Fri.’s Devo - The Lawyers

Read Luke 11:45-54 Jesus has just rebuked the Pharasees for being hypocrites and a lawyer challenges him. If I was that lawyer, I would have kept quiet. If he was looking for a fight he got silenced. To the lawyers Jesus had nothing good to say either. They were a different kind of hypocrite. They made laws that were so strict they couldn’t keep. He rebuked them for building the sepulchers for the prophets that their fathers killed. He was explaining that their fathers killed the prophets that God sent to show the people their sins and the lawyers put the words of the prophets in a nicely decorated box and honored them on the outside but rebelled against what they came to say. God was holding the lawyers responsible for their blood. He was holding them responsible for every godly person who had been murdered because they should have defended them, but instead sentenced them to die by not defending them. They were the ones who were blessed with knowledge of the law and instead they used it wrongly to punish the godly and let the ungodly go free. Jesus’ statements made the scribes, Pharasees and lawyers hate him even more and they devoted themselves to finding any way they could catch him in a lie or twist what he had to say. They wanted to find a case against him according to the law. They just didn’t know they were talking to the Word in the flesh. There was no way they would be able to win against the Word. Jesus was powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, able to divide their thoughts and the intents of their heart. We have this same word in us which is why Jesus told us not to worry when we are brought before the lawyers and Pharasees of the land because the Holy Spirit in us will tell us what to say. Lord, help us to stand on your Word and not worry about the power of the world because greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.

Thurs.’s Devo - Dinner with the Pharasee

Read Luke 11:37-44 It always takes me back when I see Jesus being invited by the Pharasees into their house to have a meal, but in truth, not all of the Pharasees hated Jesus. They recognized that he had a grasp on scripture that they only dreamed of having and Jesus was a Rabbi. He could have had position with them but chose to walk apart from the Sanhedran and picked his disciples from all walks of life instead of choosing the brightest pupils. Being educated, Jesus should know to wash his hands before he ate as a spiritual exercise. They washed their hands as an act of piety as if washing their hands made their whole body clean. Jesus had just explained that being enlightened had to do with the amount of light you had, not the amount of water you used. Jesus read the Pharasee’s mind and gave him a response. He explained that they, the Pharasees, were so meticulous about their external cleansing laws when they were full of sin on the inside. How could they think that cleansing the outside of anything would make them clean inside? Then he addressed what was inside. He told them to give compassion to the poor. He rebuked them for tithing herbs and neglecting God’s judgment and his love. They were more interested in their position with men instead of their position with God. Jesus compared them to graves that were hidden so people would accidentally walk over them and become unclean without knowing it. Their acts of piety and religion were contaminating the people just like the unmarked graves. It is easy to see the faults in the Pharasees but I wonder how many times we look more like the Pharasees than Jesus. We have our own religious markers that show us how we are “doing spiritually”. Like if we had our quiet time or read our Bible for the day. I don’t think any of that matters if we aren’t loving the unlovely or living out of a heart for God. Lord, help us to give of ourselves for your kingdom. We desire to be clean on the inside where only you can see.

Wed.’s Devo - Our Candlesticks

Read Luke 11:29-36 Verse 29 says “when they had gathered thick together” which means Jesus waited till there was a big crowd and everyone could hear what he was about to say. Then he rebuked their generation and called them evil. Jesus was not a politician or a people pleaser; he was a God pleaser. He went on to explain why they were evil - because they sought signs to believe. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God and is the evidence of things not seen. They wanted something they could see. They had the Saviour, THE Word, in plain sight and couldn’t believe him unless he did something miraculous. He told them the sign God was going to give them which was the same one he gave Jonah. Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites of judgment. His message was to repent or God would destroy them. That was Jesus’ message to them. He went on to remind them of the Queen of Sheba who traveled for miles to visit Solomon when she heard of his wisdom and riches. Jesus was much greater than Solomon yet they couldn’t “see” it. Nineveh heard and believed and the Queen of Sheba saw and believed. They both saw and heard and yet had doubts. Our eyes give information to our whole body just like a candle lights up the whole room and gives us information about what is in the room. If our eyes are clear and unblocked then we see clearly but if they are diseased then we don’t. There are 37 verses in the Bible that have both words heart and eyes in them. They go hand in hand. Jesus was trying to tell them that when you close your spiritual eyes you close your spirit also and vise versa. The Jews of that generation had hard hearts so it was hard for them to see what was right in front of them. Lord be a light to our hearts and let there be no darkness in us.

Tues.’s Devo - Binding and Loosing

Read Luke 11:23-28 Jesus doesn’t give any room for middle ground: you are either with him or against him; gathering sheep or scattering them. Then he gives us a glimpse into the spirit world and what happens to a demon that is cast out of a person. It is sent out to walk among dry places - places not watered with the spirit. This unclean spirit is looking for a place to rest and make its home. When it doesn’t find one it returns to see if it can reenter - if there is room and the person is unprotected. If the person is then it will reenter with seven of its friends and the person will be worse off than before. So how do we keep from having that happen? None of us want unclean spirits, but if to cast it out means that we will end up with eight spirits, who wants to chance that? Here is the secret. When you send an evil spirit out of a person or yourself then you have to replace it with a clean one. For example: you want to cast out a spirit of unbelief. Then you replace it with the opposite which is faith. You fill your mind with scriptures on faith and you look for opportunities to step out in faith. Jesus taught about binding and loosing in Matt. 16:19. He said, “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” So when you bind something that is evil, you need to loose something that is godly. If you bind unbelief then you loose belief and faith and you act on it. That is what will fill your house so that when the spirit comes back he will find no room for him and leave. While he was teaching this concept a woman cried out of the crowd and wanted to give praise to Jesus’ mother. She was speaking from an unclean spirit whose aim was to take the attention away from Jesus and put them on an earthy vessel. How could he answer this without dishonoring his mother? Jesus always has an answer because he is the Word. His answer was to listen to the Word and keep it. That was his way of saying, “listen to me.” And that is what we fill ourselves with when we have empty spaces: the Word! Lord, may we always be filled with your spirit and your Word.

