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Luke 19:11-27

19 Nov

11 The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away. 12 He said, “A nobleman was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king and then return. 13 Before he left, he called together ten of his servants and divided among them ten pounds of silver, saying, ‘Invest this for me while I am gone.’ 14 But his people hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want him to be our king.’

15 “After he was crowned king, he returned and called in the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to find out what their profits were. 16 The first servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!’

17 “‘Well done!’ the king exclaimed. ‘You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.’

18 “The next servant reported, ‘Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.’

19 “‘Well done!’ the king said. ‘You will be governor over five cities.’

20 “But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, ‘Master, I hid your money and kept it safe. 21 I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.’

22 “‘You wicked servant!’ the king roared. ‘Your own words condemn you. If you knew that I’m a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, 23 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’

24 “Then, turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’

25 “‘But, master,’ they said, ‘he already has ten pounds!’

26 “‘Yes,’ the king replied, ‘and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 27 And as for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king—bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.’”

Luke 19:11-27

Dear God, I learned just a few years ago that Jesus is actually comparing his own kingdom (your kingdom) to the new young King Herod. The local crowd would have known how young King Herod went to Rome to request his father’s throne after he died and how locals went to implore Rome to not give it to him. And how he killed the locals who spoke out against him when he got back. So it was an interesting move for Jesus to say, “Yeah, I’m not too dissimilar than Herod.” It’s weird for me to even type those words.

It makes me think of the line I happen to vaguely remember from The Chronicles of Narnia describing Aslan when Lucy asks if he’s safe: “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver.” Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” Mr. Tumnus also says, “He’s wild, you know. Not a tame lion.” (Copied from Sally Clarkson’s blog) Jesus will not fit into the box I want him to fit into, and that’s a good thing. There is nothing in life that is safe. It’s not meant to be. And Jesus can’t be just a pushover God who gives everything and demands nothing. That doesn’t work. That’s the kind of God I’d love to have. But it makes no sense to have a God like that. It makes no sense for you to be that way. I’m impressed that Jesus made it clear through this parable that kings have a natural responsibility to demand things. They can be good and still not be safe.

Father, help me to completely embrace the idea of the hard things you call me to. You have called me to be accountable and a steward over resources in my personal and professional lives. Help me to do that well. I don’t know to what extent I should be good but not safe. I’m not a king, but I am in a position of leadership. And I tend to steer into safe–perhaps too much. Help me to find that line. This is a challenging word for me this morning. It’s probably something I need to stew on the rest of the day. Am I being the steward you need me to be over the resources you’ve given me, and am I too preoccupied with being safe for those who work under me? Explicitly guide me in this for your glory’s sake and for the sake of your kingdom coming and your will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 19, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 19:1-10

18 Nov

19 Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. 2 There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. 3 He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.

5 When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.”

6 Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. 7 But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.

8 Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

9 Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

Luke 19:1-10

Dear God, I had some thoughts as I read this passage this morning.

First, they have a newly-healed blind man in tow. He is part of the entourage as Jesus entered Jericho. Did he go to Zacchaeus’s house too?

Second, putting this in political terms, there were red (or blue) people following Jesus into Jericho and then they saw him express interest in a blue (or red) person. How dare he? Doesn’t Jesus know that guy’s awful? He steals and cheats!

Third, Jesus was about the repentance of each heart. In this case, his mere presence convicted Zacchaeus about his wrongdoing. And Jesus blessed his repentance: “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

If I am to be Christlike, there are certain things I must do. First, I must search my own heart and repent. For my selfishness. For my judgment of others. Second, I need to love others regardless of who they are or what they do. And third, I need to offer your salvation to those around me. Jesus’s reconciliation between us and you, Father.

