a change of tenantship

Posted on June 9, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

devotional post # 2042

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Luke 20:9-16a JDV

Luk 20:1 Then he started telling the people this story: “A man planted a vineyard, leased it to tenant farmers, and went on a journey for a long time.

Luk 20:10 When harvest season came, he sent a slave to the tenants so that they would give him his portion of the crop. However, the tenants beat his slave and sent him away empty-handed.

Luk 20:11 So he sent another slave. They beat this one too, treated him terribly, and sent him away empty-handed.

Luk 20:12 So he even sent a third. But they wounded this one, and threw him out.

Luk 20:13 Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my one dear son; maybe they will show respect for him.’

Luk 20:14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir; We should kill him so the inheritance will be ours!’

Luk 20:15 So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?

Luk 20:16a He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”

a change of tenantship

Both John the Baptist and Jesus had predicted that God was going to judge his own people, and this story explained why. The message of the Old Testaments prophets about a coming cleansing judgment had to be fulfilled. There was going to be a change of tenantship. The owner of vineyard was dissatisfied with how the tenants had kept it.

Does this mean that God was abandoning Israel? Maybe not. Perhaps the vineyard that God was going to hand over to new tenants was Israel, and the new patriarchs the twelve apostles instead of the twelve sons of Jacob?

LORD, save your nation, and all nations for your Son.

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agnosticism exposed

Posted on June 8, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2041

Luke 20:1-8 JDV

Luk 20:1 Then one day it happened: while Jesus was teaching the people in the temple courts and explaining the gospel, the high-ranking priests and the experts in the law with the elders stood up

Luk 20:2 and this is what they said to him: “Tell us: what gives you the right to do these things? Or who is it who gave you this right?”

Luk 20:3 He replied to them, “I will also ask you a question, and you tell me:

Luk 20:4 John’s baptism — was it from the sky or from people?”

Luk 20:5 So they debated this with one another, deliberating, “If we say, ‘From the sky,’ he will say, ‘And you did not believe him?’

Luk 20:6 But if we say, ‘From people,’ the people will stone us, because they are convinced that John was a prophet.”

Luk 20:7 So they replied that they did not know where it came from.

Luk 20:8 So Jesus said to them, “I am not going to tell you who gave me the right to do these things either.”

agnosticism exposed

The religious leaders had been afraid of John the Baptist and his revival movement.  They did not want to deny the validity of the movement, because that would make them seem to oppose God. But they did not want to join the movement either. So, out of fear, they kept silent. But when their hatred of Jesus led them to stand up against him, Jesus exposed the roots of their agnosticism.

Agnosticism about Jesus and the kingdom is popular today, and much of the same fear motivates it. It seems safer to ride the fence than to come off on either side.  But it is not safe to reject the glaring truth of the lordship of Christ.

LORD, give us the courage to believe and confess allegiance to Christ.

 

 

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ministry in the line of fire

Posted on June 7, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2040

Luke 19:45=48

Luk 19:45 Then Jesus entered the temple courts and began to drive out those who were selling things there,

Luk 19:46 saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of robbers!”

Luk 19:47 He was teaching daily in the temple courts. The chief priests and the experts in the law and the prominent leaders among the people were seeking to assassinate him,

Luk 19:48 but they could not find a way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.

ministry in the line of fire

I have always admired those who serve as military chaplains. In the US military, chaplains are officers, and everybody knows that snipers aim for the officers’ insignia first. And chaplains are there without weapons, ready to offer spiritual help for the needy, doing their ministry in the line of fire.

Jesus’ final ministry in Jerusalem was like that. He was the target of all those leaders who wanted him out of the way. But he kept teaching and defending the sanctity of his Father’s house against those who took advantage of others to make money.

Spiritual leadership tends to turn you into a target. But being faithful to that ministry despite this is following Christ’s example.

LORD, give us the courage to follow your example and minister even when we become targets.

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peace knowledge

Posted on June 6, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2039

Luke 19:41-44

Luk 19:41 Now when Jesus came near and saw the city, he wept over it,

Luk 19:42 saying, “If you had only known on this day, even you, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

Luk 19:43 Because the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and surround you and close in on you from every side.

Luk 19:44 They will demolish you — you and your children within your walls — and they will not leave within you one stone on top of another, because you did not recognize the time when God visited you.”

peace knowledge

For many years now, I have been fascinated by the concept of time travel, as depicted in several popular books, films, and television series. The plot of these stories usually involves a character knowing something terrible that has happened, or is going to happen, and having the means to go back in time to correct the cause of the event.

Jesus had that kind of knowledge here. He knew what Jerusalem could do that would correct its inevitable march toward war, destruction and devastation. But the inhabitants of Jerusalem did not have that peace knowledge. By their failure to recognize the presence of their God in the person of Christ, they were dooming themselves to a violent end.

We do not need a time machine to insure a peaceful and glorious future for ourselves and our children. We only need Jesus. He is the Saviour God has provided.

LORD, thank you for the gift of your Son. Because of him we can know peace today, and avoid destruction tomorrow.

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appreciation level

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky-devotions-pics-june-2017-5

devotional post # 2038

Luke 19:36-40

Luk 19:36 As he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.

Luk 19:37 As he came near the road leading down from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen:

Luk 19:38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Luk 19:39 But some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”

Luk 19:40 He answered, “I tell you, if they keep silent, the very stones will cry out!”

appreciation level

The difference between the true believers in the crowd at Jerusalem that day and the critical Pharisees was the level of appreciation for who Jesus is. The Pharisees were content to have Jesus as a religious teacher, within the limits established by the Roman society. But once the excited crowds started thanking God for the king he sent, the Pharisees stopped approving of the worship.

