“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! (Psalm 8:3-9)

More to the Easter Story devotionals resume tomorrow. Enjoy a Sabbath today and worship Him!

Yes, God works in hidden ways and with small beginnings and the final result will be spectacular, but Jesus didn’t want them to get the wrong idea.  It wasn’t about hanging out or being a hanger-on.  There was far more to salvation than that. Faith is more than just hanging out. It’s the issue of the narrow door.  Jesus needed to teach about that.

Luke 13:22 Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?”

That question opened the perfect opportunity even though it was kind of a loaded question. 

Luke 13:22 He said to them, 24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. 25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.'”  But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ 26 “Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ 27 “But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you evildoers!’ 28 “There will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown out. 29 People will come from east and west and north and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God. 30 Indeed there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be last.”

The “how many” number to be saved has never been a matter of insufficient room inside.  It’s always been a matter of insufficient righteousness outside.  Sure, there are people who are hanging out with Jesus, listening to Him as disciples, eating with Him, and maybe even wanting to be in.  But they’re missing something vital: faith!

“It was a frightening thought,” those in the crowd concluded. What if Jesus doesn’t know them?  Or that He doesn’t know where they come from?  It’s not a lack of information and Jesus’ ignorance.  It’s not His ignorance at all.  It’s that they never entered into a real relationship of any depth of faith. 

Will only a few be saved? 

It depends on how you define a few.  Jesus grieved that so many people will be lost in the last day.  But in the end, it wouldn’t for a lack of trying, only a lack of faith, a lack of truth, and way too much evildoing. And of course, a steadfast refusal to enter through the narrow door.

Think about it: 

• Do you know people who hate Christ and Christians so much that the truth could stand nose-to-nose with them and they’d still refuse to believe the truth? 
• What does it say about who they worship when they look at God’s truth and the world’s ways and choose the world’s?

Thank You, Father, for the magnitude of Your patience and forgiveness! Thank You, Lord, for preserving eternity with You for those who follow by faith. We praise You that there will be no sin in heaven. Thank You for the narrow door and that You have made a way for us to enter! Thank You, for the perseverance of the saints and the role of Your Holy Spirit in guiding us until that day. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

Small beginnings can bring about spectacular results…when a spectacular God is at work.  Many people believed the Messiah would bring dramatic and spectacular change.  What they didn’t understand was the hidden way it would happen and that the same dramatic and spectacular change can happen whether in a flash of a moment or through a gradual working over a long perseverance.  Their expectations would get in the way because they didn’t understand God’s definition of overthrow or an improbable assignment doesn’t mean it’s impossible.  Everything is possible when God is involved.  Jesus wanted to drive home the point of small beginnings and the long patience that would be required for the Kingdom to be finally ushered in.

Luke 13:20 Again he asked, “What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21 It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

“Sixty pounds,” thought the crowd, “that’s three pecks, three measures, that’s quite a bit of flour!  (She’s probably baking for a crowd.) That woman would be working diligently for quite a while until yeast was completely mixed through the dough.”

Jesus smiled.  Yes, the improbable assignment of the Gospel working its way from small beginnings until it had reached the whole world would be generations in accomplishing.  It would require dedication, perseverance, hard work, and time.  But then the yeast would do its own miracle of further multiplying and in the presence of oxygen, the whole batch of dough would rise.

Think about it: 

• Why did Jesus want to point out the small beginnings?  What encouragement would that offer? 
• When one normally thinks of overthrow how dramatic is it?  What does the timeline look like? 
• For the Gospel to take over as a revolutionary idea, what would the timeline look like?  Read “And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:6-12) 
• How does the insidious undercover working of Satan mirror the hidden working of God in the delay between the two advents (birth and return)?

Lord Jesus, help us to remember the admonition from Your Word to “be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:10-12).  Help us to remember that You work in hidden and mysterious ways, but those ways are not a mystery to You.  May we continue to work diligently alongside others in Christ as You bring Your Kingdom to all fullness and we rise in You at the final trumpet sound.  Grant us courage for these dark days.  In Christ’s powerful Name we pray.  Amen.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

Small beginnings.  A woman healed from 18 years of disability suddenly bursting forth in praise of God on the Sabbath!  A crowd witnessing these wonderful things experiencing total delight!  How Jesus must have been truly happy seeing the immediate results of small beginnings in the lives of simply humans!  What did it portend for the future?  Jesus knew.

Luke 13:18 Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to?  19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”

Small beginnings can be a tremendous catalyst.  They can explode in exponential growth.  When it’s praise of God and joy and the knowledge of the Kingdom, this growth is an amazing thing to witness!

Jesus loved teaching about the Kingdom and seeing His Words producing fruit that would last. Then, there was knowing that this Gospel would bring His ultimate healing for simply humans. Oh, the eternal joy they would know as they preached it throughout the world!  Like nesting birds finding shelter, this hope for mankind–nation after nation–is what He came to bring!  He felt a deep sense of satisfaction and praised God in His spirit.

