Category: QuietTimes

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

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.

Luke 19:47-48 [AMP]
And He continued to teach day after day in the temple [porches and courts]. The chief priests and scribes and the leading men of the people were seeking to put Him to death,
But they did not discover anything they could do, for all the people hung upon His words and stuck by Him.

This ‘hanging on every word’ is a posture that not only produces conviction and peace (yep, both at the same time), but also a dedication and trust that is discernible by the onlooker. When we hang on the teaching of Jesus, we are drawn to where He is going. His ways become our ways. Putting myself in Gods Word everyday possible (even for a short reading) and prayerfully anticipating something He is going to spurn inside of me, is exhilarating. The exhilaration that comes when we see His hand touching our hearts and minds when we know that within ourselves would have never produced the conviction on our own. It builds our faith.

I also hear a slow consumption and prioritization of hearing what Jesus has to say into my life everyday as an indicator of my walk with Him. Hanging on every Word of Jesus produces a steadfastness in Hope for eternity where will spend every moment in the presence those in Jerusalem felt at the time.

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.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Luke 18:22 [ESV]

Today was a long day. Got up at 6:00am and made it to church for a meeting at 7:00am. Here I sit at 12:34am after a long day at work. The passage I read today was a discussion between Jesus and a rich ruler. This conversation has many times been taken too literally like you and I might have a discussion…However, what we see is a dialog rooted from a knowledge Jesus had of the man’s heart. All of His questions and suggestions were made to cause the man to reflect on his own words and intentions.

When I look at my own walk and deeply search my own heart as I read God’s Word, I am constantly reminded of my own ‘smallness’ relative to God’s greatness and mercy. When I allow myself to be revealed in my sin and fleshly thoughts, I am convicted almost every time I sit in the presence of my Lord and Savior through His Holy Spirit; being washed in the cleansing Living Word of His instruction and correction. There is no greater builder of faith than to see God break me and then mold me into He wants me to be. After all, He knows my heart better than I know myself.

Living, praying, and studying in the Spirit always results in a continuing sanctification that is a most confirming faith; spurning me on to persevere toward the day that I will have finished my race. Hebrews 12:1 & 2.