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Luke 6:37-42

12 Sep

37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

39 Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? 40 Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.

41 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 42 How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

Luke 6:37-42

Dear God, I’ve heard all these verses about not judging before, but what’s catching my eye today are verses 39 and 40. I’m blind. I’m foolish. I know so little. Can I really claim to have the ability or authority to lead others? And I love the idea that, although I am your student and certainly not greater than you, if I am fully trained I can become like you.

So how do I let you train me? I think it happens in times like this. Times when I honestly try to look at myself and pray that you will reveal my faults to me. When I read the Bible and look for myself in the bad examples and not just the good ones. Then it comes when I engage in relationship with like-minded people in whose faith and relationship with you I trust. My wife comes to mind. I have a few friends that come to mind. I need them to challenge me. To change me. And this has certainly happened over the years. Then there’s the media I consume. I must confess I’ve spent too much time violating my abstinence from social media and looking at some comments that last 24 hours. I’m sorry for that. It has not helped me to grow. Even Christians are fearing. If I get afraid, let it be on behalf of others and not myself.

Father, help me to take one more step through the narrow gate and on the narrow path today. Help me to simply be in your presence at all times, share your love at all times, and then be a source of comfort and clarity to others around me as i figure it out too. Let me be someone who is taught by you so I can become more like you and then help me to take that and teach what I learn to others so they can be more like you as well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 12, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 6:27-38

11 Sep

27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

32 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

Luke 6:27-38

Dear God, I have a pastor friend who likes to talk about walking around with leaky buckets and letting you flow through us to the people around us. I would think verse 38 here might be at least one of his inspirations for that metaphor, and I like that. I think about it sometimes when I’m interacting with people.

I was actually thinking about this passage and its corresponding passage from Matthew 5 yesterday when I heard the news about Charlie Kirk. Frankly, I didn’t know who he was when I heard the news he had been assassinated. From what I can tell, he was a Christian who felt a calling to admonish those he felt were going down a liberal path. Assuming that, like everyone else in the world, that there would be things he and I would agree on and disagree on, the thought that kept going through my mind when I thought about the tragedy was, Would Christians be willing to lean into Jesus’s words here and in Matthew 5? Will we be able to love our enemies and lean into their abuse (verses 27-29)? If he was truly representing you in his life and in the moment he was killed, then will we be able to rest on Jesus’s assurance that you bless us and blessed Charlie “when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted the same way”? (Matthew 5:11-12) Will our Christian leaders lead us in this to follow these principles? Will we take the momentum out of the pendulum that is swinging wider and wider between the right and the left and bring it back to the middle so we can show the world who you are and how you designed us to live–getting our freedom, peace, and joy through submission to you? Will we be “the salt of the earth”? (Matthew 5:13) Will we let our good deeds shine for all to see so that everyone will praise you? (Matthew 5:16)

I was talking once again to someone the other day about Ted Lasso. I still think the show is so remarkable because the main character exhibits almost all of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and people are amazed by it. He forgives quickly and easily. He loves. He is patient. Nearly all of them (except peace, which I think is only really felt through accepting your love and redemption). Can we, as Christians, do that in this moment?

And can all of us realize this is happening on both sides and see our own hypocrisy when we are outraged by an assassination on one side of the political aisle and not the other. I’m thinking about the Minnesota state legislator, Melissa Hortman, and her husband who were assassinated in their home along with another one who was shot a few months ago, leaving behind orphaned children. Are the people who were outraged that day as outraged now? Were the people who are outraged now outraged when that happened? When will we let Jesus take the wind out of these outrage sails and love our enemies?

Father, let it start with me. Help me to forgive, to love, and to accept my fate, whatever it might be, as your child and worshipper. If someone wants to take my life or hurt me for my faith in you and in my love for others then I pray that somehow, in the doing of it by them, you would get glory in their eyes and in the world’s eyes. I pray that you will not waste the pain that we are experiencing by this loss yesterday. I didn’t even know of Mr. Kirk 24 hours ago, but now I pray that his family will be comforted. You promised that to those who mourn. (Matthew 5:4) I also pray that they will be able to extend mercy and be peacemakers. (Matthew 5:7, 9). I pray that you will bless them for the persecution they’ve experienced. (Matthew 5:10). I pray that you will use this to teach your believers how to be merciful and to change the tide. There’s a line in the song “My Shot” in Hamilton that has stuck with me: “And if we win our independence\Is that a guarantee of freedom for our descendants?\Or will the blood we shed begin an endless\Cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants?” Use your people to break this cycle. Use your people to preach love and mercy. Let this be how the world sees us and draw conservatives and liberals alike to you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 11, 2025 in Luke, Matthew

 

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Luke 6:20-26

10 Sep

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.

