Luke 11:23

N Luke11:23,Jesus says,”Whoever is not with me is against me,& whoever does not gather with me scatters.”If my life is not “with” Jesus,then He says that I am against Him.The way I speak,act,think,etc., if these things are not the ways that Jesus teaches me to speak,act,think...,then there are parts of my life that are at the very least not supporting what Jesus is desiring to do in my life,nor in the lives of people that I come into contact with every moment of my day.Jesus actually says that when my life is not following Him,my life is “against Him”!Jesus next is saying that if I am not responsive to His work in and around me,that I am actually “scattering” what He desires to do n and around me! (A definition of Gather is: to bring together; to pick up or amass as if by harvesting; to serve as an attraction for; to summon up courage;to gain by gradual increase; to prepare (oneself) by mustering strength;to gain or regain control of wits;to reach a conclusion often intuitively from hints or through inferences;
;to draw about or close to something;to come together in a body).If I am not “gathering with Jesus”-seeking to learn His Ways and then assimilate them into my life regularly-then my life is not being used by The Lord for His purposes,but quite the contrary is happening!My life is not helping Kingdom causes at all,but instead...my life is a source of confusion and scattering to not only myself,but to those around me!I can be disciplined in my daily devotional time w The Lord,and still be “against Him” if I am not taking to heart what The Lord is revealing to me during the time I spend w Him!Additionally,if I am not “gathering” what The Lord is teaching me/showing me/doing around me...,for the purpose of making these things a part of my life,then I am “scattering” what The Lord is doing in my life and around my life....,just as a wind scatters what is not gathered and stored.I need to look for what God speaks into my life&heart about,& then gather/capture these things so they r not “scattered” from my life,but “gathered” for the purposes that The Lord is active with in my life and around my life.No wonder at many times it seems that Jesus is far away;if I am not seeking Him and then gathering what He is saying and doing,then I am allowing  His speaking to me and what He is showing me to be scattered away by the other stuff of life...that contend for my heart/mind/life/spirit.Dear Jesus,forgive me for many times JUST reading...,and JUST praying,without being deliberate about taking to heart what YOU are saying and doing!Dear Lord,be my helper n understanding and taking to heart these things.And then lead me to be a “gatherer” of these things for how You would PURPOSE them for me,and for how I live n the minutes and hours of my days.

Luke 9:23

IF! IF,we r to be true seekers of Christ,we will be denying our sinful passions&desires everyday AND seeking to know&follow Him every day!If we r continually “hit&miss” in our seeking Christ and following Christ..then we will find ourselves frustrated and empty,and with no joy&no eternal purpose, instead of knowing the peace/joy and fulfillment that Christ lived/suffered/died/rose/ascended for us to have!At the core of our lives we have foundational NEEDS,that every human is born with! These r only fulfilled through the Author&Creator of all life!Satan knows this,oh so well!Satan will leverage every tactic in his arsenal to move us further and further away from God’s Truths & Promises that God only knows and desires for our lives - peace/joy/hope/purpose/fulfillment in the midst of our daily life and it’s struggles.IF I am drifting from these promises,then my sincerity in denying/turning from my ways,& seeking to know and follow HIS WAYS is not the “daily” occurrence that Jesus is telling me I NEED...for my own good!Sure,I may be “having my quiet time”...,BUT IF I am not committed to earnestly seeking to know what God wants to talk w me about through His Word...,then I am “halfhearted” & not “all in”.Jesus words in these verses are communicating the significance of an “all in” life!This “all in” is only “all in” IF we r also committed to assimilating what God talks with us about into our lives,and we FOLLOW Christ!We must turn from our own ideas/desires and seek to know God’s Thoughts/Ways for us.& then we must commit to making God’s Thoughts&Ways our thoughts&ways for the day....every day!A less than every day commitment will more quickly expose our hearts/lives/minds to the selfish thoughts&ways that Satan will tempt us with...&ultimately a drift away from The Lord occurs n our life.A drift so slow, that just like a frog placed n a comfortable pot of water will not realize the slow coming threat of boil as his environment is slowly “drifted away” from a healthy environment to one that kills him as the heat is slowly turned on & up.This is what Satan is always strategizing for our lives!This is also why n Luke9:23 Jesus is saying.”If anyone would come after me,let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.For whoever would save his life will lose it,but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”Jesus tells us this for our own good!HE is not being selfish nor demanding! HIS love for us is compelling HIM to be direct with us about this LIFE TRUTH!Dear Lord Jesus,thank you for being direct and not mincing words n these verses of Luke! I have a natural tendency to drift,that you warn me of.Please heighten my awareness of this drift n my life,and lead me&help me to b deliberate n seeking to know You/Your Ways/Your Thoughts every day and throughout every day!And by Your Spirit lead me and guide me and empower me to walk and live as You lead...so I have an “all in” life.

