Daily Digest

Jesus is teaching, inside a large group of religious people were gathered. In fact it seems that there was a larger than normal group there.

Luke records that the power of God was present to heal in a stronger than normal manner. Is this a reference to the gift of healing?

Some men had a friend on a stretcher and they wanted to see him healed. Unable to get in via the door, they go to the roof and make a hole and lower him down to Jesus. Now this is an act of desperation! It shows the great love the men had for the paralysed guy, and how strong their expectation and faith in Jesus was.

Jesus sees their faith. What did He see? He saw them carry this guy onto the roof, make a hole, and lower Him down. He sees their faith and perseverance.

Jesus, clearly realizing one assumes, that the man needs healing, and that the friends had brought him to be healed doesn’t go there. He says, “Your sins are forgiven”.

Now the expectations of the man and his friends are dashed, and Jesus has managed to insight the displeasure of the religious men. A classic lose, lose!

The religious guys claim He is blaspheming, knowing that God alone can forgive sins.

Jesus however had not created a lose lose. He knew what their response would be and used it as an object lesson to show who He was, the Son of Man. It was a question of authority, and to show that He had the authority He healed the man.

The man now gets what he came for his healing and leaves rejoicing. The crowd saw a miracle, and more, great authority, and they too praised God.

So it is clear that God’s power to heal can be ‘more present’ at some times to heal then others.

It’s clear that faith can be seen and Jesus responded to that faith.

It is clear that authority to forgive was seen as the domain of God and Jesus equated Himself with God.

I need to be more aware of when Jesus is present to heal and to ensure my faith can be seen!

These 11 verses tell us about when Jesus met His first group of disciples – a group of fisherman.

The verses that have struck me are 4 – 6.  Jesus asks Peter to go deeper and then he will definitely catch fish – even though he had been fishing all night without catching anything…  Peter isn’t keen at first as he is obviously tired, but follows Jesus request.  The outcome = nets full of fish!!

For me, there have been times when I get caught up in disappointment, distractions, sickness, the world, … things that take my eyes off Jesus.  What if at these times, I chose to “go deeper” with Jesus, to trust His voice – what if a mighty breakthrough was waiting on the other side of the disappointment?  My”net full of fish” outcome.

There are times where I need to take myself out of my comfort zone and push further into the deep with Jesus, where I can’t stand, but I can rely on HIM!  He knows the next part of my plan A & that’s the road I want to travel on – even when I can’t see what’s coming up.  Scary but exciting, giving Jesus the control!

Written by Ps. Mandy Miller

The passage in Luke 31-37 describes an intriguing account of a man who is possessed by a demon. When encountering demon possession in the bible, it is useful to bear in mind CS Lewis’s accurate analysis of our tendency to take the wrong approach when we reflect on the role that demons play in life:
‘There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They (demons) themselves are equally pleased by both errors.’

I myself have made both errors in the past, so it is helpful for me to be mindful of my beliefs regarding demons, who are very real and active in the world, without getting carried away.

The intrigue in the biblical passage for me initially is that this demon, although speaking against Jesus, is openly and publicly acknowledging him as the “Holy One of God”

On deeper reflection, it is noteworthy that this man is “in Church” despite being possessed. If you met someone whom you suspected was under demonic influence, how would you respond? Would you invite them to Church?

Do you hold a view of demons that is compatible with the bible, or do you base your beliefs on film and television?

Written by Justin Ware

What an extraordinary story.

Luke has described Jesus origins: the Son of God, announced by angels, conceived of the Holy Spirit, promised to Abraham, foretold by the prophets; and Jesus called the Son of Joseph, descended from David (and heir of his promises), but also the son of Adam, the second Adam who would put right what Adam made wrong. It’s essential that he is both. But the people of his home town can’t see how can he be the fulfilment of prophesy and the son of Joseph they think they know.

