ResponsiveReiding

1 – Luke 10:38-42 (ESV) 38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

RAF: When people are hurt or angry because others do not feel the same burden for a particular ministry they do – you can be sure they have failed to choose “the good portion.” There is a time to pay attention to Christ, to His presence and teaching, and THEN a time to serve according to the burden. But to constrain another to act simply because of our own sense of urgency, while they are taking the time to hear Christ and know His Word, is to make the ministry an idol. It is to place more importance on service, than to submission to Him. Each must be had in its proper place.

(more…)

1 – Luke 9:22-26 (ESV) ²² saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” ²³ And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. ²⁵ For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? ²⁶ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

RAF: Being a disciple of Jesus, to follow Him, will unavoidably mean several things. But at the center of it all, will be rejection by those whom one would imagine to be most invested in Christ too – those who are steeped in ruling God’s people, serving God’s people, and know the Word. For He must be served and followed even above any system about Him. We must be willing to be rejected, even by the ones we know that in their own hearts and minds think themselves to be serving God in the very act of rejecting us. To love them, while losing our lives to follow Him. To be unashamed of His words, even when that means others will not understand. To lose the lives we would like to have among them, that we might walk with Him with abandon.

2 – Luke 10:1-2 (ESV) After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. ² And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

RAF: There is to be no competition in genuine Gospel ministry. We are to desire as many to be about the work as possible. We cannot reach them all ourselves. If they are preaching salvation by faith alone, through grace alone, because of Christ alone – they are fellow-laborers. May God multiply His work force in the world ten-thousand times ten-thousand fold.

3 – Luke 10:10-15 (ESV) ¹⁰ But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹² I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. ¹³ “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ¹⁵ And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades.

RAF: It is greater sin to reject the Gospel, than merely to remain in darkness and unbelief. All who hear, are responsible above those who have not heard.

4 – Luke 10:16 (ESV) ¹⁶ “The one who hears you hears me, and the one who rejects you rejects me, and the one who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

RAF: One simply cannot reject Jesus as the Christ, and have God too. They are one. To reject Jesus IS to reject God. For all our discussions about Judaism, Islam, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnessism and a hundred more – we must always come back to this absolute. For the Christian, Jesus Christ is our God. This is what men need to be confronted with. Is Jesus your God? Without that as a foundation, Christianity is merely another religious opinion, and all roads lead to Heaven. Nor, can any in these discussions deny the Holy Spirit as God, nor the Father as a person distinct from the Son and the Spirit yet the three in one, undivided Godhead. This is the mystery of true Biblical Christianity. We dare not run from it. This is the revelation of Christ in this world. A truly tirune God. Anything less is not Christianity. Anything less, is not God. Anything less, is not salvation, on any level.

5 – Luke 10:17-20 (ESV) ¹⁷ The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” ¹⁸ And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

RAF: They were amazed at seeing the demons subject to their delegated authority. Jesus tells them not to be so impressed. He has seen much higher and greater things than that – even Satan being cast down from Heaven. And yet there are some things which are to be regarded as even more wonderful than any such visions – it is the knowledge that our names are written in Heaven., This truly deserves our awe.

6 – Luke 10:22 (ESV) ²² All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

RAF: Election is a multi-faceted thing. Not only has the Father designated indivudals from all eternity to be “in Christ”, but there is a work of the Son where He personally choses and reveals the Father according to His own will. These end as one and the same. Whom the Father elected, the Son chooses and reveals the Father. While each acts independently, there is perfect oneness. All of this does not yet take into account the work of the Spirit – whose domain it is to make all these things reality in the lives of individuals. He it is who applies all of this to us – works all of this in us. Salvation is a gloriously triune accomplishment. The work of all three as one must be wrought out in their proper spheres.

7 – Luke 11:1 (ESV) Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.”

RAF: Having observed Him praying before, one wonders, does the question arise because He did not pray out loud, but silently? If they were used to hearing Him pray, it seems this question would be superfluous.

