Posts that reference the Gospel of Luke

Better Than John the Baptist

Even before John the Baptist was born, he was given the task by God of getting everybody ready for the coming of Jesus. In one way of thinking, we have been given a similar commission to get folks ready before the return of Christ. That’s not the only thing about John worth copying.

He was aware of his own unworthiness, attesting that he wasn’t even worthy to lace up Jesus’s sandals. (John 1:27)

He was convinced about who Jesus was, the Son of God, the payment for our sins, the promised Savior. (John 1:33-35)

He told people what he knew about Jesus. (John 1:15)

He understood it was all about Jesus, not about him. (John 3:30)

He took his doubts and discouragement straight to Jesus. (Luke 7:19)

When all was said and done, John the Baptist fulfilled his mission. I know I could stand to be a lot more like John, especially when it comes to his boldness and his single-mindedness. Jesus Himself affirms that no one ever born was greater than John.

Yet in the next breath, Jesus says that whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John. (Matthew 11:11) How can that be? John did some amazing things. I’d be hard-pressed to equal his accomplishments.

The greatness Jesus is talking about doesn’t come from what you and I do, though. It comes solely from what He does for us. His death and the salvation it purchased get us admission into the kingdom. We just have to accept it. Once we’re in, Jesus entrusts us with the most amazing job ever — to tell His story.

He is Risen!

By Paula Wiseman

But [the angel] said to [the women], “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. Mark 16:6

This is an incredible moment – literally. Too extraordinary and improbable to be believed. Jesus told them. (Matthew 16:21, 17:23, 20:19). He had raised Lazarus a week or two before. But the women (and the rest of the disciples) go on, operating on their own understanding of how life works, how it has always worked. That’s about to change. Incredibly.

God graciously sends an angel to help the women understand what had happened. Let’s break down his message.

Do not be alarmed. – Our first response to drastic change and worldview shift is … stress and worry. Things are uncertain and no longer secure. But in this case, the change is the best thing ever.

You seek Jesus of Nazareth – The angel knew the mission the women were on. And they could be confident that this message was for them,

Who was crucified – He didn’t “swoon” or faint. He died. No one survived a Roman crucifixion.

He is risen! – Jesus is no longer dead. He has been raised by the power of God.

He is not here – This is a tomb, where dead people are. He is not dead, so He is not here.

See the place where they laid Him – You are not in the wrong tomb. Here’s is the place where you saw the body laid on Friday afternoon. Now the body is gone. Jesus isn’t just “spiritually” raised. He isn’t a ghost. His body has come back to life.

The Resurrection changes everything

We change from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant.
The payment for all our sins has been accepted.
Every word Jesus said is true.
We are reconciled to God
We are adopted into His family.
We have an inheritance and eternal life.
And so much more …

If you don’t believe He is risen …

Then you don’t believe the gospel. Paul preached the Resurrection, and he said if anyone preached anything different from what he had preached, that was another gospel, a false gospel. (2 Corinthians 11:4, Galatians 1:8-9)

Then you aren’t saved. Paul says in Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” The Resurrection proves the sin debt is paid. You must believe that Jesus Christ’s death was for your sins and that He was raised, proving you are right with God.

You have no hope.

Paul walks through the logical implications if Christ is not risen from the dead.

And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up–if in fact the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.
1 Corinthians 15:14-19

Jesus Christ is risen, as He said. That is the theme of Acts and the Letters. It is the reason for the praise offered to Christ in the Revelation, praise He alone is worthy to receive.

Since that morning, the Resurrection has changed everyone who has believed it. The women. The disciples. Us.
We have hope. We have life, and we have a message to share.

Hosanna

By Paula Wiseman

And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Matthew 21:9

Hosanna is a Greek transliteration of a Hebrew word that simply means, Oh save! As was the custom during the Passover season, the Jewish people rehearsed the Exodus story again. Part of that observance included the recitation of the Psalms of Ascent and Psalm 118. When Jesus entered Jerusalem on the back of a young colt, the people lined the streets, waving palm branches and shouting from Psalm 118:25-26. “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Which was exactly what Christ was doing. But over the next few days, the people would reveal their hearts. A Christ was not what they wanted at all.

