Luke 24: A Walk with Jesus

This meditation is going to be short because I really want you to read verses 13-35 and think about what it would be to take a walk with Jesus. In this life, I can never take a walk with my Mom again, or with my Grandpa, but I can talk a walk with Jesus right now by reading Luke 24.

Luke 23: Paradise

A word from the lips of Jesus can fix anything. On a cross next to Jesus was a man who had lived a bad life. He had even sinned against God while he was on his cross (Matthew 27:44). But during the brief hours after that, he had changed. He was desperate, and he knew it. He also knew that Jesus was a King and that Jesus could help him! So, he appealed to that Man Who was on His Own cross. In the sentence that Jesus spoke, the word “paradise” is used. This word has such meaning that we can know that Jesus was promising this sinner far more than he asked. He can give you paradise, too (Revelation 2:7) .Will you yield to Him and receive what He gives (Acts 22:16)? 

Luke 22: Communion...Threatened

The importance of the death, burial, and resurrection can be seen in the Lord’s Supper—communion—which the early church observed every Sunday (Acts 2:42; 20:7-11; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29). The word “communion” has to do with fellowship between the worshipper and God as well as fellowship among all true worshippers. The scene of verses 14-23 is one that includes this idea. But the fellowship must be understood and maintained by worshipers who treat one another as brothers and sisters outside of worship. To do otherwise will threaten this communion (verses 24-30). And that will cut us off from God.

Luke 21: No Strings Attached - Part Two

It is easy to judge what other people do. We can get good at it either way—being fair judges or unfair judges. If a person puts everything she has into the church treasury, and if the amount she puts in can do almost nothing—what is the point? This meditation is about four of the thirty-eight verses in Luke 21. But doing a good job on these four can help us to do a good job on the rest. So, back to the widow—there was nothing small about her gift, for at least three reasons:

¨ Such a gift glorifies God

¨ Such a gift sets a good example

¨ Her giving with “no strings attached” opens the door for me
to see how great her soul was

Luke 20: Authority

This mediation begins with good questions about Jesus’ authority. The sad thing is that the good questions came from bad people, and Jesus knew it. So the more important thing was for them to examine themselves (rather than to examine Jesus). He made an effort to help them do this which they promptly rejected. So, He made no direct attempt to answer them (verse 8). He had been claiming authority from God in His teaching all along (Matthew 7:28-29) and demonstrating it in His miracles, signs, and wonders (John 3:1-2). He does have all authority today over me and over you (Matthew 28:18). So, let us examine ourselves honestly and choose to live in harmony with the demands of His authority. This may help to ready your mind for the reading of verses 9-47.

Luke 19: Blessed Be the King

This reading includes the event in the final week of Jesus’ life that is called “The Triumphal Entry” (verses 28-40). It was a great thing, predicted by prophets, arranged by Jesus, and filled with praise to the King. It was preceded and followed by many events where He was misunderstood, persecuted, and plotted against. He had entered the world as a King (Luke 1-2; Matthew 2), now He enters Jerusalem being called a King, and on Pentecost He would be crowned King (Acts 2). He overcomes all of the negative and reigns to this day as King of Kings.

“Blessed be the King”

Luke 18: No Strings Attached - Part One

I woke up in the middle of the night about two weeks ago and gravitated to the lessons to be learned from the rich young ruler. One point came to me that I had not meditated on very often. In verse 22, Jesus told him to sell his possessions and do something with the money. Which of these was it?

¨ Make a donation to your favorite mission work

¨ Start a school of preaching

¨ Broadcast the gospel to the world

¨ Give it to the poor

Common wisdom among religious people usually marks out the last choice immediately. But that was the only choice Jesus gave him. He did not say why—so that’s where the meditating begins. Maybe it is because such giving is a true example of “no strings attached” giving and frees one to take up the cross and follow Jesus (see Matthew 19:21; Mark 10:21).

Luke 17: You Must Forgive

Imitating God (Ephesians 5:1) is joyful, challenging, necessary, and productive. The command in verse 4 that we must forgive the person who repents will be much easier to obey if we practice daily imitating the God Who is always “ready to forgive” (Nehemiah 9:17; Psalm 86:5). The fact that we don’t—or won’t—forgive in necessary situations could be explained by our failure to develop a forgiving nature. God did not have to develop it—HE IS IT. But we do have to develop it because the command in verse 4 (“You shall forgive him”) requires a forgiving spirit. Being such a person has another upside—it makes those who offend have an easier time choosing to repent.