8 – Luke 11:2-4 (ESV) ² And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. ³ Give us each day our daily bread, ⁴ and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

RAF: 1. (1-4) The PRIORITIES of Prayer

a. The Father’s Glory

b. The Extension of The Father’s Rule

c. The Father’s Appropriate Provision

d. The Father’s Pardon – for Intimacy

e. The Father’s Heart – Toward others

f. The Father’s Purity

Notice first the PRIORITIES of Jesus’ prayers here. We get much insight into the mind of Christ Himself through it. It is as though He is saying, “OK, so you want to pray? Let me tell you the things that most burn in MY heart and mind in prayer.

a. The GLORY of the Father. “Father, hallowed be your name.” When the Father is most revealed, when He is in His proper place in men’s hearts and minds, mankind is at the very apex of blessing. For God can give us nothing higher than Himself. Pray that the fame of My Father’s name be restored. Nothing is of greater value to the universe.

b. The RULE of the Father. “Your kingdom come”. The source of all evil and woe, of every pain, sorrow, heartache, grief and ill is rebellion against the loving rule of God the Father. Pray He rule in the world of men through their hearts. Nothing can be better for them. Nothing is more right, more glorious, more good. May the Father extend His manifested rule everywhere and in all things at all times.

c. The perfectly appropriate PROVISION of the Father. “Give us each our daily bread.” Who knows better our need as we expend ourselves in seeking His kingdom and righteousness? Not too much lest we grow drowsy. Not too little lest we grow faint. Just right in every way. We are to look for His perfect provisions for our every need. If we have no provision for it – we don’t need it.

d. The Father’s PARDON. “and forgive us our sins.” It is against the Father we sin. And our intimacy with Him can only remain intact as we obtain His forgiveness for our often failures. How gracious He is. And how intensely He delights in our close fellowship.

e. The Father’s IMPARTATION. “for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.” Oh that we might have His own heart, to forgive as He delights to forgive us. How we need that from Him. He alone can make it so.

f. The Father’s PURITY. “And lead us not into temptation.” Holiness. Knowing, anticipating our own weaknesses, and pleading that He might grant grace to keep us in a place where His name is protected in our behavior. Casting ourselves upon Him entirely.

These are the burning priorities in the bosom of Christ Jesus. We would do well to make them our own.

1 – The one-word theme of Luke’s Gospel is: THE SON OF MAN. This title becomes Jesus’ most common way of referring to Himself in this Gospel. By it. He is constantly reminding us that He did not take on the nature of angels, but of mankind. He comes in the likeness of sinful flesh. Though no sin is in Him at all, yet He does not appear like the Adam before the Fall – whatever that glory might have looked like. He comes sharing our weaknesses, our griefs and sorrows, aches and pains. He suffers weariness, hunger, abandonment, misunderstanding, thirst, loneliness and whatever else belongs to the human condition. He is a Priest who can have compassion on us knowing the feeling of our infirmities. He did not insulate Himself from us. What a Savior!

(more…)

1 – Matthew 18:1-5 (ESV) At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them ³ and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

⁵ “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me,

RAF: Greatness in the Kingdom is not like it is here. Here, greatness revolves around giftedness, lineage, exploits and station. There, greatness is bound up in trust, humility and utter dependence. Those who in the most faith, live simply and confidently as His dear ones.

(more…)

1 – Matthew 14:13-14 (ESV) ¹³ Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

RAF: There is no question that Jesus withdraws at least in part to deal with His own personal grief. John, above all others, knew who Jesus was, and shared the most with Him. He paved the way for Him. He was His cousin, and uniquely called to his prophetic office in direct connection with Jesus. Now, John was senselessly and brutally murdered because a spineless, immoral political leader driven by impulse at the sight of a young girl acting lewdly for his illicit pleasure – didn’t even have the decency to stop himself in the face of something so heinous. So it is, upon hearing this news, Jesus withdrew. But look at how wonderful our Savior is. Withdrawing in these moments, nevertheless, refusing to shut His heart at the sight of these people. He does not let His own grief destroy His compassion for them. Still, He meets out mercy, while reeling from the blows of such wickedness. This is our Lord.

