Category: Luke

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The Rocks Have Something to Say

When we began to plan our trip to Greece years and months ago, I had one priority. I wanted to visit the island of Patmos, the place where John had been exiled, the place the Lord gave him the message of the end times, the Book of Revelation.

Little did I know that this is one of those places where “you can’t get there from here”.

Patmos is a small island about an hour by sea from Turkey. They have no airport, the only way to the island is via ferry. What we did find was an airport several islands away on Samos. We caught a flight from Crete back to Athens and then to Samos. There we boarded a ferry, one of many that go to the island, for a three-hour tour. Yes, a three-hour tour.

We left Crete at 8 am and arrived on Patmos at 7 pm. After a good night’s sleep, we headed to the Cave of the Apocalypse, as it is called. This is the place where Greek Orthodox teaching say John was sequestered and there wrote the Book of Revelation.

Many times on this trip we have learned to trust the directions we were given by Google Maps. I truly believe this technology was God-guided. We saw that our destination was only .5 km from our hotel. It wasn’t too warm that morning so we decided to walk. It started out with a beautiful meandering through the narrow residential lanes of Skala. The incline became steeper and the humidity was increasing, our energy was being tapped. We stopped a few times to catch our breathe.

At one spot a local man pointed us in the right direction or who-knows-where we would have ended up.

This spot on the hilltop has been well preserved. There is a building where you enter and a corridor to follow back to the Cave. It is now a place of worship and prayer. Often times there is a priest there to give instruction on the significance of the site, but he wasn’t there when we were.

We truly did sense the presence of God. We went there to worship and give thanks for the Father’s abiding presence. Knowing that He has promised to never leave us or abandon us. Knowing that the Book of Revelation was written to warn us all of the events that will mark the end of time on earth. The wars, rumors of wars, destruction, famine, floods, men’s hearts turning to selfish ambition and ignoring the will of God are all signs the Bible tells us to look for before the Lord returns. These are the signs of our times.

Yet, in all of this the thing that had the greatest impact on me were the rocks. Outside, away from the structure, were these big rocks, steps had been hewn to make the walking easier but the rocks were the very same as those that had been there, under the feet of John, possibly causing him to stumble. These rocks were a living testimony.

“They said, ‘Great and honored is the King Who comes in the name of the Lord. There is peace and greatness in the highest heaven.’ 39 Some of the proud religious law-keepers who were in among the people said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, speak sharp words to Your followers.’ 40 Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you that if these did not speak, the very stones would call out.’” Luke 19:38-40 NLV

It’s interesting to hear people speak about how peaceful they feel on the island. Those who live there say the same thing. It’s a place free from turmoil. If we don’t speak to honor and glorify God, the rocks by their very existence will!

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Warning Signs

Last night I was awaken to the sound of the emergency weather warning going off so where in the house.

When we were watching the nightly news the weather man said that there was danger of high winds later in the night. He was apparently he was right.

The thing we have here in the desert with the high winds is blowing dust that takes you 0 visibility immediately and at night you rarely have the opportunity to see it coming from the distance.

When I was little we lived in a small Arizona town called Gila Bend. I was down playing at friend’s when my Mom saw a dust storm coming. She sent my older brother to find me and bring me home. Before we got to the house the wind hit us. My brother was smart enough to have us turn our backs to the wind. He stood directly behind me and since he was taller, he was able to shield me from the stinging sand.

As soon as the winds lightened we ran for home. Safe!

Society has given us so many warning signs. They’re on the highway – Narrow Bridge Ahead, Watch for Elk/Deer, Icy When Wet. We see them in our vehicles – Check Engine, Tire Sensor, Back Up beepers.

Our homes have motion sensors, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide readers. Restaurants publish food allergy warnings on their menus and don’t even get me started on the “side effect” warnings on the prescription medication commercials.

Warning Signs, they’re everywhere and with their frequency comes a deafness to the seriousness of the warning.

Some people are deaf to the warnings of the Bible too.

25 “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;26 men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.“ Luke 21:25-28 NKJV

These things are happening all over the world – they are warnings signs to those who are without Christ. “Look up your redemption draws near”.

They are also warnings to those who do follow Christ.

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” John 14:1-3 NLV

We’re not supposed to be frightened by what we see. Instead, we are to be wise in our manner of living, reaching out to reassure those who are anxious and afraid. We should be delivering a message of hope and faith. Trust in the Lord!

