Saturday January 25
“The Greatest of These is Love”
Luke 9:49-56
49 Now John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow with us." 50 But Jesus said to him, "Do not forbid him, for he who is not against us is on our side."
51 Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?" 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. 56 For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them." And they went to another village.
Friends, I need to ask for special prayer today before we look at Luke 9. This morning, I will be driving to Roanoke to meet my daughter Kimberly and my grandson Luke. Then early Sunday morning we will be driving to Boston Massachusetts for an appointment early Monday morning with a doctor at the Boston Children’s Hospital, who is a leading specialist in the world on the condition that Luke has with his brain.
This appointment and the insurance approval are both wonderful miracles. The hand of God’s divine providence is so obvious in every aspect of this consultation visit. Please pray for traveling mercies for us, and wisdom for the doctor and his staff as they examine Luke, look at his x-rays and medical records, and make possible recommendations for future treatment.
We can’t thank you enough for your prayers over the past several years for Luke. I’m convinced that it is only because of your prayers and God’s grace that Luke is still with us today and making such great progress! We truly appreciate you and can’t say it enough: Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
During this time, I will attempt to continue to post the devotionals by Oswald Chambers, Henry Blackaby, Dr. Elmer Towns, and the daily Psalms reading video to social media. I hope to be back in my home office here in Sneads Ferry, NC on Wednesday morning to continue our study through the Gospel of Luke! Thank you for both your patience and your prayers!
In Luke 9, Jesus is training and preparing His twelve disciples for the time He will be gone to heaven, and they will be left to fulfilled His Great Commission by sharing God’s love and the Gospel message with the whole world! We have said it often, but it bears repeating, “We can minister to the multitudes as Jesus did, but we can only disciple a few”. To personally be a disciple is not an easy road to go down. Jesus promised us trials and tribulations (John 16:33). But our main task as a disciple of Jesus Christ, according to the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19-20, is to disciple others. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.”
But it can be very discouraging and disappointing when you have spent years discipling and pouring your life into some followers of Jesus, and then you find them without the power of the Holy Spirit to bear fruit, expressing jealousy and envy, arguing with one another, and generally lacking love for the people they have been called to reach and serve. That is what Jesus is experiencing in this passage.
In this chapter, not only have the disciples of Jesus expressed lack of love for the hungry multitudes (“send them away” v. 12), for one another (vv. 46-48), they also showed a lack of love for believers outside their own group (Luke 9:49-50). We should be very careful not to be critical of other believers and ministries that don’t believe exactly like us, or do ministry a “different way” (see Romans 14:1-13). Believers who think that their group is the only group God recognizes and blesses are in for a shock when they get to heaven.
We should never forget that our zeal to fulfill the “Great Commission” is not a substitute for neglecting the “Great Commandment”, which is to both love God and our neighbor! (see Romans 13:8-10). The gifts of the Spirit without the fruit of Spirit profits nothing as far as the Lord is concerned (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
The first fruit of the Spirit is love (Galatians 5:22). We might have great faith and hope, but the greatest witness of the presence and power of Jesus in our lives, is expressing His love to others! (1 Corinthians 13:13). In John 13:35 Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
How is your love for Jesus and others today?
God bless!
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