Read Luke 6: 27-49
Solid Foundation

In this passage, throngs of people had gathered on the slope of the hill leading down to the Sea of Galilee to hear what Jesus had to say and to experience His healing power.  Envision yourself sitting in the crowd listening, too. In verses 17-26, Jesus described how His kingdom is NOT like the kingdom of this world. In fact, it almost seems to be completely opposite. In verses 27-36, Jesus began to teach about how we are to treat each other if we call ourselves His followers: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

In verses 37-42, He further instructs His followers: 1) do not judge each other, 2) do not condemn each other, and always 3) forgive each other.  Jesus made no exceptions to this “list” of things His followers should always do.  

Then, notice in verses 46-49, He admonishes us to not even claim that He is our Lord if we are not going to do what He has instructed us to do. WOW!  He instructs this way because He knows His instructions are for our good and they will lead us to the abundant life He has planned for us. More specifically here, He tells us that in order to avoid utter destruction when the storms of life come, and they will invariably come, we need a solid foundation built ahead of time, and that foundation is built by following His teachings. 

QUESTIONS:

1.  Is there someone, including myself, that I should forgive in order to be aligned with Jesus’ teaching?  Write His/Her name(s) here as the first step towards forgiveness.
2. Who in my life should I should ask forgiveness because I have judged and/or condemned him/her?
3.  Do I believe Jesus has given these instructions because He loves me?

Read Luke 7:11-17
Help Is On The Way

Jesus left Capernaum and headed toward Nain with a huge crowd following Him.  For safety purposes, the towns in those days often had walls around them with gates as the only entrances.  As Jesus and the crowd arrived at the town gate, a funeral procession was coming out of the gate and it was one of the worst kinds of death…a widow having to bury her only child!  Jesus showed great compassion to the woman and said, “Don’t cry.” He walked over to her dead son and touched the plank upon which he lay. Immediately, everyone froze likely because Jewish custom was that to come in contact with the dead would cause one to be “unclean” and subsequently cast out from amongst the people.  Jesus was not concerned about all those rules. He intended to bring life to this boy. Again, we see that He simply spoke the word, “Young man, I say to you get up!” And, again, that’s exactly what the young man did! Notice that the scripture says the young man began to speak as well. Although, we don’t know what he spoke, we can be certain of what his mother would have been speaking!  And, the reaction of the crowd, was, “God has come to HELP his people.” Yes, indeed He came to help His people!

QUESTIONS:

1. What words of God am I consistently speaking over my situation? Write them here.
2. Do I believe Jesus still “comes to help?” 
3. How does a personal encounter with Jesus change my own circumstances daily?

Read Luke 8:26-39
Go and Tell

Notice what Jesus told the man who had been healed from demon possession, “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.”  One of His primary purposes in healing was so that His message would be spread.  

Despite our current circumstances, there are likely many things in our past of which we should “return home and tell how much God has done for us.”  First, and foremost, God sent His only son to die a cruel death so that we could have eternal life in a glorious place! If there’s nothing else, that’s enough.  Gratefulness is really important in God’s Kingdom and sharing His message is what He called us to do.

QUESTIONS:

1. What are some things in my life for which I could show Him more gratitude?
2.  How would it improve my state-of-mind to dwell on those things?
3.  How would increased awareness of His kindness to me change my response from worries and fears to gratitude and faith?

Read Luke 8:40-53
In His Timing

We’ve studied this event in the other gospels, but there’s always more to be found in the scriptures each time we read.  Notice that Jairus’ daughter was about twelve years old and the woman with the blood condition had suffered with her condition twelve years.   Assuming facts and figures in the scripture are there for a reason, we wonder why “twelve years” is mentioned. One reason may be that sometimes suffering can endure for many years, but there’s always hope when we know Jesus.  Another could be a reminder that there are different perspectives even about a specific time frame. The woman in this story likely felt like her twelve years had been such an incredibly long time. She must have felt exhausted by this length of time.  On the other hand, Jairus had only had his daughter with him twelve years and he must have thought it was such a short time since she was already facing death.  

Regardless, we can see that each of us must trust God with the “timing” in our lives.  There’s no need to compare the “timing” in our lives to any other. We simply must bring all our cares to Jesus and trust that He will handle them in His perfect timing.

QUESTIONS:

1.  What are some things in my life that I believe have gone on too long?
2.  How can I completely surrender those things to Jesus?
3.  Am I willing to trust in His timing?

Read Luke 9:28-36
Take Me Away

This passage tells us that about a week after Jesus had talked to His disciples about His soon coming death, He “took” Peter, James, and John with Him up on the mountain to pray.  Jesus, as a man in human form, must have been heavily burdened with the weight of what was to come. He found it important to gather some of His closest friends with Him to spend intimate time with His Heavenly Father.  As He was talking to the Father, His face and His clothing changed drastically… “as bright as a flash of lighting.” Then, Moses and Elijah appeared, followed by a heavy cloud that engulfed all of them. Finally, “a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my son, whom I have chosen; listen to Him’.”  Isn’t that reassuring? God has confirmed once again that Jesus is who He says He is! 

Jesus knew the time was soon coming in which those closest to Him could have reason to question His identity.  The Father graciously allowed this obvious affirmation for them as well as for us. Sometimes, maybe we need to allow Jesus to take us away to a mountain to pray, so that we can be reminded of His identity and our need to listen to Him.

QUESTIONS:

1.  Am I setting aside time during this healing journey to be “taken away” with The Son of God?
2.  Listening includes attending to what we have heard and dwelling on it. How am I listening to the things Jesus has said?
3. Who in my life that I know would I want to take them with me for time with the Father?