THE HOME DEVO

BIBLE READING: Luke 17-21 DISCUSSION                                                                          As we prepare to enter next week’s reading of the impending death of Jesus on the cross, I think it important to mention something Jesus noted in Luke 18.31-34.   This is the third time in Luke’s account that Jesus has specifically warned His disciples about His upcoming death.   It is also interesting to note that He is very specific concerning the events that are about to take place, yet they still do not understand why?   How is it possible for these men to soak up everything that Jesus tells them and shows them as He goes about His daily ministry, yet totally ignore the wor...

BIBLE READING: Luke 21 DISCUSSION                                                                                       It isn’t quite April 15 th yet, but many people are already doing their due diligence to get their taxes ready.   Tax day is one of those days that slowly creeps up on us, isn’t it?   We know it is coming, we even know the day that it will come.   Yet millions of people will continue to put it off until the last minute, or worse, file an extension so they can wait until October to do them.   Why do we put off what we know has to be done?   I think we get so bogged down by l...

BIBLE READING: Luke 20 DISCUSSION                                                                      All throughout Jesus’ ministry, there were those that were challenging His authority.   Although we understand Him to be the Son of God, most of the religious world saw Jesus as a false teacher and a threat.   To help them understand who He was and where His authority came from, He would often speak to them in parables; such is the case with Luke 20.   In this parable, a man plants a vineyard and opened it up for people to use.   The man who planted the vineyard had to move off to another country for a long period of time, while the tenants continued to enjoy its fruit.   Sometim...

BIBLE READING: Luke 19 DISCUSSION                                                                               As Jesus prepares to enter Jerusalem for the last time before His death, the people are beginning to accept that He was not just another prophet.   As He enters the city, even His method of transportation is different… “a colt” or a young donkey. It wasn’t just the method that was unique, the path was somewhat different as well.   The people were taking off their cloaks and laying them down on the ground in front of the colt, so the feet of the colt did not have to touch the ground.   The royal treatment did not stop there. The people shoute...

BIBLE READING: Luke 18 DISCUSSION                                                 It doesn’t matter how many times I listen to Coach Jim Valvano’s speech at the ESPYS, I still get emotional.   His message was not just for those that are struggling with cancer or some other debilitating medical condition, it was for anyone that is living a life that is against incredible odds.   It probably doesn’t surprise you, but that message of persistence was given centuries before Coach Valvano.    In Luke 18, Jesus tells us the parable of the persistent widow.   This widow had been wronged in some situation.   She had solicited help from a judge, pleading with him to do the right thing and grant her justice.    Repeatedly the judge refused, until one day,...

BIBLE READING: Luke 17 DISCUSSION                                                       I want to commend you and thank you for using our “Home Devo”. We believe it is an easy way to study the Scripture and we hope it only whets your appetite for a deeper study.   The “Home Devo” is one of many tools that you can use to grow closer to God.   In today’s world, many believe that is harder to study with so many distractions, but there are also so many more opportunities provided for us as well.   You don’t have to go far to find devotionals, websites, blogs and podcasts all available at the touch of your fingers.   In our reading for the day, the apostles, after hearing Jesus, discuss how sin and temptations were interested in growing the fai...

BIBLE READING: Luke 12-16 DISCUSSION                                                                                       One of the most interesting stories contained in the book of Luke is found in the story of the Rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16.19-31.   In this story, Jesus tells us about two men.   One, a rich man who had everything he ever dreamed of having in this life and Lazarus, a poor man who had virtually nothing.   Every day Lazarus lay at the rich man’s gate desiring to have just the crumbs that were left over from the rich man’s table, and every day the rich man passed him by.   As time...

BIBLE READING: Luke 16 DISCUSSION                                                                                                              The legendary coach John Wooden once said, “It’s the little details that are vital.   Little things make the big things happen”.   It sounds like Coach Wooden has read His Bible a few times.    In Luke 16 Jesus says, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in very much, and one who is dishonest in very little is also dishonest in very much.” (Luke 16.10)...

