Day 26: Luke 8-9

There is just something about the story of the demoniac in the region of the Gadarenes that is always intriguing to me. The verses that kinda settled in my soul the most from the story this time were Luke 8:28-30.

The people tried to constrain him, but chains couldn't hold this demon-possessed man. The demons would drive this man mad as he shed his clothes and dwelt among the dead. Though when Jesus arrived there was no question as to who was in charge. This demon-possessed man had uncontrollable strength, but the demons immediately begged for mercy from Jesus. Man could not control the demoniac or his demons, but the demons knew they could do nothing but obey the Son of Man. I am of course drawn to James 2:19 where is states that...

"You believe that God is one; you do well.
The demons also believe - and they shudder."

I draw great confidence and comfort in my great God when I read that even the most vile of all creatures shudder at the greatness of the Creator. They are aligned against Him, yet they know they are no match for Him. Insanity when you think about it. How great a deceiver Lucifer was and is to have deceived a third of the angels in an attempt to dethrone the Almighty.

How arrogant and ignorant we are when we listen to his deceptive words and are tempted to dethrone the Lord of Lords and King of Kings in our own lives and replace Him with some mere idol. He alone is worthy of our worship and praise.

Day 25: Luke 6-7

Wow what rich material from the ministry and lips of our Savior. There are multiple passages and thoughts from these verses that are just amazing. The catalog of blessing is certainly instructive to my life. The words about John the Baptist, the greatest and yet those in the kingdom greater are challenging.

I was specifically challenged in my quiet moments with this text in verses 27-36 of chapter 6. Love your enemies. Love those sandpaper people in your life. Love those who hurt you and do you wrong. Love those who purposely hurt and misuse you. Those are very hard words.

Give to those who ask and do not withhold. Give to those who you know will never return or pay back. If you only do good to those who do good to you what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. There are people in our lives that pull things out of our lives and leave us empty and depleted. It is my great challenge to be first a giving person. I want that to be the characteristic of my life but my heart is often far from that place. May God give me a new heart that is tender and sensitive to Him and His.

Day 24: Luke 4-5

In chapter 4 Jesus begins what is known as His public ministry. What has for awhile really encouraged me is that before this He was tempted in the desert. A connection is where Jesus told the disciples to wait in the upper room until they received power. Another is the Isrealites when they spent 40 years in the desert and were to inherit the land that was to be given to them. At the end of this Jesus came out in the power of the Holy Spirit (v. 14) aswell as the disciples received the power of the Holy Spirit and the Isrealites received the land that was given them. I think it is important that we grasp the concept that there is a trying time that must be passed before one enters into the land (minstry, marriage, things of life) that God desires to give them. And when this has been reached, we move and work in that land by the power of the Holy Spirit to honor our God. While we should continue to be a brother or a sister I know for me at least, that until I have completed my '40' I will not inherit that which God desires to give to me and so I should be careful not to rush into a land that God has not spoken that will be mine or one that I am not ready to take possession. The victory is God's and my part is beleiving Him that it will come to pass.

In chapter 6 Jesus speaks to Peter of how He will make them fishers of men. There are things in my life that I see where God has spoken about things and interests that I do that will be used for the Kingdom's sake. Maybe like me, you enjoy problem solving and God is telling you that you will be a counselor of some sort, or maybe you work in a seed plant and God is telling you that you will sow many seeds. Whatever it is I hope God would show you what He desires of you that He will purpose in your heart. God is great at letting His children know specifically what He desires of them, He is a Father and like a father would tell his children what he expects of them and doesn't just expect them to figure it out, our Heavenly Father tells us as well.

I hope you be blessed and encouraged to be with Him in everything you do. Our God is an amazing God! The only true and living God!

Day 23: Luke 2-3

To show us that John the Baptist was the forerunner of Christ, Luke quotes Isaiah 40:3-5. John’s call was to “prepare the way” of the coming Messiah. John must have preached this message with much zeal and power because many were questioning whether or not he was the Christ (3:15).

What is interesting to me is the name John means “Jehovah is a gracious giver.” How appropriate for a man who has been appointed to prepare the way for Jesus! But I think there is something a little deeper here than what I have seen before. What I'm about to share may not be much of a revelation to those reading this, but this is something that God has used today to impact my little, self-centered world.