A disingenuous hosanna

The people wanted a deliverer who would save their nation.
Jesus wanted to save their souls.

The people wanted a war with Rome.
Jesus came to bring peace with God.

The people wanted a leader who could conquer the Roman army.
Jesus was about to conquer sin and death.

The people wanted a comfortable, easy life.
Jesus offered them eternal life.

The people cried for political deliverance from the oppression of Rome.
Jesus accomplished spiritual deliverance from the kingdom of darkness.

In other words, the people wanted salvation on their terms.
Jesus only offered salvation on God’s terms.

Is our cry different?

Do we want a Jesus of our own design? A Jesus who will make our lives easier but not expect too much from us in return?
Do we expect Jesus to answer our prayers but aren’t interested in His words about how to follow Him?
Do we believe we are entitled to a measure of blessings?
Are we offended by challenges, setbacks, or hard times? Do we feel like we deserve better?
Do we ever think Jesus should accept whatever effort we manage to put out, especially in view of how busy we are?

Jesus came to save us, not serve us.

From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. John 6:66

In John chapter 6, after Jesus gives His great Bread of Life Discourse where He explains He hasn’t come to meet physical needs, that His ministry doesn’t have temporal goals, the crowds thin. Drastically.

He said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me,” (Matthew 16:24) and “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33).

Jesus never misrepresented Himself or what following Him would mean. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? (Luke 14:28). Count the cost, He says.

If we don’t, we may end up like the crowds that first Palm Sunday. A few days later, their adulation turned to animosity. “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes,” became “Away with Him.”

Abstract vs. Reality

By Paula

Abstract concepts are sometimes hard to grasp. Even the dictionary struggles. “Having only intrinsic form with little or no attempt at pictorial representation or narrative content.” Okay. Then it tries again. Poem is concrete while poetry is abstract. And that’s as good as it gets. Small wonder we have trouble with concepts in Scripture that are abstract … until they aren’t. The resurrection, for example.

The resurrection was abstract … until it wasn’t

He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee. Luke 24:6

Jesus’s resurrection is so obvious in hindsight. He predicted it multiple times. As it approached, He focused more and more on His private teaching with His disciples about it. He told them. He explained it. He prepared them. He gave them instructions about what to do after it happened.

Yet, on Resurrection morning, not one of them connected the abstract with the reality. Andrew didn’t say, “It’s the third day. The tomb should be empty. Let’s head to Galilee.” Neither did Philip or John or James or any of the others. In fact, when the women came with the news that the tomb was empty and they had seen angels, “their words seemed to [the disciples] like idle tales, and they did not believe them.” (Luke 24:11) The very things that Jesus had repeatedly told them were discounted as silly stories.

Do we struggle with the abstract?

Now, with two thousand years of theological sophistication behind us, we smile a patronizing smile at these guys who were so obtuse, so faithless, so forgetful …

And we complain about a culture that is hostile to us. (Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Matthew 5:11)

And we fret about the unrest in the world. (And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Matthew 24:6)

And we don’t understand why no one will listen to our message. (Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Matthew 7:14)

And we wonder why things have to be difficult. (These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. John 16:33)

Jesus told us what we need to know

Like the Twelve before us, we have trouble making the jump from abstract words to real-life applications. The words Christ spoke were not empty rhetoric. They were not sound bites or slogans. They aren’t meant to be empty mantras or feel-good platitudes. He intended to instruct, inform, and prepare His immediate followers and then by extension, generations that would come after, to operate as His church in the world. We shouldn’t be disheartened, caught off-guard, or frustrated because He told us ahead of time.

In fact, the opposition and the challenges we endure as individual believers and as the body of Christ, not only testify to Christ’s deity but should serve to strengthen our faith in Him and His promises.