Think about it:

• The Gospel is supposed to be good news and we’re told “that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).  Why do we fail to tell the world about this good news? 
• What types of things bring you delight? 
• In what ways do our lives display this joy at the wonderful things He has done?
• In what ways do our lives display a legal view of the Gospel instead of a redemptive view?

Thank You, Lord, for the Good News of salvation in Your Son Jesus Christ! Thank You for the growth You’ve promised for Your Kingdom! We praise You, Lord, and trust that when the time is ripe, You will return for Your bride, the Church. May we be attentive to Your truth and energetic in our witness to Your goodness. For this and more, we praise You! Amen.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

Jesus was gratified that people gathered for teaching in the synagogue.  It made Him happy knowing there’s a willingness to listen, and in some cases, a willingness on someone’s part to let what was being taught change his or her life. 

Luke 13:10 “On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.”

It broke Jesus’ heart to see God’s beautiful creation, the pinnacle of which were simply human men and women, and to see that marvelous work broken by sin.  For 18 years, this woman had been in bondage.  She was beaten down by it and looked like she had bearing the weight of a sinful world on her shoulders–that’s how crippling this spirit was.  It made Jesus sad to see her bent over, unable to stand tall and confident as God created her.  Indeed, it made Him angry at what sin did and does to God’s blessed Image-bearers.

She had come to the synagogue with no expectations other than to receive some instruction the Sabbath.  Jesus saw she needed a true Sabbath…rest from what had been crippling her for 18 years.

Luke 13:12 “When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. “

Nothing more that pronouncing freedom and laying His hands on her.  That is what healed her, gave her a true healing Sabbath for her body and spirit.  Praising God for what He had done was only fitting.

Not everyone celebrated this miracle of freedom.

Luke 13:14 “Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”

After all, the last thing the synagogue leader wanted was a parade of healing-seekers showing up on the Sabbath to be set free because if Jesus did it once, He could do it again.  It would upend their entire system of organization and plans for teaching.  Better for the leader to stop it before it starts in earnest.

Luke 13:15 “The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”

Think about it:

• Is it work to speak words and lay hands on someone? 
• Is it any more work than opening scrolls and reading or teaching? 
• What made the leader a hypocrite?
• Luke 13:17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.  Why do you think the opponents were humiliated?  Why were the people delighted with what He was doing?

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for Your promise that “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (Jn. 8:36 NIV)”  Thank You for the freedom we have in You.  Freedom to worship!  Freedom to praise!  Freedom to seek healing and teaching!  May we always regard the true Sabbath as the one which releases us from what we have been in bondage to…and by being released from these chains, may our actions glorify You and bring You praise!

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

At gathering times for teaching, there was also a sharing of the news of the day.  Jesus paid attention to it all.  Luke 13:1 “Some present at that time … told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.”

Pilate, the prefect of Rome, was spoken about regularly.  Jesus knew about him as Marcus Pontius Pilatus, an authoritarian leader, headstrong at times which was odd since he was genuinely double-minded and stubborn all at the same time.  He was really just another simply human who governed himself by his own rules which changed by the hour and the political winds.  Jesus remembered back to when Pilate first came, and the golden shields inscribed to Tiberius had been set up in Jerusalem at night.  After near riots and plenty of complaints, Pilate had them removed. Of course, having to file a report with Tiberius may have had something to do with that change of heart.  Pilate was always doing stuff like that.  Jesus’ thoughts returned to the teaching moment the news presented.

Luke 13:2 “Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?  3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.   4 Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them– do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?  5 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

The people present stood in stunned silence.  In their hearts, they were thinking, Perish!  What do you mean perish?  Are there not varying levels of guilt?  Maybe not worse sinners or more guilty…but isn’t there some kind of sliding scale where our good actions count for something?  Repentance.  What does that have to do with it?  Isn’t it good enough to be a disciple?”

Luke 13:6 “Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any.  7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’  8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.  9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'”

Presuming upon the patience of God—taking His patience for granted—is always a bad thing.  Repent now, or perish.  You never know what tomorrow will bring whether suffering at the hands of government, or falling towers, or an axe, if you’re a fig tree.

Think about it:

• In 2 Peter 3:9 we read, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.”  Why do some people procrastinate, maybe wanting to wait until a deathbed confession? 
• Does anyone really know when their days are up? 
• What about people who profess Christ in the silence of their hearts or in the comfort of a church, but not where their witness might make a real difference?  What is the fruit of that type of life? 
• In what way does that presume upon the patience of God?

Thank You, Father, for being patient with us.  We praise You for keeping Your promises, in Your own timing, and for giving us every opportunity to repent or perish.  Thank You, Lord Jesus, for the many teaching opportunities You maximized to help us understand that what we do with our time on earth matters to You.  Thank You, Holy Spirit, for giving us words to share Your Gospel of good news, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil, and the time is short.  Grant us courage.  Grant us wisdom, in Christ we pray.  Amen.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

Luke 12:49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!  50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!”

Beyond the disappointment and the pain of rejection, foremost among the things that grieved Jesus were being misunderstood…both His mission and His person as the Sent One of God.  And to add insult to injury, He was constrained in doing the final judgment until the important prior work of deliverance from that judgment would be accomplished.  That baptism into human death was required to be victorious over it.

