From Luke 17: We’re good at the first part

“Be on your guard. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and comes back to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” (vv. 3-4)

We’re good at the first part:

“If your brother sins, rebuke him….”

Churches and church people have been successful judging sinners and cutting them off for generations. We’ve read the Bible. We know where the lines are. And we stand ready to wag our fingers and close our doors.

That would be a really impressive display of biblical religion…

…if it weren’t for the rest of Jesus’ instruction.

Sin reaps a rebuke, yes, but repentance demands forgiveness.

The Jesus Way is radical. It requires grace. It doesn’t ask you to forgive if you think the other deserves it; it simply commands you to forgive the repentant. It makes us—you and me and the church—the earthly representation of heaven’s mercies. And it does so, with a view to repetition and and persistence and practice.

Yes, there are times when the nature of transgression forces you to put up boundaries. That’s reaping and sowing. But the boundary lines in your heart, when you consider their repentance, still need grace-afforded soft spots.

We’re good at the first part, the rebuke part.

How are we measuring up in forgiveness?

— Tyler

From Luke 16: Jealous?

“Whoever is faithful in very little is also faithful in much, and whoever is unrighteous in very little is also unrighteous in much. So if you have not been faithful with worldly wealth, who will trust you with what is genuine?” (vv. 10-11)

Sometimes I have to be honest with myself about envy, about jealousy.

I see the guys who, over a lifetime of faithfulness, have been entrusted with more and more. My every suspicion is that that trust is God’s will for God’s Kingdom for God’s glory. But I wonder what it takes to be one of those guys, too, and why it is that they steward so much that it looks like freedom.

Then I read the Bible.

And, in the Bible, I’m reminded: Every God-given increase follows a God-honoring stewardship. If I’m ever frustrated because of what I don’t have, I should probably be more critical of how I used what I did have. It’s not transactional—God isn’t required to give us anything, least of all based on our behavior, which is always suspect—but it is logical.

God trusts the trustworthy.

So, then, if I would hope to manage for God some something that seems abundant…I’d better manage whatever He has already given into my hands well.

(And, even if He chooses never to give the earthly increase, I already have everything in Christ.)

— Tyler

From Luke 15: The Party

“I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who don’t need repentance.” (v. 7)

Let’s talk about when NOT to have a party:

In religious life, there’s a lot to enjoy. We enjoy a growing fellowship. We enjoy increasing generosity in the church. We enjoy deeper discipleship and devotion together. We certainly enjoy high attendance and new members.

But none of those signal “party time” in the Kingdom. They’re good, but heaven isn’t rejoicing just because religious people get more religious.

So let’s talk about the “when” and “why” for heaven’s party:

It’s when the lost are found. It’s when one wanderer repents and returns. When the one who strayed is rescued by the Shepherd, heaven rejoices—and the church ought to join the celebration!

I’m all for deeper and fuller life among believers. But don’t forget to pray for—and party about—heaven’s joy.

— Tyler

From Luke 14: The Cost

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters — yes, and even his own life — he cannot be my disciple.” (v. 26)

It’s a striking equation:

Jesus, in expounding the radical cost of following Him, says, “Unless you hate your own family, you cannot be my disciple.”

We think, “How could that be? Our families are gifts! We are bound to love them. How could we hate them?”

The answer, it seems, is this: If your love for Jesus is anything less that total—if your commitment to Him is qualified by questions about the cost—then it’s not the love of a disciple. Comparatively, our love for Him ought to make every other love look small—and it ought to compel the kind of allegiance that prizes faithfulness even over family.

That’s a steep calling.

How does it make you feel?

— Tyler

From Luke 13: What It’s Like

“He said, therefore, ‘What is the kingdom of God like, and what can I compare it to?’” (v. 18)

What is the kingdom of God like? This things that the prophet and the Lord both assured us is here, breaking in?

Jesus tells us it’s like a mustard seed: sown, grown, and flourishing for good.

And Jesus tells us it’s like yeast: worked in, worked through, and working.

The kingdom of God is in the small things. But they don’t stay small. Our little faithfulnesses—our love and our devotion and our purity and our charity—grow, when they are diligently worked into and worked out through our lives. Your personal followership flowers, beautifying the earth while harboring the wandering. It multiplies, raising up what is good to afford an abundance.