Luke 7:36-50

When we think that The Lord does not hear what we say or think,& that He is being silent,we should look to “life lessons” that The Lord May b speaking/teaching through.N Luke7:36-50,a Pharisee asks Jesus to come for dinner.A prostitute that had heard Jesus preach(&had decided to repent & follow Jesus) enters the Pharisee’s house.For her to b able to barge into the house,she must’ve been well known to the Pharisee...a frequent guest.Might very well b that the Pharisee was a regular client of hers.For whatever reason,she was more than a casual acquaintance of the Pharisee.She enters the house carrying an alabaster jar filled w an extremely expensive oil.I can personally attest to the value of essential oils,which this woman brought a jar filled with.My wife purchases essential oils n less than an ounce tiny bottles, because of their beneficial properties for people w illnesses.Some of these tiny bottles can cost as much as $70.Imagine what an entire jar filled w these oils would cost!This woman has had her life so significantly impacted by the Gospel of Christ,that she unashamedly enters the Pharisee’s house(knowing fully what people’s preconceived notions were about her)with uncontrollable weeping because of her deep&wide appreciation for Jesus & what His Mercies&Graces had done for her!She had become a living testimony of the Power of The Gospel of Christ & Who He is...what He is capable of doing in the lives of those that turn away from their old life & turn to Him!The Pharisee doesn’t speak his discontent about this woman nor what she does w a whole jar of extremely valuable oil...,but the words r n his mind!Jesus addresses the Pharisee’s questions/thoughts by pointing to a “life lesson”.When Jesus says,”Do you see this woman...”,He is encouraging this man to open his eyes & ears to what life lessons r before his very eyes& ears!Jesus is showing this man that,”a picture is worth a thousand words,& a video is worth a million pictures”!Jesus is “doing better” than just answering w words....He is using this woman’s life to more effectively “speak into” this man’s questions/thoughts!Jesus is using life lessons to speak!When we have questions that may even b confined to silent thoughts,we need to b paying attention to whatever life lessons may b n our own lives!God knows our nature being one of,”oh yeah,show me”!SO,He constantly uses “LIFE” to give us life lessons,just as Jesus did w this Pharisee.This is a “2-way” lesson for those that belong to Christ!First lesson for us is the same as for this Pharisee- look for life lessons!Second is-is my life such a reflection of what Christ has done for me,that my life can b used as a life lesson for others....,as this woman’s life was!?Dear Lord...please turn my attention to life around me...to b aware of where You r answering my questions & thoughts w life lessons!Lord Jesus,I ask for Your Word&Spirit to work n my life the changes necessary so that my life may become a life lesson for others, just like this woman at the Pharisee’s house!

