Luke 16, 17
In today's reading we see Jesus address the topic of money. In chapter 16 he declares, "You cannot serve both God and Money" (vs. 13). He was well aware of the fact that at times, the Pharisees were not truly serving God, but rather money. Christ confronts them by pointing out that despite how good they might attempt to make themselves look on the outside, "God knows your hearts " (vs. 15). You see, this is what God is most concerned about, our heart. Do our hearts long for money and materialistic things more then the presence of God? Do we spend more time reviewing our finances than we do studying the truth of God's word, praying to Him or serving others? These are some important questions that we need to ask ourselves from time to time for, "What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight" (vs.15). He knows the attitude of our hearts every second of every day of our entire life (Psalm 139; 1 Sam. 16:7; 2 Chron. 16:9).
PrayerPoint:
Thank God that He is Just and a lover of justice.
ActionPoint:
Get alone in a quiet place. Ask the Lord to search your heart. Ask Him if you are spending more of your life in serving money or Him. Wait in silence. Listen to what He speaks into your soul. Respond to Him as an act of obedience.
1/10 - Luke 18, 19, 1/11 - Luke 20, 21, 1/12 - Luke 22, 1/13 - Luke 23, 24, 1/14 - Acts 1, 2
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If Only
If Only – have you ever had a bad case of the “if only’s”. Thinking “if only I had this or if only I could do this” all things would be able to achieve something you desire or felt unable to accomplish due to limitations. In chapter 17 of Luke, I think the apostles had a bad case of the “if only’s”. “Increase our faith”, they asked. I think they felt that they were unable to live up to Jesus’ standards regarding forgiveness and thought if only they had more faith then they would be able to do what was asked of them.
Don’t you just love Jesus’ response, “if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘be uprooted and plated in the sea’, and it will obey you.”
I think Jesus was saying its not the quantity of our faith, but the quality of our faith. Is your faith living and growing in the one we are to have faith in? It is important that we have faith in God who has no limitations, who is all powerful, and through him all things are possible. We must believe that God is who He says He is. In Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” It is through God that we are able, not in our power.
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