When Jesus Saves His Breath

Scripture: “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer.” Luke 22:67-68

Observation: The assembly of the elders ask Jesus point blank if he is the Messiah. His answer is somewhat surprising. A simple yes or no would suffice. But Jesus is able to peer into the hearts of men. He knows that they are way past the point of belief. They are not open seekers, ready for God to move. They are closed off, committed to a course of belief that leaves no room for God to walk the earth. Jesus knows that he would be wasting his breath with these folk.

Application: Two thoughts. First, I need to realize that there are some people who are already so committed to untruth, so closed off, that the truth may not have an impact. I am not just talking about unbelievers. Sadly, I have seen believers get this way sometimes. They may become fixated on some specific of theology and unable to see the bigger picture. Or they may come to believe some misinterpretation of scripture, and are unable to be swayed. I sometimes fall into their trap, sucked in to a pointless and fruitless argument. Instead, I need to know when to do as Jesus has done, and save my breath.
Second, would there ever be times I would be this way to God? When I would be closed to his voice, and so I do not hear him speak to me? Would he ever save his breath in speaking truth to me? I need to make sure that when I ask Jesus a question, I am open to him answering it in a way I might not like.

Prayer: God, give me wisdom to know when I would waste my breath. And keep me humble and open, so you never waste yours. I pray that these 40 days have restored faith in Pulpit Rock that you still speak though your word. Show me how to keep the momentum of listening together going.

Willing to Untie My Colt

Scripture: If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it. Luke 19:31

Observation: Jesus is beginning his entry into Jerusalem. As part of the preparations, he instructs the disciples to procure him a colt. Understandably, they wonder what to say when the owner of the colt demands to know why they are taking it. Jesus tells them simply to say, “The Lord has need of it.”

Application: If Jesus comes to me, asking me to untie something in my life, and I ask why, might he simply respond, “The Lord has need of it”? Are there things I am tied to in life that I would be reluctant or even unwilling to untie at Christ’s request? Does Jesus really own it all in my life, or just the things I have already untied? This week I want to be open for Christ to call for me to untie things that he needs from me.

Prayer: Jesus, I sometimes find it hard to believe that by untying things from my life at your request, I will actually be better off. Help me not hold tightly to anything, but be openhanded to you. All of my colts belong to you.

Do Sinners Want to Eat with Me?

Scripture: Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. Luke 15:1

Observation: Jesus was popular with the outcasts of society. While they might not have had the standing before men, they had standing before God, because they had ears to hear. This reminds me of the song “Surely God is with Us” by Rich Mullins, “The whores all seem to love him / and the drunks propose a toast.”
This was often an attack on Jesus, the company that he kept. The religious tightpants judged Jesus by the followers he attracted, grumbling that Jesus had dinner with the human refuse. But Jesus drew these people. They loved to listen to him. They loved to eat with him and laugh with him. Was it because they could more clearly see their need? Was it because they could tell he loved them? Was he so different from the religion of hate and judgment they grew up with? Did they know God was with them?

Application: Who do I draw near to me? Do I attract the already convinced, looking for comfort? Do I draw the deeply churched, looking at me to cover the checklist of theologies they hold dear? Do I draw the outcasts? Would a social outcast want to be around me because I love them and tell them stories about lost coins, recovered sheep, and returned sons? Do they want to eat with me? Do I want to eat with them?

Prayer: God, I am not sure what to pray. “Let me make friends with tax collectors and sinners”? I guess I am asking you to help me be more like Jesus. To welcome those who religion would not. To grow in me a genunine love for those who just want to hear. Help me lead our church to love the lost, but let it begin with me.

Counting the Cost

Scripture: For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish. Luke 14:28-30

Observation: Jesus is calling people to consider carefully the cost of following him. He is asking them to evaluate their devotion to family, friends, even their own lives. Following Jesus is not a hasty endeavor, but something to be entered into with much pause.

Application: But this is so different from the gospel approach we have today. The focus is more on not considering the cost, but jumping in with both feet. I encourage people to get right with God and let discipleship sort itself out later. I just want to get them saved. But how much should people consider before they commit to Christ? Knowing that the Christian life is fueled by Spirit power and not willpower, how much *can* they commit before they come to Christ? I would hate to artificially raise the bar of salvation, and keep someone out that I deem has not considered the cost. At the same time, I do not want to promote false confession or give false sense of assurance to those who never really committed in the first place.

Prayer: God, this is a troubling passage. Would you help me see the balance of “believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved,” and “count the cost”? I want to promote Your gospel, not my version of it.

Consider the Ravens (Written by my son Beau)

Today I have a guest devotional writer…my 9 year old son, Beau. Here is his take on Luke 12:

Scripture: Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Luke 12:24.

Observation: God feeds the ravens but the ravens don’t have clothes. Nor a barn. But they are still happy. Even if you have clothes, God gives you these things because he wants to make you happy. So, do not worry if you do not have enough of these things it doesn’t matter.

Application: I really want God to help me not worry about all those things I don’t need to worry about.

Prayer: Dear God, please help me not worry tomorrow.

The Danger of Cleaning your House

Scripture: Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there. And the last state of that person is worse than the first.” Luke 11:26

Observation: Jesus is responding to critics of his miraculous ministry. Specifically, people attacked his casting out of demons, saying it was really done by the power of Satan. After explaining how absurd it would be for this to be true, Jesus speaks a word to those critics who also cast out demons. The difference between Jesus and them is that while both called upon God’s power to cast our evil spirits, only Jesus was able to replace the space with the life-giving power of God. These critics offered a temporary solution that ultimately left the person worse off than before. Jesus not only got rid of the evil, but gave that person hope and freedom from future “infestation.” They could clean the room, but only Jesus could come and dwell.

