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 Luke 17:1-6: The power of rebuke…and other matters.(please click for todays passage)

I knew a man who used to say that he tried to never cause offence, or take it. It seems to me that (1-3a) are essentially about the former, and (3b,4) are  broadly about the latter.

Recognise that, with your life, you have the potential to do great good or cause significant harm. Paul told Timothy to watch his LIFE and doctrine closely (emphasis mine). Choose to invest the currency of your life wisely

Many years ago I knew a Christian lady who admired another Christian man. He was a good friend and she looked up to him. But the day came when he tragically fell from his pedestal.She admitted that he almost took her down with him, in the sense that his conduct shook her faith.

There is an important role for rebuke in authentic Christian fellowship, and it will tell you a lot about a person. Watch how they respond. You will discover who is teachable and who isn’t. Where we see behaviour that isn’t right we shouldn’t just tolerate it when an honest rebuke, kindly delivered and well-received, could lead to character growth and necessary change.

‘Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him.’ The Message.

You don’t want to become the kind of person who is known for always ticking people off; the sort who somehow appears to relish it. It is much better, I feel, to come from a place where you are reticent to do it, yet willing to do so because it is right and you want to help. You don’t rebuke a brother in order to put him down, but to help lift him up – to bring about the change involved in repentance.

If the person who wrongs you repents, you have to forgive. But it takes faith to forbear with others; to be a habitually forgiving person. This may be one of faith’s greatest miracles – to keep on forgiving when you are repeatedly hurt by the same person. The disciples didn’t need more faith; it was just for them to use the faith they already possessed.

Luke 16:19-31: In touching distance of need.(click for todays passage)

Who is at your ‘gate’? What needs are in touching distance of your life and home? Do you have eyes to see them? It would have been so easy for the rich man to help Lazarus. A small contribution from his ‘table’ would have made such a difference. Having plenty can make you hard-hearted and indifferent and judgmental towards those whose lives, unlike yours, are filled with daily struggle.

Death is the great leveller. A poem often quoted by David Pawson says, ‘Death lays its icy hand on kings. Sceptre and crown must tumble down, and in the dust be equal made, with the poor crooked scythe and spade.’ Lazarus and the rich man had this in common – they were both mortal: ‘The rich man also died…’ (22). His riches could not protect him from the inevitable. Jesus’ parable shows that although the rich man was dead and buried, he was very much alive. He could look up, and see, and call and feel. He had desires and could express them. He did not like where he was. He didn’t want to be there, nor did he want those he loved to join him. That is a telling factor.

Life is short and eternity is long, and it is vital to face the question of where you will spend it. Will it be in the place of heavenly bliss or one of eternal torment? Now is the time to deal with this issue because one day it will be too late (26). The way to prepare is to heed God’s Word and repent (27-31). The rich man’s coldness of heart was evidence of an unrepentant heart. People who are right with God show it by serving the needs in front of them; they express their faith in works. The problem was not that the rich man had a lot of stuff, but that he failed to ‘see’ and serve the needy at his ‘gate’. But repentance changes all of that (1 Timothy 6:17-19). If the rich man had repented he would have lived differently. I was thinking about the man who superintended Hudson Taylor’s prayer ministry while the missionary was serving in China. He was a wealthy and able man and he used his skills and resources to play a vital part in the mission. Not only did he give generously to the work, but when Hudson and his family were back in the U.K. they had a lovely place to stay in this man’s palatial house. 

Please don’t misunderstand this story. It is not saying, ‘Be kind to the poor and you’ll get into heaven.’ It is rather a call to repentance; to turn away from being the sort of person described in (13-15), one who loves and serves money, and not God.

One other thought struck me as I wrote this morning. In this world it is the poor who are often nameless and faceless, and the rich who have the power and the fame. But in Jesus’ story it is the poor man who is named. Does that say something, I wonder, about how the values of God’s Kingdom are diametrically opposite those found in the rest of the world?

Prayer: Lord, help me to really see the needs at my gate, and do what I can to serve.

Luke 16:16-18: Unchangeable Word.(please click here for todays passage)

‘Marriage’, said the cynic, ‘is like a besieged city. All those on the inside want to get out, and all those on the outside want to get in!’

Whatever else may change in life, God’s Word remains unchanged and unchangeable. It will outlast the present universe and time itself. This truth has many applications. One such application is to marriage. Society’s sexual mores and values may change, but God’s standards do not. It’s been said, ‘For best results follow the Maker’s instructions.’ Those instructions call for life-long fidelity between a man and a woman who have covenanted to become one. God will never alter His demands,but He will help us to live by them.

