Monthly Archives: December 2016

It’s best to be generous (Luke 16:19-31) December 11, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 2 John

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 16:19-31
Jesus There was this rich man who had everything—purple clothing of fine quality and high fashion, gourmet meals every day, and a large house. Just outside his front gate lay this poor homeless fellow named Lazarus. Lazarus was covered in ugly skin lesions. He was so hungry he wished he could scavenge scraps from the rich man’s trash. Dogs would come and lick the sores on his skin. The poor fellow died and was carried on the arms of the heavenly messengers to the embrace of Abraham. Then the rich fellow died and was buried and found himself in the place of the dead. In his torment, he looked up, and off in the distance he saw Abraham, with Lazarus in his embrace.
He shouted out, “Father Abraham! Please show me mercy! Would you send that beggar Lazarus to dip his fingertip in water and cool my tongue? These flames are hot, and I’m in agony!”
But Abraham said, “Son, you seem to be forgetting something: your life was full to overflowing with comforts and pleasures, and the life of Lazarus was just as full with suffering and pain. So now is his time of comfort, and now is your time of agony. Besides, a great canyon separates you and us. Nobody can cross over from our side to yours, or from your side to ours.”
“Please, Father Abraham, I beg you,” the formerly rich man continued, “send Lazarus to my father’s house. I have five brothers there, and they’re on the same path I was on. If Lazarus warns them, they’ll choose another path and won’t end up here in torment.”
But Abraham said, “Why send Lazarus? They already have the law of Moses and the writings of the prophets to instruct them. Let your brothers hear them.”
“No, Father Abraham,” he said, “they’re already ignoring the law and the prophets. But if someone came back from the dead, then they’d listen for sure; then they’d change their way of life.”
Abraham answered, “If they’re not listening to Moses and the prophets, they won’t be convinced even if someone comes back from the dead.”

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I don’t know if you’ve ever been around burn victims. It’s pretty terrible. Being stationed at Ft Sam Houston, Texas for the last few years of my service, I saw patients in the burn center more often than I’d like to remember. Most of them had recently returned from Iraq or Afghanistan, victims of explosions on the battlefield in which fuel in the vehicles they were riding also caught fire before they could be extracted. Some of those soldiers were 60, 70, and 80% of their body surface covered with disfiguring burns. It’s a horrible, painful injury and recovery is also long and painful.

The average burn victim undergoes more than 20 surgeries during the first two years of recovery and usually never gets full range of motion of limbs affected by the burns. We still haven’t been able to perfect plastic surgeries to heal disfigurement, so every time a burn victim looks in the mirror, there is the constant reminder of that fateful day that changed their life forever. Post traumatic stress disorder often accompanies the injury and causes frequent nightmare interrupting much needed sleep and disrupting the healing process. Burns are horrible injuries.

Every time I read this story, I’m reminded of those soldiers I visited on the burn wards at Fort Sam Houston. And I think about how horrible hell must be. To continually exist in a place of fire and brimstone as Jesus describes it, always burning but never being consumed by it. Always experiencing that agony with no hope of the pain ever stopping. And in hell, there are no drugs to ease the pain, no narcotics to allow even the shortest, restless sleep from the intense agony.

Then I think about the rich man’s request. Just the amount of water that can be held on the tip of Lazarus’ fingertip to cool his tongue. Have you ever tried to quench you thirst with the amount of water that you can hold on the tip of your finger? It’s not much water. If you stick your whole finger in a glass of water you’ll only get about two or three drops of water off the end when you pull it out. But that was the rich man’s request. He was in such agony, such torment, he would be happy with just the amount of water that would fall from Lazarus’ fingertip.

I don’t know about you, but I never want to go to a place like that. Was the scene real? It seems to me that the parables Jesus gave the crowds were more often based in reality than not. They seemed to be scenes He had witnessed and then shared with those around Him. These were not Aesop’s fables with animals living out morals to be learned. Jesus’ parables always had truths in them that could easily be seen in every day life. So had Jesus witnessed just this kind of scene before He came to earth in human form? In His glorified form, had the Son of God witnessed the rich man plead for Abraham to send one of God’s children across the divide with just a few drops of water to cool His tongue?

There is always more truth in Jesus’ parables than not. I don’t want to find out, do you? I think that means we need to be generous with the things God entrusts into our care. Think about 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.

