Week 6 of the first 8 chapters of Luke from the Good Morning Girls study. *My notes*
Monday - Week 6
Scripture
Luke 6:1-11 (Luke 6:9&10)
9 Then Jesus said to them, “I ask you, which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to destroy it?”
10 He looked around at them all, and then said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He did so, and his hand was completely restored.
Observations
* Jesus wanted to make sure everyone saw.
* Jesus asked, should we leave someone helpless or stranded just because it's a day of rest.
* If someone is in need of help and we do not help them would this be considered - evil/destroying life?
Application
I'm reminded of the story of the good Samaritan.
Luke 10:30-37
30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
So in Luke 6, Jesus didn't want people to use the Sabbath as an excuse not to help others. If we have the opportunity to help someone, even if they don't ask us for help, we need to view it as God sending them to us. Not as an inconvenience. Everyone is busy but if 10 minutes of kindness could save a person from their agony, from their regrets, from feeling alone or hungry, then our 10 minutes could mean an eternity of salvation to them. Because when we show compassion and love to others we are showing them our Lord, who is Love.
Tuesday - Week 6
Scripture Luke 6:12-26 (Luke 6:20-23)
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
Observations
* Jesus talking to the disciples said, Blessed are those that are poor, hungry, weep, and are hated.
* Rejoice if this is you.
Application
Those who are "poor" - lowly, humble. Knowing that nothing I posses is more valuable than my salvation. And anything I have is really not mine and it can be taken from me at any time.
Now a promise - I will see the kingdom of God. Woo hoo! Yay!
Those who "hunger now" - always needing to or desiring to be filled up with the Holy Spirit.
Now a promise - If this is what I always desire, to be filled with the Holy Spirit, I will be filled. I will be satisfied. God created us to hunger for Him yet often times we put other things in His place so we are never satisfied because only He can satisfy that hunger.
Those who "weep now" - worry about the things/circumstance. The might happen, could happen, should have happened things. God's got it taken care of!
A promise - you will laugh at how you worried. haha silly me! God know's what He's doing!
When people hate, exclude, insult and reject your name as evil because of Christ - Can't figure out why people say the things they do to you? It is because of Christ is in you. When it says "reject your name as evil" I think of someone cringing. They don't like anything about you because you ooze with Christ's love and they can't stand it because it makes them feel bad about themselves and that's not ok with them.
But Jesus said "Rejoice and leap for joy" when this happens because then you will know that you are on the right path, the straight and narrow path that God desires us to walk on.
Make sure you are not derailed by other's negative actions toward you. We have been warned that being a Christian, a follower of Christ is not the easy life. We won't fit in, we will be insulted and hated but the reward is the promise, the rainbow after the storm. God's promise to us when we endure hardships in this life is that we, you and me, will get to be a citizen in His glorious kingdom!
We are blessed!
What is one thing you feel you have been blessed with today?
Wednesday - Week 6
Scripture
Luke 6:27-36 (Luke 6:35&36)
35 But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Observations
*Love our enemies
* Lend without expecting anything in return
* God is kind to the ungrateful & wicked
* Be merciful
Application
Yesterday we were talking about people who don't like you because of having the Holy Spirit in you. Now the verses today are saying, do good to them. Those people who insult you, love them. Those people who reject and exclude you, lend to them without expecting anything in return.
Now I don't think Jesus wanted us to be a door mat, for people to walk all over and take advantage of. No, He's saying that even though people will be the way they will be, it should not change how we should respond to them. We still need to treat them the way we ourselves want to be treated.
Be merciful - forgive, just as the Lord is merciful (forgives) us.
Thursday - Week 6
Scripture
Luke 6:37-42 (Luke 6:37)
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Observations
* Do not judge and do not condemn, then you will not be judged or condemned.
* Forgive, then you will be forgiven.
* Treat others how Jesus treated others.
Application
WWJD - What Would Jesus Do?
This goes beyond treating other's how we want to be treated. At the end of verse 38 it says that the measure we use, will also be used on us.
Don't judge or condemn. That is not our job. Even among other Christian's we are called to exam fruit, keep each other accountable, but not to judge. And if people do judge you, forgive them. Christ has already died to forgive me, I should be able to forgive someone who has hurt me without having to die for them. I will not loose anything by forgiving, yet I will gain a closeness (to Christ) and closure by forgiving.
Forgive others, because it only hurts us and our walk with the Lord if we hold grudges.
Sometimes I think we don't necessarily forgive, we just tend to push things to the side and say, ah, I'm just not going to think about it, it's in the past I'd like to move on.
The problem is, you've only pushed it to the side, which means you haven't really given it to the Lord. You've kept it and now it is like a sore that won't heal, eventually it's going to cause problems.
Ask God to reveal to you people in your life that you need to forgive. You need to bring to God how you feel, how they made you feel and then ask God to take care of it. Totally give those feelings, frustrations and hurts to Him, so that He can heal that wound, that sore.
And just like a visible sore, it will leave a scar. The scars not there to torment us by continually reminding us of the past or of our mistakes. It's there to remind us that we're healed. It's there to remind us that we always need to consult with God with every aspect of our lives and not ask for His guidance after the fact.
Friday - Week 6
Scripture
Luke 6:43-49 (Luke 6:45,49)
45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
Observation
* Whatever we put into our body/mind/heart will show in our actions.
* What comes out of our mouths is what's in our hearts.
* For the one who hears the truth and God's directions or warnings, yet chooses not to listen, their life will be destroyed when a storm hits.
Application
Music is one of those things that can pass the language barrier. It speaks to the soul, so to speak. But just because it speaks to us doesn't mean it is something we want speaking to us in the first place.
A few years ago I threw away at least 10 CD's that I use to listen to all of the time when I was in High School. I did this because I have children and I didn't want them singing along to Boyz 2 Men or Deftones. Children's souls are very sensitive, they haven't had the time to become callous or desensitized, so as a mom I'm having to look out not just for their physical well being but their spiritual well being, for their precious souls.
What you put in your body and in your mind affects your soul. God wants us to be sensitive just like children, to the Spirit. If we're putting other things in that can make us callous we won't be able to hear His whisper. If we can't hear Him, He will still get our attention but by then "...the destruction was complete", our lives will be a mess.
So we need to check ourselves. What are we watching, what are we listening to, who am I around, what am I reading, where do I draw my inspiration from? "The mouth speaks what the heart is full of."
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