Joshua 16:1-17:18; Luke 18:31-43; Psalms 87:1-3; Proverbs 20:19

NT: “As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. Hearing a crowd passing by, he inquired what was happening. “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him. So he called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Then those in front told him to keep quiet, but he kept crying out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to him. When he came closer, he asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord,” he said, “I want to see.” “Receive your sight.” Jesus told him. “Your faith has saved you.” Instantly he could see, and he began to follow him, glorifying God. All the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭18:35-43‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Blind faith usually has a negative connotation, but this blind man had faith that Jesus commended. This man had never seen Jesus work any miracles… he had never seen any signs to show him who Jesus was. All he had to go on was the word-of-mouth accounts he had heard… no physical evidence, just testimonies – yet he called Jesus the Son of David. That was a messianic title. By calling Jesus the Son of David, he was saying by faith that Jesus was the Anointed One promised of God, who was anointed to bring sight to the blind. He didn’t know where Jesus was… he couldn’t see how far or how close Jesus was to him – he simply knew that Jesus was going to pass by. So he did the only thing he could do, he began crying out at the top of his lungs for Jesus… hoping that when Jesus did pass by that He would be able to hear him over the crowd and stop to minister to him. As people told him to shut up, he cried out all the more, believing that if Jesus heard him, He would have mercy on him and heal his blindness. Jesus heard him and not only restored his sight… Jesus saved him. He was healed and he was saved by faith… faith that didn’t have to see to believe. In an instant he was transformed and began following Jesus and praising God. There are so many hopes and promises in Christ that we have no way of seeing – all we have is His word to go on. Do we believe the things God says, and the things that have been written about God? Are we able to hope, believe, and act on words without seeing? The Apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:7 that we walk by faith and not by sight. Through “blind” faith in the Faithful One, we can be confident in all that God has promised us in Christ Jesus. The blind man placed his faith in Jesus and was saved. Will we do the same?

Joshua 15:13-63; Luke 18:18-30; Psalms 86:8-17; Proverbs 20:16-18

NT: “A ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not bear false witness; honor your father and mother.” “I have kept all these from my youth,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell all you have and distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” After he heard this, he became extremely sad, because he was very rich. Seeing that he became sad, Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” Those who heard this asked, “Then who can be saved?” He replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” Then Peter said, “Look, we have left what we had and followed you.” So he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left a house, wife or brothers or sisters, parents or children because of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more at this time, and eternal life in the age to come.”” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭18:18-30‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

In Jesus’ time, rabbis (teachers) were called “Master,” but were never called “good.” “Good” was reserved for God alone. So it was quite unusual for the ruler to call Jesus “good teacher.” By calling Jesus good, he was in effect, equating Jesus with God. When Jesus asked the ruler why he called Him “good,” He wanted to know if the ruler truly equated Jesus with God, or if he was just giving Jesus lip service. It is interesting to note that Jesus left out one commandment: do not covet. The “one thing” that Jesus referred to was covetousness, and Jesus gave the ruler the opportunity to demonstrate that he did not covet his possessions. By being unwilling to release his riches, the ruler demonstrated instead that he had a divided heart, and as much as wanted to inherit eternal life, he wanted to keep his riches more. It is not wrong to have possessions. It is wrong to be possessed by them. Riches give people a false sense of success, security, and satisfaction, and thus obfuscate their need for God. However, as Jesus explained to His disciples, if we are able, by the grace of God, to lay aside and leave behind those things that vie for our allegiance, and wholeheartedly follow Jesus, we will receive blessings that far exceed what we have let go of – both in this life and the life to come.

Psalms: “Lord, there is no one like you among the gods, and there are no works like yours. All the nations you have made will come and bow down before you, Lord, and will honor your name. For you are great and perform wonders; you alone are God. Teach me your way, Lord, and I will live by your truth. Give me an undivided mind to fear your name. I will praise you with all my heart, Lord my God, and will honor your name forever. For your faithful love for me is great, and you rescue my life from the depths of Sheol. God, arrogant people have attacked me; a gang of ruthless men intends to kill me. They do not let you guide them. But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth. Turn to me and be gracious to me. Give your strength to your servant; save the son of your female servant. Show me a sign of your goodness; my enemies will see and be put to shame because you, Lord, have helped and comforted me.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭86:8-17‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

