Devotionals

Luke 12:1-3-NLT

Meanwhile, when many thousands of the crowd had gathered so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing is secret that will not be made known. So then whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.

As I read this direct instruction from Jesus in Luke 12:1, telling the disciples to be on guard against “the yeast of the Pharisees” I started asking myself, am I a Pharisee? Who were the Pharisees? In my Christian journey, I have heard many teachings about Pharisees and many warnings not to be like them.  However, I never took the time to personally learn about them.  How can we be on guard about someone or something that we don’t take the time to study and build our own conviction?  Jesus’ warning about the yeast of the Pharisees tells me there are different types of yeast. He also sent a message to his followers warning them to be vigilant against the corruptible yeast, or in the same way the Pharisees were contaminated could also happen to them. I decided to read about the types and nature of yeast to have a much better understanding about Jesus’ warning.  Overall, I learned yeast is fast in production.  Although asexuality is the primary way of reproduction, they can also produce sexually.  After my short research, I concluded that yeast is not a bad organism, however it can be harmful depending on how it is used or the type of infection that has developed or contracted into your body.

“…Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed or hidden that will not be made known.  What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs. (Luke 12:1-3 NIV).

“Be careful” Jesus said to them. Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees” (Mathew 16:6-NIV).

According to Miriam Webster dictionary Hypocrisy is defined as “a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion;” “a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings.”  The dictionary went further describing Hypocrisy, as “a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not: behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel.” The word hypocrisy that is used in the New Testament in the Greek language is “Hypokrisis” which simply means “the acting on a stage” (Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible). Jesus tells us not to be actors in our mission as the keepers and teachers of the Word of God. The Word of God is meant to be alive and active and is meant to change lives (Hebrews 4:12-13). Our Lord Jesus who became the Word in the flesh (John 1:14) dedicated his life while on this earth to show us how to rise above “the yeast of the Pharisees.”

Then he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me."

Luke 9:23-NLT

My husband often tells this screen saver story when he speaks about Satan’s spirit of delusion that often attracts us into his domain. The story goes, a man was given two doors to choose from. When the man opens the first door, he saw laughter, happiness, success, fun and entertainment. As he opens the second door, all he sees is a peaceful calm space with the sound of wind and soft songs. The man automatically assumed the first door must be the better choice because it seems so alive and fun. To his surprise as he entered the first door, he learned that it was a screen saver! Behind that delusion is heartache, pain, disappointment, rejection, and death. The door with the screen saver that appeared to be boring, and disinteresting was the one he was truly seeking. That door had joy, laughter, peace, enjoyment and everlasting reward and contentment. I reference this story to highlight that Jesus’ teaching for many people might sound overbearing and even burdensome when it is read (Luke 14:26, Luke 14:33). Nevertheless, when a person takes the time to get to know Jesus and his mission to seek and save their soul, his message is the opposite of what our adversary (Satan) wants us to believe.

Jesus made many practical points that we can learn from in verses 17-36 of Luke chapter 6. My focus will mostly be on verses 27-36 which prompted me to write this devotional. Prior to Jesus' lesson about how we should treat our enemy, I was not surprised by His example of grace that He allowed to be given to so many people. In verse 17-19, the scriptures states that the people came to hear Him and to be healed. Take a moment to process what is happening in these passages that we so often miss as disciples, teachers, and preachers of Jesus Christ. The scripture does not say the people came to join His ministry nor did it say that since they were not part of Jesus’ ministry, He limited His healing gift. Jesus in the flesh was a man of community and he welcomed everyone, even the ones who rejected him. The passage said He healed them all. The second observation was in verse 20-26, Jesus turned to His Disciples highlighting areas of their lives that are or will be a stumbling block in their discipleship journey and gave them a heavenly vision.  My third observation: Jesus further spoke to the heart of the wealthy who rely on their earthly comfort instead of the everlasting comfort that God promises those who endures until the end.

“…God is Love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them” 1 John 4:16

The spirit led me to read Luke 6: 27-36 and would not let me keep my thoughts to myself even though I tried to. As always, the Counselor from the living God who lives inside of me won!

Our society uses the word 'love' a lot. I would even argue that the word love is used across different religious groups and among atheists without them realizing they are speaking of God. The world's number one enemy since the Garden of Eden knew that Love is a powerful tool when it is used as intended. Therefore, as he impersonates himself as a god throughout history, he manipulates the word Love to be used in ways that hurts God (Revelations 13:6-8). What is the greatest commandment in God’s law? In Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and 10:12, God reminded His chosen people that “God is One” and they must love Him with all their heart and with all their soul and with all their strength. The verse in Deuteronomy 10:12 further reminded us to fear God and to love Him. Jesus, the word of God in flesh, relayed the same message to all his Disciples/Christians in Matthew 22:37-38 “Teacher, which commandment is the greatest in the Law?” Jesus declared, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.…”   Jesus did not just tell us that God is love, he went further by becoming the ultimate gift of love by dying on the cross without any guarantee that we would choose God (John 3:16-19, 1Peter 2:21-24, Ephesians 3: 14-21, John 13:34-35).

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Imagine waking up most days feeling like needles are pricking you all over your body, while your bones feel like wires or three string cords that are being twisted to make a rope! Imagine waking up most days relying on God to be your strength by praying you can make it through the day! Imagine being awake but not able to get up from the bed because your body is fighting against your will to get going! Imagine after fighting through the physical pain all day where your brain feels exhausted, where you cannot recall simple things or the names of your friends and family even though you are looking at them! Imagine feeling like bugs are running under your skin like an electricity wave! Imagine having a full-blown flare of the symptoms mentioned above where your body is retaliating for pushing through as your toes, legs, hands, back, eyes and your muscles/bones start twitching and folding. Your loved ones can visibly see your body being in crisis while you are screaming and crying and there is nothing they can do to help! Imagine driving home from work or other places praying to God that your legs don’t start twitching/folding because you know your survival and others on the road depends on it! Imagine your body feels beat up when talking, breathing, reading, walking, becomes exceedingly difficult! Imagine your vision gets blurry where you feel like your sight is diminishing slowly while experiencing extreme fatigue!