Thursday, September 29, 2011

Be Ready For The Sower

Let God's word take root in your life.


Luke 8:4-8, 11-15  While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable:

5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.

6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.

7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.

8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. 14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. 15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

The Sower cast his seed, he doesn't judge the soil conditions, without any discrimination he throws the seed out. The sower hopes to find good soil but some of the seed falls on the path, some of it falls on rocky ground, or in the middle of a patch of thorns. 

The Sower knows that the landing determines how successful the seed is, pretty easy to understand, good soil will allow a good, healthy seedling to appear. The way to achieve this, according to Jesus, is to have a good heart. Remember the lesson that Jesus taught in Luke chapter six about the good tree with the good fruit? (Luke 6:43-45) That big tree with all of that good fruit started with a seed that landed in good soil.

It is my responsibility to take care of the condition of my soil. The Sower isn't going to force me to have good soil, I have to get the thorn bushes and the rocks out of my life. I have to protect my soil and keep people from trampling on it so that the seed will take root. l must determine that I will be humble, teachable and obedient.

Psalms 119:11  I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Help me Lord to be ready for the seed that you plant in my heart.

You might like to read:
Keep My Commandments  //  What's In Your Heart?  //  Resolve To Read The Bible

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Love And The Lack Of It

The woman who anointed Jesus' feet proved how much she loved him.


Luke 7:39-50  When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”

Then Jesus answered his thoughts. “Simon,” he said to the Pharisee, “I have something to say to you.”

“Go ahead, Teacher,” Simon replied.

 41 Then Jesus told him this story: “A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. 42 But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that?”

 43 Simon answered, “I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt.”

“That’s right,” Jesus said. 44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.

47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” 48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”

49 The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?”

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

Jesus was just anointed by a woman that poured expensive perfume on his feet, as the Pharisee points out to us the woman is a sinner! Eeewww! Jesus allowed a sinner to touch him!

We don't know the Pharisees' motive for having Jesus over for dinner but it isn't out of love for him. This Pharisee was about to learn a lesson about forgiveness. The Pharisee wasn't even friendly to Jesus, he didn't even concern himself with Jesus enough to offer him some water to wash up.

Jesus wasn't afraid to touch sinners, Jesus had touched this "sinner" woman her and now she wanted to reach out to Jesus and touch him, her motive was to bow down and worship the man that had released her from the sinful life that she was in bondage to. Her sincerity and intensity makes most of our worship experiences look very weak.

Psalm 103:12-13  He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

I need to keep my life and the mistakes that I have made in mind when I think that I have the right to look down on other people. Keeping my sin in perspective and remembering what I deserve should have an effect on the intensity of my worship and it should show up in my love for others.

I love you Lord for removing my sin and taking it upon yourself, I want to worship you as sincere as this woman did.

There seems to be two separate occasions where Jesus was anointed, you can compare them here.

You might like to read:
Give God The Glory  //  Worship As A Lifestyle  // Where Are You

Friday, September 23, 2011

God Cares About Our Sorrows

Jesus compassion moves him to action.


Luke 7:11-17  Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him.

12 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her.

13 When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. 14 Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” 15 Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

16 Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.” 17 And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside.

In our previous study on Luke 7:1-10 we read about Jesus healing the slave of a centurion in the city of Capernaum. The Roman official had amazing faith that was superior to anybody else that Jesus had met.

Today we catch up with Jesus as he is coming to the village of Nain, he has traveled 25 miles southwest of Capernaum, as he was coming in the village gate there was a funeral procession on the way out.

Jesus humanness comes out, as he sees the widow that has lost her only son, he gets very emotional. Jesus compassion for the lady pushed him to get involved, he saw her fears and her sadness, he wasn't asked to step in and do anything but he couldn't stand by and watch without doing something. 

Imagine this scene, everybody is mourning the dead son and then Jesus touches the coffin and tells the boy to get up. Imagine carrying a coffin that starts to wiggle around on it's own, the person sits up and starts talking. All of a sudden the sadness is gone and everybody is amazed and praising God.

Lamentations 3:22-24  The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. 23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.  24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!”

Jesus is our hope, his love and his mercy never end, I must remember how compassionate that God is to us when we suffer. 

Thank you Lord for your concern for humanity. You are so mighty yet you care about my fears and sadness.

You might like to read:
Promises You Can Count On  //  Focus On God   //  Something From Nothing

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Faith That Is Amazing

Jesus wasn't impressed with the good works or status of the centurion.


