thinking about later

Posted on May 7, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post #2009

Luke 16:1-9

Luk 16:1 He also said to the disciples, “There was some rich man who had a household manager, and was informed of accusations that his manager was squandering his assets.
Luk 16:2 So he called the manager in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Turn in the ledger of your management, because you can no longer be my manager.’
Luk 16:3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my employer is taking my position away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m too ashamed to beg.
Luk 16:4 I know what to do so that when I am put out of management, other people will welcome me into their homes.’
Luk 16:5 So he contacted his employer’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my employer?’
Luk 16:6 The man replied, ‘A hundred measures of olive oil.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.’
Luk 16:7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The second man replied, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ The manager said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
Luk 16:8 The employer commended the dishonest manager because he acted shrewdly. Because the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries than the people of light.
Luk 16:9 And I am telling you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth, so that when it runs out you will be welcomed into the permanent households.

thinking about later

This parable is one of a number that use money management as a metaphor for spiritual vitality. The important thing to keep in mind for the dishonest manager is that he thought about his current assets (his management of the rich man’s household account) and he applied those assets to his future situation as being soon unemployed. The rich man in the later parable did the opposite. He never thought about his future state. In fact, he thought it would remain the same after his death. If the rich man of Luke 16:19-31 had taken the dishonest manager’s wisdom to account, he would have taken care of Lazarus, and thus gained a friend in “Hades.” Neither of these are true stories, but as parables both remind us of the wisdom of thinking about later instead of always focusing on today. Today can be deceiving.

LORD, give us the wisdom to invest our todays in what we will need for tomorrow.

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where the line is drawn

Posted on May 6, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2008

Luke 15:25-32

Luk 15:25 “Now his older son was in the field. As he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing.
Luk 15:26 So he called one of the slaves and asked what was happening.
Luk 15:27 The slave replied, ‘Your brother has returned, and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he got his son back safe and sound.’
Luk 15:28 But the older son became angry and refused to go in. His father came out and appealed to him,
Luk 15:29 but he answered his father, ‘Look! All these many years I have worked like a slave for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet you never gave me even a goat so that I could party with my friends!
Luk 15:30 But when this son of yours came back, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him!’
Luk 15:31 Then the father said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and everything that belongs to me is yours.
Luk 15:32 It was necessary to have a party and be glad, because your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost and is found.'”

where the line is drawn

The older son could only see his brother’s mistakes. He failed to appreciate the miracle of restoration that was taking place, and he even blamed the father for lavishly showing love and grace. He considered himself entitled but his brother reprobate.

This world is made up of the haves and the have-nots. But the line is drawn at the border of the father’s house.

LORD, thank you for loving the lost back to yourself.

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inadequate repentance

Posted on May 5, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post #2007

Luke 15:17=24

Luk 15:17 But when he came to his senses he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have food enough to spare, but here I am dying from hunger!
Luk 15:18 I will get up and go to my father and say to him, “Father, I have sinned against the sky and against you.
Luk 15:19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me like one of your hired workers.”‘
Luk 15:20 So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and kissed him.
Luk 15:21 Then his son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against the sky and against you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
Luk 15:22 But the father said to his slaves, ‘Hurry! Bring the best robe, and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet!
Luk 15:23 Bring the fattened calf and slaughter it! Let us eat and celebrate,
Luk 15:24 because this son of mine was dead, and is alive again — he was lost and is found!’ So they began to party.

inadequate repentance

The prodigal’s plans to earn back the money he squandered were hopelessly inadequate. Some people can only see the repentance of the prodigal as the moral of the story. But if you look carefully, you will see that the prodigal does not even have a chance to recount his plans of restoration. Instead, the father showers him with grace and love immediately.

So it is with us. If you think you have to get yourself right with God before you can return to him, you never will. Turn back to your heavenly Father today. Your plans for repentance are inadequate, but his love is not.

LORD, we cannot undo our sin, but we trust your grace, Restore us to you.

