Tag: Jesus Christ

Morning Reading: Luke 14:1-6 NLT – Sabbath work

Reading: Luke 14:1-6 NLT

sabbathOne Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely. There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?”

When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away. Then he turned to them and said, “Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?”

Again they could not answer.

Prayer: Lord Jesus – you are Lord even of the Sabbath. Give us your heart and mind – to reverence the Father and pace our lives by resting… and yet be sensitive to the needs of those around us by acts of mercy. Holy Spirit – give us the discernment to know when to be still… and when to act. Heavenly Father – we would join with those who keep your commandment to remember the Sabbath by keeping it holy. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “The Sabbath Song” – Loretta Weinberger

Morning Reading: Luke 13.31-35 NLT – Blessed is He

Reading: Luke 13.31-35 NLT

At that time some Pharisees said to him, “Get away from here if you want to live! Herod Antipas wants to kill you!”

Jerusalem and CrossJesus replied, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way. For it wouldn’t do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem!

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Prayer: Heavenly Father – I pray for the peace of your Holy City – Jerusalem. Forgive their obstinacy of heart and spirit… and honor the covenants that you made with them through the patriarchs and prophets. Lord Jesus – save your people – Jew and Gentile – those who are near… and those who are far away. Cover them and their households with your precious blood shed on the cross… and deliver them from the evil one. Holy Spirit – turn the hearts of all who speak of Jerusalem to you alone… away from all false prophets and religions. And fill your people with your power and love. I ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “Baruch Haba B’Shem Adonai” – Paul Wilbur

Morning Reading: Luke 13:22-30 NLT – it ain’t easy

Reading: Luke 13:22-30 NLT

Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he went, always pressing on toward Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few be saved?”

"The Narrow Door" This photo was taken at the first parish church in Plymoth, MA. It is the site of the original "pilgrim's church" which migrated from Leiden, Holland to the new world.
“The Narrow Door”
This photo was taken at the first parish church in Plymoth, MA. It is the site of the original “pilgrim’s church” which migrated from Leiden, Holland to the new world.

He replied, “Work hard to enter the narrow door to God’s Kingdom, for many will try to enter but will fail. When the master of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. You will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us!’ But he will reply, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ Then you will say, ‘But we ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you or where you come from. Get away from me, all you who do evil.’

“There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, for you will see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, but you will be thrown out. And people will come from all over the world—from east and west, north and south—to take their places in the Kingdom of God.

“And note this: Some who seem least important now will be the greatest then, and some who are the greatest now will be least important then.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus – Give me the courage and fortitude to do hard things for you. Give me eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to percieve your Kingdom purposes in the world around me. And make me a doer of your Word and not a hearer only. To you be the glory. Amen.

Hymn: “Take My Life and Let It Be” – Frances R. Havergal (1874)

Morning Reading: Luke 13:18-21 NLT – Kingdom illustrations

Reading: Luke 13:18-21 NLT

MustardSeedThen Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.”

He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

Prayer: Lord Jesus – Help me to grow and bear good fruit right here where you’ve planted me. And may your Life and Love and Grace permeate everything that I do and say. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done… in me… as it is in heaven. Amen.

Spiritual Song: “God of This City” – Chris Tomlin

Morning Reading: Luke 13.10-17 (NLT) – wonderful things

Reading: Luke 13.10-17 (NLT)

Jesus_crippled_womanOne Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, “Dear woman, you are healed of your sickness!” Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised God!

But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. “There are six days of the week for working,” he said to the crowd. “Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath.”

But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water? This dear woman, a daughter of Abraham, has been held in bondage by Satan for eighteen years. Isn’t it right that she be released, even on the Sabbath?”

This shamed his enemies, but all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did.

Prayer: Psalm 103.1-5, 1 (NLT)

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.

Hymn: “To God Be the Glory” – Fanny Crosby (1875)