Luke – Doors Wide Open!
A long time ago, when our children were very small, we would ask them to pray over our meal as good training to thank God for all He has given to us. One of our little ones began to pray. And she kept on praying…She would look up to see what was on the table and thank God for each item, one by one. Folks, it took a while! The food was getting cold. The ice was melting in our tea glasses while waiting on this child to wrap it up with an amen!
I think of this and smile as I remember how she would look up and around to see what needed God’s attention. I also remember that she totally skipped thanking God for the food she didn’t like.
Jesus tells a similar story of greater importance. Two men. Two completely different prayers to God.
Luke 18, New Living TranslationParable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector
9 Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: 10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
THINK ABOUT IT…
Those who come to the Table of God and demand attention drawn to themselves will be heard with disappointment, if heard at all. First of all, we should praising God, only God, for how good He is, not thanking God for how good we think we are. Yikes! This is taking self centered attitudes to yet another disgusting level! Only God is good and perfect, merciful and gracious. We are not.
Telling God, even thanking God for all the ways we are “good” sounds like a bargaining chip to ask God for what WE want and not what is best for us. “Thank you, God that I am not like others…” Thank you God that I do…” Wow!
HOLY PAUSE…
Do we pray like that? How selfish are our prayers to God the giver of Life?Do we pray knowing that He is God and we are not?
Do we pray, “Here’s what I going to do, please bless me?”
Do we look around us instead of looking inward as we rank and compare our sins to others, thinking we will be in better standing with God?
Aren’t you glad Jesus told this story so we would look IN ourselves instead of looking around His Table of mercy, grace and love?
Do we thank God for what we don’t like?
“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” says Paul to the Romans. (Romans 3:23)
Or do we know, without doubt, who God is and come to Him, our Lord, Savior and King in humility for our sins?
The publican knew He did not measure up when he looked inside himself. He didn’t even try to compare himself to others. He didn’t have to for he knew what he had done to others. He came to God asking for mercy as only God can give. He bowed to God in reverence and humility and honestly cried out, “I am a sinner”. Do we pray like the publican with honesty and humility?
These are the prays God hears with mercy and honors with grace. He justifies, says Jesus, which means He forgives as only He can. It is “just-as-if” we had never sinned when God forgives. Slate wiped clean. Wow!
Know God. Know Yourself. Be honest and humble before Him. He already knows us. Ask for forgiveness. Walk humbly with Him.“For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you. I am sinner saved only by your grace. I don’t deserve your mercy or grace but you give it when I am honest before you. Thank you for reminding me to always look in and not look around at the sins of others. Help me to look to you as I look in. Thank you for continually transforming our lives to be all you want us to be. I’m not there yet, but gaining ground by your power and love.
In Jesus Name, Amen
Our prayers to our Father are always heard. Our Father in heaven is always at work. We pray. He works. We can be sure of both of these facts of Kingdom of God thinking and living. What we do not know is what,when, where, or how God will respond. But we do know this, He will do what is best for His children. What is best for us is to grow and mature through our storms and troubles. What is best if for us to trust God and allow our faith to be built on the foundation of Jesus Christ. As James relates, 
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” (James 1, NLT)
Dear Heavenly Father, Lord and Savior,
20 One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”
The point Jesus made to his disciples was that God’s kingdom would not come with great “outward show” so that people could predict its arrival and plot its progress. 
Jesus was saying, “Don’t look for the kingdom ‘out there’ unless it is first in your own heart” (see Rom. 14:17). At the same time, He may also have been saying, “The fact that I am here in your midst is what is important, for I am the King. How can you enter the kingdom if you reject the King?” (see Luke 19:38–40). The Pharisees were preoccupied with the great events of the future but were ignoring the opportunities of the present. 
Having answered the Pharisees, Jesus then turned to His disciples to instruct them about the coming of the kingdom. He warned them not to become so obsessed with His return that they ended up doing nothing else but trying to track Him down. This is a good warning to believers who do nothing but study prophecy. Certainly we should look for His return and long to see Him come, but at the same time, we should be busy doing His work when He comes!
Even though the primary interpretation of these verses is for Israel in the end times, they do emphasize for the church the importance of being ready when Jesus returns. We must not be like Lot’s wife, whose heart was so in Sodom that she looked back in spite of the angels’ warning (Gen. 19:17, 26). 
Ten men in misery and pain because of leprosy were in exile. They must of heard that Jesus was coming their way. They stood, by law, at a distance, but close enough for Jesus to hear their cries for help. Even though they could not relate with society at large, they knew enough about Jesus to know He could help them. “Jesus, have mercy!”
