Luke 9 DB

Scripture selections are taken from the Rock Church Daily Bread Reading schedule for each month. “Lena’s Journalin’” are Lena’s comments on the specific passages from her Daily Journal.

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Luke 9:1-62
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles
1One day Jesus called together his twelve apostles and gave them power and authority to cast out demons and to heal all diseases. 2Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the coming of the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3"Don't even take along a walking stick," he instructed them, "nor a traveler's bag, nor food, nor money. Not even an extra coat. 4When you enter each village, be a guest in only one home. 5If the people of the village won't receive your message when you enter it, shake off its dust from your feet as you leave. It is a sign that you have abandoned that village to its fate."
6So they began their circuit of the villages, preaching the Good News and healing the sick.

Herod's Confusion
7When reports of Jesus' miracles reached Herod Antipas, F41 he was worried and puzzled because some were saying, "This is John the Baptist come back to life again." 8Others were saying, "It is Elijah or some other ancient prophet risen from the dead."
9"I beheaded John," Herod said, "so who is this man about whom I hear such strange stories?" And he tried to see him.
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
10When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he slipped quietly away with them toward the town of Bethsaida. 11But the crowds found out where he was going, and they followed him. And he welcomed them, teaching them about the Kingdom of God and curing those who were ill. 12Late in the afternoon the twelve disciples came to him and said, "Send the crowds away to the nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the night. There is nothing to eat here in this deserted place."
13But Jesus said, "You feed them." "Impossible!" they protested. "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish. Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?" 14For there were about five thousand men there. "Just tell them to sit down on the ground in groups of about fifty each," Jesus replied. 15So the people all sat down. 16Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and asked God's blessing on the food. Breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples to give to the people. 17They all ate as much as they wanted, and they picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!
Peter's Declaration about Jesus
18One day as Jesus was alone, praying, he came over to his disciples and asked them, "Who do people say I am?"
19"Well," they replied, "some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead."
20Then he asked them, "Who do you say I am?" Peter replied, "You are the Messiah sent from God!"
Jesus Predicts His Death
21Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about this. 22"For I, the Son of Man, must suffer many terrible things," he said. "I will be rejected by the leaders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. I will be killed, but three days later I will be raised from the dead."
23Then he said to the crowd, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me. 24If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. 25And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose or forfeit your own soul in the process? 26If a person is ashamed of me and my message, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in my glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels. 27And I assure you that some of you standing here right now will not die before you see the Kingdom of God."
The Transfiguration
28About eight days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John to a mountain to pray. 29And as he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothing became dazzling white. 30Then two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and began talking with Jesus. 31They were glorious to see. And they were speaking of how he was about to fulfill God's plan by dying in Jerusalem.
32Peter and the others were very drowsy and had fallen asleep. Now they woke up and saw Jesus' glory and the two men standing with him. 33As Moses and Elijah were starting to leave, Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, "Master, this is wonderful! We will make three shrines F42 —one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 34But even as he was saying this, a cloud came over them; and terror gripped them as it covered them.
35Then a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, my Chosen One. F43 Listen to him." 36When the voice died away, Jesus was there alone. They didn't tell anyone what they had seen until long after this happened.
Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Boy
37The next day, after they had come down the mountain, a huge crowd met Jesus. 38A man in the crowd called out to him, "Teacher, look at my boy, who is my only son. 39An evil spirit keeps seizing him, making him scream. It throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It is always hitting and injuring him. It hardly ever leaves him alone. 40I begged your disciples to cast the spirit out, but they couldn't do it."
41"You stubborn, faithless people," Jesus said, "how long must I be with you and put up with you? Bring him here." 42As the boy came forward, the demon knocked him to the ground and threw him into a violent convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the evil spirit and healed the boy. Then he gave him back to his father. 43Awe gripped the people as they saw this display of God's power.
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
While everyone was marveling over all the wonderful things he was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, 44"Listen to me and remember what I say. The Son of Man is going to be betrayed." 45But they didn't know what he meant. Its significance was hidden from them, so they could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about it.
The Greatest in the Kingdom
46Then there was an argument among them as to which of them would be the greatest. 47But Jesus knew their thoughts, so he brought a little child to his side. 48Then he said to them, "Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest."
Using the Name of Jesus
49John said to Jesus, "Master, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons. We tried to stop him because he isn't in our group."
50But Jesus said, "Don't stop him! Anyone who is not against you is for you."
Opposition from Samaritans
51As the time drew near for his return to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. 53But they were turned away. The people of the village refused to have anything to do with Jesus because he had resolved to go to Jerusalem. 54When James and John heard about it, they said to Jesus, "Lord, should we order down fire from heaven to burn them up F44 ?" 55But Jesus turned and rebuked them. F45 56So they went on to another village.
The Cost of Following Jesus
57As they were walking along someone said to Jesus, "I will follow you no matter where you go."
58But Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but I, the Son of Man, have no home of my own, not even a place to lay my head."
59He said to another person, "Come, be my disciple." The man agreed, but he said, "Lord, first let me return home and bury my father."
60Jesus replied, "Let those who are spiritually dead care for their own dead. F46 Your duty is to go and preach the coming of the Kingdom of God."
61Another said, "Yes, Lord, I will follow you, but first let me say good-bye to my family."
62But Jesus told him, "Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God."
FOOTNOTES:F41: Greek Herod the tetrarch. He was a son of King Herod and was ruler over one of the four districts in Palestine. F42: Or shelters; Greek reads tabernacles. F43: Some manuscripts read This is my beloved Son. F44: Some manuscripts add as Elijah did. F45: Some manuscripts add And he said, "You don't realize what your hearts are like. 56For the Son of Man has not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." F46: Greek Let the dead bury their own dead.


