Luke 9:1-17 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Two Thieves at Calvary - April 5, 2022

Scripture says, “And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left.” Calvary’s Hill.  Two thieves—gaunt and pale.

With the cynicism of most of the crowd, one calls out, “So you’re the Messiah, are you?  Prove it by saving yourself and us too, while you’re at it!”

The other in defense says, “Don’t you even fear God when you are dying?  We deserve to die, but this man hasn’t done one thing wrong.”

Lodged in the thief’s statement are what anyone needs to recognize in order to come to Jesus.  Jesus is not on that cross for his sins.  He is there for ours! And the thief on the cross makes the same request any Christian makes. “Remember me when you come into your Kingdom!”

Luke 9:1-17

Keep It Simple

 Jesus now called the Twelve and gave them authority and power to deal with all the demons and cure diseases. He commissioned them to preach the news of God’s kingdom and heal the sick. He said, “Don’t load yourselves up with equipment. Keep it simple; you are the equipment. And no luxury inns—get a modest place and be content there until you leave. If you’re not welcomed, leave town. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and move on.”

6 Commissioned, they left. They traveled from town to town telling the latest news of God, the Message, and curing people everywhere they went.

7-9 Herod, the ruler, heard of these goings on and didn’t know what to think. There were people saying John had come back from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, still others that some prophet of long ago had shown up. Herod said, “But I killed John—took off his head. So who is this that I keep hearing about?” Curious, he looked for a chance to see him in action.

10-11 The apostles returned and reported on what they had done. Jesus took them away, off by themselves, near the town called Bethsaida. But the crowds got wind of it and followed. Jesus graciously welcomed them and talked to them about the kingdom of God. Those who needed healing, he healed.
Bread and Fish for Five Thousand

12 As the sun set, the Twelve said, “Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the farms or villages around here and get a room for the night and a bite to eat. We’re out in the middle of nowhere.”

13-14 “You feed them,” Jesus said.

They said, “We couldn’t scrape up more than five loaves of bread and a couple of fish—unless, of course, you want us to go to town ourselves and buy food for everybody.” (There were more than five thousand people in the crowd.)

14-17 But he went ahead and directed his disciples, “Sit them down in groups of about fifty.” They did what he said, and soon had everyone seated. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread and fish to the disciples to hand out to the crowd. After the people had all eaten their fill, twelve baskets of leftovers were gathered up.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Tuesday, April 05, 2022

Today's Scripture
Psalm 139:13–24
(NIV)

    Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;

you formed me in my mother’s womb.

I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!

Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

I worship in adoration—what a creation!

You know me inside and out,

you know every bone in my body;

You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,

how I was sculpted from nothing into something.

Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;

all the stages of my life were spread out before you,

The days of my life all prepared

before I’d even lived one day.

17–22     Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!

God, I’ll never comprehend them!

I couldn’t even begin to count them—

any more than I could count the sand of the sea.

Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!

And please, God, do away with wickedness for good!

And you murderers—out of here!—

all the men and women who belittle you, God,

infatuated with cheap god-imitations.

See how I hate those who hate you, God,

see how I loathe all this godless arrogance;

I hate it with pure, unadulterated hatred.

Your enemies are my enemies!

23–24     Investigate my life, O God,

find out everything about me;

Cross-examine and test me,

get a clear picture of what I’m about;

See for yourself whether I’ve done anything wrong—

then guide me on the road to eternal life.

Insight

Psalm 139 is a lyrical composition of undisputed beauty. The psalmist celebrates God’s omniscience (His knowledge of everything; vv. 1–6), His omnipresence (His presence everywhere; vv. 7–12), and David’s intimacy with such an omnipotent (all-powerful) God (vv. 13–18). The way the psalm ends (vv. 23–24) mirrors the way it begins (vv. 1–2). Notice the repetition of the words search and know.

At first glance, verses 19–22 seem out of place. They differ from the rest of the psalm in tone and content. While David writes as an intimate friend of God, there were those who lived and functioned in opposition to Him. They’re described as “wicked” (v. 19), “adversaries” (v. 20), and “[those] who are in rebellion” (v. 21). The God-conscious psalmist, however, wasn’t among them and distinguished himself as such. The similarity of verses 19–22 to what follows in Psalm 140 may suggest that the two psalms should be read together. By: Arthur Jackson

A Good Work

He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:6

As a teenager, Charles Spurgeon wrestled with God. He’d grown up going to church, but what was preached seemed bland and meaningless. It was a struggle for him to believe in God, and Charles, in his own words, “rebelled and revolted.” One night a fierce snowstorm forced the sixteen-year-old Spurgeon to seek shelter in a tiny Methodist church. The pastor’s sermon seemed directed at him personally. In that moment, God won the wrestling match, and Charles gave his heart to Jesus.

