Lesson 3412

 (Lesson 3412)(05-07-21) Luke 11:14-28

    “ And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth. If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you. When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils. He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”

    In today’s quote, Jesus made the point that evil replaced by more evil benefits no one, but rather, evil replaced by good is of eternal benefit to the one into which the righteouness of Jesus Christ has been imputed.

    Just as Jesus removed the evil “dumb” spirit from the man in the quote, if we have faith in Him, Jesus will replace the evil spirit within us with the perfectly righteous Holy Spirit of God Himself.~

Lesson 3411

 (Lesson 3411)(05-06-21) Luke 11:5-13

    “And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him? And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth. And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”

    In today’s lesson Jesus related how easily, and assuredly, God sends His Holy Spirit to those who are willing to believe and ask. 

    Jesus promised that if we who believe ask God for anything, we will receive it in abundance. “For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened." ( Matthew 7:7-8 paraphrased)~

Lesson 3410

 (Lesson 3410)(05-05-21) Luke 11:1-4

    “ And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.”

    In today’s quote, Jesus taught his apostles how they should pray. He accomplished that by quoting what we now call “The Lord’s prayer” as an example.

    The Matthew account of this event goes much further wherein Jesus teaches that prayer is to be a private thing. As Jesus said to His apostles, “And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”

    Almost every church I’ve ever had any knowledge of, in total contrast to what Jesus so obviously taught in this lesson, still encourages standing, public prayer. I will never understand that reasoning. There is absolutely no reason for public prayer other than to draw attention to the one doing the public praying. That is precisely what Jesus stood against.~

Lesson 3409

 (Lesson 3409)(05-04-21) Luke 10:38-42

    “Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

    Today’s lesson is a simple one. We are to learn of and serve God before all else.~

Lesson 3408

(Lesson 3408)(05-03-21) Luke 10:25-37

    “ And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.” 

    In today’s quote, when a certain lawyer asked “what shall I do to inherit eternal life”, Jesus first told him to obey the laws of the Jews, to love God with all his heart and to love his neighbor as he loved himself. When the lawyer smugly, asked who is my neighbor”, Jesus related the parable of the “Good Samaritan”. In essence saying that we are ALL neighbors and are to love each other as we love ourselves.

    To love God with all that we are, and to love our neighbors are the two “great” commandmensts.~ 

Lesson 3407

 (Lesson 3407)(05-02-21) Luke 10:23-24

    “And he turned him unto his disciples, and said privately, Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see: For I tell you, that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”

    In today’s quote, Jesus spoke of the establishment of His new law of faith and how it was, and would be, except to a chosen few, a mystery until He had completed His soul saving sacrifice and ascended back to the Father.~

Lesson 3406

 (Lesson 3406)(05-01-21) Luke 10:21-22

    “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him.”

         Today’s quote relates how Jesus praised the wisdom of God in that He came to earth in human form as His own Son. He did so in order to relate His divine plan more easily to those who will believe in Him.

    To unbelievers, the life of Jesus is a fairy tale. To those of us who have placed our faith in Him, His virgin born life, His death, burial, resurrection and ascension is our free ticket to eternal life. I highly reccommend it to everyone. All you need do is believe and ask.~