SHARING BREAD

²⁷ ”Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ²⁸ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

Luke 12:27-28 (NIV)

Believer, God has a sweet word for us today!  Ever walked through a garden and beheld the wonder of the rose or the lily or the iris or the peony (just to name a few)?  Their exquisite beauty, texture, design, and fragrance are a gift to the senses from our loving Father who, as Paul pens to Timothy:

“Richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”   1 Tim 6:17 (NIV)

Jesus tells us to observe, consider and contemplate this fact:  If God clothes the flower with such intricate detail, though only here today and gone tomorrow, will He not much more clothe us?  Jesus adding to this – check your faith here!  We are told in Scripture:

²⁰ For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. ²¹ Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, ²² set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.   2 Cor 1:20-22 (NIV)

Solomon, the wisest man to ever live and one of the richest, donned with outward splendor, grandeur, pomp, elegance, magnificence and eminence paled in comparison to the lovely lily. When God clothes, He clothes!  One of my favorite verses to pray over my family and friends regarding our dress is found in Colossians:

¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.   Col 3:12 (NIV)

Like David stated in Psalm 30:

¹¹ You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, Psalms 30:11 (NIV)

Paul adds to this in Galatians:

²⁶ You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.   Gal 3:26-27 (NIV)

I love what Spurgeon says:  “We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He intended to be conspicuous in our lives.”

Every promise of Scripture is for the child of God to claim.  We are to stand firm in His promises, praying them back to Him.  This is how the saints in the past presented their petitions to their Father.  They knew their God and His word and they stood firm in praying those promises back to Him.  I think that makes God smile!  I believe He enjoys hearing His children claiming the truths of Scripture.

“Standing on the promises I cannot fall, listening every moment to the Spirit’s call, resting on my Savior, as my all in all, standing on the promises of God.”  R. K. Carter    

“The Lord cannot deny His own declarations.  Hold up the rod of promise, and have what you will.”  C. H. Spurgeon

¹⁰ I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.   Isaiah 61:10 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• As God’s child, all the promises of Scripture are mine to claim.  “²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us”   Eph 3:20 (NIV)
• God desires to clothe me with joy, strength, dignity and salvation arrayed also with robes of righteousness.  Kind of makes Solomon pale in comparison doesn’t it???
• When I stand on God’s promises I cannot fall.

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SHARING BREAD

²² 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. ²³ Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ²⁵ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? ²⁶ Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

Luke 12:22-26 (NIV)

The Oxford Dictionary defines the word “worry” the following way:  “to allow one’s mind to swell on troubles; to harass, be a trouble to; uneasy, troubled in the mind, causing anxiety – a concern about danger or difficulty.”  God gives us the following instructions:  “Stop that!”  Worry is sin and it also demonstrates a lack of faith.  The Bible warns us against this mindset.  Jesus states the following regarding His second coming and how we are to be prepared:

³⁴ ”Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.   Luke 21:34 (NIV)

Ever have a heart “weighed down” with worry?  I have and it didn’t help a thing! While I am a firm believer in being prepared, there is a huge difference in that and in fretting over outcomes of which we have no control. This is a total waste of energy and time. We must commit our ways to the Lord, working with all diligence and leaving the outcome into His loving hands.  I love what the following verses have to say regarding this issue:

³Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.   Prov 16:3 (NIV)

³Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. ⁴ Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. ⁵ Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: ⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.  Psalms 37:3-6 (NIV)

As we commit our plans to Him (“commit” means bringing our plans and desires to the foot of the cross for consecration – quite literally “to roll in blood” – the blood of Jesus, of course, cleanses all sin) our plans will succeed – no matter what the outcome.  All of our plans need to be cleansed from selfish ambitions, vain conceits and the like – things that keep us from God’s best. Where every person wants to be (whether they know it or not) is in the very center of God’s will – that is where we will “enjoy safe pasture”.  That is where the peace that passes all understanding resides.  We will never experience perfect peace outside of God’s will – never.

