Listening to the Word

Zechariah 1-3; Luke 11 “…’Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come…yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs. So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you…how much more will you Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!’” Luke 11:1, 2, 8, 9, 13 When Jesus’ disciples asked him to pray like John’s disciples, Jesus gave them the disciples’ prayer. However, he went beyond merely a prayer outline; he gave them the key to authority in prayer. Jesus taught his disciples to ask, seek, and knock on the throne room of heaven for the person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the key to bold, sustained and Word-centered praying. 120 disciples remembered this invitation from Jesus and they prayed ten days in an Upper Room for the Holy Spirit.   We receive/have the Holy Spirit at conversion, but does the Holy Spirit have us? A...

Haggai 1-2; Psalms 129; Luke 10   “’…the desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” Haggai 2:7-9 Our attention is often on the silver and gold, while the Lord’s attention is on Doxa, his glory or presence. With silver and gold we can build beautiful structures; but with Doxa they are filled with the presence of the Lord. The desired of all nations has come; his name is Jesus, the Messiah. He calls our bodies the new temple of his Spirit. We are now the temples to be filled with his Doxa, or glory. Those filled with God’s Doxa go from glory to glory as they invite Christ’s presence to daily fill them. To be filled with God’s Doxa is to know his peace at the core of our being. Are we ...

Ezra 4; Psalms 113, 127; Luke 9   “The Lord is exalted over all the nations, his glory above the heavens…He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with the princes of his people.” Psalm 113:4, 7, 8 “Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the least among you all - he is the greatest.’” Luke 9:47, 48 The most powerful and exalted being in the universe is also the most humble and he loves humility in the lives of his disciples. Justice requires humility because we must see the intrinsic value of people, regardless their station in life. The Lord God loves to break the cycle of poverty and elevate the poor and needy. He loves to give honor to the least, the last, and the lost. His disciples argued about greatness and competed (they still do), w...

Ezra 2-3; Luke 8   “’For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open. Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken from him.’…He replied, ‘My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s Word and put it into practice.’” Luke 8:17, 18, 21 Listening to the Word is not enough. We must put the Word into practice in our lives each day. Jesus, the living Word, knows our heart and nothing is concealed from him. He knows how much or little of what we hear we are applying. Jesus’ family isn’t composed of people who have prayed a prayer to avoid the consequences for their sin. This is a family that chooses to stop sinning through the power of the Holy Spirit as they hear God’s Word and put it into practice. They actively join Jesus in his daily mission-assignments in their homes, community, and place of work. As we c...

Ezra 1; Psalms 84-85; Luke 7   “…’Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.’…’I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.’” Luke 7:6-9 Without faith we find it hard to submit to authority. We must believe in the one we are submitting to or our submission will only be lip service. The centurion was a Gentile and unclean by Jewish standards. Yet, he invited Jesus to his home in faith that Jesus’ word would heal his servant. Many use the word ‘faith’ today to describe a religious system. e.g. ‘he is a man of faith’, or ‘she has faith’. Yet a biblical definition of faith requires obedience to God’s Word and active submission to his authority in our lives. If we believe that Jesus has “all authority in heaven and on earth” we will trust his Word and plac...

Daniel 11-12; Luke 6   “’Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.’” Luke 6:37, 38 We could call this teaching by Jesus, the principle of reciprocity, taken to a new level. The way we treat others is the way God and others treat us. Judging, condemning, and critical attitudes don’t resemble the character of our Father. Rather, we are to forgive, give generously when asked, and live a life of bold love. When we give liberally and without the expectation of a return, God pours into our lives a “good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over”. Everything that our Father gives us, including forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love, is to be freely shared and poured out to others. This includes our enemies and tho...