gathering with him

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?

Luke 11:19-23

Luke 11:19 Now if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.
Luke 11:20 But if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you.
Luke 11:21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his possessions are safe.
Luke 11:22 But when a stronger man attacks and defeats him, he takes away the first man’s armour on which the man relied and divides up his plunder.
Luke 11:23 Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.

gathering with him

Jesus often described His ministry in vivid, muscular images, and one of the clearest was His picture of a stronger man breaking into the house of a strong man, overpowering him, and carrying off everything he once guarded. That was not poetry. That was Jesus’ own interpretation of what was happening every time He confronted a demon, every time He set a tormented person free, every time He walked into a village and darkness began to tremble. He was not dabbling in spiritual care; He was invading enemy‑occupied territory. He was overthrowing Satan’s kingdom one rescued life at a time.

This is why He moved from town to town with such urgency. He was not waiting for the demonised to find Him; He went looking for them. He sought out the places where people were bound, deceived, or crushed under spiritual oppression, and He liberated them with authority. Each deliverance was a declaration: the stronger One has arrived. Each healed mind, each restored soul, each freed captive was evidence that Satan’s grip was weakening and God’s reign was advancing.

But not everyone rejoiced. Some watched Jesus’ liberating work and chose to criticize, resist, or reinterpret it in the worst possible light. By doing so, they aligned themselves—knowingly or not—with the wrong kingdom. Jesus made the dividing line painfully clear: there is no neutral ground. To oppose His work is to assist the enemy. To refuse to gather with Him is, in effect, to scatter against Him. The issue was not merely theological disagreement; it was allegiance.

For those who believe in Jesus, the implication is unmistakable. We are not spectators of His victory; we are participants in His campaign. The same Spirit who empowered Him now empowers His people. The same kingdom He announced is the kingdom we represent. The same enemy He confronted is the enemy we resist. Our calling is not to admire His mission from a distance but to continue it—gathering with Him, rescuing the oppressed, pushing back darkness through prayer, truth, compassion, and courageous obedience.

We overcome not by our strength but by His. We stand in the victory He has already secured. And as we join His work, we taste the joy of seeing His kingdom advance in real lives, real places, real battles.

LORD, show us how to overcome Satan’s kingdom.

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kingdoms in conflict

Posted on March 20, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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HIS KINGDOM WILL LAST FOREVER

Luke 11:14-18

Luke 11:14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. When the demon had gone out, the man who had been mute began speaking, and the crowds were amazed.
Luke 11:15 But some of them said, “He casts out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the ruler of demons,.”
Luke 11:16 Others, to test him, began asking for a sign from heaven.
Luke 11:17 But Jesus, realizing what they were thinking, said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and a divided household falls.
Luke 11:18 So if Satan too is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? I ask you this because you claim that I cast out demons by Beelzebul.

kingdoms in conflict

Jesus understood from the beginning that His mission could never be reduced to isolated acts of compassion, as beautiful as those acts were. Every healing, every deliverance, every restored life was a signpost pointing to something far larger. He was not simply helping individuals one by one; He was announcing and embodying the arrival of God’s reign. His works were not random displays of kindness but demonstrations of a kingdom breaking into a world long held in bondage. Each miracle was a visible reminder that God’s rule was reclaiming territory, pushing back the darkness, and revealing what life under His authority looks like.

That is why Jesus refused to let His opponents define His ministry as some kind of demonic collaboration. When the religious leaders accused Him of casting out demons by Satan’s power, Jesus exposed the absurdity of their claim. A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand, and Satan would never willingly undermine his own dominion. More importantly, Jesus insisted that His works were the exact opposite of Satan’s agenda. Where Satan enslaves, Jesus liberates. Where Satan destroys, Jesus restores. Where Satan blinds, Jesus opens eyes. The two kingdoms are not merely different; they are fundamentally opposed, moving toward completely different ends.

Jesus’ response also reveals His deep awareness of the future. He knew that the kingdom He represented was not temporary or fragile. It was not a movement that would flare up for a moment and then fade into history. It was the eternal kingdom promised by the prophets—the kingdom that would outlast every empire, every ruler, every spiritual power. His miracles were not only acts of mercy; they were previews of the final overthrow of Satan’s rule. Every demon cast out was a down payment on the day when evil will be expelled entirely. Every healing was a whisper of the coming restoration of all creation. Jesus’ ministry was the opening chapter of a story that ends with God’s reign filling the earth.

