Month: November 2018

Christ Models Compassion

With His gaze fixed in Jerusalem
and the consummation of his
earthly ministry, Jesus intensifies
His final training of the disciples.
The subject of stewardship is a
central theme, for the disciples
will soon be entrusted with the
precious message of the gospel.
Jesus outlines the duties of a
servant. Finally He underscores
the importance of prayer.

Lord, help us Be Compassionate:
Jesus asked the Pharisees: Well,
is it permitted in the law to heal
people on the Sabbath day?
When they refused to answer,
Jesus touched the sick man and
healed him and sent him away.
Then he turned to them & asked:
Which of you doesn’t work on
the Sabbath? If your son or your
falls into a pit, don’t you proceed
at once to get him out (Lk 14:3-5)
So, He told a parable to those
who were invited, when He noted
how they chose the best places…
Those who exalt themselves will
be humbled & those who humble
themselves will be exalted (v7-11)
Invite the poor, the crippled,
the lame and the blind. Then at
the resurrection of the righteous,
God will reward u for inviting those
who could not repay you (v13-14).
Continue reading “Gospel Truth in Luke 14 (Nov 30)”

Christ’s Patience Calls Response

With His gaze fixed in Jerusalem
and the consummation of his
earthly ministry, Jesus intensifies
His final training of the disciples.
Stewardship is the central theme,
for the disciples will soon be
entrusted with the message
of the gospel. Jesus outlines the
duties of a servant & underscores
the importance of prayer.

Lord, we will Seek Things Eternal:
A man had a fig tree planted in his
vineyard & he went to look for fruit
on it, but did not find any. So he
said to the man who took care of
the vineyard. For three years now
I’ve been coming to look for fruit
on this fig tree & haven’t found any.
Cut it down! Sir, the man replied,
leave it alone for one more year
and I’ll dig round it and fertilise it.
If it bears fruit next year, fine !
If not, then cut it down (Lk 13:6-9).
The Kingdom of God is like the
yeast a woman used in making
bread. Even though she put only
a little yeast in three measures
of flour, it permeated every part
of the dough (Luke 13:20-21).
Work hard to enter the narrow door
to God’s Kingdom, for many will
try to enter but will fail. When the
master of the house has locked
the door, it will be too late (v24-25)
Continue reading “Gospel Truth in Luke 13 (Nov 29)”

Christ Teaches Persistence

Seventy disciples are sent out to
heal the sick & say: The kingdom
of God is come nigh unto you.
Their enthusiastic return prompts
Jesus to rejoice in praise to God.
But confrontation is gathering.
Some attribute His miracles to
Satan rather than God. Others
clamour for more miraculous signs.
And Jesus denounces the religious
leaders for their hypocrisy and
warns the disciples to be watchful.

Lord, we’ll Pray with Perseverence:
Which of you shall have a friend,
and go to him at midnight and say
to him: Friend lend me 3 loaves…
I say to you, though he will not
get up and give him the bread
because he is his friend, yet
because of the man’s persistence
he will get up and give him as
much as he needs (Luke 11:5-8).
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(9-10)
Continue reading “Gospel Truth in Luke 11 (Nov 27)”

Christ Gives Authority to Witness

Seventy disciples are sent out
two-by-two with instructions to
heal the sick & say: The kingdom
of God is come nigh unto you.
Their enthusiastic return prompts
Jesus to rejoice in praise to God.
But confrontation is gathering.
Some attribute His miracles to
Satan rather than God. Others
clamour for more miraculous signs.
And Pharisees attack His seeming
disregard for their traditions.
Jesus responds by denouncing the
religious leaders for their hypocrisy
and by warning the disciples
to be watchful as they work.

Lord, U Give Us Authority over Evil:
Then Jesus said: The harvest
is so great but the workers are
so few. Pray to the Lord who is
in charge of the harvest, and
ask him to send out more workers
for his fields. Go now (Lk 10:2-3).
Then the seventy returned with
joy saying: Lord, even the demons
are subject to us in Your name.
And He said: I saw Satan fall like
lightning from heaven. Behold,
I give you the Authority to trample
on serpents and over all the power
of the enemy and nothing shall by
any means hurt you (v17-19). Amen
Continue reading “Gospel Truth in Luke 10 (Nov 26)”

Christ’s Word to be Believed

Preaching, healing and disciplining
that summarises the daily activities
of the Son of Man. Luke records
the healings with careful attention.
And those documented miracles
become proof of Jesus’ claim to
a faithless & perverse generation.
As he preaches and heals, Jesus
patiently prepares His disciples
to carry on in His absence. The
cost is steep, but the goal of saving
lives eternally makes it worthwhile.

