Luke 17:6-10

N Luke17:6-10,when the apostles asked Jesus to teach them how to increase their faith,he gives a 2 part answer.The first part of the answer,Jesus tells us about the power & authority of the FATIH He desires us to have.The second part of his answer tells us where THE Power & Authority of this FAITH come from.Without my synching up with the second part of Jesus’ answer,I will not have the power&authority/FAITH n my life that Jesus n essence says I should have.N the 2nd part of Jesus’ answer he reminds us of Who He is,and that whatever “authentically good” we may “accomplish/achieve” is because of our doing what we r suppose to do/our duty!(vs10b,”We r unworthy servants,we have only done what was our duty”).This means that we trust our Master/Lord enough that we listen to what He has to say/instruct,& then we honor Him/trust Him by following His Words&Instructions as we go about our day.Doing this means that we will be going out into our days under/with the Power&Authority that our Lord grants us as we follow His Word&Instruction n our life.We will know what our Lord is saying/instructing,and when we go about our day we will then know what&how we should pray;what we should do;and that we have His Power&His Authority empowering&enabling what we r called to do during our days!These r the characteristics of The FAITH that Jesus is teaching us!The humility that is also described n these verses is imperative!This humility comes with the “reward” of seeing miraculous things happen n our lives & through our lives(vs5-6,”If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed,u would say to this mulberry tree,’Be uprooted & planted n the sea,’& it would obey you.”).When we realize the significance of having a Holy&Righteous Lord;a Lord that loves us w the greatest of all loves;a Lord that desires for us to see/realize miraculous things n and through our lives...then our Trust/Faith n Him(His Word/His Instruction)will “increase” as the apostles are asking for n Luke17:5(“The apostles said to the Lord,’increase our faith’”).Dear Lord Jesus,may my desire b the same as the apostles n verse15,& may I have a heart/life that have the characteristics of The FAITH that can only b founded n trusting/following YOU/YOUR WORD/YOUR SPIRIT/YOUR MERCY/YOUR GRACE.

Luke 16:31

N Luke16:31,Jesus says something that is critical to my knowing&revering God for WHO HE is;for WHAT HE HAS DONE;for the MERCIES&GRACES HE alone offers;for HIS PROMISES;etc.!(He(Jesus)said to him,’If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets,neither will they b convinced if someone is raised from the dead.’”).Jesus says that unless I seek to know & believe what Moses & the Prophets say about HIM, I will not fully be convinced of the MAJESTY & POWER & MERCY & GRACE of Christ!In fact,Jesus says that without seeking to know and then believe the PROOFS that Moses and the Prophets record about GOD/HIS CHARACTER/HIS HANDIWORK/HIS MERCY/HIS PROMISES,etc..,without “hearing” what Moses and the Prophets say,my life will not be lived as one CONVINCED that Jesus is ALL that HE IS!In essence,Jesus is saying that there is much more to HIM than being raised from the dead! As HUGE as that is,there is much more...that we can only discover when we seek to know what Moses and the Prophets tell us about HIM/HIS WAYS/HIS LOVE/HIS MERCY&GRACE/HIS PROMISES,etc.Absolutely,when Jesus rose from the grave he conquered sin&death for those that receive HIS Gift of Mercy!But,there is so very much more about HIM,and so very much more that HE desires for us to have....so much more that will CONVINCE us that HE IS GOD...THE GOD,that is infinite in all HOLY&RIGHTEOUS WAYS,& in all POWER&ABILITIES!Only when we begin to know and trust these “additional things” about HIM will our lives begin to b CONVINCED in the ways that Jesus is saying will save us,and bless us with all that HE desires for us.The only way to truly have an AWE of GOD & HIS GOODNESS is to know the treasures GOD reveals about HIMSELF through what Moses & the Prophets record n Genesis through Malachi!Dear Jesus,take me through Your Word n these places that YOU reveal so much more about WHO YOU are/The WONDERS of YOU,and may YOUR Spirit help me to understand &appreciate the TRUTHS about WHO YOU are/The WONDERS of YOU in ways that my heart/mind/spirit r “convinced” as YOU say I need 2 be

Luke 13:18-19

N Luke13:18-19,Jesus tells his followers what lives that r truly His followers will b like when He says,”What is the kingdom of God like?And to what shall I compare it?It is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took &sowed in his garden,& it grew up & became a tree,& the birds of the air made nests n it’s branches.”Our lives r gardens that become what we receive & sow into our lives.We will also need to remove weeds that threaten to overrun what “good” we have growing,& water/feed the “good” so it does not whither away...,and/or choked out by weeds!N this parable,Jesus is telling us what our life should look like if we have the Kingdom of God “sowed into” our life.Everyone’s life is a garden!& all gardens will have stuff growing n them,but those that have sowed the Kingdom of God into their lives & removed the weeds so the tiniest of all seeds(the mustard seed)can not only take root but grow&mature as it is watered & fed the right food;these lives will have the largest/strongest of all plants,grow n their lives!(Matthew13:32.32,”Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree).&this tree becomes the “gathering place” for birds looking for a secure place to perch/nest(seek “secure/sure/true answers to life’s most challenging questions).So,what Jesus is saying here begs us to ask the question,”is my life becoming a place where those around me r coming w some of life’s most challenging questions/fears/concerns,etc.?& if yes,do I know the security of God’s Word&Spirit,& His Grace&Mercy in my life...,so that I am a true mustard tree,or am I a “lesser plant” that has become a “perch” of false security&untrustworthy answers to challenging questions?We will b one or the other!We must know which one we r!That is why Jesus gives us this parable,& why it is n all 4 Gospels!Dear Lord Jesus,I praise You and Thank You for the gentle Ways that You give me HUGELY IMPORTANT lessons about life!Especially life lived n the midst of Your Grace&Mercy,& Your Wisdom&Discernment!Please help me 2 b aware of what is growing n the garden of my life..where I need 2 weed;where & how I need 2 water;where & how I need 2 feed.& guide me 2 Your Seed,& let that b the only seed sown into my life.May my life become a place where Your Seed has grown into Your Strength&Protection n my life,& becomes a place where others may come to find the same.

