Life in our fallen world is full of trials and sorrows but our God is in control.  He uses those things for his glory and our good.  When we encounter pain and sorrows, we should ask ourselves:

Have we taken them to Jesus?

Have we been reminded of who he is, of his awesome power and love?

Are we willing to trust him that the suffering is for our good and his glory?

Are we asking him to lead us in his righteous way as we walk through the hard time?

Jesus delivering the demoniac demonstrated both the reality of evil beings in our world and the power of Jesus over evil.  As frightening as demon possession is, it is rare.  Satan much more typically is content to gently lead us astray with subtle departures from God's best for us.

Jesus responded to the faith of the paralytic and his friends by saying that his sins were forgiven.  He came looking for healing but he received a much greater treasure.  However, we often would rather have the healing because we don;t understand the horror of sin and separation from God.

Jesus was seeking isolation and rest but a large crowd followed him.  In his compassion he performed a powerful creative miracle, making food for perhaps 15,000-20,000 people from 5 loaves of bread and two fish. The message is that all scenarios are in his power.  God is not limited by our current context.  The people were excited to have someone who could address their physical needs and desires.  Jesus was trying to reveal the Father but the people were more excited about the physical provision.  Jesus offers himself as the bread of eternal life but we are often more interested in the temporal provision which passes away.

Jesus performed many miracles that are not recorded in detail so when detail is provided it is because it shows us something important about the Lord.  In turning water into wine Jesus provided evidence that he was the creator God, able to make something from nothing.  The parallels between Jesus' temptation in the wilderness and this miracle point to the importance of using God's gifts to bless others and not for ourselves.  In creating around 150 gallons of good wine, Jesus showed that God is not afraid to give good gifts even when they have potential for abuse.

The parables of lost things in Luke 15 show us God's heart for lost souls.  The parables of the lost sheep and lost coin point to normal human behavior to show that it is reasonable for God to seek lost souls because they are important to him.  The Prodigal Son, or more correctly, the lost son shows that God eagerly welcomes the repentance of even the "worst" sinners.  He graciously runs to meet the repentant person to cover them in the robe of Jesus blood so that they can enter into his eternal celebration.  The older son had sin issues of his own but refused to accept his father's gracious response and enter into the celebration.  As children of God, we should share his love for the lost.

Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan in response to a question about what good works are necessary to achieve eternal life.  The short answer is that none of us can earn eternal life but the answer that was offered was to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself.  This prompted the question, "Who is my neighbor?" which Jesus answered as anyone, even your most bitter enemy.

Jesus introduced and concluded the parable of the soils with emphatic calls for his hearers to listen, emphasizing its importance.  Jesus went on to describe four soil types: three of which were ultimately unproductive.  It is clear that we can influence the kind of soil that we are, hence Jesus' urgency that we understand his message and act on it.

The interaction between Jesus and the woman at the well is a picture of God's kingdom entering our world, evoking repentance and pointing to the gospel.  Jesus embodies God's kingdom as he interacts openly and gently with a despised Samaritan woman.  Even though his tone was culturally shocking, the woman does not realize that she is seeing the kingdom of God until Jesus lovingly opens her eyes.  When he reveals his knowledge of her many marriages, she comes to repentance and he then presents himself as the Messiah who has the solution to her sin problem.