There will be a test at the end (Luke 16:15-18) December 10, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Acts 23-24

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 16:15-18
Jesus (to the Pharisees): You’ve made your choice. Your ambition is to look good in front of other people, not God. But God sees through to your hearts. He values things differently from you. The goals you and your peers are reaching for God detests.
The law and the prophets had their role until the coming of John the Baptist. Since John’s arrival, the good news of the kingdom of God has been taught while people are clamoring to enter it. That’s not to say that God’s rules for living are useless. The stars in the sky and the earth beneath your feet will pass away before one letter of God’s rules for living become worthless.
Take God’s rules regarding marriage for example. If a man divorces his wife and marries somebody else, then it’s still adultery because that man has broken his vow to God. And if a man marries a woman divorced from her husband, he’s committing adultery for the same reason.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Many in our society want to throw out what God’s word says as archaic, meant for another time and another generation. It’s not meant for our progressive, modern society. The people of Jesus’ day had similar ideas. The Pharisees, however, were the church leaders. They tried their best to enforce the laws God had inspired in the writers of the Old Testament. They wanted to make sure all those old rules were followed to the letter of the law and, in fact, they added their own interpretation to those rules so that 612 traditions came along with the Levitical commands God gave Moses on Mt Sinai.

Jesus addressed the Pharisees often about their losing their faith because of their strict enforcement of the rules but their failure to live up to and follow those same rules themselves. But these words of Jesus are pretty interesting and important for our society today. We need to hear these words addressed to the religious leaders because it applies to us just as much as it did to them those 2,000 years ago. Listen carefully to what Jesus had to say once again.

“The law and the prophets had their role until the coming of John the Baptist. Since John’s arrival, the good news of the kingdom of God has been taught while people are clamoring to enter it. That’s not to say that God’s rules for living are useless. The stars in the sky and the earth beneath your feet will pass away before one letter of God’s rules for living become worthless.”

Many want to take that first sentence and stop. They want to conveniently forget the rest of the paragraph. But Jesus didn’t stop talking after the first sentence. The role of the law and prophets changed, but they didn’t go away. Before John the Baptist came to herald the coming of Christ and the kingdom of God to earth, the law and prophets set the boundaries of behavior and condemned the actions of men and women in community. It told us how to live together in society and what God’s standards for living were. The law and prophets pointed out the evil in us.

But their role changed when Christ came on the scene. When He died for us and His spirit came to live in us when we let Him, His laws are written on our heart. It’s a law of love. Remember what He told the scribe who asked about the greatest commandment? Love God and love your neighbor, every other commandment rests on these two as their foundation. But we can’t love the way He wants us to love until He lives in us and we let Him control our lives. When He does, He writes His laws on our hearts. His laws don’t go away. They transform us. His rules don’t disappear, they become an integral part of who we are because He becomes an integral part of us.

All of the don’t do this and don’t do that kind of evil rules of living get turned around to do this and do that kind of good because you love God and love others the way He loves. The world gets turned upside down because you begin to see the way He sees. He lives in you and you become part of Him just as He is part of you. The rules didn’t change, you do. The guidance doesn’t change, you do. The taboos don’t change, you do. The things that He says will destroy your life don’t change, you just don’t desire them any more. God transforms our thinking because He wants to live in a temple – us – that remains pure and clean and holy. So He changes us. He wants us to be that vessel.

Is adultery still wrong? Yes. Is homosexuality still wrong? Yes. Is theft still wrong? Yes. Is lying and cheating and stealing and desecrating the Sabbath and disrespect for you parents and murder and breaking all the other commandments still wrong? Yes. These things hurt not just the one committing the sin, but they hurt the community in which they are committed. Just look around at the state of our society and it’s not hard to see that thinking it’s okay to throw out the commandments is okay has led to total decay across our land.

God’s laws will not go away before the stars in the sky or the earth beneath your feet disappear. It might be worth while to brush up on them. There will be a test at the end. 

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.

Be generous, helpful, and kind (Luke 16:1-13) December 9, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Revelation 7-11

