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  BIBLE READING :Luke 21-22                 One that walked with Jesus, talked with Him, and heard the best preaching ever, turned on Him and was even used to have Him killed. Some of the details of this man are found in Luke 22. Here is what the Bible reveals about Judas Iscariot. He was one of the 12 apostles. "Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; … and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him."  Matthew 10:2-4 There were signs of worldliness in Judas’ life. Sin took hold of him. He was a thief. "Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, … Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein." John 12: 3-6 Satan u

  BIBLE READING :Luke 19-20 “Shew me a penny. Whose image and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar’s. And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s.”                                                                                                                            Luke 20:24-25                 Among Christians, there is often the question, “Should we support the government by paying taxes?” Here in Luke is the answer from Christ. His example showed us, “Yes, we should pay taxes.” Knowing that the religious “powers” of His time were trying to trap Him, Jesus answered them wisely. Christ knew they wanted Him to answer that it was wrong to pay taxes to the Romans, so they could turn Him in and let the government get rid of Him. His answer surprised and quieted them. He told them that they should pay their taxes. Some Christians today make the stand that they will not pay their t

  BIBLE READING :Luke 17-18 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed this: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”                                                                                                                                         Luke 18.9-14                 As you read this passage, you’re probably thinkin

  BIBLE READING :Luke 14-16                 We have a Lost and Found box in our church office. It’s full of coffee mugs, glasses, umbrellas, books, and jackets. Every now and then, we place the box out in the welcome area to see if anyone claims the items. After a couple of Sundays, we empty the box and take the unclaimed items to the Goodwill thrift store. Within a week, the empty lost and found box has a few items in it and the cycle begins again. I guess that so long as the church is open, people will always be leaving things behind.                 We also have lost and found people in the pews. At some point in their lives, they have lost themselves to poor choices and bad circumstances. Some of them have had addiction problems for years, while others are just going through some tough times. During losing their way, they have been found again by Jesus. He patiently restores them to God’s goodness and encourages our church members to embrace those who were once lost, but who

  BIBLE READING :Luke 12-13 “But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”                                                                                                                      -Luke 12:31-34                 "What are your primary investment strategies?" I can still remember a financial planner asking me that question. It wasn't his first question ... or second ... but on down the line, he got around to asking it. In a way, Jesus is really challenging us to face that same question in this passage. In the cycles of our national and world economies, there are "lean" times, and there

  BIBLE READING :Luke 10-11                 Distraction, a noun, is defined as a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else AND extreme agitation of the mind or emotions. In my words, it is the thing preventing you from doing what you know you should be doing. It is that thing that shows up every time you are happy, just to agitate your mind. It is that thing that occurs, taking your attention away from completing your vision. It distracts you from seeing the God in your situation so you will only focus on the bad. It, she, he or they are those that know how to toy with your emotions and they are good at it. They know the right words to get you to open the door. They know the right place to touch to get you to pull back the covers and let them in. They know the exact moment to text, knowing you will respond. It is that thing that looks and feels good but means no good. Distractions, how many of us have them? You do not have to raise your hand but I nee

  BIBLE READING :Luke 4-6                 I like to cook and bake. Since I was a tiny little girl standing on a stool to reach the counter cooking with my mother, I have liked the creativity of whipping up something in the kitchen. You can use all different ingredients to create delicious dishes. You can creatively present it on the plate so that it is beautiful as well as yummy.   However, there is one area where you probably should not get too creative when you are following a recipe – the measurements. If your cake recipe calls for a cup of flour, it is probably not going to work out well if you use half a cup or two cups. God is the One who gets to be creative with measurements. Not in the kitchen, but in blessings.      The Bible says that if we will be blessed when we give to others. Whatever measuring cup we use to dole out the blessings we give to others, God will use that measuring cup to give to us. He does not just fill it halfway or even just up to the edge of the top

  BIBLE READING :Luke 2-3                 “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”                                                                                   (Luke 2:11-12 ESV) We love opening those packages from Amazon. We love seeing the package delivery truck pull up in front of the house, and we eagerly hop down the stairs to answer the door. Once inside, the package is immediately ripped open and whatever was contained inside is put to quick use. Many times, when we begin using the new product,(if it’s a good one that is), we discover many features we never knew it had! Sometimes, things turn out to be even better than we had anticipated. The same is definitely true with God; He is infinitely better than we anticipate. But, we still try to keep God in a “God Box” and think of him in terms of the nifty features he come

  BIBLE READING : Luke 1 “Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” — Luke 1:43   Elizabeth was utterly amazed. She could hardly believe what was happening to her. Not only was she expecting a child in her old age, but she also had the awesome privilege of meeting the mother of the Lord Jesus. Filled with the Holy Spirit, she exclaimed, “Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Why me? I’m sure some of us have asked this question at one time or another for a variety of reasons. Something unexpected happened in our lives, and we could not help asking, “Why me?” We tend to ask this question especially when things go wrong. Maybe we have lost someone we have loved. Perhaps we have had to deal with a physical disability, or we were diagnosed with a terrible illness. We may have lost our job, or our business may have failed, and the question was right there: Why me? But there is a more important question: Why should we have th