Luke 12:35-37a

Because Jesus loves us so very much,The Bible overflows with lessons,instruction,wisdom,discernment,encouragement,and warnings!N Luke 12:35-37a,Jesus gives a Huge Plea that is a combination of encouragement & warning,when He says-“Stay dressed for action,&keep your lamps burning,&be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast,so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes & knocks.Blessed r those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.”There are multiple perspectives that Jesus is preparing us for! One is for the time that He rises up from His Throne at THE FATHER’S side to return to the Earth in all His Glory.There is another perspective on this for our every day life!Jesus comes to us through His Spirit all the time.Jesus is saying that unless we “stay dressed for action,&be....waiting” so that we can open the door of our heart/life for Him when He knocks,we may not only miss experiencing His Presence in our life,but we may very well miss an opportunity to be blessed beyond measure by having Him call us into some kind of service for The Kingdom!If we r not dressed for action/PREPARED,we will probably miss whatever it is that He is knocking on our hearts/lives for!Whether it be to show/teach us something personally,or to do something through us!BOTH are ginormous BLESSINGS that we most certainly do NOT want to miss!BOTH have the effect on us personally of having our faith n Christ grown/strengthened,and our personal relationship w Christ become deeper...and our TRUST n Christ becomes more significant n our life!We also have more of our “Reality” impacted by THE REALITIES of The Triune God/His Glory/His Righteousness/His Grace/His Mercy& HIS Word!In fact,our “Reality” needs to be always impacted/changed by THE REALITIES mentioned above.If not,our faith n Christ & our dependence on Christ will wane,as we become increasingly distant from knowing THE REALITIES above n our life,& we will seldom have the JOY of knowing His Presence n our life.We will also wonder why others have many stories to tell of how The Lord used them...& we seldom do.Dear Lord,awake me every day w this reminder to “get dressed/PREPARED & to keep The Lamp of Your Word&Spirit lit n my heart/life.Show me/teach me how to do this everyday.Even though I may start the day dressed&lit the right way,daily “stuff” tends to change the way I dressed n the morning,and even blow out the flame of Your Word&Spirit n my life/heart.Forgive me for allowing this to happen,& by Your Mercies&Graces...let it not b today!May the power of Your Spirit keep me dressed&lit rightly throughout my day.

Luke 12:1

Jesus gives us all the warnings about how the enemy will creep into  our lives in an effort to plant an infection that attacks the Holiness&Righteousness of Christ that was imparted to those that seek to know&follow Christ.These infections r also the very ones that Satan will use to sway others from acknowledging the Truths revealed through Christ and His Words!N Luke12:1,Jesus says,”...Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees,which is hypocrisy.”(A definition of hypocrisy is: the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense).N the words of Jesus above,He is warning us that any form of hypocrisy can b like leaven/yeast n bread!When making bread it only takes very little leaven/yeast to “infect” the entire bread mixture w the EFFECT of the leaven/yeast.Very little is used to make the bread rise!Jesus says that HYPOCRISY is so dangerous to our lives,n the way that with only a little bit of it...our entire lives can become infected by it’s presence n our lives.Jesus pleads with us 2 b aware of it.Any time that HYPOCRISY of any kind is a part of my life,Jesus says “BEWARE”!It is infectious!And ultimately effects the whole of my being in some way!Even more of a direct analogy w the action of leaven/yeast - hypocrisy puffs me up!It raises up arrogance n me!(Arrogance = an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions;offensive display of superiority or self-importance; overbearing pride).And arrogance&pride separates us from The Lord(Proverbs16:5,”Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.”Proverbs18:12.”Before destruction a man's heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.”).As one who claims to b a follower of Christ,HYPOCRISY is creeping into my life whenever I act,talk,or even begin to think along ways that do not line up with what Christ teaches!Because at these times I am CLAIMING TO BE ONE THING,& actually BEING something very different!This is the HYPOCRISY that Jesus says is like leaven/yeast...that only takes a little to be dangerous for my life/heart/mind!Might b that this was on Paul’s heart/mind when he wrote n 2Corinthians10:5,”We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”This HYPOCRISY is devastating,not only to myself,but it destroys whatever witness I am when I have claimed to b a follower of Christ!My life n HYPOCRISY will confuse and mislead those around me!We can see why Jesus is so concerned about this in our lives! Satan uses HYPOCRISY to bring harm to ourselves,as well as those around us!And Satan is a “Master Baker” when it comes to how he will introduce this yeast into our lives,& how he will use it through our lives to harm those around us!Dear Jesus,I am soooooo guilty of this hypocrisy in my heart/mind/life.Forgive me!And please,through Your Power,make me know when this is going on....and turn me from it quickly,so I may demolish the arguments and pretensions that set themselves up against You...&b obedient to Your Heart&Ways n my life.