Luke 16: Integrity

On a mission trip to India, a few of us were in a hotel room for Sunday evening worship. An Indian Christian, Benjamin Lazarus, spoke to us that night from Luke 16:1-12. His subject was “integrity.” It was a beautiful, thoughtful, memorable talk. I have used these verses often to try to make the same point that my friend made that night. Are you an honest, fair person who knows that God always wants you to do the “right thing”? How do you find out what the “right thing” is? Thanks again, brother Benjamin.

Luke 15: The "Lost" Parables

A brief amount of murmuring against Jesus is the first statement of Luke 15. Jesus used it as an occasion to give three “Lost” parables:

¨ The Parable of the Lost Sheep (One of One Hundred)

¨ The Parable of the Lost Coin (One of Ten)

¨ The Parable of the Lost Son (One of Two)

I am not listing the lessons that I think are in this well-known reading, but I do want you to write down the lessons you get from it as you read. Making some notes while you read is a good way to learn how to develop your meditation skills.

Luke 14: How Much Is It?

Few of us buy anything unless we find out how much it costs. I like fish, but when the menu says “Market Price,” I ask what “market price” is before I decide. The last paragraph of this chapter (verses 25-35) is about cost—“counting the cost.”

¨ What is the cost of serving Christ?

¨ What is the cost of not serving Christ?

¨ How do I learn to count the cost?

¨ Do I realize that after meditating on the cost, I should serve Him at all costs?

Luke 13: What Is This Thing Called Repentance?

Earthly tragedies can easily be used by thoughtful people for self-examination. At the beginning of this chapter, Our Lord used two recent events to encourage His listeners to think about the idea of repentance. Simply defined, repentance is a changing of the mind. Spiritually defined, it is a changing of the mind about one’s own sins—it is a resolution to think differently about sin and to stop. It is preceded by a different, but essential, emotion: godly sorrow (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). Have you repented? Do you realize that “perishing” is certain for all who do not repent?

Luke 12: Personal Pronouns

Verses 13-21 have been used many times to teach us about the sin of covetousness—the evil greed that leads us to trust in possessions. Part of the lesson is to note how much the man in the parable thought of himself:

“...within himself...I...I...my...I...I...my...I...my...my...I...my...soul...thou…”

These are personal pronouns—his selfish life was all about himself. But God also got personal with him in verse 20, and then Jesus got personal with us in verse 21.

Luke 11: Woe

The end of this reading has a description of one of those events in Jesus’ life that is truly sad. It reveals how difficult it is to make it clear to a hypocrite that he is a hypocrite and that he needs to change (verses 37-53). While He was visiting the house of a hypocrite, Jesus used the word “woe” six times to refer to the spiritual condition of these men. It is strong language, implying a rejection of their thinking, their values, their hearts, and their trouble-making for others. Their response? Read the last verse.

The Lessons:

Do not be a hypocrite

Accept the Lord’s diagnosis of your condition

Luke 10: Love, Love, Love, Love

The parable of the good Samaritan is in Luke 10. It is introduced by a conversation between a teacher of the Law of Moses and Jesus. At one point the lawyer answered correctly a question that was asked by the Lord about inheriting eternal life. It is about loving God with all of one’s heart, soul, strength and mind. There is a song that says, “The gospel in a word is ‘love.’” And love is all about obeying His commandments (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3). Meditate on this man’s correct answer so tat you can give Him a correct answer on the lat day (v. 28).

Luke 9: Dazzling White

This chapter has one of many incidents that help to identify Who Jesus really is. It is the transfiguration (also found in Matthew 17 and Mark 9). Verse 29 has a phrase that can be translated “his clothes became dazzling white” (Christian Standard Bible). It is one of several terms showing that this event was demonstrating that He is deity, a member of the Godhead. Don’t forget to meditate on the fact that God came in a cloud of glory and spoke words that gave more proof of the true identity of Jesus. Then, choose to listen to Him in all things (verse 35).

Luke 8: How Do You Hear?

This meditation centers in on one word: “How.” “Take heed how you hear,”  Jesus said. “How” is a common word, appearing 103 times in the New Testament. It is one of hundreds of words in this very chapter. It is part of a commandment to us to pay attention to “how” we listen to Jesus: “by what means” do we listen? It means that we must listen well when we listen. It applies to our attitudes as listeners. Do we listen to the Bible in humility, with a desire to learn and do the will of God, with a whole-hearted longing to understand and love the Lord God, with an appreciation of the fact that we have been given an opportunity to actually hear His word, and with the belief that He knows if we are taking heed to “how” we hear?

