Category Archives: Luke

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The Scary “E” Word

The assignment is still the same today as it was when Jesus commissioned the first disciples. And it is just as clear: “Go!” We have been called to go into the world and give them what we have been given: The Good News of forgiveness of sins and eternal life by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Journey: Luke 10:3

Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.

The assignment is still the same today as it was when Jesus commissioned the first disciples. And it is just as clear: “Go!” We have been called to go into the world and give them what we have been given: The Good News of forgiveness of sins and eternal life by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

It we don’t go and give, no one else will. We are God’s “Plan A” for proclaiming his message to people, and there is no “Plan B.” There is a name for the plan, by the way. It is not in the Bible, but it has come to be known as “evangelism”.

Unfortunately, the “E” word has become quite intimidating, even scary to most Christians. But since there is no “Plan B”, you and I need to reexamine our fear and reluctance so we can get busy doing what disciples do: going and giving the Good News to people who are lost.

As big and scary as the word “evangelism” may sound to you, it simply comes from a compound Greek word: “eu”, which means “good”, as in euphoria, and “aggelos”, which means angel, as in Los Angeles. “Euaggelos” is literally, a “good angel” or a “good messenger”. A messenger with good news—there is nothing big or scary about that. In fact, that is quite appealing.

You and I have been given the job of translating God’s message of reconciliation through the example of our lives in such a way that it comes alive and connects with people. Evangelism, then, is simply embodying the Good News by loving proactively, living purely, acting graciously, working joyfully, serving creatively and even suffering redemptively. When we have lived in such a way—by being living proof of a loving God before a lost world—then proclaiming the Good News is simply the natural next step.

It has been said, “preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.” Now to be clear, it is always necessary to use our words. That is why Jesus said we are to go “preach” it. (Mark 16:15) So go be the good messenger today; be the good news. Robert E. Coleman said, “This is the new evangelism we need. It is not better methods, but better men and women who know their Redeemer from personal experience… who see his vision and feel his passion for the world…who want only for Christ to produce his life in and through them according to his own good pleasure.”

Yes, be the living proof of the Good News, and when the opportunity presents itself, share it boldly!

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, I have often pulled back from sharing your Good News. Please forgive me, and fill me with a new passion and a holy boldness to tell people the best news they will ever hear.
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The Question

"Who Do You Say That I Am?"

Jesus asked people in his day, “Who do you say that I am?” Can you think of a more important question in life for today? And what about the answer? Literally, one’s eternity hangs in the balance, depending on the response. By the way, the question is not multiple-choice. There is only one correct answer—and it is the same simple response Peter gave to Jesus: “The Christ of God.”

The Journey: Luke 9:20

“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say that I am?”

“Who do you say that I am?” Can you think of a more important question in life? Jesus asked that question of his disciples back then, and he asks the same pointed question of all his followers today—including you!

And what about the answer? Literally, one’s eternal life hangs in the balance, depending on the response. By the way, it is not multiple-choice. There is only one correct answer—and it is the same simple two-word response Peter gave to Jesus: “God’s Messiah.”

When you answer Jesus’ question correctly—assuming the answer flows from a heart that believes, a mouth that confesses, a life matched by belief as well as confession, and a faith that ruthlessly entrusts every breath to the messianic claims of Christ—there you gain access to the abundance of God now and entrance to eternal life forever.

Offer any of the many other palatable and politically correct alternate answers and you miss out on the greatest offer you’ll ever get but never deserve: The free gift of peace with God through the forgiveness of sins by Jesus’ death and resurrection and the added bonus of heaven after this life ends.

Jesus asks you, “who do you say that I am?” I like how C.S. Lewis forces the issue:

You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.

So what is your answer?

If you call Jesus “God’s Messiah”, that is, Lord and Savior of your life, then is your confession flowing from a heart that believes? Is it matched by a God-honoring lifestyle? Do you exhibit a faith that ruthlessly entrusts your every breath to Christ’s messianic claims? If not, spend some time talking to Jesus until you and he can get things straightened out.

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, I believe that Jesus is your Christ. And I accept him as my Christ – my Lord and my Savior.
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Entertainment Christianity or Radical Discipleship?

C.S. Lewis said of Jesus, “He was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him. He produced mainly three results—Hatred—Terror—Adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild admiration.” Let’s not be afraid to proclaim that Jesus. He is the only one who can truly save the lost for all eternity!