The kingdom is glimpsed in the smallest seed and the tiniest leaven—in you—applied for His glory.

— Tyler

From Luke 12: Stop Worrying!

“Can any of you add one moment to his life span by worrying?” (v. 25)

Here’s a worthwhile rubric for your life:

How many times has worry affected the outcome?

Think about all the things you’ve worried about: the bill that’s due, the medical diagnosis, the way your kids might turn out. Your home and your things and your accounts. That overdue conversation.

Think back through the worried-over things, and ask the question: “Did the worrying make any difference?”

Jesus’ word for us here isn’t just a proscription against worry. It’s a prescription for faith: faith in Him, faith in His Father’s goodness, faith in His care. Not every outcome will be what we might have wanted, but it is all ultimately filed under His promises and His purposes, meaning we are not forsaken and not abandoned.

Worry robs us out from under Him, as if the worrying act might accomplish something He won’t. It comes to nothing! And you’ve already got the evidence of it in your own lived days.

So stop worrying yourself onto a throne that doesn’t exist—and trust the Sovereign who cares for you.

— Tyler

From Luke 11: Pray Like This

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (vv. 9-10)

Pray.

Pray to your Father, who loves you.

Pray for His provision, and for His mercies, and for His protection.

Pray with shameless boldness.

Pray, and keep on asking and seeking and knocking, because the God who loves you answers—with good things, and with His own presence in your life.

Pray!

That’s Jesus’ message.

I’ll be honest: I don’t pray like this. Not always. But I am listening, and I am learning—and, today, I am praying.

Won’t you pray, too?

— Tyler

From Luke 10: The Answer to Your Prayer

“He told them, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest. Now go; I’m sending you out like lambs among wolves.” (vv. 2-3)

I have some challenging news for you:

You are the answer to your prayer—to this specific prayer.

We have prayed it alongside Jesus for forever: “Lord, send workers into your harvest, so that those who haven’t heard will hear—and be saved!” It’s the right prayer. He told us to pray it. And it has been relevant in every “field” you and I have ever known.

So we pray!

But we have to keep reading.

Because the next thing Jesus says to His followers is, “Now go.”

The answer to the prayer is the people who pray it. The workers He sends are the ones who are standing with Him. The harvest we hope for is in the field we’re called to. So we pray for harvest laborers…

…and we go.

Or, at least, that’s how it’s supposed to go.

Is anyone else troubled that the workers remain few in number?

— Tyler

From Luke 9: Inconvenience

“When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus all that they had done. He took them along and withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida. When the crowds found out, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.” (vv. 10-11)

Funny thing about ministry:

It’s never convenient.

The needy arrive at just the wrong time. The offering is gathered when you don’t seem to have much. The knock on the door, the phone call, and the GoFundMe all happen at low tide.

We would rather ride those moments out with comfortable religion. We would rather stay with Jesus in the quiet place, praying and worshiping and receiving. We would rather have what the disciples would rather have: after a season of serving, some respite.

Yet the inconvenient crowd calls.

Will you remain open to serving still? To giving what you’ve got, even when you don’t think it’s much? Will you genuinely desire closeness with your Lord—the Lord who viewed the inconvenient crowd with compassion?

Ministry is hardly ever convenient.

It seems, however, that that’s no excuse.

— Tyler

From Luke 8: Among Thorns

“As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit.” (v. 14)

That’s me.

I’m the third one.

I would rather be the fourth one, though: the good ground, the fruitful yield, the picture of Jesus’ flourishing kingdom.

But, more often, I’m the third one. Growing among thorns.

This is the humbling reality of the Word in our world. You and I, by grace, have every opportunity to hear it and embrace it and grow in—but the ground of our lives puts it in competition. We have worries. We have wants. For all the good that could grow in us, we keep watering the weeds instead. I get so distracted by money and property—I get so entangled in the fear of missing out—that Jesus’ kingdom fruit becomes hard to see.

The good news is that I am still listening, still weeding, still growing.

How about you?

— Tyler

From Luke 7: Extravagant Worship

“Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much. But the one who is forgiven little, loves little.” (v. 47)

Have you noticed how much pleading goes on in church?