This is how we battle against the things of this earth that vie for our allegiance: we ascribe to God the glory that is due Him and we magnify the Lord in our understanding through praise – and we bow down before Him in submitted and surrendered worship. Listen to David’s prayer: “Teach me Your way, Lord, and I will live by Your truth” (emphasis on “Your” and not “my”). Then David asks for an undivided mind (a united heart in other translations). Unite my heart to fear Your name… help my thoughts, emotions, desires, passions, understanding… everything that I am… everything that drives me, to be united in complete reverence and obedience to You. Then, with an undivided life, my entire existence will give honor and glory to You as You bless my life with all of Your blessings. Lord God, help me and help Your church to not be divided – but to be completely united in honor and worship to You. Then the world will see something wonderful and compelling.

Joshua 15:1-12; Luke 18:9-17; Psalms 86:1-7; Proverbs 20:13-15

NT: “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people — greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner! ’ I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭18:9-14‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

One of the effects of self-righteousness is it causes blindness and delusion. Self-righteousness blinds you to your shortcomings and sin, and it deludes you into thinking you are right and everyone or everything that is not like you is wrong. The Pharisees were deluded by their self-righteousness to think that they were the righteous ones and that Jesus was a sinner because they were blinded to their sin and shortcomings. The antidote to the poison of self-righteousness is humility. Humility isn’t demeaning yourself into nothingness. Humility is thinking rightly and accurately about yourself. Trusting in yourself – trusting in your understanding, your viewpoint, your actions, etc. leads to self-righteousness… which then leads to blindness and delusion. Humility reverses the course (and the curse). When you humble yourself, you see your shortcomings, your weaknesses, your limited perspective, your inability to see and know everything, etc. You are then able to submit to One greater than you and receive His strength, understanding, perspective, and ability… which then leads you to truth and righteousness. The Pharisee in this parable walked away with nothing more than an inflated ego, emboldened in his self-righteousness. The humble and penitent tax collector, on the other hand, walked away justified and made righteous by God. One thing I have noticed about social media is that it enforces and edifies our self-righteousness. No matter what you believe, you can find scores of people who will agree with you (and demonize what you disagree with). You can unfriend or unfollow people who have opposing beliefs or perspectives. Your opinions are then bolstered by likes, forwards, and self-conformation. It is no wonder why we now have a society that is unmercifully hardened into their beliefs of what is right and wrong. One thing is true about humility. If you don’t humble yourself, eventually you will become humiliated… with a lot of collateral damage. Let’s humble ourselves and allow God to justify us and lead us into all truth.

Psalms: “Listen, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Protect my life, for I am faithful. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you. Be gracious to me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. Bring joy to your servant’s life, because I appeal to you, Lord. For you, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive, abounding in faithful love to all who call on you. Lord, hear my prayer; listen to my cries for mercy. I call on you in the day of my distress, for you will answer me.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭86:1-7‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

David was the king of a nation. He was singled out from all other men in Israel and was anointed as God’s man. He was powerful and wealthy. He had the authority to enact whatever law or decree he wanted… yet David was a man who humbled himself time and time again. Were there times when he allowed his heart to get lifted up? Yes – but he quickly repented and humbled himself before the Lord. In this psalm, the King of the United Kingdom of Israel said, “I am poor and needy… my entire trust is in You, Lord… be gracious to me and save me.” It is because of his humility that David was regarded as a man after God’s own heart. David didn’t fortify his own self-righteousness. He humbled himself and pursued God and His righteousness. Oh, if the people of God would set aside their own banners… their own causes… their own sense of right and wrong, and would humbly place their faith and trust in the Lord… take up His banner… take up His Kingdom causes… pursue His righteousness… allow themselves to be filled with His understanding, love, and mercy – what would happen? I dare say it would change the world. Instead of pointing at others and saying, they need to humble themselves, let’s be like the penitent tax collector… let’s be like David and humble ourselves before the Lord and place our trust in Him.