If we are not careful, the focus of our minds will tend to be controlled by anxiety over the lesser things of this life.  We should, rather, keep our eyes fixed on the Author and Perfecter of our faith, Jesus, who bestows the peace that passes all understanding in all circumstances.  Paul tells us in Philippians:

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   Phil 4:6-7 (NIV)

Jesus also gives us this great promise:

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.   John 14:27 (NIV)

All throughout Scripture we are told not to be afraid.  Through the examples of God’s Word one sees that the saints who walked closer to God were those that were the least afraid.  They knew their God.  They knew that He was trustworthy and faithful.  They knew that they could depend upon Him.  He never changes – He never will.  I love the words penned by Jeremiah:

³ The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.    Jer 31:3 (NIV)

In Hosea we find the same sentiments echoed:

⁴ I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.   Hosea 11:4 (NIV)

Lastly, Isaiah gives these encouraging words:

¹¹He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.   Isaiah 40:11 (NIV)

“Why will you tolerate any idea of discouragement?  Nothing can ever be accomplished for good in this frame of mind.  Sin brings forth death; and any negative current flowing within your body will produce a steady regression.  I will prepare within you a different attitude of mind.  Thoughts that have been in confusion, I will reorganize.  I will not bring to bear upon you pressures that will weaken you.  I will be the strength you need.  I will be the inner fortification that will bear you up even in the time of strain and crisis.  Saturate your soul in the oil of the Holy Spirit, and keep your channel of communication always open to your heavenly Father.  His desire is toward you, and He will be your strong habitation.”   Frances J. Roberts

What I glean from this:

• I am not to worry about anything.
• I am to trust in the Lord and do good.
• God’s perfect peace is found in the acceptance of His will for my life.

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SHARING BREAD

¹⁶ And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷ He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ ¹⁸ ”Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹ And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”‘ ²⁰ ”But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ ²¹ ”This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”

Luke 12:16-21 (NIV)

The Oxford Dictionary defines “hoard” as accumulating more than one’s current requirements of food etc.  God addresses this issue early on in the Old Testament when He gave instructions to the Israelites regarding manna from heaven.  We find in Exodus:

⁴ Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. ⁵ On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”   Ex 16:4-5 (NIV)

 Moses said to them, “It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat. ¹⁶ This is what the LORD has commanded: ‘Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’” ¹⁷ The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little. ¹⁸ And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed. ¹⁹ Then Moses said to them, “No one is to keep any of it until morning.” ²⁰ However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.    Ex 16:15-20 (NIV)

While saving is prudent and commendable, excessive hoarding displays pure greed and is selfish.  It reeks of an attitude that lacks faith in our Supplier and points to the fact that we somehow believe we are responsible in meeting our own needs taking God out of the equation.  Like the Israelites, our hoarding produces maggots and begins to smell.  God doesn’t like that (to say the least!).  We are told by Paul in I Timothy:

⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹ People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.  1 Tim 6:6-10 (NIV)

It is important to note that money is not the root of evil; it is the love of money. Paul also tells us in Philippians that contentment is a learned secret:

¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do everything through him who gives me strength.   Phil 4:11-13 (NIV)

The secret of his contentment was the power of Christ within him giving him strength and peace.  Contented people do not live excessively – always searching for more and more.  They have a good understanding of when enough is enough. There is much freedom and insight to be gained from this.  We are sold a bill of goods that accumulation brings contentment when oftentimes quite the opposite is true.  Our possessions begin to possess us!  These possessions that are to bring us joy end up consuming our time, talents, resources and abilities!  I am sure that is one reason we are told the following in Proverbs:

⁸ Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. ⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’
Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.   Prov 30:8-9 (NIV)

God desires for us to give freely and cheerfully sharing with those who are in need and practicing hospitality.  Since we ourselves have been on the receiving end we are to in turn pass on the blessing to others.  Luke tells us:

³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 (NIV)

We are so spoiled in this wonderful country we live in, that it is often not that we do not have clothing to wear but rather what we will pick to wear out of our superfluous frocks.  It is not that we do not have food to eat but what we will choose or more often where we will choose to eat!  Unfortunately, we seldom practice the beautiful graces of sacrifice and self-control which our Savior so perfectly exhibited – shame on us!  We should be intentional in this pursuit for our own good.  I love a quote I ran across recently which nails this point:

It is another one of those “immutable laws of the universe” where sharing, caring and giving trumps self-centered, narcissistic and selfish every time.

