Daily Bible Devotionals

“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’  ‘If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,’ the Lord said, ‘you can say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea.” and it will obey you.’”  Luke 17:5-6 (HCSB)

Depending on your Bible translation, the tree that was thrown into the sea (in today’s passage) is either a mulberry, sycamore, or fig tree.  It may be confusing to some why the translators would choose different trees.  Sycamore & mulberry trees are types of fig trees.  The scholars obviously didn’t consider that most of us in the 21st century wouldn’t know much about trees!

All that being said, Jesus is once again using the mustard seed image as a metaphor for His Kingdom.  The mustard seed generally only grows into a bushy shrub.  But in Matthew 13:32, Jesus described a miracle of prophetic nature, wherein a mustard seed grows into a large tree where the birds of the air nest.  In that chapter, the mustard seed was set in contrast to the cursed fig tree, which represented Israel’s spiritual decline, leading to its unproductivity.  

In today’s passage, Jesus is reminding His disciples of the previous “mustard seed” image, which, again, is in contrast to the fig tree, which represented the decline of Temple worship.  In essence, He said that, although Temple worship seemed like it would last forever, unless its leaders embraced Jesus as Messiah, it would be uprooted, treated as apostasy by the Lord, and replaced with the greater Messianic community (the Church).  His words proved true.  Although the community of believers (at that time) was as small as a “mustard seed” and not expected to grow much bigger than a small sect, it flourished and expanded worldwide.  In contrast, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in 70AD and still has not been rebuilt.

In Matthew 24, Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple.  He also cursed the fig tree in Mark 11, which was a direct fulfillment of prophecy.  

“Woe is me!  For I am like the fruit pickers, like the grape gatherers.  There is not a cluster of grapes to eat, or an early fig, which I crave.  Micah 7:1 (NASB)

In the Bible, whenever someone or something is thrown into the sea, it denotes judgment, the direct result of sin.  

“Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; and the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.”  Exodus 15:4 (NASB)

“Then they picked up Jonah and they threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.”  Jonah 1:15 (CSB)

So, what is our takeaway?  Jesus tells His disciples that the only way to break bad tradition is by changing their ways and beliefs and putting their faith into action.  When God’s people live according to His Word, a distinction between right and wrong is clearly seen.  Based on the testimony of surrendered lives-in-action, bad tradition is identified as sin and discarded.  Is the Lord telling you to break with bad “tradition” and to draw nearer to Jesus, Messiah, and Lord of your life?  By all means, do it now!

“So the master commended the unjust steward because he had dealt shrewdly.  For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.  And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home” Luke 16:8-9 (NKJV)

One of the most enigmatic passages in the New Testament is the parable of the dishonest manager.  Was Jesus teaching His followers to be dishonest?  He was not!  People cannot earn favor in Heaven by being dishonest on earth.  While verse one of chapter 16 indicates that Jesus is teaching His “followers,” it is obvious He also had a lesson intended for the Pharisees listening in.

The parable speaks of a WORLDLY master/servant relationship, not a RIGHTEOUS one.  The World may praise shrewdness that compensates for losses, but the Lord praises faithfulness.  Jesus exposes the connection between the Pharisees’ love of money and their REAL master.  (John 8:44) While claiming to speak on behalf of God, the Pharisees’ love of money had shifted their focus to serving Worldly pursuits.

“The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and scoffing at Him.  And He told them, ‘You are the ones who justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts.  For what is highly admired by people is revolting in God’s sight.’” Luke 16:14-15 (CSB)

The greater message for Jesus’ critics is: Do not assume that your Worldly success, gained by dishonest & spiritually adulterous means, will be met with Godly approval.  

Jesus uses the same parable to exhort His followers.  He points out how Worldly people and institutions are more creative and relentless at working towards their aims than believers often are.  That’s not to say that believers should become more Worldly to reach the World with the Gospel.  We cannot compete against the World by its rules.  The Church will never do “the World” as well as the World does “the World.” Our music, art, film & television are seldom as popular or have competitive appeal.  We simply cannot appeal to the flesh to such a worldly extent.  

The World cannot do “Church,” as well as God designed the Church to operate.  The World promises community based on “freedom without accountability.” However, if you hang out in a casino bar after midnight, you’ll learn the “Worldly community” falls apart when the money, drugs, and liquor run out.  This is not so with Christians.  Our community is based on joy, which comes from Jesus’ grace & mercy, and never runs dry!

When Jesus speaks of using “worldly wealth to make friends,” He says we should wisely invest our money in His Kingdom.  This is accomplished when you give your tithes and offerings.  It’s an excellent investment because when that money is wisely invested, we will have many new believers in God’s Kingdom to welcome us!  

With this command, we are compelled to move beyond being mere recipients of the Gospel.  We are also “Stewards of the Gospel.”  And if we are, then we are also accountable for wise management of it.  If God called for an accounting of your management of His Gospel today, would you show a profit or a loss?

