For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

Luke 12

For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. v30-31

As a follow up to yesterday's post on money and wealth, today my reading continues in Luke 12 with Jesus words on worry - that we shouldn't!

I worry about all kinds of things - money, health, kids, etc.  God has certainly helped me with worry and I am grateful - but there is more room for refinement here!

I do love Jesus words in v30-31, which I have highlighted.  We should not "run after all such things" because our Father in Heaven knows what we need and if we seek His kingdom, [they] will be given to us!  Comforting indeed.

With regard to worrying about kids, which is much of my worry - God has helped me learn that I should focus on MY relationship with Him first and foremost and He will best direct me about how to direct and help my kids.  God comes first.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus - You are an awesome God and You have helped me enormously with worry - thank You Jesus - yet I know there is work to be done because I continue to worry.  Please forgive me Jesus.  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.

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” v21

The Parable of the Rich Fool (found only in Luke) starts with a man asking Jesus to help him gain a share of an inheritance (presumably because he is not either entitled or in-line to receive a portion).  Jesus responds with the parable which contains a warning that we must be prepared for Satan to grab hold of our soul should we worship wealth and money.  In the warning, Jesus contrasts focus on wealth and money versus being "rich towards God".  

John Piper has a great post on these very words.

Jesus, please help me avoid focus on money and wealth and help me a good steward of the blessings You have entrusted with me. 

My Prayer: Lord Jesus - You are an awesome God and You have always met my needs - I need not worry.  Thank You Jesus!  Yet I am undeserving because I do worry - about money and about my kids, etc.  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, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

Luke 12

“I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him. v4-5

Jesus continues to warn us about our focus on "external cleanliness"; and His warnings extend to our behavior which we may falsely believe is "hidden" for "[t]here is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known" (v2).  

We are to fear God - yet at the same time, we are comforted if we do - this double edge sword is explained further by John Piper. He writes that we should "[f]ear the prospect of becoming proud, and arrogant, and self-sufficient, and drifting away from the living God in a kind of hard-heartedness. So fear functions as a preservative. We don’t want to run away from God. Don’t be presumptuous. So there is that aspect of fearing God."  In His commentary, Piper goes on to end with: "Jesus died for us to provide a place where we could enjoy the majesty of God with a kind of fear and trembling and reverence and awe, but not a cowering fear."

God and His refuge is with us always - and we have the Holy Spirit, The Word, the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who provides refuge from the troubles of this world - we just need faith in Him and to draw and stay near to Him.  Thank You Jesus for providing us refuge!  I am undeserving of such blessings and refuge - I daily miss the mark and often stray from You.  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.

Then the Lord said to him, Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.

Luke 11

Then the Lord said to him, Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. v39

Jesus is admonishing the Pharisees for their focus on external cleanliness/behavior (vs spiritual purity), lack of compassion for the poor/those in need, and for the harsh treatment/death of prophets over the course of history (Old Testament).

Jesus wants us to be clean/pure spiritually, to have love/compassion for everyone (love others as yourselves), and to honor those sent by God - of course this includes Jesus Himself!

Much of the focus of this messages dovetails messages from posts over the past few days, including yesterday and Friday regarding how we fill ourselves with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit vs influences of the world.  We need to avoid leaving our house empty for the dark forces of this world to fill the void.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God who loves me and who has provided Your Son, The Holy Spirit, Your Word, The Church, my family, and my brothers and sisters in Christ - all of whom support, encourage and hold me accountable during my journey with You.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving 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.

See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you.

Luke 11

See to it, then, that the light within you is not darkness. Therefore, if your whole body is full of light, and no part of it dark, it will be just as full of light as when a lamp shines its light on you. v35-36

John Piper encourages us to use our eye to value God for who He is and to treasure Him.  We must value God as infinitely more valuable than anything on earth - otherwise we are prone to allowing darkness and sin to overcome our body.  I am reminded of a post from a few days ago on filling our lives with Jesus vs earthly influences.  We cannot remain "empty" of God - again, otherwise darkness will fill the void.

Jesus, please help me be filled with Your Greatness, Love, Mercy, etc.  Help me feast on the Word of God.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are an awesome God who loves me and who daily gives me live...to the full - thank You Jesus!  My cup overflows.  I am undeserving of the rich blessings You pour out on 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.

The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here.

Luke 11

The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and now something greater than Jonah is here. v32

The Book of Jonah tells us the story of a prophet commanded by God to go to the sinful city of Nineveh and preach to the inhabitants to repent of their wicked ways. Jonah refuses and runs from God - in his arrogant opinion he does not believe those in Nineveh deserve God's grace.  It's certainly not our job to judge others as God alone is judge.

Yet we know the rest of Jonah's story as He is swallowed by a giant fish after he flees God - and God rescues Jonah.  Jonah then goes on to preach to Nineveh as God requests and the city is spared from God's wrath.  

This is a great story of redemption - not just Jonah but also Nineveh...and all of us.

We all have regret and shame over sin in our past but God will still use us and He loves us. 

I am so thankful that God sent His One and Only Son.

My Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are a great and gracious God - thank You for sending Your Son Jesus!  I am undeserving 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.

Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.

Luke 11

Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. v26

Our spiritual state is always under attack from the dark forces of this world - just as we may feel "clean", "blessed", or "filled" we must be on guard against apathy as we should be daily and vigorously seeking Jesus.

Check out this commentary which encourages us to avoid leaving our house "empty" (in reference to v25) - the commentary recommends that we be filled with the Word and the Spirit lest to avoid being overrun from Satan's influences.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6

There is power in being filled with the Spirit of God and the Holy Spirit.

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts 4:31

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

My Prayer:  Lord Jesus, You are an amazing God and You have filled me with blessings and fruits of the Spirit!  Thank You Jesus!  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.