Father, it’s a big day for my place of work today. I pray that I might be more about loving others than worrying about my own needs. I trust you will take care of me and the needs I have. My prayer is that I (and the place I work) will be a blessing to everyone who comes into contact with us, whether they be a client, volunteer, employee, vendor, donor, or even a potential employee. Help my heart to be focused on you and focused on others. Then I’ll just trust you to do what needs done.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 18, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 18:35-43

17 Nov

35 As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind beggar was sitting beside the road. 36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. 37 They told him that Jesus the Nazarene[f] was going by. 38 So he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

39 “Be quiet!” the people in front yelled at him.

But he only shouted louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

40 When Jesus heard him, he stopped and ordered that the man be brought to him. As the man came near, Jesus asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord,” he said, “I want to see!”

42 And Jesus said, “All right, receive your sight! Your faith has healed you.” 43 Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it praised God, too.

Luke 18:35-43

Dear God, I’ve read this story many times over the years (decades), but for some reason I am honing in on the man’s cry, “Have mercy (pity) on me.” I was in that mode a couple of weeks ago. I really needed some intervention and healing. Not even necessarily my own healing, but in people I know. I was desperate. I was getting other people involved. I was getting others to pray. I was praying. I even fasted for a period of time. I was desperate. And yet, my desperation was probably nothing like that of this many who was living a marginalized life 2,000 years ago in a society that probably didn’t do much to accommodate him and help him live an actualized life, but probably either blamed him or his parents for his condition (John 9:2 – 2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”) Was the mercy he cried for just healing, or was he looking for forgiveness of his sins too? Did he blame himself or his own parents for his condition?

Oh, that’s an interesting thought. Had this man’s blindness come between him and his parents? Was he born blind? I would think that, for their society, if someone was born blind then you couldn’t blame the baby for the sin so the blame would naturally fall on the parents. Did he blame his parents too?

Father, once again, mercy comes in and cuts out all the knots in the fishing lines of our lives. I need your mercy. I need the mercy of others in my life. There are people who hold things against me. I need mercy from them. And I need to give mercy. Help me to know what to ask when you or someone else stops and asks me, “What do you want me to do for you?” I want you to heal me. Heal me from my self-inflicted wounds and the wounds done to me by others. Heal me. Love me. And pass all of that through me so that you might give others love and mercy through my life.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 17, 2025 in Luke

 

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John 7:1-5 (And James’s Epistle)

16 Nov

7 After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. 2 But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, 3 and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! 4 You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” 5 For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.

John 7:1-5

Dear God, what would it have been like to be Jesus’s little brother? Let’s say Jesus was perfect (which he was). On paper, one would think that Jesus would have been a great big brother. Always kind. Always helpful. Not teasing them or being mean. But I think anyone who things about it and has experience as a sibling knows that it would be annoying to have such a great brother that is above reproach in every way. It can be hard to come face to face with our own sin when we are in such proximity to perfection.

Then there is James after the resurrection. He came around. Was he the only one? Was this a relief to Mary. But I can’t help but notice that James is the only one who seemingly digs in on “works” when it comes to his message. In fact, I want to look at an outline of James’s letter and consider it while informed by the idea of James’s journey from Jesus tormenter to Jesus worshipper.

