persistence in asking

Posted on March 18, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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HOW REGULAR ARE YOU?

Luke 11:5-8

Luke 11:5 Then he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, could you lend me three loaves of bread,
Luke 11:6 because a friend of mine has stopped here while on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’
Luke 11:7 Then he will reply from inside, ‘Do not bother me. The door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything.’
Luke 11:8 I tell you, even though the man inside will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, but because of the first man’s persistence in asking he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

persistence in asking

The followers of Jesus had noticed that he regularly prayed to his Father ijn the sky. They asked him to teach them to pray. He responded with a very short list of things to pray for. He was apparently teaching them that it will not be the volume or comprehensiveness of their prayers that will matter to the Father. Instead, he uses this parable to indicate that the Father is more likely to respond to the persistent pray-er.

LORD, make us loyal leaners and persistent seekers of your face, and your provision.

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a prayer list

Posted on March 17, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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BEGINNING YOUR DAILY JOURNEY WITH GOD

Luke 11:1-4

Luke 11:1 Once Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he stopped, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, please teach us to pray, like John taught his disciples.”
Luke 11:2 So he told them, “When you pray, say: Father, may your name be honoured; may your kingdom arrive.
Luke 11:3 Give us each day our daily bread,
Luke 11:4 and forgive us our mistakes, because we also forgive everyone who makes a mistake against us. And do not lead us into temptation.”

a prayer list

The disciples had seen and heard Jesus praying, and they wanted to pray like him. Jesus gave them a short list.

God’s name — that it be honoured
God’s plan — that his kingdom arrives
Our physical needs — daily bread
Our spiritual needs — forgiveness and purity

If you are looking for a prayer list to begin your daily journey with God, that is a good place to start.

LORD, teach us to pray.

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the distraction of ministry

Posted on March 16, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

 

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IS IT LAZINESS, OR MATURITY?

Luke 10:38-42

Luk 10:38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest.
Luk 10:39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he said.
Luk 10:40 But Martha was distracted with all the preparations she had to make, so she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work alone? Tell her to help me.”
Luk 10:41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and stressed over many things,
Luk 10:42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her.”

the distraction of ministry

Martha thought Mary was just being selfish, hogging time with Jesus while her sister did all the preparation work. But Mary’s decision was actually a mature one. She had the Lord of life at her home. She was not going to waste time on mundane matters.

Each of us has the same choice. It is not a matter of commitment. What you are committed to is what matters, and that will be evidenced by the amount of time you set apart in you life. Even ministry can be a distraction if it keeps us from enjoying Christ’s presence.

LORD, keep us from working so hard for you that we have no time to get to know you.

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just being a neighbour

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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WAS THE SAMARITAN “GOOD?”

Luke 10:33-37

Luk 10:33 But a Samaritan who was travelling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him.
Luk 10:34 He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to a guesthouse, and took care of him.
Luk 10:35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the keeper of the guesthouse, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.’
Luk 10:36 Which of these three do you think became a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?”
Luk 10:37 The expert in religious law said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” So Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

just being a neighbour

I want to become a neighbour to my neighbours. I want to see where they are hurting, and have compassion for them. I want to invest some of the little time and resources that I have in them, so that they are not as needy as they would be if I avoided their needs. I want to set up systems that take care of them when I cannot be there. I want to do this not because I am good, but because I just want to be a neighbour.

LORD, help us to just be neighbours to the needy all around us.

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avoiding love

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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ARE YOU WHO YOU KNOW YOU SHOULD BE?

Luke 10:29-32

Luk 10:29 But the expert, wanting to vindicate himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”
Luk 10:30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead.
Luk 10:31 Now it happened that a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the injured man he passed by on the other side.
Luk 10:32 So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.

avoiding love

The priest and Levite would have been quick to agree with this expert in religious law. They each would have said that Loving God was the most important thing, and loving our neighbours as ourselves is a close second. But each of them sought ways to avoid the actual practice of loving a neighbour in need. Their theology was not at fault. Their selective application of it was.

LORD, make us into the people we know we should be.

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loving without limits

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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DO YOU LOVE LIKE HIM?

Luke 10:25-28

Luk 10:25 Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Luk 10:26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”
Luk 10:27 The expert answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbour as yourself.”
Luk 10:28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

loving without limits

This passage is the set-up for the all too familiar parable of the Good Samaritan. An expert in religious law asks Jesus for the key to his system (which he had heard is supposed to guarantee a resurrection unto eternal life). Jesus responds to the question by pointing this expert back to the scriptures that he is all too familiar with. He tells him that the key he looks for is there. If you insist on defining your faith by something you “do” then there is no better answer than that which the expert gave in verse 27. I think Jesus hints to the man that his question was not altogether adequate, because grace first produces faith, then works.

