“Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath? Yes or no?” ~Jesus

Tags

Jesus, Jesus Sayings, Love, Luke 14

We have to keep the rules (law). That is what religious leaders believe. I believe it way to much myself. I tend to want to be a rule-keeper.

Jesus came to fulfill the rules (law) and give them real meaning. Jesus wants to teach me that the real rule is one of love. Love answers the question about what is right and what is wrong.

Jesus knows what God’s goal is. Jesus never misses the mark. Jesus is right on target and it always starts with love. Jesus knows that the rules sometimes don’t make any sense and gives me an analogy to prove it. The law said you weren’t supposed to work on the Sabbath (Saturday). So if your child falls down a well, you shouldn’t save him?

Absurd. Everyone knew it. I know it.

My goal is to love, even my enemies. That is all I need to focus on.

One time when Jesus went for a Sabbath meal with one of the top leaders of the Pharisees, all the guests had their eyes on him, watching his every move. Right before him there was a man hugely swollen in his joints. So Jesus asked the religion scholars and Pharisees present, “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath? Yes or no?”

They were silent. So he took the man, healed him, and sent him on his way. Then he said, “Is there anyone here who, if a child or animal fell down a well, wouldn’t rush to pull him out immediately, not asking whether or not it was the Sabbath?” They were stumped. There was nothing they could say to that.

Source: Luke 14:1-6

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“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.” ~Jesus

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Discipleship, Jesus, Jesus Sayings, Luke 14, Plans

Jesus has a way of being clear. He leaves no doubt. In God’s world, God comes first. That is all there is to it. I can’t negotiate with Him. God is God. I need to get clear on that.

So, I can kiss everything else goodbye if I want to follow Jesus. Is something near and dear to me? Am I ready to give it up? Will I kiss it goodbye? That is what Jesus is challenging me to do. Will I do it?

Yes, I heard it right. Jesus said it and Jesus meant it.

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.”  Luke 14

 

May I have the courage to kiss all my plans goodbye.

May He come first always.

“If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face.” ~Jesus

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God is God, Honor, Humility, Jesus, Jesus Sayings, Luke 14

Humility

I must not see myself as more important than others. That kind of pride will get me nowhere in God’s world.

Jesus challenges me to be content with myself. I should not try to be someone I am not. Others will see through me. More important is that God knows. I can’t fool him.

I should always treat others as more important than I am. God is the one who bestows honor, not me. God is God. God is in charge. I am not.

He went on to tell a story to the guests around the table. Noticing how each had tried to elbow into the place of honor, he said, “When someone invites you to dinner, don’t take the place of honor. Somebody more important than you might have been invited by the host. Then he’ll come and call out in front of everybody, ‘You’re in the wrong place. The place of honor belongs to this man.’ Red-faced, you’ll have to make your way to the very last table, the only place left.

“When you’re invited to dinner, go and sit at the last place. Then when the host comes he may very well say, ‘Friend, come up to the front.’ That will give the dinner guests something to talk about! What I’m saying is, If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face. But if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”

Then he turned to the host. “The next time you put on a dinner, don’t just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You’ll be—and experience—a blessing. They won’t be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God’s people.

~Jesus — Source: Luke 14:7-14 (The Message Bible)

Is there a difference between being a Christian and a Christ (Messiah) follower?

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Christian, Disciple, Jesus, Luke 14, Mark 8, Messiah

Jesus challenges us

There is definitely a difference in being a “christian” and being a “Christ (Messiah) follower”. Did Jesus ever ask anyone to be a Christian?

Jesus did ask us to follow Him. Jesus sends us out to make disciples of the whole world.

I need to get the focus right. Jesus calls me to follow him. Jesus challenges me to let him be the Master. My job is to change my mind about who is in charge. Jesus is in charge.

Jesus is radical in his approach. Nothing, not even family, is more important. This runs counter to our culture that believes family comes first. Family does not come first. Jesus comes first. No negotiating. That is the way of Jesus. It isn’t easy. It wasn’t meant to be.

Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?

Source: Jesus (Mark 8:34-37)

And consider this.

Anyone who comes to me but refuses to let go of father, mother, spouse, children, brothers, sisters—yes, even one’s own self!—can’t be my disciple. Anyone who won’t shoulder his own cross and follow behind me can’t be my disciple.

Source: Jesus (Luke 14:25)