Luke 9:37-62 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: Father, Forgive Them - April 13, 2022

Of all the scenes around the cross, the one that angers me most is when those in the crowds said, “Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down from the cross, that we may see and believe” (Mark 15:32). There’s nothing more painful than words meant to hurt.

1 Peter 2:23 tells us that Jesus “entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” He simply left the judging to God. He, to the astounding contrary, spoke on their defense. “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). They were a crazy mob, mad at something they couldn’t see so they took it out on of all people, God.

Yet, Jesus died for them. How could he do it? I don’t know. Sometimes I wonder if we don’t see Christ’s love as much in the people he tolerated, as in the pain he endured. Amazing grace!

Luke 9:37-62

When they came down off the mountain the next day, a big crowd was there to meet them. A man called from out of the crowd, “Please, please, Teacher, take a look at my son. He’s my only child. Often a spirit seizes him. Suddenly he’s screaming, thrown into convulsions, his mouth foaming. And then it beats him black-and-blue before it leaves. I asked your disciples to deliver him but they couldn’t.”

41 Jesus said, “What a generation! No sense of God! No focus to your lives! How many times do I have to go over these things? How much longer do I have to put up with this? Bring your son here.”

42-43 While he was coming, the demon slammed him to the ground and threw him into convulsions. Jesus stepped in, ordered the foul spirit gone, healed the boy, and handed him back to his father. They all shook their heads in wonder, astonished at God’s greatness, God’s majestic greatness.
Your Business Is Life

43-44 While they continued to stand around exclaiming over all the things he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, “Treasure and ponder each of these next words: The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into human hands.”

45 They didn’t get what he was saying. It was like he was speaking a foreign language and they couldn’t make heads or tails of it. But they were embarrassed to ask him what he meant.

46-48 They started arguing over which of them would be most famous. When Jesus realized how much this mattered to them, he brought a child to his side. “Whoever accepts this child as if the child were me, accepts me,” he said. “And whoever accepts me, accepts the One who sent me. You become great by accepting, not asserting. Your spirit, not your size, makes the difference.”

49 John spoke up, “Master, we saw a man using your name to expel demons and we stopped him because he wasn’t of our group.”

50 Jesus said, “Don’t stop him. If he’s not an enemy, he’s an ally.”

51-54 When it came close to the time for his Ascension, he gathered up his courage and steeled himself for the journey to Jerusalem. He sent messengers on ahead. They came to a Samaritan village to make arrangements for his hospitality. But when the Samaritans learned that his destination was Jerusalem, they refused hospitality. When the disciples James and John learned of it, they said, “Master, do you want us to call a bolt of lightning down out of the sky and incinerate them?”

55-56 Jesus turned on them: “Of course not!” And they traveled on to another village.

57 On the road someone asked if he could go along. “I’ll go with you, wherever,” he said.

58 Jesus was curt: “Are you ready to rough it? We’re not staying in the best inns, you know.”

Jesus said to another, “Follow me.”

59 He said, “Certainly, but first excuse me for a couple of days, please. I have to make arrangements for my father’s funeral.”

60 Jesus refused. “First things first. Your business is life, not death. And life is urgent: Announce God’s kingdom!”

61 Then another said, “I’m ready to follow you, Master, but first excuse me while I get things straightened out at home.”

62 Jesus said, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.”

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Today's Scripture
Isaiah 46:1–10

This Is Serious Business, Rebels

1–2     46 The god Bel falls down, god Nebo slumps.

The no-god hunks of wood are loaded on mules

And have to be hauled off,

wearing out the poor mules—

Dead weight, burdens who can’t bear burdens,

hauled off to captivity.

3–4     “Listen to me, family of Jacob,

everyone that’s left of the family of Israel.

I’ve been carrying you on my back

from the day you were born,

And I’ll keep on carrying you when you’re old.

I’ll be there, bearing you when you’re old and gray.

I’ve done it and will keep on doing it,

carrying you on my back, saving you.

5–7     “So to whom will you compare me, the Incomparable?

Can you picture me without reducing me?

People with a lot of money

hire craftsmen to make them gods.

The artisan delivers the god,

and they kneel and worship it!

They carry it around in holy parades,

then take it home and put it on a shelf.

And there it sits, day in and day out,

a dependable god, always right where you put it.

Say anything you want to it, it never talks back.

Of course, it never does anything either!

8–11     “Think about this. Wrap your minds around it.

This is serious business, rebels. Take it to heart.

Remember your history,

your long and rich history.

I am God, the only God you’ve had or ever will have—

incomparable, irreplaceable—

From the very beginning

telling you what the ending will be,

All along letting you in

on what is going to happen,

Assuring you, ‘I’m in this for the long haul,

I’ll do exactly what I set out to do,’

Insight

Through the words of Isaiah, God compares the strength of Babylonian gods to Himself. The specific gods mentioned are Bel and Nebo (Isaiah 46:1–2). Bel, also known as Marduk (Jeremiah 50:2), was the chief god of the city of Babylon and the national god of Babylonia. He was the considered to be the god of order and destiny. Nabu was believed to be the son of Marduk and the one who knows all and sees all. With a twist of irony, God says that He does what these two gods can’t do—rescue His people  (Isaiah 46:3–7). By: J.R. Hudberg

Carried by Love

I have made you and I will carry you.
Isaiah 46:4

My four-year-old grandson sat on my lap and patted my bald head, studying it intently. “Papa,” he asked, “What happened to your hair?” “Oh,” I laughed, “I lost it over the years.” His face turned thoughtful: “That’s too bad,” he responded. “I’ll have to give you some of mine.”