BIBLE READING: Luke 15 DISCUSSION                                                                                             As you look through your Bibles, there are some chapters that are so widely known, you associated them by name and not chapters.   For instance, Matthew 5 is known for “The Beatitudes”, Proverbs 31 is “The virtuous Woman” and Psalms 23 is “The Lord is My Shepherd”.   Today’s reading just happens to be one of those chapters; Luke 15 is “The Lost Chapter”.   It isn’t called “The Lost Chapter” because it has been missing something, but because it contains three parables t...

BIBLE READING: Luke 14 DISCUSSION                                                                                       Boston Globe's account in June 1990 of a most unusual wedding banquet… Accompanied by her fiancé, a woman went to the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Boston and ordered the meal. The two of them poured over the menu, made selections of china and silver, and pointed to pictures of the flower arrangements they liked. They both had expensive taste, and the bill came to $13,000. After leaving a check for half that amount as down payment, the couple went home to flip through books of wedding announcements. The day ...

BIBLE READING: Luke 13 DISCUSSION                                                                                                               I believe that we can separate our preachers into three main categories.   First, you have what I like to call “Fluffy Preachers”.   These men love to preach the “Fluffy” news of the Gospel.   Their sermons, for the most part, are full of love, mercy, tolerance and grace.   Next, you have the “Hell-Fire and Brimstone Preachers”.   These men are considered more ol...

BIBLE READING: Luke 12 DISCUSSION                                                                                              According to WebMD, approximately six million people will be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder this year.   Last year, I became one of those statistics.   I woke up in the middle of the night from what I thought was a dead sleep, with my heart feeling like it was about to jump out of my chest.   I checked my heart rate using my Apple watch and noticed my heart was beating at 128 beats a minute.   The more I thought about it, the worse the attack became...

BIBLE READING: Luke 7-11 DISCUSSION                                                                                       No matter what Jesus did, He made an impact on people.  It didn’t matter if you were for Him or against Him, you were forced to respond in some manner.  Some thought He was a demon, some thought a false teacher, while others accepted Him for who He really was, the Son of God.   On one occasion, in Luke 11, there was a woman who shouts out among the crowd, “ Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breast at which you nursed .”  Her comments were meant to be considered a compliment to Mary an...

BIBLE READING: Luke 11 DISCUSSION                                                                                                “Lord, teach us to pray…” I wish I knew who it was that made this simple request.  Could it have been Andrew?  Andrew had originally been a disciple of John the Baptist and had seen how John had prayed; I suppose it could have been Andrew.  Maybe it was Matthew, who was a Levite and had even been trained to pray as a Levite making pleas for the people of God; Yet had now become a tax collector and maybe was seeking how he could restore that relationship he...

BIBLE READING: Luke 10 DISCUSSION                                                                          We have all been there!  At some point in time we have all adjusted the volume of our radio, checked the status of a quick text message or even dropped part of the burrito we are trying to eat while driving onto our pants.  All it takes is just one quick glance off the road to make a small adjustment and then before we know it, we have run off the road, or worse, have had an accident.  In today’s world of having technology at our fingertips, it is very easy for us to get distracted while we are driving.  In fact, we even see warnings on billboards and hear...

BIBLE READING: Luke 9 DISCUSSION                                                                          As a parent, I feel that I am constantly having to remind my children of certain things like, clean your room, put up your clothes, and make sure you have on clean underwear.  It is very frustrating to feel like I am having to repeat myself over and over. I wonder if Jesus felt the same type of frustration?  Over and over in the Scripture we find Jesus having to remind His disciples of His coming death, yet repeatedly they let it go in one ear and out the other. In Luke 9.44 Jesus is once again giving insight to His disciples c...

BIBLE READING: Luke 8 DISCUSSION                                                        I will have to admit, if I had been in the boat with the disciples when the winds and waves picked up, I would have been terrified.  Just seeing the power of the wind and the water as it began to fill up the boat, I don’t know how I would have been able to control my emotions.  That is why I feel like I can empathize with them as they shouted out to Jesus “Master…we are perishing!”.  I can imagine the impatience that they must have displayed as the sought to rouse Jesus up from His sleep.  Then how that impatience quickly turned into astonishment when they witness His power as the winds and the waves obey His voice. ...

