Without entitlement

Song: Put in Me

LESSON:

Genesis 27-28 & Psalm 4 & Luke 11

SCRIPTURE:

Luke 11:27-28

As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him,“Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!” 28 But he said,“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

OBSERVATION:

Oftentimes, people expect to be praised or respected for doing something that didn't require any additional effort than just being. In the example in the scripture, the woman speaking expects Mary to be blessed or "noticed" simply because she gave birth. And, while the fact that women can give birth is amazing, it's better to be blessed, noticed, and respected for right action. Mary isn't profound simply because she gave birth. She's profound because she trusted God and held steadfastly to Him which is why Jesus says in verse 28 "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”

APPLICATION:

Instead of expecting praise or blessings without action (entitlement) we need to be ACTIVE in our relationship with Jesus and strive, daily, to be more like him. THAT'S what's worthy of acknowledgement.

PRAYER:

Lord. Thank you for your graciousness and patience as I learn to be more like you. Thank you for helping me to grow and change and make right choices. Continue to show me Your way so I can walk in humility, without expectation, pride, or boastfulness.

Don't look back

Scripture

Luke 9:62

But Jesus said to him, "No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Observation

Jesus is calling people to be his disciple and on a couple of instances, the men he has called want to return home to get their things in order. Jesus is pretty clear in that He tells one of the men "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God (Luke 9:60)." On another occasion He says, "No one, having put his hand on the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Jesus is telling people that they need to let go of their old selves and follow Him.

Application

The concept of this is pretty easy. When we choose to follow Jesus, we let go of our old life and following Jesus takes precedence over everything else. The struggle is that this is harder than it sounds. Looking at my life, I have on more than one occasion, "looked back", on my past and in some cases relived it. One of the things that I see in this verse is that Jesus is saying, don't look back on your life, when you are following Me, look ahead to what I want for you. Don't fall into focusing on your past mistakes, focus on today and tomorrow. Jesus tells us that while we have changed and hopefully will change, He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

Prayer

Father God,


Please allow me to focus on You and Your purpose for my life. Without you I am nothing, give me the strength and the wisdom to discern Your word from my own and the enemies.

Reaching out

Scripture

Luke 8:46

But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me"

Observation

Starting with verse 43, we meet this woman, who has been "having a flow of blood for twelve years". She has seen numerous doctors and they have been able to nothing to help her. She is desperate, so she reaches out and touches Jesus. In the instance she touched Jesus, she was healed. Jesus then asked, "Who touched me?" and the woman said it was her, and she declared to Him and everyone else, why she had touched Him and that she was healed. Jesus then said, "Daughter, be of good cheer, your faith has made you well. Go in peace."

Application

This woman sought out Jesus and reached out and touched Him. It was this faith that made her well. You see this woman reached out to Jesus, knowing she was going to be healed, she didn't ask, she didn't wait for Jesus to touch her, she took action and knew that she would be healed. I think I get this wrong a lot. I might pray that Jesus heal me, but deep down inside I am also plotting how another way to ask. It is like when I pray for someone that is going through a medical problem and they need healing, I might pray something in the lines of, "Father God, I pray that you heal this person in Jesus name, I pray that when the doctors go in they find nothing wrong, but in the case that they do, I pray that you help those doctors to know exactly how to fight this illness. Amen." Do you see what I did there I gave a half-hearted faith prayer. I had faith that God was going to heal this person, "BUT". I added a but because I probably didn't actually have faith. The way I plan on applying this is to be more proactive with my faith. I want to reach out and touch Jesus, instead of waiting on Him to reach out and touch me. I want to have the faith of this woman, who knew that Jesus was going to heal her.

Prayer

Father God, give me faith that can move mountains, give me faith that can heal my infirmities and the sicknesses of friends. Give me faith that allows me to reach out and touch Jesus, instead of waiting for Him to touch me.

Rejoice and be glad

Song: Your Grace Amazes Me

LESSON:

Genesis 20-22 & Luke 8

SCRIPTURE:

Psalm 6:8

"Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping."

OBSERVATION:

This psalm is particularly fascinating as someone who studied literature. When David starts, he's in a deep state of despair. For some background, he lusted after Bathsheba and got her pregnant when she was married to Uriah (he also had Uriah killed in battle and made Bathsheba his wife. Heavy stuff).  As a result, she gave birth to a baby that was sickly and about to die. So David is pretty reasonably upset so he's praying and asking forgiveness.

