Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

Luke 17

Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” v17-19

Once again, I lean on John Piper to gain a deeper understanding of this passage in Luke where Jesus heals 10 lepers. Jesus rightly asks the question about how the other 9 lepers completely miss the point of Jesus.  The point of course being that it's not about what God has done for us or gives us but instead that Jesus is God and our focus should be on WHO Jesus is not what He has done for us.

Piper uses Romans 8:32 to further illustrate

He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things.  Romans 8:32

There is also James 1:17:

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  James 1:17

See also posts on [apart from God] "no good thing".

We must take the time to get to know the greatness of God!

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great God and You have given me many great blessings most importantly You gave me Your One and Only Son Jesus that He would live in my heart and life as my personal Lord and Savior!  Thank You Jesus.  I am undeserving of such a gift.  I daily miss the mark.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.

Luke 17

We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty. v10

John Piper this morning helps us better understand how Jesus increases our faith through the messages of Luke 17:7-10.  

Piper explains how Jesus, in the previous verse (v6), Jesus emphasizes "that the crucial issue in accomplishing great things to advance the kingdom of God is not the quantity of our faith, but the power of God....By referring to the tiny mustard seed after being asked about increased faith, he deflects attention away from the quantity of faith to the object of faith. God moves mulberry trees. And it does not depend decisively on the quantity of our faith, but on his power and wisdom and love. In knowing this we are helped not to worry about our faith and are inspired to trust God’s free initiative and power."

In the following verses, Piper explains how, in v7-10, we are never deserving of thanks from God but instead we will always be a "debtor" to Him.  He then explains how "[w]e never move beyond the need for grace.

Our faith should be increased by our understanding that we are dependent on both God's power and His grace.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God - I have seen Your power in my life and in the lives of others...and I see Your grace daily!  Thank You Jesus.  I am undeserving of what You have done in my life and for the grace You dispense daily.  I daily miss the mark with my words and actions.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior. Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

But Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.

Luke 16

But Abraham replied, Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us. v25-26

A stark warning indeed from Jesus who teaches from yet another parable - The Rich Man and Lazarus!

John Piper does a great job examining how our heart needs to change to receive Christ to avoid the fate of the rich man as told in this parable. Piper warns us on the love of money and materialism.  I think how we spend our time is also critically important because selfishness and our own comforts and desires also prevent us from loving God.

Piper puts it this way: "[t]o recognize and receive Jesus for who he really is, we have to will to do the will of God, namely, pursue the glory of God above all other pleasures in our life". 

Key here is that we have to WILL to do the will of God with the definition of "will" being:  "intend, desire, or wish (something) to happen."

This goes to the topic of spiritual formation - and Dallas Willard indicates we need vision, intention, and method for this.  Method involves practice of the spiritual disciplines, including study, prayer, worship, service, etc.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who has given me faith and transformed my heart and life - thank You Jesus!   I am not worth such blessings.  I daily miss the mark.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me turn from my sin towards You and love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind, and love others as You love.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others. Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.  

It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law.

Luke 16

It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law. v17

This morning, commentary from MacArthur helps shed light on how Jesus is illustrating the importance of both the Old and New Testament teachings.  MacArthur writes: "[Jesus] neither gives or a new law nor modifies the old but rather explains the true significance of the moral content of Moses' Law and the rest of the OT".  MacArthur points to Matthew 5:17-19 and Colossians 2:16-17, and further writes that Jesus fulfills the law in all its aspects, including the moral, ceremonial, and judicial law.  "All [of] the ceremonial requirements of the Mosaic Law are fulfilled in Christ and are no longer to be observed by Christians.  Yet not one jot or tittle is thereby erased; the underlying truths of those scriptures remain"[.]

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

My Prayer: Heavenly Father - what an awesome God You are that You provide Your Word, Your Son, the church, my brothers and sisters in Christ, etc. - all for me.  And You died for me - a gruesome death - that I may have life...and to the full.  Thank You Jesus for setting me free from the sting of sin and death.  I am undeserving of such blessings.  I daily miss the mark.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

Luke 16

The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. He said to them, You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight. v14-15

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager of course is about money and Jesus warns us not to idolize or "serve" money (v13).  We are encouraged to be good stewards of the blessings God places in our hands.  John Piper encourages us to see how Jesus encourages us to do good with our money for the purposes of God's glory.

We must, just as the shrewd manager did, turn from our ways of waste (of our time, treasure, and talents).  See also John Piper: Calling All Clay Pots.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God - You are SO full of grace and mercy for me - thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such grace.  I daily miss the mark.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

My son, the father said, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.

Luke 15

My son, the father said, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found. v31-32

The Parable of the Lost Son triggers thoughts of my own reaction to the state of faith of my oldest son Zach who has yet to definitively affirm Jesus as His Lord and Savior.  I am not angry or frustrated by nonetheless concerned and prayer that Zach accept Jesus as His Lord Savior.  Yet I am reminded that we all have our own unique path to God.  I did not come to Jesus until my early thirties and even when I did I was more of a cultural Christian until perhaps 10 years ago or so.   God is in control and faith is a gift from Him.  My role is to shepherd and guide Zach to Him and let God do the heavy lifting - and to be in prayer.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who brought me to faith - thank You Jesus!  I am undeserving of all that You have done and continue to do for me.  I daily miss the mark.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith. Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo. Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Luke 15

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. v7

Jesus, in responding to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who criticized Him for "welcom[ing] sinners and eat[ing] with them" (v2), encourages us to reach out to those in need.  We must recognize that we are ALL guilty of sin (Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8) and share this in common with everyone.  It is THROUGH this common bond that we must reach out and serve those in need.

Jesus - please help me be compassionate, see the needs, and meet the needs of others.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who is full of compassion, mercy and love for me.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such love.  I daily miss the mark.  Please forgive me Jesus and help me overcome and turn from my sin towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.