Relevant Reflections to Let God's Word Back Into Your Hands and Heart
We’ve got two stories today with similarities and differences.
Both have a miracle done by Jesus. Both miracles were done to help the less fortunate (a slave and a widow’s only son).
But the differences are many. In the first story Jesus was asked for healing, the second was initiated by Jesus out of his own compassion. One was sick and one was dead. One was done with Jesus present, the other by faith alone. Continue reading “Luke 7:1-17 – Is My Faith Amazing?”
Jesus’ own words, “What you say flows from what is in your heart.” He has been talking about good and bad trees, as well as good and evil people. We have all seen a bad apple. Can we assume it came from a bad tree and all of those apples were bad? If worms have infested one, they have likely taken over.
Here in Mexico, I’ve seen my share of ugly looking fruit. That was just the outside. You have no idea how delicious the fruit is on the inside. Probably the best fruit I’ve ever eaten. You would never find “ugly” fruit like that for sale in the United States in a grocery store produce department. Sad. How many times have we given up on someone because of their appearance? We have lost an opportunity for their inner beauty to radiantly shine. Continue reading “Luke 6:43-49 – What’s in Your Heart?”
Jesus continues teaching in today’s reading. In Luke, this teaching is referred to as the “Sermon on the Plain.” Matthew’s gospel has a much longer version known as the “Sermon on the Mount.” They could very well be the same account. The teachings are certainly something everyone should hear, and Jesus would have likely taught it more than once.
Luke is also known as the “social Gospel” because of his focus on the poor and needy. While that is more the focus of Luke, you can compare it with Matthew who looks more at the spiritual side of things. Continue reading “Luke 6:37-42 – How We Treat Each Other”
Do you know who your enemies are? What is the definition of enemy anyway? That would be “a person who is actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.” So who are your enemies?
I suppose as Christians we can all agree that our enemies are people who speak out boldly against Jesus. We may not necessarily “fear” them in all cases, but there are times and places where she should be careful. Continue reading “Luke 6:27-36 – Love Your Enemy”
In this passage we are given hope and a warning, or word of caution. Nobody wants to have sorrow or misfortune, so the second part of today’s reading can be a bit frightening. The first half, however, is very uplifting.
What defines poor and what defines rich in this case? Continue reading “Luke 6:20-26 – Just Wait”
