04/14 Luke 14:27-28
And you cannot be my disciple if you do not carry your own cross and follow me.” 28 “But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills?
REALITY
The reality is that when we come to Jesus we are changed. If we are not changed we didn’t connect to Jesus. Very simple very easy and the implications are eternal.
04/13 Luke 14:25-26
Great crowds were following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, 26 “If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.
FOCUS
Jesus loves you. He calls us to focus our life upon Him. Give Him your cares and worries. Ask Him for His wisdom, mercy, guidance and strength. He is Lord and He offers us a relationship. Trust the Lord and get to know Him.
04/12 Luke 14:22-24
After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ 23 So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. 24 For none of those I invited first will get even the smallest taste of what I had prepared for them.'”
INVITED
You are invited by the King of Glory to participate in His work here on Earth. Listen to His call. Do what He says. He will give you the joy and peace you are searching for.
04/11 Luke 14:15-21
Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a privilege it would be to have a share in the Kingdom of God!” 16 Jesus replied with this illustration: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. 17 When all was ready, he sent his servant around to notify the guests that it was time for them to come. 18 But they all began making excuses. One said he had just bought a field and wanted to inspect it, so he asked to be excused. 19 Another said he had just bought five pair of oxen and wanted to try them out. 20 Another had just been married, so he said he couldn’t come.” 21 “The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was angry and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the city and invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.’
TIME
We are bound by time. All of us feel the press of time. In our relationship with the Lord develop a DO IT NOW attitude.
04/10 Luke 14:12-14
Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a dinner,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will repay you by inviting you back. 13 Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then at the resurrection of the godly, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”
GIVE
The call from the Father is to give. Give your love. Give your help. Give your resources. Give with no expectations. Give all that you are and all that you have. The call is to give.
04/09 Luke 14:6-11
Again they had no answer. 7 When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit near the head of the table, he gave them this advice: 8 “If you are invited to a wedding feast, don’t always head for the best seat. What if someone more respected than you has also been invited? 9 The host will say, ‘Let this person sit here instead.’ Then you will be embarrassed and will have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the table!” 10 “Do this instead — sit at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he will come and say, ‘Friend, we have a better place than this for you!’ Then you will be honored in front of all the other guests. 11 For the proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored.”
HUMBLE
Deal with and care for people just like Jesus did. He cares for each one of us as if we were the only one. His love is deep and abiding. He loved us so much that he was willing to die for us when we were still dead in our trespasses and sin. Jesus loves people. You and I must learn to love people.
04/08 Luke 14:4-5
When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away. 5 Then he turned to them and asked, “Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you proceed at once to get him out?”
PEOPLE
Jesus focuses His ministry on people. People count with the Lord so much that He was willing to die for us while we were dead in our trespasses and sin. Jesus is Lord and He is Lord of us.
04/07 Luke 14:1-3
One Sabbath day Jesus was in the home of a leader of the Pharisees. The people were watching him closely, 2 because there was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Well, is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?”
PEOPLE
People count with Jesus. He died to save us from our sin and gives us His life, eternal life and we become members of the family of God. Praise the Lord for His deep love for us.
4/06 Luke 13:34-35
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. 35 And now look, your house is left to you empty. And you will never see me again until you say, ‘Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'”
JESUS
Jesus is alive. He is alive and well living in us. He gives us life and light for living. Praise the Lord Jesus is alive.
4/05 Mt. 28:1
Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb.
THE TOMB
He wasn’t in the tomb. He had risen. The two Mary’s would be the first to know. His resurrection from the grave changed everything.
For many of us life was never easy. No one was there to teach the Godly how-to’s of a successful life. I committed myself to learning the mechanics of life. I wanted to have all the good things that life offers. My ethics, activities and responses were based on a world system that is dead in its trespasses and sin.
I struggled on my own for a long time. Finally one day the Lord spoke to me. He pledged to show me how to live. He forgave me, He saved me and grafted me into His family.
His salvation put the power of the resurrection in me. Nearly 2000 years later He saved me by grace. Once I was a weak sinner focused on my own wants and needs. Now I am a child of God and a member of the Royal family.
I wasn’t looking for God He came looking for me. I praise Him that He did. Thank you Lord for saving me.
THE TOMB
Two came to outfit Him for rotting and decay.
They found a barren rock and a folded cloth.
Their minds were numbed with disappointment.
Who had taken Him? Where was His body.
I must confess that I too often want to fix things for God.
I see evil people that need to be corrected.
I want to get in their face and tell them what’s what.
I can always see their problems clearly.
Like Mary and Mary discovered, things aren’t always what we think.
My death cures their ills. Surrender heals their blindness.
The world comes into focus much better from my knees.
I can see clearly when I kneel on the rock.
