"No Middle Ground"

 N.T.#568 "No Middle Ground"

June 11, 2025 

Luke 11-Part 6 

LET IT GLOW

Here is the third accusation of blasphemy for Jesus and His second debate. The second time is found in Mark 3. We are reading about the battle between light and darkness, Jesus and Satan. This is how Luke connects the Lord's healing ministry for the first time. These people claim Jesus is using the power of Satan to cast out demons from a man. This is ridiculous because Satan would want the man to remain demon possessed. It would be counteracting his own purposes. Jesus used the power of God not the power of Satan. (verses 14-19)

One day the devil will be vanquished at the hands of King Jesus. (Rev. 20:10)

In this case, the demon controlled the man's vocal cords, preventing him from speaking. Yet, Jesus is all-powerful and has all authority, so when He cast out the demons, the man began to speak. Jesus performed His ministry through the power of the Holy Spirit of God. 

As it turned out, the delivered man became possessed by an unclean spirit again, since the man was not filled with the salvation of Christ. His life was worse than before the encounter with Jesus, since 7 evil spirits conquered him. (verse 26) 

We learn from this that a person needs to fill their mind and soul with the Word of God, His Holy Spirit, and surrender to God's will. Whose side are we on? There is no middle ground nor any neutral ground.  We are either on the side of Christ leading God's kingdom or we are on the kingdom of darkness led by Satan. The results are eternal.

LET IT GROW

There are some profound statements which Jesus says in this chapter:

• But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. (verse 20)  Jesus is the Messiah, in other words. The Messiah was with them that day.
• He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me sattereth. (verse 23)
• But He said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the Word of God, and keep it. (verse 28)

A person's obedience to God is more important than his or her place on the family tree. Consistent obedience is more important than the honor of bearing a respected son, which the woman was valuing more for Mary. Mary had to trust Jesus as her Savior, too. She has no more ranking than you or I do. Mary was just an instrument through which God used for Jesus to take on human form.

Those who hear God's message and then heed it are the ones most deserving of honor. (Swindoll)

LET IT GO

Help us let go of stuff and surrender to You, Lord Jesus.

Help us hide Your Word in our heart so we don't sin against You, Holy God.

May we follow You today, Sweet Jesus.

"Free Gifts"

 N.T.#567 "Free Gifts"

June 10. 2025 

Luke 11-Part 5 

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given unto you: seek and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (verses 9-10)

LET IT GLOW

Who doesn't like a free gift? If a friend offers you a gift and wants you to have it, it has already been paid for; all you must do is accept it. (Billy Graham)

In this chapter we have studied the Lord's Prayer as Jesus taught us how to pray. First praise God, then make our requests. Then He showed the contrast between God answering prayer and a friend who eventually opened the door to meet a need. Our Heavenly Father will certainly hear our requests and grant them more readily than the man who had gone to bed. He desires to give us freely all things. We have the Holy Spirit today, which the Old Testament saints did not have.

We are not to sit back and wait for things to happen. We are to seek God in prayer with faith. Jesus' followers can expect a positive response from the Father. He will answer our prayers with a "yes, wait, no." I like to use the acronym for prayer:

Ask

Seek

Knock

Another way of putting this is given by Charles Swindoll:

If only you will ask the Father, then your request will be given to you.

If only you will seek the Father's will, then you will find it.

If only you will knock, then the Father will open the door to your request.

Notice that God's provision is daily, not all at once. We cannot store it up and then cut off communication with God. And we dare not be self-satisfied. If we run low on strength, ask ourselves, "How long have I been away from the Source?" (Life Application Study Bible)

LET IT GROW

Jesus illustrates this showing that earthly faither gives good gifts to the children, and so will the Heavenly Father. (verses 11-13)

... how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? (verse13b)

Human fathers, though sinful, intuitively give food to their children rather than something that will harm them. How much more, then, will our perfect, holy, and righteous heavenly Father discriminate and give good gifts to His children? The best heavenly gift God gives to those who ask is the Holy Spirit, who in the new covenant delivers God's will to His children. Thus, the Holy Spirit is available to operate on God's behalf through our prayers for our benefit and through us for the benefit of others. (Tony Evans)

Did you catch that? The most important gift God could ever give us is the Holy Spirit. You can read more about this topic in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost.

The Holy Spirit can give us words, works, strength, God's will, conviction of sin, and more than we can think or ask.

