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Defending God: Luke 12:1-12

Published June 13, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Luke 12:1-12 (GW)

1 Meanwhile, thousands of people had gathered. They were so crowded that they stepped on each other. Jesus spoke to his disciples and said, “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees. I’m talking about their hypocrisy. 2 Nothing has been covered that will not be exposed. Whatever is secret will be made known. 3 Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight. Whatever you have whispered in private rooms will be shouted from the housetops.

4 “My friends, I can guarantee that you don’t need to be afraid of those who kill the body. After that they can’t do anything more. 5 I’ll show you the one you should be afraid of. Be afraid of the one who has the power to throw you into hell after killing you. I’m warning you to be afraid of him.

6 “Aren’t five sparrows sold for two cents? God doesn’t forget any of them. 7 Even every hair on your head has been counted. Don’t be afraid! You are worth more than many sparrows. 8 I can guarantee that the Son of Man will acknowledge in front of God’s angels every person who acknowledges him in front of others. 9 But God’s angels will be told that I don’t know those people who tell others that they don’t know me. 10 Everyone who says something against the Son of Man will be forgiven. But the person who dishonors the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

11 “When you are put on trial in synagogues or in front of rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say. 12 At that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.”

Read Luke 12:1-12 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

While Jesus was warning the disciples about the dangers of hypocrisy and avoiding the subtle influences of culture, He shares with them a powerful promise that we all can learn from. Before being derailed by someone in the crowd interrupting Him, Jesus tells the disciples, “When you are put on trial in synagogues or in front of rulers and authorities, don’t worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say. At that time the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.” (v. 11-12)

Of all the warnings, promises, and challenges Jesus gave the disciples, I imagine this one was among the most equally faced among these earliest followers. I believe every single one of them was pulled in before synagogues, rulers, and authorities to defend themselves and the message of Jesus.

I would imagine this could be the most intimidating thing for anyone to face, except for what Jesus promises will happen during these times. Jesus shares that when we are placed on trial for God, the Holy Spirit will teach us what to say, or in other words, the Holy Spirit will speak through us. The promise Jesus shared was for both His disciples in the first century and all of His followers who face trials from that point forward.

In this promise, Jesus takes all of the pressure off of us and He places it on God. While I doubt that this makes being present in the moment any less fearful, we can know without a doubt that God loves us, He values us, and He will use our lives for His glory.

Jesus tells us in this promise that God will defend Himself through us. It is not up to us to defend God. If we try to defend God on our own merit, we will fail. The only way for us to win is to let the Holy Spirit defend God through us. When we win using the Holy Spirit, we may not be spared torture, and we may not keep our life, but we will be saved for eternity – which is the only life that matters.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Making the Impossible Easy: Luke 14:1-6

Published June 11, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Luke 14:1-6 (GW)

1 On a day of rest—a holy day Jesus went to eat at the home of a prominent Pharisee. The guests were watching Jesus very closely.

2 A man whose body was swollen with fluid was there. 3 Jesus reacted by asking the Pharisees and the experts in Moses’ Teachings, “Is it right to heal on the day of rest—a holy day, or not?” 4 But they didn’t say a thing.

So Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. 5 Jesus asked them, “If your son or your ox falls into a well on a day of rest—a holy day, wouldn’t you pull him out immediately?” 6 They couldn’t argue with him about this.

Read Luke 14:1-6 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Often the details surrounding an event are just as interesting as what actually happened.

For example, as I was reading the passage for this journal entry, a question entered my head that wasn’t directly answered in the passage in the first place: “Why was there a sick man at this Pharisee’s home?”

The sick person could have been a family member or close friend, but if this were the case, the Pharisee would have directly asked Jesus to heal the sick man. However, Jesus instead asks the first question, making me think that Jesus is more interested in directing the conversation towards healing the man.

If the sick person was not a family member or close friend, this event could have been a setup. The passage does say the guests were watching Jesus very closely. This definitely suggests a setup.  The day of rest, the high profile, highly opinionated guests, and the significant location all suggest that the events in this passage are staged.