The Journey: Luke 9:4-5

Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town. And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.

I’m really concerned! I have a nagging worry that the way we are doing Christianity these days is a far cry from what Jesus had in mind. I think we are far more concerned with doing whatever it takes to attract people into our churches than in calling for the radical transformation of their lives through total surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Just think of how the typical church in America today makes its appeal to the community: You’ll love our music—the band sounds just like [insert name of favorite pop artist]. Our pastor is great—he’ll remind you of [insert name of favorite late night talk show host], only funnier. We got some great programs, too—your kids will think they’ve died and gone to [insert name of favorite way too expensive destination resort]. Bring your teenager, they may win an [insert name of way too expensive tech gadget]—we have a drawing for one every week. And have we got a deal for you—we’ll help you improve you marriage, make you more successful in business, show you how to make money, and help you to feel really good about yourself. Oh, by the way, we’ll treat you to a [insert name of favorite coffee roaster] latte from our cafe in the lobby.

No kidding, I was sent an advertisement not too long ago for a start-up church back east that promoted itself as a church for the really busy. The outstanding feature of their advertisement was the half-hour service—10 minutes of worship, 12 minutes of the word, 3 minutes of application, and 5 minutes of fellowship—flim, flam, thank you ma’am.

Nothing like rearranging your life around the priorities of the kingdom, wouldn’t you say? Maybe their mission statement could be, “If you’re too busy for Jesus, just come to us—we’ll fix that!”

That is a far cry from the plan Jesus gave the disciples for building his kingdom in Luke 9:1-6:

Then One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases. Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. “Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes. Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town. And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.” So they began their circuit of the villages, preaching the Good News and healing the sick.

Building the kingdom is not a matter of entertaining people into our churches. The more we do that, the more the world finds the church irrelevant. We can’t compete with them in that realm anyway, they do a far better job at entertainment than we do. Rather, building God’s kingdom is about invading your neighborhood, workplace, school or social circle—“whatever house you enter”—in the power and authority of Jesus Christ, casting out demons, healing diseases, and declaring to those who have been under Satan’s dominion that there is a new Sheriff in town.

That probably sounds a bit radical, doesn’t it? And that very fact shows you how far we’ve drifted from New Testament Christianity. But really, don’t you think it’s time we start depending on the power and authority of Jesus again to build the kingdom of God rather than trying to be hip?

C.S. Lewis said of Jesus, “He was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. He did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met Him. He produced mainly three results—Hatred—Terror—Adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild admiration.”

Let’s not be afraid to proclaim that Jesus. He is the only one who can truly save the lost for all eternity!

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, empower and embolden me to be more radical as a witness for Jesus Christ than I have ever been.
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How Spiritual Growth Happens—Or Doesn’t

Whoever Has Ears To Hear, Let Them Hear

Why doesn’t spiritual growth happen in your life like you want—like God wants? Jesus says it’s because the soil of your heart is preventing it. You’ve got a soil issue: hardened soil – you’ve become spiritually calloused, shallow soil – your attitude toward the things of God has become cavalier, or cluttered soil – your priorities are unguarded and are squeezing God out. If any of those describe you, allow the Holy Spirit to do some soil analysis, because once you identify and remove the growth barriers, Jesus also says unbelievable kingdom fruitfulness will happen—thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted— growth that is beyond human comprehension.

The Journey: Luke 8:4-8

Jesus told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

The Parable of the Sower is fundamentally a story about spiritual growth, which is God’s intention for you. He created you with the capacity to grow.

Think about how newborns grow. Physically, their growth-rate in the first year of life is stunning. Their eating is non-stop, so that by the end of year one, they’ve gone from six to eight pounds to around twenty. It is not uncommon for babies to triple in size. It is amazing

That kind of growth should also be true of our spiritual life. And as his child, our Father hopes and expects us to grow up to think, act and become increasingly like his firstborn. That’s called Christlikeness. But far too often, our Heavenly Father doesn’t see that in us.

Rather, he sees lives paralyzed by fear, doubt, hurt, shame, or choked by the pursuit of temporal stuff and fleshly pleasures — what we might call Christ-unlikeness. Professor Robert Mulholland said, “being conformed to the image of Christ [must begin] primarily at the point of our unlikeness to his image.”

