Luke 11:33-36

The last day of 2018. Time to us is significant…not so with GOD. Where we spend eternity is of the utmost importance  to him and our time here and what we believe determines that eternity. Faith and adhering the WORD OF GOD  to our lives… now that shines in a world of darkness. Let my light so shine before men that others are drawn to YOU!

Praise and glory to Him who loved us enough to die in our place!

Reflecting the light and darkness imagery of the previous passage, Jesus’ remarks here highlight the importance of sincere obedience over religious pretense. Faithlifie Bible.

A person who concentrates on what is good (God’s teaching) is healthy. But a person who focuses on what is bad (the false teaching of the world) is full of darkness.

A person can become like light, a living picture of what God’s Word teaches, by concentrating on the light of the truth. NKJ Bible.

Luke 11:33–36 (NKJV)

³³ “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. ³⁴ 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. ³⁵ Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. ³⁶ 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.”

Matthew 5:15 (NKJV)

¹⁵ Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

Luke 19:11-28

We are to make the most of the gifts given to every soul by the Father to His creation. The more that we perfect those talents the more we honor God until He comes again in glory. In this we will find  JOY and PEACE.

Our gifts are to be used not hoarded.

While at Zacchaeus’ house, Jesus tells a parable about a nobleman who entrusts money to his servants. The parable explains that God expects for his people to properly steward the resources he gives. The parable also emphasizes the importance of obedience to God’s commands. Faithlife Bible.

The story parallels in part what happened to Archelaus, a son of Herod the Great, who came to power in 4 b.c. The people disliked Archelaus, and they appealed to Augustus Caesar not to give him authority. Jesus is not retelling the story of Archelaus, but the historical events meant that the parable had a well-known plot. A significant detail is that the kingdom is received during the journey away from the land to be ruled. This corresponds to Jesus’ leaving this earth to receive the kingdom following His resurrection. NKJ Bible.

Luke 19:11–28 (NKJV)

¹¹ Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. ¹² Therefore He said: “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return. ¹³ So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business till I come.’ ¹⁴ But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We will not have this man to reign over us.’

¹⁵ “And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. ¹⁶ Then came the first, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten minas.’ ¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.’ ¹⁸ And the second came, saying, ‘Master, your mina has earned five minas.’ ¹⁹ Likewise he said to him, ‘You also be over five cities.’

²⁰ “Then another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. ²¹ For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ ²² And he said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. ²³ Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’

²⁴ “And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.’ ²⁵ (But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’) ²⁶ ‘For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ²⁷ But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.’ ”

 Matthew 25:21 (NKJV)

²¹ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

Matthew 25:29 (NKJV)

²⁹ ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

Psalm 15

We must know in our heart what we stand for and what is right in His eyes or we stand for the evil that permeates society. 

Christ showed us the way it is up to us to follow that path.

righteousness 

the quality of being morally right or justifiable.

The requirements are moral conditions that involve the conscience. Anyone wanting to enter God’s temple must not oppress or harm his neighbor. Anyone desiring to enter God’s tent must have a proper attitude toward others. He should despise vile people and honor those who fear Yahweh. Faithlife Bible.

The righteous hate what God hates. The point is not so much the emotion of hatred as the deliberate rejection of wicked ways. The psalm asks the question, Who is righteous enough to approach God? We who are in Christ learn to come boldly into the presence of the Father because we come on the authority of His Son (Heb. 4:16). Jesus makes us feel at home in the presence of the Father. NKJ Bible.

Psalm 15

The Character of Those Who May Dwell with the Lord

A Psalm of David.

¹ Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?

Who may dwell in Your holy hill?

² He who walks uprightly,

And works righteousness,

And speaks the truth in his heart;

³ He who does not backbite with his tongue,

Nor does evil to his neighbor,

Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;

⁴ In whose eyes a vile person is despised,

But he honors those who fear the Lord;

He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

⁵ He who does not put out his money at usury,

    Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

Exodus 23:1 (NKJV)

23 “You shall not circulate a false report. Do not put your hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.

Leviticus 5:4 (NKJV)

⁴ ‘Or if a person swears, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters.

Leviticus 19:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Acts 26:12-18

God reveals himself to man for the good of the man and the Body of Christ. We will learn the lessons we need the hard way or the easy way…but because He loves us He makes sure we learn them.

When we trust in Him in all things, everything, works out for our good and the good of the Church. We need to accept where He places us and trust in His timing for our life.

A young ox, when it was first yoked, usually resented the burden and tried kicking its way out. If the ox was yoked to a single-handed plow, the plowman would hold a long staff with a sharpened end close to the heels of the ox. Every time the ox kicked, it struck the spike. If the ox was yoked to a wagon, a studded bar with wooden spikes served the same purpose. The point was that the ox had to learn submission to the yoke the hard way. Before his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road, Paul was resisting God in a similar manner. NKJ Bible.