Luke 15: Lost and found.(please click here for todays passage)

Some years ago we ran the ‘Contagious Christian’ course at our church. One of the most powerful moments came in the first session when Bill Hybels, the senior pastor at ‘Willow Creek’ church in Chicago, spoke about Luke 15. With great passion in his voice he emphasised that ‘lost people matter to God’. Many of us carried away a phrase from that session that will always live with us: ‘You will never lock eyes with anyone who does not matter to the Father.’

There is a common theme running through Luke 15, tying the three stories together. It is that something or someone exceedingly precious got lost, but what celebration when it (or he) is found.

Bill Hybels emphasised that lost people matter to God and it demands an all out search on the part of the church to go and find them and bring them home.

Can you feel the evangelistic pulse beating in this passage; throbbing in every line? And does it also run in your veins?

Prayer: Father God, you who seek the lost at great cost to yourself, let me share your heartbeat.

 Luke 14:25-34: Traveller or pilgrim? (please click here for todays passage)

In this passage we read that large crowds ‘were travelling with Jesus’. It is one thing to be a traveller – a spiritual tourist – and quite another to be a disciple. Discipleship demands everything.

When I was a teenager, the then leader of my denomination, Percy Brewster, came to speak to a large gathering at the church I attended in Wigan. Christians had travelled from a number of churches to hear this godly man speak. He gave an inspirational message, and then he said, ‘Please will you stand if you are willing to give your life unreservedly to Jesus.’ All over the building people stood to their feet in large numbers. ‘No, please sit down,’ said Pastor Brewster. ‘You didn’t hear me. I said stand to your feet if you are willing to give your life UNRESERVEDLY to Jesus.’ I think many people still stood up at the second opportunity, but the point had been made. Commitment to Christ should not be entered into thoughtlessly.

There is a challenge here for preachers. We must spell out the cost of discipleship. Christianity is free, but it isn’t cheap. We shouldn’t hurry people into a quick and easy decision for Christ. Give them space and time to consider what Christianity is; what it will mean for their lives; what they are getting themselves into. ‘When Jesus bids a man come and follow Him, He bids him come and die.’ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

There is a challenge here for would be followers. ‘Look before you leap.’ Count the cost. A building that is started but not finished is called a ‘folly’. Take care you are not constructing one of those.

”Simply put, if you’re not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it good-bye, you can’t be my disciple’ (33) The Message. That will get worked out in different ways in different lives, but at its heart Christianity will involve a surrendering up of everything to Jesus, and a decision that He will never take second place to anyone or anything. This kind of full-blooded commitment is world changing (34). There is nothing insipid about a genuine disciple.

 Luke 14:12-24: What’s your excuse? (please click here for todays passage)

The initial invites to the ‘great banquet’ of the Kingdom of God went to the Jewish people, but the majority missed out because of their own reasons. They had their excuses. But their rejection meant that the gospel went out into the world with the widest of embrace.

What’s your excuse?

What’s your excuse for avoiding Jesus? Maybe you know something about Him. Possibly you are impressed by Him and attracted to Him, but you still haven’t surrendered your life to Him. If not, why not? Is it just that you think you’ve got something better to do at the moment, and one day you will give Him the time of day?For many people that ‘one day’ keeps getting pushed back, and it never comes. In Jesus’ parable the excuses made were feeble and ridiculous. So are ours.

It may also be that for some Christian reading this, that you are currently content to fly at a low altitude spiritually. One day you will be a stronger disciple; at some indefinite point in the future you will have the walk with God you know to be possible for you. You will give up that favourite besetting sin. But for now you have your excuses for mediocrity.

What’s YOUR excuse? Realise that it stands between you and really good things God wants to give you. He is not out to ruin your life. He invites you to the best party ever.

 Luke 14:12-14: Exchanging hospitality?(please click for todays passage)

A number of years ago I came across the notion of ‘exchanging hospitality’. I heard the expression in church, and it jarred with my spirit then, and it still irritates today. Something about it doesn’t ‘smell’ right.Would Jesus have put His Name to the exchange of meals? Do you still think so after reading today’s passage. Hospitality is something to be freely given with no expectation of getting back. It is one way to show the love and kindness of our Lord and Saviour, and I believe we should especially look out for those who are unlikely or unable to invite back. Get those sort of people around your table and you’ll find that Jesus is right there with you.