The good news of Luke

  Luke 4:40 People are seeing and hearing about the miracles so they begin to act upon what they know.  This meant that Jesus became a very busy man!  And notice here, He healed everyone.  This is a rare occasion.  Usually it's just personal miracles that He does.

  Luke 4:38-39 Jesus typically didn't do things on mass. He catered to individuals as He did in today's passage.  A mother-in-law of one of His disciples is healed to the extent that she can get up and serve them.  What personal experience have you had with God lately?  How has your faith lead you to personal experiences with others?

Luke 4:37 He had questions for the church/temple leaders at the age of 12. John the Baptist recognized Him as someone greater than Himself. He walked away from a crowd that wanted to kill Him. He cast a demon out of a demon possessed man He was definitely worth talking about! How about today? What is Jesus up to in your life? Is He worth talking about?

Luke 4:33-36 I find it fascinating that there were demons in the temple yet I shouldn't be surprised. The church/temple is meant to be a place where people go to find healing. It's meant to be a hospital for the spiritually sick. What is interesting is the demon knew who Jesus was; "the Holy One of God" and it feared for it's life. The demon also knew Jesus had authority over it...even though it threw the man to the ground as it was being cast out. This spectacular confrontation with evil had the people impressed with Jesus. Lord Jesus, may we confront evil in such a way that You are glorified. Give us your wisdom and guidance, one day at a time. Amen

Luke 4:28-32 Yesterday we asked what would you do if God didn't perform a miracle for you? The people of Jesus's home town were furious...so furious they went to kill Him!!! But Jesus had a purpose, and His purpose wasn't fulfilled yet, so He walked away unharmed. Lord Jesus, help us to remember that when we're mad at You we're hurting ourselves more than we're hurting You. Teach us how to understand You more so we can spread Your Kingdom here on earth.

Luke 4:23-28 It's hard to understand when God says no to performing a miracle. In fact we don't understand; yet it's true, there were many starving widows but only one got a miracle. There were many sick people yet only Naaman was healed. What this tells me though is that God is a personal God. He's not there to be used but to relate to us in a very personal way. Are you the widow, or Naaman today. Have you looked beyond your circumstances to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Or are you the home town crowd who gets angry because things don't go your way? Lord Jesus, please help us to care more about our relationship with you than our immediate circumstances; and help us to be content with You when You perform miracles and when You don't. Increase our faith in You even when the spectacular miracles aren't happening. Thanks

Luke 4:22 Reading from Isaiah got the people's attention, and then saying the prophecy was fulfilled got them thinking...isn't this Joseph's son? Weren't they really saying how can He be God? It is good to ask; is Jesus God? It is said during the end times the anti-Christ will perform miracles so the miracles alone do not make Him God. Was He a lunatic? Delusional? These are questions we should ask because if He's God He's up to answering them for us.

Luke 4:18-21 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.” 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “ Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing .” After reading from Isaiah Jesus made a bold statement and said He was the one to proclaim good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind and liberty to the oppressed. He said this among people who knew Him, folks from His home town. What would be your response to this if you were there? Stay tuned for their response in the coming days.

Luke 4:16-17 Jesus went home and went about doing what He normally did. He went to "church" and He volunteered to read the Torah. It's interesting that they handed Him the book of Isaiah but He got to choose what verses He read. Stay tuned as we discover what He read tomorrow.

Luke 4:14-15 Life is full of variety. After the struggle with tempation Jesus returns filled with the Holy Spirit. He taught and was praised for His teaching. Everything was going well and news was spreading about Him.

Luke 4:13 Satan left Jesus but he didn't give up. His plan was to wait until an opportune time. Jesus was persistant with His quiet time with His Father so I don't know what the next opportune time was. Was it when the church leaders tried to trick Him with their questions or was it in the garden of Gethsemane. It doesn't really matter much except to remind us that satan is waiting for the right opportunities to attack. We need to be careful; yet far greater is He who is in us than He that is in the world. 1 John 4:4

Luke 4:9-12 This temptation was serious. I think Jesus knew He was around to take the world back from satan so for satan to offer his kingdom was a legitimate thought temptation. I dont believe Jesus saw satan. I believe He was tempted like us; through His thoughts. And this time satan used Jesus own weapon...scripture. Jesus, however, fought back with what He had read from His devotions that day (as far as I can inderstand); using Deut 6:16. I encourage you to get into God's word on a daily basis so God can give you the ammunition you need to fight against the evils of this world on a daily basis.