“All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to Him.  And the Pharisees and Scribes were complaining, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them!’” Luke 15:1-2 (HCSB)

The idea that sinners can be restored to the Lord as if their sin had never happened is not an entirely New Testament concept.  In 1178, a rabbi named Maimonides published a compilation of Judaism’s ancient requirements.  He wrote:

“Let not the Jew who repents and returns to Judaism suppose that because of the iniquities and sins he has committed, he is kept at a distance from the level attained by righteous men.  It isn’t so.  He is loved as tenderly by the Creator as if he never sinned.”

To clarify: I am NOT suggesting that people can be saved by returning to rabbinic Judaism and following its requirements.  The Bible is clear that we are saved by God’s grace when we repent from our sin and place our faith in Messiah, Jesus, alone.  Ephesians 2: 8-9.  I am merely saying that in the days of Jesus, the Jewish understanding of the “concept” of God’s great love towards repentant sinners was consistent with Jesus’ message.  

The rabbis’ rejection of Jesus’ approach to the “lost sheep of Israel” proved they were not practicing what they were preaching.  Jesus’ response to their criticism was to tell three parables.  The symbols He uses become more valuable with each consecutive parable.  One parable concerned a sheep; the other dealt with a lost coin.

Finally, Jesus describes a father with two sons.  One brother left home and squandered his inheritance, while the other stayed.  But the greater lesson for the Pharisees did not concern the prodigal.  It involved the response of the brother who stayed at home.   Filled with self-righteousness, he refused to rejoice over his brother’s return.

Levites were the tribe of priests whose inheritance/birthright was not in possession of land.  Their inheritance was to serve the Lord and minister to Him on behalf of others.  When your inheritance is “The Lord” (and you choose to receive it), nobody’s actions or any circumstance can diminish the value of your inheritance.  Yet, these Pharisees & Scribes (in Jesus’ day) were working so hard for God’s approval that they became envious of anyone who might receive God’s love by His grace.  They looked down upon others who “squandered” their lives…even when they turned back to the Lord!  For these Pharisees, the title of “prodigal” would never be removed and replaced with “son” or “daughter,” or just plain “justified.”  

Jesus has called us ALL to a holy priesthood.  So let’s put all envy and strife aside and rejoice with one another when our lost “prodigal” brothers & sisters come home…just as the angels in Heaven rejoiced when we came home!

“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.” 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NKJV)

“Now great crowds were traveling with Him.  So He turned and said to them: ‘If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters – yes, and even his own life – he cannot be My disciple.  Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.’”  Luke 14:25-26 (HCSB)

I have been in the music business for almost two decades.  In that time, I have traveled worldwide and performed over 1000 concerts in all 50 of the United States.  From this unique vantage point, I have observed many different types of “Christian” congregations and their perceived requirements for salvation.  Some feel that a person must simply believe, while others require believers to be baptized.  Still, others demand a follower speak in strange tongues.  And the list goes on.

I have never seen a congregation that required its members to take up a literal cross as a sign of authentic faith.  But this is precisely what Jesus is saying is a non-negotiable, pertaining to true salvation.  He says, “Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.”  If most “mega-churches” emphasized this teaching, they would be destined to become “micro churches” overnight!

So, what was Jesus getting at?

He wasn’t telling people to become suicidal, sadistic, unloving, ungrateful, or ungracious.  He was teaching those following Him around the cost of discipleship.  Nothing, not even love for a father, mother, or even one’s own life, is to take precedence over loyalty to God.  We must reprioritize all that we have, acknowledging that if God is to be foremost in our lives, then possessions and even social relationships must be secondary to Him.

Jesus’ challenge would not be foreign to the average religious Jew.  Remember what happened on the day the law was given by Moses.  In response to Israel’s worship of the golden calf, Moses saw that the people were out of control.

“And Moses stood at the camp’s entrance and said, ‘Whoever is for the Lord, come to me.’  And all the Levites gathered around him.  He told them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Every Man fasten his sword to his side; go back and forth through the camp from entrance to entrance, and each of you kill his brother, his friend, and his neighbor.’”  Exodus 32:26-27 (HCSB)

The Levites obeyed the command, and 3000 men fell dead that day.  Because of their selfless faith, the Lord chose the Levites to be His priests throughout the generations.  He chose them because they chose Him.  Jesus is not commanding His followers to kill people!!  Rather, He emphasizes how important it is that they follow Him above all other relationships.  Are you willing to choose to follow Him completely?  Because that is the type of person, He is looking for to labor in His Kingdom.

Grab your Bible & experience the Groundworks Ministries Podcast as Steve Wiggins leads us through the full chapter of Luke 13. Click the links below to watch or listen now!