G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “Nothing taken for granted; everything received with gratitude; everything passed on with grace.”

What I glean from this:

• I am not to hoard but to give freely.
•  Contentment is a learned secret.
• Sacrifices and self-control are beautiful graces.

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SHARING BREAD

¹⁵ Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”

Luke 12:15 (NIV)

Believer, guard against greed!  Jesus gives us two stern warnings – perceive distinctly, keep our eyes fixed on and look attentively to areas in our lives that perhaps have crossed the line to greed.  We are to be in a state of vigilance or watchfulness in regard to this issue.  Paul tells us in Ephesians:

¹ Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.    Eph 5:1-3 (NIV)

Self-centered vices are the direct opposite of the self-sacrificing love that we are called to in Christ.  These vices flesh out in all sorts of self-indulgence and selfishness which, I might add, the life of the believer should not even hint towards.  We are to put to death the behavior of this world and follow the example of our Lord. I am reminded of a passage, also in Ephesians, steering us away from this type of lifestyle:

¹⁷ So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. ¹⁸ They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. ¹⁹ Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.    Eph 4:17-19 (NIV)

This basically describes those who have abandoned themselves (“given themselves over”) to indulge in self-gratification without regard for others – continually lusting for more.  A terrible waste of a life indeed!  The lust for more continues on because these things never satisfy – they never really scratch the itch.  Would you like to know how wealthy you are?  Just try looking around your home for the things that money cannot buy.  These are our true riches and treasures.  God’s Word, family, friends, the beauty of nature that surrounds us, laughter, tears, singing, dancing, sharing, praying, hugs, kisses and the list goes on and on all without cost and all priceless.  Remember the only two things on this earth that are eternal are the Word of God and the souls of men.  We would do well to remember that.  Jesus gives us this warning in the Sermon on the Mount:

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.    Matt 6:19-21 (NIV)

If our treasures and our hearts are tied with the things of this world, we will be tight fisted and greedy.  Not willing to share because it is simply too costly for us.  If we grasp how fleeting worldly wealth is we would resemble the shrewd manager who used this worldly wealth for his gain so that he would be “welcomed into eternal dwellings”:

⁹ I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.   Luke 16:9 (NIV)

Giving is true having.    Charles Spurgeon

Jesus goes on to make an even stronger point:

¹¹ So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ¹² And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?    Luke 16:11-12 (NIV)

All that we are and all that we have are His.  We are to be wise stewards for what God has entrusted to us for what He has allowed in our lives.  We are held accountable for these things. In our short-sightedness live for today mentality, like the prodigal, we “squander our wealth in wild living” trading eternal blessings for a mere moment of pleasure.  Remember Eve with the fruit (Genesis 3:6); Esau with his bowl of stew (Genesis 25:29-34); and Samson with Delilah (Judges Chapter 16)?  All selling out for the present – for the instant gratification, a cheap paste gem compared to the riches in Christ.  Lest we scoff and think this is only for those who have not, let’s consider the words of the richest man who ever lived:

¹⁰ I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. ¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.   Eccl 2:10-11 (NIV)

God gives us things to enjoy but not to live for – we must recognize the difference or we will fall every time!  Beware of whatever we grasp greedily!  Our attitude towards what God has allowed in our lives should resemble blameless Job’s when basically everything was taken away from his hands:

²⁰ At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”   Job 1:20-21 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• I am to be watchful for greed in my life and nip it!
• My treasures are to be stored in heaven.
• I am not to live for my possessions.

