Luke 11

Once again, Jesus demonstrated His strong prayer life; and by His example, the disciples are motivated to learn to pray like He does.  In what is essentially the Lord's Prayer, we see that the first part is focused on God (Your Name, Your Kingdom) and the second part includes our requests (Give us, Forgive us, Lead us not).  We are also reminded that prayer:

• Is intimate communication with our FATHER
• Is directed towards a HOLY KING, Who is to be reverenced and worshipped
• Allows us to make requests for our needs, both physical (bread) and spiritual (forgiveness from sin and deliverance from temptation)

We also learn that we are to be persistent in prayer, being assured that God answers:  "For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."  (vs 10)   We also have the assurance that He is GOOD and that He has all power over the Enemy and His demons.

When we pray for our needs (not wants), and when we approach God in worship for Who He Is, seeking His Will to be done; then we would not pray for anything that would be contrary to His character nor for anything that would be against His Will.

And regarding His Teaching, Jesus says "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it" (vs 28b) 

To those who were only seeking signs, Jesus said they will be condemned for missing the "sign of Jonah", which is that the Son of Man will be crucified and buried for three days (as Jonah was in the fish), but will resurrect to proclaim the good news of His victory over sin and death.   While the Queen of Sheba blessed God when she heard Solomon's wisdom and the Ninevites repented when they heard Jonah's preaching, this "wicked generation" will not see the truth right before their very eyes.   And it was interesting that Luke, being a Gentile writer, would give these examples of Gentiles (i.e Queen of Sheba and Ninevites) who accepted, whereas the crowd, mainly Jewish, will reject.  Their eyes will prevent the light of God's Word from filling their bodies, but will remain in darkness.

Jesus then condemned the Pharisees and Scribes for practicing external righteousness, but hiding their internal wickedness.  He pronounced six WOES against them because they:

• Tithed legalistically be neglected justice and the love of God
• Loved being treated prominently by men to exalt themselves
• Hid their internal defilement from others
• Imposed man-made rules, regulations, and restrictions on others that they did not follow themselves
• Outwardly honored prophets, but will seek to kill Jesus, the greatest prophet; so they will be just as guilty as those who have persecuted and killed all the prophets since the beginning of the world, from Abel to Zechariah
• Hindered others from the key to knowledge

Yet, rather than repenting of their sins, the Pharisees and Scribes responded by opposing Jesus fiercely and seeking to find something to accuse Him of.  They continue to be blinded against the truth and refuse to "hear the word of God and obey it".

 

The Arm of the LORD is NOT too Short

"Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear."  (Isaiah 59:1)

"The LORD answered Moses, "Is the LORD's arm too short? Now you will see whether or not what I say will come true for you." (Numbers 11:23)

Both these verses that I came across at different times reference the "arm of the LORD" not being too short.   That phrase indicates that God is ABLE and that is not limited or restricted in His power to act.

In the Isaiah passage, it reminds us that God has provided the way to salvation and He is able to hear prayers.  But, the following verse after also tells us that He does not hear the wicked, for our sin separates us from HIM.   So, that when He does not answer, it is definitely not because He is not able to.

In the Numbers passage, Moses doubted that meat would be able to be provided to all the Israelites in the desert for the whole month, but, God tells Him that HE IS ABLE.

These two passages stood out for me, because it reminds me to continue to trust in the LORD, whose arm is not too short because HE IS ABLE.

Luke 10

Jesus sent out the Seventy, with similar instructions as He did previously with the Twelve.  “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." (vs 2)   They were to expect that some will receive but others will reject.  But, Jesus summarized saying “Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; but whoever rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.” (vs 16).  When the Seventy returned, they were joyful with the added unexpected authority they experienced over demons; but Jesus warned them to rejoice more in their salvation (what God has done for them) rather than in what they were able to do, with a reminder of Satan's fall, which was caused by pride. 

As Jesus rejoiced over those whose "names are written in heaven", He once again exemplified prayer by breaking out in a prayer of thanksgiving and praise. 

The parable of the Good Samaritan illustrates what Jesus was just telling His disciples, that they were blessed because of what God has revealed to them.   In contrast, the expert of the law did not recognize that he fell short of keeping the whole Law, which is summarized by the two greatest commandments:  'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'  (vs 27).  Through the parable, Jesus also showed that rather than asking "who is my neighbor?", we should be asking how we can be a neighbor to others through showing love and compassion.

