104. The friend at
night- Luke 11:5-10
-Jesus teaches His disciples about persistence in prayer to
the Father with another illustration in this passage. He tells them of the
friend who goes to one at mid-night with a request for three loaves for a
sojourner who has come to visit. The friend needs provision for his guest and
beseeches his companion at an inopportune time of bother and annoyance. The
unrelenting nature of his asking is what gets the results he desires and Jesus
wraps up His teaching by saying this, “ask, and it will be given to you; seek,
and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you (Luke 11:9).”
*Application* Do we ever feel like we shouldn’t bother the Lord with our
insecurities, questions, and needs? Do we feel like He will turn us away
without help or provision? Do we possibly quit too soon in our quest for
answers and meaning in situations that have eluded our understanding? God tells
us to be persistent. Keep coming to Him with all of your questions, needs, and
concerns. Pour out your heart to Him as David does in the Psalms and other men
and women of the Lord throughout Scripture. He does cares, and He does want
your attention. So ask, seek, and knock and you will receive, find, and have
doors opened (Luke 11:10)! Don’t quit! Endure, be steadfast, overcome, have
patience, and wait on the LORD in faith!
Verse to Memorize-
Luke 11:9
105. Jesus heals a
woman on the Sabbath- Luke 13:10-17
-For 18 long years a woman who was a daughter of Abraham
(Jewish) was bound up by a spirit that made her back crooked, bent up double,
without the ability to straighten up. Jesus freed her from her sickness by
laying hands on her and she was immediately made erect again in her physical
body, which brought glory to God. The problem was with the religious synagogue
official who denounced healing on the Sabbath day and wanted healing only on
all the other six days of the week. Jesus rebuked him and called out the hypocrisy
that was present in this attitude. All His opponents were humiliated, and the
entire crowd was rejoicing over the fact that glorious things were being done
among them by Jesus (Luke 13:17). *Application* We should do good no matter
what day it is. People are a priority and we should love them enough to give of
ourselves doing everything we can to free them and help them in whatever need they
have or predicament they are in. Don’t be selfish with a “better than thou”
attitude of legalism.
Verse to Memorize-
Luke 13:16
106. Enter in at the
straight gate- Luke 13:23-30
-These teachings of Jesus parallel words of Him in Matthew 7,
8, & 25. He relates the difficulty of entering into the Kingdom of God when
one does not “know” the Head of the House and is an evildoer (Luke 13:25, 27).
The reality of Hell is delineated once again as a warning, but the hope of all
the nations coming into the Kingdom is presented as a reality (Luke 13:28-29).
Some of the last will be first, and some of the first will be last (Luke
13:30). *Application* Knowing God is the key to entrance into His Kingdom as we
are once again reminded here in this passage. We must “strive” to enter through
the narrow door of His grace and mercy with humble, contrite, and appreciative hearts
of gratitude for all that He has done on our behalf. We do not save ourselves;
it is a gift of God lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). But make no
mistake, the one who is saved does the works of the Father through the power of
the Holy Spirit living in them (Ephesians 2:10, James 2:18-26). Don’t be left
on the outside looking in when it comes to the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness.
Verse to Memorize-
Luke 13:29
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