Monthly Archives: December 2016

Imagine what a year it can be (Luke 21:6-17) December 31, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Acts 27-28

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 21:6-17
Jesus: Go ahead, look around, and be impressed; but days are coming when one stone will not be left standing on another. Everything here will be demolished.
Crowd: When will this happen, Teacher? What signs will tell us this is about to occur?
Jesus: Be careful. It’s easy to be deceived. Many people will come claiming to have My authority. They’ll shout, “I’m the One!” or “The time is now!” Don’t take a step in their direction. You’ll hear about wars and conflicts, but don’t be frightened at all because these things must surely come, although they don’t signify the immediate coming of the end. You can count on this: nation will attack nation, and kingdom will make war on kingdom. There will be disturbances around the world—from great earthquakes to famines to epidemics. Terrifying things will happen, and there will be shocking signs from heaven. But before any of this happens, they will capture you and persecute you. They’ll send you to synagogues for trial and to prisons for punishment; you’ll stand before kings and government officials for the sake of My name. This will be your opportunity—your opportunity to tell your story. Make up your mind in advance not to plan your strategy for answering their questions, for when the time comes, I will give you the words to say—wise words—which none of your adversaries will be able to answer or argue against. Your own parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will turn on you and turn you in. Some of you will be killed, and all of you will be hated by everyone for the sake of My name.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

It seems like the topic of the end times comes up a lot in Jesus’ words. As I looked back over the year I noticed a lot of podcasts that mentioned those earthquakes and famines, wars and rumors of wars. Signs that Jesus talked about that will point to the end of this age and the beginning of the next when we will stand before Him at God’s judgment seat.

So why does Jesus say so much about the end of time and the judgment? Why does He talk about the signs that lead up to those terrible days for those that will face them? Why does He give us so much information about His coming again to take His church to be with Him?

It must be important or He wouldn’t say so much about it. I think He also wants to make sure we are not surprised by His coming. He gives us all the signs. He tells us all the things that will precede His return. All of them have happened. We have had wars ever since He left. I can’t remember a time of peace around the world since He left. There are more than 70 conflicts going on around the world today between nations. He tells us about earthquakes and if you look at the statistics on earthquakes they are intensifying and coming at a much higher frequency than ever before. The world is literally coming apart at its seams.

We are seeing strange weather patterns, odd tides, jet streams, creating unusual weather. We see droughts lasting longer and flooding in 500 year flood plains. All the signs are there. He could come at any time and not do disservice to any of the prophecies about His return.

What does all of that mean? Be ready. I’m releasing this podcast on the last day of 2016. It could be the last day. We might never see 2017. It could happen. I’m hopeful that God will give the church a chance to introduce Him to more people so that His kingdom will grow. I’m hopeful that in this new year Christians will recognize how short time is and take a stand for God. That we will really stand out as followers of Jesus the Messiah. I’m hopeful that the persecutions around the world will be such that those that sully the name of Christ by carrying His name but have no relationship with Him will stop identifying themselves as Christians so that the real bride of Christ can be recognized as the spiritual warriors they really are.

I’m hopeful that real revival will break out and people will understand their broken condition and fall to their knees and seek mercy and forgiveness from the living God who created them and longs to save them from their sins. I’m hopeful for a lot of things in this coming year.

But it all starts with me. Am I willing to be that person who, like the psalmist, falls to my knees and asks God to inspect my heart to see if there is any unclean thing in me. And whatever He might find, remove it at whatever cost so that there is nothing between me and my Savior. Are you willing to be that same kind of person this coming year? If all of us who claim Christ as our Savior will do the same, imagine what a year 2017 can be. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

I’m just a caretaker (Luke 21:3-4) December 30, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Revelations 18-22

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 21:3-4
Jesus: I’m telling you the truth, this poor widow has made a bigger contribution than all of those rich fellows. They’re just giving from their surplus, but she is giving from her poverty—she’s giving all she has to give.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

What does it mean to give all you have to God? Does He expect us to turn all our cash over to Him and go home with nothing in our pocket? Not necessarily, but sometimes He might. Does He expect us to live in poverty, not knowing where our next meal will come from? Not necessarily, but sometimes He might. Does God expect us to be so poor we live on the streets at the mercy of the weather and the other street people we meet there? Not necessarily, but sometimes He might.

That sounds pretty non-committal, doesn’t it? The point is, we must be willing to give everything we have to God. Recognize the fact that it all belongs to Him and we are only stewards of the things He lets us use from time to time. So how does He want you to use the things He gives you? For your own benefit and pleasure or for His plans and purposes?