  BIBLE READING : Mark 14-16 Chapters 14-16 takes the reader through the events in the last three days related to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Chapter 14 (Thursday) reveals the plot to kill Jesus (14:1-2); his anointing by the woman which leads Judas to slip away and arrange for the betrayal of Judas (14:3-11); the observance of the Passover meal and the institution of the Lord’s Supper which will take place after his resurrection (14:12-26); the foretelling of Peters denial and the fulfilment of the action (14:26-31; 66-72). It also describes Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane (14:32-42); his betrayal by Judas and his arrest by a crowd sent by the chief priests, scribes and the elders (14-43-50); and the mockery of a trial before the Jewish Council (14:53-65). Chapter 15 (Friday) describes the trial before Pilate (15:1-15); the mockery of Jesus during the trial (1:16-20) and as he is carried out of the city to be hung on a cross, the cruelest death known to man at that time. (1

  BIBLE READING : Mark 10-13       Chapter 10 begins with an attempt by the Pharisees to “test” Jesus in order to stir up trouble with his followers. By the way they approach we see that they are more concerned about following the “law” or legalism than God’s ideal arrangement established before creation. When the Pharisees object and ask “why did Moses permit divorce,” Jesus responds with “because your hearts were hard.” The thought is that sin wraps and twists the ideal to the extent that divorce may become necessary. But this means that law is not God’s highest standard at all. Law actually is a lower standard than the ideal, showing God’s willingness to accommodate himself and meet man where he is.    Even the disciples do not understand what Jesus is saying and he explains to them privately that they are   to go back to the basic principles that God has laid down and not follow the legalism of the Pharisees. To illustrate his point Jesus draws attention to the young childre

  BIBLE READING : Mark 7-9 In chapter 7, Mark continues to show how Jesus handles conflict by rebuking the Pharisees and other religious leaders as they try to bind the traditions of men such as handwashing on the disciples under the guise that it is part of God’s word. Even the disciples fail to grasp this point and Jesus has to point out to them that it is what comes out of a man that defiles him and not what is taken in. (7:20-33). It is interesting that when Jesus meets a person of faith, it is a foreigner, a Gentile, a woman from Syrophenica, who demonstrates an outstanding faith In Jesus. When Jesus questions her faith and makes reference to giving the “children’s bread…to the dogs,” being a reference to the Jewish attitude toward the Gentiles being “dogs” she replies “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” In chapter 8 we continue to read of the frustration of Jesus as to the lack of faith that not only the rulers of the Jews have, but eve

  BIBLE READING : Mark 4-6    In Mark 4, the author begins his description of the life of Jesus by discussing several of the parables Jesus used to illustrate a lesson to the people. Parables are often defined as a “heavenly story” with an “earthly meaning.” In these verses, Jesus explains to the disciples that he uses parables so those who reject him will hear but will not understand what he is saying.  Although parables were a common method of teaching Mark only describes four parables in his gospel. In contrast, Matthew relates 15 and Luke lists 19.  In an earlier devo it was shown that to Mark, Jesus was a man of “Action.” Mark does relate the parables of the sower and the seed and the light hidden under a basket to show how Jesus reached out to the people, but his purpose was not understood by the unbelievers as is shown in chapters 4:35-5:43. In these verses, Mark shows the “Ultimate Authority” Jesus has by showing his authority over nature (storm at sea), his power over demo

  BIBLE READING : Mark 1-3      When reading Mark, one notices that Jesus is presented as a man of action, a conqueror of demons, disease, and death. Jesus is shown as a man of action, but his servanthood also shows he is a person of strength and power. (Richards, P. 494) (see Mark 2:18, 7:3-4, 12:18 and 42) It seems as though Mark is writing to the Roman mind. He writes Jewish terms in their Roman equivalents (Mark 2:18 -about fasting and Mark 7:34- about the washing of hands) Jesus seems to take care to explain these common Jewish practices for the reader.      The church in the first century (Papias, around 140 A.D.) said Mark wrote “with great accuracy”, although he did not write in the order in which Jesus said or did them.      We learn about Mark in other places in the New Testament: He is also called John Mark. As you study through the New Testament, check off the facts about Mark as you learn them. o    After Peter was released from prison by an angel, he stayed in t

  BIBLE READING : Matthew 27-28    Matthew 28:18-20 (commonly referred to as the Great Commission), identifies three distinct dimensions of Christ's mission. It answers the question -- What is your purpose? A disciple-making purpose Jesus did not say go and make converts, Christians, church members or mere believers. A closer look at the Scriptures reveals why. In the entire New Testament, convert is found three times.  Christian  is found three times (interestingly Jesus never used the word).  Member  is found eleven times and  believer  is found twenty-one times. In contrast to these words,  disciple  is found 296 times in the New Testament. To Jesus, success is not about size, success is succession. Jesus did not say, "Draw a crowd and hold more services" (we all wish it was that easy). Jesus knew that drawing a crowd and making disciples is not the same thing. Jesus wants us to make disciples who can make disciples. What is your purpose? An every-where purpo