Luke 11:37-41

Luke 11:37-41 

English Standard Version 

  When someone asks you how you are, what do you say?  The socially acceptable answer is somewhere between 'fine' and 'good'.  Are you really?  

  Now, it's not a great idea to always burden someone with the full and honest answer to that question, because there's a time and a place for everything, but if we never acknowledge that perhaps we aren't fine and good, then that's not the best, either.  

  Jesus is being honest with the Pharisees -- they're so focused on looking righteous that they've forgotten to take the next step and actually live a righteous life.  Everything may look good from the outside, but they're rotting away.  It's like one of those avocados you get at the grocery store that looks great and is completely brown on the inside to the point you just throw it away.  It's such a disappointment.  

  Jesus isn't saying that the exterior acts don't matter.  He wants us to insure that our interior life matches.  Are we pursuing God in our private lives?  Do we have integrity?  Are we the kind of people in private that we are in public?  What do you do when you have free time?  Do our hearts seek God?

  All of these are important questions to ask, and to listen for the answers.  Discipleship is a lifelong goal.  May we never stop seeking God and being humble to listen for the Holy Spirit as it offers correction and guides us towards God.

Luke 11:33–36

Luke 11:33-36 

English Standard Version 

  Sometimes, I set my phone down when the flashlight is turned on and I don't realize for a while that the flashlight is still on.  You can't see it when it's sitting flat on a surface with the light pointing down.  It serves no purpose.  It's not exactly what Jesus was talking about, but the same concept.  

  Jesus goes on to say that the eye is the lamp of the body.  If our eyes aren't working well, that has other impacts.  Have you ever tried to drive when you have something in your eye, or tried to read after having your eyes dilated?  It's nearly impossible.  In the same way, if we have our eyes focused on the wrong things, living faithfully, as we're called to do, is nearly impossible.  We're setting ourselves up for failure.  

  Therefore, what we watch matters.  From the shows we choose to the social media we take in to the books we read.  Every little thing forms us in some way.  May we choose wisely, with humility, recognizing the importance of what we take in to the body.

Giving Blood and the Gospel

Luke 11:29–32

Luke 11:29-32 

English Standard Version 

  Imagine you're living in the time of Jesus.  You've heard about his teachings and miracles, so you go to see for himself.  Maybe you see him perform a miraculous feeding, or you see a lame man healed.  Would that be enough?  Would you be convinced that he is the Son of God?  Or would you ask for more?

  Some of the people clearly asked for more.  I understand where they're coming from -- it's a big step to believe that the person in front of you is the long-awaited Messiah.  But Jesus starts talking about the sign of Jonah.  Jesus is telling the people that the people of Nineveh repented at Jonah's preaching, and someone greater than Jonah is here, but the people are still resisting.  Are they open to what God is doing in their midst?  Are we open to what God is doing in our midst?  Do we resist?  Are we willing to trust in Jesus?

  Think of Jonah... dead for 3 days in the belly of a whale, forgotten at the bottom of the sea, the watery tomb, and then he rises and countless repent.  He was pointing ahead of himself to the day when the new and better Jonah would arise and demonstrate the grace and power of God for all to see.