BIBLE READING: Luke 7 DISCUSSION                                                           The expression “just say the word” typically is used to indicate one’s willingness to be ready to help someone else on command.   However, in our reading for the day it us used to express something else, faith.   Luke records the story of a centurion who had a servant that was at the point of death.   When he hears about the power of Jesus, he sends word asking for the elders of the Jews to seek out Jesus to help him. Upon hearing that Jesus is on His way to heal his servant, the centurion sent out his friends to meet Jesus before He arrived.    Their message was clear, “just say the word…”.   The centurion knew tha...

BIBLE READING: Luke 2-6 DISCUSSION                                                            The reading this week contains Luke’s account of the Sermon on the Mount.  Although much smaller than Matthew’s account in Matthew 5-7, it still has some of the same foundation points; the Beatitudes, His comments on loving your enemy, Judging based on appearances and a tree is known for its fruit.  In summary, Jesus is wanting us to understand that His message is not a new law, but a fulfillment of the old one.  He is revealing to us that a true love for Him revolves around our behavior towards others.  In Luke’s account, Jesus is reminding us that love is shown in our actions.  Our love towards one another will separate us from th...

BIBLE READING: Luke 6 DISCUSSION                                                                              As you read this devotional for the day, chances are it is raining; if it isn’t it will be soon.  I say that tongue in cheek because our area has seen more rain in the last several weeks than it has even seen on record.  It has rained so much that they had to open every spill way possible of our local dam just to keep our area from flooding.  It was said that the water passing through those spill ways was a million gallons of water per second.  There was so much water that several roads collapsed due to erosion that the flooding had caused.  Automobiles were being carried off by the power of the flood waters and se...

BIBLE READING: Luke 5 DISCUSSION                                          Of all the jobs that a person could take, tax collector was not at the top of anyone’s list.  In the first century, to become a tax collector was to become a traitor to you own people.  You see, the Jews were forced to live under Roman rule, meaning that even though they were considered a free nation, they were still bound by Roman laws.  The most hated of all Roman law, may still be the most hated of modern-day law, taxes.  To collect their taxes on the Jews, the Romans would select a Jew to do their dirty work for them.  They would then require that Jewish man to collect a certain amount of taxes from his own people.  He was required a specific amount but was able to collect more to pay his own salary.  For instance, in today’s world he would be required to colle...

BIBLE READING: Luke 4 DISCUSSION                                                                          As Luke records Jesus beginning His ministry, he takes him back to His home town to make himself known to his people.   You can imagine the people oohing and ahhing as they saw the once little boy Jesus stand up to read in the synagogue now a grown man. It hasn’t been that long ago that they watched His mother hold him as a child, they must have thought.   As they carefully and nostalgically watched Jesus find His place within the scroll, there may have been a collective sigh as to how fast time had flown by, knowing the child is now a man.   However, that sigh was quickly turned into a gasp as Jesus has now (in their minds) done the unth...

BIBLE READING: Luke 3 DISCUSSION                                                                 Imagine that you are standing on the banks of the Jordan River, when you see a large man wearing a coat of camel hair wade into to water. “Repent!” He says in a loud obnoxious tone. “Repent! Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand”.  The more he talks, the louder and more animated he becomes. You stand in awe of not only how he looks, but with what passion he is shouting to you and to anyone that will listen.  You can’t help but stare, even though you know that it’s rude.  You watch his mannerisms, you hear his words, and you are captivated by His message. You physically can’t take your eyes off him.  Whether you believed in what John said, or whether you didn’t, he was impossible ...

BIBLE READING: Luke 2 DISCUSSION                                                                                  The Bible gives us everything we need to know about the life of Christ, yet there is a great deal about His life that we do not know.   It reminds me of John’s concluding remarks in his Gospel “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. ” (John 20:30-31).   Even though I fully understand that I have everything I need to know about Jesus, what I do not know has always intrigued me. For instance, we really have nothing ment...

BIBLE READING: Mark 13- Luke 1 DISCUSSION                                                                                   This past week we have read of some great examples in the bible.   We read in Mark 13 about us being ready and being prepared for when Jesus returns.   We need to all stay awake!   In Mark 14 we read of one action having such an impact.   How this woman gave her very best to Jesus because of her love for Him.   In Mark 15 we read of Pontius Pilate and his desire to keep his power.   He loved his power and did not want to give it up even if that meant sending an inno...