Luke 7:1-10  When He had concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum.

2 A centurion’s slave, who was highly valued by him, was sick and about to die.

3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, requesting Him to come and save the life of his slave.

4 When they reached Jesus, they pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built us a synagogue.”

6 Jesus went with them, and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell Him, “Lord, don’t trouble Yourself, since I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. 7 That is why I didn’t even consider myself worthy to come to You. But say the word, and my servant will be cured. 8 For I too am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under my command. I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes; and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

9 Jesus heard this and was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following Him, He said, “I tell you, I have not found so great a faith even in Israel!” 10 When those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

There was a slave that was about to die, this slave was loved by his master, very unusual considering the fact that his master is a Roman military officer. The centurion was desperately wanting to help when news about Jesus came to him, he heard that Jesus had the power and that his slave could be healed.

This particular centurion was not your normal centurion, first the scripture tells us that he loves his slave and then we learn that he had been very generous to the Jews. He asked for a favor from the religious leaders, the same leaders that didn't like Jesus, I wonder how they felt about that.

The Jews considered the centurion to be a good guy, good enough that Jesus should go and help him, Jesus didn't agree or disagree about the centurion's morality, he just went. The centurion on the other hand didn't feel like he was as worthy as the Jewish elders thought that he was, he was humble, he didn't even want to go to Jesus directly much less have him come to his home. Jesus wasn't impressed with the good works or status of the centurion, he was impressed with his faith.

I need to have an amazing faith, wouldn't it be great to be known for your faith instead of the outward things that the world looks at.

Lord help me to grow in faith, trusting in your power over every circumstance.

You might like to read:
It's God's Decision To Heal  //  Believing The Impossible  //  Easy Faith And Great Faith

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Quietly Waiting

We don't like to wait and we usually aren't quiet about it.


Psalm 130:5-6  I wait for Yahweh; I wait and put my hope in His word. 6 I wait for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning — more than watchmen for the morning

Lamentations 3:26  It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord.

Micah 7:7  But I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

Psalm 37:7  Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him

Waiting, we don't like it, we don't like to take a number, we want to be served immediately. It is really the most basic form of selfishness, we want to be served and we want it now, I don't deserve to wait. We become unhappy customers real quick and we will probably make some noise about it certainly somebody else needs to hear that I am waiting

We take the same attitude with God, we want service now, fix my problem, answer my prayer, get rid of my pain. Again, we become unhappy customers. Problem is, God isn't running a business in the free enterprise system and your immediate satisfaction isn't a concern.

God's word tells us that it is good to wait and it is good to do it quietly and with anticipation, expecting him to answer us in his timing. We forget that God isn't a slave to our calendar, he has a plan and purpose that was  created long ago and he made his plans with much greater wisdom than we have to make our plans.

Help me Lord to wait on you quietly. 

Friday, September 16, 2011

Patience Until Christ Return

That's a long time to be patient, I can't wait!


James 5:7-12 Therefore, brothers, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also must be patient.

Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near. 9 Brothers, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!

10 Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience. 11 See, we count as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and have seen the outcome from the Lord. The Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

We used to say that something boring was about as much fun as watching the grass grow. Just imagine the fun that you will have while you are waiting for the seeds of patience to grow. It seems to take forever to before the seedlings pop up from the dirt and then you still have a long way to go before you get to eat any fruit.

James tells us that we have to live a lifestyle of patience until the day that Christ returns. Being patient isn't a natural instinct and nobody gets patient overnight, people will get at you and irritate you, they will talk bad about you and judge you (James 5:9) and they will treat you like Jobs friends treated him.
 
Nobody is after me right now but when they are I need to remember that God is in control (James 5:8) and he will reward me for my endurance and patience (James 5:11). I need to be able to wait without becoming annoyed or anxious.

Lord help me to be extend grace to those that are annoying, help me to see them as you do, with compassion and mercy.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Avoiding Disaster

How much of what you know about the Bible are you putting into practice?


Luke 6:46-49  “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?

47 I will show you what someone is like who comes to Me, hears My words, and acts on them:

48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When the flood came, the river crashed against that house and couldn’t shake it, because it was well built.

49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The river crashed against it, and immediately it collapsed. And the destruction of that house was great!”

Most of the people that will read this post have probably heard this story a hundred times, it is taught in Sunday School and there is a song that illustrates the story, but do you ever really dig into what it says about us?