Copyright Statement: Holy Bible, The New Living TranslationCopyright © 1996 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

~ Lena’s Journalin’ Today ~
Jesus called disciples. Their co-mission with Him was to deliver people out of darkness, out of the hands of the grip of hell’s destiny on their lives, on their eternity, the next step after darkness’ cloak was taken off of people, would be to heal them, make them a whole person in God’s kingdom, a person who’s main needs are to come closer and closer to the image and likeness of the Father. This person who’s been called, delivered out of darkness, healed and being transformed is a person who will go out and call others to the same.
The word is GO, the one who goes has got to go equipped with the glory of God, be delivered, be healed, be made whole and sent as a model of God’s kingdom and power. This is what we take with us when we go, We take His glory and power, it is all that we depend on. Our dependency is not on earthly security, but heavenly security for ourselves and for as many others as we have time in this life to give this security to.
Jesus’ reputation went before Him, everywhere He went He found followers. He made an initial call to a few, yet many would follow after Him. If we are interested in Him, really want to know what He has to say to us and want to learn more of Him, we will follow after. We will pursue Him and His. The pursuit of someone is related to their growth stage in the kingdom. Once Jesus called the 12, it was His manner to teach them. It was they who followed and listened and practiced what He’d said. If they didn’t get it, or wanted to do something else, they could. We don’t see Jesus running after anyone to make sure they were ok or not offended. He spoke God’s words and would explain them to those who stayed close enough to hear His words.
Those who were truly seeking truth follow, even the crowds followed. We are followers of Christ. Led by His spirit, led by His word, but followers after God.
In the feeding of the 5 thousand + it says they had as much as they wanted. This is the same way with us in our personal relationships with God. We have as much as we want. It is there, we must want it and show we want it by staying in faith and strengthening our faith by following and doing what we hear. It’s nice to be pursued after by a loving Christian follower, but the pursuit is to win you over to following. Once truth comes and the call of the spirit is heard and the cloak of darkness comes off, growth is indicated by taking the next step, the next step is taken by the one who was pursued, the rest of the steps of growth are initiated by those who follow after Christ.
The crowd was hungry. For what? For love? For natural food? To be accepted, or to become a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ? There is a cost of discipleship, to follow Christ one must go to the cross, where old things pass away and all becomes new. That person has to want new so bad that they allow old to die completely. Hungry for what’s truly right. Are we hungry enough to feed others what we’ve been given? Jesus took bread gave thanks, broke it up, gave it to those who follow and they gave and they gave and they gave! Giving truth, giving God’s word is the best way to truly love someone, yet we can only invite, extend a spiritual invitation; the rest is up to the follower. There may have been people on that field that day who were not hungry and passed the bread on to someone else. I can make a meal, but my kids, especially my older ones, have to decide to come to the table, sit down and eat. Some on that field that day, when told to sit down may have not liked being told what to do and walked away, they didn’t see the miracle that day.
I post daily bread, people don’t have to read it, people don’t have to even open their e-mails. They can do it whenever they desire to or not, right? It’s not up to me to force anyone to “eat”, right? It is the person’s freewill choice for discipleship by something I may have to say that leads them to follow or not. Even with the Bible, God gave us the word, had people translate it into languages we speak, printed out in versions closer to our understanding, etc. We can buy one we can easily understand etc, but it could sit on a shelf and we never open it, yet we could say we have one, right? It is up to the follower. We have as much of God as we desire and make room for.
