Author Archives: Agee

Credentials are important (Luke 6:46-48) October 9, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Hebrews 8-10

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 6:46-49
Jesus: What good is it to mouth the words, “Lord! Lord!” if you don’t live by My teachings? What matters is that you come to Me, hear My words, and actually live by them. If you do that, you’ll be like the man who wanted to build a sturdy house. He dug down deep and anchored his foundation to solid rock. During a violent storm, the floodwaters slammed against the house, but they couldn’t shake it because of solid craftsmanship.
It was built upon rock.
On the other hand, if you hear My teachings but don’t put them into practice, you’ll be like the careless builder who didn’t bother to build a foundation under his house. The floodwaters barely touched that pathetic house, and it crashed in ruins in the mud.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

As you listen to this podcast or read this blog, you might also be considering the aftermath of some of the damage hurricane Matthew caused as it made its way across the mid-Atlantic and wreaked havoc on Haiti, the Bahamas, and the southern coastal areas of the United States. As I watched with you the news reports of the devastation of the storm, I thought about these verses. They came at an opportune time to use hurricane Matthew as a good illustration.

Several of my friends retired to Florida after their service in the military. Some took positions in various companies related to government work dealing with digital training or South American relations or medical insurance support or a variety of other positions that took them to the Sunshine State. They enjoy the beach, the warm weather, the predictable weather. They don’t enjoy the autumn storms which bring hurricanes into their area.

Most bought or built homes guaranteed to withstand the storms, though. They have a piece of paper in their hand that tells them the size hurricane their house can handle before pieces of the structure begin to crumble under the onslaught of the powerful forces of the winds and waves that accompany those storms. But most of them are somewhat at the mercy of their builder since they are not construction engineers. I’m sure as some of them escape Matthew, they hope the guarantee on their piece of paper holds true.

For many other home owners on the Florida coast, they have no such assurances that their homes will withstand a hurricane of any force. They just hope it was built solidly and will not topple when the winds blow and the rains fall as they will over the next several days. With a category 4 hurricane, it will be pretty easy to see if the builders live up to their side of the bargain. 100+ mile per hour winds have a tendency to test the strongest structures and those that are not built to stand the test just don’t stand. They blow away in the wind.

Those houses that stand have foundations that go deep into the bedrock below the sand. The builders that have good reputations are well known to the residents in the area and give good recommendations to those who come into the area and are looking for good builders. Those who do shoddy work are also well known to residents in the area and also get reports for anyone who will take the time to search out reputable builders. It isn’t hard to determine who the good and bad builders are. The community will let you know.

The same is true of the people of good and bad character in a community. You know the people with shady character and those you trust. You know the ones with a character that stands the test of time and stress and success and loss and crisis. You know those who stand out in your community, good and bad.

But there is only One who teaches from a foundation that is absolutely rock solid. In fact, He made the rock He stands on. He is the foundation. He is the singular point from which everything else begins and ends. So when we build our character, our faith, our purpose, our very being on Him, we get it right. We can stand through the toughest storms life can throw at us, know that we will not just survive the storm, but come through it victoriously.

Some of the Florida and Georgia coast builders who put their names on their creations will lose a ton of money and their reputations as a result of the storm crushing the buildings they said would stand the stress of the winds and waves. Those who put their trust in those false credentials will find their houses in rubble or with roofs torn off and the contents spread over miles of territory. In building homes and other structures in hurricane prone areas, it pays to do your homework on the builder and know their reputation before the first shovel goes into the ground and the first form for the foundation is erected.

For building your character, it is equally important to know the reputation of your teacher. To know the one who give you instruction has the credentials to lead you down the path you need to go for a sound and secure future, not just for the few years you have in this physical space and time, but for eternity. My teacher inspired the book that has been the best seller in almost every language for centuries. I hope you’ve adopted Him as your instructor, too.

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.

Produce some spiritual fruit (Luke 6:43-45) October 8, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Acts 5-6

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 6:43-45
Jesus: Count on this: no good tree bears bad fruit, and no bad tree bears good fruit. You can know a tree by the fruit it bears. You don’t find figs on a thorn bush, and you can’t pick grapes from a briar bush. It’s the same with people. A person full of goodness in his heart produces good things; a person with an evil reservoir in his heart pours out evil things. The heart overflows in the words a person speaks; your words reveal what’s within your heart.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

We don’t know much about fruit trees in our modern society. We go to the grocery’s produce aisle and get our fruit from all over the world and it just sort of shows up. And we get apples and oranges and grapes and strawberries and every other kind of fruit almost any time of year. We get pretty spoiled because we assume that everything just grows all the time because we can get it all the time. Sometimes the prices fluctuate pretty wildly and we don’t always understand why.