From the visit with Martha and Mary, we are reminded that the most important priority is to sit at the Lord's feet and listen; for, even serving can become a distraction when we let it worry and upset us.

The parable of the Good Samaritan and the story of Martha and Mary are two of those passages in the Gospels that are so familiar to us that it is easy to just pull from what we have already know about them.   But, what was new to me this time in studying these, I was able to see the connection to what Jesus had just prayed and talked to His disciples about - that there are some things hidden to the "learned" but revealed to "little children", representing the humble as mentioned in the last chapter.  I also did not fully realize that the expert in the Law missed the point that he fell short; and that Jesus gave a different perspective by focusing on our responsibility to show love and compassion to others.  Then, with the story of Martha and Mary, it is really a matter of priorities, and not letting distractions get in the way of what's most important, which was to LOVE GOD.

Easter 2013

He is Risen!  He is Risen Indeed!    We just celebrated the resurrection of our LORD Jesus Christ this past Easter weekend.  Starting with Good Friday, I served on the AV Team at the noon service.  Saturday and Sunday, I was busy doing all the preparations for my family get-together, and then ran the projector for the first two Sunday services.   It was neat to see that all the services were quite full and some with even the overflow rooms packed.

When I reflect on it, what stood out the most this Easter was something I had heard over Christian radio - that we worship the God who has the power of resurrection, able to take what is utterly devastating the ugly and raise it up to something glorious and beautiful.  Also, my Pastor sang a duet with one of the worship team soloists and it was really good.

As for dinner with my family, I tried some new dishes and am pleased that they turned out fairly well:

• Lamb Stew - I used lamb shoulder.   Roasted the meat with tomato sauce, onion, and garlic.  Then boiled it with bay leaves and other seasonings, until the meat fell off the bones.   The next day, I stewed the broth mainly with root vegetables (carrots, turnip, and daikon radish) and tomatoes.    Then, adjusted the flavor with wine, raisin, cinnamon, herbs, salt, pepper, seasoning, etc.    It was very flavorful.
• Chow Mein Noodles - This time, it was the right kind of noodles (fully cooked egg noodles) and pan fried, gave the right kind of crispiness; and for flavor, just added sesame oil and soy sauce.   There was not enough topping though; but, the flavor was fine - mock abalone, baby corn, bok choy, and mushrooms.   Because I cooked it earlier and left it in the oven to stay warm, the sauce dried up; so, when I served it, I quickly boiled some broth with corn starch and poured it over.   I put a little too much corn starch, so it was lumpy but, if it were the right consistency, it could work well next time
• Seafood Hot Pot - Heated broth with shrimp balls, imitation crab meat, soft tofu, and asparagus.  When cooked, ladling out some of the broth and adding corn starch did help thicken it; but, the imitation crab meat was overcooked and came apart.  So next time, it needs to be added later.
• Fish with Garlic Black Bean Sauce - Pan fried fish (marinated with black bean sauce and soy sauce) with lots of garlic.   Then pan fried bell peppers with black bean and soy sauce; and added the fish back in.  This turned out quite well; though, using the fresh full fish, the fillet pieces were smaller.   Next time, I would prefer to just buy the fillet.
• Vegetables - Roasted broccoli and sauteed spinach.  The dish presentation was too "green", so I had to added some shredded carrot.    It's probably better with just one kind of vegetable, and then to add in some tofu or chicken.
• Soup - With the fish bones, I made a broth; then, added black bean, mushrooms, and tofu.   I really needed to add a lot of sherry to balance the fishy taste; and the smell took some time to clear from the house.   It was not bad; but, probably not a soup I would make often (and another reason to buy fillets rather than the whole fish)
• Rice and Bread - I served the food with brown basmatti rice and a flat bread.   The flat bread is quite good when warmed in the oven
• Dessert -  My brother made brownies with sea salt and caramel.   Typically, I like the contrast of the sweet and salty; but, in this case, I wasn't so fond of it.   I also bought an Italian Creme Cake as the birthday cake.   It was not bad, and I always like a cream cheese frosting.   Also, I got some Nazook with cinammon and walnuts.   It was not too sweet, and was okay.   My dad thought it was a little too hard, though.   I did buy Baklava also; but, that only stayed fresh for that one day.  Even overnight, it was no longer fresh - though, it was okay refridgerating and then baking it to warm it back up.

Overall, I may not have had as much time to reflect this Easter; and the dinner preparations and clean up has tired me out.   But, I am glad I was able to serve ("as an expression of my love for God") and that I was able to have my family over.