The morning and evening news should be our ”emergency broadcast system” warning signal. But there’s no need to be afraid; let’s put our trust in God.

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I Love Your Lips

It was a long day! At the airport at 5:30 am and a night short on sleep. We arrived in Phoenix, stopped at the grocery store, then came home, unpacked, put groceries away and fell into the recliner, had a short lunch and fell asleep.

I wouldn’t have changed anything about the past week except to have extended our stay for a few more days to continue our time with our granddaughter and her family. We love being close to our daughters in the Phoenix area, seeing them regularly but it makes us miss those who are farther away even more.

Friday I was sitting on the couch with our great granddaughter, who is 3 1/2, and after kissing her several times she took my face in her hands and told me, “I love your lips”.

What a strange comment!

I asked her why. She said, “because you are always giving me kisses”. Oh, my heart swelled and my emotions hit a peak.

As I was waking up this afternoon those were the words running through my mind. “I love your lips”.

Then I thought of the woman who poured ointment on Jesus’ head and washed His feet with her tears and covered them with kisses.

“ He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house and you gave Me no water to wash My feet. She washed My feet with her tears and dried them with the hairs of her head. 45 You gave me no kiss, but this woman has kissed my feet from the time I came in. 46 You did not put even oil on My head but this woman has put special perfume on My feet.” Luke 7:44-46 NLV

From there my thoughts turned to the Father.

“The son got up and went to his father. While he was yet a long way off, his father saw him. The father was full of loving-pity for him. He ran and threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am not good enough to be called your son.’.. 23 Bring the calf that is fat and kill it. Let us eat and be glad. 24 For my son was dead and now he is alive again. He was lost and now he is found. Let us eat and have a good time.’” Luke 15:20-24 NLV

Kisses of worship from the woman who had a dubious past and kisses of love and forgiveness from a Father who was welcoming His son home again!

I love your lips!

Then one final note that came to mind:

“ O my God, I will praise You with a harp. I will praise Your truth. I will sing praises to You with different kinds of harps, O Holy One of Israel. 23 My lips will call out for joy when I sing praises to You. You have set my soul free. 24 My tongue will tell about how right and good You are all day long. For those who want to hurt me are ashamed and troubled.” Psalm 71:22-4 NLV

This last week I received many kisses. Dave expressed his love each day, our son greeted me with kisses and the sweetness of his kisses as we said good bye will stay in my memory. Kym’s kisses touched my heart, as did the kisses of Ali and Binny. I can still feel Phoebe’s sticky kisses on my cheeks and lips. Being greeted by Kim at the airport there were more kisses.

To each of them I say, “I love your lips” and to the Father who kissed me each morning and evening in my prayer time I say thank you, “thank you for embracing me when I was lost and showering me with His unconditional love.

I love your lips!

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Found!

Have you ever lost something valuable? Maybe it was a piece of jewelry, a credit card or maybe something more personal like a relationship; did you search and work hard until you “found” it again?

Jesus taught three stories about things that were lost – a sheep, a coin and a son. The shepherd, the woman and that father searched until all was restored.

Do you know the Father is doing the same with us?

“If any of you has 100 sheep, and one of them gets lost, what will you do? Won’t you leave the 99 in the field and go look for the lost sheep until you find it? 5 And when you find it, you will be so glad that you will put it on your shoulder 6 and carry it home. Then you will call in your friends and neighbors and say, ‘Let’s celebrate! I’ve found my lost sheep.’

7 Jesus said, ‘In the same way there is more happiness in heaven because of one sinner who turns to God than over 99 good people who don’t need to.’” Luke 15:4-7 CEV

God, the Father, has been asking man for thousands of years to allow Him to be their God, to lead and direct. Jesus watched as the Father had searched (seek) for His people when they had gone off to follow after other gods and do their own thing. He lovingly brought them back.

Jesus followed the Father’s example as He went from town-to-town teaching, preaching, doing miracles and spreading God’s love. He was reminding them, and our Father will continue to pursue us – He won’t give up.

