Search

“And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again. He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of God.”

Luke 9:18–20

Many years ago in a small town in Virginia, the newspaper printed the upcoming sermon topics for the local churches. A pastor named R. I. Williams phoned the editor to share that his sermon for the upcoming Sunday would be titled “The Lord Is My Shepherd.” The editor asked, “Is that all?” To which the pastor replied, “That’s enough!” When the paper arrived at his home he opened it to find the printed topic: “The Lord Is My Shepherd and that’s Enough.”

Jesus is not just a good teacher, an ancient mystic, or an example for us to follow. He is not merely a man—although He was fully human. He was the very Son of God and the Messiah who had been promised through the centuries. He was sent into the world to be the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. The perfectly sinless life that He lived was a demonstration of His divinity, as He lived in complete obedience to the law that no one had ever been able to do.

The wonderful thing is that Jesus is not just our Saviour. God’s plan and purpose for us is to be changed into His likeness. “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:29). Through the power of the Holy Spirit we can become more like our wonderful Saviour.

“And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.”

Luke 9:21–22

For almost four hundred years, the people of Oberammergau in Germany have been performing a play depicting the final week of the life of Jesus. According to tradition, they began this practice after their village was spared from the bubonic plague. Every ten years they stage a massive event featuring hundreds of performers, singers and helpers. There is a story that some years ago, the actor portraying Jesus fell down during the scene when he was carrying the cross to Calvary. An onlooker was so overcome in the moment that he ran forward to help lift the cross from the actor’s back. Thinking it would be a stage prop, he only used one hand, but found he could not move the heavy wood. Afterward he met with the actor who told him, “I cannot look like Jesus unless I carry a real cross.”

Salvation is freely provided by God’s grace to all who believe, but it was certainly not free. The awfulness of sin and the eternality of Hell required a great price to be paid for salvation. “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4). No work of man could atone for sin, and thus the death of Jesus was required. Nothing that happened to Him was accidental. It was God’s plan from the beginning that Jesus would live a perfect life, be crucified, and then rise again. Jesus willingly came into the world knowing the price that would be required, and He willingly paid it. The Saviour regarded the cross as an absolute necessity because that was His mission.

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”

Luke 9:23–24

The first two English missionaries who attempted to reach the inhabitants of the New Hebrides islands in the South Pacific were killed and eaten by the cannibals only a few minutes after they arrived. For some time after that, no one else was willing to go there with the gospel. Finally, in 1858, John Paton and his wife determined to risk the dangers to reach the lost of those islands. One of the elders of the church discouraged the effort, warning, “You will be eaten by cannibals!” John Paton responded, “Mr. Dickson, you are advanced in years now, and your own prospect is soon to be laid in the grave, there to be eaten by worms; I confess to you, that if I can but live and die serving and honoring the Lord Jesus, it will make no difference to me whether I am eaten by Cannibals or by worms.”

The world tells us that we should cling to our lives and do everything possible to defend them. But God’s call for us is different. He values the eternal over the temporal, and He is not looking for people to be focused on this life. The Christian life is not about being safe and comfortable; it is about investing in the eternal, and that requires self-denial and sacrifice. Taking up the cross to follow Jesus is a descriptive metaphor. Dr. Curtis Huston used to say, “A crucified man has no plans of his own for the future.” Rather than focusing on how we can get the most for ourselves, like Jesus we should focus on how we can give the most to others.

“For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.”

Luke 9:25–26

In his prayer journal, the missionary martyr Jim Elliot wrote: “Father, take my life, yea, my blood if Thou wilt, and consume it with Thine enveloping fire. I would not save it, for it is not mine to save. Have it. Lord, have it all. Pour out my life as an oblation for the world. Blood is only of value as it flows before Thine altar.” Indeed, Elliot backed up his written devotion with his very life. He and the other missionaries killed by the Ecuadoran tribe they were trying to reach had guns, but they made the choice not to defend their lives with force so that the door to the gospel would not be closed. As a result, the wives and friends of several of them did succeed in reaching the very group that killed those missionaries.

The world does not value the things of eternity. The prevalent attitude is summed up in the popular bumper sticker: “He who dies with the most toys wins.” But once we die, there is no value in the toys of this world. And even as we live, God is not interested in earthly trinkets. He paved the streets of Heaven with gold and made the walls out of precious stones. No amount of acquisition on our part is going to impress Him. Even worse, when we live only for the temporal, we miss out on the opportunity to do something lasting and important for Him. Many Christians will be ashamed when they look back at their lives and realize how few of the things that occupied their time and attention were of eternal value.

“And it came to pass about an eight days after these sayings, he took Peter and John and James, and went up into a mountain to pray. And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering. And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias: Who appeared in glory, and spake of his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.”

Luke 9:28–31

When Jesus came to Earth to be our Saviour, He did not stop being God. The entire time He was here on Earth, He was both fully human and fully divine. Yet even though He was still God, Jesus did voluntarily lay aside the power and glory that was His, not thinking it was important enough to cling to for the sake of the mission of providing salvation for the lost. Paul describes the love and humility of Jesus this way: “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7). For one brief moment during His ministry, however, the true nature of Jesus was revealed as He was transfigured before Peter, James, and John. There, on what we call the Mount of Transfiguration, the veil was drawn back, and His glory shone through—but even that was only a glimpse of His full glory.

Of all the disciples, John was the closest to Jesus. He witnessed the Transfiguration, the miracles, and walked and talked with Jesus after the resurrection. Yet when he was given his vision of Heaven and things to come on the Isle of Patmos, John collapsed at the sight of the glorified Lord. “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last” (Revelation 1:17). The world pictures Jesus as soft and weak, but God shows Him to us as the conquering King of kings.

“But Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him. And it came to pass, as they departed from him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said.”

Luke 9:32–33

One of the most majestic sights in the United States is the great peaks of the Rocky Mountains. If you travel across the west, the tall mountains rise up and up. Many of them are covered with snow all year long because of their elevation. Yet as beautiful as they are, it is because of that elevation and the resulting cold air and lack of soil or moisture that almost nothing grows on the tops of the mountains. There is what is called a “tree line” and once you get above that point, there is little plant or animal life. The mountains are lovely to look at and experience, but they are not a place to stay.