Of course the reason is that every fruit has its own growing season. And some of the fruit we get in the off season comes from some pretty exotic places or from large greenhouses where they can regulate the artificial sunlight and temperatures to simulate the natural environment where the fruit normally grows. We forget it costs a lot to artificially create what God makes for us for free. So we complain about the high prices of fruit, but pay the money or move on to something that is a little less expensive.

If you really look at the fruit that comes into the market, you’ll find that some is better than others, even among the fruit in the bin. And if you eat enough fruit from the store, invariably, you’ll come across a piece or two that really looks good, but really tastes bad. Why? I don’t know. I’m not an arborist, but I can come back to this verse and tell you that it was a bad tree that grew that bad fruit. And I would bet that when the grower finds out that the tree is producing bad fruit, that tree will be cut down and replaced with seed or sprouts from a good tree.

Fruit orchards and farms are continually planting and replacing trees and plants to get the best fruit and the best harvest possible. Even in those fancy greenhouses, some of the plants must be replaced because something will happen within the seed or the mix of nutrients or the way a stalk or limb grows and the fruit will not meet the standards set by the growers or the buyers. The grower rips out the bad producer and replants a new one expecting a better return.

So what does fruit have to do with us? God made us to produce fruit. Not the kind you eat, but spiritual fruit. The kind Paul talks about in his letter to the church in the city of Galatia. God created us to produce unconditional love, joy, peace, patience, kindheartedness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. But unlike fruit trees that only produce one kind of fruit, He wants us to produce all of these all the time. Paul talks about fruit, not fruits of the spirit. God wants to see all nine of these develop in us as we walk with Him each day.

Just like a good arborist, God will work on our lives to help us produce a good crop of these characteristics if we let Him. Sometimes that process will be painful. Sometimes it’s necessary to chop off branches that are not producing fruit or that are diseased. Sometimes it’s necessary to prune the limbs so they can better use the nutrients in the soil. Sometimes it means we will go through some pretty tough trials for God to shape us into the person He intends us to become. Just like those trees in the orchard or the plants on the farm, careful tending produces the best crops.

Sometimes I think it’s a little unfortunate that most of our kids have never been to a working farm. They don’t understand the nature of life and death as well as past generations. They don’t understand the cycle of life that begins with a tiny seed, goes through the growing season, produces a harvest, and provides seed again for the cycle to begin again. They don’t know the work it takes to put food in the markets where we push our carts around and pick the vegetables and fruit we want to consume. We’ve lost a lot of the wonder of nature because of our urban and suburban lifestyles.

So do you want to learn about Jesus’ words and really put them to heart? Go visit an orchard. There is probably one not too far from where you live. Make a day trip of it one weekend and learn about growing fruit. Find out from the grower the process of taking care of those trees and find out the story behind that bushel of fruit he sells. Then with that knowledge in mind, let God the perfect gardener help you produce the best spiritual fruit you can.

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 solution to logs and specks (Luke 6:41-42) October 7, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Micah

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 6:41-42
Jesus: Speaking of blindness: Why do you focus on the speck in your brother’s eye? Why don’t you see the log in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Oh, brother, let me help you take that little speck out of your eye,” when you don’t even see the big log in your own eye? What a hypocrite! First, take the log out of your own eye. Then you’ll be able to see clearly enough to help your brother with the speck in his eye.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

You meet all kinds of people in a lifetime. And you meet all kinds of people in the military. While part of the Army’s Medical Department I ran into all kinds of folks. One in particular I thought about when I read these words today was a physicians’ assistant who worked with me for a while when I was a young officer. One of the responsibilities of the medical platoon I ran at the time was watching over the health of the soldiers assigned to the battalion to which it was assigned. The PA was the primary care provider for that platoon and so for the battalion.

It always amazed me when I heard him talking to soldiers about how they should change their diets, exercise more, or take the meds he prescribed for them. This was in the days just after the Viet Nam war and sometimes NCOs and Warrant Officers and Officers were not always what you would call kind in their instructions to subordinates, and this PA could string together expletives like no one I’d ever heard before in my young life.

The reason I bring up the way he talked to soldiers about their bad habits in their unhealthy living is because he smoked like a chimney. He had a 2 1/2 pack a day habit and smoked unfiltered camels. And worse still, he usually had a plug of tobacco in his mouth while he smoked! Talk about an unhealthy habit. Unless you have lived on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with no communication since 1960, you know how bad smoking is for your health. Proven increased lung, mouth, and throat cancer rates. Proven increased heart disease. Proven increased incidents of birth defects in fetuses. Proven addictive behavior for those who smoke. The statistics from study after study show smoking is one of the worst things you can do to your body.