Joshua 14:1-5; Luke 18:1-8; Psalms 85:8-13; Proverbs 20:12

OT: “The descendants of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord promised Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the Lord’s servant sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout the land, and I brought back an honest report. My brothers who went with me caused the people to lose heart, but I followed the Lord my God completely. On that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land where you have set foot will be an inheritance for you and your descendants forever, because you have followed the Lord my God completely.’ “As you see, the Lord has kept me alive these forty-five years as he promised, since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel was journeying in the wilderness. Here I am today, eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks is now as it was then. Now give me this hill country the Lord promised me on that day, because you heard then that the Anakim are there, as well as large fortified cities. Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I will drive them out as the Lord promised.”” (‭‭Joshua‬ ‭14:6-12‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Caleb is such a great example of persistent faith. He was promised by the Lord through Moses an inheritance in the land of promise. He was a man of faith when the 12 spies were sent to spy out the land, and he continued to be a man of faith 45 years later. His hope did not wain and he didn’t give up on what was promised. At 85 years old, he was still willing and able to take on the giants in the land because He knew that 1) God had promised him and 2) God was with him. The fulfillment of the promise tarried for a time, but it did come. Caleb wasn’t about to give up his inheritance, and with confidence he said to Joshua, “give me what is mine.” In Psalm 2:8, The Father says to the Son, “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance and the ends of the earth your possession.” The word of God also says that those who are Christ’s disciples and are found in Him are joint-heirs. That means that the nations of the earth are our inheritance as well. Will we be like Caleb and persist in faith to see the promise fulfilled? It will require a fight, but God promised and God is with us.

NT: “Now he told them a parable on the need for them to pray always and not give up. “There was a judge in a certain town who didn’t fear God or respect people. And a widow in that town kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he was unwilling, but later he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or respect people, yet because this widow keeps pestering me, I will give her justice, so that she doesn’t wear me out by her persistent coming.’” Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. Will not God grant justice to his elect who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay helping them? I tell you that he will swiftly grant them justice. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭18:1-8‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Jesus told His disciples a parable so that they, like Caleb, would not grow faint and give up, but would persist in faith through prayer. To be clear, the widow is not us and the judge is not God. Jesus used the widow and the judge as differentiators – to show us how much different it is for those who are disciples of the King and sons of The Father. In Jesus’ day, widows had no legal recourse whatsoever. 1) They were women and had no societal standing, 2) the didn’t have a husband to represent them, and 3) they were poor and could not bribe their way onto the court docket. All the widow could do was annoyingly badger the judge until he agreed to hear her case. The judge in this story wanted nothing to do with the widow and only heard her case because her constant pestering was becoming both annoying and embarrassing. The point that Jesus was making is: if the unwilling judge in this story finally agreed to hear the widow, how much more is our loving Father willing to hear the case of His beloved sons and daughters? If we are disciples of Jesus and are in Christ through faith in Him, then God hears us and He will answer. Though it may tarry because of timing, the answer will come… and God will grant justice. Jesus’ question to His disciples and to us is, knowing what we know, will we persist in faith?

Psalms: “I will listen to what God will say; surely the Lord will declare peace to his people, his faithful ones, and not let them go back to foolish ways. His salvation is very near those who fear him, so that glory may dwell in our land. Faithful love and truth will join together; righteousness and peace will embrace. Truth will spring up from the earth, and righteousness will look down from heaven. Also, the Lord will provide what is good, and our land will yield its crops. Righteousness will go before him to prepare the way for his steps.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭85:8-13‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

The first part of this psalm was a prayer of intercession for the people of the Lord… that the Lord would be merciful… that He would forgive and revive His people. In praying, the psalmist stands in faith… faith in the character and faithfulness of God. Through prayer, instead of being discouraged, the psalmist was able to be full of hope and persist through the challenging times by faith. Surely the Lord will declare peace to His faithful people. Surely, He will lead His faithful ones away from foolishness and into salvation. Faithful love (mercy) and truth will join together. Righteousness and peace will embrace each other. Those who remain faithful to the Lord can be assured of that. Don’t give up. Don’t grow weary. Pray and know that Our Father hears. Have faith.