Peter was amazed by what he saw on the Mount of Transfiguration and wanted to just stay there. He was all for building structures and leaving the rest of the world behind. But God does not call us to withdraw from the world and isolate ourselves into tiny spiritual communities. He calls us to go meet with people where they are and reach out to them with the gospel. Peter’s desire is understandable, but as the text from Luke tells us, it was based on a lack of understanding of God’s plan. There are times to rest and recharge our spiritual batteries. There are times to spend seasons alone with God. But most of our lives are to be lived among the people around us, loving and ministering to them as Jesus did.

“While he thus spake, there came a cloud, and overshadowed them: and they feared as they entered into the cloud. And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him. And when the voice was past, Jesus was found alone. And they kept it close, and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen.”

Luke 6:34–36

For several years leading up to Roger Bannister’s historic run in May of 1954 to complete a mile in under four minutes, many athletes had tried and failed to break that barrier. Yet after Bannister proved it could be done, several others succeeded. One of them was a runner named John Landry. He broke Bannister’s record by more than a second. Track officials quickly put together a race between the top two milers in the world. As they reached the last lap, Landry was leading, but he was worried about how close Bannister was. When he looked back over his shoulder to check on his competitor, Bannister passed him and won the race. A distraught Landry told a reporter from Time magazine, “If I hadn’t looked back, I would have won!”

One of the great temptations we face in our Christian life is to worry about what other people are doing instead of keeping our focus on doing our best for God. When Jesus met Peter after the resurrection and told him about His plan for the rest of Peter’s life, Peter immediately turned his attention to John. “Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do?” (John 21:20–21). God is well able to take care of everyone else without any help from us. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus.

“And, behold, a man of the company cried out, saying, Master, I beseech thee, look upon my son: for he is mine only child. And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him. And I besought thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not.”

Luke 9:38–40

While Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration with Peter, James, and John, a distraught father brought his demon possessed son to the other disciples, but they couldn’t help. This is especially sad because it had been just a few days, or perhaps at most a few weeks earlier—in this same chapter of Luke’s Gospel—that Jesus had specifically empowered them to deal with this kind of problem. “Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases” (Luke 9:1) Yet despite what Jesus had said, they did not believe they could deal with the demonic power that confronted them, and as a result, the demon remained until Jesus returned.

The old preacher Vance Havner said, “Too many of us today are shaky about what we believe but not shaken by what we believe. Too many people assemble at God’s house who don’t really believe in the power of God. Having begun in the Spirit, we live in the flesh. Never has the church had more wire stretched with less power in it. As the hymn puts it, ‘All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down.’”

The challenges of the world that we face are too great for our own strength, but we are not meant to operate in our strength. The problem is not a lack of power on God’s part, but our failure to tap into the power source He has given us.

“And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither. And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father.”

Luke 9:41–42

When John Paton, the missionary to the New Hebrides islands was working to translate the Word of God into the language of the people he served, he wanted to be sure he conveyed the meaning accurately. As he was trying to come up with just the right word for faith, one of the native workers who had been converted and was helping Paton came into the house after a long day of toil and labor. Collapsing into a chair, he propped his feet up and declared how good it felt to sit down. When Paton heard him use his word that meant “lean your whole weight on,” he realized he had found the best translation possible for faith.

When we do not lean our whole weight on what God has told us, we rob ourselves of power and blessing and the answers to prayer that we need. But there is more. We also rob those around us of the impact and influence we should have on their lives, depriving them of the help that they need. But there is still more. When we do not walk by faith, we disappoint the Lord. Refusing to believe His promises is an insult to His nature and character. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). God has never broken a promise, yet all too often we listen to the voices of doubt and refuse to act upon what God has told us in His Word.

“And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples, Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.”

Luke 9:43–45

James Hamilton, in his book Directions, told a story from the days before refrigerators when icehouses furnished the means of cooling food in the summer months. Thick blocks of ice were cut from ponds and lakes and stored in buildings with thick walls, and covered with layers of sawdust to slow the melting process. Hamilton wrote: “One man lost a valuable watch while working in an ice house. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn’t find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile. A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the icehouse during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch. Amazed, the men asked him how he found it. ‘I closed the door,’ the boy replied, ‘lay down in the sawdust, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking.’”

I find it instructive that Jesus needed to tell the disciples to listen and pay attention to what He said. You would think that having the Messiah and Lord of Creation with them would be enough to grab their focus, but the reality is that they—just as is true of us many times—had other things on their minds than what Jesus was saying. We have been given the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, yet too often we ignore that incredible resource and seek some other kind of guidance for living.

“Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.”

Luke 9:46–48

An English pastor of the 1700s, James Hervey, recounted a conversation that he had with a faithful layman in his church that gave him a new appreciation for the dangers of pride to the Christian life. They were talking about the things that hinder spiritual growth, and at one point Hervey said, “I believe the difficulty is our reluctance to renounce our sinful self.” The old farmer looked at him for a few moments and then replied, “No, I believe the greatest difficulty is to renounce our righteous self.”

We easily give in to the temptation of pride because it is such a comforting sin. There are many worldly activities that leave us filled with guilt if we indulge them, but the sin of pride soothes and uplifts us. It is, of course, a false comfort, but so often we fail to recognize that root of pride has taken hold in our heart, and has led us to think of ourselves more highly than we should. Again and again the disciples had a conflict over which of them would have the most important role in God’s work.

God is not interested in our high opinion of ourselves, for He knows us as we really are. If we insist on our honor and glory, we forfeit our access to His grace and He holds us at arms’ length. James wrote, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble” (James 4:6).

“And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him. And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.”

Luke 9:51–53

One of only twelve men to walk on the moon, Apollo 15’s Colonel James Irwin, was a committed Christian. When he retired from NASA he established the High Flight Foundation and traveled the world telling people about Jesus. Irwin could have been proud of his achievement, but instead he dedicated himself to service. He said, “As I was returning to earth I realized I was a servant, not a celebrity. So I’m here as God’s servant on planet Earth to share what I’ve experienced that others might know the glory of God.”

The Christian life requires commitment. We live in a day of people dabbling in this and toying with that before taking something else up as a hobby to divert their attention still further. The ministry of Jesus Christ was powerful in large part because it was focused. Jesus knew what was important, and He did not allow other things to get in the way of what God wanted Him to do on any particular day.

If we only do what is easy, we will not get much done. Pressures, obstacles, and setbacks are not necessarily a sign that we have strayed from God’s purpose; often, they are the devil trying to derail us. If we follow the example of Jesus, we will stay on task and hold fast to our commitment to follow the will of the Father. If we want to succeed in His work, then we must “set our face” and keep moving forward.

