13th Week Luke 14-18 (Click on Title for Video Intro)

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Click on Blue Title for Video Intro

Monday, Luke Chapter 14
Luke 14
Verse 34 
Tanya Ruden 

Verse 34:  'Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?' 

THOUGHT 
The Life Application Bible really explains this verse very well.  The following is what is written: 

"Salt can lose its flavor. When it gets wet and then dries, nothing is left but a tasteless residue. Many Christians blend into the world and avoid the cost of standing up for Christ. Jesus says if we lose our saltiness we are worthless. Just as salt flavors and preserves food, we are to preserve the good in the world, help keep it from spoiling, and bring new flavor to life. This requires careful planning, willing sacrifice, and unswerving commitment to Christ's kingdom. Being "salty" is not easy, but if a Christian fails in this function, he or she fails to represent Christ in the world. How salty are you?" 

Maybe there is a neat name for our study in this metaphor. Maybe we are the Salt Shakers! Shake it up everybody!! 

PRAYER
Lord, how easy it is to be a salt shaker on a table in the comer. Ready to serve, but getting dried out due to lack of use. Help us to be the busy salt shaker on the middle table next to the window with a great view. Help us to preserve this world You gave us and fill it full of Your flavor. AMEN 

This is the devotion that gave us our name, The Salt Shakers



Tuesday, Luke Chapter 15
Luke 15
Verse 10
Bart Strayer

Verse 10:  I tell you there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. 

THOUGHT 
Chapter 15 has a centered theme about those who stray. Jesus offers us valuable insight about our attitudes and actions toward those that are off the path. We undergo two births in our lives. Physical birth and then spiritual, our second birth, in which we accept Christ into our hearts and our sins are forgiven. Before we come to Christ, we are the younger brother, the one who strays. I want to urge everyone to be careful as we mature in our faith. I struggle with this at times. The heavens rejoice when one comes to the Lord. 

These parables in Chapter 15 are well known and valuable to us. 

PRAYER 
Dear Jesus, what a glorious time we have when we can come, read and discuss Your Word. We thank You for Your time here on Earth and the lessons You have taught us through Your actions and words. We thank You for Your guidance and providing all that we need in perfect time. Help us as we continue to read Your Word, to understand the words on the page and apply it to our lives. In Your Name we pray. AMEN


Wednesday, Luke Chapter 16
Luke 16
Verse 13
Bart Strayer 

Verse 13:  No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. 

THOUGHT 
I love this chapter.  There are so many good verses.  It’s hard to choose just one. The central theme of Chapter 16 is the evils of love of money and materialism. How ironic that I would get this chapter. My education and profession have been about the manipulation of money to get more money. 

I was thinking the other day about how we all struggle with different things in our lives. God puts obstacles in each of our lives for reasons that we can't comprehend. (We like to think that we have things figured out at times, but we are generally clueless). One person's struggle is the other’s ease. It’s all hard to understand. 

God has given me spiritual gifts in money management. However, the greatest complement to this gift has been the lack of love of money. Weird uh? I greatly enjoy the art of the earning power of money. In the right hands, the power of money can yield marvelous things. However, it can also destroy people. I always say, there are two things that can take a good man and reduce him to ashes: 1) love of money 2) testosterone.

There are times in my ministry that I get caught up in dollars and cents and lose sight of the big picture. Jesus then gently reminds me not to concentrate on the numbers on the screen, but to concentrate on Him. I could write 500 pages on the things God has taught me about money, but I'll stop. 

PRAYER 
Dear Jesus, we thank You for all the blessings that You have given us. We thank You for Your abundant wisdom that is spoken through the gospels. We thank You for Your guidance and wisdom in our lives. Help us this week as we carry out our duties not to focus on the materialism of this world, but to focus on You. We praise You for who You are! In Your Name we pray.  AMEN 


Thursday, Luke Chapter 17
Luke 17 
Verse 19
Bart Strayer

Verse 19:  Then Jesus said to them, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." 

THOUGHT 
These chapters cover so much good detail about the Christian life that it is hard to pick one topic.  Chapter 17 touches on the importance of faith. We all tend to shy away from opportunities to strengthen our faith for a number of reasons that I could write an entire book about, but I will try to summarize my learning experience. I think everyone could add to this list. 

When God asks us to step out of the crowd and perform with His Words, it takes faith. Here are some of your enemies. 

1) Fear of ourselves - We fear that we will fail. 
2) Fear of people - What people might think. 
3) Fear of God - At times we shy away from listening to God because we are afraid he will tell us to go      right when we want to go left. 
4) The devil - The devil hates it when you step out and do well for God.  Be prepared for his attack. 
5) Lack of trust - This is the hardest to discern because we don't like to admit that we don't trust God at      times. In times of hardship, our vision gets cloudy, and we lose trust that God has our best interest in      mind. 

These are just to mention a few.  

We don’t fear a growth in faith as much as we fear the steps that are required for sharing our faith. Let God work in your life despite the growing pains. 

God has given me great opportunities to strengthen my faith in the past few years, and I thank you all for your support. It is our duty to encourage each other to listen to God and obey by faith. 

PRAYER 
Dear Jesus, thank You for Your Word today. Help us to encourage each other to do Your work and listen for Your instruction. I thank You for giving me a supportive family. Help me provide them support just as they have been a support to me. Take whatever actions You see necessary to strength our faith. Help us take that first step of trust. In Your Name we pray.  AMEN 






Friday, Luke Chapter 18
Chapter 18
Verses 31-34
Bart Strayer

Verses 31-34:  Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. 0n the third day he will rise again."  The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about. 

THOUGHT 
There are two things that amaze me when I read the verses about Christ's predictions. First, we are reminded that we serve an all-knowing God. It is calming to me to be reminded that God is not surprised by anything. He is all-powerful and mighty. He knows the future for all of us. 

Second, it states that the disciples did not understand what Jesus was telling them. Jesus did not act scared, worried, or saddened about what was going to happen to him. He was literally on a path that led to his death and was not detouring from it. This was probably hard to understand for the disciples. What an amazing God we serve. 

PRAYER 
Dear Jesus, we once again thank You today for Your time here on earth and Your work on the cross. Help us not to take Your life for granted. Help us to appreciate Your life and Your sacrifice for our sins. Help us to live out Your Love everyday of our lives. We thank You and praise You for who You are. In Your Name we pray. AMEN



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