Grains of Sand

Reading: John 1, 2 Trust is as basic a necessity as food, clothing and shelter—but much harder to hang on to. Jesus knew the reality of that. Early in His ministry the crowds followed Him, eager to hear from the “new kid on the block” and to see the miracles that He did. It was the best show in town—at least for that moment. John 2:23 (NIV) says: “ Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name .” We put a lot of stock in those last four words: “ believed in his name .” But Jesus didn’t. Verse 24 goes on to say: “ But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. ” The Lord was compassionate, loving, forgiving; but never naïve. That’s a balance we sometimes find hard to achieve. The disappointments we suffer at the hands of others often make us bitter, angry, and protective. “I’ll never let myself be hurt by so-and-so again!” comes the cry of a wounded heart. I suspect that some peop...

Reading: Luke 23, 24 Does my heart burn when I read the Scriptures? Does it burn when the Word of God is taught? I have to confess that it doesn’t always. When did someone else’s heart burn when I taught from the Scriptures? I'm afraid to speculate on that one. For the two men traveling the road to Emmaus an encounter with Jesus resulted in heartburn. “ They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’ ” (Luke 24:32, NIV). In the physical realm, heartburn isn’t a pleasant thing. I suspect that there might have been some uncomfortable moments for these men as they listened to Jesus, whom they didn’t recognize, explain things from the Old Testament that they should already have understood. But more likely the burning hearts were caused as these two men instinctively recognized the voice of God even when they didn’t see God in this “stranger” who was walking beside them. They knew Truth when t...

Reading: Luke 21, 22 There are times when sermons and studies resemble nothing more than a series of personal illustrations or human philosophy lightly brushed with a phrase from Scripture. The Word of God becomes the illustration for the story instead of the story illustrating the Word of God. While the illustrations and the philosophy might have a positive impact, it is only the Word of God that will have “the last word” as it were. That means it should also have the first word. Luke 21:33 (NIV) tells us: “ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away .” This verses couples beautifully with this promise from Isaiah 55:10, 11 (NIV): “ As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish the purpose for which I sent it .” I ...

Reading: Luke 19, 20 “ ’It is written,’ he said to them, ‘My house will be a house of prayer’ ” –Luke 19:46, NIV Words from the famous preacher of a bygone century, Charles Haddon Spurgeon that remind us that prayer needs to be constant, as much in the good times as the bad times. “And, now, I said I would say a word as to why WE ought to pray especially, and that shall close the sermon. Beloved friends, this church ought to pray without ceasing…We have lacked nothing because we have not lacked prayer. I do not doubt we might have had much more if we had prayed more; still prayer has been mighty here. Now, brethren, suppose you had no pastor, suppose the preacher was gone from you…you would pray, would you not? Will you not pray for me then while I live? If you would pray for another to come, will you not pray for me while I am here? I desire to discharge my office before you in God’s sight with all earnestness, but I cannot without your prayers, and as being gone from you, yo...

Reading: Luke 17, 18 “ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’ ” –Luke 17:10, NIV. A number of years ago this verse came up in a Bible study I was doing with a group of ladies. I got a surprising reaction from one of them. She took serious exception to the word “unworthy,” declaring that all that she was doing “for the Lord” made her very worthy–in God’s sight and in the sight of everyone who should be admiring her dedication. Not too much farther over in Luke Jesus tells the story of the Pharisee and the publican who came to pray in the temple. The Pharisee was full of himself, and went away without God’s forgiveness. The publican recognized his unworthiness and went away rejoicing and at peace with God. Jesus said: “ For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted ” (Luke 18:14, NIV). Unhappily, the gal in my Bible study never did learn that ...

Reading: Luke 8, 9 You’re going down for the last time. The water is up to your chin and each wave fills your mouth and nose with water. You raise your hand, desperate for someone to see your plight and come to your rescue. From the distant shore comes the triumphant voice of the old revivalist preacher, “I see that hand!” But you’re still going down, overwhelmed by wave after wave of life events. And it doesn’t seem like anyone is going to help. You are going to drown. Enter Jesus. He’s been there all the time, but you’ve been so busy struggling to save yourself that you didn’t notice His hand reaching out to grab yours. Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia And you answer His question with tears generated by both shame and expectation: “Yes, Lord, where was my faith?”

Reading: Luke 5-7 I wonder if the Guinness Book of World Records has a category for the number of times someone has used the phrase, “because I told you to”? Peter put a slightly different twist on the saying in Luke 5:1-11. It seems that this took place when the disciples were still pursuing their “regular” jobs even though they were followers of the Lord. Jesus had just finished one of His usual marathon teaching sessions. In fact, He had to borrow one of the fishing boats so that the crowd wouldn’t overwhelm Him. The fishermen had apparently been out all night fishing and were now closing up shop for the day, but when Jesus was finished teaching he told them to gather the nets they had just finished washing and head out to deep water. If Peter had been a child he might have said, “Why?” If Jesus had been Peter’s parent he might have answered, “Because I told you to.” Peter skipped that step and relied: “ Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But b...