So when Jesus defended His works, He was not merely protecting His reputation. He was declaring the unstoppable advance of God’s kingdom and the inevitable collapse of Satan’s. His ministry was the beginning of the end for the powers of darkness.

LORD, may Your kingdom come in its fullness, soon.

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individual service

Posted on March 19, 2017 by Jefferson Vann

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SPECIAL TREAT

Luke 11:9-13

Luke 11:9 “So I tell you: Keep asking, and it will be given to you; keep seeking, and you will find; keep knocking, and the door will be opened for you.
Luke 11:10 Because everyone who keeps asking receives, and the one who keeps seeking finds, and to the one who keeps knocking, the door will be opened.
Luke 11:11 What father among you, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead?
Luke 11:12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
Luke 11:13 If you then, although you are all wrong, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who keep asking him!”

individual service

God delights in treating his children personally. He is generous in the broad, universal ways—sunlight that warms everyone, rain that nourishes every field, breath that fills every set of lungs. These gifts are constant, impartial, and shared by all. But Scripture also reveals that God is not content to relate to us only in generalities. He knows us individually, and he invites us to come to him individually.

Jesus makes this clear when he teaches about prayer. He does not describe a Father who dispenses blessings from a distance, indifferent to the details of our lives. Instead, he speaks of a Father who listens, who notices, who responds. A Father who wants us to ask. A Father who finds joy in giving good gifts to his children. Jesus even presses the point by comparing God to earthly parents: if flawed, limited human parents know how to give what is good and fitting to their children, how much more does our Father in heaven give what is best.

This means prayer is not a formality. It is not a duty performed to satisfy a requirement. It is an invitation to bring our real selves—our needs, our desires, our fears, our hopes—before a Father who cares about the specifics. He does not ask us to hide our preferences or mute our longings. He welcomes them. He delights in them. He meets us not as a crowd but as beloved sons and daughters.

And yet Jesus also teaches that the greatest gift the Father gives is not material, circumstantial, or temporary. The greatest gift is his own Spirit—God’s presence, God’s power, God’s life poured into ours. This is the gift that shapes us, strengthens us, comforts us, and transforms us. It is the gift that aligns our desires with his heart and our prayers with his purposes. It is the gift that assures us we are never praying alone.

So when we come to God, we come to a Father who knows what we need before we ask, yet still invites us to ask. A Father who gives generously, wisely, and personally. A Father who delights in giving himself.

LORD, you know what we need; give us your Holy Spirit.

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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 watched him slip away to pray often enough to know this was not a ritual for him—it was lifeblood. He prayed with the ease of a Son speaking to a Father who delighted in him. They saw the quiet intensity, the trust, the surrender, the confidence. They saw how prayer shaped his decisions, steadied his heart, and fueled his mission. Eventually they realized they didn’t simply want to pray more; they wanted to pray like that. So they asked him to teach them.

Jesus did not respond with a long manual or a complicated formula. Instead, he offered a short, simple list—almost shockingly brief. He seemed to be teaching them that prayer is not measured by volume, eloquence, or comprehensiveness. The Father is not persuaded by length. He is moved by trust. Jesus’ list was not meant to limit prayer but to anchor it. It gave them a starting point, a center of gravity, a way to align their hearts before they poured out their words.

But Jesus didn’t stop there. Immediately after giving them this concise pattern, he told a parable about a man knocking on his neighbor’s door at midnight. The point was not that God is reluctant or annoyed. The point was that persistence reveals desire. It exposes what we truly value. It trains the heart to keep leaning toward God even when the answer is delayed. Jesus was teaching them that the Father responds not to frantic effort but to steady, loyal seeking.

In other words, the short list teaches us what to pray for; the parable teaches us how to keep praying. Together they form a picture of prayer that is both simple and resilient. We begin with a few essential requests—God’s honor, God’s kingdom, daily provision, forgiveness, purity—and then we keep returning, day after day, trusting that the Father hears, cares, and responds in his time.