Luke 7: Go in Peace

Almost every chapter presents me with many ideas for meditations and a difficulty in deciding how to narrow it down to one. I did not even have to read this chapter in order to decide. The last words in the chapter are, “Go in peace.” Everything in the reading actually leads up to this, particularly verses 36-50. Think on these things:

¨ Who was to “Go in peace”? A forgiven sinner

¨ Why did she need peace? She had sinned

¨ What did she receive? Forgiveness from Jesus

¨ When did she have peace? Right then

¨ With whom did she have peace? God, Jesus, herself

¨ Do I have peace with Him and myself? Acts 10:36-48

Luke 6: Why Do You Call Me Lord?

Much of this chapter sounds like various parts of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). One verse of it includes Jesus’ question, “Why do you call me lord?” It is followed by, “And do not the things that I say?” Here are some points for meditating:

¨ What does it mean to truly call Jesus “Lord”?

¨ Why would anyone call Him “Lord” if they were not going to obey Him?

¨ Why did they call Him “Lord,” since they followed it up by not obeying?

¨ What does it mean NOW—TO ME—to call Him Lord?

¨ How does this mesh with Matthew 7:21-23?

Luke 5: Because You Say So

This meditation is based on the early part of this reading—a fishing story. In the middle of it, Peter says that he would put the nets back into the lake “because you said so.” Some points for meditation are the simplicity of the story (anyone can learn from it), we need to train ourselves to listen to Jesus, to trust Him, to be ready to act, to do what He says, to expect His blessings, and to continue following Him. All of this, and more, is in just he first eleven verses. And these great verses are followed by twenty-eight more that are just as good.

Luke 4: He Left - for a Season

The heading for this meditation is a statement about the fact that the Devil left Jesus after the three temptations that had just occurred. The word “season” means “opportune time,” meaning that he could return after the passing of any amount of time, whenever he thought it was suitable for his evil plans. But he did leave! Why? From the standpoint of Jesus, we can say that the devil left because Jesus was well-prepared, confident, and obedient—insuring Satan’s failure. From the standpoint of the devil, we can say he left because he was beaten, he had been found out (to be a liar), and that his strengths can be overcome by the scriptures. When you overcome a temptation, always be alert for the next one.

Luke 3: What Is in a Genealogy?

Much of this reading is about the preaching of John the immerser, including the fact that he immersed Jesus. All of this leads up to the family tree of Jesus. It is very different from the one in Matthew, for it goes all the way back to Adam, who was “of God.”  Everyone has a genealogy—all the way back to Adam! We learn about our families, history, and roots. We develop our memories from those who came before us, including their hopes, dreams, successes, and failures. In the genealogy of Jesus, we also learn about the many promises that God made and kept while He was preparing the world for the coming of His Son. You can be in a great spiritual genealogy by following Him (Galatians 3:36-29).

Luke 2: Remember Simeon and Anna

These two older people are only mentioned in this chapter. They are truly great examples of “growing old gracefully.” They had spent their lives maturing their souls in serving Jehovah, they were ready for the coming of the King and His kingdom, they were joyfully blessed to meet Jesus the baby at the end of their lives, they were privileged with inspired information from God about the wonderful times in which they lived, and their legacy—although contained in only a few verses—is one that we need to read slowly and carefully whenever we can.

Luke 1: Holy Women of God

We meet two great women at the beginning of Luke. The older woman comes first, Elisabeth. She was a person who was blameless before God and right-living before everyone else. She had been that way all along, which leads us to the second woman, Mary. She was very young and also holy before God. Her morality was according to the will of God and put her in perfect position to become the mother of God’s only begotten just as Elisabeth was to become the mother of His forerunner. The lesson is simple—holy women are holy because of their own decisions and because of God’s decision to compliment them: “Well done” (Matthew 25:14-30).

Joshua 24: Choose

Perhaps the best known words from Joshua are in verse 15 where he challenges them to choose whom they would serve. But as important as that line is—there is much more in Joshua 24, and I hope that you will choose to read and meditate on all of them. The word “choose” “denotes a choice, which is based on a thorough examination of the situation and not an arbitrary whim” (The Complete Word Study Dictionary, Old Testament, p. 127).

Joshua 23: What Can We Get from an Old Man?

Sometime the elderly are abused or ignored. The Bible teaches us to respect them from the depths of our hearts. Note some things that Israel needed to take from their aging leader, Joshua:

¨ They listened to him speak

¨ They heard him draw lessons from the past for the present and the future

¨ They heard his warnings about offending God

¨ They knew that he understood his own situation well

¨ They were reminded of his own great faith in Jehovah

Joshua 22: Conflict Resolution

This chapter should be used as a pattern for settling problems when one “side” jumps to conclusions, makes rash decisions, and then learns that the other “side” had good intentions and really did not do anything wrong anyway! One of my Bibles actually has the heading “Conflict Resolved” over verses 30-34. Not only was the issue resolved, it stayed resolved! And they gave the credit to God.