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

Today’s Devotional

16:1-13
Jesus: Once there was a rich and powerful man who had an asset manager. One day, the man received word that his asset manager was squandering his assets.
The rich man brought in the asset manager and said, “You’ve been accused of wrongdoing. I want a full and accurate accounting of all your financial transactions because you are really close to being fired.”The manager said to himself, “Oh, no! Now what am I going to do? I’m going to lose my job here, and I’m too weak to dig ditches and too proud to beg. I have an idea. This plan will mean that I have a lot of hospitable friends when I get fired.”
So the asset manager set up appointments with each person who owed his master money. He said to the first debtor, “How much do you owe my boss?” The debtor replied, “A hundred barrels of oil.” The manager said, “I’m discounting your bill by half. Just write 50 on this contract.” Then he said to the second debtor, “How much do you owe?” This fellow said, “A hundred bales of wheat.” The manager said, “I’m discounting your debt by 20 percent. Just write down 80 bales on this contract.”
When the manager’s boss realized what he had done, he congratulated him for at least being clever. That’s how it is: those attuned to this evil age are more clever in dealing with their affairs than the enlightened are in dealing with their affairs!
Learn some lessons from this crooked but clever asset manager. Realize that the purpose of money is to strengthen friendships, to provide opportunities for being generous and kind. Eventually money will be useless to you—but if you use it generously to serve others, you will be welcomed joyfully into your eternal destination.
If you’re faithful in small-scale matters, you’ll be faithful with far bigger responsibilities. If you’re crooked in small responsibilities, you’ll be no different in bigger things. If you can’t even handle a small thing like money, who’s going to entrust you with spiritual riches that really matter? If you don’t manage well someone else’s assets that are entrusted to you, who’s going to give over to you important spiritual and personal relationships to manage?
Imagine you’re a servant and you have two masters giving you orders. What are you going to do when they have conflicting demands? You can’t serve both, so you’ll either hate the first and love the second, or you’ll faithfully serve the first and despise the second. One master is God and the other is money. You can’t serve them both.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Did you get that lesson about the purpose of money? We really blow it these days. We think the purpose of money is to get more stuff for us. We think it is to make us more comfortable or make us look more important or ensure our future. But Jesus didn’t mention any of those things when He talked about the purpose of money as He discussed this parable with those around Him, did He? “The purpose of money,” He said, “is to strengthen friendships, to provide opportunities for being generous and kind.”

That is a far cry from what the world tells us to do with our money, isn’t it? Financial managers will tell us to hoard it away. Make sure you multiply it so you don’t run out. Don’t give too much of it away because then you won’t have it. The world says use it for your personal gain. That’s how you get ahead in this world.

Jesus’ advice and the world’s advice are rather contradictory to each other, aren’t they? But who should we listen to? If God made the world and He will be the final judge of our actions at the end of time, doesn’t it make sense to pay attention to His rules instead of the world’s rules? Doesn’t it make sense to take God’s advice since He’s the one we will face someday?

Even if you don’t believe there is a heaven and hell, being generous and kind doesn’t do any harm to you or anyone else. And if you are right, you have done good things for others all your life. You have been good and kind and generous and helped others along life’s path. But if you’re wrong and you fail to give to others, hoard everything you make, push aside others and fail to help others along life’s path, what will you say to God when you face Him at the judgment?

If you don’t believe, you still might not make it across the threshold into heaven, but I’m not God, thank goodness, and I don’t know how He will judge at the end of time. Perhaps ignorance of Him will be weighed against good things you have done or failure to do those good things. Perhaps generosity and kindness will have something to do with the intensity of punishment received. I have to tell you I don’t know how all that will work. The Bible doesn’t tell us. But one thing for sure, Jesus’ words about the use of money point us again and again to using it to help others not ourselves. Being generous and helpful and kind with the assets God entrusts to us. So we’d best get on with those duties, don’t you think.

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.

Celebrate the new birth (Luke 15:25-32) December 8, 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 1-2

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 15:25-32
Jesus: Now the man’s older son was still out in the fields working. He came home at the end of the day and heard music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what was going on. The servant said, “Your brother has returned, and your father has butchered the fattest calf to celebrate his safe return.”
The older brother got really angry and refused to come inside, so his father came out and pleaded with him to join the celebration. But he argued back, “Listen, all these years I’ve worked hard for you. I’ve never disobeyed one of your orders. But how many times have you even given me a little goat to roast for a party with my friends? Not once! This is not fair! So this son of yours comes, this wasteful delinquent who has spent your hard-earned wealth on loose women, and what do you do? You butcher the fattest calf from our herd!”
The father replied, “My son, you are always with me, and all I have is yours. Isn’t it right to join in the celebration and be happy? This is your brother we’re talking about. He was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found again!”

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Man, I hate to read this part of the story sometimes. It reminds me too much of what we do as Christians. The new guy comes to church, goes to an altar and prays. God forgives him and suddenly the pastor and teachers and everyone gushes all over him. They invite him to lunch, invite him to go play golf with them, invite him to use their extra ticket to the basketball game even. They never did that for me and I’ve been in the church my whole life! What gives? Why does the new guy get all the attention?

Maybe I’ll just quit. That will show that crowd of do-gooders. Then maybe they’ll pay attention to me. At least they’ll miss my tithes. Well, my offerings because I don’t really believe in that tithe stuff anymore. That’s Old Testament stuff and we live according to the New Testament, right? They just don’t understand. And this new guy, he’ll probably fall off the wagon again and be right back where he was before the year is out. He’s had this roller-coaster ride of trying to be good before.

Can’t the pastor understand that I need some attention, too? Doesn’t he understand that he has some parishioners that he doesn’t call on enough, like me? Sure I’m there all the time. Sure I help out in a lot of ways. Sure I have a good relationship with everyone in the church and read my Bible and pray. Sure I do everything the church asks me to do. But doesn’t that mean the pastor should spend a little time with me instead of this sinner guy that just came in off the street and said he felt forgiven by God?

