#Luke9 #Luke10 - Following Jesus

Click here to read Luke 9-10:

1. What stood out to me from this chapter?

Luke 9 and 10 talk a lot about the costs of discipleship and Jesus teaching the disciples. When I think of the word, discipleship, I think it could most simply be described as following Jesus. Not just literally walking around with human Jesus, but letting Jesus lead you in every facet of your life. Jesus talks about the cost of discipleship and that sometimes we are called to give up things we thought we would have or want, or do things that are out of our comfort zone. He tells us to give up ties to our worldly possessions and trust that God will provide for our needs. He encourages the disciples to pray for God to send workers into the harvest field. One of my favorite shirts I own has the words, "Following Jesus" on it, and I love the simplicity of it.

2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?

The last few verses of chapter 10 talk about Mary and Martha. In this instance, Mary is committed to being with Jesus, while Martha is distracted by the chores and preparations. So often, Martha gets sort of a bad reputation as being a busy-body. But there is another place where we see both Mary and Martha together. In John 11, Mary and Martha's brother Lazarus has just died, and in a conversation with Jesus, Martha is the first to declare that Jesus would receive whatever he asked of God. She stated her faith in the resurrection. And she declared that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. So Martha really is a woman of incredible faith, despite a temptation towards being just plain busy.

3. What does this mean for my life?

The parable of the Good Samaritan really struck me as I read it this time. The question is asked of Jesus, "Who is my neighbor," hoping to narrow it down and love in the most minimal way. But Jesus "answers his question", I suppose, by saying that instead of figuring out who our neighbor is, we should instead invest our energy into being a good neighbor to others.

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

I wonder if James and John thought they could call down fire from heaven to destroy Samaria. It's ironic that even though they had a strong pull against the Samaritans, Jesus rebukes them and tells a parable where the Samaritan is  the hero.

Those are my thoughts for this chapter. I'd love to hear yours. God's blessings to you and KEEP DIGGING IN!

In Christ,
Dan

image from http://sowhatfaith.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/FollowJesus.jpg

#Matthew10 - Be Afraid!

Click to read Matthew 10:

1. What stood out to me from this chapter?

Almost every time a heavenly being (angel) speaks to a human, the first words out of their mouths are, "Do not be afraid." Here in Matthew 10, we hear Jesus telling us not to be afraid of anyone on earth, no matter what they may do to us. However we should fear God and serve Him, who is the judge of all. It seems weird to fear God, when 95% of the time we hear, "God loves you. He's our father. Prince of Peace." Those are absolutely true, but God is also all-powerful, mighty, ruler of the universe, and is above all kings. I think of someone appearing before a king in the medieval times. Even before a good king, people would bow out of honor and fear because whatever the king said would happen. That is how we ought to treat God. This is also one of the clearest passages that references being condemned to hell. It describes hell as a place where body and soul are destroyed in judgment. Hell is not a fun concept, but we can't just ignore it. In fact, earlier in the chapter Jesus said that it will be more bearable for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah than those who are judged by God to be condemned (because of their rejection and rebellion) to hell.

2. How does this passage relate to any other Scripture I know?

Even in other places in Scripture we hear God and Jesus say, "Do not be afraid." There are only a few places in the Bible that we see the words "Be afraid..." And as far as I read, they are all talking about God. One of the best examples of that is Proverbs 1:7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." In Deuteronomy 6, God commands the Israelites to "Fear the Lord your God."

Hell is also mentioned and described in other places in the Bible as well. In fact, Jesus talks about hell more than any other person in the Bible, and he talks about hell more than heaven. Here are a few other references to hell and judgment: Matthew 5:22-30, Matthew 13:36-43, Matthew 23, Mark 9:43, 2 Peter 2:4, Revelation 20. It is described as a place of continual torment, a sort of prison for the devil and demons, but also for those who reject God's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. It's not a fun thing, and IN NO WAY am I to play judge over another's destiny. But I believe we as a church are dangerously close to just erasing hell out of the Bible for the sake of tolerance.

3. What does this mean for my life?

This whole chapter is certainly not about hell, but that is just what caught my attention. As a whole, this chapter is about following Jesus. For personal application I was both convicted and encouraged by Matthew 10:18-20. Jesus says that when we go out and are persecuted, don't worry about what we are going to say to witness to the gospel, for the Holy Spirit will give us the words to say. I think I have been silent too often when I should have spoken, mostly because I wasn't sure what I should say. We should certainly be wise with our words and quick to listen to others, but we shouldn't be afraid to speak.

