Posts that reference the Gospel of Luke

Wind and Fire

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. Acts 2:2-3

On October 8, 1871, a cold front moved across the upper Midwest generating strong winds. These winds caught small brush fires farmers had set to help clear land. A firestorm ensued, meaning superheated flames more than 2000 degrees F were pushed by winds over 110 mph. The firestorm engulfed the town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and eleven other communities. One eyewitness described how the fire seemed to jump the Peshtigo River. The fire generated its own tornadic winds and resulted in an area twice the size of Rhode Island burned. A conservative estimate of fifteen hundred lives were lost. It seemed nothing could stand in the conflagration’s way. It was the most destructive fire in U.S. history.

Wind and fire are an unstoppable combination.

Forty days after His resurrection, in some of Jesus’s final instructions to His disciples, He said they were to remain in Jerusalem and wait for the power from on high (Luke 24:49). Ten days later, when that power manifested, it came as wind and fire. Thousands upon thousands were saved. It was the most amazing day in the life of the church. From there the wind and fire pushed outside the city limits to the surrounding country and eventually the entire world.

On Pentecost by using wind and fire to mark the arrival of the indwelling Holy Spirit, God teaches us that nothing can stop the spread of the Gospel. Furthermore, its impact is unmistakable. Wind and fire harnessed and used for God’s purposes are powerful and productive.

Today the Peshtigo Fire has largely been forgotten. Buildings have been rebuilt. Survivors have passed on. The loss isn’t felt as urgently. Even in 1871, the tragedy was overshadowed by the Chicago Fire that happened the same day.

Today we know the name Pentecost, but other things have been built on top of it. People who felt the power have long since passed on. We don’t feel the need for it as urgently.

Wind and fire. They are still in use, still available. Pray we don’t become firebreaks and wet blankets.

Launching Out

By Paula

When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” Luke 5:4

Jesus’s words were authoritative, enlightening and transformative.

They challenged the status quo in society as well as in the hearts of the individuals listening.
They were equal parts compassionate and convicting.

However, it does us no good if they are just words.
It does us no good to read, to study, to teach and be taught if that’s where it ends.
At the end of the words, there must be action.

Launch.

Go.

Do.

Jesus said to launch out into the deep.
Where commitment was necessary.
Where effort was required.
And Simon Peter did.

The people on the shore heard great words that day, no question.
But Simon Peter had a great catch.

Jesus ended His earthly ministry, stopped speaking long ago…
Are we content with listening to a discourse or are we launching into the deep?

Signs of Hardness: Rejecting Correction

By Paula Wiseman

One of the memorable details in the Exodus is Pharaoh hardening his heart. Despite the miracles, the plagues, the pronouncements of Moses, he persisted, and the end result was God’s judgment on him and his nation. Pharaoh wasn’t the only one with a hard heart. Israel soon developed one in the wilderness. In the Old Testament and New Testament, we are warned not to harden our hearts. It doesn’t happen overnight though. It starts with an action or an attitude and before we know it, we are cold and indifferent to God and His word. We’ve begun considering some cautionary signposts that mean we are on the road to a heart hardened toward God. So far we’ve discussed disobedience, wealth, and discontent. Today, let’s look at rejecting correction.

What does it mean to reject correction?

A large portion of the Old Testament narrative details how God graciously warns His errant people. He sends prophets to tell them where they have gotten off track and what changes they need to make. Unfortunately, they categorically ignored all those warnings. They refused to change, and instead were settled in their hearts and minds that they were okay. The prophets were either misinformed, making a big deal out of nothing, or they were in fact false prophets they should not listen to.

Here’s one example from the time of King Joash. He was a good king who took a hard turn to apostasy later in life.

Yet He sent prophets to them, to bring them back to the LORD; and they testified against them, but they would not listen. Then the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD, so that you cannot prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He also has forsaken you.’ ” So they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the LORD.
2 Chronicles 24:19-21

Rejecting correction can lead to a rejection of God’s standards, even with shocking results.

Jesus also warned about the dangers of rejecting a clear message to repent.