  • Trials & Temptations (Testing of Faith and Source of Temptation):
    • Consider it joy to be persecuted for Jesus. He was seeing a lot of persecution. And this was certainly Paul’s message as well. It was towards the beginning of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount.
    • Regarding temptation, don’t think it’s you who is tempting me. Did James blame Jesus when he was younger and couldn’t live up to the example Jesus set?
  • Listening & Doing:
    • Quick to listen and slow to speak and be angry. Were these things James struggled with before the crucifixion and resurrection? Did he wish he had listened to Jesus more. Did he regret his anger and judgment of Jesus?
    • And be real. Do. Do what you tell us to do. What Jesus explicitly said to do. How much anger and rebellion did James carry around in his heart before the resurrection? I’ll bet he had a lot of self-righteous attitude as a result of being Jesus’s little brother.
  • No Favoritism:
    • Did his parents show favoritism? More likely, this is probably something he saw in Jesus. Jesus broke all the molds of traditional favoritism. Whether he liked it or not, he absorbed those lessons from Jesus even though he probably rebelled against them and resented them before the resurrection.
  • Faith & Works:
    • I wonder if he was thinking of himself pre-resurrection. Did he claim faith in you and then realize later that his faith was empty because he was also consumed with contempt for Jesus? Did he realize that the works are part of developing us. Before this section, in 2:8, he says, “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right.” It’s possible he grew up trying to justify himself through his own practice of worship and theology and rejected the idea of serving because he saw Jesus serving. But then he realized that it’s the serving that gets us out of ourselves and brings us into a more complete version of you who designed us to be. My works aren’t for others to experience or see. They are for me.
  • Taming the Tongue:
    • How much had he struggled to tame his own tongue in the early years of his life? Even in this story from John 7 above, was is James who was goading Jesus? And how much did James ridicule Jesus to his parents, siblings, and others? Yeah, I’ll bet this admonition from James came from his own battle in this area.
  • Two Kinds of Wisdom:
    • I get the feeling James was talking about his younger self when he said, “But if you harbor envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from heave but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and ever evil practice.” Yeah, I think James is going through some self-reflection and speaking from a position of experience and overcoming here.
  • Submit Yourselves to God:
    • More self-reflection from James: “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” How many quarrels did James try to start with Jesus? How much of his own selfishness did he have to come to terms with and repent of? How convicted was he of his wrong motives.
  • Warning to Rich Oppressors and Patience in Suffering:
    • This is probably some stuff he learned from Jesus that stuck. And while I’m on suffering, this reminds me of something I heard a couple of years ago that I thought of again just yesterday. Jesus gave used for himself and gave us four tools, and four tools only, to impact the world around us: Prayer, Service, Persuasion, and Suffering. I think this idea is consistent with the contents of what James is teaching here.
  • Prayer of Faith:
    • James saw Jesus’s power, and he came to believe that it was available to us to through repentance, prayer, and service.

Father, I’ve come to appreciate James in a whole new way today. I’ve thought about the author who wrote these things and put them in the context of his life experience. How have I never done that before. I wonder if I should do that with some of the other epistles from the New Testament. Peter. John. Paul. Jude. How did their live experiences, both good and bad, affect their ministry? I think I might have found my next series. Be with me and teach me through all of this.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 16, 2025 in James, John

 

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Luke 17:20-37

14 Nov

20 One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”

Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. 21 You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.”

22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes. 25 But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.

26 “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 27 In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.

28 “And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building— 29 until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. 32 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! 33 If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. 34 That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.”

37 “Where will this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked.

Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”

Luke 17:20-37

Dear God, Luke had choices about which of the Jesus stories to share. I wonder why he chose this one. Was it simply because Jesus predicted his own death and resurrection as part of it? I always find “last day(s)” and “Jesus’s second coming” stories interesting because I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with them. All I know to do is to be faithful.

I just had a thought. What would it be like if there were no mentions of Jesus coming again, a new earth, or even us going to meet Jesus in the clouds when he returns? If the New Testament was totally vacant of all of these stories, would there be any real accountability before you. Does just the knowledge that the master will return, we will meet face-to-face in some fashion, and we will be judged tether us to your reality in a way we wouldn’t be otherwise? I don’t enjoy thinking about this, but does the fact that basic knowledge of it is a piece of my foundation give my faith a strength I wouldn’t have if it were gone?

Father, I get to be faithful to you today. It’s a “get to” and not a “have to.” I get to worship you. I get to love others. I get to work. Help me, Lord, today. Help me to love the people who will come into my path. Help me to work as unto you. Help me to keep myself pure. Holy Spirit, guide me, comfort me, teach me, love through me, and show me how to have extreme mercy for wrongs done to me because you have given me so much mercy.

I pray this in Jesus and with the Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 14, 2025 in Luke

 

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Ephesians 6:10-12

13 Nov

Photo of Northern Lights as observed in Fredericksburg, Texas, by Ron Sutton.