So, today, there are many who are ok with Jesus as a teacher, and praise his principles of reciprocal love and peace. But their appreciation stops before it gets to the level of worship.

Worship is essential. If it does not happen, the stones will cry out. Jesus is more than what our polite society wants him to be. He is our king.

LORD, “Blessed is the king who comes in your name! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

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his choice of ride

Posted on June 4, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2037

Luke 19:28=35

Luk 19:28 And after he had told these stories, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

Luk 19:29 Now when he came near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples,

Luk 19:30 telling them, “Go to the next village ahead of you. When you enter it, you will find a colt tied there on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.

Luk 19:31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.'”

Luk 19:32 So those who were sent ahead found it exactly as he had told them.

Luk 19:33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”

Luk 19:34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

Luk 19:35 Then they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt, and had Jesus get on it.

his choice of ride

Barclay comments on this event as a demonstration of Jesus’ courage, because by this time he was “a man with a price on his head,” yet he deliberately draws attention to himself by arranging this very public entry into Jerusalem. Yet, he also points out that Jesus’ choice of ride shows that he does not want to take Jerusalem by force. He is offering himself as legitimate king in peace.

There will be a day when Christ comes back riding on a white war horse. But today he comes in the gentleness of an offer.

LORD, we accept your offer of peace. Lead us.

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the wrong option

Posted on June 3, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky-devotions-pics-june-2017-3

devotional post # 2036

Luke 19:20-27

Luk 19:20 Then another slave came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina that I put away for safekeeping in a piece of cloth.

Luk 19:21 Because I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’

Luk 19:22 The king replied to him, ‘OK, I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! So you knew, did you, that I was a severe man, withdrawing what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow?

Luk 19:23 Because of this, why didn’t you put my money in the bank, so that when I came back I could have collected it with interest?’

Luk 19:24 And he said to his attendants, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has ten.’

Luk 19:25 But they said to him, ‘Sir, he has ten minas!’

Luk 19:26 ‘I am telling you that everyone who has will be given more, but from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

Luk 19:27 But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and slaughter them in front of me!'”

the wrong option

The stories and principles delineated in this chapter seem to be focused on reaching the wealthy with the gospel. Here, the task of kingdom living is described using the analogy of monetary investment. Ten slaves were each given a mina to invest, but one of them decided not to. He let his fear drive him to do nothing, and lost what he had been given. The master took it away and gave it to one of the other slaves, who had invested his money and had gained ten minas.

Even in the story, there is indication that this was somehow unfair. We are often quick to blame society as a whole, or the government, or someone else instead of blaming the poor for their lack of progress. So, what is this story all about?

The slave chose the wrong option. He had been given a great gift, but chose to do nothing with it.

LORD, inspire us today to take inventory of all that we have been given, and invest it in your kingdom.

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fair grace

Posted on June 2, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2035

Luke 19:15-19

Luk 19:15 And when he returned after receiving the kingdom, he summoned these slaves to whom he had given the money. He wanted to know how much they had earned by trading.

Luk 19:16 So the first one came before him and said, ‘Sir, your mina has made ten minas more.’

Luk 19:17 And the king said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.’

Luk 19:18 Then the second one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has made five minas.’

Luk 19:19 So the king said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’

fair grace

One of the principles highlighted by this story is the fact that Christ’s grace to his disciples is fair. The king in his story distributes his ten minas to ten slaves – one mina each. I did not catch that on the first reading because – frankly, I have problems believing it. Some servants in Christ’s kingdom seem to me to catch all the breaks. But, if we look more closely, we would probably see some glaring liabilities in those who seem to have inordinate blessings.

Christ has given us all we need for life and godliness and ministry. Our task is to accept his grace and invest it in the lives of others. It is only fair.

 

LORD, thank you for your grace.

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investing grace

Posted on June 1, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2034

Luke 19:11-14

Luk 19:11 While they were overhearing to these things, Jesus went on to give an illustration, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.

Luk 19:12 For this reason, he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.

Luk 19:13 So he summoned ten of his slaves, gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business transactions with these until I come back.’

Luk 19:14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign as king over us!’

investing grace

The ecclesiastical movement I came from puts a lot of emphasis on the soon coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught that he is going to return, and we should all live our lives ready for that return. But, like all movements and doctrines, it is possible to get carried away. If we think that Jesus is coming so soon, we might be tempted to focus on the wrong objectives in life.

Jesus taught his disciples that there would be a long time when he would be physically absent. During that time, his followers would be responsible to preach his kingdom, but most importantly they were to be living by its principles, investing the grace that they had received into the lives of others.

 

LORD, show us how to invest your grace into the lives of those you send our way.

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reaching those up a tree

Posted on May 31, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

marmsky-devotions-pics-may-2017-31

devotional post # 2033

Luke 19:7-10

Luk 19:7 But when the people saw it, they all complained, “He has gone in to stay with a man who is a sinner.”

Luk 19:8 So Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, “Notice, Lord, half of my possessions I am now giving to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone of anything, I am going to be paying them back four times as much!”

Luk 19:9 Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this household, because he too is a son of Abraham!

Luk 19:10       Because the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost household.”

reaching those up a tree

Jesus had already told the Pharisees and experts in the law that his purpose was to call sinners to repentance, and to do that he would eat and drink with them (Luke 5:30-32). Now, the visual demonstration. Zacchaeus stood out as a prominent example of the kind of person not-to-be. When Jesus decided to associate with him, he made a strategic choice that the religious elite could not accept.

We are not always called on to make that kind of choice, but when we are, we must be willing to suffer the ridicule of the ignorant to reach those who are up a tree, ready to repent.

 

LORD, send us to those who are ready to turn to you.

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