The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
Luke 11:32

How does this produce hardness?

Rejecting correction is evidence that we believe we are right and God is wrong. It may not be so overt at first, but that is the foundation we build on. We have no need to change. We self-justify. Our own standards are the ones that matter and we have not violated them. We become arrogant. We don’t need to submit to God.

How do you soften a heart hardened by a rejection of correction?

David’s great psalm of confession and repentance, Psalm 51, serves as a blueprint.

He asks for forgiveness (v. 1-2).
He confesses his sins (v. 3-6).
He prays for cleansing from the sin (v. 7-12).
He recommits himself to God’s service (v. 13-17).
He ends the psalm by praying for his nation (v. 18-19).

Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.
Psalm 51:4

Note that David is not rejecting God’s correction but fully agrees with God and recognizes God’s right to correct him.

Another important thing to remember is that God only corrects His children. Correction is actually confirmation that He loves us and is doing a work in us.

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”
Hebrews 12:5-6

We don’t like to be corrected. It blows up our illusion that we are okay. But rejection of correction when it comes has far more dire consequences. Let’s keep our hearts soft.

Signs of Hardness: Wealth

By Paula Wiseman

One of the memorable details in the Exodus is Pharaoh hardening his heart. Despite the miracles, the plagues, the pronouncements of Moses, he persisted, and the end result was God’s judgment on him and his nation. Pharaoh wasn’t the only one with a hard heart. Israel soon developed one in the wilderness. In the Old Testament and New Testament, we are warned not to harden our hearts. Of course, we would never … It doesn’t happen overnight though. It starts with an action or an attitude and before we know it, we are cold and indifferent to God and His word. We’ve begun considering some cautionary signposts that mean we are on the road to a heart hardened toward God. Last time we discussed disobedience. In this post, we’ll look at wealth.

What is wealth?

The dictionary defines wealth as an abundance of valuable material possessions or resources. We may not consider ourselves wealthy, but look at God’s warning in Deuteronomy.

“Beware that you do not forget the LORD your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Deuteronomy 8:11-14

Most of us have enough food, decent houses to live in and plenty of stuff, even if we don’t have multiplied silver and gold. God’s warning applies to us.

How does money produce hardness?

Jesus told a parable about a rich man whose harvest exceeded expectations. His response to tear down his barns and build bigger ones to hold all stuff. God called him a fool, and required his soul that very night. The farmer’s comment tips us off to three key ways hardness happens.

‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”‘
Luke 12:19

Self-sufficiency.
Laziness.
Selfishness.

The man had arrived. His hard work had paid off. He didn’t need anything from anyone and he didn’t see a need to be generous with his excess. There was no indication that he was thankful or that he recognized his blessings came from God. He embodies the warning God issued in Deuteronomy. He was proud and forgot God.

We can land in the same place. We can see our things as resulting from our savvy, hard work rather than as a blessing and stewardship entrusted to us from God. We get proud and forget God.

How do you soften a heart hardened by wealth?

Jesus gives us some direction here from the Sermon on the Mount.

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
Matthew 6:20

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Matthew 6:24

He says “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
Matthew 6:33

In each statement, Jesus challenges us to examine our priorities. Wealth is temporal and temporary. It is a useful tool but not a goal in itself. If acquisition distracts us from serving Chris, it is an idol.

Paul has similar instructions for Timothy

For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
1 Timothy 6:10-11

Wealth is temporal and temporary. It is a useful tool but not a goal in itself. If acquisition distracts us from serving Christ, it is an idol.

A Holy Priesthood: Obedient

By Paula Wiseman

Peter says believers are a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5), drawing parallels with the priesthood established under the Law. Peter packs a lot of information and theological truth in that one metaphor. So let’s take a few posts to break down what Peter wants us to understand. The first thing is God has cleansed us from our sin. We are specially clothed. We are anointed for service. As we serve, we must remain obedient.

