Month: August 2023

“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, what shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’  And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’  But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’  So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21 [ESV]

This one hit both at home in my personal life as well as my leadership role at church. Our world and our planning sense (which itself is not a bad thing) can convince us that this a good way to operate; to set up a nest egg for retirement or ensure you can maintain a standard of living (when hard times hit) we have allowed ourselves to enjoy. One of the things that stood out to me is how many times the man in the parable said “My”.

• My Crops
• My Barns
• My Grain
• My Goods

Additionally, he also says “I” 8 times (in the Greek). This points to an ingrained selfishness. The man is not concerned with how to use his wealth wisely. He is not trying to serve God or help other people. He is not even concerned in having a richer and fuller life for himself. He is concerned only with self-indulgence. God calls this man a “Fool!”. The really stupid thing was the rich man’s self-assurance that the future was in his control.

Laying up treasure here on earth is an indication that we feel possessive of what ‘WE have EARNED’…that somehow it is something for us to decide what to do with for ourselves. I also feel like the person who is given a lot, yet only continues to extend 10% to the Lord, is a ‘check-boxer’ and the heart of that position is really no better.

Application:

As a man whose life hangs by a thread and who may be called upon at any time to give account of himself, I would be a fool if I relied on material things. I would also be a fool to not focus on the riches awaiting me in Heaven.

This devotion causes me to take a second look at where we (Marianne and I) position our reliance…is it on the things (money and possessions) of this world or do we demonstrate a heart of ‘open-handedness’…acting as a conduit for God’s resources He has given us the responsibility of managing?

Now while Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited Him to take dinner with him, so He entered and reclined at table.
  The Pharisee noticed and was astonished [to see] that Jesus did not first wash before dinner.
  But the Lord said to him, Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside you yourselves are full of greed and robbery and extortion and malice and wickedness.
  You senseless (foolish, stupid) ones [acting without reflection or intelligence]! Did not He Who made the outside make the inside also?
  Luke 11:37-40 [AMP]

Today I finished Luke 11 which from 37 onward is this interaction with a Pharisee who invited Jesus to dinner (or lunch as it can be interpreted) and then follows with a list of “Woe’s” to both Pharisees and Lawyers of the day.

My main focus is this discussion before eating with the Pharisee. 1) Jesus once against discerns the thoughts of the Pharisee and confronts the man on the tradition of washing from one’s hands the sin of the world before eating. It was a process described in minute detail in the Mishnah of ceremonially cleansing oneself before eating a meal. Jesus adeptly calls out the irony in this action in that it does nothing for the thing that actually matters….the condition of a person’s heart in the sight of God.

We all know that the Pharisees were so infatuated with how they were perceived on the outside even though they, on the inside, were corrupt and evil. None of the inside condition was out of the sight of God…He sees it all. Jesus goes as far to say that they are foolish and senseless in their actions. With just a little bit of reflection, the Pharisee would see the craziness of operating this way.

Application:

I have been guilty of paying more attention to my behavior than the condition of my heart. I will say that the focus of my motives and ‘why I do what I do’ has been on the forefront of my mind lately. This is in all aspects of my life: as a dad, husband, manager, leader, friend, and son. Am I just washing my hands and outside of my cup/plate…or, am I looking for the grime that is on the inside that can taint and sour the goodness of what the Lord wants to do in me. It all has to flow from a place of being sold out to my Lord and Savior. That cannot be unless I am consistently cleaning house and leaving my sin nailed to that tree on Golgotha.

Yesterday my family treated me to an awesome Birthday full of memories and fun. They whisked me off to Leavenworth, WA where we did a toboggan roller coaster, had crepes, ziplining, and just wonderful time together. I am so very blessed to have the family I do.

My reading today is Luke 33-36 which follows in the Amplified.

No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or crypt or under a bushel measure, but on a lampstand, that those who are coming in may see the light.
 Your eye is the lamp of your body; when your eye (your conscience) is sound and fulfilling its office, your whole body is full of light; but when it is not sound and is not fulfilling its office, your body is full of darkness.
  Be careful, therefore, that the light that is in you is not darkness.
  If then your entire body is illuminated, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright [with light], as when a lamp with its bright rays gives you light. Luke 11:33-36 [AMP]

This is a very well-known passage of Jesus talking about the witness of those in the past of other prophets like Jonah and yet the One they have with them now is greater. When Jesus talks about the ‘eye’ being the lamp of the body, the amplified called this your conscience and I think ‘your perspective’ is another good definition. What you fill your eyes with impacts the whole body. The eyes have a job that is involved in almost everything the rest of the body does. When the eyes have a singlemindedness focused on good, then the whole body will do good. However, when the eyes are focused on evil then the ‘whole’ body is consumed with darkness.

Another point that I takeaway is what verse 33 says about hiding the light. It’s not that it can’t be seen if it is hidden, it also cannot fill the space with light. Meaning, its not just to be seen but to illuminate.

Application:

Are my eyes fixed on RIGHTEOUSNESS? Have I really taken the perspective that what I fill my eyes with is in direct relation to the state of the rest of my body. Do I allow myself to watch movies, ‘reels’, or any other content that is not filling my body with the light of uprightness? Am I allowing the light of my ‘Walk with Jesus’ to fill the spaces I occupy?

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:13 [ESV]

This passage starts out with -> “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

In my opinion, this passage is commonly misunderstood. There are a lot of ‘Prosperity Gospel’ proponents that reference this portion of Gods Word.

Jesus tells his disciples to ask, to seek, and to knock. He assures them that in each case there will be the appropriate response. All three verbs are continuous: Jesus is not speaking of single activities, but of those that persist. He is speaking of an attitude similar to that taught by the parable that I discussed yesterday. The repetition in verse 10 underlines the certainty of the response. People should not to think of God as unwilling to give: He is always ready to give good gifts to His people. But it is important that they do their part by asking. Jesus does not say and does not mean that, if we pray, we will always get exactly what we ask for. After all, ‘No’ is just as definite an answer as ‘Yes’. He is saying that true prayer is neither unheard nor unheeded. It is always answered in the way God sees is best.

Finally, in verse 13, Luke is interested in the work of the Spirit and here he sees the gift of the Spirit as our highest good. There doesn’t seem to be a reason for understanding this in terms of the ‘charismatic’ gifts. The mention is rather to the Spirit’s work in the Christian life generally, as in Romans 8.