The Devotional

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 141 SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:   Luke 12:1-3 In the meantime, when an innumerable multitude of people had gathered together so that they trampled one another, He began to say to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. “For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. “Therefore, whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES: Jesus, the Christ of God/Messiah There is another parallel conversation with Jesus and His disciples, it is found in Matthew 10:27-30. I think these are two separate occasions, but I can be wrong. The context of the Matthew passage refers to His disciples and their mission to proclaim the Good News. We ought always to have a willing heart to share the message of Salvation by Grace. When we ar...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 140 SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:   Luke 11:37-44 Then one of the lawyers answered and said to Him, “Teacher, by saying these things You reproach us also.” And He said, “Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. “Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. “In fact, you bear witness that you approve the deeds of your fathers; for they indeed killed them, and you build their tombs. “Therefore, the wisdom of God also said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and persecute,’ “that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, “from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the temple. Yes, I say to you, it shall be required of this generation. SEARCH THE SCRIPTU...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 139 SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:   Luke 11:37-44 And as He spoke, a certain Pharisee asked Him to dine with him. So, He went in and sat down to eat. When the Pharisee saw [it], he marveled that He had not first washed before dinner. Then the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees make the outside of the cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness. "Foolish ones! Did not He who made the outside make the inside also? "But rather give alms of such things as you have; then indeed all things are clean to you. "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. "Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like graves which are not seen, and the ...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 138 SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:   Luke 11:33-36 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.   “The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness.   “Therefore, take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness.   “If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.” SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES: Jesus, the Christ of God/Messiah If you have visited ‘Sight and Sound’ theaters in Pennsylvania or Missouri, then you have also witnessed plays that reveal the battle of darkness and light. One such play that I have in mind is the Creation of Adam and Eve. When they fell from the grace of God and sinned by eat...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 137 SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:   Luke 11:27-28 And it happened as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!” SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES: Jesus, the Christ of God/Messiah John 1:11-14 – He came to His own (nation) and His own (people) did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, TO them He gave the right (authority) to become the children of God, to those who believed (personal choice) on His Name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, BUT OF GOD. And the WORD became flesh (Jesus) and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH. (“More than that, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it!”) When it co...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 136 SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:   Luke 11:24-26 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there, and the state of that man is worse than the first.” SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES: Jesus, the Christ of God/Messiah I do not know of many (or even a few) who like to discuss or teach about passages of scripture that refer to the unseen world of spiritual darkness. The spiritual underworld is real, it does exist. Deception (the lie) is the main tool used by Satan and his army to destroy you and me. In this deception, he seeks to overthrow God and establish his own kingdom. God is the Creator, Satan is a created being. God’s Kingdom is Eternal, Satan’s kingdom is temporal, God’s ...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 135 SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:   Luke 11:11-54 Vs 11 – And He was casting out a demon, and ‘it’ was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled, but some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons”… Vs 53-54 – And as He said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him to catch Him in something He might say, that they might accuse Him. SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES: Jesus, the Christ of God/Messiah Now, there is a volume of scripture in chapter 11, as you well know! In this remaining section, we have at least two main events that are changing the direction of the LORD’s ministry. One, a conversation with Jesus and the crowd who seeks now to discredit His Father’s miracles, and Two, a conversation with the scribes and Pharisees who are seeking an opportunit...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 134 SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:   Luke 11:9-13 “So, I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. “If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? “Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion?   “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES: Jesus, the Christ of God/Messiah Jesus asks three rhetorical questions to these disciples who are presently following Him. The questions are like a flashing billboard that draws attention to persons as they pass by. Before we get to these questions, we ought to look at verses 9 and 10. The...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 133 SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:   Luke 11:5-8 And He said to them, “Which of you shall have a friend, and go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves;   ‘for a friend of mine has come to me on his journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; “and he will answer from within and say, ‘Do not trouble me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give to you’? “I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs. SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES: Jesus, the Christ of God/Messiah Some parables are hard to understand, and it is pertinent to dig deeper in scripture, or to find sources to understand the times and customs of the day when Jesus walked about in Israel and Samaria. Houses in those days were usually of one room. The door to this living area was normally open during the...

The Devotional – Search the Scriptures – 132 SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:   Luke 11:1-4 (part 2) Matthew 6:9 -13 – “In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES: Jesus, the Christ of God/Messiah And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors – In our heart/soul we Spiritually communicate with God, this ought to be an ongoing conversation. When we sin, we break this Spiritual connection and our fellowship with God is interrupted, but not our relationship. With people, we have a moral obligation to be debt free. This debt is not a monetary debt, but a moral one. Offending a brother or sister, or anyone for that matter is a sinf...