And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe. John 14:29

Sound Mind Theology: Labelling and Personalization

By Paula Wiseman

Since the Fall we have struggled not only with the content of our thoughts but the process as well. Yes, even the very way we size up situations and apply knowledge and experience to them is tainted by sin. In other words, we are constantly plagued by fallacies and cognitive distortions. So in our series on sound mind theology, we’ve touched on three interrelated distortions — minimizing, maximizing, and disqualifying. Last time we discussed the fallacies of fairness and control. Today, we’ll get personal with two cognitive distortions, labelling and personalization.

Labelling may be the most destructive distortion.

Labelling is choosing to view yourself negatively based little or no evidence. (If your brain immediately went to “but I have plenty of evidence,” you may want to reread this section once we’re done… Just saying.) For example, you forget your lunch. “I’m so stupid.” A relationship doesn’t work out. “I’m unlovable.” Someone else gets the promotion. “I’m such a failure.” We take an event and twist it into identity. But then that statement we make about ourselves is internalized and it becomes an indelible part of how we see ourselves. Labelling is extreme, catastrophic, all-or-nothing and it leads to feelings of stress, anxiety and depression. And here’s the unfortunate thing. We give far more credence to the negative messages we tell ourselves than any evidence to the contrary.

Even Biblical evidence.

The primary way labelling poisons our spiritual life is we flat-out don’t believe what God says. If we label ourselves unlovable, it does not matter how many times we read it in Scripture — like Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! (1 John 3:1) — we don’t believe God loves us. When we don’t believe what God says … when we refuse to believe what God says … that’s sinful. We need to repent and ask the Holy Spirit to drive the truth deep into our hearts. A deep look at the first half of Ephesians is a good place to start replacing the labels we’ve made with the ones God has given us.

Personalization is taking on blame that isn’t yours.

We all make mistakes. Sometimes those mistakes mean negative outcomes for us. That is part of life. What happens with personalization is we extrapolate those “sometimes” to every time. We’ve mentioned before, we live in a world broken by sin, and bad things happen. When job loss is a result of a corporate decision made in an office four states away, that blame is not ours. Other times bad things happen because we are unwittingly caught in the crossfire of others’ actions. For instance, you are minding your own business when someone else runs a red light and hits you. You are not at fault.

This gets stickier when we consider how often we make ourselves responsible for someone else’s emotions — for their happiness or conversely, for their anger or sadness. Despite what we believe or are told, we all choose our emotional response. No one else is responsible for it. It is a distortion of reality to pickup that responsibility, that blame and carry it like it’s ours. It’s not your baggage. Don’t take it.

The spiritual side

There are any number of ways that this can play out in our spiritual lives, but let me give you two that can really mess us up. The first is living with a burden of guilt. Now the Holy Spirit points out sins in our lives and leads us to repent. However, when we can’t let go of the blame and guilt we feel, when we doubt God’s forgiveness or His favor, it interferes with our relationship with God. We lose the joy that comes from knowing Him. We hide from Him like Adam and Eve. We feel like God is perpetually displeased with us. On the contrary, God delights in us.

As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. Psalm 16:3

Remember “saints” refers to believers, period, and not a subset of special super pious believers. If Jesus Christ is your savior, you are a saint.

The other way personalization can mess with us is we can make ourselves responsible for the results when we share the gospel. Let me say this clearly. If someone rejects you or your words when you witness to them, you have been faithful. We are commanded to go, to sow the seed. The response is between the hearer and the Holy Spirit. The rejection doesn’t come because you couldn’t answer the question, or you forgot a verse, or you stumbled over a word.

“The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.” Luke 10:16

It’s not you. Keep witnessing.

When struggling with labelling yourself or personalizing blame, perhaps start here. Paul instructed us in Romans 12:3 to look at ourselves honestly, to use sensible, good judgment to make a fair evaluation. King David invited God Himself to examine his thoughts a root out what shouldn’t be there (Psalm 139:23). Rely on the truth in God’s word and what HE says about you rather than your labels. God has called you HIS. (Isaiah 43:1-3)

Just so we’re clear, I’m not a counselor. I read, research, and study, and I have some life experience. I am not attempting to diagnose anything, but rather help us evaluate how we think based on Scripture.