Joshua 13:1-33; Luke 17:26-37; Psalms 85:1-7; Proverbs 20:12

NT: ““Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man: People went on eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage until the day Noah boarded the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It will be the same as it was in the days of Lot: People went on eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building. But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, a man on the housetop, whose belongings are in the house, must not come down to get them. Likewise the man who is in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to make his life secure will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left. Two will be in a field: one will be taken, and the other will be left.” “Where, Lord?” they asked him. He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there also the vultures will be gathered.”” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭17:26-37‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

This is a continuation of Jesus’ lesson on the Kingdom and the second coming of the Son of Man. The story of Noah and the story of Lot contain two examples of mankind’s “cup of iniquity” filling up to the point that God could no longer withhold His judgement and continue showing His mercy. Even after being warned, the people in Noah’s day continued filling up the cup. The people in Sodom had become so corrupt and committed to their lifestyle that they had gone past the point of repentance. As we take a sober look at the world today, we can see the same pattern. Mankind continues to fill up that cup of iniquity and people grow more and more committed to their denial of God and their sinful lifestyle. The world’s systems are like a decaying corpse and those who are committed to the world’s systems are suffering the same fate. Many people see those taken in this description of the end times as the faithful that are caught up in the rapture – but it appears that Jesus is actually talking about those who are taken up for judgement. When the disciples ask Jesus where they will be taken, His response is around judgement rather than blessing. What do we take from this description of the last days? We look at Jesus’ warning to remember Lot’s wife. Four people were delivered from the judgement of Sodom, but only three survived. Lot’s wife had too much of Sodom in her. As we take a close look at ourselves, do we have more world in us than Kingdom? If we continued in the things we are currently engaged in, would Christ’s return interrupt our plans? Those who are found faithful to the King will be saved from the King’s wrath. Like Noah of old, those who are found faithful will be left to rule and reign with the Son of Man in the New Jerusalem on the New Earth. If we continue living our lives as we live them today, what would be our fate? The good news is that there is still time to repent and be found among the faithful citizens of God’s Kingdom.

Psalms: “Lord, you showed favor to your land; you restored the fortunes of Jacob. You forgave your people’s guilt; you covered all their sin. Selah You withdrew all your fury; you turned from your burning anger. Return to us, God of our salvation, and abandon your displeasure with us. Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger for all generations? Will you not revive us again so that your people may rejoice in you? Show us your faithful love, Lord, and give us your salvation.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭85:1-7‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

It is very likely that this psalm was written after the Babylonian exile, when the exiled Jewish nation was allowed to return to their land and rebuild. The Babylonian exile occurred after hundreds of years of warnings given by prophets sent by God. The Jewish people continued their unfaithful behavior until the Lord’s hand of mercy was removed and judgement came. For 70 years, the Jewish people remained in exile and were then allowed to return. Just because the people were allowed to return, it didn’t mean that their hearts were fully repentant. As soon as they were free in their own land, many of the exiles reverted back to the same sinful behavior. This psalm begins with praise and thanksgiving for God’s forgiveness that allowed them to return – but it then becomes a prayer for God once again show His mercy after the people had fallen back into sin. It is a sin to fall into sin. It is also a sin to be unrepentant and remain in sin. It appears that the people realized the error of their ways and were crying out to God for forgiveness, mercy, and salvation. As I look at the state of our nation here in the U.S., I am convinced that the only way we can turn the tide of our filling cup of iniquity is for the church to be revived: for the church to be done with conceding to the ways of the world… to be done with all the political gamesmanship, and give their lives wholeheartedly to the Kingdom of God. Along with the Sons of Korah of old, I pray to the Lord over the church of Jesus Christ, “Will You not revive us again so that Your people may rejoice in You? Show us Your faithful love, and give us Your salvation.”

Joshua 12:1-24; Luke 17:11-25; Psalms 85:1-7; Proverbs 20:8-10

NT: “When he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with something observable; no one will say, ‘See here! ’ or ‘There! ’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” Then he told the disciples, “The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you won’t see it. They will say to you, ‘See there! ’ or ‘See here! ’ Don’t follow or run after them. For as the lightning flashes from horizon to horizon and lights up the sky, so the Son of Man will be in his day. But first it is necessary that he suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭17:20-25‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