But my PA…smoking like a chimney the whole time he chewed out a soldier for his bad health habits. Could he not see the log in his eye before trying to tackle the speck in his brother’s eye? It was no wonder the soldiers under his care didn’t listen to his advice. How could they? He was a hypocrite. He talked to these eighteen to twenty year old kids about their vices when as a forty year old, he violated them all.

Am I guilty of doing the same? Are you? It’s worth some introspection more than just every once in a while. We need to be on our guard because it’s an easy game Satan will use with us. “Hey, look what she’s doing. As a new Christian, you need to teach her the ropes before she gets too far out of line.” “Hey, did you see him? He better get himself straight or he’ll be headed straight to hell with that attitude.”

It is so easy to find the faults of others and never see those in your own life. We get comfortable with ours. We don’t notice the harm our habits reek on us, but we can almost always see the pain others cause. It’s an amazing thing built into our DNA as part of Adam’s race. We just seem to look for the bad in people instead of looking for the good and in turn, we recognize our best but not our worst.

So what do we do about it? How can we stop the cycle that seems almost impossible to stop? First, a good rule to adopt is the one my grandmother taught me that I’m sure you’ve heard before. “If you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say anything at all.” That will stop the criticism.

Second, let Jesus become Lord of you life. He will begin to show you the things you need to change about you. But He won’t just point them out, He will help you fix them. He will transform you and make you more like Himself. He will help you bear fruit like love, joy, peace, patience, kindheartedness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. He will make you better than you could ever become on your own.

Third, when Jesus is Lord of your life, you will begin to see others the way He sees them. Jesus always seemed to see others the way He created them. Remember what God said about everything He made at creation? It’s recorded in Genesis 1. And God saw that it was good. So He finds the good in His creation because He made us and know why He made us. He knows we can be redeemed from the sin infested world in which we live. When He lives in us, we can see others through His eyes and see the good in them. 

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.

Get the right teacher (Luke 6:39-40) October 6, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Proverbs 28

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 6:39-40
Jesus: What happens if a blind man leads a blind man? Won’t both of them fall into a pit? You can’t turn out better than your teacher; when you’re fully taught, you will resemble your teacher.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Have you ever thought about Jesus’ words about teachers and students? It can be pretty scary when you think about our education systems today, don’t you think? I’m not saying we don’t have intelligent teachers, but often they are not allowed to teach well because of the constaints put on them by the federal and state laws enacted by people who know little about education. Ask some of the classroom teachers and they will tell you what’s happening in today’s classrooms. That’s a discussion for another time, though.

The point, though, is that students can not gain information or education or skill beyond what they are taught. Some very few can advance beyond their teachers, but those are rare gems that are not average. It’s like those rare gems on a high school football field or basketball court. Parents push their kids to be the best athlete on the team at the expense of their school grades and everything else in life when in reality the professionals that make those multi-million dollar salaries we hear about are few and far between.

In fact, in 2013, the probability of a high school basketball player making into professional basketball, not as a star, but just making the team was 0.03%, that’s 3 in 10,000 players. It’s a little better in football, 8 in 10,000 and the best chance of making it onto a professional team, baseball where you have 50 chances among those 10,000 high school players. Of course, you must remember all those farm teams are also professional teams, so don’t expect to get spotlighted on television even if you are one of those few in those crazy probability statistics.

So if we think about Jesus’ words are really understand that we won’t be smarter or more skilled than the person that teaches us, who should we find to teach us about life? Who should we find to help us understand what’s really important and how to live successfully in this world and prepare for the judgment we know is coming one day?

We could latch on to one of those fly by night guys that tell us something we like to hear, but when we look closely at their lives, we find the chaos and disappointment and misery within their household and in themselves. We find a lot of their rhetoric is just that. No substance by which we can find real understanding about who we are and what God wants from us in this place.

We can look to those the world says are successful for instruction. But again, we will often find emptiness, self-centeredness, a lack of real peace and joy in their lives. It’s not the abundant life Jesus talks about, one in which we find peace and contentment because we are fulfilling the purpose for which God created us. They will teach us, but they won’t teach us the right stuff to get us to heaven and in touch with the One who can get us there.

We can chase false prophets that make us feel good about ourselves. They tell us our sins are just the natural expression of the natural instincts of all animals. We can’t help but do the things we do because we are just a higher order animal, no better than a dolphin or an ape. They tell us that we just had some gene mutate along the way and so we evolved at a more advanced rate than our other animal counterparts. We can learn from them, and never find the truth that God created us to rule over the rest of His creation and be its caretakers. We can ignore the truth of sin as the real problem we must resolve to find real peace and purpose in our lives. But we can learn from those folks if we choose.

