The good news of Luke

  Luke 9:18-21 It was illegal to claim you were the Messiah in Jesus day...unless of course you were. People were wondering who this Jesus, the miracle worker was and they came to different conclusions but Peter got it right, The Messiah. Jesus didn’t say he was wrong. He said not to tell. If Jesus didn’t die and rise again there would be no Christianity. His death and resurrection is all the proof we need; but Peter knew even before His death and resurrection! Lord Jesus help us to respect You as the Messiah. Amen

Luke 9:12-17   The disciples still wanted their time alone with Jesus but Jesus saw the bigger picture.  A hungry crowd.  Seeing this Jesus created a teachable moment for the disciples.  He partnered with them by first telling them to feed the crowd (an impossible task in their minds), so then he told them how to organize the crowd.  Then Jesus illustrated the power of a grateful prayer and prayed over the 5 loaves and 2 fishes.  He then gave the distribution job to the disciples...and to their amazement there was enough food to feed the 5000 men plus women and children, and have 12 baskets of left overs!  I don't know what the health authorities would say today about eating the left overs but none the less everyone was satisfied! I love this story because it shows Jesus in partnership with the disciples.  He may give us a big assignment which we know isn't possible without God and then He may give us a plan, then with a grateful heart we thank Go...

Luke 9:10-11   The disciples just got back from a successful mission so Jesus wanted to spend some time alone with them.  Maybe it was time for them to debrief.  The crowds however, had a different idea.  They wanted access to the healing power!  and the crowds won out.  Lord Jesus, please help us to know how to manage our time in Your Kingdom.  Amen

  Luke 9:7-9 Jesus was now famous.  Even the leader of the land wanted to meet Him...but would this be a good meeting?  Herod had already beheaded John the Baptist.  Lord Jesus, if we become famous because of the work we're doing in Your Kingdom help us to look out for the dangerous.  It never says if you granted Herod an audience; help us to know which invitations to accept and which ones to reject.  Amen

  Luke 9:1-6 Jesus had the crowds following Him so He distributed the work amongst His disciples.  He not only distributed the work; He distributed the power but He put conditions on this; they weren't to go prepared physically.  They were to trust that others would take care of them.  And so they went from village to village proclaiming the good news about the Kingdom and healing the sick.  Lord Jesus, please show us how to proclaim the good news about the Kingdom and give us the courage to do it.  Amen.

  Luke 8:57-62 Do you live a life of no regrets?  God's calling on our lives requires us to continue to look forward.  What is the next little thing God is calling us to do?  Do we have the courage to do it or do we have excuses?  Lord Jesus, please give us the courage to obey the next little thing you call us to do.

  Luke 8:40-56 Jesus was now famous.  His power to heal was out and so were the crowds.  So how did Jesus know when someone touched Him for the purpose of healing; He lost power.  Interesting eh!  It cost Jesus something to heal yet He still went on healing.   What's also interesting is He didn't want people to know about His power to heal.  He kept telling folks to keep it quiet.  Was this because He was afraid of the temptation to think the power came from Himself as opposed to God His Father or was this because He was modeling to us humility? Either way I think it's something for us to note and model. Click on the link above and enjoy the story of two healings and be blessed.  Jesus wants a personal relationship with us.  One where he invites us to view miracles.  Lord Jesus, please help us to see Your miracles and then know what to do about what we've seen.  Amen

  Luke 8:26-39 This is an interesting display of Jesus healing power.  In this case the sickness was purely demonic.  For whatever reason satan decided to put a lot of his demons into one person, yet as usual, what satan meant for harm Jesus turns around for good.  The story was unbelievable; except those that saw it testified of it and the man was now sane.  The loss of the pigs, however, seemed to be too much for some of the town folk so they asked Jesus to leave...and now for the brilliance of God.  If Jesus couldn't be there, he left someone behind to share the good news; the now sane man! What is your experience with evil?  Do you recognize the power God has over evil?  If not, may this story encourage you and break you free from satan's holds...even if there subtle holds like gluttony and pride. Lord Jesus, help us to break free from satan's holds so we can testify of Your power and goodness.  Amen