Using assets for His plans and purposes doesn’t usually mean you will be penniless and poverty stricken. Using assets for His plans and purposes doesn’t usually mean you will not enjoy life and have comforts that others enjoy. But those things won’t be what drives you. You’ll find that if God decides He wants them, you don’t have any problem giving them up to Him when you remember they are not yours to start with. They all belong to Him and we are just borrowers. Things are on loan to us while we are here to be used for Him.

So if God decides He wants it for something, it’s His. He can do whatever He wants with it. That’s the hold we should have on things. Hands open ready to release whatever God wants. Houses, money, jobs, things, doesn’t matter. Whatever God wants, He can have it.

That was the attitude of the woman in poverty who gave her last penny in the temple. She didn’t have it to give, but she also knew that it wasn’t hers anyway. She felt God wanted her to give it that day and she put it in the offering. It became an object lesson for Jesus’ disciples and everyone who has read those words ever since. I doubt if she had any idea the importance of her contribution that day. All she wanted to do was please God with the assets He entrusted to her.

The wealthy that crowded past her to make a scene of the large offerings they made really didn’t make any sacrifice that day. They, too, became object lessons, but I doubt if they would like the way their example was used by Jesus that day. But He was right. They gave out of their abundance and it was a pittance compared to the woman who gave her all.

The world teaches us to hold on tight to everything we have. Life is short they say and the boys with the most toys win. But the world is wrong. What are you going to do with the toys in the end? You can’t take them with you. And something I’ve learned as I’ve grown older and maybe a little wiser. Every one of those toys take time away from something else. All of them demand attention. None are time savers. We sometimes buy them because they are advertised as time savers, but I have yet to find any time savers that really live up to their claims.

Sure I can mow the yard faster with a riding mower than a push mower, but that riding mower sure takes a lot more maintenance than a push mower. And I still have to get out the push mower or a weed eater or something, because the riding mower doesn’t get as close to the trees and shrubs and house. The same is true with just about everything. The time saver takes more maintenance or we will find more projects to use the time saving device on because it does such a good job. All it does is take time away from God or family or His plans. So, yeah, not such a great time saver after all.

Maybe it’s time to realize the world has it wrong. The simple life Jesus lived is probably the more satisfying life. Don’t get bogged down with stuff. Am I saying stuff is bad? No. There is nothing good or bad in stuff. It’s just stuff. But when it gets between you and God’s intentions for you, then the stuff is closer to God that you are. Just think about that a second.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want anything between God and me. So I’ll chose to keep my hands open and let Him use whatever He entrusts to my care anytime He wants it. It’s His anyway. I’m just a caretaker.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

The way of the cross (Luke 20:46-47) December 29, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Song of Songs 5-6

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 20:46-47
Jesus: Beware of the religious scholars. They like to parade around in long robes. They love being greeted in the marketplaces. They love taking the best seats in the synagogues. They adore being seated around the head table at banquets. But in their greed they rob widows of their houses and cover up their greed with long pretentious prayers. Their condemnation will be all the worse because of their hypocrisy.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Do you know any of those? Are you one of those? You know, people that dig into God’s word just to trip other people up? They nitpick words and phrases to get their point across and condemn everyone around them for failing to see the message those words send us from God’s word. They stand firm on their conviction that what they say is absolutely true because they pulled it from the Book. And if God said it, it must be true.

Those people are right in one respect. What God says is true. But we have to be careful not to take His words out of context. The Bible says there is no God – that is if we stop in the middle of the psalmist’s thoughts. The rest of the words around that phrase says there is no God in a fools heart.

But those people are deadly wrong in the misuse of God’s word. They play with fire when they misrepresent God using His words to guide people in ways contradictory to the plan He has for us. Remember Satan used scripture often to entice people to do wrong. He even used scripture against Jesus to tempt Him to take shortcuts to His rightful place as Lord of all nations and all people. Jesus didn’t fall for it because He knew scripture and knew the missing parts. Because He knew scripture, Jesus recognized the fallacies in Satan’s arguments and recognized him for who he was. The tempter. The adversary. A lion roaming the earth seeking whom he might devour.

Those folks Jesus talks about look good on the outside. They are members of churches. They sit on boards and councils. They determine the direction denominations will go over the next years. They collect and spend the offerings that pour into the churches in the form of tithes and offerings. They teach and preach from God’s word, but it is often a perverted message that doesn’t share what God intends His word to share.

I’m certainly not talking about every Bible scholar and every preacher who fills a pulpit. There are some great men and women sharing God’s word and doing their very best for the kingdom. But there are some that use their religious platforms for their own greed and power. They care more about the size of their wallet than they do the size of their heart. If you’re listening to God through His word, you can figure out who they are pretty quickly. His word does not steer you wrong.

