Monday
There are so many wonderful truths in this chapter it’s hard to know what to focus on.
One thing is for the disciples (and us) to not be afraid of “those who kill the body.” When Luke is writing, there were many Christians facing martyrdom. To hear this truth that says, stand true, because physical death does not have the last word. God does. God will decide who has been loyal to Him and who has rejected Him. If you stand with God, He will remember. We are also told in this chapter to give our undivided loyalty to Jesus. We cannot ride the fence – we cannot have our feet in both worlds. As Jesus says, “You cannot serve two masters.” (Matt 6:24).
If you refuse to acknowledge Christ and deny Who He is and refuse to accept Him into your life as Lord and Savior, then you have committed the unpardonable sin. The unpardonable sin is to deliberately refusal to accept God’s truth as it is revealed to us through Jesus. I liked how Ernest F. Tittle explained the unpardonable sin in The Gospel According to Luke, “The ‘sin against the Holy Spirit’ is not, of course, some one particular sin; it is a human will set deliberately and persistently again truth and right and love. No one who… truly desires the forgiveness of God has “blasphemed” against the Holy Spirit.” So what is the “unforgivable sin”? It is to deny Christ and never be willing to accept Him.
Jesus then shares the story of the Rich Fool. There is so much truth in this parable. Why do we worry so about the stuff we have, or about getting more stuff? I laugh at the number of storage rental places that are being built, because we’ve run out of room in our basements, attics and garages. Now we have to rent additional space… for what? Stuff that will rust and rot and be destroyed? Stuff that after you are gone, no one else wants? And if you have all this stuff stored away somewhere, are you even able to enjoy it or use it? How much time do you spend on your stuff or acquiring more stuff? How much time do you spend on your relationship with Jesus? Which is more important? What is eternal? It’s really a no brainer.
Jesus goes on to tell us not to worry. Easier said than done. We tend to be worriers. Especially, us women. We are wired to worry about our children, our families. But I think we need to differentiate between worry and concern. Concern I can do something about… we should be concerned about our families… worry, on the other hand, paralyzes us. We cannot do anything because the worry takes over – instead we need to turn our concerns over to God. Find ways to try and help where we can, but always remember that God is right there with us.
Rejoicing in His Presence
Pastor Kathy