“And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.”

Luke 9:54–56

Sometimes we find it hard to love people as we should. If they just weren’t so troublesome, it would be a lot easier. There was a report in a paper a while back about an eight-year-old boy named Zachary who saved the life of his six-year-old sister Meghan. She was sucking on a piece of candy and it got stuck in her throat and she couldn’t breathe. Zachary performed the Heimlich maneuver on her, just as he had seen it done on television. When a reporter visited to interview the young hero, he asked the boy what it felt like to have saved his sister’s life. “I wouldn’t do it again,” Zachary said. “She’s been a pain this week.”

In Jesus’ day, there was no love lost between the Jews and the Samaritans. Even Jesus’ disciples held this cultural prejudice. When Jesus passed through without being welcomed, James and John wanted to see him destroy the Samaritans by fire from Heaven. But James and John had a complete misunderstanding of the point of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus will eventually return to earth as a Judge, and there will be fire and judgment awaiting those who have rejected Him. But today the door of grace and salvation is still open. There are many enemies of Christ and the gospel in our world today. But rather than cheering for their destruction, we should be praying for their deliverance. Compassion should be the over-arching emotion in our hearts, even toward those who oppose all that we believe.

“And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.”

Luke 9:57–58

Each year the Oxford English Dictionary selects a Word of the Year as a way of recognizing a new word that has entered the language and made an impact. In a rare decision, 2013 saw the unanimous selection of “selfie” as the Word of the Year. The ubiquitous smart phones with their cameras have sparked a craze of self-portraits. The Oxford English Dictionary publishers released a statement saying, “It seems everyone has posted a selfie somewhere on the Internet.” There are few more apt metaphors for our society—including within much of the church—than our obsession with placing ourselves in the center of the picture.

The example of Jesus is very different. While He deserves all the glory of the universe, He willingly gave up not just immeasurable riches but even basic comforts and necessities to follow the will of His Father in Heaven. How tightly we cling to our rights and privileges, and how unfair we think it is when things don’t go exactly as we think they should! Our response to disruption in our plans and schedules says so much about who is in charge of our lives.

Henry Drummond said, “The entrance fee into the kingdom of heaven is nothing: the annual subscription is everything.” Those who would follow Jesus must first count the cost and determine if they are willing to pay the price of selfless living. The footsteps of Jesus will not lead us to a path of ease. And if we are focused on what makes us happy and comfortable, we will find His path too hard to keep walking.

“And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9:59–62

Though he was saved as a teenager, Charles Studd did little for the Lord until he went to hear D. L. Moody preach. The evangelist’s fervor for the lost stirred something within his heart and he became a fervent soul winner. After surrendering to go to the mission field, Studd gave away his massive inheritance, much of it to George Müller’s orphanage, and spent the rest of his life as a missionary in China, India, and Africa. C. T. Studd said, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”

There is no way we can fully comprehend the sacrifices Jesus Christ made for our salvation. Leaving Heaven filled with the praises of angels and laying aside His glory to take on the limited body of a man, Jesus valued our redemption more than His privileges. He took our sins upon Himself and endured the separation from His Father on the cross, which was far worse than the physical suffering He experienced.

Having done all that, He freely offers salvation to all who believe without any qualifications or merit. How could we possibly think any demand He makes of us is too great? Given what we deserve, we should already be suffering the torments of Hell; instead, we have eternal life. He deserves our complete and total surrender.

“After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come. Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest.”

Luke 10:1–2

In 1792, largely because of the efforts of William Carey, churches in England united together and formed the Particular Baptist Society for Propagating the Gospel among the Heathen and appointed Carey and John Thomas to go to India as their first missionaries. In a tearful prayer service as they prepared to leave, those who remained behind promised to pray. Andrew Fuller later described their parting with the analogy of miners going deep underground secured by those on the surface holding fast to strong ropes. Fuller said, “Before [Carey] went, we engaged that while he lived we should never let go the rope.”

There are many good and necessary things that are part of reaching the lost, but the thing Jesus said should come first is our prayers. In a day when more missionaries are coming home than going out and many are leaving full time ministry, we need to be more faithful than ever to pray that God will provide the workers to bring in the harvest.

Often we focus on programs, training, and materials, and all of those have their proper place. But sometimes we fail to see the needs of workers for the harvest met because we have failed to pray. The need for workers is certainly not limited to foreign missions. There are many places in the United States that lack a clear gospel witness. It should break our hearts and drive us to our knees to think of the harvest lacking workers. And while we pray, we should ask God to make us part of the solution.

“Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again.”

Luke 10:3–6

David Brainerd often endured great hardship in his efforts to take the gospel to the American Indians. In his diary, he recounted one mission trip during which an intense storm forced him to seek shelter inside the hollowed out remains of a large tree. As the storm raged outside, Brainerd sat inside praying for the lost. After a while, he began to be hungry, but it was too dangerous to go out to look for something to eat. Soon a squirrel came and deposited several nuts near where Brainerd sat. Brainerd wrote that as he ate the nuts, he realized that God had sent the squirrel just as He sent the ravens to feed Elijah.

The Lord’s promises to provide for our needs are repeated over and over in Scripture. There is no shortage of resources on His part. He is just as able to meet our needs as He was to work in the lives of Abraham, Moses, David, Peter, and Paul. There is nothing we face that will challenge God in the slightest. He never has to call for backup or dig down deep into His reserves to provide anything that we need.

In addition to having everything at His disposal, God is characterized by His overwhelming love for us. He wants us to have good things to enjoy in our lives. Yet despite these truths, too often we focus on making it on our own, hoping to handle things ourselves without resorting to His help. It is foolish and tragic for Christians to live like orphans.

“And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”

Luke 10:7–9

Though she lost her eyesight as an infant, Fanny Crosby used the gifts and abilities she had rather than spending her life wishing for what she lacked. She wrote her first poem at the age of eight:

O what a happy soul am I!
Although I cannot see,
I am resolved that in this world
Contented I will be;
How many blessings I enjoy
That other people don’t!
To weep and sigh because I’m blind,
I cannot, and I won’t.

Fanny went on to write the words to more than eight thousand hymns, as well as numerous other secular and patriotic songs. She gave away large sums of money to rescue missions and missionary causes, and devoted her life to helping and encouraging others.