Luke 4:5-8 This temptation is interesting. Jesus didn't argue with satan saying the world didn't belong to him. Instead he quoted from Deut 6:13 "Fear the Lord your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name.". This tells me three things. 1) Satan does have power on earth...thus all the suffering; 2) we must fight with the word of God 3) We must serve God as opposed to satan or any of satans distractions. I also find it interesting that the quote Jesus quoted is near His quote from His first temptation. It's like God has given Him a quiet time that has prepared Him for the temptations of the day. Lord Jesus, help us to be aware that this world is not our home; we're on a battle field with Your enemy; so please show us how to fight and help us to be prepared for the battle.

Luke 4:3-4 Jesus was hungry so satan went after His physical need but I think Jesus has been studying the Torah that day so He used the spiritual sword, the word of God, the Torah, to fight. He quoted Deut 8:3 "He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." This is a reminder to us that we must be in the word of God so we can use these words to defend against satan.

Luke 4:1-2 It's interesting to note that Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit and the Spirit led Him into the wilderness. Are you in a wilderness? Have you recognized this could be the Spirit's leading? Are you fasting during this time? Just like for Jesus, fasting leaves us hungry. Recognize that when things seem dry God may be doing something significant in your life. Watch for it and continue to read your bible and pray anyway. It maybe just what you need to face satan head on.

Luke 3:23-38 There are a couple of significant things here. One is that Jesus began His ministry at the age of 30. This means he lived as a normal human for up to 30 years with the exception of a couple of significant events in His life. The other significant thing is Joseph's geneology. It goes right back to Adam...so Joseph also came from God. The truth is we all came from somewhere and that somewhere is a creation of God. Knowing this we should prepare to minister to others...recognizing this preparation period may take 30 years of doing very normal things. Don't give up. God is not through with anyone who wants to serve Him in His Kingdom.

Luke 3:21-22 These verses give us an example of the triune God at work. First there was a person, John, baptizing. Then there was another person praying. Then the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus like a dove and His Father spoke “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (Luke 3:22b) So are we ready for God to show up in our lives? Are we doing what He called us to do? Are we praying? If we answer yes to these questions we can watch for God at work in and around us. It's interesting here that God's job was affirming Jesus (just before He went into the desert and was tempted). Have you senses God's affirmation lately? Listen. What is He saying to you?

Luke 3:19-20 Thank You Lord for the freedom of speech we have in Canada; yet there are times when standing up for what is right is dangerous. I'm told, for instance, that family court is the most dangerous court. I also think of those who put their lives on the line, like police officers, for what is right in things like human trafficking. Lord Jesus please bless each person who is choosing to stand up for what is right. I don't understand why You allowed John to go to prison; yet John would say it was so Jesus would get his proper focus. Great and sovereign Lord may Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Luke 3:17-18 John is talking about someone more special than himself is here to do the harvesting. In other scripture it becomes obvious that John means Jesus. It is also stating that He's here to separate the wheat and the chaff. May we represent the wheat of God's Kingdom.

Luke 3:15-16 NIV "15 The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. 16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with[a] water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." It is interesting that the disciples weren't baptized by the Holy Spirit and fire until after Jesus left the earth. Is it true that Jesus had all of the Holy Spirit with Him so the Holy Spirit could only be released to others after His return to heaven? Is it true that since Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit and fire we no longer need water baptism? Acts 2:2 "2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit ...

Luke 3:14 Soldiers too were listening to John and asked "What should we do?" in keeping with repentance. John summed it up so nicely "be content with your pay"...in other words don't falsely accuse people or extort them for your own gain. Lord Jesus, help us to live within our means so we may be satisfied with Your provisions and not sin against You.

Luke 3:12-13 Tax collectors where searching to fill their spiritual needs so they asked what they were to do in keeping with repentance. John's answer was not to take more than they are suppose to; because he knew they did. Each of us can search our own hearts and ask "What shall we do?" Lord Jesus, please answer our prayers as we ask "what shall we do?"

Luke 3:10-11 After repentance there should be the fruit of the Holy Spirit and this fruit is developed through sharing. Lord Jesus, please teach us how to share appropriately so we're growing Your fruit and not being taken advantage of.

Luke 3:7-9 Repentance doesn't come from who we're related to (or who we know). Repentance is an internal thing that produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. God is looking for repentance so He can forgive us because He doesn't want to send us to hell. What do we need to repent of today? How are our lives producing fruit?