spend time in your scripture and see how it might be a good thing for them to do as well. I want them to see some of the things in scripture or music or other things that I encounter in my life to teach me and form me into your image. I want them to understand that the Bible is applicable for today. For our individual lives. I want them to see that another human, another sojourner in this world struggles through some of the same things the struggle through. I want to worship you with them in this way. They don’t know me. If they ran into me on the street, my name would mean nothing to them. That’s fine. It’s not about me. But for the small times when it is about me, when I do get proud, please help me to repent and return to the heart of worship. It’s all about you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 11, 2024 in Luke

 

Luke 5:1-11

05 Sep

5 One day as Jesus was preaching on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, great crowds pressed in on him to listen to the word of God. 2 He noticed two empty boats at the water’s edge, for the fishermen had left them and were washing their nets. 3 Stepping into one of the boats, Jesus asked Simon, its owner, to push it out into the water. So he sat in the boat and taught the crowds from there.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Now go out where it is deeper, and let down your nets to catch some fish.”

5 “Master,” Simon replied, “we worked hard all last night and didn’t catch a thing. But if you say so, I’ll let the nets down again.” 6 And this time their nets were so full of fish they began to tear! 7 A shout for help brought their partners in the other boat, and soon both boats were filled with fish and on the verge of sinking.

8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.

Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.

Luke 5:1-11

Dear God, I love Peter’s initial response to Jesus’s miracle in verse 8: “Oh, Lord, please leave me–I’m such a sinful man.”

I wonder if I were to give Peter truth serum that day and ask him what he considered to be the sins in his life, what he would say. Did he consider himself sinful because he hung out with other fishermen and there was bawdy talk among them? Was he not great about keeping Jewish customs? I doubt it was this one because we know he was particular about only eating kosher things his entire life up until the Cornelius story. But it might have been. Maybe he had been with prostitutes. Maybe he cheated on his taxes. Whatever it was, he thought he wasn’t even worthy of your presence. He thought he was too far gone. He thought he was a wretch and he didn’t know that amazing grace was standing right in front of him.

So if you were to walk in this room right now and be physically present with me, what would my response be? Even though I know of your grace for me in my head, would I still fall to my knees and tell you to leave because I am not worthy of you presence? Does my heart really know that I should not be afraid in your presence? And given your words of assurance to Peter that he will be fishing for people from now on, should I now be wondering about how I’m fishing for people every day?

Father, use my life. I know I have a certain set of talents. I also have a great set of weaknesses. May your strength be made perfect in my weaknesses as I lay them and my talents before your cross and ask you to direct me. Use my life to encourage someone today. At least one person. And for the person in jail who has been on my heart for the last week, please give them the breakthrough that you want them to have.

I offer this prayer to you in Jesus, my Amazing Grace, and your Holy Spirit, my Counselor and Comforter,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 5, 2024 in Luke

 

Luke 4:42-44

04 Sep

42 Early the next morning Jesus went out to an isolated place. The crowds searched everywhere for him, and when they finally found him, they begged him not to leave them. 43 But he replied, “I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent.” 44 So he continued to travel around, preaching in synagogues throughout Judea.

Luke 4:42-44

Dear God, I can’t help but wonder what happened in those isolated places Jesus would go to. How did he commune with you? Did Moses and Elijah show up sometimes? Did he just step away to get some clarity? Jesus going out to an isolated place was after an evening of healing people, rebuking demons, and keeping it under wraps that he was the Messiah.

It’s interesting that after his time alone in an isolated place he told them he was sent to “preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns.” He wasn’t just there for Capernaum. He wasn’t just there for Israel. He was there for the whole world. I can also see that if he would have stayed in any one place too long, the crowds would have gotten out of control and expected the wrong things from him. He also needed to introduce himself to enough people so that after the resurrection they would remember and join The Way.

So how does this relate to me? Well, at a minimum, I need to be getting alone in isolated places to hear from you. I need to seek your heart. I need to figure out what you want me to do with my life. And not just my vocation, but my service to others, my love for my wife, children, and extended family, and my living out my faith with you. Yes, these quiet times of intentional prayer and meditating on scripture are very important.

Father, I want to hear your, but I don’t have to hear you to make these times worthwhile. I am not here expecting anything of you except the chance to draw closer to you in this moment. If you guide me to other things through these times, then let them be things that will bring you glory and not me. Let them be things that will draw others closer to yourself regardless of what it costs me. Help me, Lord, to follow Jesus’s model of shunning acclaim and simply serving you and your plan regardless of what it costs me. Help me to only use prayer, service, persuasion, and even suffering to impact the world around me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 4, 2024 in Luke

 

Luke 11:11-13

13 Jun

11 “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? 12 Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! 13 So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

Luke 11:11-13

Dear God, I assume this verse of the day from Bible Gateway is given today as a preparation for Father’s Day. Is it for those who maybe have father issues and a reminder for them that you are a better father than their earthly fathers? Is that why the person at Bible Gateway chose it?

I was speaking with someone yesterday about how difficult Mother’s Day and Father’s Day can be for some people. Some don’t celebrate it at all because of the pain they feel. Maybe they have an estranged relationship with a parent or child. Maybe they had the loss of a parent or child. Whatever the case may be, as I’ve gotten older I’ve started to realize that the number of people who struggle on some of these holidays might be as great or greater than those who sink into the joy of them. For myself, I certainly used to sink into the joy of it, but the last few years only really bring pain. So how do I deal with that pain? It’s a question I’ve asked myself before. The best answer I’ve come up with is to take my eyes off of myself on those days, pray for others who might also be experiencing pain, and worship you.

Father, that’s probably the answer every day. 1.) Take my eyes off of myself. 2.) Pray for others experiencing pain. 3.) Worship you. Not necessarily in that order. So I will start with that this morning. I have some family and friends who are going through different trials this very morning. Please be with them and help them. Heal where healing needs to happen. Comfort where comfort needs to happen. Help them all to draw close to yourself. Love them completely and well. Help everyone who comes into contact with their situations, from family, to friends, to doctors, be touched by you and drawn into closer fellowship and communion with you. I pray for the family of a woman I know who died on Sunday. Such a sweet woman of 92. Help her children to heal. Help her friends to heal. Her loss will be felt by a lot of people. And help me to be exactly who you need me to be today for others. Be glorified, oh Lord. You are amazing, God. You are amazing.

I offer all of this to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 13, 2024 in Luke

 
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