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Ephesians 6:10-12

Dear God, there is so much more to this place that what we can see. As I sit in my study right now, there is so much more to this room than what I can see. When I die and some of the mysteries are revealed to me, I am going to be simply blown away. Blown away!

I thought of this yesterday when a friend, Ron Sutton, sent several images he took from outside his home of the Northern Lights that were “visible” from South-Central Texas. I put “visible” in quotes because we couldn’t see any of this with our naked eyes. For Ron, this was only visible with a very slow shutter speed on his camera.

It made me start thinking about everything happening around me right now in the spiritual world that I cannot see. That’s what made me think of this Ephesians passage on spiritual warfare below. Then I went and searched other passages about not being able to see what you see. Here are some examples:

2 Kings 6:12-17

13 “Go and find out where he is,” the king commanded, “so I can send troops to seize him.”

And the report came back: “Elisha is at Dothan.” 14 So one night the king of Aram sent a great army with many chariots and horses to surround the city.

15 When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Oh, sir, what will we do now?” the young man cried to Elisha.

16 “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” 17 Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.

Then there’s this one:

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

And one more for good measure:

Hebrews 11:1-2

11 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.

Father, there is so much happening I cannot see. Whether it is the spiritual warfare going on around me, the plans you have that there is no way I can comprehend them, or simply the little things you are doing to ordain my steps and impact your world through me. There are also bad things I cannot see. I can’t see the devastating impact of my sins upon others. I hate to think about that. I also often miss the pain others are in and how you might be calling me to love them or help them. Help me in all of this, Father. Help me to love others and love you well. And even if I can never see what is around me on this side of life, help me to at least understand there are things I cannot see and to be humble before you in the knowledge that I am simply not as strong, smart, or whatever as I think I am.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 13, 2025 in 2 Corinthians, 2 Kings, Ephesians, Hebrews

 

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Luke 17:11-19

12 Nov

11 As Jesus continued on toward Jerusalem, he reached the border between Galilee and Samaria. 12 As he entered a village there, ten men with leprosy stood at a distance, 13 crying out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.

15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, “Praise God!” 16 He fell to the ground at Jesus’ feet, thanking him for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan.

17 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?” 19 And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go. Your faith has healed [saved] you.”

Luke 17:11-19

Dear God, I think I want to spend some time with the other nine. What we call how they responded to their healing? Maybe the exuberance of ingratitude? They were just so excited, they were probably running to the priests. They were probably thinking about seeing their families and friends who had been estranged from them. Maybe even a wife and children. My wife and I used to have this saying after either of us had been sick and then were feeling better: “It just feels so good to feel good again!” Well, these men were not only feeling bad, but they had been abandoned and isolated. Their exuberance in their healing accidentally led to ingratitude.

Since I’m not Disney Princess (see this link for explanation), I can recognize myself in the nine ungrateful but healed lepers. Probably my biggest one is that I am ungrateful for food. I’ll pray before a meal when I’m with someone else, but I almost never do it alone. And when I’m praying, a lot of times I forget to thank you for the food. I’ve lived in a place of excess when it comes to food my entire life. I’ve never wanted for food. And I’ve never wanted for enough money to go and buy the food I need in a store that 99.9% of the time had all of the food I would need readily available (the other .9% was Covid). Never. It’s almost shameful how I’ve never wanted for food. Am I grateful to you for the food and the money to buy it? I try to be, but the truth is that I’m arrogantly ungrateful.

The nonprofit where I work experiences great success with fundraising. We are in a capital campaign right now, and we’ve almost raised the entire goal, over 70% of which came from two foundations, two bequests, and a COVID-related payroll tax program from the government. Am I really grateful to you for this?