24 “What sorrow awaits you who are rich,
    for you have your only happiness now.
25 What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now,
    for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh now,
    for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.
26 What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds,
    for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

Luke 6:20-26

Dear God, I have probably been too judgmental of The Chosen. One of the things I’ve said about it is that I’ve spent so much time with these stories and I’ve got them so pictured in my head that I don’t want their telling of the stories to taint what I have. But, frankly, that’s a pretty arrogant thing to say. I’ve made all kinds of conjectures about these stories. I’ve tried to read between the lines. I’ve tried to infer tone of voice. Why have I made my interpretation of it so sacred?

I bring this up because someone told me that The Chosen portrays Matthew writing Jesus’s notes down as he prepare the Sermon on the Mount. Help records it as Jesus fleshes it out and develops it into a kind of stump speech that he will give over and over again. Now, I don’t know if any of that is true, but I do like the idea of Jesus honing the message of the Sermon on the Mount down and then giving it over and over again. Today’s passage is an example of Jesus delivering this speech. It’s a little condensed from the Matthew 5-7 version, but the bones are here.

In this case, all of these blessings and warnings of this part of the sermon are all based on circumstances others and life circumstances are foisting upon me. Whether it’s persecution for following Jesus, hunger, or sorrow, there is a blessing to be had at some point. There is hope. Life is not hopeless. Had those people ever heard that before? Had they ever been given a hope of better days (or an eternity) ahead?

And the arrogant who looked down on the poor and reveled in their prosperity, they were warned too. And don’t we still have that sentiment today? Don’t I still get it sometimes? Don’t I judge those who don’t seem to be working hard enough and assume I am better than them? I know some who look at people who are in our country illegally and throw a blanket judgment on them without knowing the particular circumstances that led to their undocumented status. For example, I have a friend from grade school (almost 50 years ago) who was here illegally for a while in high school. She was from England and her father left her, her siblings, and her mother stranded in Texas with no way to get back or means of support. And it took years to get her documentation in order. There are an awful lot of people like that, but we cast judgment on all of them as law breakers who need to “go home” (even though it’s a home they’ve never known).

Father, my point is that I need to continue down this road of receiving your hope in my grief and mourning. Receiving your joy in my sadness. And receiving your mercy in my sin. And then generously giving your mercy to others, sharing my resources with others, and simply letting you live through me. Help me to do that today. Help me to know what it means to forgive those who have hurt and/or betrayed me. Help me to know how to love them–how to love everyone.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 10, 2025 in Luke

 

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Romans 8:26-28

09 Sep

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Romans 8:26-28

Dear God, this is one of those precious passages that is so encouraging. The problem is it’s also easy to misinterpret if one is a subscriber to prosperity gospel teaching. But before I get to verse 28, I want to spend some time with verse 26.

You, Holy Spirit, are so overlooked by all of us, but I think I’m getting a little better at thinking about you and the role you play in my life. The depths of your companionship with me. The teaching. The comfort. And the praying. This is the one I probably don’t think about as much. That you pray for me. And I don’t have to ask you to pray for me “with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” Paul indicates here that you just do it. And I have friends for whom I pray. I hope you are praying for them with groanings too because, frankly, I am just not a very focuses intercessory prayer. I’m not nearly as purposeful or disciplined about it as my wife is. She’s much better at praying for others than I am. But I also believe that you are there just loving me and praying for me and the things I care about.

This leads me to verse 28. The trick on my end is to not expect that I know what my good is. That’s where prosperity gospel teaching fails. It assumes we can identify when something is good for us or not. If I were to win the billion-dollar Powerball that was awarded the other night, I might think that is good for me, but you would know better. How many lottery winner who win large amounts actually have their lives improve? Not many. But there are the more practical things too. I remember in 2005 when I was really mad at you about not getting a specific job, but what I couldn’t see in the moment was you had something different for me. And there are things in my life that I want now. There are broken relationships I long to be healed. But maybe you don’t have that as what is best for everyone involved. I’m too ignorant to know what is your best, so the Holy Spirit is praying for me and my faith allows me (most of the time) to be patient and let you work things out for the collective good, not just my selfish wants.

