GRINDIT podcast

People want equality today but did you know Jesus was way ahead of his time when it came to equality? Luke 8 begins with three names of women who left everything to follow Jesus. Luke tells us these women were either healed of a disease or they had demons cast out of them. He mentions three by name, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, who was the wife of Herod Antipas' business manager, and a lady named Susanna. But Luke then mentions something interesting...he says there were other women that gave of their resources to help Jesus and his disciples. Fellas, we have to step up our game when it comes to serving the Lord especially in the our local church gatherings. Many churches would have closed their doors by now if the women have not stepped up! Thank you to all of the women who serve our Lord and Savior; those who minister to the needs of our communities and glorify God with their resources. May God bless you all...

Luke ends chapter 7 with Jesus being invited to a home of a certain Pharisee named Simon. He has a bunch of his Pharisee buddies over so they can “get to know” Jesus a little better but as they are sitting around the table an uninvited guest disrupts the fellowship. She goes straight to Jesus, breaks an alabaster jar, and pours perfume on Jesus’ feet. She is crying as she is doing this and she washed his feet with her tears, then she takes her hair and wipes them dry. Simon, the Pharisee who invited Jesus into his home, questions Jesus in his mind, “If this man was a prophet, then he should know this woman is a sinner and he wouldn’t dare let this sinner do this!” Jesus calls him out in front of his friends and puts him in his place. This woman KNEW who she was, a sinner lost without hope and that Jesus could fix her. Simon THOUGHT he knew who he was but he really didn’t. He couldn’t recognize that he was a sinner in need of a Savior. What about you? Are you going to accept him or continue to reject him even though he is sitting in your house, at your table, and giving you every opportunity to know him in a personal way?

God is a God of perfect timing and a great example of this is Jesus arriving in the village called Nain just as a widow was leaving town to bury her only son. Jesus stops the funeral and raises the kid back to life! Luke says, “Great fear swept the crowd…” In my opinion, we have lost our “fear” of God. It is evident just by turning on the news or looking on your social media feed. So much evil taking place everywhere and it seems as if the person who did the evil shows no remorse whatsoever and sometimes even tries to justify their actions. God has the ability to save us or condemn us yet many people don’t even consider God and His will for our lives. Any decision, I repeat, any decision we make should revolve around God and what He would want us to do! What about you? Do you fear God? Are your decisions made around Him or do you just do what you want not really caring about the consequences?

Luke starts off chapter 7 by introducing his readers to a very powerful man that doesn’t fit the profile of someone who would put their trust in Jesus but that is exactly what happens. Up until this point, the people that have been coming to Jesus have been Jews, poor Jews who were sick, had deformities, or demons. They have heard of his miraculous power and they have come from miles around to find hope. This centurion is a Roman, a Gentile, in fact, he is an officer in the Roman army. He isn’t poor, instead he is rich and powerful. He doesn’t fit the mold of the typical Jesus follower at that time yet he was more of an example of a Jesus follower than the Pharisees and the religious leaders of his day. In fact, after Jesus dealt with this Roman centurion, he said he had never seen faith like this man has in all of Israel! And this man is a Gentile! And this Gentile who had a lot of power also had a lot of humility and compassion because he had a synagogue built for the Jews in his community and paid the bill and he cared for his Jewish slave that was on his death bed. When he heard about Jesus he immediately sent for him to come heal his slave which also shows his faith. What do your friends, your family, your coworkers say about you? Can they tell you have been with Jesus?

Jesus spars with the Pharisees and the teachers of the law again on the Sabbath Day when he heals a man’s withered hand in the synagogue. It was at this point that Jesus became known as an “enemy” to the Pharisees and all of the religious leaders. From this time on they would try to come up with a plan to get rid of this man who claims to be from God. After this, Jesus then goes up on a mountain alone to spend some time with the Father praying and Luke says he prayed all night long. What’s the longest prayer you have said? How much time do you spend with God? Do you have a relationship with God, with Jesus, or is He a friend? An acquaintance? When we have a relationship with someone, we spend quality time with them and there is great communication. We only spend a little time with friends or with someone we consider an acquaintance and there is little communication. Think about how much time you spend with God in prayer, reading His word, worshiping Him in a week’s time, on a daily basis…Again, do you have a relationship with God or is He more of an acquaintance?

