Old Sandals

Luke 16:13
No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

This is a verse worth meditating on every day for the rest of your life.

Luke 15: 4-7
Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

The character of God is revealed through the three precious parables of this chapter, the first one which is referenced above.  How wonderful to know He is a caring, compassionate Deity.  Words only begin to convey what the cross of Christ conveys fully—gloriously.

Luke 14:33
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple.

The Son of God was God, of the same substance (homousios) with the Father, “very God of very God.”  Did the Father, then, punish His own substance to appease His own wrath? Is that what happened on the cross?

Luke 13:4-5
Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?  I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.

The only way of escape is repentance.

Luke 12:5
But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

“Fear God”, Jesus said. He has power—the ability and the authority—to cast into hell. Cast. An action? A consequence?

Is this casting active—a direct retributive punishment, or is it passive, the granting of the true inner desire of those who reject the Christ of God and His gospel?

Luke 11:9-10
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.

I am an orthodox Christian.  Small o—although I must say I’ve been blessed by a recent foray into Eastern Orthodox theology.  I never realized there were so many nuances, so many debates in theology.  I somehow have developed a very keen interest in it all, especially the faith and hermeneutic of the early church Fathers.

Meditate. Think. Pray. God is for you. Discover. Wonder. Don’t stop.

And yet, I realize it is important not to lose focus.  The main thing is not becoming an armchair theologian.  It is loving God and loving my neighbor, as He gives me grace to do it.  I need to keep the main thing the main thing.

Luke 10:9
And heal the sick there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’

Seventy disciples were sent out, two by two, and given authority to heal the sick and to cast out demons. You would think it would have had more of an impact…

Luke 9:10-13
And the apostles, when they had returned, told Him all that they had done. Then He took them and went aside privately into a deserted place…But when the multitudes knew it, they followed Him; and He received them….When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, “Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.” But He said to them, “You give them something to eat.”

They told Him all they done. Yet here He asks them to do more, as if to say, “You’ve ministered to their spiritual needs; but we must not overlook their physical needs.”

Luke 8:1
Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God.

Our Lord wasn’t here long, but oh how many wonderful things He did while He walked among us.

My Lord and my God, that I may be more zealous for good works!

Luke 7:8
For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

Increase my faith, O Lord, for You are its Author and Finisher.