Father, I love you. I trust you. I thank you. Holy Spirit, thank you for praying. Thank you for all that you do for me that I almost never acknowledge. Thank you for the comfort you give me. Thank you for teaching and directing me. Thank you for loving me. Now, as I have different names come to mind who need prayer, I pray that you will strongly support them. Love them. Bring glory to your name in their eyes and through their lives. Heal, but do it for your glory. Comfort. Teach. Provide. All for your glory. Our utmost for your highest.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 9, 2025 in Romans

 

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Wisdom 9:13-18

08 Sep

13 For who can learn the counsel of God?
Or who can discern what the Lord wills?
14 For the reasoning of mortals is worthless,
and our designs are likely to fail;
15 for a perishable body weighs down the soul,
and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful mind.
16 We can hardly guess at what is on earth,
and what is at hand we find with labour;
but who has traced out what is in the heavens?
17 Who has learned your counsel,
unless you have given wisdom
and sent your holy spirit from on high?
18 And thus the paths of those on earth were set right,
and people were taught what pleases you,
and were saved by wisdom.’

Wisdom 9:13-18

Dear God, I have a confession to make. As I was looking at the Catholic readings for the day, I almost just prejudicially skipped over this reading from Wisdom because it’s part of the apocrypha and Protestants don’t consider it scripture. And I’ve done this before. I did it yesterday. And last week. So it’s not like this is a new prejudice. It’s a pattern.

Here’s why I think it’s wrong of me to act like this. I’ve done prayers around secular movies. I’ve done prayers around secular songs or just stories. And regardless of this book’s level of authority as scripture, I should be willing to look at it and see if you have something to say to me through it. I am sorry for disregarding something that has been seen as scripture for thousands of years simply because someone took it out of the Protestant Bible hundreds of years ago.

With that said, let’s see what this still set of wisdom proverbs has to say.

This is quite poetic. I love the line, “15 for a perishable body weighs down the soul, and this earthy tent burdens the thoughtful mind.” My physical body puts this finiteness on me and I have huge limitations. I can only think to a certain extent. I can only pray to a certain extent. Move to a certain extent. Live to a certain extent. I can train each of thee things to get better. I can get smarter, be a better prayer, and even train my body to get faster and stronger. But there is still a ceiling I hit. And then all of those things will probably diminish from a peak of performance as I get older. No, it is true that this body certainly weighs down my soul. But the struggle against its limitations makes my soul stronger as I strive to commune with you. Thank you for reaching down to my and my limitations to meet me where I am.

Father, I have some decisions that need to be made today. Please help me to peer into the fog of my limitations and see what you need me to see. Guide me with your Holy Spirit so that I might move in the right direction for your glory’s sake and the sake of your kingdom coming and your will being done on earth as it is in heaven. The more I think about it, the more I like the fog analogy. I drove a long distance in a heavy rain yesterday. I had applied Rain-X to my windshield and it helped greatly. I had an advantage to nearly every other car on the road because I could see better. I’m not looking for an advantage over others, but I do want to be able to see as best as I can. Let them prayer be applying you as Rain-X to the eyes of my soul.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 8, 2025 in Wisdom

 

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Luke 6:12-49

07 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.

24 “What sorrow awaits you who are rich,
    for you have your only happiness now.
25 What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now,
    for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh now,
    for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.
26 What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds,
    for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

32 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

39 Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? 40 Students are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.

41 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? 42 How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

43 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. 45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? 47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. 48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. 49 But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

Luke 6:12-49

Dear God, to set the context, the “soon afterward” referred to in verse 12 is the stuff about Jesus being in conflict with the Pharisees about the Sabbath. So he goes away to pray all night. This is one of those times that I suspect he might have visited with you, Moses, and Elijah. But he knew he had some important decisions to make. I’m sure as he was going through the “hiring” process of picking the 12 and offering them the job he was going over the strengths and weaknesses of each of them. Peter: bold but can be impetuous and foolish. John: A bit of a hot-head and immature, but sincere. Thomas: Passionate but overwhelmed and confused. Judas: Well, we probably wouldn’t normally pick him, but we will need him later.

Then Jesus puts the 12 in front of everyone and starts his stump speech. Luke kind of gives us the condensed version of the Sermon on the Mount here, and the closer I get to you the more I lean into this sermon as the foundation upon which I need to build all of my perceptions and attitudes towards life. Don’t be afraid if I find myself suffering in some way. It will end one day one way or another. Love others, especially my enemies. Have mercy. Give selflessly and generously.

