- So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. Luke 19:32 – Of course they did, of course they found it exactly as Jesus said it would be. In the passage this was referring to the story of the time Jesus was to enter Jerusalem on a colt. He told a couple of His disciples to enter the village and they’d find a colt tied up, ready for them to use. As our verse then says, they found it to be exactly as Jesus said it would. This ought to be a verse we as Jesus’ disciples remember as we too go to wherever Jesus is sending us into. That it will be exactly as Jesus said it would be. That when we faithfully choose to live as a follower of Jesus in this life, we will face and we will have what Jesus said we’ll face and have. Jesus said He would be with us always, as so He will be. Jesus said that people will hate us on account of Him, and so it will be. Jesus said it will be like sheep among wolves, and so it will be. Jesus also says though that we will have everything we pray for that is according to His will, and so it will be. We will find our life to be exactly as Jesus told us it will be. So don’t be surprised when the persecution comes against your devotion to Jesus, for Jesus told us it would come. Also don’t exist in this life feeling alone or without, for that’s not at all how Jesus said your life is to be with Him. Take time today to dwell on how scripture speaks about how our life is to be as a follower of Jesus, then as the followers in Luke 19 discovered, discover for yourself that it will be just as He told you it would be. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3548
- And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” Luke 19:39 – The very people that should have been leading the crowd in worship of Jesus were the ones telling Jesus to shut down the praises the crowds were giving Him. Meaning for us today that there will be people in our Christian community that will not only be missing their purpose but maybe doing very destructive, very opposite things than their purpose. Does that give us an excuse though to do the opposite of our purpose? No, in fact it should push us to fulfill our purpose all the more. Make sure that you are continuing to love God and love the people around you, even when those around you may not be. Never drop your purpose because someone else has. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 624
- And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” 9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:8-10 – Salvation had come to the house of Zacchaeus. This meant that salvation had come to the house of a rich man. Looking back at the chapter we read yesterday we see Jesus speak about how difficult it would be for a rich man to enter into His kingdom. That it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. What we see though in chapter 19 is a rich man entering into His kingdom. Difficult, but not impossible, especially when God is in the mix. Yes it took a massive sacrifice and a massive life change for Zacchaeus, but he saw Jesus as worth the sacrifice and change and as a result received the blessing of salvation. Let’s not find ourselves in the position of the Pharisees labeling someone “unable” to step into the salvation of Jesus because of their life choices. Their current story may be full of sin and full of rejection of God, but with God all things are possible. Instead of placing them in the box of hopeless-to-share-the-Gospel-with, see the truth that even the hardest of hearts God can change. Even if the chance is wee-little (get it…Zacchaeus…), God can change their heart into a passionate follower of Him. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2336