This is the first of the "penitential" psalms. This, like Psalm 51 and some others, is a Psalm of seeking forgiveness and begging restoration and was often used after a time of backsliding. It's one that resonates with me deeply, not because it's penitential, but because the tone of it changes sharply 2/3 of the way through. Where in the beginning, David is crying out and desperate, by the end he's resolute saying "Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity, for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping." David is resolute; sure in the power of our God. There's no need to weep anymore because he has faith and confidence.

It's a lesson we all should pay attention too. Often, in church, I see people who cry and cry and poor their hearts out and strive for forgiveness for the sinners they are. These same people don't usually show JOY in church. They're so focused on their sin that their psalm never becomes confident and assured and resolute. They never get to the point of understanding grace, because their guilt is overpowering them. They never focus truly on God, because they're too focused on their sin so the joy never comes.

APPLICATION:

Be transparent about your sin and ask for forgiveness. We've all sinned. Jesus came to earth as an infant so he would understand humanness. It's okay. This doesn't mean do it again. The caveat of God's forgiveness is that we actually have to learn from our mistakes. Be sincere in your penitence and be forgiven. And then REJOICE. Rejoice and focus on Him and leave the past in the past. It's a new day and God is great!

PRAYER:

Lord, thank you for everything you are and everything we will be because of you. Thank you for filling my heart with gladness and joy and showing me how wonderful you are. I'm so grateful to know you.

With your whole heart

Song: Find You

LESSON:

Genesis 20-22 & Luke 8

SCRIPTURE:

Luke 8:10

"And He said, 'To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is

 given in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'"

OBSERVATION:

Have you ever noticed how, if you're reading the bible, but you're not actually focusing on God, none of it makes sense? Or better how non-believers are convinced it's just a book of children's stories? It doesn't make sense to them, or to us when we're not seeking Him, because it's a living word. Jesus says this much in Luke 8:10; that those who don't believe WON'T see and WON'T hear. You have to accept Him to understand his word.

APPLICATION:

In those moments when the bible isn't making sense to you, or you're just not connecting, stop and pray. Pray for guidance, so that God shows you what it is you need to see.

PRAYER:

Lord, thank you for giving us a living Word to read and use to grow closer to you. Help me to truly hear the words you want me to hear and understand the messages you want me to understand, so that I can be more like you.

I tried to win this war, I confess

Song: Trust in You

LESSON:

Genesis 15-17 & Luke 6

SCRIPTURE:

Luke 6:46

"But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?"

OBSERVATION:

Right in the gut, this one. It's hard to live a righteous life. The world is full of temptation and, usually, that temptation doesn't look like it's wrong. Most of the time, it looks like the right decision. Make more money. Buy a big house. Get married. Look good. Do the things your parents taught you to do. Have all the experiences so you can gain all the wisdom. These things can be righteous, if they're blessings. Or they can be sins, if God isn't put first. It's hard to give up what you've always been taught is right for what is ACTUALLY right and it's hard to know the difference between the two.

APPLICATION:

I want to call my Lord, Lord AND do the things he says without complaint, or willfulness, or doubt, or pride.

PRAYER:

Lord, help me to strive to be more like you. Help me to weather my pride and stubbornness and to focus on Your spirit and no just on the tip of my own nose.

We're never too tired to pray

Song: Nothing Like Your Love

LESSON:

Genesis 12-14 & Luke 5

SCRIPTURE:

Luke 5:5-6

"But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” 6And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking."

OBSERVATION:

Simon starts here by complaining. They'd been up all night trying to catch fish so they had food, and had caught nothing. They were tired, probably grumpy, and probably hungry. Simon tells Jesus this because, presumably, this is an excuse no to stay and listen to what Jesus has to say. But by staying, Jesus shows them the value of His word by giving them more fish than they know what to do with. 

This is true for all of us. So many times in life we feel tired, irritable, anti-social. These are the moments when we should focus on being in the presence of God. These are the times when we need Him most. 

APPLICATION:

Don't skip church because you're tired or a small group (like I did) because you're feeling anti-social and don't feel well. These are the moments when we need Jesus and our community the most.

PRAYER:

Lord, thank you for giving me a community I've long hoped for. Help me to immerse myself in it and seek you more.