And to some extent I do these things, although maybe not as much as I should. So help me today. Help me to love those who have really hurt me. Help me to offer forgiveness and mercy to them. Help me to be what you need me to be for those who need me, regardless of what it costs me. Be glorified in my life.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 7, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 5:33-39

05 Sep

33 One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?”

34 Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. 35 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

36 Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.

37 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. 38 New wine must be stored in new wineskins. 39 But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”

Luke 5:33-39

Dear God, what is the role of fasting in my faith? I was having lunch with a friend three days ago, and he asked me when the last time I fasted was. I told him it was about 6 months. He was actually surprised it had been that recently. And I remember that day. I just woke up and as I started my morning it just felt like the right thing to do to fast that day. I had some big challenges at work that I wanted to bring to you at that level. I have the ever-present sorrows in my personal life I wanted to lift to you. So I took the day to fast and pray. And I think it was good. I’ve seen great success with that one specific challenge at work. And while I haven’t seen progress in my personal sorrow, I continue on with faith that you are working in ways I cannot see.

Interestingly, I just did a search for fasting in the New Testament and found only two references outside of the gospels. They were all in Acts and both involved selecting Paul and Barnabas for work.

I wonder why it wasn’t more a part of Paul’s instructions in his epistles. It seems like the kind of thing James would have told people to do. And John might have mentioned it too. Why did it kind of disappear?

Father, I know the point of this passage isn’t necessarily to get me to fast more. In fact, Jesus seems to be introducing a new standard while still saying that his disciples will resume the practice of fasting when he is gone. No, I think the point of this story is more about setting the tone for the difference between what Jesus is teaching us about who you are vs. the perception by the Jewish people up to that point. I’m not sure if I have things in my life that I’m doing that are foolish because they are no longer relevant. I don’t even think I can see those things on my own. So I guess my prayer is that the Holy Spirit will reveal to me the things I’ve made sacred that are irrelevant and the things that should be sacred that I’ve ignored or been reluctant to adopt. I guess I do have something else I need to lift to you before I stop this prayer. I am interviewing two people today and one person Monday for an open position where I work. Help me to see what you see and guide me to the right person. I have someone helping me in this process. Guide here as well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 5, 2025 in Luke

 

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John 5:1-11

04 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.

John 5:1-11

Dear God, okay, this is a fun story with a lot of layers. Here’s what I’m noticing when putting it in context with chapter 4:

  • Jesus has been watching Peter for at least a day or two. Maybe more. Maybe he was staying at Peters. but I need to go to John’s Gospel to see how he describes Peter meeting Jesus and how that overlaps with this. Peter’s brother Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist and went to find Peter after he met Jesus: 40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of these men who heard what John said and then followed Jesus. 41 Andrew went to find his brother, Simon, and told him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means “Christ”). 42 Then Andrew brought Simon to meet Jesus. Looking intently at Simon, Jesus said, “Your name is Simon, son of John—but you will be called Cephas” (which means “Peter”). 43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Come, follow me.” With this, I presume that John was baptizing in the Jordan near the Sea of Galilea because it doesn’t seem like it was a big decision to go on to Capernaum. Maybe Peter invited them there to stay. And then when Jesus was teaching one day he saw Peter’s boat and the pushed off.
  • This story isn’t about the content of Jesus’s teaching, but about Peter’s (and James’s and John’s) decision to follow Jesus. But I have to wonder what Jesus was saying and how Peter was hearing it. Was he giving his Sermon on the Mount stump speech? Was he talking about how the poor in spirit and mourning would be blessed? Was he talking about forgiving enemies, suffering through persecution, raising the bar on the standards of sin, teaching them to pray, etc.? What did Peter hear before the next part?
  • Jesus uses the miraculous catching of fish to not only impress and recruit Peter, but James and John also.
  • Peter had already seen the healing power. He had heard the lessons. But it doesn’t seem he was very impressed until this moment. He might have justified the healings. Maybe he had seen that before. But he had never seen the obvious power to manipulate nature and bend it to your will. I guess you could say the healings were that too, but these might still be rationalized.
  • Peter’s response to Jesus is to say he himself is not worthy of Jesus’s presence. Maybe he had just heard about all the ways Jesus said you can sin by lusting and hating and wanted Jesus to know up front that he was guilty. Guilty in your eyes. Guilty in Jesus’s eyes.
  • Jesus invited him, James, and John to follow him. Jesus ignored his admonition to leave him because he was too sinful. Instead, he invited him to follow. Jesus knew they would work out the sin part as they walked together.
  • Peter, James, and John decided to follow. They could have easily stayed in their squalor. And their paths would not be easy. It might have been easier to stay and fish. But they were part of changing the world and we are still talking about these simple fishermen from Galilea 2,000 years later.

