Author: Ben Bourland

“Go and prepare the Passover for us, that we may eat it.”  They said to him, “Where will you have us prepare it?”  He said to them, “Behold, when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him into the house that he enters and tell the master of the house, ​‘The Teacher says to you, Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’  And he will show you a large upper room furnished; prepare it there.”  And they went and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover. Luke 22:8-13 [ESV]

When I read passages like this and the one about Jesus telling the disciples in Matthew 21:2&3 to go get the donkey for Jesus to ride into Jerusalem on, we see the omniscience that Jesus had to see into all ‘states’ of life and ability to project outcomes and influence people. The person with the jar of water and anyone asking about taking the donkey; were going to go along with the foretelling of what Jesus said was going to happen. With all of this control, Jesus never swayed from His mission to carry out the will of the Father.

Not that it matters, but it is interesting to discuss -> was it Jesus saying what would happen because he already knew, or was it because the Father/Holy Spirit would make it so when the circumstances dictated it? Whatever the answer, it shows the divine nature of our Savior. When I think about Jesus as my intercessor in the throne room of Heaven, I have nothing to fear when I am following Him and my heart and motives are centered on the will of the Father. When I am following Jesus in obedience and leaning on Him for how I can be best used by Him, I can walk forward confidently understanding that my role in the building of His Kingdom will fall into place just in the way it should.

When I am not following Jesus in full heart, mind, soul, and strength, then I risk falling outside of the will of the Father and stand to lose out on being a vessel and instrument of His work. My mind and my heart must be aligned with His, in worship and obedience. When the Holy Spirit is active in my life, I rest assured that what God intends, will fall into place…what a freeing and amazingly safe place to be!

And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet.  And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him. Luke 21:37-38 [ESV]

One of the things that Marianne and I were talking about today was the idea and execution of ‘Seeker Services’ at some churches. The heart of this I believe is genuine but the ‘de-controversializing’ of the Word of God for a service to ‘attract’ nonbelievers is not biblical (at least from my study of God’s Word). As I was finishing Luke 21 today, I felt like God was giving me a little affirmation of this stance. “All the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him.” We know that Jesus had very controversial things to say, and He pulled no punches when it came to proclaiming truth and teaching those who came to listen.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

John 14:6-7 [ESV]

The Father calls those whom He wills to Himself. If we stay true to His Word (which is a tenant of Canyon Hills Community Church), then the Lord will bring them. The other risk these churches run is new believers never transitioning to deeper (more direct truth) services that church may offer. Making more and better disciples is the mission of our church, and everything we do is based on that premise. From our main services to the School of Discipleship, youth/men’s/women’s ministries, and even Life Groups. Based on John 14:7 above, we cannot understand the Father unless we know the Son. What the Son had to say never restrained from the full message.

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

John 6:44 [ESV]

And you will be hated (despised) by everyone because [you bear] My name and for its sake.
  But not a hair of your head shall perish. By your steadfastness and patient endurance, you shall win the true life of your souls. Luke 21:17-19 [AMP]

Do we live in a crazy time or what?!? Most of Luke 21 focuses on the days leading up to and the signs of Jesus’ return. There is a good portion that feels like now and some that doesn’t seem to have happened yet. At first glance, verse 18 implies that we will not be physically harmed but verses 16 defeats that interpretation.

You will be delivered up and betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and [some] of you they will put to death.

Luke 21:16 [AMP]

The point here is that whatever happens, the bodies of the faithful will be restored at the resurrection – hair and all. This does not rule out the possibility of God’s providential protection; after all, Paul guarantees the proverbial hair of the sailors’ heads in Acts 27:34. But Jesus’ words encourage me to take the long view afforded by God’s resurrection power. In the meantime, Jesus tells the disciples’ that their participation in the future resurrection was not to be taken for granted; it depended on their persisting in endurance. Assurance of salvation follows not just from faith in the here and now, but also perseverance in the future.

“Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”  And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, I am he!’ and, The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.  And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.” Luke 21:7-9 [ESV]

I have always found this passage comforting even though it is scary. Jesus is essentially saying that the worse it gets the closer His coming is. I am so anxious for the coming of the Lord. The debauchery and decay of our society is just freaky, and I can only hope that Jesus will not tarry much longer. Until then, His commands are clear – love my God with all of my Heart, Mind, and Strength and Love on and invest in others until he comes. With the dependence on Him comes a calm in the Hope of Eternity to come.

Seeing Bella on the missions field and discipling my other children to withstand the culture and world outside is what keeps me motivated and rolling. Just looking at the people that God has put in my sphere of influence, it is clear that He has work for me to do. Stay strong and stay true.

