Month: July 2022

Luke 21:34a “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life…

What strikes me about this section is the fact that Jesus doesn’t want me to be weighed down by the anxieties of life because He does not want me to be caught unaware when He returns. It’s not about a failing in me—my inability to fully trust Him— it is about His desire for my relationship with Him. He wants me to be with me so He doesn’t want me to be caught unaware.

Luke 21:34b “…and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap.

The shift in focus is at once both tiny and huge. My anxiety is not about me and my inability to trust. My anxiety is about things that come between me and my Savior, that cause me to take my eyes and my focus off of Him.

Luke 21:35 For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth.

Lord, Thank You for this shift in perspective, which at its heart is a lesson in humility. My anxiety—and this life—are not about me, my failings, my shortcomings, but about removing things from my life that take my focus off of You. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Luke 21:36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

Have a blessed day.

Luke 20:9 He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time.

Everything I have is God’s. It was given to me by God. It is not mine but His. Sadly, this right of ownership is as easy for me to forget as it was for the farmers in this parable. You metaphorically work the land long enough, and you begin to feel like you earned the rewards, like you deserve them. That’s pride.

Luke 20:10 At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

Because all that I have is from God, belongs to God, I should be giving back to Him every chance I get—time, talent, and resources. But, again, it’s easy to forget that the foundation of everything is from Him, of Him. It’s easy to get indignant that “after all my hard work,” He wants His share, deserves His share freely and without complaint, that in reality, it’s ALL His anyway. Forgive me, Jesus.

Luke 20:13 “Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’

Precious Savior, Thank You for continuing to work on my heart in the area of pride. Thank You for the illustration of The Parable of the Tenants. Thank You for the reminder that all that I am and all that I have is Yours. Forgive me. Help me. Amen.

Luke 20:14 “But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’

Have a blessed day.

Luke 19:3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd.

Typically when I read this section, my focus is on Jesus and His reaction to Zacchaeus, but much can be learned by studying Zacchaeus in this passage. 1. He was short but determined. He couldn’t see over the road so he climbed a tree. 2. He wasn’t concerned with what others thought. If he were, he probably wouldn’t have climbed the tree, wouldn’t have met Jesus, wouldn’t have changed.

Luke 19:4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

3. He was actively seeking Jesus. His curiosity wasn’t just hypothetical. He put his searching into action. 4. He responded to Jesus’s invitation. He could have said, “I’m good. I was just curious.” Instead, he acted and acted differently than he had in the past. 5. He made amends. Zacchaeus knew what he had done, knew what he needed to do to follow Christ. He made a commitment to follow Him and make amends.

Luke 19:8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Lord, Thank You for seeing Zacchaeus and all those who actively seek You. Help me to be active and determined yet humble as I seek You daily. Help me respond daily to Your invitation of faith. Help me to make amends when I do not treat others as I should. Renew my heart, Lord. Draw me closer. Amen.

Luke 19:9-10 Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Have a blessed day.

Luke 18:13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

Commentary says about this chapter, “It is impossible for us to give more to God than He gives back to us.” Perhaps this idea is the key to balance. There is a lot of kingdom work to be done. It is easy to get discouraged, weary, to long for recognition for all my efforts. But no matter how much I give, I can’t out give God.

Luke 18:22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

But out giving God is not the point. Earning the blessings He’s lavished upon us is impossible. For me, it’s about keeping focus on Him so I can avoid the worldly traps of discouragement, weariness, and desire for recognition.

Luke 18:27 Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

Lord, Thank You for helping me wrestle with these issues that plague my heart. Help me to stay focused on You, centered on You, renewed in You. Help me to be still and know that You are God. Help me turn fully from this world and rest in You alone. Amen.

Luke 18:40-42 Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, I want to see,” he replied.

Have a blessed day.

Luke 17:7 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’?

Lord, Thank You for the many blessings You have lavished upon me. I don’t deserve them. I can never earn them. Yet I am eternally grateful for You and for Your blessings.

Luke 17:8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’?

Lord, There is always so much to do. I struggle with wanting this world to see and acknowledge my efforts. I struggle with weariness as I work. Forgive me. Help me.

Luke 17:9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?

Lord, You alone are worthy, and I am so thankful for the Kingdom work You have assigned me. Give me strength. Renew my spirit. Help me to not seek or need any validation from this world. Keep me focused on You alone. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Luke 17:10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”

Have a blessed day.

Luke 16:10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

Our words and actions flow out of our hearts. What we say, what we do, reflect what we love and value. So I can talk all day long about my love for my Savior, but if my actions don’t line up with my talk, my heart isn’t in the right place.

Luke 16:11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?

I’ve done a lot of good in my life. If I focus only on that, I can feel pretty smug about the state of my heart (which is a problem in and of itself), but I’ve been incredibly honest about my shortcomings—my fear and worry, my bitterness and anger. Clearly, I still have work to do.

Luke 16:12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?

Lord, Thank You for whispering to my heart daily. Thank You for the good I am able to put out into this world. Thank You also for the knowledge that I still have work to do, that there are strongholds in my heart that still need to be surrendered to You. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Luke 16:13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Have a blessed day. I love you.

Luke 15:28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.

I have always sympathized with the older brother in this story, the non-prodigal, the one who stayed. Even now, I understand how he feels. He wants that validation, that recognition. He feels he *deserves* it, which is where the problem comes in. Bitterness has taken hold in his heart so that he can’t see the blessings readily available to him—the father and all his resources. He only sees what he feels is missing.

Luke 15:29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.

I am reminded of Luke 6:45 “…For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” The older son’s heart is full of bitterness. It is dripping from his words. And it causes him to miss the blessings that are and have been lavished on him daily. It causes his work for the father to be a burden, a chore.

Luke 15:30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

Precious Savior, Thank You for the words that You whisper to my heart. I am just as guilty as the older son of allowing bitterness to rob me of my servant’s heart. Forgive me. Take this bitterness from me. Help me to ground myself solely in You and not in this world. Amen.

Luke 15:31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.’”

Have a blessed day.