For anyone who feels overwhelmed by prayer or unsure where to begin, Jesus’ approach is liberating. Start small. Start simply. Start with what he gave. And then keep coming back. The Father is not impressed by complexity; he is moved by children who keep knocking because they trust his heart.

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 watched Jesus pray often enough to recognize that something different was happening when he prayed. He wasn’t reciting formulas. He wasn’t trying to impress anyone. His prayers carried a depth, a simplicity, and an intimacy that made them realize they didn’t just want to pray—they wanted to pray like him. So they asked, “Lord, teach us to pray,” and Jesus responded by giving them a short, beautifully balanced framework. It wasn’t meant to be exhaustive. It was meant to be foundational, a pattern that shapes the heart before it shapes the words.

He began with God’s name. In Scripture, a name is not a label but a revelation of character. To pray that God’s name be honored is to ask that his goodness, holiness, and mercy be recognized in the world and reflected in our lives. It is a prayer that reorders our priorities: before we ask anything for ourselves, we ask that God be seen for who he truly is.

Then Jesus pointed them to God’s plan—“your kingdom come.” This is not a vague hope for a better world. It is a request that God’s reign, his justice, his peace, and his healing break into the present. It is a prayer that bends our desires toward God’s purposes rather than our own agendas. When we pray for the kingdom to arrive, we are also offering ourselves as people ready to live under that kingdom’s rule.

Only after those two God-centered petitions does Jesus turn to our needs. First, our physical needs: daily bread. This is a humble acknowledgment that we are dependent creatures. We do not live by our own strength or cleverness. We live because God sustains us. Asking for daily bread trains us to trust God one day at a time, without anxiety about tomorrow.

Finally, Jesus teaches us to pray for our spiritual needs: forgiveness for what we have done, and purity so that we do not repeat the same patterns. Forgiveness restores relationship; purity protects it. Together they form the rhythm of a life that is continually being renewed by grace.

If someone is looking for a place to begin a daily conversation with God, this simple pattern is a wise and steady starting point. It keeps prayer honest, balanced, and rooted in the things that matter most.

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 wasn’t wrong to value service. She wasn’t wrong to want the meal prepared, the house in order, the details handled. In many ways, she was doing what any responsible host would do—especially when the guest was Jesus Himself. But in her frustration, she misread the moment. She assumed Mary was being selfish, shirking duty, leaving her with all the work. What she couldn’t see was that Mary had made a profoundly mature choice. The Lord of life was in her home. The One the prophets longed to see was sitting in her living room. The Word made flesh was speaking. Mary refused to miss it.

Jesus gently affirmed her choice. Not because service is unimportant, but because presence is more important. There will always be meals to prepare, tasks to complete, ministries to run, responsibilities to shoulder. But there are moments—holy, quiet, irreplaceable moments—when Christ invites us simply to sit, to listen, to be with Him. Mary recognized that moment. Martha missed it because she was doing good things at the wrong time.

And that is the challenge for us. Our lives fill quickly with good things—work, ministry, service, commitments, even noble responsibilities. But good things can still crowd out the best thing. Even ministry can become a distraction if it keeps us from the One we claim to serve. What we are committed to is revealed not by our intentions, but by our time. If we never slow down long enough to sit at Jesus’ feet, we may find ourselves working for Him without ever knowing Him.

So we pray:
LORD, keep us from working so hard for You that we have no time to get to know You.

Posted in commitment, discipleship, ministry, presence of God, relationship with God | Tagged | Leave a comment

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 traveling 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 neighbor 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 neighbor

What you’re expressing here is exactly the heart of Jesus’ parable. The point was never to identify who counts as a neighbor, but to become the kind of person who is a neighbor—someone whose instinct is compassion, whose reflex is mercy, whose presence reduces the suffering of others rather than avoiding it.

You’re naming the very things the Samaritan did:
seeing the hurt,
feeling compassion,
investing time and resources,
creating ongoing care beyond the moment,
and doing it not to appear righteous, but simply because love compelled him.