When we follow we see more and more and more truth. Peter followed and he saw something magnificent. He was able to express, Jesus IS GOD! As we follow others who follow Christ it will bring us to a place where we are also able to say, Jesus IS God!
With this revelation, Jesus was able to take Peter towards a destiny he would not have been able to receive the call of or participate in had he not gotten close to God. That is the same destiny every human being has, to give their lives for others. Live the life of sacrifice, live for God and His dream, which are people. The way of truth is so foreign to any way the world paves out for people.
Lay down selfish ambition? Wait a minute, aren’t we supposed to be ambitious? Weren’t we raised to give our life in the form of time, energy and money over to things and successes? So if a person lives his whole life to get what he can out of life and live life to it’s fullest, never denying his own desires to fulfill the desires of another, he may lose His life? How’s that? It is because eternal life is what this life here on earth is about. It’s about deposits made into the treasury of God’s purposes and goals. God’s purposes and goals are that people would come to know Him and make Him known. If we cannot deny our own plans and goals for this we will find a very empty eternal bank account in our end. Everything we do here effects eternity both for us and for others.
The way we show if we follow Him or not is are we leading others, are we speaking our faith by our lives and words? Wouldn’t it be awesome to see God’s kingdom right here, before we die? That IS God’s intent, that we who follow after Him would bring His kingdom to earth in physical demonstration, a kingdom others could make citizenship in. A kingdom which gives rather than taking. We give our lives. God will not take them. Kingdom loyalty can only be given by the citizenship, not taken by the ruler. It’s a freewill kingdom. Men loving and obeying God because they want to follow Him.
The transfiguration comes to those who see Him, follow Him and stay with Him. If we are with Him we see Him. The number 8 means new beginning, like a 7 day week is a complete week and the next day is the first day of the new week, a new beginning. Jesus was previously talking of people who choose to give their lives for the gospel’s sake, now 8 days later, they see a transformation, they witness a transformation. That’s the next step, to be truly transformed. The disciples had to wake up to see Him in this other form.
Next step from there, seeing this progression as a journey of growth, They go and reach out to others who have deliverance needs. Those who need to be delivered out of darkness, spiritual darkness and the physical torment that darkness brings.
If one wants ambition in life, it should be to serve and minister to God, and in doing this, one will minister to God’s desires and needs, which is ministry to people who may be lost without knowing of His love demonstrated through human believers. Greatness in God’s kingdom is not based on success or position or title, it is based on greatness through lowly living.
He who is not against Me is for Me.
The cost of discipleship? Life, the giving of life, the whole life, not part, but whole. Not half, but whole.
This one issue comes up all of the time, time is or can be an issue with us. Many times we believe we have all the time in the world to decide for doing what God would like for us to join in and participate in. For some reason we think we have time to make decisions and then time to walk them out, apply or do them. In thinking this way, we take our time in many of our spiritual considerations. In taking all of this time, we use time and time goes by. Jesus specifically said put your hand to the plow and don’t look back! He didn’t say think about and pray about maybe considering putting your hands or part of your fingers on the plow and them when you are ready let Him know what you might decide about how much of it you will do. Decide or don’t, not deciding is deciding. The longer we take to decide, the more time passes that we are not deciding or adding action to our decisions, the more time we may not be engaged in the will of God.
Follow Me……

Daily Repetitive Verses:

Proverbs 27:17-19
17 You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another. 18 If you care for your orchard, you'll enjoy its fruit; if you honor your boss, you'll be honored.
19 Just as water mirrors your face, so your face mirrors your heart.
Psalm 122:1
1 When they said, "Let's go to the house of God," my heart leaped for joy.