Friend, have you received the free gift of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? 

By His death on the cross Jesus paid the price for our salvation-completely and fully. Now He offers it to you as a free gift-and all you have to do is receive it. (Billy Graham)

LET IT GO

What do we need to let go of so we can trust God today?

Thank You Father for all you give and do for us!

To You be the glory forever and ever!

"In Need"

N.T.#566 

June 6, 2025 "In Need"

Luke 11-Part 4 

LET IT GLOW 

Where do we go when we have a need?

I like how Tony Evans summed up the Lord's Prayer: Forgiveness is the cancellation of a debt. We must forgive everyone in debt to us.  We confess our sins to Holy God, He forgives us, then we are called to forgive one another. (Eph. 4:32) Then we ask God to protect us from any situation that we can't handle. The purpose of prayer is to prepare us for a trial so we can face it, honor God, and grow spiritually as a result.

LET IT GROW

Then Jesus gives a parable of a friend who came at midnight, inconviencely asking for food because his friend dropped in on to him while traveling. The provider and family were already in bed. Yet, the beggar needed help, for he had nothing to feed the traveler. Eventually the first guy opened the door and gave his begging friend bread. (verses 5-8)

As a comparison, God is our friend who hears our pleas. However, He is more than a friend and grants answers to our requests according to His will, not ours. We can go to our Heavenly Father any time and He hears us, His children. What an encouragement for us!

We are needy people, in need of salvation, which Jesus has already provided for us. All we need to do is ask Him for it. It is a costly free gift awaiting those who will ask for it. Friend, have you asked?

LET IT GO

Thank You Father for hearing our prayers.

You are a good, good Father. 

We are loved by you.

"Forgiveness"

 N.T.#565  "Forgiveness"

June 5, 2025 

Luke 11-Part 3 

And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. (verse 4)

LET IT GLOW

Obviously, this is the example for the Christian to pay to our Heavenly Father. We have reverence for God's name, we yield and conform to His will, praying for it to be done here on earth, and ask for daily provisions.  

The next step in prayer, which Jesus spoke of is asking God to forgive our sins. 

Forgive is to send forth; lay aside; put away; leave.

Indebted is to be under obligation; owe; guilty.

We must confess that we are a sinner in order to be saved, to get to go to heaven. Since we have a sin nature, then we sin daily and need cleansing of our soul, God's forgiveness daily. This is how we continue our spiritual growth-by acknowledging our sin in particular. We are to seek forgiveness in the same way we forgive others, according to Matthew 6:12. And in turn, we are to forgive others for their sins they committed toward us.

Just as our bodies need food to survive, so our souls need nurturing-daily cleansing and feeding. We feed upon His Word, praise and thank God for everything, surrender to His will, seek forgiveness of our own sins. We grow in obedience and faith trusting in God. 

When we offend others, we need to ask their forgiveness, to. On the other hand, when one offends us, we should forgive them.

Jesus joined the request for God's forgiveness to our extending forgiveness to others. Truth is, we all deserve blame for harming and/or hurting someone else. In the same way that someone is indebted to us for wrongdoing we are indebted to God all the more!

[Resources: Liberty Bible Commentary; Swindoll's Living Insight on Luke]

LET IT GROW

The Lord does not lead us into compromising situations. The Greek phrase "lead us not" is saying, Do not permit us to be led into temptation. 

May we not succumb or yield to temptation to sin. Cause us not to give in to temptation. 

We know the One True God always leads away from temptation, and frequently against our will. We want to unity our will to God's will. 

Luke omitted what Matthew 6:13 ends with:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. 

Our challenge is to pray like Jesus told us. We seek His mercy, forgiveness, guidance, and deliverance daily. 

LET IT GO

Lord, help us to let go of pride and self-dependance and turn to You for forgiveness of our sin.

We are sinners in need of a Savior today.

Use us in kingdom work, sharing Your love.

For Thin is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever.

"Who is Providing?"

N.T.#564 "Who is Providing?"

June 4, 2025 

Luke 11-Part 2 

LET IT GLOW 

How has God provided for you lately? Read on to hear about my latest experience.

One of Jesus' disciples asked Him to teach them to pray. They heard Jesus pray and saw the results. This is known as the "Lord's Prayer. 

First of all, we are praying to our Heavenly Father, not to Mary.  We must know the One to whom we are praying. We come to God as children of faith. Regardless of what our earthly father was like, our Heavenly Father is perfect. Jesus first praised God, then He mad His requests. 