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wasted wealth

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post #2006

Luke 15:11-16

Luk 15:11 Then Jesus said, “A man had two sons.
Luk 15:12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that will belong to me.’ So he divided his assets between them.
Luk 15:13 After a few days, the younger son collected all he had and left on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his wealth with a wild lifestyle.
Luk 15:14 Then after he had spent everything, a severe famine took place in that country, and he began to be in need.
Luk 15:15 So he went and worked for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
Luk 15:16 He was yearning to eat the carob pods the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

wasted wealth

Comparing the parables of the lost sheep and coin with this parable, one can see a number of similarities. The one that sticks out the most to me is that all three lost things were of great value to the one who lost them. But the point is not that the prodigal lost all his wealth by wild living. The point is that the father lost his son, and wanted him back. The valuable treasure that the father wanted back was not the property that the son squandered. It was the son himself. We waste our intrinsic wealth when we spend life on ourselves, rather than investing life in the father’s service.

LORD, thank you for loving us no matter how lost we are, how distant from you. Draw us back.

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lost beauty

Posted on May 3, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post #2006

Luke 15:8-10

Luk 15:8 “Or which woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one of them, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search thoroughly until she finds it?
Luk 15:9 Then when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbours, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the coin that I had lost.’
Luk 15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

lost beauty

The parables of the lost sheep and lost coin say the same thing, but there is a slightly different emphasis. While the shepherd and the woman both rejoiced because they had found their lost property, the woman also rejoiced because her jewelry could be repaired. Peasant villagers wore necklaces made from coins, and if a coin were to be lost, it would mar the beauty of the necklace. Because of this, “the loss is more than the value of the single coin” (Kenneth E. Bailey, Poet and Peasant; And, through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1983), 157).

God, our creator, has made a world in which each one of us contributes to its splendour and beauty. He wants to save us all, because to lose a single soul would be to lose one of his valuable and wonderful works of art.

LORD, help us to restore the beauty to your fallen creation by seeking to save those around us who are lost.

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the shepherd’s priority

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2005

Luke 15:1-7

Luk 15:1 But all the tax collectors and sinners were coming close to listen to him.
Luk 15:2 And the Pharisees and the experts in the law were whining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Luk 15:3 That was when Jesus told them this parable:
Luk 15:4 “Which man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go look for the one that is lost until he finds it?
Luk 15:5 Then when he has found it, he places it on his shoulders, jubilant.
Luk 15:6 Returning home, he calls together his friends and neighbours, telling them, ‘Party with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost.’
Luk 15:7 I tell you, in the same way there will be more joy in the sky over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need to repent.

the shepherd’s priority

The religious elite could not understand Jesus insisting on spending his quality time with the marginal crowd. Jesus explained that he was approaching ministry like a shepherd. A shepherd feels most responsible for the sheep with the most needs. The shepherd feels the most joy when he has restored the lost sheep.

The CEO spends the most time with his strong team members. The shepherd spends the most time with the needy sheep.

LORD, forgive us for approaching ministry like CEOs and not like shepherds.

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handling life

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2004

Luke 14:31-35

Luk 14:31 Or what king, going out to face off with another king in battle, will not sit down first and determine whether he is able with ten thousand to contend with the one coming against him with twenty thousand?
Luk 14:32 If not, he will send an ambassador while the other is still a long way off and request terms of peace.
Luk 14:33 In the same way therefore not one of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his own things.
Luk 14:34 “Salt, then, is good, but if the salt becomes tasteless, how can it be salted?
Luk 14:35 It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile; it is to be thrown away. The one who has ears to listen should listen!”

handling life

Jesus is trying to reach those in the crowd with the “I can handle this” mentality when it comes to eternal destiny. He is telling them, “No, as a matter of fact you do not have enough troops, and your salt is tasteless.” Those who are content to ride through life on their own merits and then be accepted into the kingdom at his return are seriously mistaken.

Renouncing all our things and relying on Jesus alone is not just something “saints” and martyrs do. It is what we all have to do. The gospel is clear. There is only one way to deliverance and that is faith in Jesus. He went to the cross and paid the whole price. Anyone still hoping to handle their life situation without him is still outside the camp.