(more…)

1 – Matthew 13:3-9 (ESV) ³ And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ⁶ but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ He who has ears, let him hear.”

RAF: This is the 1st of 7 parables concerning the mysteries of the Kingdom. This one is about the mystery of PROPAGATION – How the Kingdom expands. “The sower sows the Word” (Mark 4:14) This is God’s means and method, all other schemes, programs, arrangements and allurements are human inventions without the promise of blessing. It is not about one nation rising and conquering – it is about the Word of God bringing forth its fruit. Preach the Gospel, it is the power of God unto salvation to all who believe.

(more…)

1 – Matthew 1:1 (ESV) The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

RAF: The one-word theme of Matthew is: MESSIAH-KING. Matthew writes his Gospel with this firmly in view – he desires to establish by various means, Jesus’ rightful claim to the throne of David, and His being the divine fulfillment of the Old Testament’s prophecies regarding the Jewish Messiah. One unique feature is to note how many times he appeals to something which either occurred, Jesus said, or Jesus did, “to fulfill” the Scriptures.

(more…)

1 – Micah 1:1 (ESV) The word of the Lord that came to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

RAF: The one-word theme of Micah is: WICKEDNESS. At a time of high prosperity in Judah, he exposes both their wickedness and that of Israel to the north. The underlying sins of self-idolatry (living in greed, lust, self-advancement, oppression of those less fortunate etc.) will eventually manifest themselves as full-blown idolatry in both nations. A contemporary of Isaiah, he saw the siege and destruction of Israel during his lifetime. His sense of how sin ends is personal, and sharp. However severe his warnings, like his fellow prophets, there are amazing words of hope in the God who is full of mercy and grace – the One who will send His Redeemer.

(more…)

1 – Joel 1:1 (ESV) The word of the Lord that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:

RAF: The one-word theme of Joel is: LOCUSTS. Joel is probably the earliest of the minor prophets. His ministry was to the southern kingdom of Judah, and it seems during relatively good times spiritually in the nation’s history. He makes no mention of idolatry in Judah for instance. What he does do is see a connection between a dreadful locust invasion to which he was witness. This plague, was a tremendous natural disaster, and Joel is motivated by the idea that such disasters serve to point out God’s coming judgment. Judgment not only on the heathen nations he mentions, but on Israel too. Hence, it is a call to repentance. Hidden sin will not be overlooked in the day of the Lord, either among the nations, nor His own people. The seeds of the idolatry which will erupt openly soon, are already sprouting below the surface. He is calling us to examine our hearts – and not rely on a mere external appearance of fidelity toward our God.

(more…)

1 – Ezekiel 43:25-27 (ESV) ²⁵ For seven days you shall provide daily a male goat for a sin offering; also, a bull from the herd and a ram from the flock, without blemish, shall be provided. ²⁶ Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and cleanse it, and so consecrate it. ²⁷ And when they have completed these days, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer on the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, and I will accept you, declares the Lord God.”

RAF: There is an inherent dualism in the sacrificial system that is reinforced and made quite explicit in this passage. Amidst this vision of rebuilding Jerusalem’s Temple and the restoration of its sacrifices, we see that one whole set of sacrifices is aimed at making atonement “for the altar”, to “clease it, and so consecrate it.” Such atonement here is not for the people, but for the altar. And the reason is stated explicitly: “then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer on my alter YOUR burnt offerings and YOUR peace offerings, and I will accept YOU.” (Emphases mine) There is a dimension of the sacrificial system which makes God willing to accept our offerings, and, we are to bring our offerings – in Christ. The mere making atonement for the altar is not the sum of the situation. We cannot rely only on its having been done, we now must bring our own sacrifices of worship. Nor can we bring them and have them accepted until the atonement for the altar is done. Christ must do His full work – both in propitiating the Father, and, in being the only sacrifice we may bring to be accepted. In Him alone is salvation. In Him alone, is the full work done. What a wonderful and complete Savior He is!

(more…)