Joshua 21: Everything God Promised, He Did

The benevolent God gave every Israelite his or her own blessings in the land that flowed with milk and honey. Details of these blessings are part of this reading. It ends with another detailed statement of the fact that this giving was in fulfillment—complete fulfillment—of His good promise to Abraham centuries earlier (vv. 43-45; see Genesis 12, 15).

Joshua 20: Refuge Made Available by God

“Refuge” has to do with safety, danger, moving from danger to safety, and the fact that the refuge can do what it advertises. Knowing that certain situations could arise in daily life that included the possibility than an innocent person could need refuge prompted Jehovah to tell the Israelites to set aside six cities of refuge, three on each side of the Jordan (see Numbers 35). All of this leads us to understand that God is Himself our refuge—and we are to flee to Him even when we are not innocent!

Joshua 19: Finished!

Every job has certain points where we can say that something is finished. The last verse of this chapter tells us that after all the decades since being freed from Egypt, the Israelites finished dividing the promised land among the twelve tribes. It was a truly great event. The fact that there was more work to do does not take away from this accomplishment. We will never be done—even when we die, we will have unfinished projects—but every thing that we finish leads to a successful “end”—the eternal salvation of the soul (1 Peter 1:9).

Joshua 18: How Long Will You Delay?

Seven tribes had not taken possession of their territories yet. Joshua accused them of being “slack” (KJV). This is not a positive word. It is used all through the Old Testament to refer to situations where people did not do what they were supposed to do. Joshua gave specific instructions to fix the situation, which they followed. Let us learn that delaying the doing of God’s will is not a good thing—He has given us responsibilities, too. Let us not delay in doing them.

Joshua 17: Don't Forget the Women

This chapter picks up a thread of several women who had no brothers (see Numbers 27:6-7). They had been promised an inheritance for the name of their father. Here, they came before the leaders of Israel to claim their inheritance in the land of Manasseh. The rule laid down by Moses was honored, and another Bible lesson on the equality of all people (as well as the fact that the heavenly Father is no respecter of persons) is completed.

Joshua 16: Joseph Had Two Sons

Joseph received a double inheritance in the land since each of his sons had become a separate tribe. Ephraim and Manasseh were given their land here. Note that the two faithful spies were from two tribes that became very influential in the history of the Israelites:

Caleb—Judah—the tribe of kings through David

Joshua—Ephraim—the tribe of rebellion through Jeroboam

Joshua 15: Jebusites: Still Among Us

Our meditation comes from the last verse (but do not skip the rest of this long reading). After all the victories that had been won in the previous years, there was still work to be done. The Jebusites still controlled Jerusalem. The author says that they could not drive them out—no reason is given, but we can be sure that it was not due to any failure on the part of God. A search of your Bible will show that they caused trouble for centuries, even in the time of David (1 Chronicles 11). Let us not fail to overcome our “Jebusites” (1 John 5:4-5).

Joshua 14: Will You Imitate This Man?

Caleb is one of those men in the Bible who stood head and shoulders above every enemy he ever faced—and many of them were giants (Numbers 13-14). The events of Numbers, when he was one of the 12 spies, were 45 years back (38 years of wandering plus 7 years of conquering). Caleb was now 85 years old and ready for his next batch of giants. Humbly, he approached the challenge: “...if so be (perhaps) the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said” (v. 12).

Joshua 13: Divide the Land - But You Are Not Done Yet

This begins the last half of the book. The first half is the conquest of Canaan and its people; the second half is the division of the land and the issuing of challenges by God to the new owners. They still needed to deal with the coastal people: Philistia, Phoenicia, and Lebanon. And they always needed to take heed of the condition of their own hearts (see 24:15).

Joshua 12: Kings Plus More

This reading ends with a list of 31 kings of cities and areas in Canaan that had been defeated. It begins with the reminder of the two kings who had been defeated before they crossed Jordan a few years earlier. Let us remember that whenever God calls upon us to accomplish His will, there will always be enemies, obstacles, temptations, as well as His promise to be with us.

Joshua 11: All of It - Verse 23

The period of conquest on the western side of Jordon took several years. This is the statement of its completion: “So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses...And the land rested from war.” The long wait—of more than four centuries from the promise to Abraham (Genesis 12, 15), had now resulted in their possession of the promised land! As you meditate on this reading, do not miss the lessons you can learn about our great Jehovah in Joshua 11.

