The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Luke 6:46-49 (day seven)

“…who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock.” vs 48

Have you ever had your foundation repaired on your home? It can be an aggravating experience.  Your house may look beautiful from the outside, but a small shift in the soil can cause extensive damage to the integrity of the home. Even a well laid foundation is susceptible to damage if the ground surrounding the foundation is not properly cared for. Well cultivated grounds reinforce the structure of the foundation.

This is the same for many Christians as well. They laid a great foundation in their younger years, but over time they began to neglect their faith, placing too much trust in their foundation alone. Neglect allows for the ground to shift, and shifting left unattended leaves their faith vulnerable. Heroes of faith are those who continually nurture their theology, thus reinforcing their foundation. What are you doing to cultivate your faith and reinforce your foundation?

Re:Verse passage – Luke 6:46-49 (day six)

 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. Luke 6:47

Stop for a moment and give these words some thought, “when someone comes to me.” Jesus, the Son of God, creator of the heavens and earth, holy and true, purer than the fiercest fire, God with us, says, “Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden.” Come to me.

Who exactly? Any of us and all of us. Not just squeaky clean, lovely kind of people, but the broken, fractured, disfigured-by-sin kind of people. Jesus is eager to receive all, if we would only come to him.

In our world, the more powerful you become the less accessible you become. Not so with Jesus. His invitation to come to him is the very heart of his mission.

Is your life characterized by coming to him? Have you taken his invitation for granted? I know I do from time to time; maybe even last week. And even still, he says come to me.

How about you?

Re:Verse passage – Luke 6:46-49 (day five)  Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like.
Jesus concludes His lengthy sermon with a parable. He brilliantly places humans into 2 groups. Wise builders and foolish builders. Don’t miss what He is teaching. Every person is a builder. To live is to build. And construction happens every day. Each life is a house- values, priorities, character, temperament, perspective, choices, dedication, determination, and decisions.  All of these can be formed and framed by obedience to the Lord as a result of an intimate and vibrant relationship with Him (Lord, Lord). Jesus also teaches not only are we are all builders, but the storms of life hit all of us too- trials, tragedy, temptation. They’re Sudden. Intense. Forceful.
We all will experience and feel the storms. Yet in a life (house) whose foundation is built on the Rock, there is a sense of safety, peace, hope, and strength (during and after the storm).  Takes time and work (like digging)- Listening, Learning, Obeying.   We must build daily and regularly.
Slowly and surely, the house comes together.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 6:46-49 (day four) 

This week’s passage is the final parable in the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus had preached the lengthy discourse to the Jewish people.  Many of the Jews led very devoted lives.  They loved Jehovah and ordered their lives according to the Mosaic Law.  Jesus made this very clear contrast to a life obedient to God and the life that did not have a foundation built upon Him (Christ).  The interesting element to this story is that the same torrent burst against each house.  It was the house with a strong foundation (Jesus) that stood.  The other house failed.  Until the torrent came, it was not evident which house would weather the storm.

Where is your life founded?  Have you built your life upon the Solid Rock?

My hope is built on nothing less

Than Jesus blood and righteousness;

I dare not trust the sweetest frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ the solid rock I stand

All other ground is sinking sand.

All other ground is sinking sand.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 6:46-49 (day three)

“The torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

How does one become a good person? That question has a long pedigree. The Greeks, who knew nothing of Moses, asked it before Christ walked the earth. The addressing of that question, as those same Greeks knew and Jesus repeatedly asserted, requires nothing less than a devotion to the re-ordering of one’s whole life. But that is hard (see Jesus’s words on the narrow way), and the temptation is strong to condense that transformative quest into a multiple-choice exam to which one must give the right answer in order to obtain eternal life. A right answer is what the Pharisees sought, and still their house fell. Right living, on the other hand, is possible only by apprenticing oneself to the Lord Jesus, the sure foundation.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 6:46-49 (day two)  

“Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Vs. 46

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.” Matthew 7:21

Lip service is not heart service. Everyone of us, to some degree or other, finds ourselves in this situation. We give deference to whomever we are speaking with, and then act in a manner that is contrary to those words. It is often easier to just say what people want or like to hear in their presence. To honor them with titles, platitudes, or promises only to do whatever is truly dwelling in our hearts. Jesus, however, doesn’t operate on that level. His concern is for what lies buried in your heart. He is not  convinced by your words. Oftentimes it is easier to say what people want to hear, but if we form that habit with people what does that say about our relationship with Jesus? As James would remind us from our last study; let your yes be yes, and your no be no. You will never have to second guess what your promised if it is always the truth.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 5:33-39 (day seven)

“But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.” vs 38

Speaking in what would seem to be riddles, Jesus was getting the people ready for what was to come.  The weakness of the flesh made the Law incomplete (Rom 8:3), so Jesus was bringing something new, something fresh: a new covenant.

“And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.'” Revelation 21:5

Speaking again in what would seem to be riddles, Jesus is getting us ready for what is to come. The weakness of the flesh made this world incomplete, so Jesus is bringing something new, something fresh: a new earth.

“They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:23 (KJV)

No riddles, but still, the message remains the same. Though our flesh may make us feel incomplete, Jesus is bringing His mercies new and fresh every morning! What new mercies does God have in store for you today?

Re:Verse passage – Luke 5:33-39 (day six)

⁷ “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find… Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.”-Jesus, Matthew 7:7-8

Jesus’ parables were an invitation to seek the truth. Far more than illustrations, they were treasure maps meant to lure treasure hunters.

For those listening, patches and wineskins, were a door to be opened to fulfilled promises. To those not listening, or seeking, to those who already had it all figured out, the parables were a pronouncement of judgment.

That’s why Jesus said, “When your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness.” (Matthew 6:23) What we seek shapes our whole life.

Re:Verse passage – Luke 5:33-39 (day five)

Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them?”

Isn’t Jesus’ answer to the Pharisee’s question remarkable?  In His question (answer) back to them, Jesus emphasizes the mission and ministry of His Father.  As we think about this season of Advent, we understand that Jesus’ coming over 2000 years ago, was the promise that God would send Emmanuel (God with us).  In addition, not only the ministry of God, but the mission of God- to bring Peace and Joy to the human heart.  The angels declared “good tidings of great joy- which shall be for all the people” (Luke 2:10).  Does your heart feel the celebration that Christ came to bring?  Like a wedding! No need to fast right now (because of this news)-  the Savior has come to be with “all the people” (you and me) and bring to them (us) a cause and desire to celebrate His presence now with us and in us because of the indwelling Holy Spirit and His provision of salvation.

God with us, God restoring sin-filled and broken human hearts with the joy and forgiveness of the Gospel.  That’s the Good News of the Advent season.