But Jesus also uses the question to launch a story about the kind of love which is love enough. It is love without the usual limits. It is loving God with everything you have, and loving someone else without the retraints of self-preservation or predjudice. If love is to be enough, it must be love without limits. It must be love like his.

LORD, may our faith in you lead us to love like you.

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revelation and relationship

Posted on March 12, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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HE HAS REVEALED HIS PLAN!

Luke 10:21-24

Luk 10:21 On that same occasion Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of the sky and the land, because you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, because this was your gracious will.
Luk 10:22 All things have been given to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides to reveal him.”
Luk 10:23 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
Luk 10:24 Because I am telling you that many prophets and kings longed to see what you see but have not seen it, and to hear what you hear but have not heard it.”

revelation and relationship

Jesus advised his evangelistic workers not to focus on the power he granted them, but to rejoice instead that their names were recorded. In other words, it was their standing, their relationship with God which is the lasting miracle. Now, Jesus elaborates on how that relationship came about. Those evangelists saw and heard what God revealed through Christ, believed it, and the relationship was born. Many prophets and kings sought God through wisdom, but he did not reveal the gospel to them. Christ appeared, and changed that forever.

LORD thank you for the relationship we can now have with you, now that you have revealed yourself in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Posted in gospel, relationship with God, revelation | Tagged | 2 Comments

reason to rejoice

Posted on March 11, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE DEMONS DO NOT SUBMIT?

Luke 10:17-20

Luk 10:17 Then the seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name!”
Luk 10:18 That was when he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Luk 10:19 Notice, I have given you the right to tread on snakes and scorpions and on the full force of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you.
Luk 10:20 Yet, do not keep rejoicing that the spirits submit to you, but keep rejoicing that your names stand written in heaven.”

reason to rejoice

The seventy-two evangelists found that they had power over the enemy, and the demons themselves submitted to their commands in the name of Jesus. When they pointed this out, rejoicing, to Jesus, he responded cryptically by saying that he “saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” Was he referring to his actually witnessing Satan’s fall (Isaiah 14:12)? Possibly. Or, he might be saying that each time one of these evangelists came with the gospel, Satan’s fall was happening all over again.

But Jesus warned them not to stake their joy on their sucess in their ministry. What really matters is their eternal standing in God’s grace. Their names stand written in heaven, so whether they succeed in their ministry or not, they can continue to rejoice. These are healing words to a church which will see thousands of failures and just a few successes.

LORD, we stand with you, regardless of our success or failure at defeating Satan. Our confidence is in our eternal destiny, not our present ability.

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condemned cities

Posted on March 10, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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ARE YOU LISTENING TODAY?

Luke 10:13-16

Luk 10:13 “Tragedy has come to you, Chorazin! Tragedy has come to you, Bethsaida! Because if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago; They would have sat in sackcloth and ashes.
Luk 10:14 But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon in the judgement than for you!
Luk 10:15 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to the sky? No, you will be thrown down to Hades!
Luk 10:16 “The one who listens to you listens to me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

condemned cities

Jesus condemned these ancient cities because they were proud of their heritage, but they treated the representatives of his kingdom with indifference. The real measure of the greatness of a city or nation or family, or person is willingness to listen to the word of God coming from his messengers.

Lord, may we never be so blinded by our past that we refuse to listen to your word in the present.

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when the kingdom comes

Posted on March 9, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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WHAT DO YOU BRING WITH YOU?

Luke 10:8-12

Luk 10:8 Whenever you enter a town and the people welcome you, eat what is presented to you.
Luk 10:9 Heal the sick in that town and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come upon you!’
Luk 10:10 But whenever you enter a town and the people do not welcome you, go into its streets and say,
Luk 10:11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we shake off against you. Nevertheless know this: The kingdom of God did come.’
Luk 10:12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town!

when the kingdom comes

When we talk about the coming of the kingdom of God, in the ultimate sense we are talking about Christ’s physical return to the planet. But there is a sense in which the kingdom comes every time one of its citizens enters a new territory proclaiming the gospel. Jesus speaks about both meanings of the term here. The kingdom comes to each town when its citizen representatives come proclaiming the gospel and bringing healing. But when the kingdom ultimately comes — in the person of Christ himself) those towns (and people and nations) who rejected the gospel will be judged. Their fate will be destruction, like that of Sodom. But it will be so much worse for them because they rejected the good news of the Son of God himself.

LORD, use us to bring the kingdom to our towns, families and nations.

Posted in evangelism, gospel, kingdom of God, second coming | Tagged | Leave a comment