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SHARING BREAD

¹¹ ”When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, ¹² for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

Luke 12:11-12 (NIV)

Ever worry about what to say when met with opposition while ministering for our Lord?  Jesus has a word for us today!  A great example of this is given to us in Acts.  We find Peter and John being opposed by the priests and the Sadducees of their day because they were “teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead” after they had miraculously healed a man crippled from birth.  They were seized and placed in jail yet many who had been privileged to hear their message and behold the miracle, believed.  The next day when brought before the authorities, Scripture tells us:

⁷ They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power or what name did you do this?” ⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: “Rulers and elders of the people! ⁹ If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, ¹⁰ then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ He is “‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone’. ¹² Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” ¹³ When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.    Acts 4:7-13 (NIV)

Truth, boldness and authority in our speech are earmarks of the indwelling precious Holy Spirit for the child of the King.  Marveling at these “unschooled, ordinary men” these religious leaders of the day recognized that Peter and John had been with Jesus – and rightly so.  This is a prominent theme within Acts which silenced much of the opposition in the birthing and subsequent growth of the church period. We find again later in this same chapter of Acts:

¹⁸ Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. ²⁰ For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”    Acts 4:18-20 (NIV)

Remember, these guys had been such chickens when our Lord was crucified – striving to save their own skin! Deny, fleeing and staying at a safe distance, they were much more concerned with their own safety.  Yet here, they are astonishingly bold, forthright and honest.  The difference lies in the powerful Holy Spirit now dwelling within them, empowering them and teaching them what to say.  Again, in Acts chapter five we find almost the exact same words:

²⁷ Having brought the apostles, they made them appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. ²⁸ ”We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
²⁹ Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men! ³⁰ The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead–whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. ³¹ God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. ³² We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”   Acts 5:27-32 (NIV)

The apostles had witnessed these things and the Holy Spirit was corroborating their testimony by supernaturally enabling them to preach with boldness and perform miracles.  This same Spirit is given to all who believe in Christ equipping and empowering the believer to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel.  Paul tells us in Romans:

⁹ You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.   Romans 8:9-11 (NIV)

The indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit is the mark of every believer in Christ.  We are also told in I John:

²⁴ Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.   1 John 3:24 (NIV)

¹³ We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.   1 John 4:13 (NIV)

⁴¹ The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. ⁴² Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.   Acts 5:41-42 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• The Holy Spirit teaches me what to say.
• Truth, boldness and authority in my words are earmarks of the indwelling precious Holy Spirit.
• I cannot help speaking about what Jesus as done for me.

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SHARING BREAD

¹⁰ And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

Luke 12:10 (NIV)

The essence of the unforgivable sin is unbelief. The Holy Spirit always points us to Christ – the Way and the Truth and the Life.  Forever nudging and urging us on to accept the Savior as our only means of reconciliation with a Holy God, the Holy Spirit continually sheds light in our darkness.  Our verse for today speaks of one who defames, defiles, rails and speaks evil against the One who imparts to us this truth.  The New Testament Lexical Aids of the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible sheds more light on this topic:

“Reviling against the Holy Spirit means to resist the convicting power of the Holy Spirit unto repentance.”

Jesus tells us in Luke:

³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”  Luke 5:32 (NIV)

¹⁰ Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.   2 Cor 7:10 (NIV)

Again, the essentially speaks of non-belief.  Throughout Scripture the Holy Spirit is represented in intimate union with God the Father and God the Son.  It is the Divine Spirit which imparts knowledge of the divine truth.  Paul tells is in Romans:

 ¹⁴ because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:14-16 (NIV)

In Luke we are told the following regarding John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ:

¹⁵ The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. ¹⁶ John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”   Luke 3:15-17 (NIV)

Regarding the Holy Spirit, when reading own His job description, Jesus Himself states:

¹⁷ The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:  ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, ¹⁹ to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” ²⁰ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, ²¹ and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”   Luke 4:17-21 (NIV)

