Author: Ben Bourland

Luke 22:66-69 [AMP]
As soon as it was day, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes; and they led Him into their council (the Sanhedrin), and they said,
If You are the Christ (the Messiah), tell us. But He said to them, If I tell you, you will not believe (trust in, cleave to, and rely on what I say),
And if I question you, you will not answer.
But hereafter (from this time on), the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.

This passage resonates with me regarding the naysayers of today. The culture and society we live in refuses to believe just as the Sanhedrin did. The Truth of Gods Word shouts Who God is yet people want to be their own god. The worth of a persons own view of themselves has eclipsed the reality of Gods design. The freedom the believer receives in their salvation and righteousness we acquire through faith and surrender to the One True God is a peace and rest in Who the person Jesus is and our inheritance with Him.

I can confidently walk forward in this life knowing my security is in the One I trust. I am so thankful for the Bible which provides everything I need to live the upright life I have been called to, yet have the ever coming grace God provides when I fall.

It’s been a crazy week and a half working 12–16 hour days. My family has been so supportive and I and so grateful to the Lord for them. Tonight my work team gave me the night off to attend Sophie’s Christmas Choir Concert and again, I am grateful. On Friday Prim fell at the roller skating rink and got a hairline fracture in her right elbow and her delayed Birthday Party was Sunday. Just a comedy of situations that all add up to “life”. Something again, I am eternally grateful to my Father in Heaven for.

Luke 22:61 [AMP]
And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter recalled the Lord’s words, how He had told him, Before the cock crows today, you will deny Me thrice.

This whole scene has always haunted me. After the third time Peter denied Jesus and the rooster crowed, being led to trial, Jesus turns to see Peter and Peter is reminded of what the Lord would tell him he would do…and he ran off bitterly weeping in his self loathing and grief.

I want to live in a way that when Jesus returns in the sky, that He catches my eye and mine is not one of self-loathing for the situation I am ( a corrupt state of heart) but one of absolute joy and gratefulness that even while I was in my sin, He died for me because the joy that He saw before Him (with me in Heaven), He bore the cross and separation from the Father so that I would never have to.

Luke 22:14-15 [AMP]
And when the hour came, [Jesus] reclined at table, and the apostles with Him.
And He said to them, I have earnestly and intensely desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;

Luke’s capture of the last supper is so special. As I sit here and contemplate the coming time with family and friends to eat the meal of Thanksgiving, this passage takes on additional meeting. The amplified tells us that Jesus had been anticipating this time with His disciples for a long time. This time of eating and fellowship with these men He had selected and been with Him for His entire ministry, and this was an indicator of how close it was that He would be leaving them.

For us, Thanksgiving is all about focusing on what the Lord has done for us, through the giving of His Son for our sin; securing us a hope in eternity that we could never earn on our own. So, as I look forward to Thursday and sitting down with my family and friends over a dinner together, I will have new thoughts and gratitude based on this passage about how the Lord cared so much for his friends, and for the joy set before Him, He was willing to endure the cross, knowing that He would be reunited with them in heaven. In fact, He was thinking of all of us.

I pray that Thanksgiving for you will be a time spent in awe at the mercy and grace of our Savior, for what He was willing to do for each and every one of us.

Luke 21:4[AMP]
For they all gave out of their abundance (their surplus); but she has contributed out of her lack and her want, putting in all that she had on which to live.

Sacrificial giving is the key. “To whom much is given, much is required”. The widow gave everything she had; trusting God would provide her needs. That goes for the wealthy too. The relative giving of those with abundance did not correlate to a posture of dependence the widow had. This dependence is what pleases God. Ummm…I have a lot work to do in this arena.

Luke 21:5-6[AMP]
And as some were saying of the temple that it was decorated with handsome (shapely and magnificent) stones and consecrated offerings [laid up to be kept], He said,
As for all this that you [thoughtfully] look at, the time will come when there shall not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.

The verse Psalms 27:4 comes to mind. Look this one up – our focus of admiring beauty should be one direction.

Luke 20:35-36 [AMP]
But those who are considered worthy to gain that other world and that future age and to attain to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage;
For they cannot die again, but they are angel-like and equal to angels. And being sons of and sharers in the resurrection, they are sons of God.

Such an interesting passage of Jesus again shutting down the Pharisees. However, this also gives us insight into the heaven to come. In heaven the focus is God alone, He is the object of our attention and the groom of the bride; His church. No marriage is necessary in heaven.

I have to believe that we will know our born again spouses but marriage will not be ‘a thing‘ between inhabitants of the Kingdom of God. As a husband (saved by grace) here on earth, I feel that it is my duty to prepare my wife to one day see the face of her King. What a proud moment of an earthly husband and wife but to see God tell the other, “Well done My good and faithful servant.”

They asked Him, Teacher, we know that You speak and teach what is right, and that You show no partiality to anyone but teach the way of God honestly and in truth. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar or not? But He recognized and understood their cunning and unscrupulousness and said to them, Show Me a denarius (a coin)! Whose image and inscription does it have? They answered, Caesar’s. He said to them, Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,and to God the things that are God’s. So they could not in the presence of the people take hold of anything He said to turn it against Him; but marveling at His reply, they were silent. Luke 20:21-26 [AMP]

The passage above is something we often see from those out to discredit God’s Word but it ‘always’ falls short. Jesus knew the Pharisees were trying to get Him seized and killed and were even trying to get Him in trouble with Caesar. The Pharisees would send in spies pretending to be followers of His so they could ask a question that they thought would be foolproof in getting Jesus to answer with something that could convict Him…but nope, He knew their schemes and always had an answer that trapped and tied their hands.

The lesson is that God’s Word holds true; it never refutes itself. This goes with the other post I had about how Jesus would often quote scripture to silence His critics.

The Bible IS the answer. Consuming the Rhema everyday and hearing the literal word of God in your life is paramount to a follower of Jesus. This article by Piper is a great read about the Bible and how important it is to the Christian life.

Being filled with the word of Christ and being filled with the Spirit are parallel, because the Spirit comes where the word comes and fills us with faith.

And when the Spirit comes, he comes to make much of Jesus. Which means he comes to ignite joy in our hearts over the glory of Jesus. And there will be no greater joy than the fullness of joy in the glory of Jesus. Which means the word of God is worth more than anything this world can offer.

The Infinite Worth of the Word of God – John Piper