Green with envy. That’s where we find ourselves sometimes. But why? Aren’t we already in the church enjoying the fellowship of other believers? Don’t we have the assurance of our eternal rest as we follow God’s commands and stay in His will? Can’t we rejoice in seeing one more added to the kingdom? And isn’t it our job to teach others the practices we have been taught as Christians so that they stay grounded in the truth of God’s word? Did those practices include being jealous of the pastor’s time? Did those practices Jesus taught include wanting to quit because we don’t get the attention we think we deserve because of the work we do for the kingdom?

Yeah, it gets tough to read the last part of this parable, sometimes. It can be pretty convicting if you pay attention to the actions of the older brother. Not someone we should emulate, but too often we follow in his footsteps instead of Jesus’. But there is a solution to the older son’s problem just as there was a solution to the younger son’s. The father embraced his youngest son and welcomed him home. He had a few strong words for his older son but still reminded him that he was welcome to join the party. All he had to do was accept the invitation.

It’s funny, though, we never find out if the older son goes to the party or not. We know the father wants him to come, but we don’t know if he shows. Why is that? Because the son has to make his own choice. The father can’t choose for him. It’s the same with us. The Father invites us to His party, but we much choose whether we will attend. We have to play by His rules to get there. We have to celebrate the return of our lost brothers and sisters. We have to rejoice every time one more person comes to know Him as Lord of their life. We have to understand our position. We are all His children. No one is more important than another and every time one more joins the family we all celebrate the new birth. 

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.

You don’t have to eat like a pig (Luke 15:11-24) December 7, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 140-142

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 15:11-24
Jesus: Once there was this man who had two sons. One day the younger son came to his father and said, “Father, eventually I’m going to inherit my share of your estate. Rather than waiting until you die, I want you to give me my share now.” And so the father liquidated assets and divided them. A few days passed and this younger son gathered all his wealth and set off on a journey to a distant land. Once there he wasted everything he owned on wild living. He was broke, a terrible famine struck that land, and he felt desperately hungry and in need. He got a job with one of the locals, who sent him into the fields to feed the pigs. The young man felt so miserably hungry that he wished he could eat the slop the pigs were eating. Nobody gave him anything.
So he had this moment of self-reflection: “What am I doing here? Back home, my father’s hired servants have plenty of food. Why am I here starving to death? I’ll get up and return to my father, and I’ll say, ‘Father, I have done wrong—wrong against God and against you. I have forfeited any right to be treated like your son, but I’m wondering if you’d treat me as one of your hired servants?’” So he got up and returned to his father. The father looked off in the distance and saw the young man returning. He felt compassion for his son and ran out to him, enfolded him in an embrace, and kissed him.
The son said, “Father, I have done a terrible wrong in God’s sight and in your sight too. I have forfeited any right to be treated as your son.”
But the father turned to his servants and said, “Quick! Bring the best robe we have and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. Go get the fattest calf and butcher it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate because my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and has been found.” So they had this huge party.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

That young man reminds me so much of us today. It seems each generation just gets more selfish and self centered. What can I get and how fast can I get it. It doesn’t matter if anyone else is inconvenienced or hurt by my gain, just give me what I want. And give it to me now! We are an instant gratification society and the advertising industry know it in spades. Every ad grabs your attention and is aimed at pleasure. Even the products that have nothing to do with pleasure use images, sounds, and innuendos that aim at the pleasure centers of your brain.

It is an amazingly sinful world we live in and Satan tempts us through our own selfishness. Unfortunately, we too seldom wake up to our fallen condition as the young man in the parable or if we do rather than go back to the father we keep trying to fix our brokenness ourselves. But we can’t, we just get ourselves deeper into the hole we dig for ourselves.

But the Father wants us back. He welcomes us when we come to Him as the young man did, knowing our brokenness and ready to give ourselves fully to Him in servanthood. The father restored his son to his position of honor and sonship. He restored him to his home and laid out a banquet for him. He put new robes on his back and rings on his fingers. He treated the young man as a son because he was. The young man made mistakes. He squandered his inheritance. But he came back to his father.

That’s all God asks of us. Come to our senses and then come back to Him. But we first need to come back to our senses. We need to quit listening to the lies the world screams at us and understand that selfishness is where every sin begins. I want what I want instead of what God wants. And so it begins. Every broken commandment, every lie, every grab of property, riches, relationships for the purpose of gain. Every sin starts with a focus on me instead of focusing on the creator.