They’ve heard of his teachings and the miracles he has done in Capernaum. Jesus reads from Isaiah and tells them that the law (“year of Jubilee” from Leviticus when slaves are set free and debts cancelled) and the prophets are fulfilled in their presence. This is one of those times when the threads of God’s plans coming together in a way that sends a tingle down my spine. And yet these people think they know Jesus. They can’t see past their preconceptions that he’s just Joseph’s son.

Jesus sees into their hearts (as he often does) and sees their disbelief: they want to see proof, they want to see a miracle. They are wrong on so many levels. God is not subject to our judgement, we are subject to His. God gives blessing where He chooses, not where we demand.

They are so outraged at his suggestion that they would reject him that they not only reject him, they try to kill him: an extraordinary reaction.

So do I rush off with what I think I know and fail to hear what God is saying? Do I expect God to support my expectations, or do I change my thinking (repent) to align with his?

Written by David Cornell

What strikes me most about this passage is not the list of names, impressive or famous as some of them are.  Instead, I am struck by the last four words of this passage, “the son of God”.  All these people show a family lineage back to Adam and therefore to God, but I too am a child of God!  John 1:12-13 says, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

Because of my salvation through Jesus Christ, I am now considered “part of the family” – a child of God. How truly awesome is that!  What an inheritance!

“Thank you, Lord, that through your Son, Jesus Christ, I am your child.  Thank you, that as a father, you love me, you care for me, you encourage me, you strengthen me, you discipline me, you walk beside me and you are forever “for me”.  Praise you!”

Written By Jen Irving

John answered peoples’ questions about the coming Messiah.  John had a clear understanding of his role and the far, far superior role of Jesus.  He also warns people that their lives will come under scrutiny when Jesus comes.  John doesn’t hold back with his warnings about the way people live their lives and will ultimately be judged.  It’s important to note that people came to John with their questions about Jesus.  He did not shy away from telling the truth but boldly declared what was to happen to the point where he was jailed.

John answered peoples’ questions about Jesus.  It made me wonder if I was answering peoples’ questions about Jesus in my own life.  One step further, were people asking me questions in the first place?  John clearly had a relationship with Jesus (they were cousins) and it is out of this relationship that he gave answers to people in such a bold and direct manner.  It encourages me to know Jesus better so I can answer questions and even start conversations about Jesus.  It also suggests that some answers aren’t what people want to hear but shouldn’t be left out of the conversation because I feel uncomfortable.

God make me bold so I can warn our generation like John the Baptist warned his!

Written by Ainslie Woods

John is in the wilderness at about 26-29AD at a time of political chaos & religious barrenness. In the midst of this chaos, “the word of God came to John”. It did not come to the politically powerful, or to the religious leaders, but to John, alone in the wilderness.

The wilderness is a place of uncharted territory, and there are no maps or guides.  It is a place of barrenness and beauty; it can be in drought or have flash floods, unpredictable and irregular rain. However, in this wild and uncharted place, God spoke to John.  Some think the way of the world is a way of life that will satisfy, and remember, the world will not hesitate to impose its belief on us. Some believe to only following God’s law will make us right with God. However, our hearts will always be restless until we find rest in God. We need to make a choice to prepare the way of the Lord in our heart. When in the wilderness, we must live by faith and be aware of our total dependence on God. We cannot be self sufficient; we must rely on God alone. We must shift from self-reliance to total reliance on God. Do not despise the wilderness, it is a call to surrender everything and in the surrender is the joy of knowing we can hear His word and be assured we can depend upon God.

Written by Cathy Croft

This passage is about the prophetess, Anna.  After 7yrs of marriage, she lost her husband.  A widow of 84 years, living in the temple, praying and fasting to God.  I can only imagine she had been in the temple about 60yrs!

After Simeon, had prophesied over Jesus, Anna came up to him too.  It is not clear if Anna heard what Simeon said, but regardless, she too gave thanks to God.  And Anna spoke “about this child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem”.   The holy city of God’s chosen people.   Thereby confirming Simeon’s prophecy.  This, I believe, took a lot of boldness!

