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!

Luke 17:15-16

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

Personal challenge

Am I like this Samaritan or more like the other 9? If we keep our eyes and hearts open to see the work that God is doing in our lives every minute of every day, then we truly will see God performing miracles. When He performs those miracles in our lives do we run back to Him, fall at His feet, and give Him thanks or do we go on our merry way taking His miracle for granted? I know that I do not thank Him enough. I do not drop everything and run back to Him to show my appreciation as often as I should. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner and thank you for the miracles that You perform in my life.

Luke 16:10

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.

Personal Challenge

What does it mean to be faithful or unjust in little or much? Each of us are given things from God in our lives. Sometimes it may be stuff. Sometimes it may be spiritual gifts or responsibilities in our churches. What is expected from us is that we use that which is given to us for God’s glory. God will usually give us a little to see what we do with it. If we use it effectively for Him He will give us more. The cycle continues as long as we use His gifts faithfully. He also knows that if we use His gifts unwisely, or unjustly, that we will most likely do it even more so with greater gifts. If we view life as if everything that we receive from God is still His and that we are His stewards of these things, then it is easier to use it faithfully. Glory be to God!

Luke 15:31-32

“And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

Encouraging Words

The parable of the prodigal son is such a beautiful picture of a father’s love for his sons. This picture is an image of Gods love for His children, both those who have wandered away from Him and those who have stayed close to Him. All of humankind throughout all of history have been recipients of His love. And yet there are those who still reject Him. That does not mean that He loves them any less. Our lesson in this passage is that if we have not left God, if we are the older brother, then we should not be jealous of our prodigal brothers and sisters that return to our family. We should celebrate as the angels do and embrace the returning lost sheep in arms of love. Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy! Lord, have mercy!

Luke 14:11

For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Personal Challenges

Many of the teaching of Christ, appear to be upside down compared to the teachings of the world. This makes sense when you acknowledge that our enemy, Satan, has one goal in mind, to keep as many people away from God as possible. In the world, people who push their way to the top, irregardless of how many people they impact along the, are the ones that are glorified and idolized. In God’s perspective, however, He wants the opposite. He wants us to humble ourselves and put others first. If we view this through our temporal, worldly eyes, then it looks ludicrous. But in the greater scheme of eternity it is laying up our rewards in heaven and helping those around us in this life. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Luke 12:48b

For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.

Personal Challenge

God has a much different way of looking at things than we do. He is, and sees, eternally. He gives to us abundantly, expecting us to be good stewards with those gifts. We need to be aware that the more that we are given, the more is expected of us to use that gift wisely. If we receive wealth we are to use it to help those who don’t have it. If we receive time, we are to use it for His work. If we are blessed with leadership roles in His body and in our work, then we will be held accountable for how well we administered the authority that comes with that leadership for the edification of the people that we are leading. In essence, everything that we have, every breath that we take, every beat of our heart, is a gift from God. What are we doing with that gift that glorifies Him. Glory be to God!

Luke 12:35-36

“Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately.”

Personal Challenge

Do we as modern Christians live our lives in a constant state of readiness for the return of our Lord? I don’t think so. We are so caught up in the moment, so focused on meeting the needs, or actually in most cases, the desires that we have, that we forget to look to our Lord who may be coming any moment. Are we at a place in our lives where we could drop, even abandon, everything and answer His call? I know that I am not. Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!

Luke 12:34

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Personal Challenge

What really is our treasure? Is it the money that we earn and have saved up for our future? Is it the stuff that we have bought with some of that money? Is it our time? Is it certain people that we put above all others? We all have things in our lives that we value higher than everything else. It is important to do an inventory every once in a while to take stock of what has become important in our lives and make sure that we are prioritizing in such a way to put the treasures of God, the treasures that really matter, at the top of the list. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, the sinner!