Someone in the front of the room pleads with you to show up. To give. To serve. To go, and go further. Someone is there, urging religious people to do religious things, for the glory of Christ in and through the church.

It’s an uphill battle.

Please hear me: I’m not making a defense for every churchy thing, nor am I counting religious participation as the sole indicator of faith and faithfulness. What I am saying is this: When a church is full of people who are keenly aware of their sin and of Christ’s forgiveness, they don’t often have to be convinced of much.

Forgiven people love extravagantly. They pour out their lives at the feet of their Savior. They might not be as practiced or put-together as seemingly righteous—and they don’t care. They give and they go, so that the Gospel that reached them might reach others.

Imagine if your church was filled with grateful, grace-filled worshipers! And imagine if you were one of them….

— Tyler

From Luke 6: The Heart of Christlikeness

”During those days he went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God.” (v. 12)

So…

…Jesus begins conducting a controversial ministry. And He undertakes the task of selecting His leadership team. All on the way to unfolding His inaugural Kingdom message and a radically reconsidered ethic.

That’s…a lot.

Does it surprise us, then, that in and through all of that we find Jesus praying?

The Son of God—the Word made flesh, who came to us for us, to do these very things—prayed and prayed and prayed. He went away. He prayed through the night. His busyness didn’t keep Him from prayer; it kept Him in prayer!

Before you charge ahead—before you decide or you serve or you speak—pray. This is the heart of Christlikeness.

— Tyler

From Luke 5: Left Behind

”Then they brought the boats to land, left everything, and followed him.“ (v. 11)

Be honest:

Does your life look like a “left everything” life?

Mine doesn’t. I have heard the Master’s voice. I have responded with faith and repented of sin. I have sought to worship Him and serve Him and proclaim Him.

And I’ve dragged a lot of my own comforts, preferences, and property along for the ride.

The example of the first disciples is, in fact, radical. It is also unequivocal: When they left everything, they left everything, including the only career they’d ever known (and the means by which they did it). Is that always the kind of calling the Lord gives us? No. But we ought to be sensitive to the sorts of sacrifice that ARE asked of us—and we ought to live lives where the right things have been left behind.

So lay down your comforts. Lay down your life plan. Lay down the jobs and the places that you chose. And listen. Jesus is still calling.

— Tyler

From Luke 4: A Lot Less

”And Jesus answered him, ‘It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” (v. 8)

I’ll be honest:

I have been shown a lot less. I have been promised what is really very little. I have had my own eyes drawn to relatively insignificant measures of prominence and property and power.

And I’ve fallen for it.

While each of the temptations set before Jesus are relevant, it is the second lure that speaks to me today. Jesus was shown—not just some, but—ALL the prominence and property and power in the earth. And, when the critical moment comes, He chooses—and He shows all of us forever—what is better. He chooses to worship and serve His Father, the LORD.

Let’s listen to Him, and let’s learn from His example. This same Jesus would go on to promise that, if we seek first the kingdom of heaven, all of the things we worry over would be ours in addition. Trust that, and turn from the temptation.

— Tyler

From Luke 3: The Matter

”He went into all the vicinity of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins….” (v. 3)

Don’t lose sight of what, in fact, is the actual matter:

We are sinners—in need of salvation, and called to repentance.

As the gospels unfold, we will witness the depth and breadth of the Good News. We will see Jesus healing and helping. We will learn from Him to love like Him. We will find ourselves swept up in the history of hope recorded here.

But do not miss the heart of the matter:

We are sinners—in need of salvation, and called to repentance.

Let the prophet’s voice lead you, as it led so many in his time. Straighten out the crookedness of your heart. Let your life reflect your turnaround from sin. Approach Christ in repentance.

That’s the first-things-first of the Gospel.

— Tyler

From Luke 2: Respond

”When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go straight to Bethlehem and see what has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.’” (v. 15)

Consider the example of the Christmas shepherds:

They experience the remarkable. They receive, by grace, the revelation of the Messiah’s birth. They see heaven’s army and hear heaven’s song. And it all points them to the One who has been born for them—and for all people.

How do they respond?

By immediately running to Him. By urgently determining to dive deeper into the truth they’d received. By dropping everything to draw nearer to Christ.

