Open mind

“Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”  Luke 24:45

We do not have the capacity to understand the Bible without God’s help.

It may be that a Godly-anointed preacher gives us explanation.

Jesus took an initiative of that sort when He explained how the Old Testament told of what He was now involved in.

The beauty of Godly insights!

You read a section of the Bible and suddenly see it in a new way.  You wonder why it has taken you so long to see it that way.  Could it be that God has now opened your mind as He did with His disciples?  I think so.

When we read Scripture, we should beforehand ask Him to please open our minds to what we’ll be reading.  I refuse to believe that He would not honor such a request.

The Scripture has much to say to you and me, but we need help to gain understanding.  We must ask Him for it.

Getting right with wrong

“Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action.”  Luke 23:50-51

The Godly in this world shutter at the choices being made.

That which conflicts directly with the New Testament is not only considered right but is protected from correction attempts.

So how do we live in such a godless environment?

I am currently working my way through “God Guides” by Mary Geegh.  My reading today brought me to a story of how Mary dealt with wrong.  Like many of us, she was initially quick to condemn and quick, as a result, to drive someone away.  God later brought this Scripture to her: “I have not come to condemn the world but to save it.”  God told Mary to repent of condemning someone else……….and she did.  Ultimately, a relationship was restored.

How easy it is to condemn evil.  How difficult it is to see the bigger picture.  If God is doing all He can to save people, I need to find ways to do that as well.

This does not mean that I am to condone evil, but instead I need to see in that evil-doer someone God loves and wants to save.  I must do all I can to function within His framework.

You sound like one of His

“Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.” Luke 22:71

When Jesus spoke, not everyone listened…….but they should have.

Jesus identifies Himself as God’s Son.

His words were truth.  He was, indeed, God’s Son.

What He said revealed His identity.

You and I pour out a ton of words each day.  What do those words reveal?

Sadly, for many of us, our words betray what we profess.  They often portray godlessness.

I struggle with reacting badly to things.  When I’m in charge, the flow is usually Godly.  I know what I’ll be saying, and I can make sure that God is considered in the presentation.

Sadly, when someone else is directing the path of the conversation, things don’t go so well if I am not in agreement with them.

In those instances, I turn defensive and protective.  I can’t easily give in.

In today’s political climate, I wonder how those who have no use for the current President would react if he suddenly did something they had been advocating.  Would they be thankful?  Or would they instead be cynical about his new way?  Might they wonder if they were mistaken for advocating it in the first place?

In the Luke 22 verse, the listeners were convinced by the words of Jesus: He thought He was God’s Son.  His presentation was consistent with His other words and actions.

My words must be His Words.

My words must be consistently Godly.

Those in my midst are judging the reality of my relationship to God by what I say.  I must speak accordingly!

 

Why ask?

“When Jesus’ followers saw what was going to happen, they said, ‘Lord, should we strike with out swords?’  And one of them struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear.”  Luke 22:49-50

A question is asked and before it is answered an action, relating to the question, is taken.

How like us.

We claim to be in union with God.

We claim to have a relationship with Him.

And yet we often give Him mere lip service.

We ask for His help and plow ahead before His answer comes to us.  We assume that we know what His answer will be.

And often we don’t.

I am currently reading, “God Guides,” by Mary Geegh.  It is a collection of stories about listening to God.  I am in the early sections, but the pattern is already established: listening to God is essential.

Doing what God wants may not be what I want.  His Ways are not always my ways.  But He knows best and deserves my trust.

Either or

“If you are not on my side, you are against me.  If you don’t gather in the crop with me, you scatter it.”  Luke 11:23.

Jesus said this.

There is no middle ground.

Jesus doesn’t want semi-attached help.

He doesn’t want part-time help.

He wants His Thoughts running through my head.

And yet here I am on vacation, easily distracted by the setting and the company.

The beauty here (Turks and Caicos) is a fine example of the amazing creation of God.  I left a place that was cold and crisp.  Now I’m in a place where it’s summer warm………..in March.

I cannot separate from God.  I must be mindful of Him.  I see turquoise water.  I feel a sweet breeze.  He is in my midst.  He’s knows me personally.

I must get to know Him better.  How?  Concentrating on Him is a necessity.  I must learn to see things with His Eyes.

I must.

Conclusion: I must concentrate on Him 24/7.

 

Don’t fall for it

“If you worship me, it will all be yours.”  Luke 4:7.

Liar, liar!

Satan entices us to do his will by false promises.

Do this-or-that and you’ll be happy.

You have to take care of yourself.  No one else can do it better.

All lies.

In some ways, it’s like the persistent telemarketer: repetition wears down the customer’s resistance.

How often does Satan whisper that you deserve to indulge yourself?  Buy this.  Go there.

The Devil will say anything if it will lead us away from a dependence on God.

Satan is the master at making inroads in our God dependence.