Sound Mind Theology: Minimizing, Maximizing, and Disqualifying

By Paula Wiseman

Since the Fall, we have struggled not only with the content of our thoughts but the process as well. Yes, even the very way we size up situations and apply knowledge and experience to them is tainted by sin. In other words, we are constantly plagued by fallacies and cognitive distortions. Let’s look at three distortions that are interrelated — minimizing, maximizing, and disqualifying.

Minimizing is downplaying the positives.

It may be through comparing it to someone else’s positives. It may be through finding the negatives. Maybe something like this. Someone compliments your dessert. “Oh, I just threw it together.” You get a good grade. “Oh, the test was probably just easy.” You reach a goal. “Oh, I shouldn’t have taken so long to get here.” Or “I set the bar too low.” Or “Other people did it better than I did.”

Minimizing manifests in our spiritual life as failing to see and appreciate the good things God has done and is doing. It fails to give Him the glory due His name. Further, it is a slander to God to accuse Him of being anything less than good or to attribute anything less than perfection to His motives and actions.

Maximizing is inflating the negatives.

The flip side of minimizing is maximizing. It is doomsaying. It is finding the worst in everything, expecting the worst outcomes, or representing situations worse than they really are. “Now everything is ruined.” “This is the worst day ever.” Or “I messed everything up.” Or “I am a complete failure.” It’s a disingenuous representation of the circumstances.

This translates as a lack of faith. We see worst-case scenarios that are beyond God’s intervention. We believe God won’t answer our prayers or He won’t step in when we need Him to. It discounts His goodness and His sovereignty.

Disqualifying is acknowledging the positives but discounting them.

It is finding the black cloud around every silver lining. You can hear it in a “yes, but.” Sure, God saved us, but He has other, more important children. Or He saved me, but He can’t or won’t use me. Yes, God calls us His own, but He says that to all believers. He has prepared a home for us in eternity, but right now, He makes us struggle. He answers our prayers, but usually not the way you want. His presence never leaves us, but you never feel it.

It’s no surprise that it manifests in our spiritual life as unthankfulness. We are perpetually dissatisfied as we find something wrong inside every blessing. It also leads to us putting words in God’s mouth and attributing false motives to His actions. That kind of brazen presumption is a form of blasphemy.

How do we combat these distortions?

All of these distortions are rooted in pride, in a desire to have others pay attention to us, even if it’s negative attention. It is an attempt to manipulate someone else’s emotions to elicit a desired response. Basically, we want people to acknowledge us and do what we want.

So the first step is to recognize these thought patterns. Be bold enough to ask God to search out your heart and mind and reveal their contents. (Psalm 139:23-24).

The second step is to repent. All of the ways these distortions express themselves are sinful.

The third step is to replace the distortions with the truth. Check Ephesians 2:1-10 to get a concise description of what God has done for us in Christ. We were incurably depraved. Jesus did all the work. We receive all the spiritual blessings because of His grace. His love for us is amazing. There’s no room for maximizing or minimizing.

Yes, bad things happen. But good things also happen. And all things come from the hand of a sovereign God who loves us beyond our understanding. Adopt Job’s philosophy: “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” (Job 1:21)

All of the things, positive and negative of all degrees are used by God to make us more like Christ. See the ultimate goal rather than disqualify what God is doing. Mary put it very simply: [F]or he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. Luke 1:49

Better Than John the Baptist

He is Risen!

The Resurrection changes everything

If you don’t believe He is risen …

Hosanna

A disingenuous hosanna

Is our cry different?

Jesus came to save us, not serve us.

Abstract vs. Reality

The resurrection was abstract … until it wasn’t

Do we struggle with the abstract?

Jesus told us what we need to know

Sound Mind Theology: Labelling and Personalization

Labelling may be the most destructive distortion.

Personalization is taking on blame that isn’t yours.

The spiritual side

Sound Mind Theology: Minimizing, Maximizing, and Disqualifying

Minimizing is downplaying the positives.

Maximizing is inflating the negatives.

Disqualifying is acknowledging the positives but discounting them.

How do we combat these distortions?

Encounters Series

Covenant of Trust Series

Foundations Series