The secret of contentment is not found in our possessions or our comfort, but in our attitude. There are many with vast wealth who are not content, and many with very little wealth who are. Contentment only comes from within. If we are constantly grasping for more and better things, we are declaring we do not trust God to care for us. From a prison cell in Rome, Paul wrote, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need” (Philippians 4:11–12).

Today’s Lesson from Luke

“But into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out into the streets of the same, and say, Even the very dust of your city, which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. But I say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.”

Luke 10:10–12

In 1942, Dr. Charles Weigel was in a revival meeting in California. He spent the afternoon between services visiting a large rose garden. He said that when he got to church that evening, people remarked on the smell of the roses that he carried with him when he left the garden. He had not gone to the rose garden for that purpose, but spending time there had an effect on his life, and on others as well. Weigel wrote his song, “A Garden of Roses Is Jesus” after that experience.

When Jesus sent seventy of His followers out in teams to preach the gospel, they were to say that God’s kingdom was coming to the towns and villages that they visited. That kingdom was not an earthly kingdom to have its power displayed by armies and military might, but by simple men who had believed and followed Jesus, and as a result were like Him.

The world today is in desperate need of seeing Christians who bear the mark of those who have been influenced by their time spent with Jesus. This is how the disciples turned the world upside down, and the power of His presence is no less in our day. “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).

“Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon, which have been done in you, they had a great while ago repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.”

Luke 10:13–14

The little towns around the Sea of Galilee saw most of the miracles that Jesus performed during His life and ministry. Multitudes of sick people were healed, thousands were fed from one little boy’s lunch, demons were cast out, and blind people received their sight. There was certainly no shortage of miraculous evidence to support the claim that Jesus made to be the Son of God and to highlight the importance of His message of repentance and faith. Yet many of those who saw the greatest evidence refused to believe the message because they thought that they were fine the way they were and had no need for repentance.

The gap between the way we view ourselves and the way God views us is vast. The pride in our heart convinces us that we are really not that bad (there is always someone we can find who is worse to make us feel better about our own failings), and thus there is no need to turn to God for help. Yet our self-righteousness is both built on a false foundation and is an offense to a completely holy God. He knows all that we conceal from those around us, and even from ourselves.

This phenomenon is not limited to the world. Many times Christians have an exalted view of themselves. We see this highlighted in the warning given to the church at Laodicea. “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17).

“And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted to heaven, shalt be thrust down to hell. He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me.”

Luke 10:15–16

Though both George Whitefield and John Wesley were greatly used in the revival known as the Great Awakening, they had significant theological differences on many points. As the story goes, when Wesley went to the memorial service for George Whitefield after the evangelist’s death, he was confronted by a lady who agreed with Whitefield and asked, “Mr. Wesley, do you think you shall see Mr. Whitefield in Heaven?” Wesley replied, “No.” Thinking that he was referring to their disagreements, the lady said, “I was afraid you would say that.” Then Wesley explained, “George Whitefield will be so near the throne of God, that men like me will never catch a glimpse of him.”

How easily we yield to the temptation of pride. How quickly we forget that God hates pride with a holy fury. It is not by accident that on the list of sins that God hates, pride takes first place. “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look...” (Proverbs 6:16–17). It is part of our sinful nature to want to be exalted, but God will not tolerate pride in our hearts.

If you travel to Israel today, you can visit the ruins of the once thriving and prosperous city of Capernaum. Just as Jesus prophesied, the city that exalted itself and refused to listen to Him was brought low. The same holds true for every individual who chooses the path of pride over the way of humility—destruction always follows. The judgment of God is nothing to be trifled with. Instead we should view pride as God does and stamp out every appearance that it makes in our lives.

“And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”

Luke 10:17–20

When His disciples rejoiced at the victories they had seen in their work, Jesus pointed out to them that they were rejoicing in the wrong thing. The great reason we have for joy in our lives is not found in this world but in the next. Because of the gift of salvation we have received, we have the hope of eternal life that can never be taken away. Matthew Henry said, “Joy and peace as believers arises chiefly from our hopes. What is laid out upon us is but little, compared with what is laid up for us (in glory); therefore the more hope we have the more joy and peace we have.”

Victories in this world are good, but at best they are only temporary. Each sick person Jesus or the disciples healed still eventually died. But each person who heard and received the gospel received eternal life that could never be taken away. The main reason for our rejoicing should not be the short-term blessings we receive in this world. We should be thankful and give God praise when we see Him at work in our lives, but we must maintain our focus on the great gift of salvation.

Any temporal blessing we receive has a limited impact on our lives. But our names are written in Heaven forever, and our eternal destiny has already been sealed by God.

“In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.”

Luke 10:21–22

On his twenty-fifth birthday, Ford Porter prayed that God would do something special in his life, giving him a ministry that would bring people to Jesus. In 1933, Porter wrote a tract called “God’s Simple Plan of Salvation” that has been used around the world in many languages. To date, over half a billion of these tracts have been printed, all with the message that God’s plan of salvation is by grace through faith without anything else.

No one gets saved on the strength of their intellect or reasoning. No one gets saved on the basis of their merit or worth. Everyone who comes to God for salvation must come in simple faith, believing the promises of our Heavenly Father just as a child believes the promises of his earthly father. There is no other way of salvation, and those who insist on doing it according to their own wisdom find the only true door to Heaven hidden from their sight.

Those of us who have received the gift of eternal life have also received the command to take the good news to others. When we lay aside our self-reliance and rely instead on the power of God, our witnessing becomes effective in revealing the truth to those who need to receive it. God has devised both the plan for our salvation and the plan for people to hear it, and we must follow it.

“And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”

Luke 10:23–24

For much of history in many parts of the world, the Word of God was only available on a limited basis. Even today there are groups of people who do not have the Bible available in their own language. Yet in our nation with the Scriptures in bookstores, online, on mobile devices, and easy to find, far too many Christians ignore the blessing of the Bible, rarely reading and heeding what it says. King George V of England once wrote, “It is my confident hope that my subjects will never cease to cherish their noble inheritance in the English Bible, which is the first of national treasures. Its spiritual significance is the most valuable thing the world affords.”

The wisdom of God that is meant to guide and direct our lives is found in the pages of the Bible. King Artaxerxes told Ezra, “And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not” (Ezra 7:25). When we open that blessed Book, we hold in our hands what God has revealed.

It is sad not to have a copy of the Bible, but it is tragic to have the very Word of God and ignore it. If we do not know what God has decreed, or if we are not willing to do as He says, there is no possibility that we will walk in a way that is pleasing to Him.