I smiled at his compassion and pulled him close for a hug. Reflecting later on his love for me in that cherished moment also caused me to ponder God’s selfless, generous love.

G. K. Chesterton wrote: “We have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” By this he meant that the “Ancient of Days” (Daniel 7:9) is untainted by sin’s decay—God is ageless and loves us exuberantly with a love that never falters or fades. He’s fully willing and able to fulfill the promise He made to His people in Isaiah 46: “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you” (v. 4).

Five verses later He explains, “I am God, and there is none like me” (v. 9). The great “I am” (Exodus 3:14) loves us so deeply that He went to the extreme of dying on the cross to bear the full weight of our sin, so that we might turn to Him and be free of our burden and gratefully worship Him forever! By:  James Banks

Reflect & Pray

In what ways does God carry you through each day? How can you draw new strength from Him in this moment?

Beautiful Savior, I’m so thankful Your love for me never grows old! Help my love for You to grow ever deeper.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Wednesday, April 13, 2022

What To Do When Your Burden Is Overwhelming

Cast your burden on the Lord… —Psalm 55:22

We must recognize the difference between burdens that are right for us to bear and burdens that are wrong. We should never bear the burdens of sin or doubt, but there are some burdens placed on us by God which He does not intend to lift off. God wants us to roll them back on Him— to literally “cast your burden,” which He has given you, “on the Lord….” If we set out to serve God and do His work but get out of touch with Him, the sense of responsibility we feel will be overwhelming and defeating. But if we will only roll back on God the burdens He has placed on us, He will take away that immense feeling of responsibility, replacing it with an awareness and understanding of Himself and His presence.

Many servants set out to serve God with great courage and with the right motives. But with no intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ, they are soon defeated. They do not know what to do with their burden, and it produces weariness in their lives. Others will see this and say, “What a sad end to something that had such a great beginning!”

“Cast your burden on the Lord….” You have been bearing it all, but you need to deliberately place one end on God’s shoulder. “…the government will be upon His shoulder” (Isaiah 9:6). Commit to God whatever burden He has placed on you. Don’t just cast it aside, but put it over onto Him and place yourself there with it. You will see that your burden is then lightened by the sense of companionship. But you should never try to separate yourself from your burden.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

The truth is we have nothing to fear and nothing to overcome because He is all in all and we are more than conquerors through Him. The recognition of this truth is not flattering to the worker’s sense of heroics, but it is amazingly glorifying to the work of Christ. Approved Unto God, 4 R

Bible in a Year: 1 Samuel 22-24; Luke 12:1-31

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Cruel Compassion - #9198

When our daughter was just a baby we had a pretty small house where you could look in all the rooms from the kitchen. During the summer we had this big old exhaust fan on the floor in the kitchen, which was really the only way to suck some air through the house. Well, our daughter thought this fan was kind of intriguing, she thought it would be neat to explore. I walked into the kitchen one day and here she is toddling toward that fan with her hand fully extended. She wanted to put her fingers in the fan! Guess what? I didn't say, "Oh go ahead honey, I love you." No, I said, "No!" She tried again a few minutes later. She really wanted to do this. So I kind of spatted her on the bottom and said, "No, no! Don't do that." Now if I tried to explain it to this little toddler, she wouldn't have understood at all. I just had to stop her. Can't you imagine what she would have said, if she could've said, "Haven't you heard of love? If you love me, you'll let me do what I really want to do." No, not in this case. Today I think she's pretty glad that I didn't think that was love.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Cruel Compassion."

Our word for today from the Word of God, we're in the book of Lamentations. And what's being lamented is the fall of God's people and the fall of God's city, Jerusalem. Here's a couple things that Jeremiah says. He's talking about Jerusalem, "She was once queen among the provinces and now become a slave, all because of their sin and God's resulting judgment." He goes on to say that, "She herself groans and turns away."

It's just a time of sadness and shame for God's people. It's a broken time. Well, as this book identifies where the blame ultimately lay, it gets to our word for today from the Word of God. It says in Lamentations 2:14, "The visions of your prophets were false and worthless. They did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading."

There's a lot of power in those words because it's saying that the people who knew you were sinning didn't do anything to expose the wrongness and the sinfulness of it. And as a result, they didn't tell you the consequences of staying on that road. So they didn't ward off their captivity. Those people back then? They didn't do any favor to those people by not telling them where God said those actions would take them. In other words, you wanted to stick your fingers in the fan and they didn't stop you. Now, maybe they didn't want to judge anybody. They wanted to be tolerant and loving, and not condemning. That's nice. But then they let them walk right into the blades of God's judgment. See, it's not loving to not let people see where their sin will take them.

To be non-condemning and loving doesn't mean that we don't tell them what God says the consequences will be. To live and let live when it comes to sin? That's not really compassion. I was told by a couple of men who used to live in a sinfully sexual lifestyle and felt that Christ had given them the power to change and move on from that, they were commenting on people who say, "you know, I think we should just accept them and let them be themselves." And they said "Ron, that's not compassion." They said "Ron, we call that cruel compassion." It's letting them march right into captivity. That's the way these guys felt.

Listen, whether it's sexual sin, or divorce, or dishonesty, or anger, or "justifiable bitterness," if we leave it unconfronted, unchallenged, without telling them the consequences and what God says he must judge, it's letting a person take a drink you know is laced with poison.

Sin makes people slaves. It destroys families. It promises to make you feel better about yourself and leaves you feeling worthless and sometimes even suicidal. Sin cuts people off from each other, cuts them off from God. Compassion is doing everything you can to warn them of the wages of sin lovingly. We've got to love people enough to kindly, gently, lovingly tell them the truth.

Love will always stand in the way of someone who is about to stick their fingers in the fan.