"No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.”

Luke 5

"No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.” v38-39

With our belief in Christ as our Lord and Savior comes a rebirth and new life.  Things have changed...of course we have Jesus in our heart and with that the Holy Spirit, but I think there is expectation that we take steps to create new life...a new community of people, new practices (i.e. spiritual disciplines, etc.), and a leaving behind of old practices, etc.  The Holy Spirit is definitely a part of this process but so are we...

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, as a result of accepting You in my heart and life I have had a rebirth and a new life in You.  With this I have seen true life change and rich blessings.  You have blessed me beyond what I deserve.  I continue to sin - impatience, anger, selfishness, pride, worry, etc. are all top of mind.  Thank You that You love me anyway but please forgive me Jesus for all of this sin!  Help me turn from such sin.  Help me be the man You intend for me.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

Luke 5

But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. v16

Jesus' life emphasizes the importance of prayer - as busy as He was with all of the demands on Him by His followers and those seeking His grace, mercy, and power, etc., Jesus STILL made time for study and prayer.

In Matthew 26:39 Jesus prays fervently to His Father “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”  Clearly this is an instance of great difficulty.  Yet in Luke and elsewhere Jesus prays ALL the time.

Also, Jesus wants to us ask for what we want:

 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."  Luke 11:9-10

My Prayer: Lord, I know You love me and You are always with me and always hear my call and listen to my prayers.  Yet I am weak - my faith is weak and I worry - far too much.  Thank You Jesus for Your love but please forgive me Jesus!  Help me turn from such sin.  Help me strengthen my faith.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

“I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”

Luke 4

“I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” v43

I exist to glorify God - and to glorify God I must obey Him and use what He has given me - my talents, my treasure, my time - all for His glory.

To start, I must follow the two most important commands:

“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are indeed great and You certainly don't need me but You not only love me, You chose me, then suffered and died for me - even though You know everything about me and my sin.  I am not worth such love and blessing.  I am impatient, I worry, I am mean, etc.  yet You love me anyway.  Thank You Jesus.  Please forgive me though.  I want to be rid of such sin.  Take me and transform my heart and life Jesus - make me more like You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.

They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority.

Luke 4

They were amazed at his teaching, because his words had authority. v32

What are people amazed at - they are amazed because Jesus speaks truth - He says what the bible says... 

After He is baptized, earlier in chapter 4, Jesus beat Satan because of His use of scripture...scripture has power.  He then went on to Nazareth - His hometown, and quoted Isaiah, and again people were amazed...scripture has power:

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. Luke 4:22

Scripture has power but sometimes people are confronted by this power because it shines a light on their own lives - see Matthew 8:

Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, “If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

 

He said to them, “Go!” So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.  Matthew 8:30-34

My Prayer: Lord, I know scripture has power - this is because it is You and You are powerful.  Yet I don't have enough knowledge and faith in Your word because I worry too much.  Thank You that You love me anyway but please forgive me Jesus.  Help me be the man You intend for me.  Help me turn from my worry.  Help me more fully devote myself to Your word so that I may have greater faith in You and Your power.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind and strength.

Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph...

Luke 3

Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph...v23

Luke then proceeds to provide the reader with the lineage of Jesus all the way back to Adam.  Jesus is God's son and He was foretold throughout scripture...(see here for useful link) He is the fulfillment of prophecy.  Indeed God is faithful and His word is always true. 

As I have posted just recently also from Luke:

For no word from God will ever fail. Luke 1:37

 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are always available to me no matter where I am...I can always reach out to you.  I must be mindful that Your patience is not unlimited.  If I renounce You and fail to come back to You before I die I will be forever lost...my days are numbered.  Yet as long as I claim You as my God here on earth You will always be there for me.  What a great God You are.  I am not worthy of such blessing and love...I worry far too much.  Thank You that You love me anyway but please forgive me Jesus.  Help me turn from my worry.  Help me be the man You intend for me.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

Luke 3

When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” v21-22

As I work through rmdk.com, a core focus is on (1) communicating love to my son, (2) indicating that I am proud of him, and (3) specifically praising him for what he is good at.  Ceremonies are highly recommended as a means to formally mark a major milestone...and in this case with Jesus in the book of Luke, Jesus was being baptized.

Jesus' baptism is of course also covered in Matthew, Mark, and John.  In Matthew the ESV translation includes "listen to Him" implying that His words as Jesus the Son are important - praising Jesus for his ability to speak truth.

As I continue to work on RMDK, I stumble from time to time.  I need faith and strength from God to be the father to Zach and Dustin that God intends me to be.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus You are a great God...full of mercy, compassion, love, kindness, gentleness - of course ALL of the fruits of the spirit.  I may have some of these fruits but certainly not to the measure that You do Jesus!  I fall well short of the glory of God.  I know.  For this I know I need Jesus in my life.  I thank You that you suffered and died for me Jesus.  I have weak faith.  Thank You that You love me anyway and for Your sacrifice.  Please forgive me for my worry, harshness with others, failure to work as if I work for You, etc.  Help me be the man You intend for me.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

 

 

“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Luke 2

“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?^" But they did not understand what he was saying to them. v49-50

In this book, the author offers wisdom to avoid raising our children by focusing on external behaviors but instead on the heart condition.  The above verses are a great example of how Joseph and Mary focus on how Jesus' did not obey them by joining them as they returned to Nazareth from Jerusalem.

But Jesus rightly points out that He was obey His heavenly father and desiring to spend time with Him.  

My Prayer: Lord, You have blessed me greatly with two wonderful sons.  However, I often get angry with them too easily and I am too easily impatient with them.  I am selfish...and I focus on external behavior and not their heart. These are all sinful...thank You Jesus that You love me anyway but PLEASE forgive me Jesus.  Help me turn from these sins.  Help me focus on matters of the heart - look for You in Zach and Dustin's hearts.  Help me of course as well love You with all of my heart, mind, soul, and strength.