I bet everybody’s eyes were fastened on Him!  This was good news indeed!  Jesus was proclaiming freedom for those held in bondage to sin and slavery, He was to open the eyes of those who were blind both figuratively and literally, and He was to release the oppressed from their oppression.  This is still His job description – He came to set the captive free.  In believing in Jesus, He bestows upon us the Holy Spirit which equips us with the same power that was exerted to raise Him from the dead.  That, my friends, is some pretty powerful power!  All achieving power offered to all who believe.  And Paul adds in Romans:

⁹ You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. Romans 8:9 (NIV)

All believers are sealed with the precious Holy Spirit albeit, while He never leaves us, we can shrink the Spirit within us:

¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.   Eph 1:13-14 (NIV)

One final warning given to us by the writer of Hebrews seals our verse for today:

²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Heb 10:26-31 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• The Holy Spirit always points me to Jesus.
• The Holy Spirit leads me to repentance and I am to turn to Truth.
• Jesus came to set me free, to open my blind eyes and to release me from oppression.

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SHARING BREAD

⁸ ”I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. ⁹ But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God.

Luke 12:8-9 (NIV)

Do we confess, consent, acknowledge, celebrate with public praises and agree with Jesus or do we deny, refuse, reject either in the face of former relationship or better knowledge and decline the One who can save our souls from the pit of hell?  It matters you know.  Jesus tells us in our verses for today we will receive the behavior we divvy out.  I am reminded of verses in Luke dealing with this exact issue:

³⁸ Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Luke 6:38 (NIV)

Here Jesus is teaching a fundamental principle of the universe – what one sows, one reaps.  I love how the Bible Knowledge Commentary expounds on this verse:

“Jesus outlined five areas which were proof of the sowing and reaping theme, mentioned so often in Scripture:

(1) Mercy will lead to mercy (Luke 6:36). The disciples were exhorted to have the same merciful attitude God displayed toward them.

(2) Judgment will lead to judgment (Luke 6:37).

(3) Condemnation will lead to condemnation (Luke 6:37).

(4) Pardon will lead to pardon (Luke 6:37).

(5) Giving will lead to giving (Luke 6:38). It is simply a fact of life that certain attitudes and actions often reflect back on the individual.”

Paul gives us further instruction and warning in the book of Galatians:

⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.   Gal 6:7-9 (NIV)

God’s rule that a man reaps what he sows is immutable.  Each sower decides what his harvest will be – either consciously or sub-consciously (no decision is a decision) or better yet, intentional or non-intentional.  If we sow to please the sinful nature we will reap a harvest doomed for destruction.  Conversely, if we sow to please the Spirit, we will reap a harvest that is eternal.  This doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out.  Hell-o, do we want to work all our lives for dross?  In God’s economy there is no neutral ground – we are either for Him or against Him.  Paul adds that we must not become weary in the wait!  Have you ever noticed that our timing is a bit different from God’s?  One thing we must learn in waiting is that it is not a mute period.  He is working in and through us in the wait.  For instance, as we are merciful and do not receive mercy right away, He is perhaps working patience in us and showing God’s love to someone who needs to be shown mercy rather than condemnation! I do not know how He accomplishes all the different workings in each individual’s life through one circumstance but He does.  I guess that is why He is God and we are not!  He is all about changing and molding and conforming us to His image.  Not always pleasant but always necessary.  We will reap a harvest if we continue in obedience to His call.   I love what Paul teaches us in a passage dealing with relationships in Colossians:

²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ²⁵ Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.    Col 3:23-25 (NIV)

There is a time that is coming where God will judge without favoritism repaying wrongdoers and rewarding those who serve Him – you can take that to the bank.

“Tomorrow’s history has already been written.  At the name of Jesus, every knee must bow.”  Paul Kauffman

Let us remember what Jesus tells us in Matthew:

³⁰ ”He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. Matt 12:30 (NIV)

Jesus has invited us all to make a clear decision in following Him.  He also asked this of His disciples as His feet walked this dusty earth and as He felt the sting of rejection from many followers whose apostasy had begun to affect the twelve (you can almost feel the grief in His question:

  ⁶⁶ From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. ⁶⁷ “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹ We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”    John 6:66-69 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• What I sow, I will reap.
• I must not be deceived, God cannot be mocked.
• God will reward my service for Him.