Jesus told this story to help us identify and eliminate our growth barriers. Each barrier is tied to variable within the soil, or our spiritual receptivity. He mentions three:

The first growth barrier is hardened soil. (v.4) Some seed fell on the path where man and beast walked, leaving it hardpacked. If seed fell there, it wouldn’t have a chance. Seed needs soft soil.

Unfortunately, our hearts can become hard toward God’s Word. Why? The Bible gives several reasons: One is sin: Hebrews 3:13 says the deceit of sin hardens us. Are you entertaining sin? Two is disappointment: Hebrews 10:38 infers hardening can come from suffering and sadness. Three is bitterness: Hebrews 12:15 says a root of bitterness will harden you to God’s grace.

The growth barrier Jesus is describing here is spiritual callousness. So if you’re allowing sin, disappointment or bitterness to go unchecked, what’s God calling you to do? Repent of it and release it. The path back to soft soil always goes through repentance. Repentance opens a crack in even the hardest of hearts, where amazingly the seed of God’s Word will find a way to grow.

The second growth barrier is shallow soil. (v.5) Much of Israel was nothing more than rock covered by a couple of inches of topsoil. When a seed sprouted roots, they hit rock, and had no chance to deepen—and no chance to thrive.

The growth barrier Jesus is describing here is a casual attitude toward God. What does that mean? It’s faith that doesn’t develop a strong devotion. It’s discipleship that doesn’t exercise the disciplines of prayer, giving, study, and service. It’s spirituality that’s me-centered rather than God-directed and others-focused. It’s Christianity that’s unserious, cavalier.

If that’s you, your faith is shallow. So what action will lead to deepening your soil? Repent and return. Confess your shallowness. Then return to doing what you did when you first came to love Jesus (Rev. 2:5). You submerged yourself in prayer, serving, in sharing. You soaked in God’s Word—meditating, memorizing, intentionally applying scripture. You spent time with God’s people. That kind of heart-soil grows rooted disciples.

The third growth barrier is cluttered soil. (v.7) It’s soft and deep enough to sustain growth, but it’s wasting its nutrients on weeds. It’s choked by competition with stuff. The growth barrier here is unguarded priorities. You’re not deliberately defiant or superficial, you allow the concerns of life and the lure of wealth — worry weeds — to distract you. I think Jesus would say it’s the most dangerous soil condition of all because it’s subtle and justifiable.

So what course of action is needed here? Repent and reprioritize. (Mt. 6:33) You’ll need to do some weeding because worry weeds don’t just voluntarily go away. You do spiritual weeding by re-prioritizing your calendar to allow God to be first in your schedule. You reprioritize your financial life to defeat the deceit of wealth. If you’re going to thrive, you’ve got to reprioritize!

Now the good in this story is that Jesus says where you cultivate soil that’s soft and deep and uncluttered, unbelievable growth and fruitfulness will happen! At the end of this parable Jesus says in verse 23, “The good soil represents the hearts of those who truly accept God’s message and produce a huge harvest—thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted.” He’s saying the kingdom fruitfulness that God plans for you is beyond human comprehension. And Jesus said over in John 15:8, “It’s to my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit.”

Spiritual growth is not an event, it’s a way of life; it’s not a destination you reach, it happens on the way. That’s why we must continually offer God the kind of heart soil in which the seed of his kingdom can grow – soft, uncluttered and dedicated. As we do, we won’t need to worry about growth, for God himself guarantees that unbelievable spiritual abundance will happen in us.

Do you desire that kind of spiritual growth and kingdom fruitfulness? Offer him your soil!

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, I give you the soil of my heart. I repent of the things that have cluttered it, that have hardened it. Do what you must to make it the kind of soil in which your kingdom can lavishly grow. More than anything, I want the produce of my life to bring glory to you.
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Storm Sleepers

Settle in Advance That Jesus is at the Helm

When you know God is in control, you’ll sleep through your storms! You see, the Bible calls you to “cast all your anxieties upon him because God cares for you,” especially when your storm is raging. How is that possible? When you settle in advance that your life is in the strong hands of a competent and caring Heavenly Father, then you will also know that this world, no matter what is going on around you, is a perfectly safe place to be.

Painting by Danny Hahlbohm

The Journey: Luke 8:24

The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves. Suddenly the storm stopped and all was calm.

Jesus and his disciples were in a boat in the middle of a lake when a fierce storm hit, threatening to capsize the craft and drown them all. Understandably, the disciples were frantic, but Luke says that Jesus was sleeping—snoozing away in the midst of a raging storm!