Old Testament priests were expected to obey God’s commands

We don’t know how much time passed between the ordination and installation of the priests in Leviticus 8-9 and the beginning chapter 10, but it was relatively soon after. Moses records

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective firepans, and after putting fire in them, placed incense on it and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. And fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD. Then Moses said to Aaron, “It is what the LORD spoke, saying, ‘By those who come near Me I will be treated as holy, And before all the people I will be honored.'” So Aaron, therefore, kept silent.
Leviticus 10:1-3

Nadab and Abihu were Aaron’s two oldest sons. In Exodus 24:1. They were privileged to be called to an intimate meeting in God’s presence with the elders of Israel on Mt. Sinai. They had been through extensive preparation for their roles just like Aaron their father had been. And they knew what was expected of them. In spite of that, they were disobedient and disrespectful. This was a capital offense. Aaron, even in his shock and grief, understood.

Later in the Old Testament, the prophets, especially Jeremiah and Ezekiel, denounce the priests who have completely abandoned the role and charge God entrusted them with. Consider these pronouncements in Ezekiel:

Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. … Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord GOD.
Ezekiel 22:26, 31

Obedience is the mark of believers

A follower of Christ is one who obeys His teachings and commands and imitates His life. It is preposterous to suggest we can believe Christ for salvation and then reject everything else He said. Hearing and doing are irrevocably tied together. At the end of Luke 6. Jesus tells a parable about a wise builder and a foolish builder. The key difference? The wise builder hears Jesus’s words and obeys them. Later in Luke 17, in a parable about a servanthood, Jesus tells His followers:

“So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’ ”
Luke 17:10

It is our duty to do what we have been commanded to do. And in the Great Commission, Jesus further says, we must teach new believers to obey His commands. The New Living Translation puts it simply.

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:20

If we don’t obey, are we in danger of being consumed by fire? That’s the wrong question. We have a completely different motivation as believers. Paul explains (in one of my favorite verses) in Galatians

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Galatians 2:20

The life I now live is one of faith in Christ and constant recognition of what He has done for me. Obedience flows naturally from that. If we are struggling to obey, we need to revisit Christ’s sacrifice for us and what He saved us from.

Next up, we’ll begin looking at what we as believers do as part of a holy priesthood.

An Invitation to Inclusion

By Paula Wiseman

In the gospel of Luke, Jesus gives an invitation to inclusion.

But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.
Luke 18:16

In the first century, children were overlooked
Marginalized, not valued, not considered worth much.

In the passage, the disciples followed the culture.
They thought they were preserving Jesus’s valuable time and attention
Reserving it for those more worthy, more deserving.

Jesus turned the cultural idea on its head.
He invited, welcomed, elevated the standing of the children.
Earlier He encouraged us to have the faith of children.

So, if you are one of those on the fringes of society.
Those overlooked and devalued …

The poor, the homeless, the addicted,
The sketchy, the mentally ill, the ex-con,
The L, G, B, T, Q and others,
The trauma survivors, the refugees, the jobless,
The immigrants, legal and illegal.
The high maintenance.

Jesus Christ invites and will include you in His kingdom
By His grace through faith and forgiveness.

We are the body of Christ.
His representatives.
His ambassadors.

We must invite and include
Those on the fringes of society.
Those overlooked and devalued.

The poor, the homeless, the addicted.
The sketchy, the mentally ill, the ex-con.
The L, G, B, T, Q and others,
The trauma survivors, the refugees, the jobless,
The immigrants, legal and illegal.
The high maintenance.

We must help bring them into His kingdom with us
Because we were just as needy
And someone showed us
His grace and forgiveness.

Wind and Fire

Wind and fire are an unstoppable combination.

Launching Out

Signs of Hardness: Rejecting Correction

What does it mean to reject correction?

How does this produce hardness?

How do you soften a heart hardened by a rejection of correction?

Signs of Hardness: Wealth

What is wealth?

How does money produce hardness?

How do you soften a heart hardened by wealth?

A Holy Priesthood: Obedient

Old Testament priests were expected to obey God’s commands

Obedience is the mark of believers

An Invitation to Inclusion

Encounters Series

Covenant of Trust Series

Foundations Series