Then we acknowledge He is holy.  God's holiness separates Him from His creation. It is God's chief characteristic. His love is holy; His justice is holy; His mercy is holy. We honor God's name as holy, Therefore, God alone is to be worshiped and obeyed. (Tony Evans)

The third element is praying for :

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. (verse 2)

Are we praying for God's will to be done in our life, in the life of others, in our country? As people of the King, we are called to follow His kingdom agenda. As the Creator, God rules over the world, and His priorities are to be our priorities. (Evans)

Are we submitting to God's agenda, obeying His Word, accepting His plan for us and carrying out His purposes? The Lord cares about the big and small things in our life. He cares about our concerns. Are you at peace as you fulfill His and not our will?

An example comes to my mind as to what happened last week in my life. Our son and family spent the week at the beach. So he left us in charge of the cattle on our farm and his farm. Since 3 cows were expecting babies soon, we got on the 4 wheeler opening and shutting gates, dressed in our blue jeans and boots and caps and rode through the tall wet grass almost daily. We searched over the back 40 acres. Sure enough, the cows gave birth without any problems. Yet, there was a surprise-the white cow had twins. She ended up rejecting one, so we had to get the pick up and haul it to our son's barn and give it a bottle. (We had to go buy two different kinds of milk for it being a newborn.)

I said all of this to show that God answers prayers. I acknowledged Him as the Good Shepherd, but asked Him to be our Cowboy and help us find the second baby. (Mamma abandoned him on the hill in the hot sun and alone.) Our prayer was answered. It was a big thing to us, because losing a calf could cost our son a thousand dollars after it grew up. God hears our prayers whether big or small to us. So I thank the Lord for this blessing. God is so good. (I got to feed it the first bottle of milk, having to teach it how to take it. He is so cute, too.) Certainly, I am a country girl living by faith. 

LET IT GROW

Give us day by day our daily bread. (verse 3)

Do we ask for our daily food? Do we give thanks for what we have to eat? We should not hesitate to ask our Hevenly Father for our needs. We need food, clothing, and shelter, plus water in order to survive. Like the children of Israel in the wilderness, God provides for us. Come to think about it, He sends rain to water the seeds, sends the sunshine to make it grow, and multiplies it for our good and His glory. Without Him we would have nothing. God is the Creator of all things. (If it is man-made, then He provided the materials and know how to do it.)

LET IT GO

Let go of pride that says we worked hard to put food on the table. We are just God's instrument.

Thank You, Father, for all You have provided for us.

To You be the glory forever!

"Only One God"

 N.T.#563 "Only One God"

June 3, 2025 

Luke 11

LET IT GLOW

Have you noticed that Luke uses a lot of this phrase, "and it came to pass?" Because of this, I counted 49 times Luke uses that phrase. As I wonder why, I think it was a way of saying he was writing about something different now. They didn't have chapters or paragraphs in the Greek. Also, it could have been a way. 

The disciples had heard Jesus pray several times. They had observed Jesus' commitment to prayer and the results of His prayers. They wanted to have the same experience. So one disciple asked Jesus to teach them to pray. 

We know this as the Model Prayer or the Lord's Prayer. It is not for a vain repetitious prayer for us to say each time we pray. We can change the words, while following the same format:

1. Recognize God for who He is and glorify His name.
2. Pray for His program and
3. His will to be accomplished.
4. Ask for daily food,
5. forgiveness of sins, 
6. and deliverance from sin and evil.

[Resource: Liberty Bible Commentary]

First of all, to whom are we to address our prayer? Our Father which art in heaven. (verse 2a)

Did you notice that Jesus praised God, recognized who He is first of all? Our heavenly Father is to whom we are praying. 

In 1 Corinthians 8:6, Paul states, But to us there is but one God, The Father, of whom are all things, and we in Him: and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.

This is important due to the fact that other religions worship many gods or man-made idols, so we are to acknowledge our Creator and Heavenly Father, God. 

In this verse, God refers to the supreme Divinity; a deity.

In Exodus 20, God's name is Elohiym in Hebrew language, which means Supreme God.

I am guilty of not reverencing God's name when I pray. How about you? To actually pray to the One and Only God, The Creator and Sustainer of my life is astounding.  He is the One who sits on the throne ruling over heaven and earth, souls, life and death. What an Awesome God He is. I think we all should get back to this realization. Wow! And to think Elohiym hears my prayers through Jesus. It is astounding. Are you with me?

