Category: Uncategorized

Luke 24:32

And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”

Personal Challenge

Every week we have the opportunity to enter into the presence of God during the sharing of the Eucharist. Throughout the week we have the opportunity to be in the presence of God through our prayers and interactions with His creation. Does our heart burn within us during these times or has our Christian walk become so mundane, so covered over by rubrics and activities, that we fail to see God, even when we are in His presence? What can we do to become like those on the road to Emmaus and cherish the times that we see God in our lives? It is not God that has put the veil of darkness on our lives, it is us. Let us seek Him to remove it and walk with Him. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Luke 23:34

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

And they divided His garments and cast lots. And the people stood looking on.

Personal Challenge

Even to the very end, Jesus was showing love to others. He had been spit on, beaten, mocked, abused, insulted, even hated, and yet He asked the Father to forgive them. When we say that we want to be like Christ, this is part of what we must do to make it to that point. We must love our neighbor, our friends, our enemies, and those who strike us as Christ did. Lord Jesus Christ son of God have mercy on me, the sinner!

Luke 21:1-4

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”

Personal Challenge

What is a mite as mentioned here in this passage? It is a very small amount of money. It could be somewhat equivalent to a penny in today’s economy. So why is this story so important to Jesus? This widow lived in abject poverty. There was no refinement, no pension, no welfare. She was poor and most likely these 2 mites were all that she had. And yet, she willingly gave them to her God while all around her were the rich people giving their pocket change, yet going home to lush places, comfortable beds, and abundance of food and drink. She gave her all. They gave their leftovers. God wants us to be like this poor widow. He wants us to give our all, whether it be of our possessions or our time or most importantly from our hearts. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Luke 19:45-46

Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ”

Personal challenge

Is it possible that part of the problem with the modern church is that we have brought so much of the world into it that it has become a “den of thieves”? We are supposed to be set apart from the world as Christians and it only makes sense that our houses of worships, our temples, should also be set apart. The more that we try to make our churches operate like everything else in the world, the further we move away from God and give up our salt and light in the world. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Luke 18:40-41

So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

Personal Challenge

Doesn’t it seem odd that Jesus would ask a person who is obviously blind, “What do you want Me to do for you?” Surely Jesus knew that the man would want his sight back. Jesus will often wait for us to acknowledge what our needs are and for us to ask for Him to touch our lives in those areas of needs. Often this is a process for us to work through determining the differences between what we want and what we need. There can be significant differences. The closer we are to Jesus the clearer these differences become. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Luke 18:27

But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

Personal Challenge

Why do we go through life saying that we believe in the almighty God and yet act as if there are things that He cannot do? If we take our eyes off of Him and start looking at everything that is going on in the world around us, we will quickly begin to believe what the world wants us to believe, which is that God has no power or meaning. It is our lack of believe that causes us to doubt that all things are possible with God. It is our unwillingness to give our lives fully over to Him that prevents His possibilities from being manifested in our lives. Glory be to God!

Luke 18:15-17

Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”

Personal Challenge

Children are so awesome. They take on life with so much openness and gusto. They are clean slates that can absorb new things and address them with simplicity. They are trusting, loving, and refreshing. This is how Jesus wants us to be as we come to Him and our Father. It has nothing to do with how much I know or how many rubrics I practice. He wants us to come to Him with simple, open minds and hearts so that He can fill us with His Kingdom. We can grow in Him, yet we must maintain this childlike love for Him. Glory be to God!

Luke 18:13

And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’

Personal Challenge

I challenge us all to observe ourselves the next time we approach God in our prayers and worship. Do we approach Him with our heads held up high as the Pharisee in this parable or with our heads down in respect as the tax collector? God is not our equal or our lessor. We owe Him everything and if we explore this in the depths of our hearts, we will find that we too should be coming before Him as the tax collector with our heads and eyes down, beating our breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Luke 17:20-21

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Encouraging Words

So many well meaning Christians have spent their entire life looking forward to the Kingdom of God arriving. Jesus tells us, however, that His Kingdom will not be something that is out there some day in the future. He tells us that His Kingdom is within us today. We are to live our lives in such a way that His Kingdom is materialized here and now. He still promises that we will someday enter into His heavenly Kingdom, to live out eternity, but since we are already citizens of that Kingdom, we can be living like those citizens today. Glory be to God!