“And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.”

Luke 10:25–28

In 1944, during a massive storm, the SS Richard Montgomery, a ship loaded with thousands of tons of aerial fragmentation bombs, broke up and sank not far from the English coast. Despite the danger posed by the unexploded ordinance, the decision was made to leave it in place for fear of setting off a massive explosion. It would be more dangerous to try to remove the bombs than it was to leave them in place. For more than seventy years, the wreckage of that ship has been home to a lethal danger.

Every human being is born with a lethal danger within—a sin nature that we inherit passed down from Adam. But we are not just sinners by nature. We are also sinners by choice. When presented with the opportunity to do right or wrong, our inclination is toward the evil rather than the good. And because of the punishment for sin that God has decreed, our sin problem requires a solution. We cannot just hope it sinks out of sight under the water and stays there.

Sin must be dealt with, but we have no way to do that. The very best that we can do falls short of the perfection God demands. There has never been anyone apart from Jesus Christ who has completely and perfectly obeyed the law of God. Only by accepting His sacrifice on our behalf can we have salvation.

“But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?”

Luke 10:29

The man whose question sparked perhaps the most famous of all of Jesus’ parables—the story of the Good Samaritan—was not asking out of a sincere desire to know the truth. Instead, the Bible reveals that his motive was to make himself look better. So often we yield to the temptation to think that we can handle things without God just fine on our own, unlike some others. I read a story about a children’s Sunday school teacher who taught her pupils from the parable of the Pharisee and the publican praying in the Temple. When she finished her lesson she called on one of her students to pray. The little boy said, “God, thank You that I’m not like that Pharisee!”

If we set out to justify ourselves, we can always find some reason that will show why what we have done is not as bad as others, or some excuse that will rationalize away or explain our behavior. But God doesn’t grade on a curve. He does not compare us to what others are doing, but rather to the perfect standard of His Son. And He is not deceived by our attempts to make ourselves look better. He sees us as we really are, and He will not accept any attempt to avoid responsibility on our part.

The only hope we have is to abandon our efforts to justify ourselves and instead rest on the finished work of Jesus Christ. It is sufficient for everything that we lack, and because of grace we have already received God’s stamp of approval: “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). When in our pride and self confidence we attempt to make things right with God, we always fail.

“And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.”

Luke 10:30–32

In March of 1964, a young woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked on her way home from work in New York City. Though many people saw or heard at least part of the attack (various news reports and investigations put the number between thirty-six and forty-nine), no one intervened, and only a few people called the police. The attack was carried out over the space of half an hour, and it is quite likely that Genovese’s death could have been prevented if only someone had been willing to intervene. But no one was willing to do what it took to save her life. One of the bystanders even admitted to a reporter, “I didn’t want to get involved.”

All around us there are people who are facing far worse than physical death. The lost have no hope of salvation unless someone loves and cares for them enough to reach out to them with the gospel. Yet too often, like the priest and the Levite in the parable Jesus told, those who should be the first to help find reasons not to do so. We are not told what motivated those two men to cross to the other side of the road. Perhaps they feared for their safety, or perhaps they simply didn’t want to get their hands dirty. But whatever the case, they failed to step up and answer the challenge of helping someone in desperate need.

“But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.”

Luke 10:33–34

There is an ancient Persian legend about a great ruler who loved to disguise himself and wander among his people unrecognized. One night, dressed as a beggar, Shah Abbas met a poor workman who invited him to share his meager food. As they talked, the shah was impressed with the man’s attitude and character. Night after night he returned to meet with the worker, until at least he determined to reveal himself. When he told the man that he was the ruler of the entire land, he expected a request for wealth or promotion. But the poor worker replied, “You have left your palace and glory to sit with me in the dark and share my poverty. You have given me your presence, and even you can give nothing more precious.”

Salvation is freely offered to all who believe, but it was certainly not free for Jesus. Like the Good Samaritan in the parable, Jesus gave up what was rightly His in order to rescue and deliver us. While Jesus hung on the cross, the Pharisees mocked Him saying, “He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him” (Matthew 27:42). Though they were intending to deride and mock Jesus, they unknowingly expressed a profound truth. Jesus faced the choice of saving Himself or saving us—He could not do both. And He chose to be the sacrifice for the sins of the world. Only the gift of the Saviour made it possible for us to receive salvation.

“And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.”

Luke 10:35–37

Ira Sankey, D. L. Moody’s great song leader, told the story of a British actress who was saved in a most unusual way. As she walked down the street one day, she heard a group singing in preparation for a Bible study. The song stuck in her mind and her heart, and she finally went and got a hymn book that had the song in it and sang it over and over until she had learned it by heart. In just a few days she had given her heart to Christ. She no longer had any desire for her former profession, but at the urging of the theater manager, she agreed to take the stage one more time. But rather than singing one of the popular songs of the day, she began singing the hymn that had been instrumental in drawing her to Jesus: “Depth of mercy can there be, Mercy still reserved for me?”

Every one of us who are saved have been the recipients of God’s mercy. In turn, He commands us to show mercy toward others—but often that is a very difficult command to keep. Even as we rejoice in our own escape from God’s wrath, we tend to want to see others get what is coming to them. But James warns us, “For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment” (James 2:13). The merciful heart rests on the foundation of undeserved forgiveness.

“Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.”

Luke 10:38–40

In her book The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom told the story of asking her father about something he didn’t think she was old enough to understand. She wrote: “He turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case off the floor and set it on the floor. ‘Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?’ he said. I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning. ‘It’s too heavy,’ I said. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘and it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It’s the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger, you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you.’”

Many times the burdens that we carry are self-imposed. We find ourselves weighed down, not because of the duties and obligations we have, but because we have taken on things we should not. A prime example of this kind of burden is worry. But whatever the source of our burdens, we are invited to lay them down at Jesus’ feet and stop carrying the weight. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:29).

“And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:41–42

The story is told that one day a man went into the bookstore owned by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia. After looking around, he identified a book he wished to purchase, but when the clerk told him the book cost one dollar, he objected. “That price is too high. Ask your boss if he will lower it.” The clerk went to get Franklin, who after hearing the man’s request said, “The book costs one dollar and a quarter.” The man protested that he had been told one dollar and asked again for the price. Franklin replied, “A dollar and a half.” The man asked why the price kept increasing. Franklin said, “Do you not see that you are wasting my time? The price of the book was one dollar. But because you are wasting my time, the price of the book has to go up.”