Do you have a serious prayer time in the morning and a relationship with God, our Heavenly Father?

LET IT GROW

As we continue to mature in our faith and in prayers, we should be able to pray anytime, anywhere, under any condition. 

First, we acknowledge God as our Heavenly Father when we begin to pray. That is who God is to us. 

Next, we glorify His name. Hallowed be Thy name. (verse 2b)

Hallowed means to make holy, purify, or consecrate; sanctify.

No wonder the angels say, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty.

LET IT GO

We bow down and we worship You Lord God, Elohiym, our Supreme God.

Holy is Your name. 

There is no other God but Thee. 

You alone are worthy of worship and praise. 

Worthy of love and devotion; worthy of all the glad songs that we sing; worthy of all of the offerings we bring.

Father, Elohiym, You are worthy.

Are You Frazzled by Being Too Busy Today?

N.T.#562 "Are You Frazzled by Being Too Busy Today?"

June 2, 2025 

Luke 10-Part 7  

LET IT GLOW

It is only 3 weeks before our VBS starts. I can let it frazzle me or I can enjoy the time spent serving the King. Basically, everything is ready, so I can relax at our family reunion later in the week. I'm taking my Bible with me, though. Martha had a problem that frazzled her. Read on to see what it was and how Jesus solved it for her.

So far in this chapter, we have read about the 70 who went out witnessing, the lawyer asking how to get eternal life, and now we sit down at the home of sisters Mary and Martha for another lesson by Jesus. The lawyer learned from a parable how to treat others like you want to be treated. (The Golden Rule) I wonder if he had a change of heart. 

There are two good principles to live by according to Charles Swindoll:

• What you are determines what you see, and what you see determines what you do.
• People will not care how much we know until they know how much we care.

Come sit with me as we observe what is taking place at M and M's house:

• Martha received Jesus into her home in Bethany (2 miles northeast of Jerusalem). 
• Apparently, Jesus had often stopped in for a visit with Marha, Mary, and Lazarus when in the vicinity. It seems He considered them family.
• Jesus and His disciples were comfortable there. We don't know how many were in this company, but enough to put Martha in a frazzle.
• Martha's problem was her paying more attention to meal preparations for her guests that she stopped paying attention to The Guest.
• Was Martha a perfectionist? Did she feel abandoned by her sister? Was her feeling overwhelmed justifiable?
• Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, listening to His teaching.
• Martha expected the Lord to rebuke Mary for not helping her sister with the meal, but He did not do so. 
• Martha was cumbered about with much serving and questioned Jesus, Lord, doest thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her therefore that she help me. (verse 40)

Cumbered means to drag all around; to distract (with care). 

Martha must have been dragging around resentment, self-pity, and perfectionism far too long toward her sister Mary. It came out here for all to hear. Sure Mary could have pitched in to help her sister in the kitchen. Martha was distracted about minute things. 

Just give them a sandwich, girl. Get out of the kitchen and listen to what the Savior has to say. He wasn't going to be around much longer. That's my thinking, though. Jesus was kinder.

LET IT GROW

Martha's dispute backfired on her. Rather than affirming Martha for her sacrificial service, she heard a mild rebuke. Jesus was showing compassion by expressing the doubling of her name. Martha had a sincere desire to serve others, but she was worried about it and that led to her being upset. Everyone in the room was with Jesus, except for Martha. 

On the other hand, Jesus praised Mary for her example. She had chosen the good part of Jesus' unexpected visit, the part that cannot be taken away. Instead of temporal things to focus on, Mary focused on eternal things. She ignored trivial matters to listen to the teaching of Christ on the kingdom of God. 

But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. (verse 42)

What is the good part? A relationship with the King Jesus Christ. We don't obey the Law to become His citizens. We obey the King because we are His citizens. It is out of love we serve, follow, obey, sacrifice, give, and do for our King. How wonderful it that He even accepts us.

Be careful to spend time with Jesus. So many things keep us busy, but He will determine what is important for us to do. So go to the King and ask Him what He wants us to do today for His glory and kingdom work.

LET IT GO

When Jesus interrupts our plans, it is for a good cause.

Listen to the King and obey Him.

Watch Jesus work through us and experience joy in serving Him.