 Luke 12:51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.  52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three.  53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

What did they want?  World peace?  Dominance with compelled uniformity?  Equality?  Eradication of injustice?  A perfect world?  How misguided!  How mistaken!  Don’t they see that sin needed to be dealt with first? Oh, how much had the crowd failed to understand about His Word predicting His coming!  Worse, perhaps, was this height of human arrogance.  After all, they could easily see the signs of the times in other areas.  Why were they blindly missing this turning point of world history?

Luke 12:54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does.  55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time? 

Maybe they just didn’t want to see and couldn’t judge what was right because they were determined to be blind to the truth.  Maybe Jesus wasn’t seeking an answer to the question when He asked, Luke 12:57 “Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?” 

Think about it: 

• If someone doesn’t acknowledge what is right, how can he judge what is right? 
• In our culture—indeed in our world—there is much division and a lack of genuine love of God and for the brotherhood of man.  How does a refusal to seek and believe the truth contribute to division? 
• In what way is that fire testing the quality of each man’s faith? 
• Seeking world peace apart from God—biblically speaking, is that even possible?

Thank You Father, for Your plan of salvation and its being finished prior to Your plan of final judgment.  Lord Jesus, we praise You for Your faithfulness all the way to the Cross on our behalf!  Thank You for the gift of salvation as a matter of Your grace, the gift of faith that is not from ourselves, and not a matter of our working our way to heaven.  Please Holy Spirit, continue to guide us into all truth so we might know it and believe it before judgment.  Enlarge Your Kingdom through our willing service to You.  Do this, Lord, for Your glory alone.  Amen.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

“Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.” (1 Peter 1:17-25)

Lent 2019 devotionals “More to the Easter Story” resume tomorrow after the Sabbath rest. Enjoy a day of worship!

Jesus loved watching His disciples think.  That’s partly why He chose them.  They’d think, they’d seek, and they’d overcome anything by faith in Him!  He deeply wanted them to know that life isn’t found in things of this earth.  Life is found in the One from heaven!

Luke 12:32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

None of them were rich by the standards of the day, but they were rich beyond imagining in their relationship with Him.  They didn’t truly know it, but they were.  That’s why they needed to know it was okay to value Him more than what a ministry income or fishing income would provide.  They needed to follow His example, and to serve, to wait, and to work because that’s how they’d find life worth living. 

Jesus explained, 35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 39 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

They’d always be ready if they devoted themselves to watching, working, and waiting for Him! 

Think about it: 

• Are you ready?  If yes, what are you doing to stay ready?  If not, what are you waiting for? 
• Are there other things you’re seeking? 
• What do you treasure?

Dear Lord, please be with us in our struggles so that we might learn what to treasure.  Let us resonate with the psalmist who said, “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. Your hands made me and formed me; give me understanding to learn your commands.  May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word. I know, LORD, that your laws are righteous, and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.  May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant. Let your compassion come to me that I may live, for your law is my delight.” (Ps. 119:71-77)  May we treasure Your Word.  Amen.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.

Jesus’ disciples were astonished that their lack of faith was so transparent.  It’s like Jesus could see right through them.  One after another, their ongoing silence betrayed that each of them felt convicted by that “you of little faith.”  Not one of them was going to point a finger at the others as if Jesus’ words applied to someone else.  They were all guilty as charged.

It had been said with a smile and with reassurance in that voice Jesus had when He was saying a deep truth.  It delivered a punch like a velvet-gloved fist and a light hand.  Jesus grieved for how they felt about their faith, but He also wanted them to know that it wasn’t hopeless.  Indeed, there was a perfect solution.  So He continued,

Luke 12:30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

If the Father knows we need them,” the disciples pondered, “then why do we even need to pray about them?

That question, a riddle and a mystery, enveloped them like a fog, but no one asked Jesus.  The pagan world runs to get what they want, but we pray for what we need.   Isn’t that what makes us different than the pagan world?  That we pray for things?  Isn’t that how we seek the kingdom?  Or is seeking the kingdom something else?”  These questions and more hung heavy in the air of silent reflection.  As usual, they were afraid to ask Jesus because they didn’t want to look stupid or even more faithless than “you of little faith.”

Think about it: 

• Do we ever wonder why we bother to pray? 
• Have you ever been disappointed because something you prayed about—even religiously—failed to produce the outcome you wanted? 
• Does that situation grow your faith or challenge it? 

Thank You, Lord, that while You may convict us, there is no condemnation for those of us in Christ Jesus. Your love and grace cover us and heal our grief. We acknowledge our frailty and our inability to understand the deep things of faith apart from Your Holy Spirit’s enlightenment. We ask, Lord Jesus, for more faith, more of You, in order to live our lives with the kind of power You want Christians to know and experience. May our actions and our faith in difficulties set us apart in the eyes of the world and may they come to know You as Savior, Redeemer, Deliverer, and Messiah! Amen.

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2019 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this great look at the Easter story to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals remain popular,

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.