The mystery of the Kingdom of God is that there are 2 comings. The Pharisees and the majority of Jewish believers were expecting one political coming of the Kingdom. They expected the Messiah to be a victorious warrior who would defeat the political enemies of Israel and establish the political Kingdom of God on earth. They didn’t realize that the Messiah would come first as a Spiritual victor that would defeat sin and the kingdom of darkness to establish the Kingdom of God first in the hearts and lives of His faithful disciples. Even now, people try to make the Kingdom of God into a political movement. While it is right and good for disciples of Jesus to be involved in the politics of the day, the Kingdom of God is not a political movement nor is it associated with a political party. The Kingdom of God, in this moment in history, transcends all political movements and parties. It does not seek to establish a political government, but seeks to govern the thoughts, attitudes, and activities of those who are submitted to the word, will, and ways of the King of kings. There will come a day when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our God, and the Son of Man returns to physically establish His reign on earth – but that time is not yet. Until that day, we do not establish God’s kingdom on earth through political activism, but through gospel activism. The way we are to see societal transformation is through seeing souls saved and disciples made. As men and women invite the Kingdom of God into their hearts to rule over their lives, the Kingdom of God will be in our midst – transforming people. Then as people are transformed, politics will be transformed. We must seek first the Kingdom of God… we must pursue the presence and fullness of the Kingdom within. People whose hearts were set on the Kingdom first… people who did not love their lives to the death… people who laid down their own rights to further the Kingdom transformed the Roman Empire. If we want to see God’s Kingdom come, we need to be Kingdom people first, and activate our lives to Kingdom pursuits and purposes. The sooner we do that, the sooner The King’s commission will be completed, and the sooner all righteousness and justice will be fulfilled.

Psalms: “Happy are the people whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a source of spring water; even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings. They go from strength to strength; each appears before God in Zion. Lord God of Armies, hear my prayer; listen, God of Jacob. Selah Consider our shield, God; look on the face of your anointed one. Better a day in your courts than a thousand anywhere else. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than live in the tents of wicked people. For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord grants favor and honor; he does not withhold the good from those who live with integrity. Happy is the person who trusts in you, Lord of Armies!” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭84:5-12‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

During the time of the writing of this psalm, faithful men were required to pilgrimage to Jerusalem to present themselves before the Lord and worship Him at the temple. Baca means balsam tree. Along the way to the temple, there must have been a valley filled with balsam trees, where the trees oozed sap that looked like tears. The Valley of Baca (or the Valley of Tears) symbolizes a difficult and painful time in your life – a place of hopelessness and despair. Those whose hearts are set on worshipping the Lord pass through the Valley of Tears… they don’t camp out there. And their tears become a source of blessing and life. As we set our hearts on pilgrimage – on going before the Lord in worship, God transforms those challenging times into a spring of life and blessing. We no longer live in Old Testament times. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, a new way to God has been opened to us. The veil of separation that kept us from God has been ripped from top to bottom. Those who are faithful disciples of Jesus don’t have to be content to just stand in the courts of the temple. We can boldly go before the very throne of grace for help in times of trouble. Do we look around the world and become hopeless with despair, or do we set our hearts on pilgrimage? Do we, instead of becoming disillusioned by the state of the world, set our hearts to meet the Lord in worship and seek His kingdom first? If the writer of this psalm was made happy by traveling to the temple and placing his trust in the Lord of Hosts – how much more should we who set our hearts on the King who is in our midst – abiding in us and working through us as we seek first His Kingdom and trust His word, will, and ways.

Joshua 11:1-23; Luke 17:1-10; Psalms 84:1-4; Proverbs 20:7

NT: “He said to his disciples, “Offenses will certainly come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble. Be on your guard. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and comes back to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” 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. Which one of you having a servant tending sheep or plowing will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? Instead, will he not tell him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, get ready, and serve me while I eat and drink; later you can eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did what was commanded? In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we’ve only done our duty.’”” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭17:1-10‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

Still in the context of wise stewardship and the righteous use of resources, Jesus mentioned the certainty of offense. Offense will certainly come: people will offend you and you will offend people. It is much better to be the offended than the offender. It is better to be the one that is treated unjustly than to be the one that is treating others unjustly. Unfairness happens in life all the time. Disciples of Jesus should never be on the giving end of injustice, disrespect, unfairness, etc. And when we are on the receiving end, we do not engage in tit for tat restitution. Instead, we forgive. We don’t ignore the injustice… we don’t passively allow the injustice. Instead, we make the injustice known and then forgive it… over and over again, if necessary. Forgiveness like that requires great faith: faith that God will rectify the wrongs done to us instead of us taking our justice into our own hands. The disciples, upon hearing that Jesus was requiring of them, said, “Increase our faith.” Jesus replied to their request by giving them a lesson in faith. Even the smallest amount of faith has great potential – but the way you grow your faith is not through witnessing the miraculous, but through obedience to the mundane. Obedience to the Lord in the most mundane aspects of life will grow your faith. As you are faithful, your faith will grow. As you serve, not expecting anything extraordinary, God will do extraordinary things through you. The faith to forgive comes through forgiving. You don’t wait for the faith to forgive to come first before obeying. When you obey, the grace is there. And the more you obey and experience God’s faithfulness, the more your faith will grow. There are opportunities to get offended all around us. When we are offended, are we going to take the bait, or are we going to be obedient to our calling and forgive?