Acts 26:12–18 (NKJV)

¹² “While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, ¹³ at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. ¹⁴ And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ ¹⁵ So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ¹⁶ But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. ¹⁷ I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, ¹⁸ to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’

Luke 1:77 (NKJV)

⁷⁷ To give knowledge of salvation to His people

By the remission of their sins,

Luke 1:79 (NKJV)

⁷⁹ To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death,

To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

Acts 9:31

There is no distinction between Jewish converts and Gentile nor between Catholic and Protestant. We are all the same united by the blood of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.In peace, united in the fear of the Lord and in the direction provided by the Holy Spirit we draw others to Christ. 

If we hold Him up others will long to have the hope that we have in Him.

Luke (the narrator) highlights the successful beginnings of Christ’s promise to the apostles about the spread of the gospel. Faithlife Bible.

This peace was not due solely to Saul’s conversion. Tiberius, the emperor of Rome, died around this time. He was replaced by Caligula, who wanted to erect a statue of himself in the temple at Jerusalem. Thus Jewish energy was directed away from persecuting Christians and toward Caligula. Here we see God’s sovereign hand at work, giving the early church a short season of respite. NKJ Bible.

Acts 9:31 (NKJV)

³¹ Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

Psalm 34:9 (NKJV)

⁹ Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints!

There is no want to those who fear Him.

Acts 13:13-48

For in Christ, in His birth, death and resurrection, mankind is set free from the consequences of original sin which is death. It was too small a matter that though Him only the Jews would be saved but that through Him, with Him and in Him we are free to live life eternally with our Maker. 

Praise and glory be to Him forever!

Paul and Barnabas continue their ministry farther from Jewish territories, moving into Asia Minor for the first time. Most of this section consists of Paul’s sermon in Pisidian Antioch, which presents Jesus’ death and resurrection as the fulfillment of the story of Israel and concludes with an invitation to accept the message of the gospel. Paul implies that the promises to David are fulfilled in the death and resurrection of Christ. 

Justified is a legal declaration that someone is innocent and in good standing—right before God. Paul is arguing that justification is based on the work of Christ. Human effort—even when directed at keeping the Law of Moses (as primarily seen in the laws of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy)—could never attain God’s standard. Faithlife Bible.

What God saw in David was a deep desire to do His will. Throughout David’s entire life that drive never changed. Unlike King Saul, who was a self-willed man, David confessed his sins and quickly repented of them.

It is by justification that a person is righteous and acceptable to God. The death of Christ was the payment of our sin debt, so that we might be forgiven. 

Acts 13:13–48 (NKJV)

¹³ Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem. ¹⁴ But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. ¹⁵ And after the reading of the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying, “Men and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.”

¹⁶ Then Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, “Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen: ¹⁷ The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it. ¹⁸ Now for a time of about forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness. ¹⁹ And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them by allotment.

²⁰ “After that He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. ²¹ And afterward they asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. ²² And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ ²³ From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior—Jesus—²⁴ after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘Who do you think I am? I am not He. But behold, there comes One after me, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to loose.’

²⁶ “Men and brethren, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to you the word of this salvation has been sent. ²⁷ For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they did not know Him, nor even the voices of the Prophets which are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled them in condemning Him. ²⁸ And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He should be put to death. ²⁹ Now when they had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the tree and laid Him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised Him from the dead. ³¹ He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people. ³² And we declare to you glad tidings—that promise which was made to the fathers. ³³ God has fulfilled this for us their children, in that He has raised up Jesus. As it is also written in the second Psalm:

‘You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You.’

³⁴ And that He raised Him from the dead, no more to return to corruption, He has spoken thus:

‘I will give you the sure mercies of David.’

³⁵ Therefore He also says in another Psalm:

‘You will not allow Your Holy One to see corruption.’

³⁶ “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep, was buried with his fathers, and saw corruption; ³⁷ but He whom God raised up saw no corruption. ³⁸ Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; ³⁹ and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Beware therefore, lest what has been spoken in the prophets come upon you:

⁴¹ ‘Behold, you despisers,

Marvel and perish!

For I work a work in your days,

A work which you will by no means believe,

Though one were to declare it to you.’ ”

⁴² So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. ⁴³ Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴ On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. ⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. ⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us:

‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles,

That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

⁴⁸ Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

Acts 12:5-11

NEVER underestimate the power of prayer. GOD is faithful, merciful and powerful.

In the manner that you believe in Him, in that same manner, you can receive from Him!

"You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). 

Two of the soldiers in the squad are chained to Peter while the other two keep watch. This choice to guard him this closely is probably due to him being freed miraculously earlier. Faithlife Bible.