Their priorities change.

Now consider our own example:

We have seen and heard all of this, too, as their testimonies (and a host of others) has revealed Jesus to us. We have the truth of God’s Word. We have the record of history. We have the cloud of witnesses that affirms for us: lives and hearts are changed by this Messiah.

And how do we respond?

With occasional church-going, so long as it fits our schedules. With infrequent Bible reading, because it’s hard to fit that in. We simply embrace a slightly more religious life without making a big deal about it.

Our priorities…probably still look like the world’s priorities.

Let’s change that this year. Let’s run to Christ, and leave some stuff behind. Let’s follow the earliest example from the earliest hearers.

— Tyler

From Luke 1: Do Not Be Afraid

”But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid…because your prayer has been heard.” (v. 13)

Maybe you’re like me.

You’ve spent some time praying at the end of one year, and you’ve spent some time praying to start the new one. You’ve prayed with hope, yes, but also with that little tinge of fear: “Lord, please don’t let THIS season be like THAT season.” You have hoped for whichever graces God has prepared for you…while dreading whatever grief might also be ahead.

So you’ve prayed.

And, from Day One, you can be reassured: “Do not fear. Your prayer has been heard.”

That doesn’t mean it will all be smooth sailing. But it does mean that you aren’t alone in the boat. It’s not just that frightful things might be removed from your path, but that the Faithful One goes with you. He knows you and secures you and accomplishes His purposes for you.

So, however you are praying today, do not be afraid.

— Tyler

From Malachi 4: You don’t have to wait

”But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall.“

Malachi’s was the last prophetic voice God’s people would hear for four hundred years. It would be four centuries before the promised Elijah—the one who would preach repentance in the wilderness, who would prepare the way for the coming of the Lord—would cry out. Four hundred years.

That’s a long wait.

You, however, don’t have to wait through it with them. You already know, because you can simply turn from the Old Testament to the New, that the Sun of Righteousness has indeed risen. You already know the Son and Lamb of God. You already know Jesus.

As we conclude this season in the Word, let’s be grateful for that, together—and let’s leap into this life with joy!

Thanks for reading the Old Testament with me.

— Tyler

From Malachi 1: “You expect Me to bless that?!”

”’You also say, “Look, what a nuisance! “ And you scorn it,’ says the Lord of Armies. ‘You bring stolen, lame, or sick animals. You bring this as an offering! Am I to accept that from your hands?’ asks the Lord.“ (v. 13)

Have you ever given…grudgingly?

Have you ever worshiped…unwillingly?

Have you ever obeyed…minimally?

Have you ever skated by with mere religion?

This is the case God brings through Malachi. He speaks to His people through the prophet, and He calls them out in ways that job-insecure pastors are hesitant to do. He says, in effect, “You are doing the legalistic least, and you are offering your inferior leftovers, all while crowing about your faith.”

And then He lands His accusation with force:

“You expect Me to bless that?!”

Even as we admit that the grace He has saved us with isn’t dependent on our offerings (because it is entirely afforded by Jesus’ offering), we cannot overlook this. There is no room for a minimal, legalistic, leftovers kind of religion under God. He is worthy of our richest worship—which means He is worthy of our firstfruits, priority, joyfully submitted offerings.

Later in this Book, the Lord will extend a clarified invitation for right offerings. But, from the start, permit yourself to be challenged by His accusation—and maybe give a fresh look at the life you’re asking Him to bless.

— Tyler

From Song of Songs 2: How to Stay Married

“Like a lily among thorns, so is my darling among the young women.” (v. 2)

Let’s face it:

Marriage isn’t always easy.

Relating to some other—even when it’s the other to whom you were once fiercely attracted and with whom you have been building a life—is hard. However much you have become one by vow, you are still very much two: two minds, two hodgepodges of habits and tendencies, and at least two love languages. The lifelong task of smoothing out the rough patches and walking forward together is not easy.

So…what’s the secret to staying married?

Keep valuing her. Treasure her. No matter what other things the world calls “beautiful” and then throws at you, choose to call no other thing beautiful but the one God has given you.

If you will count everything else as “thorn” and only her as “flower"—if you will look on her with real captivation and fix your eyes on her—then you stand a pretty good chance.

— Tyler