DAY 30-GOD’S UNENDING LOVE

In Luke 15, Jesus tells us the story of the prodigal son who demands his share of his inheritance while his father is still living, and goes off to a distant country only to waste it all. He eventually comes to his senses, and decides to return home and plead for his father’s mercy. Much to his surprise he is welcomed back with open arms by his father. He is not judgmental, does not care about what he looks like, nor does he care that he has no money and he totally forgives him of his past. The father could have rejected him but because of his love for his son, he was willing to accept him back as if he had never left. When I was younger, this would be hard to understand, but as a father who loves his children, it is easy to understand the love this father had for his son and why he was willing to accept him. Jesus tells this story to illustrate the love that God has for each of us as sinners. God loves all of us even “those” people (See Day 15). Thank you Lord for your unwavering love and grace even though at times we do not deserve it!

DAY 29-THE NARROW DOORWAY

From yesterday’s entry, we talked about making sure we were invested in Jesus. Today in Luke 13, Jesus tells us that the door to heaven is narrow and many will fail to get in. Jesus tells us that we need to work hard to get in. So in all things we need to honor God in all that we do. I believe that as Christian if we invest in Jesus with our heart and not invest in the things of the world, the door will not be as narrow for us to enter.

To help us enter the door, I believe Luke 14:7-14 provides some insight on how to get through that door. Within these verses Jesus teaches us about humility—we need to be humble and not seek glory for the things that we do. We should seek to serve God as servants, not expecting instant gratification received through rewards or other accolades. If we serve with a humble heart and knowing that our reward is Heaven, we do not have to concern ourselves earthly recognition. Jesus knows. Remember Luke 12:6-7? He knows the number of hairs on our head! So, keep your focus on Jesus and a willingness to serve others. Invest in Jesus and the doorway is not nearly as difficult to enter!

DAY 28-INVESTMENT IN JESUS

Wow a lot of good stuff in Luke 12.

Luke 12:7 “And the very hairs on your head are numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to him that a whole flock of sparrows.” We are valuable to Him to the very point that He knows all about us even the number of hairs on our head.
Luke 12: 11-12. Jesus tells us not to worry when we are confronted by others questioning our faith, for He promises that the Holy Spirit will provide us with the right words to say. That is awesome.
Luke 12: 13-21. The parable of the rich fool is a reminder to me to keep my focus on the end prize –meeting my Savior in Heaven. My earthly wealth is meaningless without a relationship with Jesus. And that is far more important that a storehouse of wealth.
Luke 12: 22-34. “He will give you all you need from day to day if you make the Kingdom of God your primary purpose”. (31) “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom. (32) “Wherever your treasures is, there your heart and thoughts will also be.(34)

Lord Help me to keep my thoughts on you so that my treasures are invested correctly—invested in Jesus!!

DAY 27-JESUS DOES CARE

Jesus sent out the Apostles in Luke 9:1-5 and He sent out the 72 messengers in Luke 10:1-16, without clothes, food or money. They had to depend on God and the graciousness of those they visited. Talk about a faith walk!! I am not so sure many of us would be willing to set out on this type of journey. Wouldn’t you have doubts?

And what about the feeding of the five thousand as recorded in Luke 9:10-17? They did not have enough food to feed the crowd, but Jesus took care of them. If that would happen in our society today where a large group of people had gathered and there was no food, the message would be, “Sorry about your luck, you’re on your own.” But Jesus cares. He cares about each and every one of us! We can count on that!

DAY 26-WHEN IN DOUBT, CHECK IT OUT

In Luke 7:18-23, John the Baptist sends a few of his disciples to check out this Jesus person. He had heard a lot about this person but wanted to have his disciples check it out. This is the same John the Baptist whom God has sent out to announce the coming of the Savior. John’s knew that Jesus was coming but he had doubt. He wanted to make sure that Jesus was the Savior, so John sent his disciples to investigate and confirm. Think about it, John the Baptist wanting more information to make sure that Jesus was who He said He was.

After reading this I got to thinking about how many times I have had doubt about something that I read or heard someone say during a sermon or discussion. Those are times that I need to seek clarification and understanding. The way to do that is to investigate just like John the Baptist did. We should not be afraid to seek others help or to conduct research in order to clear up our confusion. So the next time you have doubt, don’t be afraid to check it out—check it out to make sure we understand God’s message for us.

DAY 25-LOVING OUR ENEMIES

In Luke 6:27-36 Jesus teaches us about loving our enemies and to pray for those who hurt you. Boy does that go against everything we hear in our society. “You can’t let her get away with that!” “What are you going to do to get him back?” How often have we heard those things said? We are to turn the other cheek and go on. That is hard to do. And then He asks us to forgive them and to pray for them and not to be concerned if they fail to repay us….but…you want us to do WHAT?

I find this one of the harder lessons to accept because of the environment in which I grew up. The lesson here is to take the focus off of me and disregarding how I will look in the situation or what I will get out of it. It is a matter of selflessness where I give or go without, it means not expecting repayment or accolades for what I have done. I need to exhibit love to the world, just as Jesus did. He came to show love to the entire world, not just people like me. His love is universal and available to all. I need to show that same kind of love to everyone. I need to represent Jesus to the world both friend and foe. Lord help me to succeed in this area.

DAY 24-SAVIOUR TO ALL…INCLUDING YOU AND I

In Luke 4 we find the genealogy of Jesus traced all the way back to Adam. This is done to show that not only did Jesus fulfill the ancestry requirements back to Abraham and thus prove He was a descendant of Abraham and David and thus was the Messiah. Luke on the other had was able to prove his ancestry back to Adam and thus prove that Jesus was the Savior for all men. He is the Savior to the whole world!!

DAY 23-MISSION NOT IMPOSSIBLE

Luke was a Greek physician who wanted to make sure he had the details correct in telling the story of Jesus. Luke approached his story much like a reporter would approach a news story. He interviewed people to ensure his facts were correct and detailed.

In Luke 1 we find Zechariah talking with Gabriel about his new son. Of course Zechariah did not believe the he was going to have a son and doubted the message that God had provided him through Gabriel. Looking back at many of the answered prayers that God has provided to me I catch myself looking at the answer right in front of me and saying, “You’ve got to be kidding….there is no way”. But God can do the impossible. Don’t be like Zechariah and me sometimes because, “For nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).

DAY 21 AND 22-JESUS SUFFERS FOR US ALL

Mark 14-16. As I read these chapters I still cannot believe the pain and the torture that Jesus endured for me, and for you. Not only the physical pain, but the emotional pain he suffered as His own disciples denied even knowing Him! And to add even more isolation to this situation, He was momentarily separated from God during this time. WOW! All for me. All for you. He suffered and died for our sins. But it did not end there! In chapter 16 Jesus rises from the dead, thus providing us assurance that there will be a resurrection in our future. But the future doesn’t end with His death on the cross, but instead we have the promise of an eternal life–an eternal life with our Savior Jesus Christ. It is because of His willingness to step in and suffer on our behalf, we have the opportunity to share in the resurrection and a future in the Kingdom of God. For that I am thankful. For that I am grateful. What about you. Can you claim this promise?

DAY 20-THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is where Jesus is asked to tell the religious teachers asked Jesus what is the greatest of the commandments. He says, “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength. The second equally important: “Love your neighbor as yourself. No commandment is greater than these.” (Mark 12:30-31)

These two verses form the basis for the Christian faith. Love God and Love People. For if we love God we show this by loving His people. All of us Christian or not, all of us are His people. So to truly show our love for God, we must show love by loving God’s people, yes even “those” people. Do you show God’s love? If not, why not?