Jesus only “looked at them” and told them to show themselves to the nearest Priest. Wait, what?! As they turned to walk toward the priest in faith and obedience, Jesus healed the exiles of the leprosy that had separated them from the rest of the world. According to Law, the local priest had to examine that healing. It was his job to pronounced the “unclean”, “clean” once more so people could reenter their community. 
14 He looked at them and said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy.
HOLY PAUSE
Luke’s account closes with ONE UNUSUAL MAN. 
BE THE ONE who is humbly grateful with exceeding joy and praise for the Giver of Life!
“If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. 4 Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.”
HOLY PAUSE…
“Ooh, that’s cold”, we say or feel when we are put down, left out, or kicked to the curb in thinking, saying and behaviors of those around us. When it happens in our church communities, it really takes us for surprise and breaks our hearts. Hard hearts in and out of the church setting are rough to take, tough to relate to and even harder to love.
25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’
The rich man obviously had no concept of stewardship, or he would have used part of his wealth to help Lazarus. It is a mystery why he even allowed the beggar to camp at his front door. Perhaps he thought that providing a place for the man was ministry enough, and it may be that some of his wealthy guests occasionally gave Lazarus alms. Did any of them ever recall what the Old Testament had to say about the care of the poor, such as Proverbs 14:21; 19:17; 21:13; or 28:27? 
We must pause, pray, asking God to evaluate our own hearts?
“If you cannot pay the whole payment you contracted to owe, let’s work something out.” We would talk it over until we came to agreement of another way to pay off their debt. Both of us were happy and stress was alleviated for both the client and myself. It might take longer to get the debt paid, but the big box company knew that something was better than nothing and defaulting the loan meant repossession of used goods which was a last resort due to expensive paperwork and court costs. 
3 “The manager thought to himself, ‘Now what? My boss has fired me. I don’t have the strength to dig ditches, and I’m too proud to beg. 4 Ah, I know how to ensure that I’ll have plenty of friends who will give me a home when I am fired.’
8 “The rich man had to admire the dishonest rascal for being so shrewd. And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light. 9 Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.
13 “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”
The Wall Street Journal quoted an anonymous wit who defined money as “an article which may be used as a universal passport to everywhere except heaven, and as a universal provider for everything except happiness.” The writer might have added that money is also a provoker of covetousness and competition, a wonderful servant but a terrible master. The love of money is still “a root of all kinds of evil” (1 Tim. 6:10 nkjv) and has helped fill our world with corruption and lust (1 Peter 1:4). 
This chapter emphasizes that truth: life is a stewardship, and we must use our God-given opportunities faithfully. One day we must give an account to the Lord of what we have done with all He has given to us, so we had better heed what Jesus says in this chapter about the right and wrong use of wealth. 
The lost, who knew they were wandering, came to him from all walks of life. They were sinners and knew it. But they were still drawn to Jesus who told stories to help them understand more about God. They were drawn to him because he was drawn to them, loving them like no other human had loved and cared. He stood up for them in front of the religious elite who lorded over the common people.
HOLY PAUSE…Think about it
Parable of the Lost Coin
Rejoice when we find the lighted path of God and walk on it with Him! Found!
Unlike the shepherd and the woman in the previous parables, the father did not go out to seek the son, but it was the memory of his father’s goodness that brought the boy to repentance and forgiveness (see Rom. 2:4). 
In the East, old men do not run, yet the father ran to meet his son. Why? One obvious reason was his love for him and his desire to show that love. But there is something else involved. This wayward son had brought disgrace to his family and village and, according to Deuteronomy 21:18–21, he should have been stoned to death. If the neighbors had started to stone him, they would have hit the father who was embracing him! What a picture of what Jesus did for us on the cross!
31 “Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down with his counselors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat the 20,000 soldiers marching against him? 32 And if he can’t, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of peace while the enemy is still far away. 33 So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you own.
Have you ever been invited to the home of someone you knew did not agree with you? Did you accept the invitation just out of curiosity? Was every word and action you said and did watched with slanted eyes of critical judgement? Did you feel all eyes on you, even behind your back? Did you go to the dinner hoping to show them the truth about who you are and the purpose in which you came? But you knew they probably wouldn’t listen?
14 One Sabbath day Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely. 2 There was a man there whose arms and legs were swollen. 3 Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in religious law, “Is it permitted in the law to heal people on the Sabbath day, or not?” 4 When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and healed him and sent him away. 5 Then he turned to them and said, “Which of you doesn’t work on the Sabbath? If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don’t you rush to get him out?” 6 Again they could not answer.
Jesus Teaches about Humility
12 Then he turned to his host. “When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,” he said, “don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. 13 Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. 14 Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.”
16 Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. 17 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ 18 But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ 19 Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 Another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’
SALVATION 101 – Lesson Three
