Thoughts From the Bible

  Luke 19: 41- 44 -  Jesus prayed for the people of Jerusalem in this passage of scripture. He prayed for the people, and He prayed for the city of itself. It was a prophetic prayer .  Verses 41 and 42 say, (41) Now as he drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, (42) saying, "If you had known, even you, es pecially in this your day, the things that make for your pence! But now they are hidden from your eyes."   Time would show Jesus' words in these verses to be true. It also shows how Jesus prayed for the peace of Jerusalem as we should pray. It also shows how we should pray for our cities and the people who live in those cities. This larger, more general type of prayer is still something we should not lose sight of, praying for the movement of the Holy Spirit in people in order to invite the spirit of God into a spec ific area.    Proverbs 16:9 - A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.

  Luke 19: 39-40- (39) And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples. (40) But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."   Jesus is trying to tell the Pharisees how impor tant praise and worship of God is. We need to understand this, also. It is not a situation where God is so egotistical that He demands we praise Him, it is a situation of wanting us, those who believe in Him, develop a deeper level of reverence and love for Him. When we work in that direction, He reciprocates with more than we can hold or imagine .      Proverbs 16:8- Better is a little with righteousness, than vast revenues without justice.  

  Luke 19: 28-3 8 -   Jesus is making His entry into Jerusalem and He gave His disciples instructions on what to do. They did as He instructed and then Jesus made His triumphal entr y into Jerusalem with people praising Him. Verses 37 and 38 say, "(37) Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen. (38) saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"  This is all about honor. The people were honoring Jesus for who He was. Luke has written what t hey were saying as He came into Jerusalem, and it is all about praise and honor. I need to remember this and take this attitude toward Jesus with me each day. I need to develop a mindset that is one of praise and honor to Jesus Christ first and then let that mentality dictate my actions, attitudes and motivations each da...

  Read Luke 19:11- 27-   We see an interesting story of inv estment. The disliked leader wanted his money to be increased while he was gone, and the three servants took different paths to protect the disliked leader's money. One invested heavily, one invested moderately, and one simply protected the money. The leader returned and in verse 17 said, "(17) And he said to him, 'W ell done, good servant, because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities. ' "   Those who are good stewards of what they have more will be given to them. We need to look at our personal Christian attributes the same way. We need to be working to share more and be good stewards of what Jesus has allowed us and the principle Jesus has established will show itself in a better position in our lives .      Proverbs 16: 6- In mercy and truth, atonement is provided for iniquity; and by the fear of the Lord, one departs from evil.  

Read Luke 19: 1- 10-   The story of the tax collector, Zacchaeus, who climbed a tree to see Jesus. The best lesson of this passage is in verse 10 that says, (10) "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to s a ve that which was lost. "   There is another lesson in this passage about going above and beyond in a given situation. Verse 8 sees Zacchaeus saying this, (8) The Zacchaeus sto od and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold."   Zacchaeus wanted to do more than make amends for any of his transgressions; he wanted to do so with interest. There is the good testimony of making amends and then there is the great testimony of making amends with interest. We need to work to see our Christian testimony stronger by going above and beyond to help others and to serve Jesus Christ.   Proverbs 16:5- Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; thoug...

Read Luke 18: 35- 43-   Jesus was entering Jericho when a blind man began to call out to Him. People told the blind man he n eeded to be quiet, but the blind man refused. This blind man had obviously heard of Jesus and his pleas became persistent. Starting in verse 40 we read this, (40) 'So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, (41) saying, "What do you want Me to do for you? " He said, "Lord, that I may receive my sight." (42) Then Jesus said to him, "Receive your sight; your faith has made you well." (43) and immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.'   I learned two things from this story of Jesus. First, the blind man was persistent in calling out to Jesus. I need to know I need to be persistent in my prayers to Jesus. The second thing I learned is that I need to be specific in my prayers and r...

Luke 18: 31- 34 -  How well do we listen to the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus tells the disciples what will soon happen to him. (31) Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, "Behold we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. (32) For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. (33) They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise a gain."   After Jesus tells the disciples these things, we read in verse 34, "But they understood none of these things, this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken."  After being with Jesus for several years and listening to Him preach and the miracles He performed, they did not grasp what He was telling them would happen soon. I need to make sure I am listening to the Holy Spirit as I go about my daily activities and as I read the Bible and listen...

  Luke 18: 28- 30-   (28) Then Peter said, "See, we h a ve left all and followed You." (29) So, He said to the, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, (30) who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.   Jesus continues to teach the disciples about devotion and commitment. He talks to them about the rewards in this life and in eternal for those who dedicate their lives to Him. We need to s ee this also as to what our worldview and life view should be.  Am I going to abandon my family and only do work for Jesus. No, but my purpose in helping my family, friends and others should be directed and acted on based on Jesus' pri nciples which should be a constant focus for us. Am I allowing that to happen in my life? I need to challenge myself and monitor my actions and motives to make sure I am practicing what I'm...

Read Luke 18: 18- 27-   The rich man approached Jesus and told Him, he was a good man. The rich man did what was right in the eyes of men, so he asked Jesus what else he needed to do for eternal life. Jesus said this in verse 2 2, 'So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow Me. "'   Jesus' answer was more than the rich man expected. The rich man was not willing to fully dedicate himself and all that he had for Jesus Christ and God's kingdom. The rich man was apparently a good person and lived a good life, but Jesus was looking for his dedication. We need to understand that being a good person is good but does not have heav enly implications. That is dependent on our relationship with Jesus Christ.    Proverbs 16:1- The preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.  

Read Luke 18: 15- 17- (15) Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. (16) But Jesus called them to Him and said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God . (17) Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it."   Children do not have a large body of knowledge to guide them in situations. Children just act not knowing if their behavior is appropriate or not. They have no pretense and expect ever ything to be positive. It is a pure thought process. Jesus is telling us we need to approach Him more like children do. No pretense. Just love and positive expectations. We need to learn to leave all our extra baggage behind and approach Jesus with simple love and devotion. No separate agendas .    Proverbs 15:33- The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom, and before honor is hu...

Read Luke 18: 9- 14-  We again see Jesus promoting humility in this passage. The haughty Pharisees exclaimed His goodness for all to hear but the tax collector prayed for mercy. In verses 13 and 14 we read, “ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying,’ God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ (14) I tell you , this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled , but the one who humbles himself will be exalted .   We have seen Jesus speak of humility many times. We should see the repetition of the lesson as a sign to us about how important this is to God.    Proverbs 15: 32- Whoever ignores nutrition despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.