Joshua 10: The Sun Did What??

In order to protect the deceiving Gibeonites and keep the vow they made to them, Israel had to gather to fight a battle. Jehovah promised victory, but they had to fight anyway. The battle was so extended that the Lord caused the sun to stand still (among other miracles). Along with the facts of the story is a truly remarkable application in verse 14. It can be the basis of a very useful meditation for you. Please do so, and remember that the same Jehovah will listen to you and fight for you.

Joshua 9: How Deception Works

They hear something they do not like (v. 3). They begin to act (v. 4). They design their method (vv. 4-5). They alter their appearance, they cooperate, and they form lies (vv. 4-6). They are not well checked out by the opposition (vv. 7-8). They tell a good story (vv. 9-10). They make an offer (v. 11). They give a demonstration (vv. 12-14). They hope it works (v. 15). They trust in the honor of the opposition (vv. 16-21). They act respectfully (vv. 22-27).

~ They got their way! ~

Joshua 8: Gerizim and Ebal

When you finish meditating on Ai, you will come to the mountains of blessing and cursing. In Deuteronomy 27 and 28, Moses had given instructions for the things that they were doing in verses 30-35. It is a brief description, but a truly awesome occasion. Note who came that day in the last verse. Meditate on how well you understand the concepts of “Blessing” and “Cursing.”

Joshua 7: Two Terrible Letters: "A" and "I"

The Israelites lost the battle of Ai (Pronounced A-i) because of one man—Achan. He chose to disobey and they all suffered. Only a few months before this (while Achan was very much alive) Moses had said, “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). His sin found him out—and many others suffered for it, too. God’s name also suffered—for the enemy who “beats” us always decides that our God must be weak, too. But there is much more to this, don’t stop with chapter 7.

Joshua 6: Was It a Miracle?

The walls of Jericho came down—was it a miracle? The wisdom of the world says, “Let’s dig up Jericho and see if we can find out!” So, let's say that they find a rock, they prove that it is from the actual time of Joshua, and it has this inscription:

The walls of Jericho fell
down today. It was a
miracle. Really.

Signed, Joshua, Son of Nun

What would that prove? It would prove nothing about whether or not it was a miracle. The only way to know if it was a miracle is to find an infallible source. That source is the Bible—it was a miracle. The Bible says it, and that settles, it, whether we believe it or not.

Joshua 5: No More Manna

What does “no more manna” mean? 1) They were safely in Canaan. 2) God had kept His promise to free them, lead them, and give them the land (Genesis 15). 3) The land would give them milk and honey. 4) They had work to do in providing their own food. What does “no more manna” not mean? 1) God had given up on them. 2) God cannot keep His promises. 3) The enemy is stronger than God. 4) God does not provide. “No more manna”—only three of the words in this chapter. What other sources of meditation can you find in Joshua 5?

Joshua 4: What Do These Stones Mean to You, Dad?

I hope you will read this chapter and learn about the stones. God meant for the adults to learn the story and be able to tell their children what they meant—which means that they would need to see the stones and that their parents would need to know what the stones meant. Do you know? Can you tell your kids? Do you think “the Exodus story” is still important?

Joshua 3: "Jesus" Gave Them Rest

Hebrews 4 (New Testament) in the King James Version tells us about the events that began in Joshua 3. “Jesus gave them rest.” “Jesus” is the Greek word for “Joshua” (Hebrew). Joshua led the people of Israel into Canaan as their land of rest. Jesus has a rest remaining for us (Hebrews 4:9). Our Canaan is heaven. Will we follow our Jesus to that land of rest just as they followed their “Jesus” into Canaan?

Joshua 2: Rahab - Faith or Works?

Hebrews 11 says that Rahab did what she did because of faith. James 2 says it was by works that she was justified. No one knows how long the argument about faith “or” works has been disputed. Many arguments about many subjects are about “either” or “or” when there is a third possibility that is “either” ignored “or” rejected! Some people really do just like to argue and win. But the third (or fourth, or…) alternative could be the answer that could make everybody happy. Rahab was justified by faith AND works. Period. Now quit fighting about it and read about her.

Joshua 1: Moses My Servant Is Dead - Now...

No matter what legacy a person leaves, someone has to “fill his shoes.” The work of God absolutely must go on. “Listen to me, Joshua. Moses my servant is dead, and I have given his job to you.  Be courageous and do what I have made you capable of doing. I am not asking you to be Moses, I am telling you to rely on Me and be Joshua—faithful Joshua. We both know you can do this, and Israel has a right to look to you now.” So Joshua did it—until he was 110 (Joshua 24:29).