Isaiah 40:3-5 says,

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Now compare this to Luke 3:4-5,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight. Every valley shall be filled and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

Here is how this has impacted me:

God is a gracious giver because He has chosen to reveal His glory to a sinful, rebellious, depraved heart like mine. His glory revealed is Jesus, and taking a wicked, depraved worm like me and presenting me blameless, holy and above reproach in His sight by the blood of His death on the cross.

Colossians 1:19-22 says,

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.

It is my prayer that we too would be “John the Baptists” and prepare the way of the Coming King by proclaiming the Gospel so that all flesh will see the salvation of God – His glory!

Day 22: Luke 1

Today we begin our walk through the Luke's gospel. Two things hit me this morning in this opening chapter. First of all is the certainty of the gospel record. Luke's purpose in writing was to strengthen the faith of other believers, that what they received was rooted in historical fact.

Peter affirms the same thing when he wrote, "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Peter 1:16). We can be confident today in the truth of the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!

The second thing that really stood out to me this morning seems almost like a footnote in the overall story of the gospel. In a scene reminiscent of Abraham and Sarah, we meet a couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth, who are "well along in years" but "had no children." This had been a disgrace for Elizabeth and was something the couple had longed for and prayed for. And yet they were described as "upright in the sight of God" and followed Him "blamelessly." Why would God allow such devoted followers to suffer this shame and disgrace and heartache?

We see in this first chapter that it was all part of God's plan. In the fullness of time, he would grant them a child and that child would be the greatest ever born among women (Luke 7:28). He would be the forerunner of the Messiah!

While Zechariah and Elizabeth may have often wondered why God had allowed them to suffer in this way, they continued to serve Him faithfully. They trusted Him in challenging times and entrusted themselves to His will and His way.

We face similar situations in our own lives. And while they trusted in God's goodness and faithfulness as demonstrated to the Israelites in the past, we have a far greater demonstration of His love for us today! As Paul writes in Romans 8, God has fully demonstrated His great love for us at the cross. He gave His own Son for us! What greater expression of love could He give?

Let us commit ourselves to Him and His will no matter the circumstance, for we can trust in this great promise: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

Day 21: Mark 15-16

As we come to the close of Mark's Gospel, I can't help but see the tug-a-war of emotions as the events unfold in the life of Jesus, leading to His death in chapter 15, and then to His glorious resurrection in chapter 16.

The section that impacted me the most in this morning's reading is 15:11-13. "But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked them. "Crucify Him!" they shouted."

They exchanged the truth for a lie! Right before them stood the King of kings, Lord of lords, the Creator of the universe, and they couldn't even see it. They were blinded to the truth that stood right in front of them. As I think about this, I'm hit with the harsh reality that things haven't changed in 2000 years. People are still exchanging the truth for a lie.

Day 20: Mark 14

Read:

Mar 14:37-38 And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Jesus is here rebuking Peter for his inability to pray an hour with Jesus. I find it interesting that Jesus seemed to speak like an hour of prayer was some small task. How many of us find it difficult to pray 15 minutes before our minds wander or our eyes get droopy? I hear Jesus saying, "Peter, come on man! Can't you even pray for a measly little hour?" I hear Him saying to me, "Come on Jim. Can't you even pray for a measly little hour?"

The second truth I see here is the doctrine that the Lord teaches us during this rebuke. He says to pray SO THAT you do not ENTER into temptation. In other words, temptation is coming around the corner, pray and get ready for it so that you don't fail when it comes. He goes on to kindly let us know that the Spirit is indeed willing and ready to help and strengthen us, but our flesh is too weak to overcome temptation and too weak to seek the Spirit in preparatory prayer prior to the temptation.

I think it would be good to say here that one of the reasons we fail when temptation comes is because we have not prepared ourselves prayerfully. Jesus is teaching us the importance of prayer in facing temptation. Note in His life the two major temptations (in the wilderness and before the cross) were preceded by much fervent praying.

Amp up your prayer life and decrease your sin life.

May God bless your reading of Mark 14.