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SHARING BREAD

⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. ⁷ Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Luke 12:6-7 (NIV)

Believer, there is no need to run, no need to be fearful, no need to be terrified!  We are getting ready to be encouraged today and I am looking forward to it myself!  I was recently reading a book the other day which defined the Hawaiian word “aloha”.  It is made up of two words “alo” which is “divine” and “ha” which is “breath”.  It quite literally means “divine breath” so as you speak this over someone you are saying “may the presence of divine breath be with you today”.  I believe our verses for today will give us an “aloha” day indeed!  We find in Scripture where Jesus again states:

²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?   Matt 6:26-27 (NIV)

²⁴ Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!    Luke 12:23-24 (NIV)

Jesus desires for us to live a life of faith not fear.  We are far more valuable than the birds of the air.  In that day, sparrows were sold for a small amount – five birds for two pennies – and not one of them is “forgotten by God” Scripture states.  Many passages flood my mind right now on God’s love for us.  One is especially tender to me:

¹⁵ ”Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! ¹⁶ See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.   Isaiah 49:15-16 (NIV)

Believer, we have been engraved on His hands – we are not forgotten! The prophet Zephaniah boldly proclaims to us:

¹⁷ The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”  Zeph 3:17 (NIV)

What an awesome promise!  The God of all creation will quiet us with His love and rejoice over us with singing!  Think about that for a minute (or a day, or a life!)  Dwell on the fact that He is always faithful to His promises and loving towards all He has made.  (If that won’t give you an “Aloha” day I don’t know what will!)  Another sweet verse that brings me much comfort (probably because I always sat in my Daddy’s lap!) is found in Deuteronomy:

“Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.”   Deut 33:12 (NIV)

²⁶ ”There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty. ²⁷ The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.   Deut 33:26-27 (NIV)

“Why should I be discouraged?  Why should shadows come?  Why should my heart be lonely and long for heaven and home?  When Jesus is my portion, my constant friend is He:  His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.  Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise, when song gives place to sighing, when hope within me dies, I draw the closer to Him; from care He sets me free, His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”  Civilla D. Martin

“God does not give us overcoming life; He gives life as we overcome.  The strain is the strength.  If there is no strain there is no strength.  Are you asking God to give you life and liberty and joy?  He cannot, unless you will accept the strain.  Immediately you face the strain, you will get the strength.”  Oswald Chambers 

“Understanding is the reward of faith.  Therefore seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.”    Saint Augustine

³ By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; ⁴ through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. Prov 24:3-4 (NIV)

“Aloha”

What I glean from this:

·         I am valuable to God.

·         God loves me with an everlasting love.  I am engraved on the palm of His hand.

·         Jesus desires for me to live a life of faith not fear.

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SHARING BREAD

⁴ ”I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. ⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

Luke 12:4-5 (NIV)

Man does not have ultimate authority – God does.  Scripture says we are to fear Him.  In fact, that is the beginning of wisdom as the Psalmist states:

¹⁰ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.    Psalms 111:10 (NIV)

I love what David, the man after God’s own heart, states in Psalm 27:

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear?  The LORD is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid?   Psalms 27:1 (NIV)

David held great confidence in the Lord because He was his light signifying his understanding and joy and life and He was his stronghold signifying his defense and his fortified place.  With these provisions given us, whom should believers fear?

David also tells us in Psalm 103:

¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. ¹³ As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. ¹⁵ As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; ¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. ¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children–   Psalms 103:11-17 (NIV)

What exactly does “fear of the Lord” mean?  According to the Old Testament Lexical Aids of the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible, we find this definition of “fear”:

“A very positive feeling of awe or reverence for God, which may be expressed in piety or formal worship.  Fear can be faced with trust in the Lord.  “Fearing God” is often the motivation which produces godly living.”