4. What questions do I have about this chapter?

I have quite a few questions, actually. Many of Jesus's teachings here are just a little unnerving. Probably the hardest for me is in verses 34-39. He says that he came to turn family members away from others, and to bring a sword not peace. And yet in Matthew 5 he says, "blessed are the peacemakers." I understand that there will be families where someone follows Christ, and they are rejected, or shunned, or at least not understood. My real question I guess is, "What did Jesus mean by this?"

Have a great day following Jesus.

In Christ,
Dan

#Matthew8 - Touched by Jesus

Click here to read Matthew 8:

1. What stood out to me from this chapter?

In the first story of healing, Jesus not only proclaimed healing for the person with leprosy, he TOUCHED him. Now, a lot of people use that in a deep emotional sense of the word, "That message really touched me." I think we say that because there is something incredibly powerful about safe, healthy, loving physical touch. Someone with leprosy would have been used to people shunning them and walking to the other side of the street. As a result, they would likely not have experienced any sort of physical touch since they contracted the disease. This touch of Jesus not only brought physical healing, but I believe it meant so much emotionally as well.

2. How does this passage relate to any other Scripture I know?

After Jesus heals the Centurion, he reveals that like the Centurion who had put his faith in Jesus, many who were outside of the Jewish heritage would also receive salvation through faith in Christ. And some who were Jewish would be rejected by God because of their rejection of Jesus. This reminds me of a parable Jesus told of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22. The king invites people to a wedding banquet, but the guests don't who up. The king then invites everyone who is out on the streets to come in.

3. So what does this mean for my life?

As I read this chapter, I couldn't help but put myself in the position of the townspeople whose pigs Jesus had just driven off a cliff. At first I think, "Who cares about the pigs? Look at what he did for the demon possessed men." But then I think there may have been times in my life where I wanted to take a step back from God, because he revealed himself in a way that made me uncomfortable. Maybe he asked "too much" of me. Whatever it is, I need to let God be God and follow Jesus wherever he leads.

4. What questions do I have about this passage?

In verses 18-22, some people want to follow Jesus, but Jesus dismisses them with some comments. Why did Jesus dismiss them? They didn't seem like unreasonable statements or requests. One person simply declared a desire to follow Jesus wherever, but maybe Jesus knew that he would not be able to follow through on that declaration. Another wanted to bury his father, but I guess we don't really know what that situation was. Maybe his father wasn't even dead yet, and he was saying in effect, "As soon as my father passes away I'll join you." I just wonder what the circumstances were that would cause Jesus to answer in the way that he did.

Have a splendid day.

In Christ,
Dan

image from http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Believer's%20Corner/ten_lepers.htm

Acts 24 - Follower of the Way

Acts 24 - The trial saga continues... :)

1. What stuck out to you from this chapter?

In verse 15, Paul states a deeply held belief that was apparently around even before Jesus, that there will be a resurrection for both the righteous and the wicked. Jesus alluded to this as well by saying that the wicked "will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." (Matt. 25:45-46, NIV) I didn't realize this was a belief for the Jews apart from Jesus. But the hope Paul talks about is that his righteousness is certain through Christ, and eternal life is his destination.

2. How does this relate to any other Scripture I know?

When Paul called himself a follower of the Way, I had to stop and think about this. I had heard that this is one of the "names" the early Christians were given. Maybe it's a name they gave themselves. At first I thought maybe it meant a certain way of life, but then I noticed that the "W" in "Way" was capitalized. I then thought of John 14:6 when Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the father except through me." This was an answer to one of the disciple's question, "How will we know the way to where you are going?" Jesus answer was basically, "You already know the Way." In Acts, Paul seems to be identifying himself as a follower of the "Way", or Jesus.

3. What does this mean for my life?

In verses 24-27 we found out that Felix kept Paul as a prisoner for 2 YEARS! He called for Paul often to discuss "faith," but he was secretly hoping Paul would offer him a bribe. Being that Paul was there for two years, I'm assuming that Paul never offered a bribe. To me, that is impressive. That is a two year test of Paul's character, integrity, and obedience to God's laws, and he passed with flying colors. This little side note of the story caught my attention and inspired me to continue with great fervor to live a life of integrity before God and others.

4. What questions do I have about this verse?

I'm sure I could find this out with some reading and research, but here is my question. What was the authority structure of the Roman world, and how did that fit with the Jews leadership? Like what was King Herod? What was Pontius Pilate? What was Ananias? What was Felix? What was Festus? What was King Agrippa? And how did they all relate to each other and to Caesar? The answer probably wouldn't change any meaning of the story, but would just help it make more sense as to why they went to certain people.

God's blessings.

In Christ,
Dan