Is there hypocrisy in my church? Unfortunately, I would have to say yes, there is. I can see it in the lives of some of the members. Is there hypocrisy in your church? If I were a gambler, I would bet a paycheck there are. And I would bet another paycheck that I’m not wrong in that assessment. Our churches are full of hypocrites. But that’s okay. Look who Jesus was talking to. He was addressing the scribes and Pharisees. The scholars who knew scripture better than anyone else. The leaders of the faith. They attended services faithfully. They participated in all the rituals faithfully. They gave their tithe and more faithfully. Yet Jesus called them hypocrites.

Did that stop Jesus from going to the temple to worship? Certainly not. Did it stop Him from participating in those same rituals? Absolutely not. He did them faithfully, understanding fully the reason behind those rituals. Did it stop Jesus from continuing to study God’s word and using it to support His messages to the crowds that followed Him? We see that most of His preaching took text from the ancient writings of the law given to Moses and the prophets and the writings that existed worship places of the Jews.

Jesus recognized the hypocrites wherever He went, but He still preached to them, healed them, ministered to them, invited them to follow Him. He never stopped them from being around Him to hear and witness the kingdom of God in their midsts. Jesus knew the only way to reach a hypocrite was to allow them to join into genuine, intimate worship. Until they see the difference between their fake religion and real righteousness, they will continue to fall prey to Satan’s lies. But when they draw near and listen, they have the opportunity to hear the message, make amends, repent of their hypocrisy and find their way back to God and His kingdom living.

Just stay in God’s word. You can pick them out. And when you do, be very careful that you don’t fall into the same traps they fell into. Stay rooted in the word. The whole thing, not just your favorite chapters and verses. The hypocrites will see your walk and maybe find a new way, a better way, the way of the cross. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Is God dead? (Luke 20:34-38) December 28, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Esther 1-5

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 20:34-38
Jesus: The children of this era marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain the resurrection of the dead in the coming era do not marry and are not given in marriage. They are beyond mortality; they are on the level of heavenly messengers; they are children of God and children of the resurrection. Since you brought up the issue of resurrection, even Moses made clear in the passage about the burning bush that the dead are, in fact, raised. After all, he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. By Moses’ time, they were all dead, but God isn’t God of the dead, but of the living. So all live to God.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

April 8, 1966, Time Magazine reported on a movement that swept college campuses across the nation. Emblazoned across the cover of their magazine on that day in large red letters they posed the question, “Is God dead?” In 1884, Friedrich Nietzsche is said to have first used the phrase “God is Dead” and claimed his generation killed Him with their utter disregard for Him even in the churches around him. He declared we no longer had a need for God so we killed Him and so started the debate about God’s very existence. Then Time Magazine even entered the debate in 1966.

Today, the debate continues but not as vocally as it did in the ’60s. Perhaps it’s because more people either believe He doesn’t exist or just don’t act like He doesn’t exist so there are few who are willing to debate. Too many of us no longer have the tools to launch a decent argument against those who would raise their evidence that there is no God, so we sit quietly on the sidelines and just let them tell their tales and fail to defend our God.

Our excuse? God is God and needs no defense. He is big enough to prove Himself without help. The problem with that personal philosophy is we don’t stop to think clearly enough for ourselves to know that God lives. I know He lives and is the creator of all things, not just because of a warm feeling I get when I see the sun rise and set each day. I know He lives not because of the feeling I get when He warms my heart in prayer. I know He exists because I’ve done enough thought and study to know that every other philosophy that says there is no God leads to a dead end.

My knowledge of God isn’t based on what other people say, but on the instruction in God’s word. It’s based on the proof He gives and the failure of others to disprove what God says about Himself. Everything He promises comes true. Everything He says He will do, He does. Every time someone tries to show something in His word could not have happened, archeologists seem to find evidence that it did.

Is God dead? No. He is very much alive and taking care of things every day. I expect those around Jesus were wondering the same thing in their day as the Romans invaded their land and took anything they wanted from them. I expect as they saw the crucifixions dotting the countryside and cruelty of their oppressors they sometimes wondered if God died somewhere along the way. He certainly wasn’t doing much to free them from the tyrannical leaders that held rule over them since the exile, it seemed.

Jesus saw, as He walked with us that many around Him said the words they believed in God, but acted as if He didn’t exist. Today we do the same. We ignore Him when He calls. We ignore His word. We fail to worship Him. We go about our business assuming we don’t need Him anymore. Satan has convinced us we can do everything ourselves and don’t need to depend on the creator for anything. But we are wrong.