Psalms: “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord of Armies. I long and yearn for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh cry out for the living God. Even a sparrow finds a home, and a swallow, a nest for herself where she places her young — near your altars, Lord of Armies, my King and my God. How happy are those who reside in your house, who praise you continually. Selah” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭84:1-4‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

This psalm is attributed to the sons of Korah, who were Levites assigned to working in the temple. There is a good chance that this psalm was written during a time when they could not make the journey to Jerusalem to serve. In those days, the presence of God was relegated to a place. To receive God’s wisdom and direction, you had to inquire at the temple. Through Jesus, God’s temple is no longer a place. Through Christ, God now tabernacles in the hearts and lives of His faithful followers. But even now, we must be intentional in abiding with the Lord. We have to be intentional in spending time with the Lord in the secret place – praying to Him, studying His word, asking of Him, and waiting to hear His response. Do we know what it is to spend time in the Lord’s presence? Do we love the times we spend with Him? Do we desire and endeavor to abide in and with Him moment by moment, day by day? As we faithfully order our days to spend time with Him, we grow in faith to lovingly obey Him in the mundane and the miraculous.

Joshua 10:12-43; Luke 16:19-31; Psalms 83:9-18; Proverbs 20:4-6

NT: “There was a rich man who would dress in purple and fine linen, feasting lavishly every day. But a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, was lying at his gate. He longed to be filled with what fell from the rich man’s table, but instead the dogs would come and lick his sores. One day the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torment in Hades, he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. ‘Father Abraham! ’ he called out, ‘Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!’ ‘Son,’ Abraham said, ‘remember that during your life you received your good things, just as Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here, while you are in agony. Besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that those who want to pass over from here to you cannot; neither can those from there cross over to us.’ ‘Father,’ he said, ‘then I beg you to send him to my father’s house — because I have five brothers — to warn them, so that they won’t also come to this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said. ‘But if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ But he told him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭16:19-31‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

This story of the rich man and Lazarus was given in the context of Jesus’ talk about stewardship. The rich man lived a flamboyant lifestyle with no concern whatsoever for the sick and disabled Lazarus that was lying suffering at his gate every day. The Jewish law, had it been obeyed, would not have allowed such an injustice to continue. The Jewish prophets of old also denounced repeatedly the exploitation of the weak and vulnerable of society. By living his flamboyant lifestyle, the rich man was selfishly dismissive of both the law and the prophets for his own immediate gratification. Many people have a very careless and casual view of eternity. They will say things like, “Why would I want to go to heaven if I can spend eternity partying in hell with all my friends.” As we can see here, the afterlife for the unrighteous is no party. It is a place of endless torment and loneliness. The rich man, by dismissing the law and prophets in order to “enjoy” all life would offer him, sealed his fate for eternity. Once he died, he was beyond saving – even beyond a drip of water to momentarily ease his thirst and agony. When he asked father Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his brothers so that they would not suffer the same fate as he, Abraham replied that they had the law and prophets. All they had to do was abide by the law and prophets and they would be spared – but if they were dismissive of the law and prophets, not even a dead man coming back to life would change their attitude toward righteousness. In fact, a man named Lazarus did come back to life, and the scribes and Pharisees wanted to kill him instead of repenting of their ways. Even Jesus raised himself up from the dead, and still His message was dismissed and rejected. Christ has provided everything we need for life and godliness through knowing Him. But if we reject everything He has provided in the name of pursuing our own happiness, we will not only end up empty handed, but eternally distant from any hope of happiness. Instead of squandering our life for immediate pleasures, we are called to steward our life well and invest our life for an eternity of returns.