Now that is an interesting detail the writer throws in. So just why is that bit of information so important? I believe it is because Luke wanted us to know what Jesus knew about life in the hands of his Father: That given the care and the competence of his Heavenly Father, the world was a perfectly safe place to be, including a boat in the middle of a storm.

A raging storm is about to sink their boat, and the disciples are screaming and struggling for their very lives. They think they are going to die. But Jesus is living with a full assurance that had been settled long ago in his mind that his Father was both caring and competent, so therefore he has no problem sleeping right through this storm.

In their frantic state, the disciples cried out to Jesus for help. They had faith in Jesus—and that is a very important thing. But what they didn’t have, not yet anyway, was the faith of Jesus. They did not live in the predetermined assurance, as Jesus did, that they were safe in the hands of God.

The Apostle Peter, who was in that boat, came to know what Jesus knew. He later wrote in I Peter 5:7, “cast all your anxieties upon him because he cares for you.” He too, had come to know that when your life is in the Father’s competence and care, this world, no matter what is going on around you, is a perfectly safe place to be.

Do you realize that the Father cares for you? Sure you do! So why not practice a little casting today—especially if you are in the middle of a storm. Cast your anxieties back to the One who cares for you, and don’t be surprised if you fall asleep in the middle of your storm.

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, you care for me more than I will ever realize. And you are competent to take care of all of my needs. So I cast my anxieties back to you, and in exchange, I receive your peace.
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I Once Was Lost, But Now Am Found

The Basis of Christian Gratitude

The truth is, you were once a sinner headed for an eternity without Christ. But God saved you, due to no righteousness or goodness of you own. It was his mercy and grace that lifted you out of your hopeless condition. You deserved hell, but he gave me heaven instead. Take a moment to reflect on the that, and perhaps in response, you may want to fall at your feet and in return, offer God the best gift you have—your undying gratitude.

The Journey: Luke 7:47

“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.

It was a pretty dramatic moment: A woman of questionable character interrupted the dinner party of a high-minded Pharisee named Simon. Jesus had been invited to the party as the honored guest. This “woman” fell at Jesus’ feet and began to do something that made everyone present at the party very uncomfortable: She started washing Jesus feet with her tears and wiping them with her hair, kissing the very spot that would soon be pierced and nailed to a cross for her sins. Finally, she broke an expensive jar of alabaster and anointed the beautiful feet of the One who had brought the Good News.

The people watching this “lady’s” drama were put off. How could Jesus allow this kind of woman to become so intimate with him? Why would he even give her the time of day? Didn’t he understand her background? She was a woman of loose morals—how could he…how dare she!

But as we have come to expect of Jesus, he not only knew what he was doing, he clearly knew what she had been doing. He knew there was something of God taking place in this moment that was very special, and he didn’t want those who had been dulled by their own misguided sense of holiness to miss it, so he shot a little laser-guided parable into their midst:

A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts. Who do you suppose loved him more after that? (Luke 7:41-43, NLT)

The host of the party, Simon, fell for it. He walked right into Jesus’ trap: “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” (Luke 7:43, NKJV)

It is not in the text, but I can imagine Jesus’ next words to Simon were, “Exactly! You’ve made my point, Simon. Case closed. Next!”

Have you ever wondered why people who have been so dramatically converted out of a life of sheer debauchery have such passionate testimonies—and why we are so enamored with them? This encounter between Jesus and the woman of loose moral character is precisely why.

Sometimes we who don’t have such a dramatic story of spiritual rescue often assume that we don’t have a testimony worth telling—so we don’t. We don’t seize opportunities to speak of our B.C. experience—life before Christ. We kind of feel left out in the testimony department.

If that is you, you have missed the whole point of this exchange. You see, you are that woman! Just as Nathan the prophet said to King David in a different dramatic encounter, “You are the man”, Jesus would say to you, “You are that woman.”

In fact, your sins had separated you from God. Your sins were no puny little matter—they had the power to send you to hell just like the immorality of the woman whom Jesus forgave. You, too, because of your sins, were offensive to a holy God, deserving of judgment, headed for a Christless eternity.

But God, in his mercy saved you and forgave you through the death of another, his Son, Jesus Christ. And when you stand before Jesus on that final day, you too will fall at his feet and shed tears even more rare and costlier than alabaster—tears of sheer gratitude for his grace.