” Suppose a woman has ten silver coins, but she loses one of them. She will take a light and clean the house. She will look carefully for the coin until she finds it. 9 And when she finds it, she will call her friends and neighbors and say to them, ‘Be happy with me because I have found the coin that I lost!’ 10 In the same way, it’s a happy time for the angels of God when one sinner decides to change.” Luke 15:8-10 ERV

The Father pursues us diligently just like the woman who lost her coin. Each one of us are valuable to Him. Remember the children’s Sunday School song; “red, yellow, black and white they are precious in sight”. We are precious to Him, that’s why Jesus came.

“The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost.” Luke 19:10 CEV

As the Father pursues us, searching for us when we are lost, we should pursue daily fellowship with Him. He is waiting for us to seek Him!

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Free to Forgive

How hard is it for you to forgive? Sounds like a loaded question doesn’t it?

When we look at forgiveness from a strictly personal, human perspective it can seem almost impossible to forgive some and easy to forgive others. It all depends on how deeply we have been hurt or wronged. Forgiveness seems to be based on our feelings and quite frankly, we often don’t want to take responsibility for letting them go.

However, we are free to forgive because we have been forgiven.

“We have been bought by His blood and made free. Our sins are forgiven through Him.” Colossians 1:14 NLV

In this morning’s reading Jesus was teaching on this very thing.

 “Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, speak sharp words to him. If he is sorry and turns from his sin, forgive him. 4 What if he sins against you seven times in one day? If he comes to you and says he is sorry and turns from his sin, forgive him.”

5 The followers said to the Lord, ‘Give us more faith.’ 6 The Lord said, ‘If your faith was as a mustard seed, you could say to this tree, ‘Be pulled out of the ground and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.’

7 “What if you owned a servant who was working in the field or taking care of sheep? Would you say to him when he came in from his work, ‘Come and sit down to eat?’ 8 No, instead you would say, ‘Get my supper ready. Dress yourself and care for me until I am through eating and drinking. Then you can eat and drink.’ 9 Does the servant get thanks for doing what he was told to do? I am sure he does not. 10 It is the same with you also. When you do everything you have been told to do, you must say, ‘We are not any special servants. We have done only what we should have done.’” Luke 17:3-10 NLV

Jesus talked to his disciples about forgiveness. They tried to make it a “faith” issue. Jesus quickly refuted that and told them they didn’t need more faith – even a small amount of faith was sufficient to make earth moving changes.

What he did talk to them about was their obedience. Verses 3 through 5 don’t seem to tie together with verses 6 through 10 but read it again and you will see the correlation. Jesus starts in verse 6 telling them their faith is sufficient and then immediately goes into a teaching on obedience, the obedience of a servant.

The disciples, servants of Jesus, are being challenged to obey what the Master has said. Forgive!

Take forgiveness out of the realm of feelings and place it where it belongs – it is an act of obedience. We don’t need to struggle with doing something we are commanded to do. Just obey!

Obey because it’s what the Father has instructed us to do. Obey and know that we have done our duty as a servant of the most high God. We have been forgiven and we are charged with following His lead.

We’ve been forgiven so we are free to forgive!

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Fine Tuning the Details

Yesterday I spent a number of hours working on the itinerary for our trip to Greece.

For almost five years Dave and I have dreamed of and planned for a real vacation in the Greek Islands. At first, we thought we would need to use a travel agent to put it all together but the more we thought about all the little details we wanted to include we decided to do our own planning.

We are now seven weeks and two days from departure…but who’s counting!

Yesterday time was spent on ferry reservations, inter-island flights and finalizing hotel reservations. We are so excited! We want the trip to be as near perfect as possible and so every detail needs to be considered.

At one point yesterday Dave had a number of questions. That’s what he does; he thinks of all the little stuff that others overlook. It was then I had to say, “Trust me, I’ve got it taken care of”.

Have you ever planned a bucket list event? The details seem to be endless. I wonder if that’s how Jesus feels.

“Jesus said, ‘Don’t be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you.'” John 14:1-2 ERV

There it is – Trust in God, trust in me!

God, the Father, Jesus, the Son and the Holy Spirit have lived in the perfection of heaven since eternity past and still Jesus said to His disciples, and to us, I have some more preparation to do before you come.

The streets are paved with gold, the Father’s throne is in the center so all will come and worship Him. The gates are made from a single pearl and the walls are precious stones.

I feel very confident that the great gathering of those who follow Christ isn’t too far off. The final preparations are almost complete.