Father, thank you for inviting me to be on this journey with you. Help me to know how to walk it. Love through me. Lead through me. Lead me through others you appoint to teach and show me the way. Your way. Help me to not veer from the path. Help me to show others the narrow way.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 4, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 4:38-44

03 Sep

38 After leaving the synagogue that day, Jesus went to Simon’s home, where he found Simon’s mother-in-law very sick with a high fever. “Please heal her,” everyone begged. 39 Standing at her bedside, he rebuked the fever, and it left her. And she got up at once and prepared a meal for them.

40 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. 41 Many were possessed by demons; and the demons came out at his command, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But because they knew he was the Messiah, he rebuked them and refused to let them speak.

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 4:38-44

Dear God, after my experience teaching on Saul and David, and then looking at the maps when it came to the seven letters to the churches in Revelation, I am becoming more interested in place. In this case, I am becoming more interested in Capernaum. And I’m also interested in the context of this story of Simon’s (Peter’s) mother-in-law in relation to when Simon was called as a disciple. I probably should have realized this by now, but I never noticed that this story happens before Jesus calls Simon to become Peter. So Simon has Jesus in his house, witnesses not only his mother-in-law’s healing, but also several other healings, and then will later have the fishing experience where there are so many fish the nets tear. So this is a prelude to that.

I wonder what Simon was thinking as this new prophet was in his house and healing all sorts of people. It must have been quite a spectacle. How did it set him up for the experience on the boat and Jesus calling him to follow?

The first thing I thought of this morning was a recent conversation I had with someone about something that is plaguing them. When I saw the description of everyone begging Jesus to heal Peter’s mother-in-law I wondered if I shouldn’t be begging you for the healing of several people I know. And these aren’t just physical ailments. Some are, but the ones that really distress me are the emotional ones. Hurts from the past that are unhealed. Secrets. Nightmares. The truth is, I don’t really know how to pray for this. I don’t have the words to say. But I know these situations need you. I know they need healing. I know they need the Holy Spirit to be praying, ministering, and helping.

Father, I beg you to help the people on my heart right now. Holy Spirit, I beg you to pray to the Father for them. Groan. Moan. Communicate the depths of my heart. Be with them. Break through the darkness. Tear back the lies. Shine light on the secret places so they might be freed. Oh, God, love them. Heal them, please, Jesus. Jesus, please heal them.

I pray this in that same Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 3, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 4:31-37

02 Sep

31 Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught there in the synagogue every Sabbath day. 32 There, too, the people were amazed at his teaching, for he spoke with authority.

33 Once when he was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon—an evil spirit—cried out, shouting, 34 “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”

35 But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” he ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.

36 Amazed, the people exclaimed, “What authority and power this man’s words possess! Even evil spirits obey him, and they flee at his command!” 37 The news about Jesus spread through every village in the entire region.

Luke 4:31-37

Dear God, to what extent am I supposed to pray like this? To what extent am I supposed to recognize demons and cast them out? Is my prayer life failing you in this way? Am I failing those around me in this way?

I looked at the map this morning to see where Nazareth and Capernaum were in relation to each other and to Jerusalem. Capernaum was on the Sea of Galilea while Nazareth is southwest of there and inland. Then Jerusalem was much father to the south. So the people in Nazareth tried to kill Jesus and his next move was to go to Capernaum. I wonder why. What took him that direction? Was it because it was farther from Jerusalem and he wanted to teach while letting some of the controversy die down a little? These are all wild suppositions. I don’t have the slightest clue. But it’s an interesting thing to note.

But back to demon possession, rebuking, and casting out, this seems like a big deal that I pretty much overlook in present day. I probably need to recognize it more. I probably need to look for it more. And maybe I should start in my own life and the lives of those closest to me. Am I or my loved ones being messed with in the demonic realm, and am I overlooking that in my prayers?

Father, I beg your protection right now. I beg it for myself, wife wife, my children, my siblings, my nieces and nephews, and my parents. For my coworkers. Over my home and the building I work in. Be with me. Be with us. Protect us. Guard us. Heal us. Redeem us to yourself. Whatever lies are keeping us trapped, let them be released. Oh, Father, be merciful, powerful, and healing. Cast out any demons involved in our lives through the power of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. Free us, please. Holy Spirit, pray for us. Guide us. Teach us. Love us.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 2, 2025 in Luke

 

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