We are starting the year walking through the Gospel of Luke together, and we are beginning the final third of this book. If you are new to studying the Bible, or if you are interested in some new tools to help you, check these out:
- 5 Steps to Understand the Bible. Start here. Give yourself a fighting chance of understanding what you are reading.
- If you are beginning with the first book of the Bible, Genesis, I wrote a series of posts on the story of Joseph. Joseph is a major character at the end of the book of Genesis, and the story of Joseph and his brothers is a little messy and complicated. Here is the first of those posts: Joseph: A Story of Redemption.
- If you aren’t starting in Genesis, the Gospels (stories of Jesus) is a good place to begin. Over several weeks, I’m walking through Luke, 3 chapters a week. This is the third post, to find the earlier posts, check them out here:
Luke 16 – Faith is a funny thing
Years ago, I would go with a friend onto the streets of Kansas City and share with people the good news of Jesus. I didn’t preach from a megaphone, but I would try to engage someone in a conversation, and see if I could steer it toward Jesus. I have a lot of memories from those conversations, but one that sticks out. I was talking with one young man about what it would take for him to believe in Jesus. He said to me, “It would take Jesus himself to stand here before me to believe that He is the true Messiah.”
I was reminded of that conversation, and several I’ve had since, while reading Luke 16. Jesus is hitting the topic of money hard in this chapter, but he’s really addressing the concept of faith. What will you believe in? Where will you put your faith?
I see two main points from Jesus as I read through Luke 16.
- You can’t put your trust in something or someone AND God.
- We have everything we need to believe, so don’t look for another sign.
Following Jesus is a challenge. Sometimes faith isn’t easy, so I choose to put my faith in someone or something else that is more tangible. I want more evidence before I walk forward in faith. But that is the catch about faith.
Faith is a funny thing. The more I choose to believe, the more faith I will have. The more I lean solely on Jesus, the easier it is to continue trusting in him. It’s when I choose to trust in him, that Jesus shows up as the Messiah. Faith begins with my step.
What step do you need to take?
Luke 17 – Questions, Stories, Faith + Obedience
Jesus has a funny way of answering questions. He seems to have two ways of responding to people. Jesus either starts by asking an other question, which is his go to when dealing with the Pharisees, or he tells a story. When Jesus’ answer to the question comes in the form of a story, the answer is unclear without some mental digging.
The first part of Luke 17 is another example of how Jesus answers a question – this time with a random example of serving a master. Jesus starts off fairly direct,
“The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.” The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you!” -Luke 17:5-6
Then he begins to ask questions in the form of a story. If you’re a servant, how would you react when the master asked you to do even more chores at the end of a hard days work? You would do it.
But what does this have to do with faith? Let’s dig a little bit…
Faith and obedience go hand in hand. When I obey Jesus, even in the small but difficult task, I build my faith. God does something inside of me that can’t be measured when I obediently respond to His call.
Sometimes the reason for the request will seem obvious, but other times the purpose will allude you. This is when faith kicks in. This is when our small amount of faith (as tiny as a mustard seed) to simply obey Jesus begins to grow into something more powerful (as massive as a mountain).
Luke 18 – What do you want?
This chapter ends with a story of a blind man who hears through the grapevine Jesus is approaching. He unashamedly screams out Jesus name. To the surprise of the those standing around, Jesus responds to the man. Jesus asks what the man wants.
What a great question! The answer seems obvious, but what if the man didn’t care if he was blind?
Read carefully, and you’ll see this entire chapter was encounters and stories with blind people. An unjust judge, a self-righteous Pharisee, hard-hearted disciples, a rich young man — all were blind to who they were and what they really needed. When the the truth is pointed out, most didn’t want to see. They wanted to keep living the way they were…blind.
What do you want?
It’s not such a crazy question. In fact, it’s a brilliant question, and one we don’t ask enough ourselves. We don’t ask it of other people, and we don’t ask it of ourselves. What do I want? Are my spiritual eyes open, so I can answer that question clearly?
What do you want? Are your spiritual eyes open, so you can answer that question clearly?
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