Jesus says that there are people that listen to him teach that turn around and go home afterwards and never practice what they heard. The same thing happens today, we hear from God through our pastor or our quiet time or maybe through our Bible study leader and we might take notes and write it down, but how much do we actually obey?

Jesus says that our lives are headed for disaster if we fail to put what we have learned from him into action. If we effectively applied everything that we already know about God's word into our lives we would never be embarrassed when the storms come.

Thank you Lord for your word, thank you for being the God of second chances, allowing us to get back up after the storms knock us down. Help me to apply your commands so that I will stand firm.

You might like to read:
Trust And Obey // Hypocrite!  // The Only Source Of Wisdom

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Healthy Churches Focus On Needs

A church that is well balanced is what we need, meeting the needs of everybody.


Matthew 15:32  Now Jesus summoned His disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd"

Their are a lot of people with good intentions that say that the church is supposed to be focused on evangelism and forget about the rest of the work that needs to be done.

They have good intentions, obviously there are too many churches that are not producing any new believers and they are focused on pleasing themselves, but it seems to me that focusing on any one group of people is wrong. Jesus focused on people with needs everywhere he went he saw people with needs and he was moved with compassion.

The church should be putting Christ first and then everybody else that has a need. An ideal mission statement would look like this:

Exalting the Savior, Evangelizing the Sinner, Enlisting the Servant, Equipping the Saved, and Edifying the Saints.

Some need to be evangelized, some need to be equipped to serve, some need to be trained in evangelism and some need to be built up and encouraged. All of these people have needs that need to be met and our example from Jesus is that we need to meet needs.

Jesus saw the needs of every person, he didn't ignore the twelve disciples after they believed in him as the Messiah, instead he took them in real close and invested time in them so that they would be qualified to serve, evangelize and create more disciples.

I know that too many churches have no new believers and that is wrong but it is also wrong to allow the saints to be weak, lazy, unequipped and defeated, after-all that was the sad condition of God's people when Jesus came to earth. If God's people were spiritually and emotionally healthy then they would be more likely to produce more Christians.

Churches that are experiencing long term success and stability are meeting the needs of the sinners, the saved, the servants and the saints.

You might like to read:
A Soul Winning Church  // Make Disciples // Use Your Gifts

Monday, September 12, 2011

God's Word Is The Best Heart Cleaner

The man that knew God's heart was into God's word.


Psalm 119:9-16, 140-141  How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping Your word.

10 I have sought You with all my heart;don’t let me wander from Your commands.11 I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.

12 Lord, may You be praised; teach me Your statutes. 13 With my lips I proclaim all the judgments from Your mouth. 14 I rejoice in the way revealed by Your decrees as much as in all riches. 15 I will meditate on Your precepts and think about Your ways. 16 I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.

140 Your word is completely pure, and Your servant loves it. 141 I am insignificant and despised, but I do not forget Your precepts.

My previous post asked the question "What's in Your Heart?" Today I am looking at another question, it is David's question, "How can a young man keep his way pure?" or it could be stated "How can I keep my heart clean?"

David's question is a good one for us today. The question assumes that we can please God, we can live a clean life and who better to tell us about it than the guy that is said that he is a man after God's heart, a man that got it right most of the time. (1 Samuel 13:14, 1 Kings 15:5, Acts 13:22)

David tells us that if we want to keep our heart clean and please God then we need to be "keeping your word" David went a step further and said that he was seeking God wholeheartedly, it was an intense and deliberate action, his day had time set aside for God's word.

David knew that he needed God's help, David had been to the bottom morally and spiritually and yet God restored him and blessed him. David learned the hard way that God's way was the best way and the best way to know God's way is by staying in the Word and putting it into your heart.

I need to learn from David that I can do things my way or I can deliberately seek out God's way and live according to his Word. Help me Lord to keep on "digging the word" so that I will know your ways.

2 Samuel 22:31 God —His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is pure. He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

Friday, September 09, 2011

What's In Your Heart?

The condition of your heart is serious business, better keep it clean.


Luke 6:43-45  "A good tree doesn't produce bad fruit; on the other hand, a bad tree doesn't produce good fruit. 44 For each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs aren't gathered from thorn bushes, or grapes picked from a bramble bush.

45 A good man produces good out of the good storeroom of his heart. An evil man produces evil out of the evil storeroom, for his mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart.