We can learn from other religions and let them tell us about reincarnations, nirvana, and that god is found in all creation. We can learn from scientists that there is no god, but a mathematical explanation for everything that happens. Just do the math and the science and you’ll figure it out. Only no one has figured it out yet with all our science and all our math, because we tend to leave the piece of the formula “God spoke” out of the equation.

But learning from all these other sources will fall short of what you really want to know. Because none of those sources are God. But when you learn at the feet of Jesus, you learn from God Himself. You learn from the Master. What better source to learn all there is to know? Jesus is right, we can not be better than our teacher, we mimick their understanding under their instruction, but what if we learn from the expert among experts? What if we sit at the feet of the One who knows everything and can do the impossible? Isn’t that the right place to learn?

Easy answer. Be a student of the right teacher. 

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.

A good way to live (Luke 6:37-38) October 5, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 117-118

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 6:37-38
Jesus: If you don’t want to be judged, don’t judge. If you don’t want to be condemned, don’t condemn. If you want to be forgiven, forgive. Don’t hold back—give freely, and you’ll have plenty poured back into your lap—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, brimming over. You’ll receive in the same measure you give.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Man, it’s easy to condemn other people for their actions, isn’t it? My church obviously has it right when it comes to the way we do Christianity. Those other denominations miss the boat. And those on the outside, wow. Look what they do. And the independents, let’s not even start with those, they don’t even ascribe to any particular historic theology. They just believe what they interpret from scripture for themselves. They are obviously on the wrong track.

I hope you hear the sarcasm and don’t think I’m serious about those last few sentences. Unfortunately, as the world looks in on us, that’s what they see and hear too often when they look at the Christian community as a whole. We don’t worship the same, we don’t act the same, we don’t believe the same way, we hold different things important, and then when we get together we fight instead of getting along in worship of the same God and Savior, Jesus Christ.

But that’s not the kingdom way. We have one judge, Jesus. The only One who can condemn is the sinless One, Jesus and He forgives when we accept His forgiveness. So why do we judge and condemn and fail to forgive? Why is it so hard to follow Jesus direction in this regard?

I think it goes back to our trying to earn our way into heaven. We want to do something with the problem that plagues all humanity, sin. So we try to be as good as we can. We try not to steal or lie or cheat. We usually don’t murder or commit adultery or commit other crimes against each other that would put us in jail. But we know deep within our heart that we are not good enough to make it to heaven.

So what we do, is subconsciously figure that God will want to take at least some of us, so if we can be better than the person next to us, we’ll be okay. It’s like the reasoning when camping in bear country. You don’t have to be able to outrun the bear to survive, just the person sitting next to you at the camp fire. Let the bear catch them instead of you.

But there is a problem with that thinking when it comes to the judgment. God’s will is that all of us be saved and join Him in heaven. We are the ones that choose our destiny. And the choice is not by our good or bad behavior because none of us can ever be good enough. God never compares us with each other. That would be like using whatever I might guess is a mile using nothing but my eye as the length of a mile and measure it against what someone else thinks is a mile. God is never that imprecise in judging good and evil. And He already has the correct standard to judge us against. The standard is His son, Jesus, the God/Man.

So how do you measure up to the God/Man, Jesus? He was sinless. That puts all of us way below the standard. You see, every other person is far removed from God because a single sin separates us from Him. He is holy and will not allow sin in His presence. So when measured against the sinless One, we all far short. We all miss the boat. We all deserve the penalty of death. But then God turns to His Son and for those who believe in Him as their redeemer, He finds the sin is gone, forgiven, thrown away as far as the east is from the west never to be remember against us again.

How can we judge when we are so far from God except for God’s love? How can we condemn when we are ourselves condemned except for His forgiveness? How can we not forgive others when He has forgiven us so much and allowed us to come into His presence. How can we not give when He has given us so much?

When we do those things, Jesus gives us a great promise with it. When we forgive, we will find forgiveness, when we give, we will receive in great measure. In fact, I think of being given in measure like brown sugar. You can either pour sugar in from the package and it kind of falls out in clumps and you get about half a cup when when you really want a cup full. Or you can mash it down as you fill the cup and get two or three times as much in the cup as when you just try to pour the brown sugar in. That’s how God gives back, shaken down, smashed in like brown sugar, filled to over flowing.

Sounds like a good way to live, doesn’t 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.