Application: The key to helping people is not to help them overcome their demons, real or metaphorical. The key is to give them new life in Christ. If we help someone overcome an addiction, or a marital problem, or a financial issue, or any bad situation, but we do not give them Christ, then we have only temporarily fixed the problem. Often, we focus on the temporary solution.
I remember helping a couple work through some marriage issues. The core problem was that the husband was not a believer. We did help them get back together, and work things out. But I am not sure that the issue of his salvation was fully addressed. Consequently, I see them falling into the same traps and worry about the future.
In dealing with others, I need to keep in mind that the issue is not the issue, the issue is Jesus.

Prayer: God, help me offer true hope to others by offering One who will come and live in our hearts, not just someone who will clean up the room.

Rejoice that Your Names are Written in Heaven

Scripture: Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. Luke 10:20

Observation: After the disciples return from a ministry trip, they are amazed at the spiritual power they have. Even demons are subject to them because of the name of Christ. Jesus agrees that the enemy has been defeated, but then he cautions the disciples about rejoicing over their spiritual blessings, when the truest blessing is the promise of eternal life.

Application: It is easy for me to celebrate what God has done in my life now, and not pay attention to the greatest blessing—my name is written in heaven. Greater than and earthly blessing that God might bring my way is my forgiveness, my relationship with him, my salvation. I want to raise the value of our salvation in my thinking and speaking.

Prayer: God, help me see and help me lead my family and church to see the great value of our salvation. We ought to rejoice over our names being written in Heaven.

What Demons have to Teach Me

Scripture: And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Luke 8:31

Observation: Jesus meets a man who had many demons. He confronts these demons and three times they beg Jesus. Once to not torment them, once to not send them out of the man and into the abyss, their ultimate destination, and once to send them into a nearby herd of pigs. Amazingly, Jesus listens to them. The text says: So he gave them permission. This story obviously demonstrated the authority of Christ, and the opposition he faced. These demons recognized him and his power over them. But what is new for me today is that Jesus gave them permission. Was this mercy? Did he have another reason for casting them into the pigs, perhaps to have a more visible demonstration, or to make a point about pig ownership? Maybe to give the herdsman an amazing tale to tell? I don’t know. What bothers me is the possibility that Jesus showed mercy to these demons.

Application: Again, Jesus confounds my expectations. Maybe the point of this is that Jesus has not only the power, but the authority to do as he sees is best, without needing to consult me. Whether this act makes sense to me now or now, Jesus did this, so it must be the right thing to do. If Jesus can do something as confusing to me as negotiate with demons, then maybe I ought to stop trying to buck against what he is doing in my life. Maybe I should learn something from these demons and simply accept the authority of Jesus.

Prayer: God, I re-submit to you today. You have complete authority, and you always act for my good and your glory. I trust you and thank you for your complete control.

A Reed Shaken by the Wind

Scripture: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?” Luke 7:24

Observation: Jesus is talking about John the Baptist. He is telling the crowd that John, contrary to what they might have expected, is truly a prophet, the prophet, come to make way for Jesus. Jesus tells them this by asking some questions about who they really came to see. Did they come to see a reed shaken by the wind? Did they come to see a well-dressed man living in luxury? Or did they come to see a prophet of God? Jesus is challenging their expectations. And at the same time, he is commending John for not being a reed, flimsy and uncertain. He is commending John for not being a man living in luxury. He is commending John for being God’s man.

Application: I feel God is speaking to me this morning about my role as a pastor. Many people may have many expectations about me and who and what I should be. But I need to be God’s man. Specifically, I am struck by the reed-shaken-in-the-wind metaphor. People do not need a leader who is waffling and uncertain, who allows whatever pressure the wind blows at that moment to bend and jar him. While maintaining humility and flexibility, I want to be a man who knows his God, knows his purpose, and carries it out.

Prayer: God, give me strength to be more than a reed. To have spiritual backbone, true grit when it comes to your truth and your vision. Don’t let me allow people pleasing to shake me, but be willing to stand for your truth in love.

Who Says I am Worthy?

Scripture: “He is worthy to have you do this for him”…”Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof.” Luke 7:4,6

Observation: The centurion whose servant was dying sent word for Christ to come and heal him. The messengers, probably on their own, supply reasons why Jesus ought to come. The centurion is worthy. He is a good patriot. He helped God’s people. By their reasoning, this was a player whose value was high. Jesus ought to hop to it and get over there quick. Yet when Jesus arrives to the house and prepares to go in, the centurion tells Jesus to just speak the word of healing from outside, for he is not worthy to have Jesus enter his house.
Why the difference between the messengers’ estimation of worth and the centurion’s? They are talking about the same man, right? Yet the messengers thought worth was based on accomplishment, or agreement with the right groups. The centurion may not fully get this, but he at least knows that worth is somehow determined by Jesus. In humility and faith, he demonstrates his belief in the worth of Christ. Christ responds by marveling at this man and bragging that he has not found faith like his in all of Israel. Jesus gave this man true worth by the words he spoke.

Application: Yesterday I spoke with a young woman whose worth had been shattered by a father. This man continued to tell his daughter that she was not worthy. She was worthless. As powerful as a father’s words can be, I still urged her to realize his words were from Satan, and for her to look to her Heavenly Father for words of worth. We are not worthy because messengers, Jewish officials, or even broken down fathers say we are. Our with comes from the lips of Jesus. Today, I choose to live in the words Jesus has spoken about me, not the words I tell myself.

Prayer: God, let me believe in you like this centurion. May I speak your words back to me and not base my worth on accomplishment, or agreement with the right groups, or even the words of well-wishers.