Peter was arrested and slated to be executed like James. However, Peter’s execution was delayed because it was against Jewish law to have a trial or sentencing during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, better known as Passover. This was Peter’s third arrest. During a previous incarceration, Peter had miraculously escaped with the help of an angel of the Lord who opened the gates of the prison. This time Peter was placed under maximum security in the care of four squads of soldiers of four men each. The soldiers worked three-hour shifts. Both of Peter’s wrists were chained, and he had a soldier on each side. Outside Peter’s cell, two more soldiers stood guard.

Why was Peter’s life spared while James’s life was taken? The answer is the sovereign will of God. If we believe that God is good and wise, we can trust that what He allowed to happen was part of His wise plan for the good of all of His people. When we place our complete trust in the goodness of God, we can find true peace. God is in control despite any appearance to the contrary. NKJ Bible.

Acts 12:5–11 (NKJV)

⁵ Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. ⁶ And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. ⁷ Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, “Arise quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. ⁸ Then the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and tie on your sandals”; and so he did. And he said to him, “Put on your garment and follow me.” ⁹ So he went out and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰ When they were past the first and the second guard posts, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened to them of its own accord; and they went out and went down one street, and immediately the angel departed from him.

¹¹ And when Peter had come to himself, he said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel, and has delivered me from the hand of Herod and from all the expectation of the Jewish people.”

Psalm 126:1 (NKJV)

¹ When the Lord brought back the captivity of Zion,

We were like those who dream.

Job 5:19 (NKJV)

¹⁹ He shall deliver you in six troubles,

Yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.

Psalm 33:18 (NKJV)

¹⁸ Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,

On those who hope in His mercy,

Christian Jew or Christian Gentile nothing stands between them and their God. It was too small a matter that Jesus came to save the Jews alone. 

Jesus Christ is the light of the world.

Peter’s language and reasoning here seem to echo Gamaliel’s argument to the Sanhedrin that if God is indeed behind the Church’s message and mission, then no one will be able to stop it. Faithlife Bible.

The manifestation of the Holy Spirit was the same to the Gentiles at Caesarea as it was to the Jews at Jerusalem.

Baptized with the Holy Spirit is a reference to a once-for-all act whereby Christ places believers in the care and safekeeping of the Holy Spirit until the day He returns. This section begins a bold new step in the mission of the church. The Samaritans were part Jewish; the Ethiopian eunuch and Cornelius were Jewish proselytes. Finally the Jewish Christians that made up the early church understood Jesus’ commission to them: they were to bring the gospel message to the Gentile too. NKJ Bible.

Acts 11:15–18 (NKJV)

¹⁵ And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”

¹⁸ When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”

Acts 15:8 (NKJV)

⁸ So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He did to us,

Isaiah 42:6 (NKJV)

⁶ “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness,

And will hold Your hand;

I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people,

As a light to the Gentiles,

Open my eyes Lord. Open the eyes of my heart…I want to see You!

Sin has consequences. In Jesus our sins are covered for salvation but there are consequences that result from sin that we recognize but do not repent. He remains the same… yesterday, today and tomorrow. 

Only by Gods’ mercy and grace are we not destroyed.

Following his purchase, Jeremiah offers a prayer affirming his faith in Yahweh but expressing his doubts over the purchase due to the city’s imminent fall to the Babylonians. The prayer follows the pattern of other biblical prayers from after the exile. It opens with praise, which is followed by a historical summary highlighting Yahweh’s power to save and Israel’s choice to rebel, culminating in their present circumstance under Babylonian siege. Faithlife Bible.

The Lord’s mercy and devotion to His people was demonstrated in His extending lovingkindness, or loyal love, to thousands. The Lord’s faithful love far outweighs His punishing judgment, but the seriousness of sin is not to be overlooked. 

Each man and woman will be judged individually on the basis of his or her own actions.

The nation responded to God’s grace with disobedience and breaking of the covenant, resulting in the calamity of the Babylonian siege and the eventual destruction of Jerusalem. What Jeremiah had prophesied in the name of God, the attack of the Babylonian foe from the north and the ensuing sword, famine, and pestilence was now being fulfilled.

Jeremiah 32:16–23 (NKJV)

¹⁶ “Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: ¹⁷ ‘Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. ¹⁸ You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them—the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts. ¹⁹ You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. ²⁰ You have set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, to this day, and in Israel and among other men; and You have made Yourself a name, as it is this day. ²¹ You have brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and with great terror; ²² You have given them this land, of which You swore to their fathers to give them—“a land flowing with milk and honey.” ²³ And they came in and took possession of it, but they have not obeyed Your voice or walked in Your law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this calamity to come upon them.

Isaiah 65:6 (NKJV)

⁶ “Behold, it is written before Me:

I will not keep silence, but will repay—

Even repay into their bosom—