Luke 7-9

More Luke observations! :) This time it's chapters 7-9. I'll be finishing reading Luke next week with my group and we'll move on to Acts which will take a full month (until July 22). 

Enjoy!

Soli Deo Gloria,

Meghan

Luke 7
So many rich stories packed into such a short chapter! :)

I love the story of the centurion and seeing Jesus' amazement at his faith, faith beyond any that had been in Israel. The story of the raising of the widow's son is the same, for it must have taken great faith on her part to allow herself to hope that Jesus could do what he was saying. I am encouraged by the section about John the Baptist sending some of his followers to Jesus. Despite his doubts and needing that confirmation, Jesus still said "among those born of women there is no one greater than John." And yet the next part of that astounds me: "...yet the one who is the least in the kingdom of God is greater than he." I feel like John the Baptist would be pretty high up in the kingdom and Jesus said there was none greater, so to say that there are still others who will be greater still? Wow!

I remember reading the story of the sinful woman anointing Jesus' feet sometime in the past and my eyes being opened to the historical context of the whole thing. The fact that the Pharisee, Simon, had not offered Jesus water, oil or a welcoming kiss was a huge deal. It was basically a slap in the face since these were common courtesies that would have been provided for every guest in a Jewish home at that time. It was a huge snub but provided the perfect context for Jesus to present his parable to the man and honor the woman. "But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

Luke 8
I remember someone speaking on the parable of the soils a long time ago and it has since given me a new perspective on it. So often we concentrate on what the soils mean and who they represent, etc. But very little is usually said of the farmer that scatters the seed. The farmer didn't show discretion where he spread his seed and let it fall on all sorts of ground, fertile and not. Since the seed is the word of God, the farmer represents us and how we should be sharing the Gospel with those around us. Since we cannot tell the condition of another person's heart, we should share with as many people around us as we can, scattering our seed far and wide.

Quick side note: When Jesus healed the man of the legion of demons, he was expanding his ministry to include Gentiles. The fact that they were raising pigs in the area (and historical evidence from that region) indicates that the town was a Gentile town.

The woman with the issue of bleeding risked her very life to touch Jesus. She was considered unclean due to her bleeding and when Jesus publicly proclaimed that someone had touched him and asked who it was, admitting to the act placed the woman's life in danger. People who were unclean weren't supposed to even be allowed inside city limits. She risked everything for her faith and hope for a miracle. How much of myself do I forfeit just to reach out to Jesus in faith? Truthfully, not nearly enough.

Luke 9
There is a strange interlude in Luke 9 about Herod where, at the end, it says that Herod went to try and see Jesus. Nothing more is said of the matter as we move back to the disciples. I had a cross-reference note in my Bible to see Luke 23:8 so I *gasp* flipped ahead ;) It simply reiterates that Herod had been wanting to see Jesus for some time (I'll leave the rest for later). In the interim, I wonder how Herod made attempts to see Jesus. It's most curious (at least to me) :)

As for the disciples being sent out, I find their short-term memory glitch at the beginning to mirror my own sometimes. Here they had just reported to Jesus all they had done in preaching, healing and performing miracles everywhere and then can't seem to grasp that another miracle might be in order to feed the crowds or that they have the power to perform such a miracle. 

Several times in this chapter we are reminded of the high cost of following Jesus. He mentions taking up our cross, denying ourselves, losing our lives for/in Him, and leaving everything behind and not looking back. While following may have a high cost, the reward of knowing Christ is greater still. :)

Luke 4-6

Hi all! :)

Continuing to catch you up on my readings in Luke. Today I'm posting Chapters 4-6. I hope you enjoy!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan

Luke 4
I don't think I'd ever noticed before that Luke does not chronicle the first calling of the disciples before telling stories that involve them (e.g. Simon Peter's mother-in-law). He simply assumes you already know who they are and that they exist. Also, I noted that while the devil left Jesus after tempting him in the desert, he would not be leave Jesus alone forever. Verse 13 says he left him "until an opportune time." Since we don't really see such a vivid description of their sparring later in the Gospels, I wonder when he returned to try and tempt Jesus again. With each temptation, Jesus rebuked the devil with Scripture, even when the devil attempted to twist Scripture to his designs. I think this sets a great example for us of how we should be prepared to withstand the devil's attack. God's Word should be deeply embedded in our hearts and minds that we can recall what He desires of us in each situation.


