Tag: Luke

Drawing Near

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Journal Entry // March 26, 2022

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him.

Luke 15:1 ESV

Am I offended by this statement as the leaders and teachers were when Jesus was ministering among the people? Mentally, I ascent to this statement and fully endorse the compassion and sensitivity that Jesus was showing to the crowds and understand that the lost and hurting were drawn to him because of his compassion and love. In practice, I am not so sure that I live out this same compassion and love toward sinners and those in need. Are those in need of Jesus drawn to me and my life? Am I putting myself in situations and opportunities to be around those who are vulnerable and in need? I know that I want to be this person that so models the life of Christ and the Spirit flowing out of me that the hurting are drawn to me. Yet, I feel I am lacking in this area of ministry. I am slow to leave my comfort areas that continue to give me a false sense of security.

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Unwilling Brood

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Journal Entry // March 25, 2022

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

Luke 13:34 ESV

The unwillingness of a stubborn and prideful heart to embrace the very thing that it desires. This is the picture Jesus paints for me as I read his lament over Jerusalem. The very people of the city who thought they were doing the will of God by punishing those they felt were false prophets and teachers. The very people who would adamantly defend their actions as holy and just and righteous. These are the very ones that were putting down and killing the messengers from the God they wanted to serve and honor. The very thing they were seeking, to be obedient to God and find his favor, is the one thing they were rejecting in their pride and arrogance. The question naturally arises in my mind, “Are you not just like Jerusalem?” Yes. A lot of the time I am just as hypocritical and ignorant to the Spirit of God moving in my life.

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Covetous Lies

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Journal Entry // March 23, 2022

And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 12:15 ESV

It is an extremely simple thing to fall into this trap laid out for me in this world. The allure of covetousness is all around me. It is being shouted at me, it is being whispered to me, it is being encouraged in me, it is used as a weapon against me at every moment of every day both from the world and in my very own heart. My eye sees and wants what it sees. My heart desires those things it sees in others. My soul wants to relax, eat, drink, and be merry. This is the very thing the world is pushing onto me. Companies use advertising to swell my covetousness. Friends and acquaintances are subtly comparing each other through covetousness intentions. And I join in this with them. I drop my guard against all covetousness and base my life on the abundance of possessions.

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Healthy Eyes

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Journal Entry // March 20, 2022

Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness.

Luke 11:34 ESV

How I view the circumstances of my life and the world around me through the lens of the gospel is what this passage is getting at. My eye direcst and guides me through this world and as such, it informs and directs not only the content of what I allow to penetrate my body and mind but how I view these things from a spiritual perspective. It is essential that my eye is healthy. This allows my entire body to be full of light. To be full of the gospel of Christ. When my eye leads me astray and I begin to view the things around me from a worldly perspective, the darkness grows and swells within me.

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Who Do You Say

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Journal Entry // March 19, 2022

Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Luke 9:20 ESV

As I was reading through this section of Luke, I started thinking about this shortened interchange of Jesus and his disciples where Peter gives his great foundational response to who Jesus is. I have always focused on Peter’s response to this question, but this morning I was interested in thinking about what brought Jesus to ask these two questions.

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Manifest Darkness

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Journal Entry // March 18, 2022

For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.

Luke 8:17 ESV

The deception of the enemy is that the truth of this verse is not a reality in my life. Step one in the process of temptation is to convince my heart and mind that hidden sin will not be made manifest, nor will it ever come to light. For this is the first hurdle any deception must overcome to lure me into temptation. The enemy knows that there is yet darkness that lies hidden in my heart. Darkness that is dormant and hidden even from my own self, as well as darkness that I have hidden in the corners of my heart. It is all of this sin and darkness that will be made manifest in light of the gospel. As the Lord brings the gospel into my heart, it illuminates and reveals those dark sinful areas of my heart. First making them manifest to myself to bring repentance and humility to my heart.

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Taking Offense

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Journal Entry // March 17, 2022

Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”

Luke 7:39 ESV

This passage stings quite a bit when I work through the thoughts I had as I was reading this chapter. First, the centurion is praised for his great faith and Jesus healed his servant without being near to them. Second, Jesus had compassion on a grieving mother and brought her son back to life as the funeral procession moved through. Third, we see Jesus strengthen the faith of John the Baptist by having his followers report all that they have witnessed. So as I arrived at this passage, I was thinking about how easy it is for even the faithful to have doubts and lose their way. I was beginning to question my heart and wonder if my heart was like this. Is my heart questioning and doubting the words of Jesus? Do I find him offensive at times?

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Good & Evil Treasure

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Journal Entry // March 13, 2022

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Luke 6:45 ESV

What is the barometer that we can use to measure the state of our heart? Surely it is from this statement that Jesus wants to warn and inform us about the type of treasure being stored in our heart. It is from this treasure within our heart that produces the visible fruit of words and actions that the world sees. Our measuring rod to indicate the status of our heart is simply our words and actions that flow out of the abundance in our heart.

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Grudging Obedience

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Journal Entry // March 11, 2022

And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.”

Luke 5:5 ESV

How often do I have this same reaction that Peter does to the command of Jesus. It is a simple matter of trust and obedience, yet I find it so extremely difficult at times to believe that Jesus actually knows what he is doing. Think about this passage. Peter was a professional fisherman who had just finished a night of fishing with his partners with no results. He was probably tired and on edge since they did not catch anything all night. As they are cleaning the nets and preparing to leave, Jesus comes over and tells him to go out to the deep part of the water and cast his net. I can almost hear the incredulous snickers coming from his partners behind Peter. Here is a carpenter/teacher telling trained professional fisherman how to catch fish. It sounds absurd. And that is Peter’s response. And mine…

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Needing His Presence

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Journal Entry // March 9, 2022

And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.

Exodus 33:15 ESV

Just a few sentences prior to this verse, the writer tells us that the Lord would meet with Moses in the tent as a friend would – face to face. Yet, Moses was all too aware that he needed the presence of the Lord leading him and the people in every endeavor and at every moment. The man that talked with God as a friend pleaded with his friend to go with them or to not send them at all. I feel this disconnect at times in my life. Probably more often than I truly realize it, if I give an honest evaluation. I tend to meet fairly regularly with the Lord in the mornings and could even say there is that friendship through the Spirit. But what I tend to lack is this firmness that Moses has about depending on the Lord in each endeavor of daily life.

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