As a staged event, we can see that these Pharisees saw Jesus as a healer, and it would seem that even doctors were not exempt from resting on the day of worship (i.e. the Sabbath day). Pretty much anything Jesus “did” that resulted in a healing would have immediately been classified as work, regardless of the effort it took or the number of calories it consumed.

But while the question regarding whether it was right to heal someone on the Sabbath is left hanging in the air, Jesus simply heals the man like the action is no big deal. It is so understated in this passage that if a Pharisee present had been looking away briefly, he could have missed it.

Perhaps these Pharisees had seen other miracles Jesus did, or maybe they had just heard rumors and wanted to see for themselves. Either way, the action present behind this healing was probably a letdown because it was so understated.

After the healed man left, Jesus compares the action to pulling your son or your ox out of a well. Pulling someone out of a well probably would take enough energy to break a sweat, and one or more people involved in pulling an ox from a well would definitely burn plenty of calories. However, Jesus performs this healing without even coming close to “breaking a sweat”. How Jesus performed the miracles were way too simple – Jesus made the impossible look easy.

This brings me to the big idea for this journal entry: Don’t be disappointed if God’s life-changing miracles come through simple methods. God may prefer the simple, clear miracle over the complex, confusing series of steps that our mind often thinks we need.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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Forever in Debt: Matthew 18:15-35

Published June 10, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: Matthew 18:15-35 (NCV)

    15 “If your fellow believer sins against you, go and tell him in private what he did wrong. If he listens to you, you have helped that person to be your brother or sister again. 16 But if he refuses to listen, go to him again and take one or two other people with you. ‘Every case may be proved by two or three witnesses.’ 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, then treat him like a person who does not believe in God or like a tax collector.

    18 “I tell you the truth, the things you don’t allow on earth will be the things God does not allow. And the things you allow on earth will be the things that God allows.

    19 “Also, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about something and pray for it, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.”

    21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, when my fellow believer sins against me, how many times must I forgive him? Should I forgive him as many as seven times?”

    22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, you must forgive him more than seven times. You must forgive him even if he wrongs you seventy times seven.

    23 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who decided to collect the money his servants owed him. 24 When the king began to collect his money, a servant who owed him several million dollars was brought to him. 25 But the servant did not have enough money to pay his master, the king. So the master ordered that everything the servant owned should be sold, even the servant’s wife and children. Then the money would be used to pay the king what the servant owed.

    26 “But the servant fell on his knees and begged, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’ 27 The master felt sorry for his servant and told him he did not have to pay it back. Then he let the servant go free.

    28 “Later, that same servant found another servant who owed him a few dollars. The servant grabbed him around the neck and said, ‘Pay me the money you owe me!’

    29 “The other servant fell on his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything I owe.’

    30 “But the first servant refused to be patient. He threw the other servant into prison until he could pay everything he owed. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were very sorry. So they went and told their master all that had happened.

    32 “Then the master called his servant in and said, ‘You evil servant! Because you begged me to forget what you owed, I told you that you did not have to pay anything. 33 You should have showed mercy to that other servant, just as I showed mercy to you.’ 34 The master was very angry and put the servant in prison to be punished until he could pay everything he owed.

    35 “This king did what my heavenly Father will do to you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Read Matthew 18:15-35 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Later on during Jesus’ ministry, He shares a powerful parable to help support the message that while we are forgiven, we are expected to be forgiving towards each other. In the details of this parable, we discover a king has a servant who has an impossible-to-repay debt. Conservatively, this debt is in the millions of dollars, but it might even extend into the billions.

In some ways, it is easier to calculate this debt in the number of lifetimes it would take someone to repay it, and in the case of the debt the man has in this parable, it would take more than 137 lifetimes to repay. The servant in this parable truly has an impossible-to-repay debt.

However, the king forgives the debt. A simple meeting and a heartfelt plea convinces the king to write off the millions or billions of dollars that were owed. On the surface, it appears as though this servant is now free.

But when we look at the details and place ourselves in the servant’s shoes, while we are not required to repay the debt we previously owed, the gift of kindness places an equally impossible debt on us in the form of gratitude. The debt of gratitude says we should always be forever grateful to God (a.k.a. the King) for repaying our literal debt.