Nature is always authentic, there isn't anything fake about it, like Jesus said, figs come from fig trees and grapes come from a grape vine. You don't have to worry about what you are going to get when you step into the garden. 

Jesus was about being authentic, he took on the fake righteousness of the Pharisees without hesitation, he was talking about the Pharisees in Matthew 15:8,18-20  when he said:

"These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a man.”

 It is a little scary to think about what comes out of the heart, the old saying is still true "garbage in, garbage out." The prophet Jeremiah warned us that our hearts are wicked and deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9).

I need to keep a close eye on my heart, it is real easy to allow the worlds garbage to affect our behavior, if I stay in God's Word everyday then I have a much better chance of doing good.

Thank you Lord for your love and salvation, I want to please you by doing good, help me to protect my heart.

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Mercy In Action

Here are some practical ways to show mercy.


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 back to you.”

Yesterday's post told us about love and about extending mercy just as radically as God has given mercy to us.

That leads us up to today's post about  judging and being generous, remember in Luke 6:31 from yesterday, Jesus told us "Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them." In today's verses we get some practical "how to" tips so that we can be radical about being full of mercy.

First of all we need to be merciful by not being judgmental, we need to be forgiving so that we will be forgiven, pretty simple when you see it written down but the day to day application isn't so simple. After all being merciful is about giving up my rights and we all like to have everything that we can get, this world doesn't live with the attitude that it is going to give up anything but that is the lifestyle that God has called us to.

The second way to be merciful is by giving to others. The greatest way that God displayed mercy to us was when he gave us the greatest gift that we could ever receive. Being merciful is directly linked to generosity and with being a cheerful giver, in fact everybody loves a cheerful giver.

Forgiveness and generosity must be a part of my lifestyle, I need to live this way so that others will be drawn to Jesus and they will experience his mercy as I have.

Help me Lord to be cheerful about giving up my rights and showing mercy to those around me.

You might like to read:
Mercy! Do I Have To Do That? // Mercy, I Didn't Deserve That! // Forgive The Offenders

Monday, September 05, 2011

Mercy! Do I Have To Do That?

Jesus teaches us to defy human reason and take on a lifestyle of love.


Luke 6:27-36  “But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.

29 If anyone hits you on the cheek, offer the other also. And if anyone takes away your coat, don’t hold back your shirt either. 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and from one who takes your things, don’t ask for them back.

31 Just as you want others to do for you, do the same for them. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners to be repaid in full.

35 But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Jesus came to our world with some radical new ideas, since the beginning of time there had never been much kindness in the world, this new teaching was very different.

Jesus walked into a very harsh world and said that we should love everybody without exception and even if you are having a hard time loving them he still wants you to treat them very well. Do good to them and allow them to get away with taking from you and mistreating you. This is a very different teaching that meant taking love to the next level and showing mercy in the same way that God did. After all Jesus was on our planet because of God's great mercy.

Have you thought about the idea of showing mercy to the extent that your Father in heaven showed mercy to you? That seems ridiculous to those that are not a Christ follower but those of us that have experienced God's mercy have not been given any other option.

I need to remember that this world isn't all about me, God did not design it for my personal satisfaction, he did not promise me that everybody would like me. I will be mistreated and I will be misunderstood but I still need to show mercy without restraint, I need to be full of mercy regardless of how I feel or what I think that I have a right to. God loved me without standing up for his rights and he wants me to do the same.

Thank you Lord for showing me mercy instead of being a score keeper.

Friday, September 02, 2011

Happy Anniversary Baby

11th anniversary! How can 11 years be gone already?


1 Corinthians 13:4-8  “Love suffers long, and is kind; love does not envy; love does not promote itself, is not puffed up, does not behave badly, seeks not her own, is not easily provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails”

How can it possibly be that 11 years are past, our kids are twenty-something and we are still not old? Time flies and rushes us along through the good times and the bad times.

I want to take a minute to thank you for your love for our kids, for doing your best to nurture them and to help them to become young adults that embrace our faith, thankfully they have made it their own. It took a lot of years to accomplish but our families have blended together into one new family.

Thank you for being my wife and friend, for loving me in the good times and the bad, for richer and poorer. Thank you for your heart for God and for missions, some of our best times have been on mission trips. Thank you for your compassion, your smile, your laugh and your determination.

I love you and thank God for you and for our family.