January 24 | Luke 4:16-30

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DAILY READING

Luke 4:16-30

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REFLECTION

How Things Change

by Dave Thompson 

It is amazing how people changed their thinking about Jesus depending on the things He said, the day of the week (especially the Sabbath) or what He did. In the beginning of this passage we find Jesus in the tabernacle in Nazareth. He was a young man and He took a turn at reading from the scroll of Isaiah. What He read could have brought wrath on Him from the Pharisees, but the text reads as follows:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus said all of this and the text tells us that everyone was very happy with Him. He read and said things well. However, a few verses later He stated a few more things negatively about those listening and before you know it, He was in a conflict with them. So much did they not appreciate what was said, but the passage ends (vs. 28-30) with the following reaction from the crowd:

"All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way."

How quickly they went from approval and acceptance to wanting to kill Him. How do we react when we are confronted by God's truth? Do we change our prospective or do we rebel? Many churches have turned on pastors because the pastor was given words to say that made the congregation uncomfortable. I pray that we are teachable and allow our leaders and our denomination to lead us when controversial issues arise.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, help us to be teachable and flexible to the hearing of new teaching or decisions from our leadership. It is so easy to get upset and perhaps even leave the church over these kinds of things. I pray that we would not be like the hearers of Jesus' words in today's text that went from being impressed and happy to being so upset that they wanted to completely do away with Him. Give us a heart for Your Words either from the Bible or from our leadership. Amen.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

DAVE THOMPSON

I am the administrator of the Daily Worship Blog. My wife, Carla, and I have been attending UALC for seven years at the 9 o'clock service at Mill Run. We have two children, Catherine and Aaron. I have been a Christian for 53 years and am thankful that my Savior has given me two spiritual gifts that have carried me both spiritually and vocationally all my life: they are teaching and administration. I look forward to spending many years here at UALC to serve my Lord and Savior.

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JANUARY 23 | LUKE 4:1-15

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DAILY READING

Luke 4:1-15

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REFLECTION

TEMPTATION VS HOLY SPIRIT

“Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Holy Spirit in the wilderness…Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power.” Luke 4:1,14 (NLT)

We now see a few mountain-top moments in Jesus' life. The familiar story of Jesus staying behind in the temple, spending time in His Father’s house. And years later, the encounter with His cousin, John the Baptist who proclaimed, “I baptize you with water; but someone is coming soon who is greater than I am…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Luke 3:16 (NLT)

Today our text’s focus is on Jesus’ temptation by Satan. I admit, I have only glossed over this story in the past. Maybe because I struggled to draw a parallel between Jesus’ temptation and my own. In my mind I know I dismissed this story because I couldn’t justify that Jesus could be tempted, really tempted. Arrogant, right? So, once again, knowing that Jesus never did anything without a reason and a lesson, it is necessary for us to dig into this story.

Below are a few (not in any particular order) lessons from this text.

· Jesus quoted Scripture to Satan to show how important it is for us to know the Bible. We need to do as Jesus did when temptation comes our way. When we know God’s word, we can throw it into Satan’s face.

· Jesus prepared for battle, he fasted and prayed before he went to war. He prepared for this season of temptation during the 40 days in the wilderness.

· We must rely on the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus did. “He was led by the Spirit in the wilderness.” (v.1)

· We also need the Holy Spirit to resist the powers of darkness. As Paul said in Romans 7:21: “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.” (NLT) We need the Holy Spirit so we can recognize Satan as he prowls around looking for someone to devour. (1Peter 5:8) Remember, he masquerades as an angel of light.

· Satan had no power over Jesus, and we must remember, Satan has not power over us, except what we give him. We must walk by the Spirit and be led by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16)

· If we trust and obey Him, we will triumph

Jesus’ temptations were meant to prove our Savior is—God and Man.

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father,

Your Word is so revealing and helpful in everyday living. Fill me with a desire to read and study everything Jesus taught us. Then show me how to equate these lessons with my life today. Come, Holy Spirit! Amen.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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JUDY WEBB

I have been a member of UALC for 26 years and have been writing devotions for this site for about 17 of them. Writing is my passion. As retired staff I still love everything about UALC and its members including my small group.

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January 22 | Luke 3:23-38

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DAILY READING

Luke 3:23-28

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REFLECTION

Children of God 

By Beth Voltmann

Did your mind wander today as you read through Luke’s recorded lineage of Jesus? I must admit that I quietly dread coming to 1 Chronicles each year when I read through my Bible. The first nine chapters of the book are filled with seemingly endless genealogies that I find tedious and difficult to read!

Yet, we are living in an era where people are fascinated to learn about their ancestors. Knowing how we like to trace our own family trees, just imagine that here, in Luke 3, we have a glimpse into Jesus’ own DNA results from a genealogy site like Ancestry or MyHeritage.

Take the time to look back at the passage and circle familiar names. Perhaps, working back from Jesus, you will note: Zerubbabel, David (king of Israel), Boaz, Judah, Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Shem, Noah, Enoch, Seth, and Adam. Consider that these Bible characters of old are real people with varied stories of successes and failures, but God chose them to represent branches on the family tree from Adam to Jesus.

Luke wrote this gospel to give an orderly account of Jesus’s life, investigating everything from the beginning, so that we might know the certainty of things (Luke 1:1-4). Thus, he gave a very detailed lineage starting with:

Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry.

He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph...(v. 23)

Note that Luke ended the genealogy by stating that Adam was the “son of God”, perhaps  with the intent of emphasizing Jesus’ divinity as well as humanity (v. 38).

Jesus – Son of God – Son of Man

How beautiful that it all began with God the Father. Mankind, made by the Creator, bearing his image and likeness, and given his breath of life.

Children of God

Now, reflect on your own family tree beginning with the righteous branch of Jesus (Jeremiah 23:5). Who in your family line carried the faith forth to you? You may have recently been grafted in, adopted into the body of Christ, but you are still very much a child of the promise!

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith.

(Galatians 3:26)

If we believe in Jesus, we have become part of his holy lineage. Perhaps someday our names will be circled in the family tree – easily recognizable as bold and faithful children of God.

PRAYER

Father God, you know each of us by name and have plans for our lives. Thank you for the love you have shown to us. Thank you for the gift of faith, the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus, and the gift of family. May it be evident to the world that we are children of God – sharing the lineage of Jesus! Amen.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BETH VOLTMANN

After moving to Ohio in 1997 with my husband and four children, I developed a hunger for God’s Word through adult teaching and women’s Bible study at UALC. My passion is to help others understand Scripture so that they may grow in their desire for more of God and experience the new life offered to us through Christ Jesus.