We don’t have to settle on the pods the pigs eat, we can eat from the banquet table of the king. We don’t have to wear the rags of guilt, we can be clothed in a raiment of righteousness. We can be everything God wants us to be when we come back to Him and let Him take charge of our lives. When we don’t, when we think we know how to run our lives better than God, we end up just like the younger son in the story. When we understand the Father knows us better than we know ourselves and always has our best in mind, we can follow His commands and know He will do incredible things in our lives. We will spend eternity at home with Him. What could be better than that? 

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.

Practice His practices (Luke 15:3-10) December 6, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Nehemiah 5-9

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 15:3-10
Jesus (with another parable): Wouldn’t every single one of you, if you have 100 sheep and lose one, leave the 99 in their grazing lands and go out searching for the lost sheep until you find it? When you find the lost sheep, wouldn’t you hoist it up on your shoulders, feeling wonderful? And when you go home, wouldn’t you call together your friends and neighbors? Wouldn’t you say, “Come over and celebrate with me, because I’ve found my lost sheep”? This is how it is in heaven. They’re happier over one sinner who changes his way of life than they are over 99 good and just people who don’t need to change their ways of life.
Or imagine a woman who has 10 silver coins. She loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the whole house, and search diligently until that coin is found? And when she finds it, doesn’t she invite her friends and neighbors and say, “Celebrate with me! I’ve found that silver coin that I lost”? Can’t you understand? There is joy in the presence of all God’s messengers over even one sinner who changes his way of life.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Maybe it’s just because I’m getting older and notice it more, but I really think it’s true. We, who call ourselves Christians become more and more critical without showing God’s grace in return. This past year I’ve really noticed it. Even in this season of the year when people normally get a little more cheerful as we approach the celebration of Christ’s birth, I’ve noticed we are still on this string of harsh criticism of one another. We single out that one that is outside of God’s will, or at least what we think is His will, and blast his or her behavior. We cry out for justice or more likely for revenge. But we don’t do anything to try to bring them back into a relationship with God.

Isn’t that what we are supposed to be doing, though? Aren’t we supposed to be sharing God’s love and grace? Aren’t we supposed to be extending His mercy and teaching others what it means to love each other rather than hating each other? We don’t seem to do that very well these days, though. We criticize and complain and condemn rather than try to bring others into the kingdom by sharing the message Jesus gave us to share with the world.

If all heaven rejoices at the recovery of just one sinner, then shouldn’t we be working hard to find those lost souls and introduce them to the One who can bring them back into the fold? Shouldn’t we be finding ways to befriend the lost so that they will listen to the message rather than ranting and raving against them so that they immediately feel ostracized from us?

I think Jesus wants us to pattern our lives after His. His great commission was to teach others His practices. If you look at one of the reasons the temple leaders condemned Him, it was because He associated with sinners. He ate with prostitutes and tax collectors. He talked with people the Pharisees and scribes felt were below their status and should be avoided. So if that was jesus’ practice, isn’t that what we should be doing?

That doesn’t mean we take up their habits. He never did. He never sinned, remember. He kept Himself pure in an evil world. But He associated with the lowest of the low so He could share with them the message of hope He brought to the world. Jesus didn’t care what social status someone had or the crimes they committed or what other people thought about them. He just shared the message of redemption. He shared forgiveness. And with ever person who accepted His message, heaven erupted in joyous praise.

So why have we forgotten that message? Why do we let little meaningless things get in the way of showing God’s love to those who need it most? Instead, we have a tendency to first complain, criticize, and condemn. The world needs more love and laughter. We need more Christians to extend the hand of friendship to those who do not know Christ. How else can we share the message? We certainly can’t expect sinners to listen to a message filled with hate and condemnation, can we? That generates a fight for flight response. We don’t want that. We want them to know our Jesus. Only a friend can share that message. Jesus knew that. That’s why He ate with and talked with and worked with those that needed Him most.

So today as you go about your daily routine, who in the circle of people you meet do you need to reach out to improve your relationship? Who needs to become more than just someone you see and change into someone that needs a friend, you? Who do you know that needs to know your Jesus? The only way you can introduce Him is to get to the point in your relationship that he or she will trust you enough to know you genuinely care about their eternity. Only friends do that. Does that compromise your purity? It didn’t for Jesus. He didn’t change His behavior. He just made friends wherever He went. It’s one of His practices we need to improve upon.

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.

Add some seasoning (Luke 14:34-35) December 5, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Deuteronomy 23-25

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 14:34-35
Jesus: Don’t be like salt that has lost its taste. How can its saltiness be restored? Flavorless salt is absolutely worthless. You can’t even use it as fertilizer, so it’s worth less than manure! Don’t just listen to My words here. Get the deeper meaning.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Sometimes I enjoy cooking. I’ll have to admit, for the first 20 plus years of my marriage, I couldn’t boil water. Carole was such a great cook, I just left it to her and enjoyed eating whatever she put on the table. It probably wasn’t fair, but whenever she was gone and I had to pinch hit in the kitchen, the kids would complain a lot when she got home. They begged her never to leave again. They remind me of some of my fiascos when we get together on special occasions.