Spurgeon later wrote, “Long before I began with Christ, He began with me.” In fact, our life with God doesn’t begin with the moment of salvation. The psalmist notes that God “created [our] inmost being,” knitting us together in our mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). The apostle Paul writes, “Even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace” (Galatians 1:15 nlt). And God doesn’t stop working with us when we’re saved: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6).

We’re all works-in-progress in the hands of a loving God. He leads us through our rebellious wrestling and into His warm embrace. But His purpose with us then is only beginning. “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” (Philippians 2:13 nlt). Rest assured, we’re His good work regardless of how old we are or what stage of life we’re in. By:  Kenneth Petersen

Reflect & Pray

How’s God working in your life at this very moment? What’s He doing with you for His purposes?

Loving God, I’m overwhelmed to think of Your loving care for me from the moment of my birth. Thank You. Help me to respond to Your ongoing work in my life.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Tuesday, April 05, 2022

His Agony and Our Access

Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples…."Stay here and watch with Me." —Matthew 26:36, 38

We can never fully comprehend Christ’s agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, but at least we don’t have to misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and man in one Person, coming face to face with sin. We cannot learn about Gethsemane through personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary represent something totally unique— they are the gateway into life for us.

It was not death on the cross that Jesus agonized over in Gethsemane. In fact, He stated very emphatically that He came with the purpose of dying. His concern here was that He might not get through this struggle as the Son of Man. He was confident of getting through it as the Son of God— Satan could not touch Him there. But Satan’s assault was that our Lord would come through for us on His own solely as the Son of Man. If Jesus had done that, He could not have been our Savior (see Hebrews 9:11-15). Read the record of His agony in Gethsemane in light of His earlier wilderness temptation— “…the devil…departed from Him until an opportune time” (Luke 4:13). In Gethsemane, Satan came back and was overthrown again. Satan’s final assault against our Lord as the Son of Man was in Gethsemane.

The agony in Gethsemane was the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the Savior of the world. The veil is pulled back here to reveal all that it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of God. His agony was the basis for the simplicity of our salvation. The Cross of Christ was a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Because of what the Son of Man went through, every human being has been provided with a way of access into the very presence of God.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

Sincerity means that the appearance and the reality are exactly the same. Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, 1449 L

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 1-3; Luke 8:26-56

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Tuesday, April 05, 2022

Green Lights and God's Will - #9292

There's this island on the New Jersey Shore that our family loved to go to when we had a holiday weekend. After you cross the causeway from the mainland, you enter an island that's long and it's really narrow. In fact, at many points, you can drive right along that long street that runs through the center of that island and you see the bay just to one side and the ocean right there on the other side. I've driven that long street many times. Because it's flat, you can see the traffic lights way ahead of you. Often, I would start off with a green light in front of me and I'd be looking at some red lights up ahead; maybe a long line of red lights. But as I approached them, those reds would turn green, and I kept going. You'll be happy to know that when I came to a red light, I stopped - like the good boy I always am. You knew that!

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Green Lights and God's Will."

For some folks, when you just say those words "God's will," the fog starts rolling in, they hear mystical music, and their blood pressure goes up. This business of knowing what God's will is seems so hard for many of us. But, of course, God didn't create a plan for your life to torture you with it. He wants you to know what He wants you to do, but in the way that will keep you closest to Him.

Now about those traffic lights on that long, straight street. They might actually help us visualize how a child of God knows and does the will of God. Let's get some guidance first from our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 37:23-24. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand." Notice how God directs us; it's our steps! He doesn't show you the whole plan. You'd either run to it or you'd run from it and either way, you'd ruin it. You can only take one step at a time anyway, right? So He shows you the next step. God's macro-will for your life is made up of thousands of micro-wills. Like for today, it's "take a step, see a step." Remember that, "take a step, see a step."

When I'm driving that island highway, I don't wait until every light I can see turns green. I go when the one right in front of me turns green, and I keep driving toward the next light. As long as the lights are green when I get to them, I keep going. When I get to one that's red, I stop. What God's asking you to do is start moving in the direction of the green light that He's put right in front of you. You don't know where this is going to take you, but by faith, you start following the light God has given you. Like those ancient Jews who discovered that the waters part when you step into them and not vice versa.

God will give you a green light often through His Scriptures, and those seem to have your name on them, strengthened by other verses that come your way at that time when you're trying to decide. He'll give you the strong compulsion in one direction during the times that you're praying, and He'll give you a sense of peace about that direction. He'll open and close doors circumstantially to confirm what He's been saying to your heart. So, move when the light is green. Keep moving that direction as long as the lights keep turning green. But don't blow past God's red light. Stop when the green light isn't there.

God's will for my life seems so huge, it's just beyond my grasp. But that's OK. It's God's will for my next step that's the real issue anyway. So, let your Lord order your steps; He'll make those obedient steps into His grand and glorious will for your life. But don't wait for all the lights to turn green - for all the questions to be answered. They won't turn green until you start moving past the green light that's right in front of you.