Week 7_Thursday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 7:36-43  SOAP Luke 7:41-43

What courage this woman, who was likely a prostitute, had to enter this Pharisee's home.  When I get to heaven, I will find out what exactly was going through her mind.  Did she go seeking forgiveness or with gratitude because she had been forgiven?  Sadly, the Pharisee was so blinded by his attempts to trap Jesus, he didn't see the significance of this woman's presence.  She was showing Christ a great amount of love.

I can't imagine the amount of guilt this woman lived with.  Yet Christ willingly forgave, which is the point of this passage.  His grace and love is unconditional, available to everyone who will receive.  Father, help me love you with her kind of love, showing intense gratitude for your forgiveness and mercy in my life.

I highly recommend this book that Kacee let me borrow.  This passage in Luke reminds me of the message in Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. 

Week 7_Wednesday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 7:18-35  SOAP Luke 7:33-35

What an interesting verse (Luke 7:35).  When I saw it was our memory verse this week, I was intrigued, not having memorized this one before.  The Pharisees couldn't be pleased - not by John the Baptist and not by Jesus.  They were two totally different men, John with his crazy appearance and interesting eating habits.  Jesus with his sinner friends and appearances at weddings.  No, these two men were not alike.  But the message was the same, "Repent and follow Jesus."  Jesus addresses the Pharisees' unbelief by saying, "Look at the proof.  Look at the ones following the teaching of John.  Look at the ones following my teaching.  They are the children of wisdom."

The ones who were following Jesus and John were proof enough of the correctness of their teaching.  Is my life proof of the correctness of Christ's teaching?  Does my life provide justification for this wisdom?  Am I a child of wisdom?  God's wisdom must characterize my life and my choices.  I can't be a mess like everyone else who is unsaved.  I must be wise, following God's Word and wisdom.

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Week 7_Tuesday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 7:11-17  SOAP Luke 7:13-15

No one was too far gone for Jesus.  I was amused by the verse describing the pall-bearers standing still as Jesus approached them.  It was a pollution for anyone to touch a bier carrying a dead body.  So you can imagine their initial reaction when Jesus walks up to it and touches it!  I was also struck by the specific mention of Jesus' compassion.  He performed miracles, not only to show God's glory, but because He loved the people. 

Death was not powerful enough to keep Christ from healing this man.  Think of the spiritual indications here.  Romans 5:17 says, "For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ."  Christ is still raising the dead today!  Satan thought he was cunning by causing the sinful fall of man, but Jesus has power to overcome death by sin!  Hallelujah!

 

 

 

Week 7_Monday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 7:1-10  SOAP Luke 7:7, 9

Faith is the key here.  The centurion expresses his faith in Jesus, not only as able to heal his servant.  He expresses faith in Jesus' deity, as one with the authority to heal by a simple word.  This is what Jesus was looking for from all the people who witnessed his healing.  He wanted their faith in who He was. 

Imagine if we had the same response to Jesus the centurion did.  "Jesus, you only have to say the word for my marriage to be healed."  "Jesus, at your word, my child will stop wandering from you."  Jesus, only speak and my financial hardships will be relieved."  How often do we live life in a cycle of faithlessness, not believing Jesus is powerful enough to accomplish things like this?  I am changing my speech today, deliberately voicing my faith in Christ to accomplish anything I ask.

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Week 6_Friday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 6:43-49  SOAP Luke 6:45, 49

There is direct connection here between the fruit we produce and the words we speak.  What we say is an overflow of what resides in our hearts.  This is so convicting to me because I can often be sharp-tongued.  This means that a sharp, critical spirit is residing in my soul. 

I must build my mental state upon God's Word.  Failure to do so will cause my plans to crumble, like a house without a foundation.  I must first be honest with myself before I can meet the needs of those I lead.  Father, help me recognize my own words of evil as a heart of evil.  Help me build my life upon your Word, not my own pride or ambition.  Help me produce good fruit you can be proud of. 

Week 6_Thursday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 6:37-42  SOAP  Luke 6:37

This passage is difficult for someone like me - a person who has grown up in church, was saved at an early age, and spent most of my life in traditional circles.  Not to mention that I grew up as a preacher's kid and am now a preacher's wife.  Judgment is almost bred in me!  I've spent my whole life consumed with the problems of other people and the task of diagnosing them.  I think it's hard to distinguish between seeing the truth of someone's condition and responding to their need in love. 

