May 31 – - – Luke 9:18-36
“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” v. 24
What was the last thing you lost? How did you lose it? Did it get kicked under the bed or thrown in the closet? Did you set it down and forget to pick it up again? Even something of great importance is easy to forget about it and misplace. Jesus gives this hard statement of losing your life. Your life is important. Really it’s the most important thing that you posses, because you rule your life. You decide what time you wake up, go to bed and all that is in between. Jesus is asking that you would let go of you life. To lose something you have to let it out of your sight, your hand and mind. He is asking that you would lose it for his sake. This is to say that your life is hidden in Christ(Col 3:3), that your life is not yours but is only found to be His. Your decisions, choices and desires would all be His, because your life is lost.
Jeremy
May 30 – - – Luke 9:1-17
“and said a blessing over them.” v16
The situation was overwhelming. Through his disciples Jesus had pointed out that there was no bread or resources to feed the large group. What the disciples came up with was a meager lunch that would barely feed them selves. Why did our Lord bless the food? Such little food, such faithless disciples, and such a large crowd, yet He blessed the food. We have nothing conclusive, but there’s two reason we can come up with. The first, He knew even as small as the food was, that the Father had given it to them. “Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights.”(Jam. 1:17) Second, Jesus had faith in what the bread would become, food for 15,000 people. He was able to look pass limited physical world and see the miraculous work of God. It is easy to look at the little life we have, the little gifts, and the little means we posses. But, by trusting and believing that God has planned good works for us, and living by faith we are able to walk and see the miraculous happen. (Eph. 2:10)
Jeremy
May 29 – - – Luke 8:40-56
“she could not be healed by anyone.” v.43
How long would it take you to call the fire department if you saw a fire in your house? I hope you wouldn’t call your friends or neighbors and ask what should do. This being a very overwhelming situation, I hope you would dial 9-1-1. You would need experienced help to put out the fire. This women had been suffering under this ailment for a dozen years. She spent her live savings on physicians to help, and Mark says that she even suffered from their treatment. She tried all she could to be healed. All the worldly wisdom she could acquire left her in the same spot and even worse. With faith she turns to Christ, and in such desperate measure she says if I just touch his robe I will be healed. Imagine if she had turned to Christ in the very beginning. All the pain, time and money would still be hers. Find faith in this testimony, that instead of turning to a friend, a physician, or the world that we would run to Christ.
Jeremy
MAY 28 – - – LUKE 8:22-39
Luke 8:22-25 talks about Jesus calming the storm with the disciples. All the disciples had to do was call on Jesus to wake up, Jesus rebuked the wind and water, and the seas calmed immediately. I think we need to have faith in God that he will calm our own ‘storms’ in life. If we are struggling through stress, family or friends issues, or even our own future, God will take those burdens off our backs if we just trust in him. All we need to do is ask. James 1:5 states, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
Verses 26-39 talk about Jesus when he cast the demons out of a possessed man. When Jesus sailed to the other side of the lake, he met a demon-possessed man who referred to himself as Legion. Jesus was able to cast out the demons and Jesus let the spirits possess nearby pigs, which eventually ran into the lake and drowned. Anyway, Jesus then told the man who was possessed by Legion to tell others how much God had done for him. If worldly things consume our lives, we keep little to none ‘God time’. Sometimes we might get obsessed with sports, videogames, money, looks, and even really close friends! We might get too involved in our social life that we leave no time for God! We need to ask God to help us to focus more on him. He is able to rid us of our obsessions that almost ‘possess’ us. Just like Legion, we can be separated from the ‘evil’ in our lives. I am not saying sports, videogames, etc. are bad! I am just encouraging you to set God at a higher level and not to let worldly obsessions control your life! Finally, like Legion, we should tell other people about the good God can do in our lives, if we just trust in him!
- Kevin Moore
MAY 27 – - – LUKE 8:1-21
Distraction, Destruction, Deliverance (V1-15)
Condition of the soil / Wayside & Thorns (distractions) – The condition of the soil determines the potential for growth. The purpose of the illustration centers around the type of ground. What we do and how we behave when we are young determines how will be later in the future.
Purpose of the Parable vs10-11 The truth is made clear to those who want to believe and follow him. God’s kingdom is not to be used to prove the message to anyone.
Position of the seed/Wayside(hardened hearts)- Because the wayside was hardened, the seed remained on the top; just like God’s word does not go into a hardened heart, and Satan removes it easily.
Emotions/Stony Ground(Believe without apply)- As weather ruins weak plants, difficulty destroys those who base their faith on emotion. God put us here not to base everything on worry(normal cares of this world).
Affection of “things”/ Thorns- The thorn- infested soil represents those who hear the word but lack to focus on one thing and become completely unproductive, which is capable of producing a deadly spiritual lack of interest(in Christ)
Recognition of God’s call/ Good Ground- Christ makes it clear that we need to hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit.
Vs 16-21 These verses contain a great principle regarding the outward indication of one’s salvation: there should be no secret believers. Really saved people will grow in grace. We all need to hear the word of God and do it.
- Omar Yasin
MAY 26 – - – LUKE 7:30-50
How do you Pour?
She Poured with Certainty, not Holding-Back in any way… she was convinced that He was worth it!
What do you Pour? She was willing to give Him everything; this was her dowry (inheritance), it was her future, all of her livelihood.
When do you Pour? She poured when others were present; even when scoffers could see.
Why do you Pour? She gave because she Loved(!); and she Loved because she was forgiven much.
“Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” Then He said to her; “your sins are forgiven” – Is He not worth it? Is His forgiveness not good enough? Is His grace not great enough? Does the world have something greater then what He offers? Is anything or dream worth holding onto? Is He not worth giving your day, TODAY, to?
- Trevor
MAY 25 – - – LUKE 7:1-29
In Luke 7:1-29 we see many miracles happen. The blind man sees, the servant is healed, and the widow’s son brought back to life. But what mainly stuck out to me was the centurion’s servant, and how he had so much faith in Jesus’ power. I personally have issues of trying to handle things by myself and without God. We have all done this (it is in our nature, we are humans). So I believe we should all try to first think of what God wants us to do before we do what we want to do. All we really need to do is give all our worries to God. Truly you will know someone is in control.
A second thing that stood out to me was all the miracles God did and how they were presented. We all may be like the sick people in this passage. Always looking for help, but what we don’t understand is that we have help with just a simple prayer. We just need to trust God. With the centurion he had faith that God would help, but he also sent someone out to him. This scenario shows a man going to God with faith, we also need this but we also must remember that even if we don’t go out to him he is always helping us. We just need to take the small things that don’t seem amazing and compare it with other people. With this subject on looking for help this verse will assure who can help: Luke 7:27 “Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, Who will prepare Your way before You.” All we need to do is welcome God in, then everything will be alright.
- Conrad Calvert
