Day 80: Luke 13:18-21 (AD 29) Jesus had just ‘humiliated’ his opponents (v.17) through showing the hypocrisy of the synagogue ruler who was trying to prevent people from being healed by Jesus. It was abundantly clear to the crowd in the synagogue that Jesus was on the side of righteousness, and the religious leaders were … More Day 80: Of mustard seeds and yeast
Luke 13:10-17 (AD 29) What makes you feel ‘indignant’? What gives you the feeling of, ‘This should not be’, ‘This is an offense against what is right and good’. Not merely, ‘I’m not sure this is the best’, but ‘Yuck, no’. The OED defines it as, ‘feeling or showing anger or annoyance at what is … More Day 79: Hard-wired hatred
Luke 13:1-9 (AD 29) You are not here on a divine whimsy. You do not exist under the shrug of a creator who doesn’t care you do with your life. You are alive because God gave you breath and the opportunity to become reconciled to him. You are the fig tree of verses six through … More Day 78: Repent
Luke 12:49-59 (AD 29) “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (angels in Luke 2:14). “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division” (Jesus, in Luke 12:51); after which, Jesus went on to talk about families … More Day 77: Peace and division through Jesus
Luke 12:13-48 (AD 29) A right view of eternity is what links the three sections of today’s reading. The Rich Fool in the parable ignored God and eternity, and was only interested in pleasing himself in the here and now (v.13-21) We give in to worry when we forget the great love and care God … More Day 76: An eternal perspective
Luke 12:8-12 (AD 29) Sometimes you bump into a Bible verse or passage that stops you short and – when you take it seriously – can look kinda scary. Such as this one, which seems to refer to the possibility of God refusing to forgive a certain type of sin. That would contradict the rest … More Day 75: Blaspheming the Holy Spirit
Luke 12:1-7 (AD 29) The Bible contains a number of conundrums. Some, like today’s ‘Fear/Don’t fear’ involve living with the tension between apparently irreconcilable concepts. We need to embrace the tension between those concepts where God presents us with both, and not be tempted to throw one away in favour of the other. What do … More Day 74: Know fear but don’t be afraid
Day 73: Luke 11:33-54 According to atheism, there is no meaning, truth or purpose beyond what you decide. Therefore there is no right or wrong beyond what is agreed between consenting parties. Until the tyranny of atheistic groupthink sets in when atheism takes power in a society, therefore, atheism purports to stand for freedom. It … More Day 73: The comfort of rules
Luke 11:14-32 (AD 29) The opening of today’s passage is another example of how the enemies of Jesus tended to come at him with transparently envy-driven nonsense. This was how events unfolded: Jesus encountered a man rendered mute because he was possessed by a demon. Jesus drove out the demon; immediately the man could speak. … More Day 72: Not everyone who demands proof, wants it
Luke 11:1-13 (AD 29) Jesus’ blueprint for prayer is as well-known as it is ignored. Not that we don’t ever recite it – in fact some people think recitation of the exact words is extremely important. What tends to get ignored is that the first priority in our prayer life should be a desire, spilling … More Day 71: The priority of God’s glory
Paul T Reynolds 