Several examples of this from Scripture come to mind.  The midwives of the Israelites in Egypt refused the kings orders out of their fear of God:

¹⁷ The midwives, however, feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys live. Ex 1:16-17 (NIV)

God’s response to their actions:

²⁰ So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. ²¹ And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.  Ex 1:20-21 (NIV)

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stood firm in their faith, fearing God over their king’s edict too:

¹² But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon–Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego–who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up.”   Dan 3:12 (NIV)

Furious with rage the king orders them to become crispy critters!  He heats up the furnace seven times hotter than usual and firmly ties them up and throws them in.  The fire was so hot that it consumed the strongest soldiers in the king’s army that threw them into the blazing furnace!  The outcome is well known but worthy of the re-read:

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, O king.”
²⁵ He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” ²⁶ Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, ²⁷ and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. ²⁸ Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”
³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.       Dan 3:24-30 (NIV)

²² Should you not fear me?” declares the LORD. “Should you not tremble in my presence? Jer 5:22 (NIV)

⁵ But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.

What I glean from this:

·         I should not fear man as God states through the prophet Isaiah:  ¹¹ ”Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have been false to me, and have neither remembered me nor pondered this in your hearts?   Isaiah 57:11 (NIV)

·         God is my light and my stronghold.

·         Fearing God motivates me to godly living.

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SHARING BREAD

² There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.

Luke 12:2 (NIV)

Light always dispels darkness – nothing will be hidden says Jesus.  I have a feeling this is going to step on my toes today!  The apostle John tells us:

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. ⁶ There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. ⁷ He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. ⁸ He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. ⁹ The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

John 1:1-9 (NIV)

Jesus came to take away our darkness by shining His light on our dark sides.  Sadly, many of us want to remain wallowing in that darkness preferring our pathetic evil ways over the freeing abundant life that Christ holds out for us all.  John later records Jesus stating:

¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”   John 3:19-21 (NIV)

“No one overcomes the corruptions of his heart except by the enabling strength of the Spirit of God.”   Jerry Bridges

Man does not love darkness for darkness sake but because it hides his deeds – deeds that he fondles and loves.  I love the way C.S. Lewis states this point after examining his own heart and discovering what he found:

“A zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears and a harem of fondled hatreds.” 

How easy for believers to have “little” hidden sins! “Little foxes in the vineyard” that destroy the crop!   What do we have hidden in the dark?  What actions do we not want disclosed?  We must be done with this believer for our own good! When we remain holding onto whatever darkness we are grasping we can be confident that our growth in Christ will be stymied and that our relationship with Him will be broken.  He never moves from us – we move from Him.  As the Holy Spirit convicts us by pointing to areas in our lives that need to go, we are such the losers if we do not heed.  He does not move on to other areas until we deal with the light He has already revealed.  I have lived that in my own life, anybody else out there that proves this point too?  Every time I would pick up the Word of God that same sin would come flashing through.  Bringing it back to my mind that it had to go!  My reluctances surely stymied my growth during that period.  It was as if I did not want Him to mess with my mess!  When all the while He was saying, “Getting rid of this will make you better!”  Finally when my grasp released my growth and joy in Him grew exponentially.  You simply cannot out give God.

“Nothing is really lost by a life of sacrifice; everything is lost by failure to obey God’s call.”  Henry Parry Liddon

I love what the Psalmist Asaph states:

¹⁰ I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.   Psalms 81:10 (NIV)

Whenever Scripture speaks of bringing us out of Egypt it is referring to bringing us out of bondage – out of sin and slavery.  Through Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit we do not have to remain wallowing in depravity.  We have been given the power to live above the muck and the mire and the dirt that Satan is perfectly content for us to stay in.  If Satan cannot keep us from being saved, his goal is to keep us from being used.  How pitiful for us to let him win.  God has great plans for each one of us as the well known verses in Jeremiah state:

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity.^[ Jer 29:10-14 (NIV)

“In Christ we can move out of our past into a meaningful present and a breathtaking future.”  Erwin Lutzer

What I glean from this:

·         Light always dispels darkness.

·         I cannot hide anything from Jesus – anything.

·         What God gives is far greater than any sacrifice I will make.

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