  Luke 8:22-25 Jesus was tired the disciples were in real danger what did they do?  They were scared but Jesus rebuked them for their lack of faith.  Could they have rebuked the weather?  We will never know but this reminds me of a true story.  A group of Salvationists wanted to have an outdoor meeting but they saw that a storm was coming in.  They prayed for the storm to go out to sea and to their amazement it did!  The problem was someone else in their congregation was a sailor and he was at sea that day;  he claimed it was one of the worst storms they encountered.  So when we pray we have great responsibility.  So much so that we should ask how to pray...and so Jesus told us Our Father who art in heaven Hallowed be Thy name Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done On earth as it is in heaven Forgive us our sins as we forgive others their sins And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil For Thine is the Kingdom and the glory for...

Luke 8:19-21   Do you belong to a good family? Jesus introduces us here to the family of God; the people who obey God. Note He didn’t say people who attend church, although hopefully some people who attend church obey God. No, He said those who obey God are in His family. Lord Jesus please help us to hear Your voice and give us the courage to obey You so we can be part of Your family.

Luke 8:16-18   Jesus taught in stories so that some could understand but alas, other's didn't.  Here we're being encouraged to share what we know with others.  Jesus is going to expose everything anyway, so let's help to expose the truth before it's too late for others to learn.  We do however, have to be compassionate in expose the truth.  Maybe this is why Jesus used stories.

  Luke 8:9-15 Jesus took what the people knew and created a spiritual application...but the spiritual application is only understood by those God chooses to explain it to. Fortunately we are blessed with the written word of God. I’ll let you read the spiritual application yourself. Just click on the scripture link. Today I’m wondering about the soil. How does it get prepared for the seed? We know what makes up some fertilizer...poop! and dinosaur bones! I’m praying that our current struggles will prepare the soil and that the church will be prepared for the harvest.

  Luke 8:4-8 Jesus was an amazing teacher.  He took a scenario that sounded familiar to those around him, like farming, and then used it to illustrate a point.  The challenge is to understand the point.  Tomorrow we'll hear his explanation of this story to the disciples. Today let's realize that God wants to talk to us through stories.  Is there a story in your life with a divine message?  For me I remember a tough time I was going through and everywhere I went whether it was New York City, Guatemala City or Cambridge, Ontario Ephesians 4 showed up.  God was speaking to me in a very real an special way.   How about you?  Do you have a story?

  Luke 8:1-3 This passage is fascinating because it implies that it was women who were supporting Jesus ministry. In Jesus day women didn’t have much status in the world so it’s interesting that they had the means to support Him. It’s also interesting to read that one of them had been demon possessed. In other words Jesus allowed the marginalized to support Him. We too must allow the least expected to support the ministry of the Kingdom. Lord Jesus, as we look around our sphere of influence help us to be inclusive in Your ministry.

  Luke 7:36-50 This is an awkward story for me. I can’t imagine someone kissing my feet! :-) Yet Jesus let this sinful woman clean his feet with her tears and kiss his feet. It doesn’t say what the woman’s sins were but I would hazard to guess she was a prostitute. This too I’m uncomfortable with. A sinful woman that close to my Lord and Saviour, so I can relate to Simon. Yet Jesus is so right when he connects the size of the debt to the amount of love. I was throughly blessed to be able to run Alpha at the women’s prison. To observe the love there was a treat. Lord Jesus please help us to love those You love. Teach us how to be in the world but not of the world and Lord, show us how to love You more...without having to sin and be forgiven :-)

  Luke 7:31-35 Let wisdom rule here. There are always people who will judge your actions so ultimately it’s best to decide what you are going to do before God. John didn’t drink and they said he had a demon. Jesus did drank and they said he was a glutton and a drunkard...but Jesus point was in all their judging they were missing the good things of God. Lord, are we I. The same boat...worrying so much about the sins of others we are missing the good things You have to offer? Please open our eyes and show us how to participate in Your dance today.