Luke 6:27-36

Whether we acknowledge it or not,we r eternal beings!Whether we live like it or not,this life on earth that we live now is NOT all there is! There is MORE! MUCH MORE!Among other things that Jesus is talking about n Luke6:27-36,Jesus is calling us to living like we ARE ETERNAL!When we think about how we live,how we love,how we react to those around us,how we “invest” our lives & our resources....,we typically consider “what r the dividends for me” based on a perspective of our life in the here and now & our future life as we live out our days on earth.This paradigm will cause us to live n ways that r counter to what Jesus is calling us to n these verses,and ultimately take us away from what Jesus says n vs35,”But love ur enemies,& do good,& lend expecting nothing n return,& ur reward will b great,& u will b sons(&daughters)of the Most High,4 He is kind 2 the ungrateful & the evil.”4 each individual these Words of Jesus have specific purpose & meaning that address how The Lord is making us new from the inside.HE is changing those who belong to Him...from worldly people into His sons&daughters that realize the significance of being ETERNAL & knowing that HE is GOD/HE is our Father n Heaven!If we r going to live like Jesus is describing n these verses...,then we must have an ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE/PARADIGM for the way we live.If not,we may do these things that Jesus is calling us to...but w a begrudging attitude/heart about doing them...and the impact on our life is ultimately an embedded bitterness or even worse pride/self righteousness that begins to grow n us.N verse 34b-35 when Jesus says “for HE(The Lord)is kind2 the ungrateful & the evil.B merciful,even as ur Father is merciful.”,Jesus is giving us a perspective adjustment of sorts!We ourselves were once consider the ungrateful&evil...,only cleansed from these things by the Blood of Jesus when we turn to Him and away from our previous ways.SO!We r 2 b humbled by what Jesus says here,as well as dependent on His Mercies!We have no room for any pride nor arrogance!In fact we should realize the utter TRUTH of our dependence on The Lord 4 EVERYTHING!This is the PERSPECTIVE that Jesus is calling us to...that not only acknowledges our ETERNALITY,but indeed changes every one of our paradigms of thinking&living!Compelling us to live&love like Jesus!Only when we let go of our earthly/worldly paradigms of living,& live like we r ETERNAL & like we r DEPENDENT on The Lord for absolutely everything...only when these changes constantly occur n our hearts/minds/lives...r we truly “living like” we r His sons&daughters.Dear Jesus,I confess that this is not the way I think/respond/live/invest...most of the time n my life.Forgive me,& change me....by the power of Your Mercies&Graces that only You possess and only You have the authority to give...so that I will live/think/respond/invest as You call me to n these verses.

Luke 4:14-30

Doubt can become an intersection in our lives that turns us away from the Love & Concern that God has for us! OR,it can become the intersection at which we choose to TRUST&FOLLOW God in spite of doubt,& we find the miraculous ways that God reveals HIS Love and Care for us! N Luke4:14-30,Jesus reveals WHO HE is to the people n Nazareth.The people mumble their doubts amongst themselves.Jesus responds by telling the people of two others that had doubts,but responded anyway to what the Lord was calling them to do!Even though these two from 1Kings&2Kings initially had serious doubts,they decided to at least “try” what the Lord was suggesting through Elijah.They did not allow their doubts to over rule what they thought “may be from the Lord”,and they had miraculous experiences w The Lord!N our lives,Satan will throw all sorts of doubts at us and into our minds/hearts about the Lord& His Ways&His Word!Especially when the Lord has something significant that He is compelling us to do w/in our spirit&heart&mind.The crowd of religious folks Jesus is responding to n these verses of Luke decide that at the intersection of doubt they are not going to allow themselves to “try” learning more about Jesus,& instead seek to stone Jesus!They do end up seeing a miracle...the miracle of Jesus walking right through their crowd and leaving them to their “doubtful ways”!Sometimes...God will bring us to “intersections of doubt” for the very reason of revealing more of Himself/His Love/His Grace/His Ways to us.At these intersections,we will either have opportunities to see God reveal Himself to us n miraculous ways,or we will let doubts win over our minds/hearts/spirits.If we choose the latter,we will be left empty of what we need the most!We need Jesus to b with us!But as the religious folks n these verses chose to let doubt win,and Jesus walked through them & away....when we choose to let doubts win we will suffer the same emptiness!AND we will miss the miraculous ways that Jesus desires to reveal Himself/His Love/His Ways to us!We have the choice of responding one way or the other!Will we trust the ways of doubts...,or will we seek to tests doubts w faith n Jesus being able to  help us through doubts with His Wisdom&Discernment leading us to what He desires to show/teach us.Dear Lord,this convicts me of how much of my life I have allowed doubts to somehow win over my heart,mind,or spirit in 1 way or another.Forgive me! And from this point on,remind me of the significance that all the intersections of doubts may have n my life...and the message You have n these verses of Luke about intersections of doubt.Then by Your Power lead me through these intersections on the path of Trusting You!