Let's face it, it's easy to say, "I told you so."  I see people make huge mistakes, then reap the consequences both immediately and years later.  Then they have the audacity to act surprised when their poor choices catch up with them!  I believe this passage does not negate the need for a cautionary word or spiritual challenge.  Instead, I believe it is Christ's admonition to change my heart perspective.  Yes, people do dumb things that might seem like obvious mistakes to me.  But my response should be one of unconditional love and forgiveness.  I must be there to help pick up the pieces when they hit bottom. 

Jesus goes on to say that I have enough to worry about just to keep myself from sin (the speck vs. the plank).  I am just as tempted by sin as the ones I lead.  Father, help me see my own need of mercy so quickly that I am never hesitant to extend mercy to others.  Help me live in a spirit of forgiveness and grace.

Week 6_Wednesday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 6:27-36  SOAP Luke 6:35-36


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Week 6_Tuesday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 6:12-26  SOAP  Luke 6:20-23

I realized that this message about the Beatitudes was specifically for Jesus' disciples.  They had left their jobs and families to follow Christ.  They would be hungry, poor, depressed, and hated.  Jesus says this to them as a fact, saying that they will most assuredly endure suffering for His sake. 

This made me wonder if my life is marked by the same dedication to follow Christ the disciples had.  It is much easier to fall into step with the world, working toward the same things: a good steady job, a nice house, decent vehicles, fashionable clothes, regular salon visits, etc.  Do you think any of these things were on the disciples' radar?  The very thought is absurd!  Perhaps this realization can lead me to a deeper commitment to the call of God.  I'm not meant to build a life of luxury here, but look forward to it in heaven someday.  Removing the distraction of material gain can free me to pursue more meaningful things, namely making disciples.

Suffering has a way of focusing our hearts on God's purpose.  It forces us to evaluate what we are doing.  I pray that I will have the wisdom to see this if I find myself in the throes of great suffering one day.  The trade-off in heaven will be totally worth it!

Week 6_Monday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 6:1-11  SOAP Luke 6:9-10

By healing this man, Jesus was insisting that peoples' needs were more important than law-keeping.  Jesus deliberately showed contempt for the Pharisees' regulations.  This is both a lesson for the church and the individual believer.  Our church is not a club of perfect law-keepers, congregating to compare levels of commitment.  Our church, rather, should be a place where we help people.  It's so sad when people who have made mistakes leave the church.  They clearly believe that they can't return because they "broke the rules."  If believers had more of a compassionate spirit to truly help people, we would pursue these broken, hurting people.  Salvation/Restoration is what the world must find in the church - not rules and procedures. 

Individually, I am often tempted to compare my choices with those around me.  It's easy to stand back and judge, but not so easy to intentionally approach a struggling person to help them.  Father, help me set aside my pride so that I can meet the needs of others.  Help me to stop putting a show, and strive to minister to the needy. 


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Week 5_Friday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 5:33-39  SOAP  Luke 5:34-35

Jesus uses parables to illustrate the impossibility of opposites coexisting harmoniously.  First, people would never fast at a wedding, since it is obviously a time of celebration.  Secondly, you can't patch an old garment with a new piece of fabric.  Thirdly, you can't put new wine in old wineskins.  All of these examples were meant to say, "You cannot mix the Old Covenant and Pharisaical traditions with the new gospel of Jesus." 

The Jews were unreasonably clinging to what was antiquated and even abolished by Christ.  Sacrifice and priests were no longer required for access to God.  Oh, how I wish our Catholic friends could understand this.  We no longer need a mediator to reach God because Jesus Christ IS that mediator!  We can boldly approach the throne alone with our prayers.  Jesus came to completely replace the old laws and traditions, not add to them. 

Along another note, Jesus often compares the Christian life to the relationship between a bridegroom and his bride.  Our new life in Christ should be marked with love and joy, not liturgy and stoic procedure.  May be let our lives be characterized by this instead of tradition.

Week 5_Thursday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 5:27-32  SOAP Luke 5:31-32

Sometimes the people who make me feel the most uncomfortable are the people who need Christ's love the most.  Jesus went over to Matthew's house and ate with a room full of tax collectors.  We know how the Jews felt about tax collectors.  I personally would be intimidated to find myself in the midst of a large group of people that unashamedly rejected my faith or practices.

As I try to liken this to present day, I imagine walking into a room full of punk teenagers.  (After all, is there another group that makes people feel more uncomfortable than rebellious teenagers?)  You know the type, the kids that want nothing to do with authority, adults, or anything wholesome.  Do you think Jesus would have been intimidated by teenagers?  No, or course not.  Yet I see people like me, Christians for many years, avoiding these kinds of people groups. 

