March 29, 2010 (Luke 12-17:10)

Jesus talked a lot about money in these chapters, and about how it 'wars' against our relationship with Him. He also spoke a lot about discipleship and what that entails. Here are some of His teachings:

^{Luke 12:21} “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

²⁹ “And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things. ³⁰ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers all over the world, but your Father already knows your needs. ³¹ He will give you all you need from day to day if you make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.

³² “So don’t be afraid, little flock. For it gives your Father great happiness to give you the Kingdom.

³³ “Sell your possessions and give to those in need. This will store up treasure for you in heaven! And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it. ³⁴ Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

³⁵ “Be dressed for service and well prepared, ³⁶ as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. ³⁷ There will be special favor for those who are ready and waiting for his return. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! ³⁸ He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, there will be special favor for his servants who are ready."

⁴⁷ “And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished. ⁴⁸ But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required."

⁵⁴ Then Jesus turned to the crowd and said, “When you see clouds beginning to form in the west, you say, ‘Here comes a shower.’ And you are right. ⁵⁵ When the south wind blows, you say, ‘Today will be a scorcher.’ And it is. ⁵⁶ You fools! You know how to interpret the weather signs of the earth and sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the present times.

^{Luke 14:25} A large crowd was following Jesus. He turned around and said to them, ²⁶ “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by comparison—your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple. ²⁷ And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.

³³ So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything for me.

^{Luke 16:10} “If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. ¹¹ And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven? ¹² And if you are not faithful with other people’s things, why should you be trusted with things of your own?

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 both God and money.”

¹⁴ The Pharisees, who dearly loved their money, heard all this and scoffed at him. ¹⁵ Then he said to them, “You like to appear righteous in public, but God knows your hearts. What this world honors is detestable in the sight of God.

^{Luke 17:5} The apostles said to the Lord, “Show us how to increase our faith.”

⁶ The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it would obey you!

⁷ “When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? ⁸ No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ ⁹ And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. ¹⁰ In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’”

I think Jesus is trying to get the people's attention regarding their priorities. He wants us to be faithful with what He has entrusted to us. He wants 'the Kingdom of God' to be our primary concern. He wants us to deny ourselves, our desires for worldly pleasures and seek Him and His kingdom. He wants us to be living each day as if He could return at any moment. I remember a few days ago, the story was God speaking from heaven and saying to listen to His Son. And Jesus Himself said in Luke 14:35b..."Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand". We are accountible for what we know....for what He has shown us. In some ways it's easier to just go 'our merry way' and not read or listen to His words. As I typed that, it's actually easier in ALL ways, not just SOME ways, to live like that. Maybe that is why Jesus said somewhere else that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God. Following God 'costs' us, but the rewards are eternal and not temporal.