None of us has enough time to do everything that could be done or that we would like to do. Many times we are faced with a choice between two good things, only able to do one of them. The key to making good decisions and spending our lives wisely is to order our priorities so that the best of our time, energy, and resources are devoted to the things that truly matter. The noted management guru Peter Drucker pointed out that most people are so busy trying to do things right that they fail to stop and consider whether they are doing the right things. We must work to remain in control of our schedules, keeping our focus on doing what will matter for eternity rather than frittering away our lives on the temporal.

“And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

Luke 11:1

Dr. John Rice told a story about prayer that highlights a trap many of us fall into. When their oldest daughter Grace was a little girl, the custom of their family was to gather at the table and pray before their meal. Dr. Rice said that he noticed a peculiar trait in his daughter. Just before he would finish his praying, she would begin saying, “Amen, Amen.” He then said, “As I thought, I realized that I was just saying the same words day after day, and she said ‘Amen’ because she knew I was almost finished.” Prayer is not just a ritual featuring meaningless repetition of words we say with our eyes closed. Prayer is pouring out our hearts before God.

Though Jesus taught the disciples many things during the three years they shared together, the only thing recorded in Scripture that they asked Him to teach them was to pray. As they traveled and ministered across the land, they watched Jesus pray again and again. Early in the morning, throughout the day, and late at night, they saw Jesus seeking His Father’s face, and eventually they asked Him for instruction in the matter of prayer.

One of the greatest tragedies of our day is the lack of prayer on the part of Christians. While many people wouldn’t think of eating without praying first and we routinely pray at the beginning of church services, Sunday school classes, and meetings, there is a great lack of serious, intense, and fervent prayer. The power and provision of God flow into our lives in response to our prayers. And if we have not prayed as we should, we should not be surprised to find ourselves lacking those things.

“And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”

Luke 11:2-4

I heard of a preacher who used the analogy of a boat coming up to a dock for prayer. He described the process of pulling on a rope that is moored to the dock, and he pointed out that the person on the boat is pulling on the rope, but he isn’t moving the dock or the shore—he is moving the boat to align itself with the fixed point. In the same way, prayer requires that we surrender and submit ourselves and our will to God’s will. There is no legitimate prayer that does not begin with a commitment to God’s will rather than our own.

It is not by accident that Jesus began His instruction on prayer with a focus on God and His will. Our tendency is to focus on ourselves. The problem is that our knowledge and understanding is limited. Many times the things we want most from God are the opposite of what we actually need. If we insist on having our way, we do not allow God to do the work He wants to do in and through us. There is nothing wrong with asking God for what we want, but there is a great deal wrong with demanding and insisting on having our way.

Jesus did not just teach this theoretically—He practiced it. In His moment of greatest need, He prayed just as He taught us to pray. “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done” (Luke 22:42).

“And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.”

Luke 11:5–8

Speaking on the importance of not giving up in prayer, R. A. Torrey said, “I prayed fifteen long years for the conversion of my oldest brother. When he seemed to be getting farther and farther away from any hope of conversion, I prayed on. My first winter in Chicago, after fifteen years of praying, never missing a single day, one morning God said to me as I knelt, ‘I have heard your prayer.’ Within two weeks he was in my home, shut in with sickness which made it impossible for him to leave my home for two weeks. Then the day he left he accepted Christ over in the Bible Institute in Mr. Moody’s office, where he and I went to talk and pray together.”

The Lord could answer our prayers that are in line with His will immediately, and sometimes He does just that. But often we must pray over and over, sometimes even for years, before the answer arrives. This is not because God does not love us, but because He knows our need for character and consistency. When we continue to trust Him and pray faithfully even though we do not see Him at work, it strengthens our walk and our relationship with Him.

“And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

Luke 11:9–10

The Bible frequently uses the lives of Old Testament characters to teach and illustrate a New Testament truth. When it comes to the topic of being serious about our prayers, the prophet Elijah is given to us as an example. He was called to minister in a time of great spiritual darkness in the land. Under the wicked rule of Ahab and Jezebel, the people had turned away from God and were worshiping Baal. As a result, Elijah pronounced a judgment from God—a judgment that came in response to the prayers of the prophet.

Although we tend to think of the answers to Elijah’s prayers as being exceptional, James 5:17 emphasizes that Elijah was a man just like us—with the same struggles we face. Yet he was faithful in earnest prayer, and it made a difference. “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months” (James 5:17).

Earnest praying is like asking, seeking, and knocking—you don’t do it once and give up; you keep at it. It is not always asking once that gets the answer, but continued asking. It is not always seeking once that finds, but continued seeking. It is not always knocking once that gets the door opened, but continued knocking. Many times our prayers fail to be answered, not because we are asking for the wrong things, but because we stop praying. When our faith is not immediately rewarded with an answer, it is not time to give up on God and on our prayer, but to keep on praying until the answer comes.

“If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”

Luke 11:11–13

The evangelist J. Wilbur Chapman told of a man who had been converted in one of his meetings who gave a wonderful illustration of God’s love for us. The man had left home long before, turning his back on his family and the God they loved. His path led downward until he ended up as a beggar on the streets. The man said that he was begging at the Philadelphia train depot when he touched a man on the shoulder and asked for a dime. It was his own father, and the man cried out, “I have found you. I have found you! All that I have is yours.” He said, “I stood there a tramp, begging my father for ten cents when for eighteen years he had been looking for me to give me all he was worth.”

We did not get saved because we were worthy, but because God loved us enough to provide salvation for us through the sacrifice of His Son. And not only does He save us, but He places us in His family and gives us access to all of the privileges and benefits that come with being a child of God. Yet too often we focus on our shortcomings rather than on His love and grace. Because of the relationship He has given us, we have every right to go to Him for help, just as a child would to an earthly father.

“And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.”

Luke 11:14–15

Despite all the evidence available from astronomy, the space program and history, the Flat Earth Society still exists, claiming hundreds of members. The group, which traces its roots back to the 1800s continues to promote the flat disk model of the earth that posits a world ringed by a wall of ice. No matter how many astronauts they talk to, no matter how many moon rocks they see, no matter how many pictures taken from space they are shown, they deny the reality in favor of clinging to their beliefs.

