Luke 11- Seek Christ

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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

Often people will say “God is so far away” or “ I don’t feel close to God” , however as Jesus’ teaching reveals to us, God wants us to seek him. Are you seeking Christ today? Are you knocking on God’s door expecting an answer? As the Bible says “You don’t receive because you don’t ask” (James 4:3) If you are not seeking God, then you will not find God. You must be seeking inorder to find, and the only way to find God is through Jesus Christ (John 14:6)

Jesus tells us a story about someone who knocks on their friends house late at night asking for food, and the friends response is “its late at night, stop bothering me”. Most likely we would never have bothered a friend or neighbor late at night, unless it was an emergency. However, because the person was persistent in requesting their needs, the friend gave them what they wanted.

What is Jesus trying to teach us here? Well for starters God is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, there is never a time when you are “bothering” God. Secondly, be persistent in your pursuit of God. Just as the person kept persistently bothering their friend , keep knocking on the door, keep seeking Christ in all your needs, small or great

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. 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 11:9-13

Jesus is telling us to seek Him, Jesus is telling us to knock on the door and He will answer. These are promises written by God, even in the darkest hours of the night, even for the smallest reasons, cry out to The Lord and he will answer you. I know you may doubt this or not believe, but if you don’t ask you won’t receive. Faith begins with a step forward, a knock on the door of Christ

Think about how we love to buy people great gifts, why? Because it makes them happy and we feel a sense of satisfaction when they receive them. God feels the same way about you. God is willing to give you the gift of the Holy Spirit, the greatest power in the universe, the same power that rose Jesus from the dead (Romans 8:15) the same power living inside of You

Seek Christ, ask for The Lord to answer your calling, Jesus wants to give you the greatest gift of eternal life and the Holy Spirit! Call upon The Lord and you shall be saved Amen!

Luke 11- The Lords Prayer

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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. 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. Luke 11:1-2

One of the greatest gifts Jesus given to us, was the Lord’s Prayer. Think about it, the words of our Lord given to us so we can repeat them to our Father. The same words the Apostles and the early Church repeated on a daily basis, are the same words we repeat, what a powerful thought. And each one of the lines from the Lord’s Prayer has a powerful meaning and proclamation

Our Father , who Is In Heaven, demonstrates that God is not only your father but he is also in control from His Kingdom. Holy is your name, this is why we often use the words “Lord” or “Adonai” to describe God because his name is so holy, the early Jews refused to even try to pronounce or translate it.

Your Kingdom come and your will be done. This should be our anthem in our daily lives. Living for The Lord’s return and doing the will of God. Your will be done as in heaven and on Earth. If you wouldn’t do something in Heaven, you shouldn’t be doing it on Earth. You should live everyday as Jesus is returning and God’s Kingdom is being established

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 11:3-4

You might start each day wondering what you should do or how to supply your daily needs. However, start by using the Lord’s Prayer and ask God for your daily bread. This is very metaphorical , as it could not only mean your physical needs but your spiritual needs for the day!

One of the confusions with The Lord’s Prayer is when we say debtors or trespasses, these words mean sin. Regardless of which one you say, it means we ask God to forgive us of our sins, and we forgive those who sin against us. Its important we repent of our sins and are willing to forgive others

The gospel of Matthew has another verse “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13) You can check out my complete commentary on The Lords Prayer here. 

Luke 10- Mary and Martha

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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 today’s reading we see two sisters , Mary and Martha. Now these sisters were more famous for their brother Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead (John 11) It was well documented that Jesus was close friends with this family, that’s why the raising of Lazarus was very personal for him, as its noted “Jesus wept” over the death of Lazarus.

Martha hosted a gathering for their friend and Lord Jesus. Now while Christ was teaching, Mary took a break from her choirs and sat at the feet of Jesus and listened to his teachings. This made her sister Martha very angry, as she was the only one doing all the work at this dinner party. Now anyone who has hosted a dinner party or takes care of a home, knows how much work Martha was tasked with, so it’s understandable  her frustration with her sister Mary

In fact Martha wanted Jesus to rebuke her sister Mary and tell her to get to work. However Jesus was going to teach Martha and all of us, the importance of a Sabbath rest to be with God

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

Jesus was telling Martha “There are alot of things in this world we can be busy or distracted with, however we must choose time for God” I know this is a complete paraphrase but I think this is the point Christ is trying to make. While Jesus was there, Mary chose to spend time with The Lord, which was a wise choice. Even though Martha’s work seemed very important at the time, she was going to miss out on her time with Christ

I think Jesus was trying to teach us about the “Sabbath Rest”. Often Christians don’t think about a Sabbath Rest or even know about it, because we are too divided on what day is the Sabbath and whether we should we observe it. The point is God wants us to devote a day and time of rest and reflection upon Him. Remember to dedicate some time for God and take a rest from your daily work and burdens in Jesus name Amen!

Luke 10- Who Is My Neighbor?

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But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? 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. 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.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. Luke 10:29-36

This parable begins with “An expert in the law stood up to test Jesus” (v25) We can assume this man was probably a religious leader, a Pharisee or Sauducess, and they wanted to trap Jesus in his teachings, as many of them tried to do. He asked Jesus “What must I do to inherit eternal life”? Jesus knowing he was a religious leader asked him “What does the Mosaic Law say”? The man replied with Love the Lord God with all your heart, soul, and strength and Love your neighbor. Jesus simply replied “Yes do this and you will live” , However the religious leader wasn’t satisfied with that simple answer, so he challenged Jesus “Who Is my Neighbor”

We often hear the phrase “Love your Neighbor”, but do we know who Jesus is referring to also? Well Jesus gave us a teaching to help us understand. There was a man who was beaten and robbed laying on the side of the road. Three men passed by him, a priest, a Levite, and a Samaritan. The priest and Levite ignored the man, while the Samaritan went above and beyond to help and take care of the man. Now to understand this story, you need to understand who the three men were.

The priest we know is supposed to be a mediator between God and the people of Israel at this time. We would have assumed he would have done the right thing but didn’t. A Levite was from the bloodline of Aaron, they were actually the family line of high priests in the Mosaic Law. So again we would have assumed the Levite would have helped, but he didn’t either. Then you have the Samaritan, who were people who were half Jewish and half Gentile. Therefore these people were outcasts during these time periods. This would have been the last person you would have expected to help, but they did

This was a foreshadow of the New Covenant, Jesus was demonstrating. Gods people were not going to just be the Jews but also the Gentiles through Christ. 

And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. Luke 10:37

Jesus asks the religious leader, “Who was the neighbor to the man who needed help”? The religious leader replies “The man who showed mercy” which was the Samaritan. Jesus told him “Go and do the same” , Christ is teaching the religious leaders to have mercy on the Gentiles. At this period of time, the Jews wouldn’t even go near the Samaritans in fear of becoming “unclean”

Jesus point is if you truly Love God and Love your neighbor , then demonstrate it. Don’t be a hypocrite like the religious leaders, show mercy because your Heavenly Father has given you mercy Amen!