Monday, April 26, 2021

Luke 10 Devotions by Stephen Taylor

Luke 10:1

After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of Him to every town and place where He was about to go. 

 

The Lord used regular people to prepare the hearts and minds of those He was about to go to, and He is still doing this today! How beautiful it is that the Lord allows us to partner with Him in His ministry. That He trusts us even though He knows everything about us. He knows every secret, every hurt, and every sin, yet because of Who He is and how He changes us, He lets us take the message of freedom, the greatest gift ever given to the world to those around us!

 

The question then becomes, are we moving? Are we going? Are we sharing it the way He would share it if He were walking the planet today? One of the things I pray often is, “Holy Spirit, teach me the Word, train me in it and show me how to share it the way you want it to be shared.” I don’t want to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ or the Word of God the way I think it should be shared but rather the way He knows it needs to be shared – in a way that honors and glorifies Him, edifies His people, and shines the brightest of lights in this dark, dark world.

 

There is so much power in surrendering and doing it His way (in all things), but today, I want to focus on sharing the Word the way He intended it to be shared. Remember that the disciples were just ordinary people with an extraordinary God. The power wasn’t in themselves but in the One who called them family!

 

Luke 8:20,21 - Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s Word and put it into practice.”

 

God bless! I love you all, but He loves you more! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth!

 

 

Luke 10:8-11

“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is offered to you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The Kingdom of God has come near.’”

The heart of our God is amazing! We see that there are only two types of towns given here. Jesus says one town will welcome you, and the other will not; there is no third town mentioned here. So, we are either a people who welcome Christ and all that He is or a people that rejects Him and all that He is.

I think too often, people can fall into the trap of the third town. The third town is the town that says I want to live in the world but belong to Christ. I want all His blessings and security while living a life of the flesh. My friends, this just shouldn’t be because there are only two towns; the town that welcomes the King and the town that rejects Him. Let us not fall for that trap but be diligent and aware.

I do love the heart of Christ so very much. We see that He tells both the town that accepts Him and the town that rejects Him the same thing, that the Kingdom of God has come near to them! It is so like our God to extend the truth to all people. To not hold back who He is but to share that with all people, even those who reject Him. Now, there are consequences for the rejection of Christ, but it doesn’t stop Him from sharing the truth. Would it stop us?

When the world rejects us because of Him, will we stop sharing Him, or will we follow His lead here and tell them the truth? I’m thankful that God tells those who reject Him the truth, that He reveals it to them, because I was one of those people for many years, and yet my God was patient and merciful and continued to show His great love for me by telling me the truth. And finally, I got it! Thank You, Lord, for your unwavering love and commitment to saving the lost like me!

Romans 5:8- But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Luke 5:31,32- Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

God bless! I love you all, but His love is truth! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!



Luke 10:26-29

“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

These verses show us that we can know the answer in our minds but not hold it in our hearts! This man read the Law correctly, knew what it said and what was expected, and yet instead of looking for ways to obey it, he looked for loopholes to get around it. Instead of looking for opportunities to love, he desired loopholes to get out of it. Do we do this? We read the Bible, and we know what it says, but do we live what it teaches? Are we willing to give when it costs more than we want to pay? Is our life really not our own, or is that just something we quote on Sundays?

To me, these verses are a daunting wake-up call to the church. This man was not an outsider but a teacher of the Law, well-versed in all it had to say. This man was not only in the church but was a leader. He was looked upon to set the example by the way he lived, and the example he is setting is not good. We, too, must remember that we are called to lead; some churches, some ministries, some families, and some in other areas, but all are called to serve Christ and be a living example of who He is. This man teaches us that we can answer correctly and at the same time be so wrong.

This is not a post to beat us up but wake us up to the truth- it’s one thing to know and even claim the truth, but it’s a whole different ball game to live it! But we are called to be not only knowers and speakers of the Word but doers of it! Will we be doers of the Word or the world today? Lord, help us to live out Your Word for Your glory today!

James 1:22-25- Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

God bless! I love you all, but His love enables us to walk in freedom today! Glory, honor, and praise now and forever to Papa God, Jesus Christ our King, and the Holy Spirit!

  

Luke 10:40-42

But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”

 

But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” 

 


We have an enemy out there, and if he can’t destroy you, he will try to distract you! I constantly find myself distracted with Facebook or minor inconveniences in my life, and that’s when I really need to try to focus on God and see what the enemy is trying to keep me from, because I believe the bigger the assignment from God, the harder the attack from the enemy will be.

 

If we take our attention away from Jesus, then he has already succeeded in slowing us down!! He doesn’t need to concern himself with distracting us, because we have done it for him! I have to stay focused on God and what He wants me to do, not my will but His will! If we stay diligent in the Word, attentive to the Spirit, and stay focused on Jesus, then there will be less room for that other junk to distract us!!

 

We are in a battle for souls, and our enemy doesn’t care what team we play for as long as we’re not playing too hard against him! So, let’s get past the distractions and start delivering for Christ!!!

 

I love you all. God bless, and Glory to God!!!!

 

 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment