Thoughts From the Bible

Read Luke 11: 14-23-  Jesus is using one of His miracles to give us a lesson on unity and unity in Christ. In verse 17, we read this, '(1 7) But he, knowing their thoughts, said to the m , "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against itself falls. "  Unity is important. It is important for organizations. It is important in families, and it is important spiritually . We need to be c areful as read the Bible and learn God's principles, that we do not take the approach that certain principles were for certain times and maybe not for us. We need to follow what Jesus said in verse 23, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters. "   Sometimes unity, takes work on our part because we have different ideas and sometimes different beliefs. We need to be careful to stay focused on God's principles and the advancement of God's kingdom and not our own thoughts or beliefs.    ...

Luke 11: 11- 13- "If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? (12) Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? (13) If you then , being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him? Jesus is showing us His heart in this passage with a situation we can relate to. We want to give our sons and our daughters and our grandchildren the best we can. We may not be great people, but we want to give good things to our children. That is how Jesus works. He is the ultimate good and He will give us beyond what we can imagine. We need to understand that principle and then work to live it out in our own families and in our own neighborhoods. Give the best we can.    Proverbs 14:14- The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from above.

Read Luke 11: 5-10 -  Jesus is teaching us that spiritual persistence is good thing. If a friend needed something, Jesus shows that his persistence would be rewarded. In a spiritual sense, Jesus is showing us our persistence will be rewarded. Verses 8, 9, and 10 says, "(8) I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet give him as many as he needs. (9) So, I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek , and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. (10) For everyone who asks rec eives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."   This is how we should approach our spiritual lives. We should consistently seek God in our lives. When we have questions, ask God for answers through prayer. We need to persistently pursue what God has for us. One thing I would add is that we should consistently thank God for who He is and what He does for us.    Proverbs 14:12 - There is a way that seems right ...

Luke 11: 1-4-   Jesus was asked for a prescription on how to pray. Jesus gave them this prescription. '(2) So He said to them, "When you pray, say, O ur Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come , Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (3) Give us day by day our daily bread, (4) and forgive us our sins for we also forgive everyone who is indebted to u s. And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one."'   We praise God first. We pray for God's will in our lives. We pray for His grace in providing for us. We pray for forgiveness of the many sins we commit, and w e pray to forgive others. We pray God will protect us and continually deliver us from Satan. This is Jesus' prescription of prayer for us. It is our responsibility to use His prescription. Proverbs 14:11- The house of the wicked will be overthrown, but the tent of the upright will flourish.  

  Read Luke 10: 38- 42-   We next see the story of Mary and Martha serving Jesus. Mar tha was busy working to be a good hostess while Mar y was serving and listening to Jesus. Martha protested to Jesus, but Jesus taught us all a lesson in His response to Mart ha. In verses 41 and 42 we read, '(41) And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. (42) But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her."'  Our first responsibility is to Jesus. Jesus wanted Martha to see this. Yes, there are many things we need to do but we need to continua lly have our priority antenna up so we are focused on the important things Jesus would have us do as oppose to being caught up in the usual details of the day. We need to understand we must prioritize Jesus first and then work out from there.    Proverbs 14:9- Fools mock at sin, but among the upright there is favor.

Read Luke 10: 29- 37-   This passage of scripture is the story of the Good Samaritan. This story came from Jesus as an illu stration to answer the question He was asked. In verse 29 Jesus is asked this, ‘ (29) But he wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus , “And who is my neighbor?” ’ This lawyer speak ing with Jesus was wanting a list of those who Jesus would consider a neighbor. Jesus answered Him in verse s 36 and 37, “(36) So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves? (37) And he said, he who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “God and do likewise.”   In our modern English vernacular, we see a neighbor as someone who lives close to us. Jesus is wanting us to see our neighborhoods do not have borders. If there is a need, we need to be prepared to work to meet that person’s needs . This may be someone close to us, but it can also be the needs of people many miles away. Jesus wants us to be prepared to do what we can a...

  Luke 10: 25 - 28   Jesus gives all of us direction in this passage and makes Christianity very simple . In this passage we read, ‘ (25) And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (2 6) He sa i d to him, “What is written in the law? Wh a t is your read ing of it? (27) So, he answered and said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and you r neighbor as yourself.” (28) And He said to him, “You have answered rightly, do this and you will live.”’   We have two directions of dedication. Our first direction of dedication is to God in a way that includes all aspects of our lives. The second direction is to display this dedication to others. Both directions require much from us, but it is also something God will give us the desire to do, and we will want to do it with joyful hearts. There is so much involved in...

Luke 10: 21- 24-   I see in this passage something that I need to make sure is evident in my life. In verse 21 and 22 says, ‘ In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.”’   Early in the verse it says, “Jesus rejoiced ”. Life is full of things that overwhelm our attention and forces us to give too much time to negative things. We need to remember t o take time to rejoice in what God has done for us. We need to remember to rejoice in the time we live. We need to rejoice in the gift of the Bible God has given us. This list of things to rejoice about could stretch for days. I want to remember Jesus rejoiced. I should be rejoicing too.   Proverbs 14:4- Where no oxen are, the trough is clean, but much increase comes by the strength of an ox.  

Luke 10: 17- 20- ( 17) The n the seventy returned with joy saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” (18) And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. (19) Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and n othing shall by any means hurt you. (20) Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”   The seventy missionaries were so excited to tell Jesus about what all had happened on their missions for Him. Jesus was excited too, but Jesus again sho wed them what was individually important. Seeing Satan defeated is important but our individual souls are most important and being seen as a child of God is the most important thing we should never lose focus on.    Proverbs 14 :3 - In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride, but the lips of the wise will preser ve them.  

Read Luke 10: 3- 16-   Jesus is giving instructions to the seventy missionaries He selected. He is giving them ground rules on how to respond to the cities and homes they will find themselves. Jesus then speaks of judgment to those who do not positively receive the missionaries . As Jesus ends His instructions, we see him give us all a lesson on how He sees people who receive His message. In verse 16 Jesus says, “(16) He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”   Many people do not understand the consequences of rejecting Jesus Christ. They simply do not believe the message of Jesus Christ is important. We see in this passa ge how Jesus sees those who go in His name on His mission. It is so important and we need to be ready to convey the importance of believing in Jesus Christ.    Proverbs 14: 2 - He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is perverse in his ways despises Him .