Share with your enemies (Luke 6:32-36) October 4, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 2 Chronicles 11-15

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 6:32-36
Jesus: Listen, what’s the big deal if you love people who already love you? Even scoundrels do that much! So what if you do good to those who do good to you? Even scoundrels do that much! So what if you lend to people who are likely to repay you? Even scoundrels lend to scoundrels if they think they’ll be fully repaid.
If you want to be extraordinary—love your enemies! Do good without restraint! Lend with abandon! Don’t expect anything in return! Then you’ll receive the truly great reward—you will be children of the Most High—for God is kind to the ungrateful and those who are wicked. So imitate God and be truly compassionate, the way your Father is.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Don’t you love it when Jesus gives us these nearly impossible tasks to perform? It’s easy to love those that love you back. I like being around those that think the way I do and act the way I do and believe the way I do. I like being around those that I know will accept the things I say without getting riled up, angry, and ready to strike back because of their different beliefs. I like giving to those that appreciate the thoughts that stirred up the gift because of long term relationships and the love and friendship that has developed over time.

But that’s not what Jesus calls us to do, is it? His implication in these verses is pretty clear. Do all those things with people that love you back is no big deal to God. He wants us to get uncomfortable and reach the world. He’s given us the mission the Israelites failed to complete.

Remember the covenant with Abraham? God told him that if he fulfilled his part of the covenant, all the nations would be blessed through him. The problem is that Abraham didn’t keep his part of the covenant. He went to Pharaoh during a couple of famines and told him that Sarah was his sister instead of his wife to keep from getting killed. He didn’t trust God to protect him from the power of Pharaoh. His children and their children did the same. They didn’t trust God to protect them or supply their needs or give them the strength at the right time to deal with the situations they faced from time to time.

By the time Jesus came to earth in the flesh, Israel was well known as a monotheistic society, but they hoarded their faith rather than sharing it. All the nations around them knew they didn’t worship the pantheon of gods they did, but the Jews didn’t share the message of salvation God told them to share. They kept it to themselves and guarded their precious information jealously. So Jesus came to share the message personally. Then after His crucifixion and resurrection, He gave us the mission of sharing His new covenant with all people who will believe that He is the Son of God and came to offer us salvation.

The point Jesus made emphasizes presenting the message to all people. Not just the ones we like. Imagine what our condition would be if Jesus shared the message with only those who He liked and liked Him. He didn’t have many friends while He was with us. Crowds gathered around Him, but in terms of real friends, He had Lazarus, Mary and Martha, most of His twelve disciples, and maybe a few others, but there were not scores of people He could really call friends when He walked the earth with us.

Still Jesus shared the message and not only did He share the message, but He saved His enemies as they discovered the truth of who Hie is. We were all His enemies when He called to us to share His message of grace and mercy and hope. We were anything but friends when our sins put Jesus on the cross, yet He still gave all He had for our salvation. He gave Himself. He died for us as the perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty we should pay for our sins against God.

So when we think about what He’s done for us when we were still His enemies, we can see that Jesus meant what He said when He said to love our enemies and to do good for those that would harm us. Jesus lived by the implications in these verses. He loved those who hated Him. He did good for those who tried to kill Him. He gave expecting nothing in return. In doing so, some who heard His message believed Him and gained eternal life. Some took up the mantel He gave them and shared the message with others and His kingdom is growing.

So the question for us is, will we follow Jesus’ example and love those who hate us and still share His message with them? Will we do good for those who would try to harm us and share the message with them? Will we give expecting nothing in return and share the message with a world that needs Jesus more than they know. When we share His message with that attitude and those actions behind it, people will listen. They will find that you live by a different set of rules. You live by kingdom rules instead of world rules. You live by rules that seem upside down from those they live by. Yet they will either be drawn to the message or hate you all the more.

That’s the reaction the kingdom message brings. But our mission is to share it. With everyone. So what are you waiting for? Get started. 

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 kingdom way (Luke 6:27-31) October 3, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Numbers 29-32

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 6:27-31
Jesus: If you’re listening, here’s My message: Keep loving your enemies no matter what they do. Keep doing good to those who hate you. Keep speaking blessings on those who curse you. Keep praying for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, offer the other cheek too. If someone steals your coat, offer him your shirt too. If someone begs from you, give to him. If someone robs you of your valuables, don’t demand them back. Think of the kindness you wish others would show you; do the same for them.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. We learn that ‘golden rule’ as a kid, but do we really understand what Jesus meant by it? We like to send it out to others as they rail against us or sometimes when our anger starts to boil over and we’re about to levy some pretty harsh punishment against someone for the wrongs they committed against us. At times like those we stop and quote that verse to ease the pain of whatever punishment or action is about to happen.

That’s what most people think about when they read that isolated verse out of context. But that’s what I like about the translation I’ve been sharing with you the last few years. The Voice gets it right, even if you pull that verse out of the rest of the paragraph. Listen to it again.