But let’s get more personal. My wife. My wife is amazing. She is kind, generous, smart, thoughtful, loving, faithful in her worship of you, and an overall “great hang.” I enjoy her so much. And she and I are both remarkably healthy, not having to even take any prescription medications well into our 50s. Am I grateful for this? Do I really thank you for these things? I see the pains in my life, and I lament them (and they are lamentable), but they could be so much worse. I see people facing much more difficult situations that I am. Do I thank you for the good you have done for me and those I love, and do I pray enough for those who have difficult situations? Does my gratitude for my situation drive me into deeper prayer for others who are not as fortunate, or do I callously go through my day?

Father, the truth is that I should probably spend every moment of my day in thankful prayer to you. There is no way I can thank you enough! You know the challenges I have in front of me. Help me to face them with the love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control you are growing in me through my worship of you. Give me what you need me to have to love you. And I pray for others who are struggling. I’m running some of their names through my head right now. Love them. Provide for them. Comfort them. Show me how to love them. There is pain in this world. Make this pain count. Don’t let it be wasted. And use me and the place I work as an instrument of your peace.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 12, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 17:7-10

11 Nov

7 “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? 8 No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ 9 And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. 10 In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”

Luke 17:7-10

Dear God, some of what Jesus says seems so contradictory. At times it seems like he is talking about servant leadership, the last shall be first, etc. Then at other times he looks at them and says something like this.

As I think about it, what I’m seeing is that all of us, whatever position of leadership we are in, need to be humble and have a servant’s heart. If we are a leader, we are there to be the best we can be for those who follow us. If we are servants, we are to do our best to make our leader/boss/master look good. Never, in any event, is it about us. It’s always about us worshipping you and loving them.

We are having a volunteer appreciation dinner tonight, and we will have both staff and volunteers there. I was thinking about it this morning and stressing over the evening, some of the logistics, etc., when I felt you remind me, “Just love them.” And that’s it. Love them. Love all of them. It was almost 20 years ago the first time I came to this organization’s volunteer appreciation dinner. I hadn’t even started working for the organization at the time. But it was the night I met a lot of people who would become precious to me. Many of them have passed away now, but a lot of them are still living and a few will even be there tonight.

Father, give me a heart of celebration today. Yes, there are problems around me, but I want to consider it all joy. Each moment and its problems are just the next moment. Help me to move through these collective moments. Guide me with your Holy Spirit. I worship you. I praise you. Help me to take the love you have for me and spread it to those around me. And make the path before me, that seems very complicated, straight.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 11, 2025 in Luke

 

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Psalm 139:1-12

10 Nov

Psalm 139

For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 O Lord, you have examined my heart
    and know everything about me.
2 You know when I sit down or stand up.
    You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
3 You see me when I travel
    and when I rest at home.
    You know everything I do.
4 You know what I am going to say
    even before I say it, Lord.
5 You go before me and follow me.
    You place your hand of blessing on my head.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too great for me to understand!

7 I can never escape from your Spirit!
    I can never get away from your presence!
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there;
    if I go down to the grave, you are there.
9 If I ride the wings of the morning,
    if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
    and your strength will support me.
11 I could ask the darkness to hide me
    and the light around me to become night—
12     but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.
To you the night shines as bright as day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you.

Psalm 139:1-12

Dear God, I am grateful for your love. I am grateful to be known by you. I am grateful that I cannot hide from you. I’m grateful to know you see my sin–to be freed from the idea that I need to hide things from you. I might cling to my sin. I might deny it’s there and not want to let it go. But I know there’s no point in trying to hide it from you. There’s great freedom in that.

The gospel reading today is from Luke 17 and includes verse 3b-4: “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. 4 Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.” I accept your rebuking. I accept your forgiveness for my foolishness, hard-heartedness, and my unwillingness to always refuse other gods before you. Thank you for that. Help me to give this forgiveness to others–70 X 7.

Father, I want to quote the Rich Mullins song “Nothing is Beyond You,” which is based on Psalm 139: “Nothing is beyond you, you stand beyond the reach of my vain imagination. My misguided piety. Heavens stretch to hold you, and deep calls out to deep saying, ‘Nothing is beyond you.’ Time cannot contain you. You fill eternity. Sin could never stain you. Death has lost its sting. And I cannot explain how you came to love me, except to say that nothing is beyond you. Nothing is beyond you.”