What about a room full of prostitutes, drug addicts, homeless people, or homosexuals, etc.?  There's plenty of people I'm not keen to be surrounded by.  But these "outcasts" need our love the most. They are sick people in need of a physician.  The Jews were consumed with pride, which kept them from accepting Christ as their Messiah.  But it also kept them from associating with sinners.  We must break away from the tendency to only associate with like-minded people.  ALL people need to hear the gospel, including those infuriating teenagers!  ;o) 

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Week 5_Wednesday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 5:17-26  SOAP Luke 5:20, 22-24

I sometimes find Jesus' wording to be humorous, as in the case of verse 22.  It's as if he's trying to get the Pharisee simply to use their deductive reasoning.  If Jesus had power to heal, he certainly had power to forgive sins.  Jesus had a knack for addressing the real issue every time.  In this case, the real issue was the lack of faith from the Pharisees. 

I found myself directing Jesus' question to myself, "Why do you question in your heart?"   The same Jesus that healed this man and forgave his sins is the same Christ who lives in me!  He is omnipotent, able to accomplish anything I can imagine and more.  So why do I question him at times?  Go ahead and ask God.  He can handle it.  Father, help me to live in faith, trusting your power to do amazing things. 



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Week 5_Tuesday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 5:12-16  SOAP Luke 5:13-14, 16

I am amazed at the immediacy of Jesus' healing, demonstrated here by his simple spoken words, "I will; be clean."  Jesus knew the great physical needs of the people in his day.  The leper's testimony would no doubt send throngs of people straight to Jesus so they too could be healed.  Jesus' physical healing was always a mark of God's power, meant to confirm His deity.  He didn't come just to heal.  This may explain why he quickly removed himself to a quiet place to pray again.  The people needed more than physical healing!

Isaiah uses leprosy to describe the sinfulness of man in Isa 1:4-6.  I believe there is a purposeful connection here.  Just as lepers were isolated from their communities, sinners will be isolated in hell.  But no leper, physically or spiritually, is too ravaged for Christ to heal him.  No matter how badly sin has infected a man, Jesus can always heal him.  Father, help me not be disgusted by people whose lives have been wrecked by sin.  Help me to see them as souls you came to heal. 

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Week 5_Monday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 5:1-11  SOAP Luke 5:6, 11

I like the fact that Jesus found Peter, James and John when they were working.  They were just ordinary men doing their jobs.  I wonder if he was specifically looking for fishermen that day.  I'm sure they possessed a certain work ethic and courage others did not.  Regardless, that will probably just remain speculation on my part.  However, these men left their livelihoods behind to follow Jesus.  Totally worth it! 

It's interesting to note that they returned to their occupations after Jesus' death.  Before they realized Jesus had risen, they probably questioned everything.  After the Day of Pentecost in Acts, they finally left their professions behind to build Christ's church.  It caused me to wonder, will I allow the Holy Spirit to move freely enough in my life to drastically change it?  Like Ben mentioned in Sunday School yesterday, will God call me to something new and different if I begin to pray more earnestly?  I pray that my life now will be defined by God's calling.  Everything I do must be an effort to follow His leading. 

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Week 4_Friday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 4:38-44  SOAP Luke 4:42-43

We often see Jesus remove himself from the crowds to pray in a quiet place.  Mark 1:35 describes this same event, confirming that Jesus was indeed praying, "And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed."   I think this is a lost art in Christian circles.  After all, most people have to work every day, getting home just in time to eat dinner, clean the house, and balance the checkbook, etc.  (Not to mention caring for toddlers!)  But Jesus placed his conversations with God in high priority. 

Jesus' task was a big one, "to preach the good news of the kingdom of God to other towns as well."  He needed to stay in constant communication with God regarding this purpose.  I realized that we have the very same task of preaching the good news to ALL towns.  We would do well to purposely seek God's face about this, staying in communion with Him about everything we do.  Father, help me make the time to remove myself from people and distractions, so that I can talk with you.

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Week 4_Thursday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 4:31-37  SOAP Luke 4:33-35

I am constantly amazed at the interactions Jesus has with evil spirits.  Never is he described as the victim or even unsure about His actions.  Make no mistake, God has absolute power and authority over everyone, including demons.  Knowing Jewish history would reveal how lengthy and complicated exorcisms were in biblical days.  The priests would recite involved incantations, using all manner of plants, herbs, and animals to try to extract the demon.  Yet this demon departs the man after Jesus' simple command!  His words may not have amazed the Jews as much as this act of authority alone.

