October 16 - Luke 11:14-12:34

Good morning everyone,

Well, the pots a brewin’. Jesus is driving out demons and boldly speaking the truth to the people and some are totally giving Him grief about it, likening Him to Beelzebul, the prince of demons. That’s just crazy! The crowd wanted a sign that Jesus was who He claimed to be and Jesus told them, “For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation.” This is an important piece of scripture because many scholars believe that the whole “three days in a big fish” story is ….. well, fishy. But here Jesus not only recognizes it but likens his own resurrection to it, validating all that is in Jonah. Aw….some!

In verse 37 the Pharisees invite Jesus to a meal where they were taken back a bit when  He didn’t do the ceremonial wash. The hand washing ceremony was not done for health reasons but rather as a symbol of washing away any contamination from touching anything unclean. The Pharisees would make a big “to do” out of it and they also commanded everyone else to follow the practice which, btw, was originally intended only for the priests. This prompted Jesus to give the Pharisees a series of “woe to you’s” pointing everything they were good at, such as, majoring on the minors, concentrating on the outward appearance while ignoring what was essential and eternal. Make sense? They didn’t “get it” and I don’t know about you, but personally, I would not want to be the one Jesus looks in the eye and says, “Woe to you.” No way!

In 12:22 it says, “Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.” It is easy to get wrapped up in all the “things” of life. It so is! I have been there, I know the joy of “keeping of with the Jones’,” I know the let down of adjusting to a more moderate income which, I’ll be honest, for a time, it caused me some frustration. Sometimes, in my mind. I would be stomping my foot and saying “I want it daddy, and I want it now!” It is when I surrendered my will, my selfishness to God’s desire for my life and became not only content but also happy in what God provides for me that I became lighthearted. I no longer coveted or envied those I would talk to who were taking these, what I thought to be, really fun vacations, or driving new cars, or buying new clothes or going out to dinner all of the time. I was lighthearted, very glad to be exactly where God has me and I began looking for how He wants to use me in where He has me placed. I don’t know if any of that makes sense to you guys, but there is a very real peace that comes with not worrying about money, in believing God will provide all your needs and just following His lead. When I let go of the spoiled self, Jesus was right there to embrace me, encourage me and love me. I love it, I totally love it!

Please don’t get me wrong, it’s all good when God allows you to make a lot of money and have a lot of toys, the problem with that is we have a tendency to depend on ourselves instead of God. God wants us, no matter our tax bracket, to depend solely on Him. Even Jesus was totally dependent on God. In John 15:5 it says, "The Son can do nothing by Himself: He can only do what He sees His father doing.” I know I have said it before, but we need to be like little children. In Matthew it says that, “So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.” Don't we all want that? I do. It is as simple as surrendering your will, as surrendering my will, minute by minute to God. He’s got it handled we just need to live it. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory!

God bless you all …..