“ ‘There will be special things to look for in the sun and moon and stars. The nations of the earth will be troubled and will not know what to do. They will be troubled at the angry sea and waves. 26 The hearts of men will give up because of being afraid of what is coming on the earth. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with power and much greatness. 28 When these things begin to happen, lift up your heads because you have been bought by the blood of Christ and will soon be free.’” Luke 21:25-28 NLV

I don’t know if Christ will return in my lifetime, but details are falling into place. Final preparations are being made and it’s almost time to go. Keep looking up, He’s coming soon!

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A Strong Heart

So many advertisements and commercials encourage us to be “heart smart”. I agree we should, but it won’t come from eating a certain cereal, taking a low grain aspirin every day, or any other thing that man can advertise.

To truly have a strong heart we must take a good dose of Scripture every day.

“Let your heart therefore be perfect with the Lord our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day.” I Kings 8:61

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

We should be trusting the Lord always and letting him direct our paths. He will keep us from accidentally running off course and colliding with discouragement, depression, anger and bitterness.

“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” Psalm 27:14

The Lord will strengthen our hearts when we feel emotionally drained and unable to go on. He came to heal the broken-hearted.

“ The Spirit of the Lord is on Me. He has put His hand on Me to preach the Good News to poor people. He has sent Me to heal those with a sad heart. He has sent Me to tell those who are being held that they can go free. He has sent Me to make the blind to see and to free those who are held because of trouble. 19 He sent Me to tell of the time when men can receive favor with the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19 NLV

What we believe can either cause our hearts to fail or to be encouraged.

“If you openly say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from death, you will be saved. 10 Yes, we believe in Jesus deep in our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we openly say that we believe in him, and so we are saved. 11 Yes, the Scriptures say, ‘Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.'” Romans 10:9-11 ERV

Never disappointed – now that’s an amazing promise! I can honestly say I have not attained that, yet. I deal with disappointments some are just temporary, but others remain for a while and really increase my dependency on Jesus.

“ I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope, and it will flow out of you by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 ERV

Our Father desires to fill us with hope, joy and peace. He will as we trust Him, keep your heart strong.

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Sound the Alarm

What do a beeping smoke alarm and the early morning hours have in common? Nothing good!!!

Why is it that smoke detectors always seem to wait until the wee hours to chirp or in this case beep intermittently? Trying to tell us it’s time to change the battery but it’s unsettling to say the least…

Isn’t that the way it is with “warning” devices? They interrupt the normal flow – they come with annoying sounds that set us on edge and that is their purpose. A warning has to be something loud or out of the ordinary so that we stop, look and listen!

The same is true in spiritual things. God gives warnings.

He sent Moses to the pharaoh; Noah preached to the world before the flood; Daniel’s dream foretold the fall of the Medo-Persian empire; Jesus came preaching salvation and the end of the age!

“Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him in private and asked, ‘When will this happen? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?’

4 Jesus answered: Don’t let anyone fool you. 5 Many will come and claim to be me. They will say that they are the Messiah, and they will fool many people. 6 You will soon hear about wars and threats of wars, but don’t be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn’t the end. 7 Nations and kingdoms will go to war against each other. People will starve to death, and in some places there will be earthquakes. 8 But this is just the beginning of troubles.

9 You will be arrested, punished, and even killed. Because of me, you will be hated by people of all nations. 10 Many will give up and will betray and hate each other. 11 Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people. 12 Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others. 13 But if you keep on being faithful right to the end, you will be saved. 14 When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come.” Matthew 24:3-14 ERV

“The Spirit clearly says that in the last times some will turn away from what we believe. They will obey spirits that tell lies. And they will follow the teachings of demons. 2 Those teachings come through people who tell lies and trick others. These evil people cannot see what is right and what is wrong. It is like their conscience has been destroyed with a hot iron.” I Timothy 4:1-2 ERV

Things are happening all around us; things around the world and even in our own country and states are alarming. However, we have no need to fear or be in distress.

“Then people will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 When these things begin to happen, stand up tall and don’t be afraid. Know that it is almost time for God to free you!” Luke 21:27-28 ERV

The good news is this. The warning signs are given so we won’t lose hope, so we won’t give up. The alarms are sounding. It’s time to look up, the day of His coming is soon!

