Luke 10 : 25 - 28, 37
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?"
He answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind', and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "
"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live."
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?".....
"The expert of the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him."
Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise."
If I love God with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind and love my neighbor as myself, I will live. Jesus responds to the expert's question about what to do to inherit eternal life. It seems that love God and neighbor is the answer. Having mercy on others is another command Jesus gives.
Anyone who I see in need is my neighbor whom I should help as best as I can. Mercy and love is what I need to give.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Monday, January 5, 2015
Luke 9: 28 - 62
Luke 9: 37 - 62
The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. A man in the crowd called out, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. A spirit seized him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the moth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not."
A man cries out from the crowd for the help of Jesus. He has asked for help before from the disciples who were unable to drive the demon out. He has a problem. He asks for help. This is his only child. The child screams suddenly, gets thrown into convulsions, causes him to foam at the mouth. It is destroying him.
My problems don't compare with the heartache this man was having over seeing his child this way. My problems have more to do with not being able to reach my goals of who I want to be or priorities I want to set. Yet they are still problems. I can also cry out to Jesus for help. I didn't do that today. Today was frustrating for me. I am struggling with my teacher role overpowering my mother role. I don't know how to make them mesh. I like mothering more than teaching yet somehow I know they should fit together. I need the help of my God. He knows how it should work. He knows what will help me. Trust comes into play here again. I tried to trust today but felt like I was getting punched down each time I got back up to trust.
Oh Lord, I am sorry I so often do not ask for your help. Why would I go anywhere else without coming to you first. I want love and care for my sons. The teaching seems, at least to me, to be getting in the way. I feel like the teaching has become me inspecting their work for mistakes instead of bringing out their strengths. That makes me feel unloving even if it shouldn't. I don't know what I need to do or if I need to just be. Guide my thought and plans. Please, speak to my heart how to be the mother and wife you made me to be.
The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met him. A man in the crowd called out, "Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. A spirit seized him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the moth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not."
A man cries out from the crowd for the help of Jesus. He has asked for help before from the disciples who were unable to drive the demon out. He has a problem. He asks for help. This is his only child. The child screams suddenly, gets thrown into convulsions, causes him to foam at the mouth. It is destroying him.
My problems don't compare with the heartache this man was having over seeing his child this way. My problems have more to do with not being able to reach my goals of who I want to be or priorities I want to set. Yet they are still problems. I can also cry out to Jesus for help. I didn't do that today. Today was frustrating for me. I am struggling with my teacher role overpowering my mother role. I don't know how to make them mesh. I like mothering more than teaching yet somehow I know they should fit together. I need the help of my God. He knows how it should work. He knows what will help me. Trust comes into play here again. I tried to trust today but felt like I was getting punched down each time I got back up to trust.
Oh Lord, I am sorry I so often do not ask for your help. Why would I go anywhere else without coming to you first. I want love and care for my sons. The teaching seems, at least to me, to be getting in the way. I feel like the teaching has become me inspecting their work for mistakes instead of bringing out their strengths. That makes me feel unloving even if it shouldn't. I don't know what I need to do or if I need to just be. Guide my thought and plans. Please, speak to my heart how to be the mother and wife you made me to be.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Luke 9: 1 - 27
Luke 9: 3 - 4, 6
Take nothing for the journey- no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. ... So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.
Jesus told his disciples to go with nothing and heal and preach. Nothing. To trust that they would be taken care of somehow.
Trust. That is the core issue in my life. Faith. What I do demonstrates what I believe, really believe. When I worry that my performance won't be good enough I am not trusting but trying to control things myself. I need to trust that though I may feel as if I have nothing to bring to my situation (teaching my children is the situation tonight) God will take me through and provide what is needed. I don't have to worry about the outcome, I need to just trust and obey. It isn't about me. The teaching is about following God's command to teach my children and about loving them. It is about giving my kids what they need and helping them achieve their best - not me having what I need or being the best homeschool teacher ever. God will take my hearts work and make it enough as I trust in him.
Take nothing for the journey- no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic. Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town. ... So they set out and went from village to village, preaching the gospel and healing people everywhere.
Jesus told his disciples to go with nothing and heal and preach. Nothing. To trust that they would be taken care of somehow.
Trust. That is the core issue in my life. Faith. What I do demonstrates what I believe, really believe. When I worry that my performance won't be good enough I am not trusting but trying to control things myself. I need to trust that though I may feel as if I have nothing to bring to my situation (teaching my children is the situation tonight) God will take me through and provide what is needed. I don't have to worry about the outcome, I need to just trust and obey. It isn't about me. The teaching is about following God's command to teach my children and about loving them. It is about giving my kids what they need and helping them achieve their best - not me having what I need or being the best homeschool teacher ever. God will take my hearts work and make it enough as I trust in him.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Luke 8
Luke 8: 36 - 37
Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.
The reaction of the people who saw Jesus heal "Legion" was fear. They were so afraid that they asked him to leave.
I wonder what they missed because of their fear. The Bible does not say they were amazed. The word afraid makes it seem like they didn't like what he did. Maybe they didn't understand it. Maybe they thought he would change things too much. They didn't realize what a wonderful gift they had right with them but asked him to leave. And he did.