Proverbs: “The slacker does not plow during planting season; at harvest time he looks, and there is nothing.” (‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭20:4‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

A slacker is someone who avoids what needs to be done in order to enjoy what he wants to do. A slacker is someone who is not familiar with delayed gratification, but is very familiar with delayed obligation (also known as procrastination). The Bible mentions the lazy and the slacker a lot, and it is never done so in a positive light. The rich man in Jesus’ story was a spiritual slacker. He did not “plow” and plant lasting seed during his life, and when “harvest time” came, he had nothing. There is nothing wrong with enjoying life, nor is there anything wrong with being rich. The wrong comes when we faithlessly squander away this planting season called life and bear no eternal fruit.

Joshua 9:3-10:11; Luke 16:10-18; Psalms 83:1-8; Proverbs 20:2-3

NT: “Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much. So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will trust you with what is genuine? And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to someone else, who will give you what is your own? No servant can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” 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 ‭16:10-15‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

This is a continuation of the story of the unfaithful but shrewd steward. The unfaithful steward had become more committed to himself than to his master. That is what led to his unfaithfulness. It is not possible to serve two masters equally. When money became his master, he was no longer able to fully serve his employer. Apparently, like the unfaithful steward, the Pharisees were also lovers of money. Based on what Jesus was saying, because of their love for money, they weren’t able to fully serve God. This is what they were scoffing at – for they considered themselves to be the pinnacle of godliness. But what Jesus was saying was true. The Pharisees, in their love for money and recognition, had ceased serving God and had made money, status, and recognition their master. Though people admired the Pharisees for the worldly success they had obtained, they were revolting to God, for their hearts were full of sin, self-seeking, and corruption. Either the Lord is your master or He isn’t. There is no such thing as a half-hearted, luke-warm servant – for the reason that a servant becomes half-hearted in his service is that he has made someone or something else his master. Am I guilty of trying to play both sides of the fence? Am I committed to serving the Lord, or am I subverting my submission to Him to gain wealth for myself? Am I faithful with all that the Lord has given to me, or am I using His blessing for my own benefit? Am I admired by people more than I am admired by God? I know that the Spirit within me desires to be faithful. If I have strayed into unfaithfulness, all I need to do is repent, and God will show mercy and forgive.

Joshua 8:1-9:2; Luke 16:1-9; Psalms 82:6-8; Proverbs 20:1

NT: “Now he said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who received an accusation that his manager was squandering his possessions. So he called the manager in and asked, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you can no longer be my manager.’ “Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do since my master is taking the management away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig; I’m ashamed to beg. I know what I’ll do so that when I’m removed from management, people will welcome me into their homes.’ “So he summoned each one of his master’s debtors. ‘How much do you owe my master? ’ he asked the first one. “‘A hundred measures of olive oil,’ he said. “‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘sit down quickly, and write fifty.’ “Next he asked another, ‘How much do you owe?’ “‘A hundred measures of wheat,’ he said. “‘Take your invoice,’ he told him, ‘and write eighty.’ “The master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the children of this age are more shrewd than the children of light in dealing with their own people. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of worldly wealth so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings.”” (‭‭Luke‬ ‭16:1-9‬ ‭CSB‬‬)

The title of manager in this story is translated as steward in other translations. A steward is someone who manages another’s wealth. The wealth is not the steward’s, but he has the privilege of enjoying the benefits of that wealth provided that he manage that wealth, not for his own purposes, but for the purposes and ultimate benefit of the owner. The steward in this story apparently forgot that he was a steward and began acting like an owner, wasting his master’s wealth for his own pleasures and purposes. When the steward was found out, he had to account for everything that he had done before being fired. With a small window of opportunity to make things right, the steward instead made use of that opportunity to cushion the blow of his own demise. The master didn’t commend the steward for robbing him. He commended the steward for taking the initiative to seize the opportunity. Disciples of Jesus and citizens of the kingdom are called to be both faithful stewards of kingdom resources and people who make wise use of the opportunities given to them. Faithful stewardship goes beyond tithing your income. Tithing is just the beginning. Faithfully stewarding the resources that our Lord and Master entrusts to us involves wisely investing all our time, treasure, and talent for the purposes of the King and the Kingdom. We are also called to redeem the time, not waste time. We are people created for the times that we are in. We have been stewarded opportunities in these days to represent the King and the Kingdom and see souls saved and disciples made. The “children of this age” are masters at leveraging opportunity for their own gain. We, as children of the kingdom and children of light, are called to wisely use the worldly resources we have been entrusted with and the opportunities we have been given to establish and increase the Kingdom eternally.