Luke 5
Previously, we read that tax collectors were among some of John the Baptist's disciples. Part of me wonders if Levi/Matthew was one of those. His response to Christ's calling of immediately leaving his position and following Jesus suggests to me that he might have heard some of John's teaching or even been present at Jesus' baptism. I'm also reminded in this chapter of how our personal faith can affect those around us. The paralytic man that was lowered through the roof was not healed because of his own faith, but his friends' faith (vs. 20 "When Jesus saw their faith..."). How we live out our faith is a beacon to others.
Pastor Mark mentioned this in his sermon, but I'll mention it anyway :) I was reminded of the importance of prayer when I saw verse 16. "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." Even with everything going on around him (and it was certainly more to deal with than my life!), Jesus still sought out times and places to pray by himself. I know I need to get better about setting aside dedicated time for this!


Luke 6

I don't know if you've ever heard of Mark Driscoll, but he's a pastor out in Seattle at Mars Hill Church. He did a sermon series entitled "Religion Saves and nine other misconceptions" and one of the sermons was on Humor (the misconception being that the Bible has none). Now, whenever I read about Jesus saying to remove the plank from your own eye before removing the speck from your brother's, I always see the picture of Mark that I've attached to the e-mail [see below]. We don't always read it as being funny, but looking at the picture, I can't help but think of it as anything but a dry sense of humor meant to get the point across. If you get the chance, the sermon series is a good one :)

I think too often people separate vs. 37 and take it out of context (i.e. proof-texting). I don't know about your Bible but mine has a header break between vs. 27-36 and vs. 37-42. I wish I could remove that break. The two sections follow each other and blend so seamlessly. You cannot judge someone if you are loving them and doing good to them. You cannot condemn them if you are following Christ's commands in the previous verses either.

We also get the list of the 12 disciples now in this chapter (since I mentioned last week that Luke didn't give us much on their call to follow Jesus). And I feel like Luke gave us the CliffNotes version of the Beatitudes since Matthew gives us 9 "Blessed" statements and Luke only gives us 4 (though Matthew does omit the "woes").

"That you may know..."

Several months ago, our pastor announced a church-wide challenge to read a chapter from the Bible each day during the summer. Those who signed up were put into groups of 3-4 and sent a schedule for the readings. It looks something like this:

June 1-24:  Luke

June 25-July 22:  Acts

July 23-August 8:  Romans

August 9 - 24:  1st Corinthians

August 25 - 28:  Philippians

August 29 - September 1:  Colossians

Each day, when we're done reading a chapter, the members of the group are supposed to e-mail each other with our observations and comments on the reading for the day. It provides great accountability knowing that there are people waiting to hear from me about what I read. So I figured if e-mailing a couple of people was great for accountability, then why not post it on my blog for even more motivation to keep up with the reading. :) 

So, dear readers, I'm going to start posting my observations/comments here on the blog. While I e-mail them daily to my group, I will probably try to post them on the blog either every other day or a compilation at the end of the week. Since today is the 14th, we're already on Chapter 14 of Luke. So to catch you up, I'll try to post a few chapters at a time. Below, you'll find Chapters 1-3. I hope that someone learns something from this experience. I have been blessed greatly by being involved in this, reading the Scriptures each day, and by those around me that have sent me their observation. My prayer is that I can be a blessing to others as well.

Luke 1: 4 "...so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught."

Soli Deo Gloria,

Meghan

Luke 1

I can't even begin to imagine Elizabeth's relief and wonder at her pregnancy. In vs.25 she says "The Lord has done this for me...and taken away my disgrace among the people." [emphasis mine] In a culture where much of a woman's value was placed on her ability to have children (mostly sons), it must have been quite the shock for Elizabeth who had been barren her whole life to find that she was pregnant. I'm sure after years of pity and aloofness from her friends it was quite the celebration (as shown by gathering at his birth). I'm sure it compares to the joy felt by several friends I've known that have dealt with infertility and then found out that they were pregnant.

I'm also intrigued by the different responses of Gabriel. When Zechariah questions how his wife could be pregnant, he isn't able to talk until he declares what his son's name will be. When Mary questions how she could be pregnant, Gabriel simply answers the question and tells her about Elizabeth then leaves. What was in Zechariah's heart that garnered a "punishment" for his questioning that was not present in Mary's?

Luke 2

1) I had a little footnote in my Bible that cross-referenced vs. 23-24 with Exodus chapter 13 so I went to check it out. The consecration of the firstborn son to the Lord was a big deal because it was meant to remind them of the Lord's power. In Exodus 13:15, it is explained that this was done to remember that God struck down the firstborn sons in Egypt when Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites leave. So many of the gestures/requirements in Judaism are symbolic of what God has done for them that I'm surprised I hadn't been aware of the reason for the consecration of the firstborn.

