September 14, 2024

Luke 16.15 (NIV)

“What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.”

Men may honor you because of your wealth and your public display of spirituality. But God sees who you really are.*

Who do you admire and look up to? What is it that makes them special in your eyes? Be honest with yourself – do you respect them for things they have accomplished? Is it because they are wealthy, powerful, famous?

The Pharisees were generally well-off financially, but they were influential and respected for their strict religious lives,* not so much for their wealth. It seems like that should be a good thing - being strictly religious - but this is what Jesus is referring to as detestable and nasty.

 

So what did they do that was so bad? They were meticulous in their obedience to the law, and that included acts of charity. They lived lives that conformed to men’s standards of holiness - but men could not look into their hearts and see their hidden meanness.* Jesus could; and he condemned them because they were hypocrites. While their actions might benefit society and earn them the esteem of the people, their good deeds were an abomination in the sight of God because they weren’t “accompanied by the true sanctifying grace of the Holy Spirit.”*

Before Jesus came along, “looking good” was enough to fulfill the superficial requirements of the law.  Today, under grace, it is still possible to “look good” without “being good.” No one should think of himself as approved of God just because he approves of himself.* That kind of hypocrisy is just as detestable in a Christian as it was in a Pharisee.

It’s not just the rich who have difficulty. So do the educated, the strong, the good-looking, the popular, the religious. So do you if you think your piety or power qualifies you as a kingdom candidate.*

September 13, 2024

Luke 15.20 (NIV)

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”

The far country is always swept by famine.*

My favorite song of all time is, “When God Ran,” written by Benny Hester. It’s about the prodigal son’s return and how his father ran out to meet him. The song pictures the reunion between us and the all-powerful God, and says, “The only time I ever saw him run was when he ran to me.”

I was raised in a Christian home, went to church “every time the doors were open,” went to Christian service camp and VBS every summer, went to Bible college – I don’t have a dramatic testimony about wandering far from God; I do have an awareness, however, of my sinfulness. I picture myself as the returning son and I am overwhelmed by the Father’s love for me. I like what another writer says: “As instructive as it is for us to see ourselves in the prodigal son, it is also important that we see God in the forgiving father.”*

While I relate to the repentant son, I hope that I never find myself in the shoes of the older brother. He never missed a day of the blessings of his father’s house and yet he begrudged his brother’s “welcome home” party. The prodigal’s return and subsequent celebration took nothing from the older son’s inheritance or the father’s love. I would like to believe that the older prodigal son also repented and returned to his father’s favor. 

His resources are not limited. . . He never has to take away from someone in order to give to someone else.*

September 12, 2024

Luke 12.48 (NIV)

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

With privilege comes responsibility.*

I was born in a prosperous and free country to Christian parents who laid a solid foundation on which I could learn to stand on my own faith in God. Intangibles such as abilities and opportunities were mine for the taking advantage of. If it is true that much will be demanded of me because I have been entrusted with much, then I have to wonder: when will the demanding begin; or did I miss it?

Is this what Jesus was talking about – a life full of advantages? Will Jesus demand more from me because I have been given more opportunities? Or is he referring to those who are in positions of authority and trust? That would be our preachers, elders, Bible college professors, Sunday School teachers . . .

This verse follows the parable about the steward who was put in charge while his master was away and how he abused his authority and neglected his duties. “Who then is the faithful and wise manager?” Jesus asks. Oh, wait. I think he is talking to me after all. He has entrusted me with responsibilities that I didn’t even think to ask for. I am a parent, a friend, a mentor, a small group leader, a community volunteer. He has put me in charge of a piece of his kingdom while he’s “away” and he expects me to discharge my duties faithfully. “‘It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns.’” (Luke 12.43)

We serve what’s been given to us through Jesus Christ.*

September 11, 2024

Luke 12.34 (NIV)
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

There’s a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives and how we think about and handle money.*

I read somewhere that no one is more obsessed with money than someone who doesn’t have any. There is an element of truth in the statement because it is not just the super-wealthy who are in danger of placing too much value on material possessions.