In this scenario, there is literally no way of truly being out of debt – because either we have a debt of sin, or we have a debt of gratitude.

I shared this with some people and was challenged with the idea that we cannot love those we are in debt to. While it makes for a catchy thought, I don’t believe it is 100% true. The fallacy in this thinking is that all forms of debt are equal and that all forms of debt contain equal tension from both parties.

While it sounds similar, I think a more accurate statement would go something like this: You cannot love someone you feel owes you something – but you can love someone who has blessed you more than you could ever repay.

If you are in a situation you could never repay, by definition, you are in debt, but this debt is different because it can only be resolved through forgiveness. While there is nothing we could ever do to repay God for His amazing gift of Jesus on the cross, this tiny detail technically makes us indebted to God.

However, God paid our sin-debt because He loves us, not because He wanted us to be feel forever indebted to Him. God forgives us in order to make it possible for Him to love us. He would have it no other way.

Debts of gratitude are different because the only way we can truly repay them is by paying them forward. God wants us to be so incredibly grateful and thankful for what He has done for us that we cannot help extending forgiveness, grace, and love forward to those we interact with.

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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True Freedom: John 8:31-59

Published June 6, 2025 in Written Journal Entries
Focus Passage: John 8:31-59 (NIV)

31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”

34 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are looking for a way to kill me, because you have no room for my word. 38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you are doing what you have heard from your father.”

39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered.

“If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do what Abraham did. 40 As it is, you are looking for a way to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41 You are doing the works of your own father.”

“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”

42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I have come here from God. I have not come on my own; God sent me. 43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”

49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death. 53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

58 “Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” 59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

Read John 8:31-59 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!

Part way through Jesus’ ministry, He goes to Jerusalem for a festival and stands up to speak in the temple. In the message He shares, we find a powerful challenge to those present, and one that they may have not been ready to receive.

John’s gospel opens by sharing a detail I had never noticed before about the people Jesus spoke this message to. John tells us that, “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (v. 31-32)

One of my favorite verses in the entire Bible is shared here, and perhaps it was because I always gravitated to this verse, I missed seeing the truth contained before. When reading the opening John shares to this portion of Jesus message, I am amazed to learn that Jesus spoke this message to “Jews who had believed Him”. (v. 31a)

This detail is significant because it makes me wonder if these Jews had believed in Him at some point in the past while then discounting Him in the present, or if these Jews had believed in Jesus up to the point that He challenged them with this message. Perhaps these Jews said they believed in Jesus, but they discounted or ignored His teaching.

Jesus opens His message to this group of Jews by saying, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.” (v. 31b)

By opening in this way, Jesus makes this challenge to everyone who calls themselves Christians, believers, followers, and/or disciples of Jesus. In this passage, the context happens to be Jews who said they believed in Him at one point, but Jesus frames His response in a much broader fashion.

Part of me wonders what is so significant about holding to Jesus’ teachings. Perhaps it has to do with the next verse, which happens to be included among my favorites. Jesus continues by saying, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (v. 32)

As I read this opening to Jesus’ message, we get a progression that says: When we hold to Jesus’ teachings (implying that we remember and obey them) then we are His disciples. As disciples of Jesus who hold onto His teachings, we will then be able to see the truth (spiritual truth, physical truth, social truth, and Godly wisdom), and the truth that we discover will set us free. The freedom we discover comes through knowing the truth that we can only find because we are obeying Jesus’ teaching. This freedom is not freedom from obedience, its freedom within obedience!

A portion of culture is trying to craft itself as opposite to God’s way in every way imaginable, but the challenge this group has is that they trap themselves through their actions because they essentially must know the Bible better than they might want to. They trap themselves because they let the Bible dictate what they are opposed to instead of using the minds God gave them to decide freely what is right.

While they claim freedom from the Bible, they are truly trapped, because they let the Bible force them into a corner that they are unwilling to come out of.

The freedom Jesus offers comes through obedience, and all of Jesus’ followers are invited to obey and experience God’s freedom for themselves!

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!

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