“When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose Him fiercely and to cross-examine Him about many things; they were lying in wait for Him to trap Him in something He said.  In these circumstances, a crowd of many thousands came together, so that they were trampling on one another.  He began to say to His disciples first: ‘Be on guard against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.  There is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered, nothing hidden that won’t be made known.  Therefore, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and whatever you have whispered in an ear in private rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.’”  Luke 11:53-54, 12:1-3 (HCSB)

Many of you know I have four children.  It is hard to keep kids in line these days.  Growing up, I thought my parents had eyes in the back of our heads, cameras everywhere, and spies all over town.  I was always in trouble!  Eventually, I gave up my sneaky ways.  I don’t know how they did it, but I began to believe the myth that my parents had ESP!

God doesn’t need ESP…He has Omniscience, Omnipresence, Omnipotence, and an unchanging character.  If you are willfully sinning against the Lord, don’t take His silence as a signal that He doesn’t know, care or have the power to rebuke you.

“The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”  2 Peter 3:9 (NASB)

Things were starting to heat up in the days prior to Jesus’ crucifixion.  In the Galilean countryside, it was more difficult for Jesus’ disciples to be taken aside and personally tempted by the politically savvy Pharisees.  In the close quarters of jam-packed Jerusalem, during the days leading up to Passover, Jesus knew his crew was about to be bombarded.

While all 12 disciples were undoubtedly tempted, we know at least two of Jesus’ close followers caved into the pressure: Peter and Judas Iscariot.  Jesus’ predictions were spot-on.  At least, these are the two offenders whom the Lord immortalized in Scripture.

In the moments before sunrise, Peter denied he knew Jesus three times.  Then, the rooster crowed a second time, signaling the dawn of a new day.  What was hidden was uncovered, and what was said in darkness was heard in the light.

In Luke 22, we learn how Judas was taken aside by the chief priests and paid a sum of money to betray Jesus.  What was whispered in private rooms was declared on the housetops.

There is no secret sin.  The Lord knows everything, and we will have to stand before Him, giving account for our lives.  If you are consciously sinning against the Lord, repent!  Seek forgiveness, denying Satan the pleasure of compounding temptation with overwhelming (possibly life-threatening) guilt.

“He was praying in a certain place and when He was finished, one of his disciples said to Him ‘Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.’ He said to them, ‘Whenever you pray, say:  Father, Your name be honored as holy.  Your Kingdom come.  Give us each day our daily bread.  And forgive us our sin, for we ourselves also forgive everyone in debt to us.  And do not lead us into temptation.’” Luke 11:1-4 (HCSB - See also Matthew 6:9-13)

It is a natural human compulsion to pray because God created us to communicate with Him.

Prayer is an interesting phenomenon in our culture.  Preachers, rock stars, athletes, politicians, professionals, and blue-collar workers…everyone prays, sometimes.  I have been on airline trips with people who claimed to be atheists, yet when we hit severe turbulence, they always cry out, “Oh God!”

An essential component of evangelism is life’s “turbulence,” shaking the unbeliever’s perceived security.  Difficulty makes people cry out for answers and meaning in life.  The evangelist should always be prepared to give reason and hope in the midst of life’s turbulence.

MC Hammer once sang, “We’ve got to pray just to make it today.” I agree with that sentiment, but it is not enough to shout vain prayers into the air.  If you want your prayers to be heard and be effective, there is 1) a proper way to pray, 2) a specific God to pray to, and 3) a Spirit-leading, which is essential in determining when and for what to pray.

Often, people feel unable to pray, and they assume the ability to pray is natural to some folks yet lacking in others.  The disciples were on the right track when they believed 1) Jesus could teach them to pray and 2) He would be willing to do so.

Throughout Scripture, Jesus taught us to pray in five parts:

1) Who to pray to

2) What to pray for

3) The importance of persistence

4) The certainty that He will answer rightly because of God’s love & goodness

5) The Holy Spirit (given to ALL believers) is the source of power & wisdom for all proper prayer

While all prayer may be sincere, to some extent, much of the prayer in this World is misdirected and improperly motivated.  Hence, it is possible to be sincere yet sincerely wrong.  Let’s continue seeking God’s Word so that we may love the things He loves and hate the things He hates.  Ask that His Spirit will guide you to pray according to God’s will, as He requires of us.

“When you enter any town, and they welcome you, eat the things set before you.  Heal the sick who are there, and tell them, ‘The Kingdom of God has come near you.’  When you enter any town, and they don’t welcome you, go out into the streets and say, ‘We are wiping off as a witness against you even the dust of your town that clings to our feet.  Know this for certain: The Kingdom of God has come near.’  I tell you, on that day, it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.”  Luke 10:8-12 (HCSB)

Today’s passage is a message tailor-fit for today.  