You, too, like the woman, have been forgiven much. You just don’t realize it yet! Perhaps you would be wise to ask God for a fresh revelation of your true condition B.C., and the indescribable gift of amazing grace that he has freely given you.

When you come to the realization that you, too, have been forgiven much, you will love even more! So don’t be afraid to tell your story.

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch; like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

The truth is, you were once a sinner headed for an eternity without Christ. But God saved you, due to no righteousness or goodness of you own. It was His mercy and grace that lifted you out of your hopeless condition. You deserved hell, but God gave me heaven instead. Take a moment to reflect on the that verse of “Amazing Grace”, and perhaps in response, you may want to fall at your feet and in return, offer God the best gift you have—your undying gratitude.

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, thank you for saving a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I am found; I was blind but now I see.
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Doubts

The Stirrings of a Lively Faith

Having doubt visit you is not the worst thing in the world. The visitation of doubt is not sin; it becomes sin when you allow it to take up residence in your life and erode your trust in God. If the greatest believer that ever lived up to his time, John the Baptist, had doubts, you’re going to have doubts too, and you’ll be okay. Doubts in the believer ought not to be, but they are; sometimes they are the stirrings of a lively faith. As Dag Hammarskjald said, “Bless your uneasiness as a sign that there is still life in you.”

The Journey: Luke 7:18-19

John called for two of his disciples, and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?”

When the New Testament talks about doubt, it primarily focuses on believers, not unbelievers. The presupposition is, you have to believe something before you can doubt it; you have to be committed to it before you begin to question it.

John the Baptist, last of the Old Testament prophets, forerunner to the Messiah, cousin of Jesus, came to a place where he had some serious doubts about the Lord. John had done his job by boldly announcing the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah, but for all his faithfulness, he ended up in prison, condemned to death, and naturally began to wonder if he had gotten it all wrong about Jesus.

John had doubts, and in a sense, that was okay. In fact, Jesus says, “I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John.” (Luke 7:28, NLT) So how is it that John can doubt and still be a great believer, especially since Scripture tells us not to doubt? It is because John’s doubt wasn’t from unbelief; it was from belief. His question implied that he believed but his circumstances had caused some confusion. So he asked, “I believe you’re the Messiah; am I wrong to believe that?” The very fact that he asked Jesus indicates that he had not lost his faith; it was still stirring.

Having doubt visit you is not the worst thing in the world. The visitation of doubt is not sin; it becomes sin when you allow it to take up residence in your life and erode your trust in God. If the greatest believer that ever lived up to that time had doubts, you’re going to have doubts too, and you’ll be okay. Doubts in the believer ought not to be, but they are; sometimes they are the stirrings of a lively faith.

Among the many Bible references on doubt, one in Luke 12:29 is especially instructive. In the King James Version it says, “Seek not what you will eat or drink, neither be of doubtful mind.” The Greek word for doubtful is interesting; it is meteorizo. (We get our word meteor from it.) Meteorizo means, “to be suspended in midair.” Jesus was saying, “Don’t get hung up on this!” In other words, keep yourself firmly planted in what you know; keep coming back to what you believe.

Like John, your expectations of Jesus aren’t always going to be met—and doubt will pay you a visit. Like John, you are going to be surprised by difficult and unexpected circumstances—and doubt will come calling. Like John, you live with an incomplete revelation of God’s ways and God’s plan—and doubt will show up once in a while.

So what should you do when doubts comes knocking? Jesus says,

Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor. (Luke 7:22, NLT)

In other words, there are two remedies for doubt: One, you go back to what has been heard. You plant yourself firmly in the unassailable witness of the Word of God. Two, you go back to what has been seen. You plant yourself firmly in the witness of the faithful. The words and works of Jesus, recorded and verified, are the answer to your doubt.

Then Jesus added one more thing, “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.” (Luke 7:23, NKJV)

When your Messiah doesn’t meet expectations—and there will be times he won’t—don’t get offended! Even though your circumstances may seem like Jesus is not in charge, just remember: He is, and he never makes mistakes.

But neither does he always explain himself, so keep your uneasiness in check.

Are you experiencing any doubts about Jesus? Go back to what the Word of God says, lean into the witness of those did not waver in their faith throughout history, and then simply offer God the greatest gift you could ever give—your trust!

A Simple Prayer To Be More Like Jesus:

God, I believe, but sometimes I doubt. But on this day, I confess that my faith overrides my doubt. You are my God, and I will always go with trust in you.