This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’  And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?  He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!”  But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written:
“‘The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’?
  Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” Luke 20:14-18 [ESV]

When Jesus told this parable of the wicked tenants, it is so clear to us now what He was saying – that He is the Cornerstone that will break those into pieces and crush anyone He falls on. I just love how Jesus consistently quotes scripture as a pointer the prophesy He fulfills. Even when He was tempted by Satan, he refuted every temptation with scripture. It is the source of truth; it should me mine too. This is why it is so important for me to memorize as much of it as possible…especially the anchor passages that the Lord has revealed to me to be most relevant to my struggles and circumstances.

As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”  He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.” Luke 19:37-40 [ESV]

Long night (writing this at 2:25am) but after reading this passage early this morning, this phrase by Jesus in response to the chiding by the Pharisees just kept ringing in my ears.

The meaning of the fulfilling of prophesy is palpable in this scene and it is not lost on Jesus the magnitude of it. So momentous is this entry into Jerusalem that if the people were not shouting the praise of God sending His Son, the rocks would! In just the next moment, Jesus weeps over the city because they do not understand the magnitude of the occasion. While weeping He says,

“Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Luke 19:42-44 [ESV]

Pretty amazing set of statements in light of what has happened in Israel this month.

‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Luke 19:26 [ESV]

Today was the parable of the 10 minas. I don’t have time to go through the whole story, but I do want to talk about what the Lord has been revealing to me in this parable.

The Bible authors used 3 primary words for God’s Word that have really helped me understand how to look at God’s voice in my life. 1) Graphe: This is the written word; literally the letters on the paper making words. 2) Logos: This is the message of the words on the paper. I think you could also call this general revelation. The message through understanding the writer, the audience it was intended, and the circumstances in which it was said/written. 3) Rhema: This is the ‘Living Word’; the Word the Lord reveals to me through the Holy Spirit, when I read God’s Word, meant for me as an application to my sanctification process.

So, back to the parable of the 10 minas. The principle of the parable is that the servant who did well actually doubled the money the Noble Ruler left with him. When I read this today, I saw my minas being the divine seed of God deposited in me when I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior. That seed (God’s Holy Spirit) is everything I need in this life; I just need to crucify myself and my sin everyday so that it is only His voice that is left…not only that, but I must also listen to and act on what He says. Doing so will align me with the paths He is laying straight before me and that will be a path that increases His Kingdom.

Yep, I missed my quiet time the last 2 days. No excuses, just very little sleep and running to and fro. Last week and the next are huge weeks for my team at work. I have been working from 9AM to about 2AM each day; getting up at 7AM to take Soph to school. I sat down with the family last night after dinner and the next thing I knew I was asleep on the couch. I wandered upstairs, went to bed, and didn’t get up until about 9:30AM this morning. 10 to 12 hours of sleep never felt so good! Because of this last week, all day today was about spending time with the family -> Took Prim and Brooklyn up to ride bikes in the cul-de-sac and when Marianne got home from her photoshoot, we all headed to Bob’s Corn for a day at the playground, pumpkin patch, tractor rides, Corn Crib, Donuts, Crepes, and coffee. It was such wonderful day after feeling so disconnected with them all week.

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.  For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:9-10 [ESV]

Today my reading was the story of Zacchaeus who, one of small stature, climbed into a tree to see Jesus. Zacchaeus was a Chief Tax Collector, a job where he was a person the Jews really disliked as he collected taxes for the Romans from the Jews. These people were looked on so unfavorably that when Jesus asked to come to his house, the people grumbled saying “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” (Luke 19:7). But Zacchaeus coming to terms with Who Jesus is, told Jesus “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” (Luke 19:8) The conviction the presence of Jesus brought to this little man caused him to have regret and compassion; a change of heart. Following Jesus produces a change of heart in those who have been saved. A faith that is not changing you is likely not saving you.

And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.” Luke 18:29-30 [ESV]

As I was continuing through Luke 18 today, I was reminded of Galatians 2:20. I feel like the Lord has laid this verse on my heart several times in the last several weeks. To us the Kingdom of Jesus is an upside-down kingdom where the lowest receive the best and the highest are humbled. The laying down of my life here on earth grows my future hope in what is to come. What becomes the most important aspects of my life is the investment in others and dying to myself. Jesus came to save the lost; to redeem a lost world to a right standing the sight of God the Father for all who would believe.

In order for me to walk the Cruciform life I have to crucify all the worldly things that my fleshly body gravitates to hold dear. For the joy set before Jesus, He died on the cross; scorning its shame (Hebrews 12:2). This is what it means to live a God-Pleasing life…to die to the things of this world because of the Joy that is to come. That has to be my ONLY focus.