Luke 6:1-26 , Bible Reading and Daily Devotionals

Max Lucado Daily: The Only One and Only - March 14, 2022

Jesus invites, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest…let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28).

Do yourself a favor. Underscore, underline, and accept this invitation. Jesus says let me teach you how to handle long Mondays and cranky in-laws. Let me teach you why people fight and death comes and forgiveness counts. We need answers. Jesus offers them.

But can we trust him? Only one way to know. Seek him out. Lift up your eyes, set your sights on Jesus. No passing glances or occasional glimpses. Search the crowded streets and shadow-casting roofs until you spot his face, then set your sights on him. You’ll find the only One and Only!

Luke 6:1-26

In Charge of the Sabbath

On a certain Sabbath Jesus was walking through a field of ripe grain. His disciples were pulling off heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands to get rid of the chaff, and eating them. Some Pharisees said, “Why are you doing that, breaking a Sabbath rule?”

3-4 But Jesus stood up for them. “Have you never read what David and those with him did when they were hungry? How he entered the sanctuary and ate fresh bread off the altar, bread that no one but priests were allowed to eat? He also handed it out to his companions.”

5 Then he said, “The Son of Man is no slave to the Sabbath; he’s in charge.”

6-8 On another Sabbath he went to the meeting place and taught. There was a man there with a crippled right hand. The religion scholars and Pharisees had their eyes on Jesus to see if he would heal the man, hoping to catch him in a Sabbath violation. He knew what they were up to and spoke to the man with the crippled hand: “Get up and stand here before us.” He did.

9 Then Jesus addressed them, “Let me ask you something: What kind of action suits the Sabbath best? Doing good or doing evil? Helping people or leaving them helpless?”

10-11 He looked around, looked each one in the eye. He said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” He held it out—it was as good as new! They were beside themselves with anger, and started plotting how they might get even with him.
The Twelve Apostles

12-16 At about that same time he climbed a mountain to pray. He was there all night in prayer before God. The next day he summoned his disciples; from them he selected twelve he designated as apostles:

Simon, whom he named Peter,

Andrew, his brother,

James,

John,

Philip,

Bartholomew,

Matthew,

Thomas,

James, son of Alphaeus,

Simon, called the Zealot,

Judas, son of James,

Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
You’re Blessed

17-21 Coming down off the mountain with them, he stood on a plain surrounded by disciples, and was soon joined by a huge congregation from all over Judea and Jerusalem, even from the seaside towns of Tyre and Sidon. They had come both to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. Those disturbed by evil spirits were healed. Everyone was trying to touch him—so much energy surging from him, so many people healed! Then he spoke:

You’re blessed when you’ve lost it all.
God’s kingdom is there for the finding.

You’re blessed when you’re ravenously hungry.
Then you’re ready for the Messianic meal.

You’re blessed when the tears flow freely.
Joy comes with the morning.

22-23 “Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—skip like a lamb, if you like!—for even though they don’t like it, I do?.?.?.?and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this.
Give Away Your Life

24
But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made.
What you have is all you’ll ever get.

25
And it’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself.
Your self will not satisfy you for long.

And it’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games.
There’s suffering to be met, and you’re going to meet it.

26 “There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.

Our Daily Bread reading and devotion   
Monday, March 14, 2022

Today's Scripture
Micah 6:1–8
(NIV)

What God Is Looking For

1–2     6 Listen now, listen to God:

“Take your stand in court.

If you have a complaint, tell the mountains;

make your case to the hills.

And now, Mountains, hear God’s case;

listen, Jury Earth—

For I am bringing charges against my people.

I am building a case against Israel.

3–5     “Dear people, how have I done you wrong?

Have I burdened you, worn you out? Answer!

I delivered you from a bad life in Egypt;

I paid a good price to get you out of slavery.

I sent Moses to lead you—

and Aaron and Miriam to boot!

Remember what Balak king of Moab tried to pull,

and how Balaam son of Beor turned the tables on him.

Remember all those stories about Shittim and Gilgal.

Keep all God’s salvation stories fresh and present.”

6–7     How can I stand up before God

and show proper respect to the high God?

Should I bring an armload of offerings

topped off with yearling calves?

Would God be impressed with thousands of rams,

with buckets and barrels of olive oil?

Would he be moved if I sacrificed my firstborn child,

my precious baby, to cancel my sin?

8     But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do,

what God is looking for in men and women.

It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,

be compassionate and loyal in your love,

And don’t take yourself too seriously—

take God seriously.

Insight

God used Micah to challenge those who were robust in their religious expressions but deficient in righteousness and justice in day-to-day life. Jesus also rebuked the proponents of hollow religion in His day. His rebuke of the religious leaders just days before He was crucified included the words found in Matthew 23:23. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” Christ’s words echoed those of Micah 6:8 and Micah’s contemporary Isaiah found in Isaiah 1:12–17. Justice matters to Jesus. By: Arthur Jackson

Justice and Jesus

What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8

Caesar Augustus (63 bc–ad 14), the first emperor of Rome, wanted to be known as a law-and-order ruler. Even though he built his empire on the back of slave labor, military conquest, and financial bribery, he restored a measure of legal due process and gave his citizens Iustitia, a goddess our justice system today refers to as Lady Justice. He also called for a census that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem for the birth of a long-awaited ruler whose greatness would reach to the ends of the earth (Micah 5:2–4).   