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Sack Lunch vs Banquet

Several years ago Dave and I had an interesting experience at a local Mexican restaurant.

Just after we arrived a family came in and sat at the next table. As they sat their waiting for the waitress to bring their drinks I noticed the one little girl had brought in a sack from Wendy’s. As her parents ordered and enjoyed their chips and salsa, the little girl reached into the sack and took out her Frosty, fries and burger. I thought, how cute!

But now the life lesson.

“Jesus said to him, ‘A man gave a big dinner. He invited many people. 17 When it was time to eat, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come. The food is ready.’ 18 But all the guests said they could not come. Each one made an excuse…’

21 “So the servant returned and told his master what happened. The master was angry. He said, ‘Hurry! Go into the streets and alleys of the town. Bring me the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’

22 “Later, the servant said to him, ‘Master, I did what you told me to do, but we still have places for more people.’ 23 The master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and country roads. Tell the people there to come. I want my house to be full!” Luke 14:16-23 ERV

The Father wants to lavish on us the things He has prepared for us.

So many times we come to the Father’s table with our own provision – Abraham and Sarah had God’s promise for a son but they made their own provision and Ishmael was born. Not a good thing…

We have allowed the tradition of religion to tell us that we can’t or shouldn’t expect God to bless us or to provide – excuses – we aren’t worthy or “God helps those who help themselves” and the focus gets placed on us and not on Him. We begin thinking like the prodigal son who said “the servants in my father’s house are eating well, I’ll just go be a servant”. But our Father doesn’t want servants, He wants sons!

He wants us to experience the joy of our salvation – the great and precious promises that He has provided for us through the death of His son!

“Praise the Lord, O my soul. And all that is within me, praise His holy name. 2 Praise the Lord, O my soul. And forget none of His acts of kindness. 3 He forgives all my sins. He heals all my diseases. 4 He saves my life from the grave. He crowns me with loving-kindness and pity. 5 He fills my years with good things and I am made young again like the eagle… 8 The Lord is full of loving-pity and kindness. He is slow to anger and has much loving-kindness.” Psalm 103:1-8 NLV

Maybe this life lesson was just for me. Maybe you’ve never come to the Father’s table with provisions of your own making but if you have, let me encourage you to drop your sack lunch in the receptacle at the door and come eat freely at the table the Father has prepared for you.

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Celebrating Love

I know that not everyone had the same experience growing up that I did. I had a loving father who was away a great deal of the time but when he was home, he made sure to share life with us. He was tired and had so much to catch up on, but he also carved out time to take us hunting, fishing and even bowling.

That’s one of the things I appreciate so much about Dave also. When the kids were little, he worked hundred-hour weeks. When you work in the agricultural industry that’s what you do. But he always made sure he was home for a few hours each evening before the kids went to bed, there was time to read them a story or get down on the floor to play.

This weekend is Father’s Day and the men in our lives deserve to be celebrated.

I have a hard time with sitcoms, movies and even the talk shows making fathers out to be incompetent buffoons or weak, unintelligent members of society.

We should be grateful for the men in our families who sacrificed so that we could have a better way of life than they did. Fathers, step-fathers, grandfathers, uncles and even coaches and teachers who showed us a father’s love – tender hearted, kind, forgiving, filled with compassion!

Every good and perfect gift comes from our heavenly Father. Now our earthly fathers may not be perfect but they are “good gifts”.

My heavenly Father is the one who gave my earthly father those characteristics. He was strict – wanting me to behave a certain way – teaching me right from wrong and his heart was always filled with compassion for me.

We don’t always see what our father, heavenly or earthly, is doing while we are in the midst of a situation, but we know our father and we know his motives and intentions are based on his love for us and we can trust him.

” Children, you belong to the Lord, and you do the right thing when you obey your parents. The first commandment with a promise says, 2  “Obey your father and your mother, 3 and you will have a long and happy life.” Ephesians 6:1-3 CEV

Even when we manage to get “a far off” he’s there waiting for us to come home. He watches and waits; He doesn’t come to “Drag” us back but when we return, He rejoices. I guess the best gift we could give either our earthly or our heavenly father is to come home today and let him shower us with his love.

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.” Luke 15:18-24 NIV

Let’s celebrate those men who have been loving fathers or the ones who have filled that role when a father was absent. They are men who deserve celebration!

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