Jesus has begun to spar with the religious leaders. The Pharisees have heard enough about this guy and they begin to challenge Jesus quietly, yet Jesus would call them out publicly. They would ask a question in their head and Jesus would answer their question in front of the crowd so all could hear. In Luke 6 we have two more challenges between these two and both take place on a Sabbath Day, the day God set aside for rest and called it holy. The Pharisees are watching Jesus and his disciples every move trying to catch him breaking the law so they can discredit Jesus and they see his disciples breaking some grain, shucking it in their hand, and eating it because they were hungry. They immediately rush in and question the disciples and Jesus comes to their rescue using David, a king they had the utmost respect for, as an example to justify what was happening. But Jesus doesn't stop there; he adds "The Son of Man is Lord over the Sabbath." In other words, "I created the Sabbath, I created the very law that y'all study and teach, therefore I am greater than the Sabbath so we haven't done anything wrong here." As a follower of Jesus, be careful that you don't bind things on people bringing them oppression when Jesus wants to give them freedom!

Why do people choose to be stubborn when they get sick and not go see a doctor? We think we can handle it ourselves by shoving a bunch of vitamins in us and over the counter medicines. Some people even try denying the fact that they are even sick although they are running a fever, sore throat, can’t breathe, mucus pouring out of their nose, maybe even throwing up! The Pharisees had come to hear Jesus’ teaching one day when some friends bring their paralyzed friend to Jesus to be healed. Jesus tells the guy, “Your sins are forgiven,” and the Pharisees went nuts! “Who does this man think he is?” they said amongst themselves and Jesus calls them out in front of the crowd. “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.” Yo bro…quit denying your sick and go to the doctor. Go to Jesus because he is the ONLY cure for your disease called sin!

Peter was acquainted with Jesus. He had met him in the synagogue when Jesus visited Capernaum and had taught there. After casting out the demon that day Jesus with home with Peter and stayed at his house for a while. Jesus even healed Peter’s mother-in-law of a fever. People were bringing their sick friends and family to Peter’s house in hopes that Jesus would heal them. Jesus leaves Peter’s house and travels around Judea telling people about the kingdom of God but on this particular day Jesus chose to teach on the shore of the Sea of Galilee where Peter was washing his nets from fishing the night before. Jesus uses Peter’s boat to teach the people and after he finishes his teaching he asks Peter to launch out into the deep. He then tells him to cast his nets once again but Peter was reluctant because he had fished all night, didn’t catch anything, and he had already cleaned his nets. But he didn’t want to be disrespectful to Jesus so he cast his nets into the water. The rest is history. Do you ever feel lost in the crowd? God knows you, He knows everything about you, and God has a purpose for you. The question is, will you like Peter, be obedient and allow Him into your life?

In the South we have a saying, "Bless his/ her/ your heart." It's basically an expression of doubt. We feel like we can say anything we want about a person as long as we say, "Bless your heart..." Jesus get's the "Bless his heart" experience in his hometown. Jesus goes to the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth to worship and was given a scroll to read. He opens the scroll and reads Isaiah 61:1-2. He tells the people that today this prophecy has been fulfilled before their very eyes. This is people who have seen him grow up as a child, friends and family that he has went to the synagogue with for thirty years to worship. Their immediate response is, "Isn't this Joseph's son?" In other words, "Bless his heart." They don't get it, they don't understand, they don't see that Jesus is God in the flesh, the very Messiah they had been taught about that is coming to redeem them. In fact, they try to kill him by forcing him to the edge of a cliff and wanted to push him off! When you have a vision, a dream, a passion and you share it with others, don't be discouraged if they don't share the same excitement that you have. They simply don't get it but don't let that hold you back from doing God's will that He has placed on your heart!

Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River to kick off his pathway to the cross. After he was baptized the Holy Spirit comes down on him in the form of a dove and a voice from heaven gives conformation to what has taken place, "This is My Son in whom I'm well pleased." Immediately, as this mountaintop experience comes to a climax, Jesus is led to the wilderness by the Spirit where he will be tempted by the devil for forty days. The devil uses the same old tricks he used with Adam and Eve: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life but Jesus resists the temptations by using the word of God, "It is written..." Paul talks about Christians putting on the armor of God in Ephesians 6 but it's all defensive! There is only a mention of an offensive weapon--the word of God. But this is all we need for in verse 10 he says we are to "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." Without Jesus, we are powerless but with Jesus, we can stand against anything that comes our way!