Imagine a world without God. A world without His moral guidance. A world without His laws of physics and gravity and science. A world without love. A world without hope. That’s what we would face if God did not exist. We cannot manufacture those things. Those come from God and if He is dead, so are those. Yet they still exist, which means He does too. We can’t create a blade of grass, or a calf, or a fish. We can’t create a bird from an egg or make water spring from the earth to make creeks and rivers and lakes and oceans.

We think we can do lots of things, and think we are really important. We act like we are the most important thing in the world, but we’re only a distant second. God is still alive and well. He demonstrates His presence daily if we will just look around and see His handiwork. Is God dead? Absolutely not. Take some time to prove it for yourself. It’s not hard to figure it out. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

What you can give our nation (Luke 20:23-25) December 27, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Esther 1-5

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 20:23-25
Jesus: Why are you trying to trick Me? Show Me a coin. Whose image and name are on this coin?
Chief Priests, Religious Scholars, and Elders: Caesar’s.
Jesus: Well then, you should give to Caesar whatever is Caesar’s, and you should give to God whatever is God’s.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I’ve been thinking a lot the last year about how distorted our views are about what Jesus thought about governments. We’ve just been through one of the most tumultuous election cycles in our 240 year history with both sides screaming about the unfair system. Both winners and losers claim problems at the polls with voter identification fraud, or the need for voter identification in the first place. Claims that dead people vote, some stealing votes by using someone else’s identity, non-citizens voting, broken or hacked machines, boxes of ballots not counted. There has been an incredible scandal about he whole system.

Then people decry the electoral college and how fair or unfair it might be. Of course the sparsely populated areas of the country think the electoral college is extremely fair, otherwise they would have no voice in the country. The overly populated areas of the country think the electoral college is extremely unfair, because as we’ve seen the majority doesn’t always rule. And then some think we should have a completely democratic system while some think we should be socialist.

Well, one of the great things I like about reading God’s word over and over and particularly concentrating on Jesus’ words these last several months, He never supports or condemns any particular form of government. Have you ever noticed that? Jesus had a few things to say about unjust rulers, but not about their form of government. He called King Herod, “that old fox”, but didn’t say the Roman Empire or the regents and kings, as Herod liked to be called, were necessarily good or bad forms of government.

In fact, God’s words tells us that governments exist at His pleasure to assist human society to live in community. Since we have proven we cannot rule ourselves with decency because of our selfishness, He puts kings and authorities over us to rule us and keep some order in our communities instead of leaving us to the chaos that would erupt if left to our own devices. I don’t think God cares much whether that government is a democracy or dictatorship. I think what He would prefer is a theocracy with Him in charge.

Our problem is, we won’t give Him that place in our communities. Whether we’re talking about cities, states, or nations, I don’t know of a single place on earth right now that gives God sovereignty. We take it from Him. Or at least we try to, thinking we can do a better job of managing our affairs that God. We’ve done a pretty lousy job, though. Just look around at the mess we’ve made. We can’t get along with anyone. We can’t even get along in our own families if you look at the divorce rates, the incidents of spouse and child abuse, the domestic violence, and even the murders within families.

So what should we do about the mess we’ve made with the governments we live under? We are about to start a new year in a few days and an opportunity to start a new season, with a new president in this country, whether you voted for him or against him. We will have a new congress with new senators and new representatives, whether you voted for them or against them. But the interesting thing is that you just happened to be born into this particular country at this particular time with these particular leaders and we can do one of two things.

We can pray for them and ask God to help them make godly decisions and guide our country toward revival using each of us who claim to be followers of Christ as the instruments of revival fire. Or we can belly-ache about the conditions and how unfair the system is and how the side we’re not on politically just doesn’t understand and how gullible they are to the untruths the media spews our way. (By the way, that works whether you are Democrat or Republican or Independent.)

As for me, I feel privileged to live in this particular country and have prayed for my presidents whether they have been the party of my choice or not. Whether I have agreed with them or not. Whether I voted for them or desired for them to take that seat of power or not. Because it really isn’t up to me or you or the 120 million people who voted as to who will sit in what some think of as the seat of power. It’s not for us to give to them. It’s not for them to take or earn or buy. God puts into those positions the people He wants into those positions. Sometimes He even lets us have what we deserve. Ouch! Scary thought, huh!