What gets me is that his whispers are not usually to do things significantly different.  They are often suggestions to make small alterations in my Godliness.

I must remain tight with God.  I must crave Him and His guidance in everything.  I must not accept alternatives.

When I am close to God, Satan has to shout to get my attention.

When I am close to God, Satan’s suggestions sound ludicrous.

Conclusion: I must be close to God in all seasons.

What’s all the yelling about?

“But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed.  So Pilate decided to grant their demand.”  Luke 23:23-24.

Being loud and insistent carried the day.

Shame on them, but wait, how often am I loud and insistent?

I live in a world where interactions happen.  He said.  She said.

Sometimes the interactions get loud.  Sometimes there is insistence involved.

In the story within today’s two verses, the loud insistence was misguided.  Those behaving this way were part of getting an innocent man crucified.  I know, it was part of God’s plan in that instance.

When I am loud and insistent, I run the risk of behaving as the accusers of Jesus did.  What if I’m wrong?  Will my voice’s volume, and my insistence, lead to a misguided result?

There is Scripture that tells me that “a soft answer turns away wrath.”  In an emergency, my loud voice is necessary.  Insistence may be required too.  Otherwise, I need “soft” and “reasonable.” Easy for me to write.  Hard for me to live out.

The older I get the more “right” I am!  Sadly, the other “older” people in my life are also getting more “right.”  What could go wrong?  Plenty!

I must be filled with the Holy Spirit and talk accordingly.  Every word I use must be a gift from God to someone else.

I recall rough conversations and I assure myself that the Holy Spirit was not pleased by what He heard, in fact, He was grieved.  I MUST NOT grieve the Holy Spirit.  I want Him running me.

Conclusion: My words must be Spirit-saturated.

He’ll take care of the rest

“But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.  For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.”  Luke 21:14-15.

Trouble is going to come.

How I face it will be closely connected to my relationship to God.

Jesus is offering to make the troubled future go as smoothly as possible.  My part is to trust Him.

Day after day, in my recent meditations, I am being sent directly and indirectly to my absolute need to be connected to Him without ceasing.

It has been a struggle for me to maintain an ongoing relationship with God.  Too many distractions.  In the scurry to relocate, there is a flood of “to-do’s” running through my head.

All this busyness has lessened my ability to concentrate on God, and I’m unhappy about that.  What brings me to my senses are incidents.  Why did I do that?  I shouldn’t have said that.  On and on it goes.

A great blessing brought me to my “senses” yesterday.  A plumbing issue on Sunday necessitated a call to our plumber.  Note that this was Sunday.  The call was in the late afternoon.  My thinking was that I could get to the head of his list for work he would do starting Monday.  (I had forgotten that Monday was a holiday!)  Anyhow, I called and got on his answering machine.  Next thing I knew he texted me for specifics.  Long story short: He came over and fixed our problem on a Sunday night.  My wife could do laundry.  All was right with the world!  You talk about God being good.  A Sunday evening visit on a holiday weekend?  Only God could have arranged such a thing.  It was certainly more than I could have hoped for.

Conclusion: My mind must be filled with God if I am to face what the future brings in a Godly way.

 

Strong desire required

“He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd.  So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.”  Luke 19:3-4.

I admire Zacchaeus.

This guy wanted something and took on the obstacles to get what he wanted.

I need his determination.

I regularly state that I want to know God better, and it’s true.  It’s the step beyond the initial desire that draws me to Zacchaeus.  He didn’t let obstacles hinder his desire to see Jesus.

We are currently in transition, moving from a summer place to a rest-of-the-year place.  There’s packing/unpacking as well as cleaning and sorting.  Great busyness for us.

It is too easy to minimize my separate time with God.  I am too busy.  I am too tired.  The excuses pile up. BUT when I become too busy for special time with Him, I head into the zone where I am unmindful of Him for extended hours.  What will often alert me to my waywardness will be a godless minor/major incident.

Zacchaeus overcame an obstacle to see Jesus.  I MUST see obstacles as potentially driving me away from Him and act accordingly.

Conclusion: I must stay close to Him no matter what obstacles come along.

Stay after it

“So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help?  Won’t he stick up for them?  I assure you he will.  He will not drag his feet.  But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?” Luke 18:6-8 (The Message)

Our concern and our persistence are related.

I can declare my concern up front but if that concern doesn’t result in some persistent action, then how big really was my concern?

God wants us to petition Him persistently.  He loves to hear from us!  He knows what we know, why then should I persistently petition Him?  It’s for my good.  It forces me to realize that God is the One who can get things done.  By persistently petitioning Him, I am recognizing that fact.  Anything else that I might petition to is a counterfeit god.

I have family members who aren’t believers, as far as I know.  They cannot spend eternity in Hell.  I must pray for them with a passion that recognizes their neediness as well as God’s ability to do something about it.

Conclusion: I must persistently approach Him with my concerns.