But one day Carole said, “All you have to do to cook is be able to read. The recipes tell you exactly what to do.” Well…not exactly. But I did find a few beginner cookbooks that began to teach me what all the special words meant, like the difference between boil and simmer, saute and caramelize. So I started cooking as a hobby. And I’ve come to enjoy it every once in a while. I don’t even make a terrible mess because I have a tendency to stick things in the dishwasher right away and clean as I go to keep Carole from having to clean up behind me.

I’ve learned to use a lot of spices other than salt to flavor food since I took up cooking, but salt is still the go to spice. Salt makes everything better, kind of like bacon. If you don’t think bacon makes things taste better. Well, you just wrong. Sorry. Salt is the same way. It tantalizes the tongue like no other spice. In fact, a large portion of our tongue’s taste buds are geared to seek out that particular flavor. We can measure saltiness with our tongue extremely well.

In Jesus’ day, though, they didn’t make salt the same way we do today. Vendors gathered it up from salt deposits on the Mediterranean Sea or at the Dead Sea and then broke it up into large or small chunks depending on what the buyer was using it for. Because of its crystalline form, you could even grind it up very fine to use the way we do today, but it wasn’t nearly as pure and most often wasn’t the bright white color you see on your table.

The biggest problem with the way salt was sold in Jesus’ day, was that since the vendors sold it in blocks and it wasn’t necessarily white because it had other minerals mixed in with it, if it stayed out in the weather and got damp, the salt would leach out of the block and lose its saltiness. You would lose the salty flavor over time and be left with all the other minerals and no salt without knowing it. You can try it yourself with a salt-lick, those things you see out in dairy or cattle ranches in the summer. Ranchers put them out to keep the cattle’s salt intake up during hot weather. But it they get wet or the weather get really humid for several days or weeks, you’ll find that the animals will no longer be drawn to the salt-lick because it has lost its saltiness.

Jesus’ hearer were much more familiar with salt that loses its flavor that we are. Our store bought salt seldom loses flavor. The packaging we use protects it from the elements and we don’t worry much about losing flavor before it’s gone. But Jesus told us not to miss His deeper meaning in His words. So what does that mean?

I think as Christians He expects us to season the world. We should be out and about in the world and seen in such a way as to add His grace and mercy to the world. We should stand out the same way salt stands out as a flavoring in food. When you salt food, you know it. When a Christian walks into a room, you should know it. Not because we announce it. There are too many today that announce they are Christians but are not and that just gives Jesus a bad name. But others should see our actions, hear our words, experience our love toward others and know we are Christians. When Christ lives in us we should not be able to hide it any more than you can hide the flavor of salt in food.

The world should miss our presence when we are not around. They should recognize the absence of the fruit of the spirit they see in us when we are not around. Our presence at work or school or in line at the grocery store should make a difference in the world as much as salt makes a difference in the taste of food.

So, has your life lost its intense seasoning in the world? Only God’s spirit in you can bring it back. Let Him put a little salt back into your life.

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.

Stay on the winning side (Luke 14:31-33) December 4, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 1 John 4-5

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 14:31-33
Jesus: Or imagine a king gearing up to go to war. Wouldn’t he begin by sitting down with his advisors to determine whether his 10,000 troops could defeat the opponent’s 20,000 troops? If not, he’ll send a peace delegation quickly and negotiate a peace treaty. In the same way, if you want to be My disciple, it will cost you everything. Don’t underestimate that cost!

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I spent almost my whole career in the Army studying, thinking about, and planning for combat. That’s what the Army does. It’s purpose is to fight and win America’s wars. It doesn’t start them. It doesn’t want them. No soldier that I know enjoys going into combat. But when the country calls on its soldiers to fight for the freedoms we hold dear, they go. And my job as a medical planner was to figure out how to put the right medical support on the battlefield and at every step between the battle and a soldier’s home to make sure he or she got the best care possible.

Consequently, I know about planning to go to war. I worked hand in hand with the warfighters and understood their tactics intimately because I had to know how their tactics influenced the potential number of casualties both we and our enemies would experience. You see, Americans are one of few countries that extend mercy to our enemies once defeated. We tend to our enemies wounded in the same way we tend to our own wounded. It’s what the Geneva Conventions after the World Wars said we should do, but few countries carry out those concepts as well as the United States.

So my job took into account what the warfighters thought would happen in each phase of each battle and throughout the campaigns they planned both for our side and the enemies. It sounds like a daunting task and in some respects I guess it might be. But there are ways to determine what our capabilities really are and what the enemy’s capabilities are. Then you run all that information through different analyses tools and figure out if you can win and at what cost.