While we may be amused by people who believe the world is flat, many people in our world take the same approach to God. There is no shortage of evidence for His existence, because the very creation speaks to the need for a Creator. But people realize that acknowledging creation requires an accountability, so instead they cling to anything else, no matter how far-fetched it may be, rather than admitting that God is real.

This is not a new thing. Peter dealt with people who refused to acknowledge God. “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water” (2 Peter 3:5). To willingly be ignorant is preferable to these people to admitting the existence of God and facing the fact that they will one day have to face Him and be judged. As Christians we have experienced the reality of God at work in our lives, and we should be not just telling but also showing those around us that He is real.

"And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub."

Luke 11:16-18

In 1858, accepting his nomination as a candidate for the US Senate, Abraham Lincoln sounded a theme that two years later would see him elected to the White House—the pressing need for national unity. Lincoln said, “‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.”

What is true for nations is true for churches and families as well. If we allow ourselves to be divided, the future is dark. While we may limp along for a little while, eventually the foundations will be undermined, and it will fall. Knowing this truth, we must recognize that a large part of the reason for divisions between people in God's family who should be getting along is that we are not willing to put forth the effort and invest the work required to keep unity intact.

One of the strongest of all the New Testament churches was the church at Ephesus. And one of the primary reasons for their effectiveness was that they followed the admonition of Paul to keep their unity intact: “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3). The word used here is the Greek word for diligent exertion—serious, continued, careful effort put forth over a period of time. Unity does not come naturally. It requires effort on our part.

“But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.”

Luke 11:20-23

Satan defeated man, starting in the Garden of Eden and continuing throughout all of human history. He rules over the world with a power that the greatest dictators of history have never come close to attaining. Yet for all of his strength, his power and authority were destroyed by the Saviour who was even stronger. And that destruction was brought about by the very thing that appeared to be Satan’s moment of greatest triumph—the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus was not overcome by Satan. He willingly laid down His life as part of God’s plan for victory. And He forever defeated sin and the grave.

All of Satan’s power was nothing compared to that of Jesus. He is the complete sum of power, and His appearance as the Lamb of God was only a facet of His nature. He is also the conquering Lion of Judah.

“And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.”-Revelation 5:5-6

“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.”

Luke 11:24-26

Anyone who has ever done any gardening knows the importance of getting the ground ready before planting. If you simply chop holes into a grassy field and plant some seeds, your harvest is going to be puny, if there is any production at all. Instead you have to break up the ground, take out any rocks, and remove any weeds. But once the ground is prepared, it is vital to put in the seeds. If you till and prepare the ground but then walk away and leave it, you will have a bumper crop of weeds. They will move right in and take over the whole plot.

Our lives operate in the same manner. While it is right and important to remove sin, it is not enough. We must replace the bad with something good or eventually things will be worse than they were when we started. This is true in every part of life. It is true for our habits. A vital part of breaking a bad habit is replacing it with a good one. That is the greatest protection against slipping back into our old ways. It is easy for us to focus only on the negative things that we need to avoid and lose sight of the positive things we need to be cultivating. Instead we need to be focused on putting good things in the place of the bad ones.

“And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet. For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.”

Luke 11:29-30

The popular conception of the life and ministry of Jesus in the world today is of a kind teacher who set a good moral example for people. While He certainly was that, this view only captures a small part of His purpose and ministry. Jesus clearly and repeatedly proclaimed that judgment was coming. Jonah was sent to the city of Nineveh with the message that God’s judgment was about to fall. For Jesus to use Jonah as a sign was a warning to the people who refused to believe what He preached of impending judgment.

The fact that God has not yet brought destruction on the world is not evidence that judgment is not warranted, but that He is gracious and merciful. The reality that so many in our day are trying to avoid is that one day each person will give account of himself to God. There will be no excuses, no passing of responsibility, or shifting of blame. The God who sees and knows everything will sit in judgment, and all will be brought before Him.

The reality of coming judgment should inspire and motivate us to be diligent in our efforts to reach people while there is still time. “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences” (2 Corinthians 5:11). The only hope the people of Nineveh had was in the warning that Jonah reluctantly delivered to them. Our world today needs to hear from us before it is too late.

“No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness.”

Luke 11:33-35

As a young boy growing up in Edinburgh, Scotland, Robert Louis Stevenson was fascinated with lights. Themes of light and dark would find frequent mention in his literary works. This fascination is probably understandable given that his father, two of his uncles, and his grandfather all worked in lighthouse design and construction. One night Stevenson was watching a man who walked along the street to light the gas lights that illuminated the neighborhood through the night. He had a flame on a long pole, and one by one he lit the lamps along the sidewalk. Stevenson called out to his mother, “Come see the man poking holes in the darkness.”

The purpose of our salvation is not just to secure our eternal destiny in Heaven. We are also meant to be lights in the darkness of the world as we live our daily lives. God did not light us with His love and grace to hide us, but to set us on a candlestick to show the world what happens when someone trusts Him for salvation. There is no doubt that there is great darkness all around us today. Yet the great problem is not that the darkness is so great, but that our lives are so feeble and often hidden from the world. We need a return to the days when God’s people put their faith on clear and unmistakable display, and spend their lives poking holes in the darkness.

"And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness."

Luke 11:37-39

I read about a little boy who was preparing to leave for his piano lesson. Before they left the house his mother wanted to make sure he was presentable when he got to his teacher. “Did you wash your hands?” she asked. “Yes, Mother,” he replied. “Did you wash your face?” Yes, Mother,” he said once more. “And did you wash behind your ears?” she continued. He hesitated for a moment and then said, “On her side I did.”

The Pharisees in Jesus' day were not concerned with genuine holiness, but rather only cared about the outward appearance they presented to others. Those who only saw them in public would be quite impressed as they passed by with their elaborate garments, praying loudly as they went. But God saw their hearts, and He was not impressed because He knew that their outward religiosity hid inward evil.

It is possible to outwardly conform to the commands of Scripture for a time without truly desiring to love and follow God, but eventually what is on the inside will show up in our lives. If we want our conduct to be pleasing to God, rather than focusing on the external, we should begin by focusing on the heart. “O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!” (Deuteronomy 5:29).

“But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.”

Luke 11:42–44

In Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the following conversation takes place between Alice and the Cheshire Cat that describes how our effort in life can be wasted. “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where—” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat. “So long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation. “Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”

It is easy for us to find that our lives are filled with activity, but not with productivity. We can find that our focus drifts from one thing to the next, and we look only at what is before us rather than having clear goals and destinations in mind. The truly important things in life are often drowned out by the clamor of the urgent, and if we are not careful, we will find ourselves spending all our time and energy on things that are of very little true significance. The Pharisees counted out the tiniest leaves in their herb gardens to be sure they were tithing in accordance with the law, yet at the same time they ignored the things that were eternal. As a result, Jesus condemned them for their lack of proper priorities.

“Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.”

Luke 11:45–47

Christopher Wren was the premiere English architect of the seventeenth century, but even he sometimes faced clients who thought they knew more about construction than he did. In 1688 he was commissioned to design a building in Windsor, England. Wren devoted his considerable skill to the task, and created a stunning design for a building held up by a series of columns that left an open space on the first floor where business and trade could be conducted. The city leaders feared the columns would not be sufficient to support the structure of the upper floors, so they insisted Wren add additional columns. So, in the interior of the open area, Wren designed four more pillars. However, he intentionally had them constructed too short, so that they did not reach the ceiling above—they looked like the other columns, but bore no actual weight.

There are many people who have the outward traits of Christians, but are doing nothing to carry the load of doing the work of God’s kingdom. They are perfectly content to tell others how they should manage and carry their loads, but they do not take on any responsibility or burden themselves. God’s design for the church does not include any decorative columns. Each one of us is called to not only carry our own weight, but to be helpful and an encouragement to others as well. Paul wrote, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2).

“Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.”

Luke 11:49–51

The early church father Tertullian wrote, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.” Throughout the history of God’s work, there have been men and women who have been willing to take a stand for the truth even at the cost of their own lives. They would not deny the Lord even in the face of death, but remained faithful. In fact, the English word for martyr comes from the Greek word for witness—signifying those who were willing to give everything for the sake of the truth.

Though America has long enjoyed great religious freedom, and most of us have never faced any serious consequences for our faith, that is not true in much of the rest of the world, and it may not remain true in our nation forever. Thousands of Christians are dying for their faith around the world, choosing to join the line of heroes who have stood for the ages instead of denying the Lord.

It is easy for us to be confident that we would stand firm when we have not been put to the test. Peter certainly had no doubt what he would do. “Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended” (Matthew 26:33). Yet that very night Peter denied even knowing who Jesus was. We need to be firm in our commitment to Christ regardless of what consequences may come as a result.

“In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.”

Luke 12:1–3

Charles Lindbergh was one of the most famous and admired men in the world. Following his solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927, he gained world renown. His fame only increased after the tragic kidnapping and death of his oldest child. People looked up to Lindbergh and admired him as a man of virtue and character. What they did not know—what was not revealed until nearly thirty years after his death—was that Lindbergh had seven illegitimate children scattered across Europe. With great shock Lindbergh’s youngest daughter from his marriage wrote, “This story reflects absolutely Byzantine layers of deception on the part of our shared father.”

The temptation to hide and cover our sin rather than dealing with it goes all the way back to the fig leaves Adam and Eve wore as they hid from God in the Garden of Eden. We will try almost anything to avoid having to admit that we have done wrong. And there are times when it seems like we are succeeding at getting away with sin. But that is merely an illusion. God does not always immediately bring to light what we have done and punish us as we deserve. Sometimes He gives us grace and forbearance to see if we will return to Him on our own. However, if we insist on allowing our sin to remain, it will eventually become known.

“And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.”

Luke 12:4–5

Known as the “Nine Day Queen,” Lady Jane Grey was just fifteen years old when she was briefly placed on the throne of England before being deposed by Bloody Mary, who would later order her execution. Jane Grey never wavered in her faith, even when told that converting to Catholicism might spare her life. In a letter not long before her death, she wrote, “For my sins the body of Christ was broken, and his blood shed on the cross. I ground my faith upon God’s word, and not upon the church. The faith of the church must be tried by God’s Word, and not God’s Word by the church; neither yet my faith.” She feared disappointing God more than losing her own life, and her faith remains a shining example hundreds of years later.

The first and greatest commandment is that we love God above all else and all others. The priority of God determines how we spend our lives—how we use our time, talents, and resources. If He is first, then we will be devoted to following His Word and obeying His will. Yet the lives of many Christians do not reflect those priorities as being the most important. Too often we lose sight of the balanced nature of God’s character. Yes, He is a loving and gracious Father to His children. Yet, He also hates sin with a fiery wrath, and He will not allow it to go unpunished: “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil” (Proverbs 16:6).

“Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

Luke 12:6–7

George Müller was a man of great faith. For many years, he operated orphanages that cared for thousands of children. The work was completely supported by prayer. Müller did not believe in asking people to give money—so much so that on more than one occasion when people asked him what needs the orphanage had, he would tell them, “I told God what we need. Ask Him what you should do.” Müller carried a great weight of responsibility, but he did not bear it alone. On his desk Müller kept a frame with this declaration: It matters to Him about you.

The devil lies and tells us that God does not care about our situation. When we stop and think that there are some seven billion people living on earth, it is easy to feel like our lives may not attract God’s attention. But in reality, He knows exactly where we are and everything about us—even the number of hairs on our heads. This is the God whose knowledge and wisdom is so infinite that He even keeps track of the most insignificant birds, and He loves us far more than the sparrows.

God never loses sight of us, or forgets what we are experiencing in our lives. When He does allow things to come into our lives that are painful and difficult, He measures carefully what we are able to bear. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

“Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.”

Luke 12:8–9

In 1765 Joseph Grigg published a hymn that was taken from a poem he had apparently written as a ten-year-old boy. It began:

“Jesus! and shall it ever be!
A mortal man ashamed of Thee?
Scorn’d be the thought by rich and poor;
O may I scorn it more and more!”

In our society, it is becoming less and less socially acceptable to declare allegiance to Jesus Christ and to follow the teachings of the Word of God. We still have the historical veneer of a generic and vague religiosity, but to stand and say that Jesus is the only way to Heaven is sure to spark protests and objections. The more our culture turns its back on Jesus, the more important it is for us to take a clear, uncompromising, and determined stand that we are His followers and that we proudly bear His name.

The early church faced opposition because of their insistence on preaching Jesus. The high priest insisted that they stop using His name. “Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man’s blood upon us” (Acts 5:28). More than anything else, the religious leaders did not want Jesus’ name proclaimed—but that is exactly what the disciples preached.

What our world needs is not better methods, but the original message. Our wisdom and philosophy will not change the world, but the Saviour will. “And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ” (Acts 5:42).