Make it a point, whatever your political persuasion the rest of this year and the next to pray for our leaders. They need it. We need them to know as Christians we lift them each day in prayer in a positive way. That, more than anything else you do this year, will make a difference in our political system and our nation.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Try a little integrity (Luke 20:9-17) December 26, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Deuteronomy 29-31

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 20:9-17
Jesus: A man planted a vineyard. He rented it to tenants and went for a long trip to another country. At the harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants so he could be paid his share of the vineyard’s fruit, but the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed. The man sent another servant, and they beat him and treated him disgracefully and sent him away empty-handed too. He sent a third servant who was injured and thrown out. Then the vineyard owner said, “Now what am I going to do? I’ll send my much-loved son. They should treat him with respect.”
But when the tenants recognized the owner’s son, they said, “Here’s our chance to actually own this vineyard! Let’s kill the owner’s heir so we can claim this place as our own!” So they threw him out of the vineyard and murdered him. What do you think the owner will do to these scoundrels?
I’ll tell you what he’ll do; he’ll come and wipe those tenants out, and he’ll give the vineyard to others.
Crowd: No! God forbid that this should happen!
Jesus: Why then do the Hebrew Scriptures contain these words:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the very stone
that holds together the entire foundation?

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

When I read these words today, my immediate thoughts took me back a few years to the many riots around the world in which hundreds of people took to the streets in protest of what they felt were injustices by governments, organizations, or individuals and just destroyed neighborhoods. You probably remember the pictures on the news. Cars turned over and burning. Windows in stores smashed. Looters carrying televisions and stereos out of those stores at will. Police standing in lines with shields to protect themselves from rocks and bricks tossed by the rioters.

The violence within the protests was incredible in many of those events. I even remember it happening on occasion when sports teams won pennants or Super Bowls or championships. How crazy do people have to get to thick it’s okay to destroy someone else’s property? When is that ever okay? When is it ever okay to just take what someone else has worked for and paid for? When is it ever okay to steal?

Just last week in my community we had a report in our neighborhood website to be on the lookout for a fairly non-descript white pickup roaming around the area. I live in a gated community, but like I’ve seen many do from time to time, the truck apparently tailgated a resident through the gate to gain entrance. Then the driver scoped out the area and just started loading up the outside Christmas decorations into his truck until his truck was full and left.

Somehow the tenants in the field in Jesus story and the looters and rioters and the many thieves we deal with today have twisted their minds into thinking everything belongs to everyone and so it’s okay to just take what they want. So what if what they take is something precious to the person who owns it? So what if they destroy property to get it? So what if they injure or kill in the process of getting the items they covet? They want it and they will have it regardless the cost.

I like the way my late father-in-law raised his kids. Many times they would go to the store with him when they were growing up. He would sometimes wait until he was out of the store or in his car before he checked to see if he got the right change. Of course, back in those days, the cash registers didn’t tell you how much change you were getting, you figured it out. You had to actually do addition and subtraction. But if he got even two cents too much change, he would go back to the cashier and return the money with the explanation to his girls that he would rather spend the extra time to give the money back than spend eternity in hell. He was not going to steal from the store.

His integrity in the small things bled over into the big things of life also. He was an incredible man of integrity and he passed that trait on to his children. Honesty is probably the most important characteristic each of them looked for in a spouse as they were beginning to date. I suppose I met the test with my wife of 40 years.

We don’t see that kind of integrity much anymore. Our political leaders certainly don’t show it and demonstrated by their recent campaigning. Our bosses often don’t show it in the way they operate their businesses with the bottom line being the most important thing about the business. Even close friends often lose that spot because they just fail to be honest with us in some of the important issues of life. But honesty and integrity are critical to God. It’s one of those commandments He told us not to break, remember? Stealing. Lying. Murder. Coveting. Adultery. They all rank right up there and they all start with the thought, “I want what I want and I don’t care about anyone else.” Don’t be like those tenants. Try a little integrity.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

The peace of Christmas Day (Luke 19:40-44) December 25, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 3 John

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 19:40-44
Jesus: Listen—if they were silent, the very rocks would start to shout!
When Jerusalem came into view, He looked intently at the city and began to weep.
Jesus: How I wish you knew today what would bring peace! But you can’t see. Days will come when your enemies will build up a siege ramp, and you will be surrounded and contained on every side. Your enemies will smash you into rubble and not leave one stone standing on another, and they will cut your children down too, because you did not recognize the day when God’s Anointed One visited you.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Fitting words from Jesus for a podcast prepared for Christmas Day. “How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” That’s why Jesus came, to bring love and joy and peace to each individual heart, but He also knew His name would cause division and hatred and war. Jesus looked forty years into the future and saw the Roman seige against Jerusalem. He saw the soldiers marching through the city streets killing and mutilating the men, women, and children they saw trying to escape them. He saw the temple being torn apart stone by stone and every house being burned to the ground. And part of that destruction was because He came to earth to bring peace. His presence caused an uproar in the streets the Romans felt they needed to quell in a way the whole empire would never forget.

“How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” It wasn’t the presence of the Roman guard keeping order. That didn’t work in Jesus’ day. It only served to stir the people and cause the more violent to rise up against the empire.