The good news for those who have never served, but who have loved ones or friends in the military, I never met a commander that wasn’t averse to losing soldiers in battle. No one I ever met wanted to see soldiers hurt or killed even though we all knew the possibility and sometimes the probability of casualties happening. But our mission, given to us by Congress and the President, was always to fight and win the war. And sometimes that meant we knew it might cost lives or severe injuries to do battle with the enemy. Our opponents often don’t cherish human life the way Americans do and so will fight very different kinds of warfare than us. We have to be prepared for those battles.

ISIS is a good example of the difference. While we can put a smart bomb through a window as Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom demonstrated, we sometimes have civilians caught in the fray because ISIS and terrorist groups like them will surround themselves with civilians to keep us from attacking. We never do. We keep our bases separate from the civilian populace partly for that reason. We never want to be accused of using civilians as shields.

But we take all those tactics of our enemies into account, too. We want to know the cost, both in dollars, in potential injuries, and in potential lives, enemy soldiers, friendly soldiers, and civilians before the first bullet ever leaves the barrel of a rifle. So people like me would spend days and weeks and months locked in vaults planning for all kinds of contingencies just in case something were to happen in some part of the world. The plans were never executed the way we wrote them, but they were always a good starting point rather than starting with a blank sheet of paper when the chips were down.

All that work in the Army reminds me every day of the war we fight in the spiritual world. There is a cost to serving in God’s Army. There will be battles fought when the odds seem insurmountable and losses will be heavy. Sometimes it may even appear as if we’ve lost the battle. But remember that wars are not about one battle. They are campaigns in which a series of battles lead to an ultimate conclusion with victory by one side.

I hope you are on the winning side. In the end there will only be one victor and God’s word has already announced who that will be. There is really no sense in wasting time fighting against Him. He’s already won. Future history is already recorded if that makes any sense. Every promise God makes happens and He promised victory for those that follow Him.

So what are you waiting for? Go tell someone about the wonder of God’s love. Yes it will cost a lot, everything you have and everything you will ever have. But is it worth the cost? You bet it is. Stay on the winning side. It’s worth 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.

Is it worth it? (Luke 14:26-30) December 3, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Acts 21-22

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 14:26-30
Jesus: If any of you come to Me without hating your own father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, and yes, even your own life, you can’t be My disciple. If you don’t carry your own cross as if to your own execution as you follow Me, you can’t be part of My movement. Just imagine that you want to build a tower. Wouldn’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to be sure you have enough to finish what you start? If you lay the foundation but then can’t afford to finish the tower, everyone will mock you: “Look at that guy who started something that he couldn’t finish!”

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Sometimes we Christians give non-believers the wrong impression about the Christian life. We kind of let people think the Christian life is easy. Just let Jesus be Lord of your life and everything will be great from there on out. You’ll always have plenty of money. Friends will pour in from every direction. Jobs will fall into your lap. God will do incredible things for you all the time. You will always have a smile on your face because God is a God of love and He will make things perfect for you, right?

Well, that’s not the Christian life that I’ve experienced and if you ask most Christians, they will tell you that their walk has not been a bed of roses. The Christian life is not an easy one. Jesus hinted at the difficulties we would face as He talked to those who followed Him. He continually talked about suffering, taking up our cross, being despised by the world. He didn’t say much about easing through the world with lots of comfort. He talks about the rewards at the end, but until then, He indicates life can get pretty hard since the world doesn’t understand us and because of that failure to understand us and believe in Him, they will hate us intensely.

Jesus laid out the costs of following Him throughout His ministry. He scoffed at the wealthy because they put their faith in the wrong things. He told the rich they already had all that would come to them if they didn’t let go of their golden god and embrace the One, True, Living God. Then He said count those costs and see if you want to pay them before you sign up. I don’t think He wanted anyone to be disillusioned about want it means to be a Christian. He didn’t want anyone to think everything would turn out just the way you want when you decide to give your life to Him. Because it won’t.

We don’t know what just right means because we’ve lived in a tainted world that tells us our whole life what right means but the world is wrong. So what we think is right is probably not what God thinks is right. So expect to be disappointed sometimes. Expect to be angry at what God allows to happen every once in a while. Expect to scratch your head and wonder why things progress the way they do because they just won’t make any sense to you. But remember God is God and we are not. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows what is best for us and His world. He knows how to make His plans work through our lives. And He will when we let Him.

When you count those costs, though, you’ll also find that the costs are well worth the price. The price is everything. It is all you have, all your material goods, all your dreams and aspirations, all your relationships, all of you. The cost of following Jesus is a commitment of everything you can think of and everything you can’t think of now but will pop up in the future. It’s all or none with Him. That is a pricey commitment. There is nothing else that will cost you so much. Nothing demands so much of you as following Jesus.