  Luke 7:18-30 This is a story of two cousins but it's more than that.  It's about two people who are doing the will of God and checking in on where each of them fit in the Kingdom of God.  This is a great thing to do as we go about our every day lives and it was a great thing for John and Jesus to do as it adds proof for us that Jesus is God.  There are three things to note here: 1) Jesus is not afraid of John's questions and He encourages Him to think on His own.  Remember God isn't afraid of our questions and like John, He will encourage us to think on our own. 2) the Temple leaders were skeptical.  Remember, just because the church leader doesn't go along with your thinking doesn't mean it's not from God.  We are encouraged to work out our salvation.  3) People weren't following a rich leader when they went to hear John.  This is an unusual situation so I think we must conclude that he was a prophet. When the presenter isn't flashing weal...

  Luke 7:11-17 This story is spectacular. Jesus raise a boy from the dead but there is another message here. The Mother had not only lost son, as a Jewish widow, she lost her income provider. In health the boy Jesus provided far more than the reunification of mother and child. He also provided for the widow in her aging years. It also hard to deny that Jesus is God with such a spectacular miracle. Lord Jesus, please help us to trust You as our God today. Amen

  Luke 7:1-10 This story is interesting because Jesus highlights this man’s faith as impressive even though he wasn’t a Jew. How many times has someone outside of the church shone in their actions and faith in our circles? This is a mystery to me. Why is Jesus finding incredible faith outside of the Jewish community? It highlights the fact that we shouldn’t limit God to our own communities. Lord Jesus please help us to see the people of faith even if they don’t belong to our church Or temple.

  Luke 6:46-49 The wise builder not only listens to Jesus he puts what he’s heard into practice.  Jesus says if you don’t listen, when the storms of life come, your spiritual home will collapse because it has no foundation. Have we heard Jesus’s words? Forgive, don’t judge, get rid of the plank in your own eye before worrying about the speck in your neighbour’s eye...These are wise words.

Luke 6:43-45    Check up on the fruit;  Galatians 5:22  describe the fruit.  Luke 6:45 says the fruit is a result of what is on the inside of us?  Check up on the root of the tree that's producing the fruit.  Are the roots in good soil, surrounded by friends and mentors that support our walk with God?  Lord Jesus, please help us to produce good fruit.  Show us areas in our lives where we can improve the fruit production and help us to celebrate the good fruit that You are producing in us.  Thanks

Luke 6:41-42   I'm reminded in this passage of the phrase "when you point your finger at your neighbour there are three more pointing back at you".  The very things we see in other people tend to be what we do.  So when someone is bothering you ask the question "do I do the same thing?"  Their annoyance maybe the trigger to improve something in you.  When we are done our self analysis and we're sure we're only approaching the other person for their own good should we approach them to help remove the speck in their eye.  Lord Jesus, please help us to effectively problem solve by helping us to remove the plank in our eye first. Amen

Luke 6:39-40   A blind teacher can’t lead a blind person so choose your teacher wisely and follow them. I recommend Jesus being your teacher. 

  Luke 6:38 If giving is like water it will flow all around us. We may give to one person and someone else will give to us but ultimately God sees what we do in secret and He will reward our generosity. Remember God loves a cheerful giver  so only give if you want to but also remember that with the same measure you give you will receive. Lord Jesus please show us where and how to give. Amen

  Luke 6:37 If you don’t judge you won’t be judged If you don’t condemn you won’t be condemned If you forgive you will be forgiven. Lord Jesus please help us to do what is right in Your eyes in Jesus name...and help us to teach our children well. In Jesus name I ask.

  Luke 6:36 Show mercy like God shows mercy.

  Luke 6:35 Loving your enemy means doing good to them and lending without expecting it back. This is tough but God sees and will reward you because God knows what it’s like to give to the ungrateful and wicked.

  Luke 6:33-34 Go beyond the expected because even sinners do the expected.  Don't just do good to those who do good to you; don't just lend to those who can pay you back.  These are challenging words.  A call to go beyond the call of duty, yet God sees and will reward us.  We are called to love others as much as we love ourselves and love the Lord our God with all our heart soul and mind.