“How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” It wasn’t wealth. Herod had that. Many of the Pharisees were wealthy as they collected the offerings and the temple taxes from those who came to the temple to worship. But the Pharisees certainly didn’t seem to be at peace with themselves or the people around them. The crowds were continually burdened by their rules and rose up against their 612 traditions. Factions grew up railing against their rules. And when the rich young man encountered Jesus, he went away sad, unable to find the peace that Jesus offered.

“How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” It wasn’t health. Jesus touched a lot of people. He healed the blind and the lame and the deaf, but I expect many of those succumbed to the pressures of every day life like the seeds sown on the path or among the thorns and never found peace, only the physical healing they sought.

“How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” It wasn’t membership in the right church or temple or synagogue. The Pharisees, Sadducees, Zealots, Essenes, and others thought they had that wrapped up. There were dozens of preachers and teachers like John who baptized disciples into their form of worship and following after God. But none could give the kind of long-lasting peace that Jesus promised. That wasn’t the answer.

“How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” It wasn’t even doing good things for others. The disciples went out and did that when Jesus sent them out into the towns and villages. They drove out demons and healed the sick and proclaimed the message Jesus told them to proclaim. They had good results, too. But the good deeds they performed didn’t bring them peace. They still felt the confusion, fear, and despair the day Jesus died on the cross.

“How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” There is only one thing that brings peace to each individual heart of humankind. We must each understand we are sinners, far from the holy state in which God wants us to live and our sins hurt both our fellowman and God. Then we must be truly sorry for our sins. Not just sorry we got caught, but sorry for the commission of those sins. Sorry we brought pain and suffering to God and others. Sorry we failed to obey God’s commands to live the way He instructed. Sorry we failed to please God.

Then we must humble ourselves and ask forgiveness in true repentance. True repentance means asking with the full intent of living differently. Working diligently with God’s help to avoid the sins we committed in the past and stay obedient to His commands and His spirit’s promptings, we intend to follow His footsteps wherever they might lead.

Finally, we let Him be the Lord of our life. It’s easy to say those words and we think we understand that word, Lord. But we borrow it from medieval days to describe the relationship God wants with us. The Lord is owner of everything, we are just managers. The Lord directs and guides our actions, we obediently carry them out. The Lord teaches and corrects us, we listen and learn from that instruction and correction. The Lord sometimes gives us projects to complete expecting us to use the assets He entrusted to us, we invest all our energy to do the best we can to carry out those projects to completion. The Lord expects complete and total loyalty from all His subjects, we give it because He has the power of life and death in His hands.

On this Christmas Day, Jesus still cries out, “How I wish you knew today what would bring peace!” Do you have His peace? You can. He gives it to all who ask.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

The hated Master (Luke 19:12-27) December 24, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Acts 25-26

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 19:12-27
Jesus: A ruler once planned a journey to a distant country to take the throne of that country and then return home. Before his departure, he called 10 of his servants and gave them each about three months of wages. “Use this money to buy and sell until I return.” After he departed, the people under his rule despised him and sent messengers with a clear message: “We do not want this man to rule over us.”
He successfully assumed kingship of the distant country and returned home. He called his 10 servants together and told them to give an account of their success in doing business with the money he had entrusted to them.
The first came before him and said, “Lord, I have made 10 times the amount you entrusted to me.” The ruler replied, “Well done! You’re a good servant indeed! Since you have been faithful in handling a small amount of money, I’ll entrust you with authority over 10 cities in my new kingdom.”
The second came and said, “Lord, I’ve made five times the original amount.” The ruler replied, “I’ll entrust you with authority over five cities.”
A third came and said, “Lord, I have successfully preserved the money you gave me. I wrapped it up in a napkin and hid it away because I was afraid of you. After all, you’re a tough man. You have a way of taking a profit without making an investment and harvesting when you didn’t plant any seed.”
The ruler replied, “I will condemn you using your very own words, you worthless servant! So I’m a severe man, am I? So I take a profit without making an investment and harvest without planting seed? Then why didn’t you invest my money in the bank so I could have at least gained some interest on it?” The ruler told the onlookers, “Take the money I gave him, and give it to the one who multiplied my investment by 10.”
Then the onlookers replied, “Lord, he already has 10 times the original amount!”
The ruler responded, “Listen, whoever has some will be given more, and whoever doesn’t have anything will lose what he thinks he has. And these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to rule over them—bring them here and execute them in my presence.”