Lord, we Believe Your Word:
The twelve came to him and said:
Send the crowds away to nearby
villages so they can find food and
lodging for the night. There is
nothing to eat here in this deserted
place. But Jesus said: You feed
them. Impossible! They protested.
We have only five loaves of bread
and two fish. Or are U expecting
us to go and buy enough food
for this whole crowd (Lk 9:12-13).
Then Jesus said to them: If anyone
desires to come after me, let him
deny himself, and take up his
cross daily and follow me (v23).
As He prayed, the appearance of
His face was altered and his robe
became white and glistening…
And a voice came out of the
cloud saying: This is My beloved
Son. Hear Him (v29-35). Amen.
Continue reading “Gospel Truth in Luke 9 (Nov 25)”

Christ’s Word to be Responded

Preaching, healing and disciplining
that summarises the daily activities
of the Son of Man. Luke records
the healings with careful attention.
And those documented miracles
become proof of Jesus’ claim to
a faithless & perverse generation.
As he preaches and heals, Jesus
patiently prepares His disciples
to carry on in His absence. The
cost is steep, but the goal of saving
lives eternally makes it worthwhile.

Lord, we aspire to Be Good Soil:
The seed is the word of God…
The rocky soil represents those
who hear the message with joy.
But their roots Don’t Go Very Deep.
They wilt when testing blow…
But the good soil represents
people who Hear God’s message,
Cling to it and steadily produce
a huge harvest (Luke 8:11-15).
Pay attention to How You Hear.
To those who listen to my teaching,
more will be given. But for those
who are not listening, even what
they think they understand will be
taken away from them (Lk 8:18).
(Jesus) got into the boat with his
disciples and said: Let Us Cross
over to the other side of the lake…
He rebuked the wind and raging
waves. Then he asked them:
Where Is Your Faith? (v22-25).
Continue reading “Gospel Truth in Luke 8 (Nov 24)”

Christ Teaches Gratefulness

Preaching, healing and disciplining
that summarises the daily activities
of the Son of Man. Luke records
the healings with careful attention
to detail as befitting a physician.
And those documented miracles
become the proof of Jesus’ claim
to a doubting John the Baptist and
a faithless & perverse generation.
As he preaches and heals, Jesus
patiently prepares His disciples
to carry on in His absence. The
cost is steep, but the goal of saving
lives eternally makes it worthwhile.

Lord, we’ll choose to Be Grateful:
Jesus said: Go tell John the things
you have seen & heard: that
the blind men see, the lame walk…
the dead are raised… And blessed
is he who is Not Offended
because of me (Luke 7:22-23).
Now the Pharisee spoke to himself
This Man, if He were a prophet,
would know What Manner a
woman this is who is touching Him.
Jesus answered his thoughts.
Simon, he said to the Pharisee,
I have something to say to you…
(v39-40). I tell you, her sins – and
they are many have been Forgiven,
so she has shown me Much Love.
But a person who is forgiven little
shows only little love. Then Jesus
said to the woman: Your sins
are forgiven (v47-48). Amen.
Continue reading “Gospel Truth in Luke 7 (Nov 23)”

Christ Urges Build Firm Foundation

Rejection in His hometown of
Nazareth causes Jesus to shift to
Capernaum where He ministers
for two years. There Christ calls
12 men calls 12 men to be His
travelling companions. And there
by the shores of Galilee He begin
to prepare them for ministry
He will soon entrust to them.

Lord,we purpose to Do What U Say:
Why do you call me Lord, Lord,
and not do the things which I say.
Whoever comes to me and Hears
my sayings and Does them, I will
show you whom he is like. He is
like a man building a house, who
Dug Deep and Laid the Foundation
on the Rock. And when the flood
arose, the stream beat vehemently
against that house and could not
shake it, for it was founded on the
rock. But he who heard and did
nothing is like a man who built a
house without a foundation, against
which the stream beat vehemently;
and immediately it fell. And the ruin
of that house was great(Lk6:46-49)
Continue reading “Gospel Truth in Luke 6 (Nov 22)”

Christ Cares for those In Need

Rejection in His hometown of
Nazareth causes Jesus to shift to
Capernaum where He ministers
for two years. There Christ calls
12 men calls 12 men to be His
travelling companions. And there
by the shores of Galilee He begin
to prepare them for ministry
He will soon entrust to them.

Lord, You Care for the Needy:
When Jesus had finished speaking,
he said to Simon: Now go out
where it is deeper, and let down
your nets to catch some fish. Simon
answered: Master, we’ve worked
hard all night and haven’t caught
anything. But because you say so,
I will let down the nets. When they
had done so, they caught such
a large number of fish…Then
Jesus said to Simon: From now
on You will catch men (Lk 5:4-10)
Jesus answered them: Healthy
people don’t need a doctor –
sick people do. I have come to
call sinners to turn from their sins,
not to spend my time with those
who think they are already good
enough (Luke 5:31-32). Amen.
Continue reading “Gospel Truth in Luke 5 (Nov 21)”