“Think of the kindness you wish others would show you; do the same for them.”

Now lets go back and put the verse back into the context in which Jesus was talking to those who were listening to His sermon and see what He really means.

Remember the Jews lived in an occupied country. Israel had not enjoyed political self rule as a nation since the Babylonians laid final siege to the city and destroyed it in 587 BC. At this time, they lived under the rule of the Roman Empire. Soldiers walked the streets constantly. They had the authority to press individuals into service for them to carry their loads, give them food or shelter, take whatever implements or utensils they might need. The Roman soldiers had significant leeway from Rome to do as they pleased in the occupied nations.

Fortunately, most of the soldiers were relatively decent human beings and wanted to keep peace. The officers who led them knew that if they went too far, the entire populace might rise up against them and there were not enough soldiers in all of Israel to stop a massive uprising against the garrisons within the sound of their reach. Rome wielded great power against those she conquered, but Rome also knew her power was limited to the fear they could induce and that fear was based on the greatest number of people fearing death at the hands of her soldiers in battle.

Why the short history lesson? Because Jesus was talking to a crowd that understood their predicament with Rome. Most hated the soldiers who came into their homes at their pleasure or ordered them to carry their baggage from town to town or took the food from their tables when food was sometimes scarce. The Jews hated the Romans for what they did and who they were as an occupying force.

Now put that verse back into context. Jesus was talking about doing all these good things for your enemies. Do all these good things for those who hate you as much as you might hate them. Walk the extra mile, turn the other check, give up your coat and cloak to your enemy. Then He adds that haunting verse at the very end of that paragraph.

“Think of the kindness you wish others would show you; do the same for them.”

What would you like someone to do for you today? Would you like someone to take you to lunch? Then find that person who is your enemy and take them to lunch. That’s what Jesus is telling this crowd and us to do.

Would you like someone to get you a new shirt or blouse? Pick out one that you really like, wrap it up and give it to that co-worker that really gets on your nerves every day. That’s what Jesus is telling this crowd and us to do.

Would you like someone to listen to your complaints without interruption? Go to the person who drives you crazy with all their complaints and just listen to them. Don’t interrupt, take notes, let them know you really care about their issues. See where you might help ease their burden because of your past experiences. That’s what Jesus is telling this crowd and us to do.

Is this an easy task? By no means. It takes Jesus living in us to accomplish what He tells us to do here. But what a difference it will make in your piece of the world when you start operating with His rules instead of the world’s. Everyone around you will think you’re crazy. But they thought He was too. Even His brothers and sisters came to get Him because they thought He lost His mind.

So what will you today for someone? Think of the kindness you wish others would show you; then find one of those folks that border on the hate list and do it for them. That’s the kingdom way. 

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.

Upside down values (Luke 6:24-26) October 2, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Hebrews 5-7

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 6:24-26
Jesus: All you who are rich now, you are in danger
for you have received your comfort in full.
All you who are full now, you are in danger
for you shall be hungry.
All you who laugh now, you are in danger
for you shall grieve and cry.
And when everyone speaks well of you, you are in danger
for their ancestors spoke well of the false prophets too.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Jesus’ words should scare all of us who live in the United States. We don’t think much about that because only a small percentage of us have traveled outside the country. The average American thinks of the wealthy as that bunch of billionaires that own multiple mansions and float around on their personal yachts. But the truth is, the average American is wealthy compared to the rest of the world’s population. We’re really pretty privileged. Most of us have not one, but a couple of cars in the drive, we probably have two or three televisions in the house. I would guess every adult in most households has their own cell phone. Most of us eat every day and have more than two suits of clothing in our closets.

Jesus tells us we are in danger. We have enough to be comfortable without asking for outside help. We have enough to eat without wondering if God will supply our daily bread from some unknown source. We go about life without calling on Him every day for the essentials of life. We get very comfortable with the things we have that keep us just out of the level of suffering physically in various areas of our physical life. And if Satan can keep us focus on our physical comforts, he wins.

But if we get too comfortable now and forget where the essentials of life come from, if we forget that God supplies all good things, we will lose our way and find ourselves in a place of eternal punishment instead of eternal reward. At the end of time, comfort will suddenly become a thing of the past if comfort is what we concentrate on right now. Seventy years is a pretty short time compared to eternity. Not even a breath or a blink in comparison. So Jesus warns us that if we focus on wealth and comfort, we are focusing on the wrong thing.