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Here’s another one of those stories I’ve read a lot, but overlooked a part until today. But that one sentence stuck out for me like a sore thumb and I couldn’t get past it. So let’s look at it today. The sentence I’ve ignored? “After he departed, the people under his rule despised him and sent messengers with a clear message: ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’”

So why would that sentence pop out at me today? I’m not real sure, except I think our whole society fits that description pretty well. Jesus left physically a couple thousand years ago when ascended into heaven and told us He would return. We don’t know exactly what He’s been doing since then. We know He’s preparing a place for us to spend eternity, but it’s a big universe out there. Maybe He’s visiting some of those other planets He created. Maybe UFOs are real and there are some other sentient beings He is offering His salvation? We just don’t have a clue what God is doing other than intervening for us with the Father and preparing a place for us. But He’s God and that doesn’t take much time when you’re God and can do anything and everything without being concerned about time, a meaningless concept for Him.

Since He left, however, we have not gotten better in our sensibilities toward solving the social problems of the planet. We still build thick walls between us. Whether nationally, racially, economically, just pick any trait and if there is a difference between any group of people, we’ll use it to build a wall so we don’t have to associate with “those” people. That’s not what God planned for us when He created us. That has been our doing.

And in the process, as God has tried to teach us with His word and His example, our selfish desires have so gotten in the way, that the world has learned to despise Him. Even those who follow His example are despised. Just take a look at the increase in martyrdom since He left. More and more Christians are killed because of following Him every year. It wasn’t just ISIS when they came on the scene. Christians have died at the hand of evil men since Jesus departed 2000 years ago for claiming Him as Lord.

Society despised Jesus so much, they even try to blot out His name. We can’t even celebrate Christmas in public anymore. Now it’s the holiday season instead of Christmas. Strange how we lose the name of the very person for whom the holiday came to be in the first place, isn’t it? How does it happen? Because we want our way. We don’t want anyone, even God, telling us how to live. We can choose to follow Him or not, though. We don’t get to choose the consequences of that decision, but we can choose to follow Him or not. Be forewarned, if you follow God, the rest of the world will despise you, just like the Master that left on a long journey 2,000 years ago. He’s coming back, though, and will ask for a reckoning of what He has entrusted to us. Choose well.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Do you have a notorious sinner as a friend? (Luke 19:5-10) December 23, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Revelations 12-17

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 19:5-10
Jesus: Zaccheus, hurry down from that tree because I need to stay at your house tonight.
Zaccheus scrambles down and joyfully brings Jesus back to his house. Now the crowd sees this, and they’re upset.
Crowd (grumbling): Jesus has become the houseguest of this fellow who is a notorious sinner.
Zaccheus: Lord, I am giving half of my goods to the poor, and whomever I have cheated I will pay back four times what I took.
Jesus: Today liberation has come to this house, since even Zaccheus is living as a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to liberate the lost.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Do you know any notorious sinners? I hope so. It gives you a good opportunity to become friends with them, invite them into your house, eat dinner with them, get to know them, and let them get to know you. It gives you an opportunity to let them see your life in side and out. It lets them see you in the crisis times of life and how you rely on God to get you through those tough times and how you praise Him for the good times. If you get to know a notorious sinner, you might have the opportunity to help him out when he gets in a tough spot and show God’s grace through your actions.

Does that mean you condone what he does that doesn’t conform to God’s law? No. Neither did Jesus. When Jesus went to Zaccheus house for dinner, I’m sure He didn’t go there with the intent of learning how to cheat people on their taxes. That’s what Zaccheus was know for. I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t intend to get stone drunk at dinner and make a fool of Himself. I’m pretty sure Jesus planned to enjoy Himself at dinner and talk to Zaccheus about what He was doing in His ministry, the people He was meeting along the way, the help He was able to give, the joy God brought to individual’s hearts when they changed their ways and followed His commands.

Jesus didn’t condone sin, but He loved sinners. He demonstrated that fact over and over throughout His ministry. He associated with the notorious sinners. Those labeled as the worst of the worst so those on the fringe and we could know that God will forgive anyone who comes to Him with a repentant heart. And what better way to tell the story of God’s forgiveness than over a meal?

When your eating with someone, you’re eyeball to eyeball with them. It’s hard to just walk away in the middle of a meal. Especially if they invited you to dinner. What are they going to do? Grab you by the collar and throw you out in the street? If they have come to know you as a friend that really cares about them, probably not. They will listen to your stories. They will see the sincerity in your eyes. They will feel your passion and compassion. They will know you believe what you tell them. It will cause them to think about what you say.

Will you win them to Jesus? Maybe. Maybe not. They must make the choice for themselves. But you will at least plant a seed that may have a chance to grow in them. If you are friends with notorious sinners you will have a better chance of reaching them for Jesus than any pastor preaching in a pulpit. Why? Because that notorious sinner won’t show up at that pastor’s services. No matter how great a preacher, no matter how persuasive, no matter how successful he is in sharing God’s word and convincing others to come to Christ, if that notorious sinner never enters those church doors, he will never hear the pastor’s great message. The truth will have to come from a Christian friend.

