Category: LUKE

Re:Verse reading–Luke 2:1-20 (day four)

From the glory of the throne room of heaven to the humble beginnings of a stable birth…in our high tech world, it is almost unfathomable to comprehend that the most important birth of all the ages took place in these conditions.  How could a life that had such primitive surroundings impact the entire world?  And not just for the present day, but for all the ages to follow.  They did not even have Internet when He was born!

We can often lose sight of the true GLORY of heaven…we are distracted by the hype and dazzle of the accomplishments of man.  We get excited when we can gain useless information by the gigabytes each second.  God spoke a word and the universe came into being!  In His love and mercy, Jesus Christ gave up His glory to redeem mankind.

May this passage remind you once again how much Christ gave up, because of His love for you!

Re:Verse reading–Luke 2:1-20 (day three)

“They spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child ”  Research into corporate communication culture has shown consistently that the company grapevine remains a valuable and mostly reliable source of news.  In fact, a sizeable portion of employees rate the grapevine higher than formal channels of communication when it comes to telling the unvarnished truth.  You know why?  Because momentous news never fits well into carefully crafted containers of control.  People who try to dribble it out to the masses only get in the way, and pretty soon, people figure that out.  The ancient grapevine spread the gospel without stilted methods or flashy gimmicks and despite efforts by fearful leaders to rewrite it.  The buzz was that something good had occurred in a backwater village.  This was back-fence conversation—the way the gospel is meant to be shared.

Re:Verse reading–Luke 2:1-20 (day two)

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” vs. 13-14

Do you seek peace? Is it justice and truth that you are after in your life? Notice the order in which the angels offer a solution: Give God glory, then receive his peace. Not exactly how we normally would think this would or should come about. Our nature would say…let me achieve peace, and then I will glorify God. This is one of the things that angels were telling us that night. Look up, it’s not about you. It is only ever, and always about Jesus. Do you want peace? Try letting go of what is keeping your head down, look up and praise his name.

By the way these verses serve as the central theme to our Christmas at First presentation this year. Please make plans to join us Saturday and Sunday at 6PM. Invite your neighbors, friends, and family. Let’s glorify God together.

Re:Verse reading–Luke 2:1-20 (day one)

“Today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”–v 11

The only thing impossible for God (see last week’s lesson) is to break His own word.  He is eternally trustworthy and self-consistent.  Heaven and earth will pass away.  Not His word.  Not ever.

Luke 2 is written 1000 years after God made the promise to David.  One of His sons would reign over an eternal kingdom. (2 Samuel 7:12-13) An eternal Kingdom?  Unimaginable!  Even to David.

As the years flowed slowly by, many forget this promise.  (Most of us have short memories and small faith.) God, however, did not forget.  When the time came, He orchestrated the historical events so that Joseph and Mary (by coincidence-Ha!) would be in the city of David for the Son of David to be born.

“God is not a man that He should lie.”–Numbers 23:19.

Child, what has God promised you?

 

Re:Verse reading–Luke 1:1-38 (day seven)

John the Baptist is an alien to us.  In Luke 1 he is described as “great in the sight of the Lord”, never having alcohol, and filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother’s womb.  How is that even possible?  Matthew 3 reveals another time in John’s life, but it just as incomprehensible.  John is preaching in the wilderness wearing a garment of camel’s hair eating locusts and wild honey.  That sounds terrible.

As foreign as the peculiars are surrounding John the Baptist’s life, the message is familiar.  In Luke, John is said to turn people’s hearts toward God (v.17).  Matthew uses the term we are more familiar with: repent.  John’s message to prepare the way for Jesus Christ was always repent.  Repentance is the only way we can ever prepare ourselves to meet our God.  Luke 1 focuses on two groups who need to repent.  One, fathers must repent for not taking their God given role as seriously as God demands, and two, those that are disobedient to God need to seek out God’s wisdom instead of their own.  Fathers:  repent.  Disobedient ones: repent.

We are not called to live like John the Baptist, but we should heed his message: Repent.

Re:Verse reading–Luke 1:1-38 (day five)

“For he will be great in the sight of the Lord; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother’s womb.” Luke 1:15 “The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you,”‭‭ Luke‬ ‭1:35‬

By reading Luke’s Gospel right after reading Acts (also written by Luke) we see the influence and insights he learned while traveling with Paul.

“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them Acts 4:8

‭‭”Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus … has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Acts‬ ‭9:17‬

“And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭13:52‬

Luke connects the same constant catalyst for God’s activity in the world in his Gospel.  The Holy Spirit.

This week, this day, this hour, we too, need God to fill us with His Holy Spirit. He is our source and hope for the promised presence and power of God to work in us and through us.

Re:Verse reading–Luke 1:1-38 (day four)

V.6 – “They were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord.”

Wouldn’t that be a great verse to be said about you?  To be obedient to God’s Word in every situation…to be recognized as being a faithful servant to God.  Zacharias and Elizabeth had walked with the Lord for many years…they had established a reputation of faith.  A reputation is not built in a short period of time, it is acquired over an extended period of time.  God takes note of those who are faithful.  He recognized Job’s faithfulness in all things, He saw in David a man after His own heart, and He saw this couple who walked blamelessly before Him.  God rewarded their faithfulness by sending them a son…a son with a mission!

What does God see when He looks down upon you?  Does He see one who walks blamelessly before Him in all the commandments?  And not just every now and then, but always.  Strive to build a reputation of righteousness in every situation!

Re:Verse reading–Luke 1:1-38 (day three) 

“How can I be sure of this?”  Doubt is a function of our finiteness: We don’t know everything, so we doubt.  Rightly channeled, doubt can press us on to further investigation of mystery.  In that way, doubt can lead us to deeper faith.  Zechariah and Mary both express doubt to the angelic messenger.  In Zechariah’s case, lifelong training in the theological and scriptural tenets of the priesthood and the high holy work of service to his people has welled up in his soul as…skepticism.  It’s as if Zechariah’s posture is one of looking back at the priesthood’s storied past and asking, “Where’d all the glory go?”  Conversely, Mary seems to look out at the future from where she stands and ask, “What glories are yet to be?”  Doubt isn’t a bad place to start.  But it’s a terrible place to end up.

Re:Verse reading–Luke 1:1-38 (day two) It seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught. vs. 3-4

Aren’t you grateful for these four men who captured the life of Jesus in narrative form? Four different perspectives; some first hand accounts, some gathered through the testimony of others, and yet all in agreement about the person of Jesus. It was clear to Luke from the beginning that this account was to instruct, affirm, and clarify all that was being said about Jesus. Little did he know, perhaps, that this primer would serve as a key component in the gospel texts.

One of my favorite things about a book is reading it again. I always find something new. Sometimes I didn’t have enough life experience to really appreciate what the author was saying, and when I encounter it again I see with new eyes. Let’s read this story again and see how the Lord through Luke can tell us something new.