First, it never ceases to amaze me how unaccommodating some “believers” are regarding personal evangelism.  When Jesus sent out “the 70”, He directed them not only to heal and preach but also to be socially gracious.  In an age when the rules of kosher dominated the behavior of the average Jew, Jesus instructed His “missionaries” to eat whatever was set before them.

The point?  It is possible to be so Heavenly-minded that you are no earthly good!  Jesus is not commanding His followers to break God’s law.  He is righting a particular traditional rabbinical interpretation of God’s law.  Winning souls is of utmost importance to God, and people are more important than man-made rules.  True, most of the rabbinic rules were developed to keep others from breaking God’s Law.  But whenever men make rules, those rules are either more CONSERVATIVE than God demands or more LIBERAL that He allows.  Jesus corrected the traditional misunderstanding of God’s Word.

Second, it also amazes me how timid some churches are.  It is as if they are afraid to simply share the Gospel for fear of offending people.  Here is a rule: If no one ever rejects your Gospel, you’re probably not sharing it as God intended it to be articulated.  If you’re not sharing it, you might want to check whether you ever received it!

In short: We can be so Worldly-minded that we are no Heavenly good.  Do not allow people’s opinions to override God’s command.  It is God whom we should be in fear of offending, not men.

Jesus was telling the “70” that the message of the truth is to be proclaimed, whether it is welcomed or not.  Why should people who are presently uninterested or unreceptive to the Gospel be evangelized?  Because the message itself is powerful!  Since it comes from God and is empowered by His Spirit, it may lead unbelievers to change their minds.  Note that Jesus’ disciples were not merely commanded to cease communing with those who rejected the Gospel, but they also condemned that rejection in a dramatic way.

Part of our effective witness includes our going the “extra distance” to clarify the Gospel with all to whom He sends us.  We are commanded to make sure that people fully understand what they will (hopefully) accept or (sadly) reject.  Take courage and share!

“When the days were coming to a close for Him to be taken up, He determined to journey to Jerusalem.  He sent messengers ahead of Him, and on the way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make preparations for Him.  But they did not welcome Him, because He determined to journey to Jerusalem.  When the disciples James and John saw this, they said, ‘Lord, do You want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?  But He turned and rebuked them, and they went to another village.” Luke 9:51-56 (HCSB)

A Samaritan, in Jesus’ day, was a person of mixed (Jewish/Gentile) descent.  In ancient history, Israel was divided nationally and spiritually.  Ten tribes formed what was known as “Israel” (aka The Northern Kingdom), while the remaining two tribes, Judah & Benjamin, formed what was known as “Judea” or the “Southern Kingdom.” Judea worshipped in Jerusalem, and Israel worshipped in Samaria.

In Samaria, Israel’s great evil was idolatry.  Their rejection of worship in Jerusalem and their acceptance of pagan deities grew to where they were intermarrying with Gentiles.  The presence of these “half-breeds” in Israel (in Jesus’ day) was a reminder of its historic national sin.  It was also the focus of prejudice for the average-to-religious Jew.  Note James & John’s attitude.  They wanted the judgment of Sodom & Gomorrah to fall on the Samaritans.  

So, why wouldn’t Samaria want Jesus to go to Jerusalem?  The answer may be found in John 4 in the story of  “The Woman at the Well.”.  Before the events of today’s passage, Jesus had engaged in a conversation with a Samaritan woman of ill reputation.  The setting was “Jacob’s Well,” located in Samaria.  The symbolism is that Jacob was the father of Israel’s 12 tribal patriarchs.  Jesus is speaking with a woman who symbolizes the spiritual character of a “kind-of” Jewish person and those who are dark reminders of Israel’s not-so-faithful history.  

By the way, modern Judaism considers Jewish believers in Jesus in the same light as their forefathers did the Samaritans of Jesus’ day: Partly Jewish + partly Gentile = Apostate.

Jesus’ offering of “living water” (different from Jacob’s well water) to this Samaritan woman was culturally and spiritually revolutionary.  Remembering that He came to “the Jew first,” we must deduct that Jesus was officially recognizing the Samaritans’ “Jewishness” while still holding to the Biblical standard for true belief and salvation.

In response, the woman ran and told the Samaritan men, who came to hear Jesus.  They, too, believed and told the woman, “… ‘we no longer believe because of what you said, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this really is the Savior of the world.’” John 4:42 (HCSB)

So, why did the Samaritans in Luke 9 not welcome Jesus on His way to Jerusalem?  I believe it’s because they loved Him and knew what the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem would do to Him.  Yet, they were wrong because they were actually hindering His mission while trying to protect Jesus.  

Let’s not commit the same offense!  We don’t need to protect Jesus or His “image.” We must simply believe in Him, pray, and seek His Word.  And we must trust His Word when we share the gospel, not adding to or withholding from it.  We must share the whole gospel, letting Jesus complete the work He intends to accomplish in the lives of those with whom we share the gospel.