Month: September 2024

Luke 8:15 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.

Verse 18 can be read as a threat, and I resist that interpretation with every fiber of my being. My God is not a hateful God, wagging His finger and saying, “You’d better listen or I’m taking my toys, even those I already gave you, and leaving.” My God is a loving God. He builds people up. He encourages them in love.

Luke 8:16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.

I have a much easier time reading verse 18 as encouragement and reminder, as though God is saying, “Don’t slip into rote hearing. That way lies danger and complacency. Be an active listener, taking what you hear in My word and applying it to your life so that you can draw even closer to Me.”

Luke 8:17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.

Precious Savior, It hurts my heart that some see You as a vengeful, hateful, nagging, punitive God. Thank You that that is not who You are to me. Thank You that You are my loving, encouraging, uplifting, compassionate, merciful Savior. Help me to shine Your light for all to see. Amen.

Luke 8:18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.”

Have a blessed day.

Luke 8:8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

Commentary on today’s verses was fascinating, particularly because it touches on the idea of Reader Response Theory (RRT), which I fully subscribe to. RRT says that readers bring themselves to a text. Their lives, their experiences, help them make meaning of the text.

Luke 8:9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant.

Commentary goes on to say that this is true spiritually as well. If you aren’t looking for spiritual lessons, if you don’t understand or agree with spiritual ideas, you won’t see those things in the parable. But if you are looking to draw closer, to understand Jesus more, better, if you pay attention to the spiritual key (in verse 11), the spiritual lessons will be open to you.

Luke 8:10a He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you,

Precious Savior, I love when You open my eyes and show me how truths in my professional life fit with truths in my spiritual life. Your word is active and alive, revealing Your truths with each additional reading *because* I am looking, listening, reading, trying to see and understand You. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jer 29:13. Thank You. Amen.

Luke 8:10b …but to others I speak in parables, so that, “ ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’

Have a blessed day.

Luke 8:8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

Commentary on today’s verses was fascinating, particularly because it touches on the idea of Reader Response Theory (RRT), which I fully subscribe to. RRT says that readers bring themselves to a text. Their lives, their experiences, help them make meaning of the text.

Luke 8:9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant.

Commentary goes on to say that this is true spiritually as well. If you aren’t looking for spiritual lessons, if you don’t understand or agree with spiritual ideas, you won’t see those things in the parable. But if you are looking to draw closer, to understand Jesus more, better, if you pay attention to the spiritual key (in verse 11), the spiritual lessons will be open to you.

Luke 8:10a He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you,

Precious Savior, I love when You open my eyes and show me how truths in my professional life fit with truths in my spiritual life. Your word is active and alive, revealing Your truths with each additional reading *because* I am looking, listening, reading, trying to see and understand You. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” Jer 29:13. Thank You. Amen.

Luke 8:10b …but to others I speak in parables, so that, “ ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’

Have a blessed day.

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

I am not an expert gardener. In fact, my motto when it comes to plants is “Try to keep them alive.” But I know the joy of seeds sprouting, of potential peeking out of the soil. I get such a thrill to see those nascent shoots heading towards the heavens.

Luke 8:5 “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.

More than once, though, after a day or two of exciting potential, I have peeked in the pots to find…catastrophe. All that potential…gone, ruined. When I read today’s verses, that potential and excitement, that angst and disappointment are what I think of every time.

Luke 8:6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.

Precious Savior, Thank You for an analogy that makes total sense to me. I absolutely understand the potential, the promise, the excitement…only to see it wither. Help me to plant kindness, goodness, godliness deeply, to water it, to nurture it, so that it will blossom and grow and thrive. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Luke 8:7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.

Have a blessed day.

Luke 7:36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.

Commentary really helps me understand today’s verses differently. It posits that the woman would have had to be really bold to come into the house of the Pharisee, that Jesus’s feet would have been the only thing she could reach as His head would have been reclined toward the table, that the alabaster jar would have been expensive, that the entire scene would have been awkward.

Luke 7:37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume.

This woman strikes me as incredibly brave. Even if I were not a notorious sinner (and commentary indicates that she probably was), I would not have been comfortable barging into a Pharisee’s house to…pay homage? give thanks? to Jesus for forgiving me of my sins. I’m sure she was displayed as the epitome of what not to do in life, but I say that her extraordinary homage to Jesus is a guide to how to show Him our deep gratitude for His mercy and love.

Luke 7:38 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.

Precious Savior, Thank You for the example of the woman who lived a sinful life. Thank You for the beauty of her sacrifice–the sacrifice of her pride in coming into a Pharisee’s house to show her deep gratitude for Your goodness. Help me to look for ways in each day that I can show You my deep gratitude for who You are and who You are to me. Amen.

Luke 7:39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

Have a blessed day.

Luke 7:33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 

Commentary says about this section, “…those who have a heart to criticize will find something to criticize.’ This comment seems true in context of these verses as well as in life. I wish I could climb up on my soapbox and write about how all those other people need to stop living with a heart to criticize, but I know I’m guilty of this, so guilty, so I’ll sit over here quietly examining my own heart.

Luke 7:34 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’

I often say that you will find what you look for in life. If you look for the good, the blessings, you’ll see them everywhere. If you look for the negative, it’s everywhere, too. Looking for things to criticize is the same–if that’s what you are out to find, you will find things to criticize in every single situation you encounter. Jesus, help me.

Luke 7:35 But wisdom is proved right by all her children.”

Precious Savior, I know I will see what I seek in this day. Help me to seek You. Help me to seek, to look for the good, the positive, things to compliment in situations instead of the bad, the negative, and things to criticize. I don’t want to live life with rose-colored glasses, but I also don’t want to live life ready to unload vitriol at every opportunity. Help me. Root me in Your love, Your goodness, Your mercy. Amen.

Luke 7:36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table.

Have a blessed day.