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 10, 2025 in Psalms

 

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Luke 16:1-18

08 Nov

16 Jesus told this story to his disciples: “There was a certain rich man who had a manager handling his affairs. One day a report came that the manager was wasting his employer’s money. 2 So the employer called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Get your report in order, because you are going to be fired.’

3 “The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. 4 Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’

5 “So he invited each person who owed money to his employer to come and discuss the situation. He asked the first one, ‘How much do you owe him?’ 6 The man replied, ‘I owe him 800 gallons of olive oil.’ So the manager told him, ‘Take the bill and quickly change it to 400 gallons.’

7 “‘And how much do you owe my employer?’ he asked the next man. ‘I owe him 1,000 bushels of wheat,’ was the reply. ‘Here,’ the manager said, ‘take the bill and change it to 800 bushels.’

8 “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. 9 Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.

10 “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. 11 And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? 12 And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?

13 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

14 The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. 15 Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.

16 “Until John the Baptist, the law of Moses and the messages of the prophets were your guides. But now the Good News of the Kingdom of God is preached, and everyone is eager to get in.[d] 17 But that doesn’t mean that the law has lost its force. It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the smallest point of God’s law to be overturned.

18 “For example, a man who divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery. And anyone who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”

Luke 16:1-18

Dear God, I’ve always struggled with this story. If it hadn’t been the gospel reading for today I would never have picked it. But one of the nice things about a reading plan is that it will sometimes take me through a difficult passage whether I like it or not.

After I read it again this morning, I immediately went and grabbed my biblical commentary on it. In this case, It’s The Communicator’s Commentary: Luke by Bruce Larson. I’m just going to completely copy the two paragraphs he takes to explain this passage’s meaning:

Jesus tells two parables about money. The first one deals with the purpose of money. Some have said that this story of the unrighteous steward is the most difficult of all the parables. Incompetence and dishonesty seem to be rewarded. That’s not the message of this parable. In verse 9, Jesus talks about “unrighteous mammon.” Unrighteous mammon was interest money, profit from usury. The Jews were forbidden to lend money at interest, but they got around this by lending out commodities, oil, corn, or wheat, and charging interest. Since you could dilute the oil, the interest on that was 100 percent. On wheat, interest was perhaps 20 percent. This man, through his steward, was charging his neighbors interest, and this illegal interest was the unrighteous mammon to which Jesus refers.

When the steward finds that he is going to be fired, he tells all those who owe his master money to forget about the interest. They can return just exactly what they borrowed and no more. He bought friends and favor for the future when he would be unemployed. Not dumb! He was not punished for this because by doing it he bought favor for the master as well. The steward’s dishonesty made his master look pious. It’s an interesting story. George Buttrick has said, “This rogue acted with foresight.” He bought friends with money. Jesus is suggesting we act with the same kind of foresight and use our money for that which is lasting.

I don’t think I’ve ever heard the perspective that the owner was the one who was unscrupulous because he was charging interest. That’s an interesting perspective. It’s still a hard story for me, but I guess I just like this idea of being shrewd and, as Larson puts it in the last sentence, act[ing] with the same kind of foresight and use our money for that which is lasting.

Father, I have a difficult path ahead of me. You know exactly what the path is. I’m figuring it out one step at a time, and sometimes I’m making missteps as I walk it. My prayer to you is that you will reveal it to me clearly at each step. I don’t need to know the whole path. I’m willing to wait on you and your timing. But I need to see that next step and I need the courage to take that step. I need to be shrewd, but not so that I can get the advantage. I want every person involved in this to get the advantage. I want every person involved in this difficult situation to emerge from it in better shape than they are now, and if that means it costs me something then so be it. Help me to find that path, and help them path bring every person involved closer to you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 8, 2025 in Luke

 

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