Why would this demon speak the truth about Christ, calling him the Holy One of God?  One might assume this is defeating the purpose of Satan.  Yet this is an attempt to associate Jesus with the power of Satan.  Jesus and demons were NOT of the same interest, and that must be very clear to people.  His power and glory comes from God alone.  We see here another cunning attempt to muddy the waters of God's salvation plan.  Casting doubt on Jesus' source of power would serve Satan's purpose of deception.

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Week 4_Wednesday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 4:20-30  SOAP Luke 4:24, 27



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Week 4_Tuesday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 4:14-19  SOAP Luke 4:18-19

God's heart beats for the down-trodden, as seen in these prophetical verses.  Jesus quotes from Isaiah 61:1,2 as he reads scripture in the temple.  There are several pictures of redemption here: good news to the poor, liberty to the captives, sight to the blind, and liberty to the oppressed.  The original passage in Isaiah includes, "binding up the broken-hearted." 

The gospel is designed to completely transform our lives.  It does not leave us to wallow in our sin and despair.  Our sinful natures can sometimes cause us to be disgusted by the needy.  Or perhaps we look at them disdainfully, knowing that their poor choices have led them to places of despair.  But God absolutely loves the needy!  He had them in mind when he formed the salvation plan.  May we also see the world through His eyes, having compassion on those who desperately need salvation.  People are slaves to sin, but Christ came to free the slaves!

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Week 4_Monday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 4:1-13  SOAP Luke 4:4, 8, 12

Did you know that Jesus answers Satan every time by quoting from Deuteronomy?  In response to the temptation to turn stones into bread, Jesus quotes Deut 8:3.  He refers specifically to the time the Moses reminds the Israelites of God's continuous provision for them, particularly manna in the desert.  Knowing the context of Jesus' quote reveals the motive behind Satan's temptation.  Satan was trying to cast doubt on God's ability to sustain Jesus until his death on the cross.  It was not God's will that Israel die from hunger, just as it was not God's will that Jesus die from hunger.

In response to the temptation to "bend the knee" to Satan, Jesus quotes Deut 6:13.  He is referring to Moses' explanation of the Ten Commandments, specifically the Greatest Commandment - to fear God as the one true God.  God already had dominion over all the earth, and it was not Satan's to give.  Satan was tempting Jesus to doubt God's omnipotence, vying for the glory of earthly power himself.  God controls every earthly kingdom, not Satan.

Responding to the temptation to cast himself from the temple wall, Jesus quotes Deut 6:16.  Here's the scary part - Satan himself quotes from Psalm 91:11-12.  It's a frightening realization that our adversary knows the scripture better than we do.  (All the more reason to fully know the scripture ourselves, to block the fiery darts of the enemy!)  This passage quoted by Jesus from Deuteronomy refers to Moses' reminder to Israel of their lack of faith in Massah, named "Massah" by Moses "because they tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” Satan is attempting to thwart the plan of God to sacrifice Jesus on the cross.  If Jesus were to attempt suicide, he too would admit doubt of God's salvation plan. 

Knowing the context of this passage and its quotes is the key here.  This passage reminds me that, yes, Satan does tempt me to doubt God.  But it also reminds me of the connectivity of the Old and New Testament.  All biblical history ties together to culminate in God's plan of salvation.  Don't miss this one!  Father, help me know your Word well enough to fight the enemy.

 

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Week 3_Friday

Good Morning Girls

Read Luke 3:19-38  SOAP Luke 3:22

I would have loved to see the trinity pictured in Luke 3.  Imagine John's response when he heard the voice of God!  Christ's lineage in the following verses is a perfect following to the trinity representation.  All of it ties together to confirm God's sovereignty.  The skeptics are mistaken when they describe Jesus simply as a "good teacher" or even a "well-meaning prophet."  Scripture paints a very different situation surrounding Christ.  His life and death was strategically planned by God, down to His specific ancestors.  When you read verses 23-38, you clearly see how many people were involved simply in the lineage.  Furthermore, there are several prophetical verses describing this trinity appearance.  Psalm 2:7 says,  "I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you."  Isaiah 42:1 says, " Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations."

It can be tempting to view Christ as a victim, but that is obviously inconsistent with scripture.  God purposefully planned Jesus' ministry and His death.  Even in his lineage, God was preparing Jesus for his sacrifice.  Father, help me understand the lengths you went to in order to save me.  Thank you for orchestrating history, defeating all who opposed it, to usher in salvation!

 

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