That’s the transformation Jesus aims for—not people who admire the idea of compassion, but people who practice it in the ordinary rhythms of life. Not people who wait for ideal conditions, but people who respond to the needs right in front of them. Not people who love because they are good, but people who love because they belong to the One who is good.

Becoming a neighbor is not about heroic acts. It’s about a posture—a readiness to see, to care, to step toward rather than away. It’s about letting the Spirit shape us into people whose default setting is mercy.

So we pray:
LORD, help us to just be neighbors 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 the Levite would have nodded vigorously at the expert’s answer. They knew the Shema. They recited it. They taught it. They could articulate the theology of loving God and loving neighbor with precision and confidence. But when love required action—when love required inconvenience, risk, compassion, or crossing boundaries—they stepped aside. They found reasons to avoid the wounded man. Their theology was sound; their obedience was selective.

And that is the sting of Jesus’ story. The problem was not their doctrine. It was their hearts. They believed the right things, but they did not become the kind of people those beliefs were meant to shape. They could define love, but they did not practice it. They could quote the law, but they did not embody it. Their failure was not intellectual—it was moral, spiritual, and deeply human.

Jesus’ parable exposes the gap between what we know and what we are. It reminds us that the greatest danger for religious people is not ignorance but inconsistency. We can affirm the right truths and still avoid the very people those truths call us to love. We can admire compassion in theory and avoid it in practice. We can preach mercy and walk past the wounded.

The Samaritan, the outsider, the one with the “wrong” theology, becomes the example because he did what the others only said. He became the kind of person the law was always meant to produce.

And that is the invitation for us. Not simply to know the right things, but to become the right kind of people—people whose lives reflect the God we claim to love.

So we pray:
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

The exchange between Jesus and the expert in the law is one of those moments where Jesus gently exposes the limits of a works‑based mindset while simultaneously honoring the truth already present in Scripture. The expert wants a key—a formula, a system, a definable action that guarantees eternal life. He wants to do something measurable, something he can check off, something that fits neatly into his religious framework.

Jesus turns him back to the Scriptures he already knows so well. And the man answers correctly: love God with everything, and love your neighbor as yourself. If salvation were earned by human effort, there would be no better summary. But Jesus’ response—“Do this and you will live”—is not an endorsement of works‑righteousness. It is a gentle exposure. Because who can love like that? Who can love God with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind? Who can love their neighbor with no limits, no prejudice, no self‑protection?

The expert’s answer is correct, but it is also impossible without grace. Jesus is nudging him toward the truth: faith comes first, and true faith produces the kind of love the law describes.

And then Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan—not to give the man a new rule, but to show him what love looks like when it is not constrained by tribalism, fear, convenience, or self‑interest. It is love that crosses boundaries. Love that risks. Love that sees a human being instead of an enemy. Love that refuses to ask, “How far do I have to go?” and instead asks, “How far can love go?”

If love is to be enough, it must be love without limits.
It must be love like His.

So we pray:
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 had just redirected the joy of the seventy‑two away from their power and toward their identity—away from what they could do for God and toward what God had already done for them. Their names were written in heaven. Their relationship with God was the true miracle.

Now He goes deeper. How did that relationship begin? Not through their brilliance, not through their spiritual résumé, not through their heritage. It began because God chose to reveal Himself through Christ, and they received what He revealed. They saw and heard what prophets and kings longed to see and hear. Generations of faithful people searched the Scriptures, prayed for insight, and waited for the Messiah, but the full unveiling of God’s heart remained hidden from them.

Then Christ appeared—and everything changed.

In Him, the mystery became clear. In Him, the gospel took flesh. In Him, the Father’s love, wisdom, and salvation were revealed openly. The seventy‑two believed what they saw and heard, and that belief opened the door to a relationship that prophets could only anticipate from a distance.

This is the miracle behind every miracle:
Not that demons submit,
not that sickness flees,
not that ministry succeeds—
but that God has made Himself known to us in Jesus Christ,
and through that revelation, we belong to Him.

Our standing with God is not built on our insight, our effort, or our success. It is built on His self‑disclosure—His willingness to be known, to be heard, to be trusted. The gospel is not something we discovered; it is something God revealed.

So we pray:
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