Do I ever ask Jesus to leave because I am scared of what he might do in my life, the changes he might make? I need to open my eyes daily to what wonders God is doing in my life and be amazed, not afraid. I need to be willing to see what he will do in my world.
Lord, help me to see your wonders with fresh, eager eyes. Help me to never turn you away. Help me to be excited instead of fearful when I see wonderful, troubling, or strange things. Let this passage soak in. Please show me anything else you want me to see from Luke 8.
Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.
The reaction of the people who saw Jesus heal "Legion" was fear. They were so afraid that they asked him to leave.
I wonder what they missed because of their fear. The Bible does not say they were amazed. The word afraid makes it seem like they didn't like what he did. Maybe they didn't understand it. Maybe they thought he would change things too much. They didn't realize what a wonderful gift they had right with them but asked him to leave. And he did.
Do I ever ask Jesus to leave because I am scared of what he might do in my life, the changes he might make? I need to open my eyes daily to what wonders God is doing in my life and be amazed, not afraid. I need to be willing to see what he will do in my world.
Lord, help me to see your wonders with fresh, eager eyes. Help me to never turn you away. Help me to be excited instead of fearful when I see wonderful, troubling, or strange things. Let this passage soak in. Please show me anything else you want me to see from Luke 8.
Friday, January 2, 2015
Luke 7
Luke 7: 13 - 14
When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!"
Jesus had compassion on a widow whose son had died. He didn't want her to cry. He brought her son back to life.
Jesus cares when I am sad. When his people suffer, he suffers. He wants good things for me. I want to rely on this truth. When I hurt, he is hurting too. I can turn to him. He may or may not change my situation but his compassion for me does not change.
Lord, may I see clearly how you love me when I am sad. When my heart is torn, when I weep, when I feel like I am at the end of all I know, turn my eyes to see your compassionate face. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for loving that woman!
Luke 7:37 - 38
When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
A woman who was known to be sinful entered a Pharisee's house at risk of being thrown out. She approached a man in a way that could be misinterpreted. She cried, wept, got him wet, dried him off with her hair, poured perfume on him, and kissed him. How bold!
This woman didn't care what others thought. She was either looking for forgiveness and was desperate or thought so much of him that she wanted to honor him. How often do I do things for my Lord without thinking about how others may view me? Can I honor him as he is worthy of honor without a thought to what it might cost me?
Lord,
I want to live for you. I don't want to be caught up in what others think of me. I don't want to be worried over doing things just right. I want to be consumed with thinking and responding to you, not others. Please show me if there is something you want of me and give me the humility to do it with abandon to you.
When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!"
Jesus had compassion on a widow whose son had died. He didn't want her to cry. He brought her son back to life.
Jesus cares when I am sad. When his people suffer, he suffers. He wants good things for me. I want to rely on this truth. When I hurt, he is hurting too. I can turn to him. He may or may not change my situation but his compassion for me does not change.
Lord, may I see clearly how you love me when I am sad. When my heart is torn, when I weep, when I feel like I am at the end of all I know, turn my eyes to see your compassionate face. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for loving that woman!
Luke 7:37 - 38
When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
A woman who was known to be sinful entered a Pharisee's house at risk of being thrown out. She approached a man in a way that could be misinterpreted. She cried, wept, got him wet, dried him off with her hair, poured perfume on him, and kissed him. How bold!
This woman didn't care what others thought. She was either looking for forgiveness and was desperate or thought so much of him that she wanted to honor him. How often do I do things for my Lord without thinking about how others may view me? Can I honor him as he is worthy of honor without a thought to what it might cost me?
Lord,
I want to live for you. I don't want to be caught up in what others think of me. I don't want to be worried over doing things just right. I want to be consumed with thinking and responding to you, not others. Please show me if there is something you want of me and give me the humility to do it with abandon to you.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Luke 6
Luke 6:37 - 38
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
God doesn't want us to judge and condemn but to forgive and give. The results of doing this will be blessing for us. What standard we use will be used to measure us.
Forgiveness and giving to others should be my focus. If I am forgiving and giving, I won't have space in my brain left for judging and condemning. I will be thinking about others, not myself. I want to trade in my tendency to judge others replacing it with forgiving and giving to them. I want to look at others with the same love I want them to look at me with. It goes back to treating others as I want to be treated. Loving others is the heart of what Jesus is about.
Lord, help me to love, really love others. To see them as you see them. To forgive them for harsh words, bad choices. To give them acceptance and understanding, compassion and love. Change my mind to love. Teach me more of the depths of your love.
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
God doesn't want us to judge and condemn but to forgive and give. The results of doing this will be blessing for us. What standard we use will be used to measure us.
Forgiveness and giving to others should be my focus. If I am forgiving and giving, I won't have space in my brain left for judging and condemning. I will be thinking about others, not myself. I want to trade in my tendency to judge others replacing it with forgiving and giving to them. I want to look at others with the same love I want them to look at me with. It goes back to treating others as I want to be treated. Loving others is the heart of what Jesus is about.
Lord, help me to love, really love others. To see them as you see them. To forgive them for harsh words, bad choices. To give them acceptance and understanding, compassion and love. Change my mind to love. Teach me more of the depths of your love.
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