Jesus showed us by example how best to spread the good news. He went to the homes of those who needed to hear it most. He went to the people who needed Him. He didn’t wait for them to come to Him. He didn’t expect them to approach Him, He traveled the countryside and went to them. The crowds gathered around Him, but those crowds came from the nearby villages, not from half way across the country. The crowds were locals that sought Him out when He came to their town.

We in the church are sometimes afraid, or maybe, like the Pharisees, too proud or pious, to associate with the notorious sinners. But how else will they hear that Jesus loves them just as much as He loved us when He offered us the chance to have our sins forgiven and an opportunity to attain eternal life with Him. How else will they come to know Him as Savior unless friends carry the message to them.

So the questions for us today: Do you know any notorious sinners? Have you made friends with them? Have you share the good news of God’s love with them? If not, what are you waiting for? Jesus showed us how with Zaccheus as a great example for us. You might help win a Zaccheus today if you try. Let’s get at it. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Strange rules (Luke 18:31-33) December 22, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Song of Songs 5-6

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 18:31-33
Jesus: Look, my friends, we are going up to Jerusalem. Everything the prophets have written about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the outsiders. They will mock Him, disgrace Him, and spit on Him; they will scourge Him, and they will kill Him. And on the third day, He will rise from death.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Okay team, we’re headed to the Super Bowl. Here’s how the game will go. Once we get on the field, the other team is going to pound us into the ground. The referees will look the other way and won’t call a single penalty on them, though. In fact, when they run off side plays or have pass interference or blind tackles, we’re the ones that will get the flag, not them. By the end of the first quarter we’ll be down 21 to nothing and by the end of the half the score will be 45 to zip. But don’t get discouraged. That’s just the first half. They won’t be bringing their first string in until the second half, so it’s okay.

In the second half, the first string will be ready to play since we will be pretty tuckered out by then. Most of the team will be broken and bleeding on the sidelines within the first few minutes of the second half. I expect we’ll only be playing with about eight players total by the end of the third quarter. The rest will be benched because of injuries or they will just be so beaten up and exhausted they can’t make it onto the field anymore. But that’s okay. I’ll still be the quarterback and we’ll make it.

So at the end of fourth quarter, all of you will be in the locker room or on the way home. I’ll be the only one on the field and the refs will still be calling the game for our opponents. Nothing will be out of bounds for them. In fact, I expect they’ll even try to bring some brass-knuckles and lead pipes on the field just to make it interesting with only one player opposing them. But that’s okay, too. I’ll still be in the game for you and the Super Bowl will still be televised for everyone to see. So in the last seconds when they kill me and the score is 112 to 3, don’t worry. I’ve got this wrapped up.

You see, the world has these rules they play by, but there is a new owner of the NFL. He just bought all the teams and isn’t allowing any but him to influence or make the rules. He doesn’t really care what the scoreboard says or what the referees think they are doing. He owns the entire franchise now and he sets the rules. When the final whistle blows, he is the one who will hand the cup over to the winning team. He will have watched the whole game from a position where he can see every move, and even hear every word that every player and every coach says.

He’ll know everything that goes on down on the field and will determine who wins in the end. Oh, by the way, he gave everyone the rules a long time ago, but I don’t think very many people read his rule book. They decided to make up their own. That’s why the score will run up the way it will and all of you will need to run away and let them kill me. But like I said, don’t worry. Even though I’m out there not breathing, with no heartbeat, and they decide to bury me, that’s okay. There will be a lot of controversy over the game.

Our opponents will think they won because of the score and all of us gone, but the trophy won’t have been given out yet. So just stick around. This will get interesting. So we play on Friday this year instead of Sunday just to be different. The owner is trying to shake things up a little. And since the game will be pretty brutal and I’ll be a pretty messed up blob of flesh by then, they’ll bury me the same day. But what would normally be game time on Sunday, the trophy will be presented.

And guess who will get the trophy! Me. You guys can join in on the fun later, but I’ll get the trophy and all those guys that thought they won because they scored so heavily on Friday will just stand there with their mouths open. They won’t believe they lost the game, but that’s the way it goes. They didn’t write the rules. The owner of all the teams writes the rules and if you don’t play by his rules, you can’t win. He doesn’t care about scores, he cares about how you play. And since I did everything he asked me to do, I win. Period. End of conversation.

Well, it’s not a super bowl. And it’s not a game. But I hope you get the point. God gave us the rules a long time before any of us were born and He’s watching. He’s the one that determines who wins in the end. In fact, the winner has already been declared. Doesn’t it make sense to be on that team? 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.