Saturday, August 23, 2008

Luke Chapter 10 - August 23, 2008

10:16 - There is a powerful responsibility described in this passage for Christians. We are the image bearers of Christ. If we are earnestly trying to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and people reject his way...woe to them. When we call ourselves Christians and reflect only selfish worldliness dragging the name of Christ along with us...woe to us.

10:20 - It is easy as a minister to get caught up in the victories and defeats you see every day. To cheer when great God-honoring things are happening and to weep when it seems like the systems of this world are insurmountable. This verse is a great reminder for me that I can always rejoice n the fact that I am saved. Every day, no matter what comes my way...I am saved...God is good.

10:21 - There seem to be truths that my 4-year-old son Dane can grasp that are almost impossible for many mature Christian believers to understand. It is all so simple...so cut and dry for him...God loves him and that is enough. He doesn't have to know why...he doesn't have to earn anything...he completely accepts that God loves him. He believes and he cannot comprehend how others do not believe...it is beautiful (I'm a little jealous).

10:36ff - Do I go through this life as a bringer of mercy...a dispenser of grace wherever I go and with whomever I come in contact with?   

1 comment:

Ish said...

The part of this text that sticks out is when Jesus says "do not rejoice in the fact that the demons submit to you, but rejoice in the fact that you are saved." There are so many truths in this one phrase alone. We are called to a higher purpose. And while it is good to experience some of the wins in ministry, at the end of the day what should matter to us is that WE are saved. We should be thankful for our own progress and grateful that God has granted us the opportunity to bring glory to his Kingdom through our actions. The other thing we must remember is that we do what we do because of Him. Without Him, we are nothing! To celebrate wins in ministry as if they were our own doing would be lying to ourselves, and in the end lead us down a path where because we celebrate wins in ministry, we mourn losses in ministry. Wins and losses in ministry are flawed ways of determining complete success or failure in our personal accountability with the Lord. Father, thank you for saving me! For loving me so much, that you saw it fit to do something so that I could experience grace and the fulfillment of hope in my life. I thank you that you didn't stop there, and also saw it fit to use me as a way of continuing this work of saving people. I ask that you continuously humble me and that I continuously know that I am flawed, weak, and incomplete without you. I NEVER want to believe the lie that I am doing great on my own, and distancing myself from you. I love you...