The bible calls Anna a prophetess.  She must have had may prophesies for many faithful Jews. Inspired by the Holy Spirit.

What this passage speaks to me, is how God uses women, like men to speak prophetically and serve the Lord. Certainly Anna may not have had anyone to provide for her, but her faithfulness in the Temple, loving and seeking God, was foremost to her.

Father God, please fill me with your Holy Spirit that I too, will seek you passionately, and know you have a purpose with my life, as you did with Anna.

Written by Linda Stengl

How cool Mary and Joseph were obedient and used the name God had provided to them for Jesus.  I am not a parent but I can imagine being able to choose the child’s name is something very special for parents.  But names are important – they knew that too – so they did what God asked them.

And then the concept of saying thank you to God – He knew we weren’t great at remembering to say thank you so He made it a requirement for the Jewish nation to say an official thank you at the temple for a new child.   Being grateful for your child is probably more obvious than some other things God does in our lives but we still needed to be reminded.

Saying thank you – how important it is.  Do we remember?  I know I don’t often enough. A great reminder from a fairly simple passage.

Written by Therese Manning

These first seven verses of Luke 2 tell us about the birth of Jesus – they also properly introduce us to the man who would be his earthly Father, Jospeh.  As I’ve read these few verses, I keep hearing the words “humble & wise”.  Joseph could have walked away from Mary, but instead he chose to remain with her and raise her unborn child as his own.  He chose to put aside what others would have been thinking and saying to him about Mary and the baby.  He chose to take Mary as his family, and register her as his family as part of the census. To literally stand up and be counted for what he believed in…

Would I do the same if put into a situation similar to this?  To truly put my life on the line for my faith.  To partner God, even if I couldn’t see what the outcome would be?

Written by Mandy Miller

As I read this passage I am arrested by the fact that as soon as Zechariah could speak again, he was praising God.  I wonder how I would have behaved in a similar situation?  If I had been struck dumb a year previously, what would have been the first words out of my mouth?  Would I have wanted to take the first opportunity to explain to everyone around me what had happened to me?  Would I have wanted to complain about the fact that I hadn’t been able to speak for a year or so? Would I have wanted to tell everyone the destiny of my son that had been foretold by an angelic visitation?  I wonder what my first words would have been?

Zechariah’s first words are praises towards God.  I imagine some of that is relief at being able to speak again. However, I do believe that Zechariah has had some time to think about Gabriel’s visit and about how everything that had been foretold so far had come true. I think Zechariah would have been experiencing a profound sense of awe and excitement over seeing the rest of the prophecy fulfilled in the life of his son.

“Lord, regardless of my situation, whether good or bad or indifferent, may my first words be ones of praise towards you.”

Written by Jen Irving

Mary goes to Elizabeth her cousin’s house.

Both women are pregnant, Elizabeth with John the Baptist, Mary with
Jesus.

Elizabeth, with seemingly no prior knowledge speaks to Mary telling her
of the blessing her child will be.

Her final statement “You are blessed because you believed that the Lord
would do what He said” is a statement of transforming power.  Think of
it, blessing comes as a result of obedience.  Straight forward, powerful,
principled and essential for us.

Father, help me to live a life of obedience to your Word, for then I am
in the place of blessing.

Written by Richard Botta

The story of faithful Zechariah and Elizabeth is a beautiful account of what happened in the lead up to the birth of Jesus. The account of John the Baptist’s parents gives amazing insight into the way that God can relate to children: Verse 15 says that “he will be filled with the Holy Spirit” even before he is born! What a revelation of God’s presence in the life of a child. It is my prayer that more children would know God the Holy Spirit from even before their birth.

The challenge to me in verse 20, is that Zechariah did not believe the words of the angel Gabriel, even though it is recorded that he is righteous man, and one who has lived in service as a priest. If a man of this calibre doubts such an encouraging promise, will I have the faith to believe God when he calls me?

Written by Justin Ware