Looking at Luke 11-13 today, I see great encouragement, and also strong warnings. I'm going to look at the encouragement first, because sometimes I need to take in encouragement first to ready myself for the things that might be more difficult to hear - it's helpful to hear those things from a framework of knowing the one who says them is for me.
Encouragement:
Luke 11:9-13 - God gives good gifts, and if we ask for something that's good for us, He's not going to give us something to harm us instead. He knows what will be good for us, and what won't. He is pleased when we recognize that He has what we need, and our persistence in prayer doesn't annoy Him, in fact He wants us to be persistent, and have faith that He will answer.
Luke 12:6-7 - Jesus says that God keeps track of every sparrow, and doesn't forget one, and that we are worth more than many sparrows. The implication is clear - there's no way that God would ever forget about us. He values us highly, and will not forget a single one of us.
Luke 12:8 - I read this and I think of Jesus sitting in heaven with the angels, and as he did in the book of Job, saying, "Have you seen my servant Job? (or whatever your name is) He fears God and shuns evil. Am I ever proud of him!" That would be such an honour! I know I want to acknowledge Jesus before men even more now. After all, have you met God? He's holy, righteous and good, merciful and compassionate, He cares for the poor and needy, and gives me life and hope. Am I ever proud of Him!
Luke 12:11-12 - God will give us the words to say to defend our faith in Him - we need to trust Him, and not worry.
Luke 12:22-31 - Again, God doesn't want us to worry about our needs being met. He is fully capable of providing for us. If we focus on food and clothing, we'll miss out on the bigger picture of His kingdom. If we focus on His kingdom, He will provide our needs and we'll find far more peace.
Warnings:
Luke 11:42 - God isn't pleased when we focus on doing all the little details at the expense of focusing on His heart. When we focus on His heart instead, all of the little details should flow out of that naturally.
Luke 11:43 - God is not pleased when we are filled with pride, seeking our own glory, rather than being humble and glorifying Him. It also keeps us from acknowledging or caring about others, since we're so focused on our own importance and 'looking out for number one.'
Luke 11:46 - God is not pleased just because I might know enough to tell someone what they need to do, even if it's the right thing. His heart is to help people carry the load, and I ought to as well. In Matthew 11:29-30, Jesus sets the tone: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. / For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Luke 12:1-3 - Guard yourself against hypocrisy, because the time will come when it will be shown for what it is, we can't hide our motives or inner selves from God.
Luke 12:35-48 - We need to always be prepared for Jesus to return, always ready, always living in a way that shows we are prepared. If we begin to mistreat others and focus on ourselves rather than being prepared, we put ourselves in a dangerous place.
Luke 13:6-9 - It's God who plants us and makes us grow... but not just for our own sake. He expects us to bear fruit. He is patient with us, but that's no excuse to go and live however we want and ignore Him. A fruit tree naturally produces fruit in its time, and so does a Christian. No fruit tree is living up to its purpose or usefulness without producing fruit, neither is a follower of Christ.
I love finding the parallels and connections in the Bible, because it feels like piece by piece I'm fitting together a picture of God's heart. Whenever the edges match up there's a new revelation, and it's exciting! Hmm... I just had another thought... I always look for the edge pieces of a puzzle first. I wonder if those are the "this is His heart, and this is not" verses. Rather than make us feel uncomfortable, they should make us excited that the framework for even starting the puzzle is coming into place. Once you know where the edges are, no one in their right mind takes a couple of pieces and places them outside the edge, saying, "These two look like they fit together... maybe they go over here." The edge pieces are so important!
No comments:
Post a Comment