Mon.’s Devo - The Kingdom of God is Greater

Read Luke 11:14-22 I laughed the first time I read this: “and he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb.” Aren’t all demons dumb? Then I read it again and realized that the devil was a spirit that took the man’s speech away. Lol! When Jesus cast it out, the man could talk and the people were in awe. Then had never seen anything like this happen and when it did they tried to figure it out. They decided that he was casting out this spirit through Beelzebub, the chief of the devils so Jesus had to give them a lesson on demonology 101. He explained that a kingdom whether it is God’s kingdom or Satan’s kingdom can not be divided against itself or it will not continue to rule. Then he explained that if they accused him of casting out demons by Beelzebub then how do they know their people haven’t been casting out devils by Beelzebub. Then Jesus said a profound statement: “But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.” That was the essence of the kingdom of God - that it was the supreme kingdom that was coming to overthrow the kingdom of the world - Satan’s kingdom. That is why Jesus was met with such opposition. He was drawing battle lines. Jesus went on to give a parable about a kingdom that lived in peace till a stronger kingdom came and pierced through its protective armor and divided all his goods. Jesus was the stronger power coming to break down Satan’s walls and give back everything he had stolen. I got to experience a little of that this week. I found a lump in both my breasts this week. I had just gotten a notice that it was time to have my yearly mammogram so I called immediately and told them what was up. Dave and I both prayed and believed that it was going to be OK. I had total peace, even when they told me I would have to stay and have an ultrasound. I sat in the waiting room with another lady who was waiting for the same thing. She was a Christian and she was proclaiming her healing also. A much younger lady came in and eventually we were alone. I could sense she was apprehensive so I asked her if she was afraid. She was and started crying. I was able to tell her that she was covered with the blood of Jesus and that she was going to be OK. She had 3 sons also. My tests came out perfectly OK and I know the other ladies did also. Lord, your kingdom has come to earth and I choose to live in it. May we not be afraid of Satan’s kingdom but realize we are here to spoil its power through You.

Fri.’s Devo - The Holy Spirit

Read Luke 11:11-13 Jesus continues to drive in the subject of asking. He compares it to a son asking a father for bread. He will surely not give him a stone. Or if he asks for a fish, he will surely not give him a serpent. Or if he asks for an egg, he will not give his son a scorpion. So if we who are considered evil compared to God will give good things to our children, then won’t the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask? He went from tangible gifts to the Holy Spirit so there must be something spiritual in these earthly gifts. Let’s look at them again. The bread represents the revelation of the Word that feeds our spirit. The Commandments were written on stones and the law was not edible or life-giving. In fact it killed. So, if we as sons of God ask God for revelation will he give us the law which kills? No! He will give us the living bread. If we ask God for a fish - the character of Jesus. The fish has always been a symbol of a Christian and the serpent is a symbol of curse. So if we ask for a blessing, will he send us the curse? If we ask God for an egg - something that will burst forth life if nourished and warmed will he send us a scorpion which is the symbol of the lust of the flesh. No, of course not. God is our loving father who wants only good things for us - to prosper us and give us a future and a hope. He is on our side so who can come against us? He loves us with a love we can not comprehend. We only have the love of a father to a son to compare it to. He sent Jesus to die that he might give us the Holy Spirit so that we can walk in freedom and righteousness. Lord, the whole lesson is to point to the Holy Spirit who is the greatest gift of all. We ask for him to rule and lead our lives.

Thurs.’s Devo - Ask, Seek, and Knock

Read Luke 11:5-10 Jesus gave them a parable to explain more about prayer: If a friend came to you at midnight, got you out of your bed and gave you a story about needing 3 loaves of bread for his soon-to-arrive company what would you do? If you sent him away and he kept coming back waking you up, wouldn’t you just give him the bread to make him leave you alone? Sure you would. That is how Jesus explained the power of prayer. If you don’t ask, you won’t get - even if you think you are bothering God or you don’t deserve it. I can so relate with this parable because I feel like sometimes my prayers are just like that. I should have prepared beforehand and had the bread. I should just wait till the next day but I want to impress my guest today. I am impatient and selfish sometimes in my prayers. I often ask God to rescue me in something that I should have been better prepared and handled myself. But notice that Jesus never made a comment about any of this. He just wanted to tell them to ask, no matter what and God will give it to you. That goes for seeking and knocking too. I have asked God for answers I didn’t think I was suppose to know and he told me. Shock! I am no one he should reveal mysteries to but because I asked and sought it, he responded. I think God wants to give us more than we want to ask and he wants to reveal more than we want to seek. He wants to open doors we don’t even know are there. We just need to learn to ask, seek, and knock. Lord, help us to do just that no matter if we think we deserve your help or not - that is a no brainer!!!