2) The incident at the Temple is really the only glimpse we get into Jesus' childhood beyond his birth. At the end of the chapter we're told he was obedient to his parents and that he "grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." Makes me wonder what his early life was like beyond the yearly trips to Jerusalem for Passover (vs. 41). In what ways was he like every other kid and in what ways was he completely and utterly different? What was he like with his brothers/sisters? Anyway, guess that's just my curiosity :)

3) Right from the beginning, with the very first recorded words of Christ, he demonstrates what our priorities should be in life. God first, then family (though I don't advocate not telling your parents where you're going if you're 12 :)).

Luke 3

1) Genealogies always seemed a bit dry to me until I started looking for names I recognized (though that's pretty difficult in Numbers!). There are lots of neat connections you can make with other stories in the Bible from the genealogy of Christ. Ruth and Boaz, Rahab, Judah and Tamar are all hinted at in the list of names in Luke 3, along with the more recognizable names like Adam, Abraham and so forth. Several people will actually use this and Matthew's genealogy to try and prove that the Bible is not consistent since they diverge after King David (one follows King Solomon and the other his brother Nathan). However, the different ways they are set up ('father of' versus 'son of') indicates that one (Matthew's) is Joseph's line and the other (Luke's) is Mary's genealogy.

2) I loved that John was giving work advice to those that came to him from all sorts of vocations. What impressed me was that tax collectors and soldiers were some of the most reviled jobs because the things John told them not to do were so rampant (extortion, harassment, etc.). And yet John did not tell them to quit their jobs but to reform them, to follow God no matter what their situation/occupation. Makes me think about what I'm like at my job...

3) I think in the first half of this chapter, we already see God beginning to show the people that his salvation will extend to the Gentiles and the whole world. When John calls his audience out for being proud of their heritage alone ('We have Abraham as our father.'), he states that God could make children out of stones if he wanted. It is not simply a bloodline that makes you a child of God.

"Westley, what about the R.O.U.S.s?"

So I live in a busy suburb of a major metro area. If you've been following my blog the last couple of weeks, I still get a lot of visitors in my backyard despite being located near major roads in my area. However, most of those guests haven't surprised me much. They've mostly been birds and squirrels with the odd fox, all of which I expect to find everywhere, even my busy suburban apartment backyard (well, the fox surprised me a little). However, today's backyard sighting caught me off guard...

Your eyes do not deceive you...that is a groundhog. In my backyard.Seriously?

Yes, seriously. He ambled into view outside my patio door and I dove for the camera. Thankfully he moved slow enough that I could grab a bunch of photos.

He actually reminded me of a R.O.U.S from The Princess Bride ("Rodents of Unusual Size? I don't believe they exist."). And actually, it shouldn't surprise me too much. I've seen them alongside the interstate we frequently use, so why not in my own backyard? I guess I'm just so used to my regulars that this surprise guest threw me for a loop. :) But I'm glad he came and allowed me to give him an entry in my digital "guest" book. Maybe he'll be a return visitor? :) Only time will tell...

Elementary, my dear Watson!

When is the last time you had someone read a story to you? When you let the voice of a loved one carry you to a far-away (or not-so-far) place? Do you remember waiting in suspense to see what would happen only to be told it was time to sleep and that you'd have to wait?

Last Saturday, Dan and I took a walk around our local shopping center. We had a few errands to run and once they were completed, we moseyed over to the local Borders store, one of our favorite places. Upon perusing their bargain books collection, Dan found a compendium of Sherlock Holmes stories. How could I say no to that smile, classic stories and a bargain book? :) Besides, why else would you go to a book store?

While familiar with the idea of Doyle's stories, I had never actually read any of them. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that, until recently, "The Great Mouse Detective" and an episode of CSI: ("Who Shot Sherlock?" summary here) were mostly what informed my knowledge of the detective at Baker Street. Well, that and the phrase in the title of the post which pretty much everyone knows.

When we got home, I had a tomato plant that needed to be transplanted into the hanging planter so Dan came out and sat on our glider to keep me company. As I worked, he cracked open the new book and began reading the first story to me. Since then, most nights before we go to sleep, he reads to me from the stories of Sherlock Holmes. And I absolutely love it. :) There is something very soothing about listening to his voice as he reads and I love trying to figure out the Sherlock mysteries.

Like most of you, I probably hadn't had anyone read a book to me like this since I was a child. We started out reading to each other in the car to help entertain ourselves during our long car trips over the holiday season. But there's something different about getting all cozy and settling in to listen to the voice of a loved one as you wind down at the end of the day. I highly recommend it. :)

I know I'm also looking forward to doing this with our children in the future. I've already got some must-reads on that list. :) Books are such an important part of our lives and I look forward to passing on that love.

So tell me, dear readers. When was the last time you read to someone or had someone read to you? Do you remember what the book was? Did you enjoy the experience? I'd love to hear some of your own stories about reading with loved ones. :) Happy reading!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Meghan