How about hunger? Isn’t it important to eat well in order to stay fit and healthy so we can carry out the mission Jesus gave us? Sure it is, but do we focus more on food or on getting the message out? Having been to a lot of church dinners, I sometimes ask myself the question, “Do we have those big fellowship dinners to stay at church or do we stay at church to have those big fellowship dinners?” There is a big difference to God in how you answer that question. But once again, satiating ourselves with earths pleasures, whether food, or money, or job, or fame, or anything else isn’t the right answer. When we start looking for satisfaction from anything other than the joy that comes from God’s spirit in us, we are in danger.

Jesus told those on the hillside that day that those who laugh are in danger. Does that mean we should be somber all the time and not enjoy life? No. I think Jesus’ life was filled with laughter. He would not have attracted children to Him the way He did if He didn’t laugh. But I think when we seek solely to find happiness instead of joy, we are in trouble. God cursed this world because sin entered into it through our disobedience. It will never be the kind of place we should fully enjoy because of the flawed nature we gave it. We can find and experience moments of happiness, but we should not be content to stay in this world. We should not be content with this place. He tells us when we get to the point that we find all our happiness here, we are in danger. There is a better place. We can have joy because of His spirit in us, but His spirit assures us that we are not citizens of this world, but gives us hope for a better tomorrow.

Jesus also tells us to beware of the praise of men. When we seek the approval of those whose values are driven by the world instead of seeking God’s approval, we are in grave danger. The world’s values are upside down. Satan is the father of lies and traps us with his lies. He betrays us and pulls us into his schemes by luring us with the physical things of this world and through the false praise of others. When we get trapped into seeking the praise of others, we are in danger of losing our way on the narrow path that Jesus urges us to follow.

We live in a minefield on this planet called earth. It’s values tell us to be comfortable, satisfy your deepest desires, find happiness wherever you can, gain the praise of others. But when we pursue those values, we pursue them in opposition to the will and obedience of our heavenly Father. It is far better to suffer a short time here than to suffer eternally, 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.

Hate crimes? (Luke 6:22-23) October 1, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Acts 3-4

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 6:22-23
Jesus: When people hate you,
when they exclude you
and insult you
and write you off as evil
on account of the Son of Man, you are blessed.
When these things happen, rejoice! Jump for joy!
Then you have a great reward in heaven
For at that moment, you are experiencing what the ancient prophets did when they were similarly treated by the ancestors of your detractors.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

There is a lot of hate in the world today. So much so that in this country we have even started labeling things as hate crimes. Kind of tragic to think we have come to that state, isn’t it? One group of people say derogatory things about another group and it’s considered a hate crime. Another group commits some violent act against a protected group and it’s a hate crime. When could any purposeful violence against another not be considered a hate crime? Why do we need special words to describe crimes against one section or another? Isn’t all crime against one another wrong?

But that’s for another day. Today I want to talk about the promise Jesus made to those who carry His name, Christians. Notice that Jesus didn’t start this admonition with “if people hate you…” He said, "When people hate you on account of Me. Do you think crimes against Christians will be considered hate crimes? Don’t count on it. God’s word tells us to expect others to hate us, exclude us, insult us, write us off as evil. It’s an expectation Jesus gave those who heard His message on the mountainside that day.

Can you imagine the rumbling that spread through the crowd as Jesus said those words? Join Me, but everyone will hate you when you do. Follow Me, but no one will invite you to their party when you do. Obey My commands, but you will be the brunt of everyone’s jokes as soon as you do. Oh, and by the way, when all these things happen to you, and you can be sure they will, consider yourself blessed because you’re doing just exactly what I’ve asked you to do.

So what would you do at that point in the sermon? How many do you think got up and walked away? How many started thinking Jesus really was insane? How many stuck around just to see how crazy His sermons would get? How many thought anyone would follow Him after a job description like that?

You can be sure most of the crowd stayed out of curiosity at best, not out of loyalty to Jesus. Remember He told them and His disciples that the road was narrow and few would find it. Most would follow the broad road the world pushed them along. Most would listen to the lies of Satan and just meander the way of the world thinking everything was okay but walk right into their own destruction. Sure the crowd would come to see the healing and hear His preaching, but as Jesus taught like this, few would give up their comforts to take on the life He promised.

But Jesus reminded them and us that God’s people have always felt severe persecution. Look at what happened to Moses, Elijah, Elisha, Jeremiah, Hosea, Isaiah, name the prophet. The vast majority of the people around them didn’t like their message and criticized them for it. Most people didn’t want to change their behavior, their worship, their lives, to follow the commands God directed. Most people wanted to continue to do what they wanted to do. Most refused to give up control of their lives to God. And so they hated His messengers.