I was at a meeting where the guest speaker was displaying coins that had been mis-stamped at the mint and had somehow gotten into circulation. He was holding up a defective dime when someone asked, “How much is that worth?” The man replied, “How much would you give me for it?” Turns out, it was only worth ten cents because there was no one in the room who was willing to offer him more than that for it. A collector, however, might have placed a higher value on the coin if he needed it to complete his collection.

It is hard to determine if our treasure follows our heart or our heart follows our treasure.* Perhaps this verse isn’t so much a statement of fact as it is a challenge: Decide what your treasure is. Make up your mind and commit yourself to a life that proves what you value.

What really gives value to a treasure is the affection of the heart.*

September 10, 2024

Luke 12.20, 21 (NIV)

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

It is redemptive to have seasons of great accomplishment, followed by dark evenings of soulful searching.This is how wisdom accumulates.*

As I waited to hear about a job I had applied for, I was learning about patience. But as I waited and prayed, something else was bothering me – something I couldn’t quite identify. Then one night as I was preparing for my quiet time, the parable of the rich man just popped into my head. So, I looked it up in my Bible, read it, and thought, “Okay. Now what?” I then picked up the Christian publication I had been reading and the next article opened with the same verses I had just read. By the time I finished reading, God had revealed to me the reason for my discomfort: I was feeling guilty for praying for this job because it paid a lot of money!

Because I found the article so helpful in putting my guilt in perspective, perhaps these excerpts will bless you as well:

• “What Jesus sees and disdains in the rich fool is an attitude. The man thought money (and what he did with it) was his own business. He didn’t think his money was any of God’s concern.” 
• "Salaries, inheritances, investments – all means by which God shares his riches. They are signs of his grace and goodness, not of our competence and personal worth." 
• “We manage, oversee, invest, take care of resources he has entrusted to us. And then, ultimately, we use those resources for his purposes.” 
• "'What does God want me to do with the treasures given to me?’ becomes the critical question. God wants me to enjoy, but he also wants me to bless.”*

My prayer that night was that I would not forget who owns everything and who it is that lets me borrow his things. (By the way, I got the job!)

God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.*

September 9, 2024

Luke 11.42 (NIV)

“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.”

God’s expectations regarding giving are high, but they are also reasonable.*

I would love to have heard Jesus’ reprimand to the Pharisees. I might imagine that “scathing” is the word to describe how he sounded, but I doubt that Jesus spoke in that tone of voice. I don’t expect that his attitude was conciliatory, either. Without having been an “ear” witness, I only know this: Jesus spoke with authority when he exposed the Pharisees for the frauds that they were.

The Pharisees were meticulous in their observance of the law’s requirement to tithe - so much so that they gave God ten percent of even the smallest crop from their gardens. But what did God need with their herbs? By neglecting justice and mercy, they were disregarding the purpose of the law.

Before we get too smug about the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, let’s look again at Jesus’ parting shot: “You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.” He required from them that they demonstrate the love and justice of God as well as that they give their tithe. He doesn’t say to them, “Well, if you really love your fellowman, you don’t have to tithe.”

Are you just and merciful to others? Good. Do you give back to God at least ten percent of what he has blessed you with? According to Jesus, you should practice both without leaving one undone!

God does not provide exemptions to anyone from the responsibility of giving.*

September 8, 2024

Luke 9.51 (NIV)
As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

When Jesus came he was really man and really God.*

This verse makes my heart hurt. This awful thing that Jesus knew he had to do – this thing that has been hanging over him his whole life – is only weeks away. As a man, he clearly did not want to go through with it. But as God, he strode into Jerusalem and put the last act into motion. Max Lucado calls it Jesus’ “death march.”* Clearly, his time on earth was running out.*

Jesus later prayed in the garden for the “cup” to pass from him. He knew what was in store for him, he knew what he had to do – and he had a very human dread of the agony he would have to endure. And yet, in the words of another writer, if he had “been forced to nail himself to the cross, he would have done it. For it was not the soldiers who killed him, nor the screams of the mob: It was his devotion to us.”*

As much as Jesus may have wished there was another way to save us . . ., he humbly submitted to the most excruciating punishment to pay for our sins.*