LORD, forgive us for trying to handle life. Teach us to trust in you alone.

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finishing costs

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post #2003

Luke 14:25-30

Luk 14:25 Large crowds were going along with Jesus, and once — turning to them he said,
Luk 14:2 “If anyone comes to me and does not detest his own father and mother, and wife and children, and brothers and sisters, and even his own soul, he cannot be my disciple.
Luk 14:27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come behind me is unable to be my disciple.
Luk 14:28 Because which of you, if you desire to build a tower, doesn’t sit down first and calculate the cost to see if he has enough money for its completion?
Luk 14:29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish the tower, all who see it will begin to show disrespect of him.
Luk 14:30 This is what they will say, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish!’

finishing costs

The gospel accounts tell us that Jesus had a tremendous crowd following him, but nobody finished with him. What he did on the cross, he did alone. As today’s text shows, Jesus stopped along the road and challenged his followers to make sure they would be finishers. How do we become finishers? What are the finishing costs?

We have to value our relationship with Christ above all other relationships, even above our family and our own selves.
We have to be willing to sacrifice even our own lives if that is what it takes to finish the course he calls us to.
We have to take inventory of our lives and come to the conclusion that finishing the course will take everything we have, but still be determined to pay those costs.

LORD, we have determined to follow you. Give us the courage to finish the course.

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the necessity of now

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post #2002

Luke 14:15-24

Luk 14:15 When one of Jesus’ fellow banqueters heard this, he said to him, “Everyone who will feast in the kingdom of God will enjoy this special advantage!”
Luk 14:16 But Jesus responded to him, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many guests.
Luk 14:17 At the time for the banquet he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’
Luk 14:18 But from the first they all began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I have to go out and see it. Please excuse me.’
Luk 14:19 Another said, ‘I have bought a team of five oxen, and I am going out to examine them. Please excuse me.’
Luk 14:20 Another said, ‘I just got married, and I cannot come.’
Luk 14:21 So the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the master of the household was enraged and said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor ones, the crippled ones, the blind ones, and the lame ones.’
Luk 14:22 Then the slave said, ‘Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.’
Luk 14:23 So the master said to his slave, ‘Go out to the highways and back roads and urge people to come in, so that my house will be filled.
Luk 14:24 Because I tell you, not one of those individuals who were invited will taste my banquet!'”

the necessity of now

A group was eating with Jesus, and an unnamed someone spouted off about the great feast in the future. This soul was stuck in the future, and if not careful, he might miss the necessity of now. So, Jesus told his parable about the excuses. If you had asked any of those who refused the master’s invitation, they would have said their relationship with the master of the banquet mattered to them. They would have insisted that they really intended to spend time with him and and feast at his table in the future. Just not right now. Jesus’ point is that if there is no “now” there will be no future.

LORD, we long for your eternal “then,” but give us an ever growing vibrant enjoyment of your kingdom right now.

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because they cannot repay

Posted on April 28, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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devotional post # 2001

Luke 14:12-14

Luk 14:12 He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you host a luncheon or a dinner, don’t invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbours so you can be invited by them in return and get compensated.
Luk 14:13 But when you host a banquet, invite the poor ones, the crippled ones, the lame ones, and the blind ones.
Luk 14:14 Then you will enjoy a special advantage, because they cannot repay you, because you will be repaid when the righteous ones will be raised.”

because they cannot repay

Jesus encourages the privileged to stop using their fortunes to gain more fortunes. Instead, he advises investing in those who are less fortunate, and that investment will pay off at the resurrection.

In a sense, this bit of moral instruction is window dressing for what Jesus would go on to teach, about responding to God’s invitation now instead of putting it off. What he says first is that some of his listeners are so busy making a future that they do not take time to love the needy today. The needy are actually a blessing for us, because helping them is an investment that will pay off when it really matters.

LORD, give us the wisdom to be generous toward those who need it, as an act of love reflecting our relationship with you.

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