But in the end, when time finally comes to a close and the last tick of the clock has sounded, you will discover the cost has been infinitesimally small compared to the reward you receive. Despite the sorrow you might experience here, there will also be indescribable joy. An inner peace that can only be explained by the presence of God Himself living inside you. You will find that God really does meet your needs. Not your wants, but your needs. We often get our wants and our needs confused in our materialistic world, but God never does. He knows what you need and provides it at just the right time when we stay in the center of His will.

God also gives you opportunities to serve others as you serve Him. He puts you in places and situations at just the right time to share what He is doing in your life so that you can introduce Him to others in a way that allows His spirit to stir their hearts and so allow them to come to know His saving grace as you do.

Are the costs worth the prize at the end? Absolutely. But don’t be surprised by the cost of being a Christian. It will never be an easy life. God never told anyone who stayed in His will that He would make life easy for them. But He always promised it would be worth it. And it is. Trust Him. He never breaks His promises.

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.

Keep your promises (Luke 14:16-24) December 2, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Revelation 1-6

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 14:16-24
Jesus: A man once hosted a huge banquet and invited many guests. When the time came, he sent his servant to tell the guests who had agreed to come, “We’re ready! Come now!” But then every single guest began to make excuses. One said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I just bought some land, and I need to go see it. Please excuse me.” Another said, “So sorry. I just bought five pairs of oxen. I need to go check them out. Please excuse me.” Another said, “I just got married, so I can’t come.”
The servant returned and reported their responses to his master. His master was angry and told the servant, “Go out quickly to the streets and alleys around town and bring the poor, the amputees, the blind, and the cripples.”
The servant came back again: “Sir, I’ve done as you said, but there is still more room.” And the host said, “Well then, go out to the highways and hedges and bring in the complete strangers you find there, until my house is completely full. One thing is for sure, not one single person on the original guest list shall enjoy this banquet.”

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Jesus story reminds me of a wedding I attended not long ago. I was just a guest so I don’t know how many people the bride and groom invited or how many actually sent back an RSVP, but at both the wedding and the reception, there were a lot of empty chairs. I assume that means people said they would come, the wedding party spent a lot of money on food and other accommodations for their expected guests and all the prepared food, money, and energy ended up wasted.

That problem seems to happen more and more these days. We have lost our social graces. We don’t pay any attention to those four little letters that appear at the bottom of most invitations. RSVP means respond. The party that sent the invitation may not care whether you come or not, but at least be polite enough to answer the question. Are you coming? Uhhhh? Hello? Anyone out there? Did you get the invitation? How is anyone supposed to plan when we don’t have the courtesy to let the host know if we’re coming?

It’s not just weddings that the phenomenon happens. In fact, we’re more prone to answer wedding invitations either yes or no that almost any other invitation that comes our way. Birthday parties? Silence. Dinner for a group of people? No response. Invitation to a theater event, ballgame, or other social activity? Nothing. What ever happened to common courtesy and just simple etiquette?

I think it’s a simple answer. It’s that selfishness that rears its ugly head again. We focus on ourselves and don’t really care about anyone else or the inconvenience we might cause in our failure to respond. We just decide at the last minute to go or not to go based on whether there is a better offer for us. How do I feel at the moment of departure? So we just don’t answer. Then if we show up it’s okay and if we don’t, we think it’s okay.

It’s not. Things may not end the way they did with the host and guests in Jesus’ story, but the host will feel the same. And you certainly won’t win friends by letting a host prepare for your coming and then not show up, or show up without the host preparing for you. In the first instance, the host may be pretty angry, in the second, he may be embarrassed because there may be no place for you. Then you might be angry. Both situations end with broken relationships.

How hard is it to send a note in the mail, pick up the phone, or send an email with a simple yes or no to an invitation? We are on our smartphones and computers all day long. What’s a few seconds to confirm or regret that invitation from someone who asks your presence at something. It’s not hard to do and keeps your relationships intact.

The host understands people have things to do and he would not have been angry had those guests sent their regrets when the invitations came out. The problem was their broken promise. They promised to come. Their RSVP said yes. But they made excuses and didn’t show. It’s the broken promise that made the host angry. The same is true today when those simple invitations go out. Be polite. You don’t have to go if you don’t want to. You can say no, but say something. Then keep your promise.

I know, there are lots of other things you could say about this parable that Jesus gave us. Those who heard it understood some of those subtle innuendos, too. They knew Jesus was talking about them and that He referred to their coming absence from God’s banquet table if they didn’t change their ways. But just for a moment, think about the easy thing to see about the story Jesus tells. Be polite. Answer those RSVPs that come this time of year. Then keep the promises you make.

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.