If we follow Christ, we will do what He says and His command to all of us is to share His message, to be His witnesses where we are. And as soon as we share His message, we will be hated for doing so. Why? Because we ask people to change if they expect to escape eternal punishment. We tell them the only way they can find eternal rest, eternal reward, the only way to please God is to change and not just be good, but to give themselves to God, to obey Him.

The self-centered nature we inherited through the seed of humankind rears its ugly head and says I want to be in charge of me. Until we let go of me, we will see Christians as the enemy. We will label Christians as haters of everyone else. We will exclude them because they make us uncomfortable with the truth of God’s word. We will call them evil even though deep in our heart we know they are not. We will try to crush them because we refuse to follow the narrow path God lays out for us.

But when we accept Him, when we follow Him, when we obey Him, we will experience all those things Jesus promised on that hillside, but in the end, we will join Him in eternity. The short time of suffering we experience here will seem as nothing compared to the eternity we will get to spend with Him. Is it worth it? You bet it is.

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.

We are blessed (Luke 6:20-21) September 30, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Jonah

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

Today’s Devotional

Luke 6:20-21
Jesus: All you who are poor, you are blessed
for the kingdom of God belongs to you.
All you who are hungry now, you are blessed
for your hunger will be satisfied.
All you who weep now, you are blessed
for you shall laugh!

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

I always find it interesting to compare the various stories and sermons in the different gospels. We now come to the famous Sermon on the Mount as Luke records it, and particularly the first section known as the Beatitudes. Matthew and Mark record these first verses in a much more spiritual context as they share that those who are poor in spirit are blessed and those who hunger after righteousness will be filled. But Luke leaves out the object of those longings in his gospel.

Luke, the physician thinks about the physical aspects of those Jesus addressed that day. The poor did not fare well in Luke’s day. They labored hard for little. The poor were considered lesser beings than even slaves. Slaves belonged to their masters and were well fed, clothed, housed. Good mastered took good care of their slaves. But the poor, that was another matter. They didn’t have enough to afford adequate shelter from the heat and cold so suffered injury because of it. They didn’t have enough clothing to keep it clean and in good repair to protect them from the elements during the day. They didn’t have enough to eat and so malnutrition was always just around the corner. Sickness took a harder toll on the poor because they didn’t have the means to care for themselves or their family. Life was hard for the poor.

Luke recorded the words that those who suffer in poverty in this world won’t carry that burden into the next if they follow God’s commands. They will have the riches of heaven at their disposal. No one will be able to call them poor. In fact, if you think you are poor now, but you are a child of God, you are anything but poor. The kingdom of God belongs to you. Can you imagine what that means? No, you really can’t. It’s really beyond anything we can imagine.

Not many of us know hunger. We talk about being hungry, but few of us in the country know real hunger. The Army took me to a few places where I saw hunger, though. Children with empty, vacant looks in their eyes not knowing when or where their next meal would come from. Even then, their meal would consist of just a few scraps, nothing compared to the feasts we enjoy at every meal. As a physician, Luke dealt with the hungry often. Hunger leads to malnutrition, illness, and diseases.But the hungry now, if they believe in Jesus for their salvation, will not carry that hunger into the world to come. Their hunger will be satisfied. They will eat until they want nothing else to eat. The hungry will be satisfied.

Luke also saw many who mourned. In his day, physicians couldn’t save as many as they do today. Luke didn’t have the technology or the array of medicines we have today. Many died. Many became permanently disabled. Health became a cause for much suffering and as a physician, Luke was in the middle of it often. It’s never easy to console those who have lost loved ones or who struggle through the rest of their life with disabilities they know will never improve. The grieving process is real. But Luke hears the message. Knowing Jesus as Savior can turn mourning into laughter because we know this is not the end. We can face the suffering of these few years in this life because we know a better one is coming.

Matthew and Mark, notably heard the Beatitudes from a spiritual perspective. Jesus spoke the words as He shared the good news that God’s kingdom is near. His kingdom is not of this world, but is housed in and entered through a spiritual realm. His kingdom is not seen in this place. It exists everywhere, just as He does, but we cannot see it with our physical eyes.

Luke on the other hand, dealt with the physical maladies of people every single day and heard Jesus’ message with a promise for relief from the physical maladies of life as much as the spiritual maladies of life. Jesus gives us hope for a future absent the plagues of this physical frame. It is no wonder Luke recorded the sermon differently than Matthew and Mark.

So what does this difference in how the gospels record the Beatitudes mean to us today? We can know that our future home with Jesus touches every aspect of us. The Jews understood we cannot separate our body, soul, and spirit. We are one entity and each part influences the others. And as we give ourselves to Christ, He gives us hope for the future. We will someday live with Him with new bodies absent the poverty and hunger and grief we experience now. We are blessed because of Him. 

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.