What neither Augustus nor the rest of the world could have anticipated is how a far greater King would live and die to show what real justice looks like. Centuries earlier, in the prophet Micah’s day, the people of God had once again lapsed into a culture of lies, violence, and “ill-gotten treasures” (6:10–12). God’s dearly loved nation had lost sight of Him. He longed for them to show their world what it meant to do right by each other and walk humbly with Him (v. 8).

It took a Servant King to personify the kind of justice that hurting, forgotten, and helpless people long for. It took the fulfillment of Micah’s prophecy in Jesus to see right relationships established between God and people, and person-to-person. This would come not in the outward enforcement of Caesar-like law-and-order, but in the freedom of the mercy, goodness, and spirit of our servant King Jesus. By:  Mart DeHaan

Reflect & Pray

What does it mean to you to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God? How do you see this lived out in the life of Jesus?

Father, in the name of Jesus, please help me do right by others and everyone You bring into my life.

My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers
Monday, March 14, 2022
Yielding

…you are that one’s slaves whom you obey… —Romans 6:16

The first thing I must be willing to admit when I begin to examine what controls and dominates me is that I am the one responsible for having yielded myself to whatever it may be. If I am a slave to myself, I am to blame because somewhere in the past I yielded to myself. Likewise, if I obey God I do so because at some point in my life I yielded myself to Him.

If a child gives in to selfishness, he will find it to be the most enslaving tyranny on earth. There is no power within the human soul itself that is capable of breaking the bondage of the nature created by yielding. For example, yield for one second to anything in the nature of lust, and although you may hate yourself for having yielded, you become enslaved to that thing. (Remember what lust is— “I must have it now,” whether it is the lust of the flesh or the lust of the mind.) No release or escape from it will ever come from any human power, but only through the power of redemption. You must yield yourself in utter humiliation to the only One who can break the dominating power in your life, namely, the Lord Jesus Christ. “…He has anointed Me…to proclaim liberty to the captives…” (Luke 4:18 and Isaiah 61:1).

When you yield to something, you will soon realize the tremendous control it has over you. Even though you say, “Oh, I can give up that habit whenever I like,” you will know you can’t. You will find that the habit absolutely dominates you because you willingly yielded to it. It is easy to sing, “He will break every fetter,” while at the same time living a life of obvious slavery to yourself. But yielding to Jesus will break every kind of slavery in any person’s life.

Wisdom From Oswald Chambers

It is impossible to read too much, but always keep before you why you read. Remember that “the need to receive, recognize, and rely on the Holy Spirit” is before all else. Approved Unto God, 11 L

Bible in a Year: Deuteronomy 23-25; Mark 14:1-26

A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft
Monday, March 14, 2022
How to Get the Rest of the Story - #9176

Paul Harvey was probably one of the most distinctive voices in American radio. His lively newscasts and his unique delivery gave him a special niche in the lives of millions of listeners. But he did more than news. He is also known for the true stories that he told, often from American history. But he didn't let you know what the surprising subject of the story was until the end. There's a trademark phrase that accompanied Paul Harvey's great stories. He concluded it this way: "And that's the rest of the story."

I'm Ron Hutchcraft, and I want to have A Word With You today about "How to Get the Rest of the Story."

You didn't really have the whole picture until Paul Harvey gave you the real story; the rest of the story. There are so many times in our lives when we have decisions to make and we wish we had the rest of the story - like the whole picture. Every day we have to make choices based on what we can see, knowing that there's so much we don't know and so much we don't see.

But there's someone who knows the rest of the story, and who's willing and able to guide you in your decisions. He's promised it in James 1:5, our word for today from the Word of God. God says, "If any of you lacks wisdom (man, that's me many times a day!) he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given him." What an awesome promise from God, that if I go to Him in faith, asking for His wisdom regarding this person or this situation, or this decision, I can download God's perspective and He knows the whole story!

Solomon really models for us the way to be much smarter than we are. In 1 Kings 3, he has just become the king of Israel, following in the gigantic footsteps of his father, King David. His subjects have no idea how scared he feels; how inadequate he feels... much like we often do as parents, or leaders, as a people helper, as a teacher.

So Solomon goes to God, who has all the answers, all the resources he doesn't have. Solomon says: "Now, O Lord my God, You have made your servant king... But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people You have chosen... So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong" (1 Kings 3:7-9). The Bible goes on to say that God made Solomon the wisest man of his time; a leader who was sought by other leaders who traveled many, many miles to see him.

Here's what Solomon shows us as the steps to getting God's wisdom. First, you humbly admit your ignorance and your powerlessness even if you're number one where you are. Secondly, you acknowledge, as Solomon did, that everything and everyone in this situation is God's. "I'm Your servant," He said, "these are "Your people." Thirdly, desperately seek His wisdom. When you do, God will give you breakthrough insight into that situation, into that person. He will add to what you know all He knows and guide your heart to wise, "no regrets" conclusions.

But you have to, as James says, "ask God." We're so often entangled, trying to figure things out; we're so overwhelmed by trying to decide, we neglect to go to God humbly for His wisdom. He's promised He'll give it if we ask in faith, believing He will give it to you.

What a gift from God - His wisdom, the God given ability to look at a person or a situation through His all-knowing eyes. Is it any wonder that Solomon said, "Though it cost you all you have, get understanding" (Proverbs 4:7).