GRINDIT podcast

In Luke 3 we are hit hard with facts right off the bat! We are given people’s names, where they ruled, when they ruled, and there has been artifacts found that back up the information Luke gives us so why do people continue to not believe the Bible? By God’s grace and His mercy He provided us a sacrifice for our sins to be forgiven! And it was always His plan! God knew Adam would blow it and sin which is why He always had a plan to redeem man…He would send His own son to be the sacrifice that would cleans man from our sin. Jesus, the Messiah, knew what his mission was—the cross—and he never shy’s away from that mission. He died on the cross, shed his blood for the payment of man’s sin, was buried in a tomb for three days, and walked out of that tomb alive! Then he showed himself alive to many people over forty days, and then ascended back to heaven where he sits at the Father’s right hand, a place of highest honor, a place of power and all authority. It compelled Luke to write this gospel and he says from the very beginning, “I’m writing this so you know it is true. You may choose not to believe it, but that doesn’t change the facts! These people, including Jesus, were real people who walked on this earth and Jesus is the only one who died and came out of that grave alive! Why would we not want Jesus on our team?!?!?!

Luke introduces a woman named Anna who was a prophet and lived at the Temple. She was married but her husband passed away after seven years of marriage. After he passed, Anna never left the Temple again and Luke says she worshipped God day and night with fasting and prayer. What a great lesson she gives us! And when she heard Simeon talking to Joseph and Mary, she went and told everyone about the Messiah that has come. Luke finishes chapter two talking about Jesus staying behind in Jerusalem when he was twelve years old. It was a four day journey back home to Nazareth and they had been traveling about a day when they noticed Jesus was missing. It took them three days to find him! Can you imagine the panic they felt?!?! This is all we know about the childhood of Jesus. Jesus would be starting his ministry at the age of thirty and it would kickoff with John the Baptizer baptizing him in the Jordan River. Jesus knew his mission from an early age and he never backed away from it. He became our perfect sacrifice and his blood washes our sins away and because of his sacrifice, we are made right in the sight of God…IF we have accepted him as our Lord and Savior! Have you?

Jesus is eight days old and as God’s law required, Joseph and Mary bring Jesus to the temple to be circumcised. Luke introduces his readers to a guy named Simeon who was told by God Himself, that he would not die until he had seen the Messiah. He wasn’t even suppose to be at the Temple that day but he was led by the Holy Spirit, and because he listened and allowed the Spirit to guide him, Simeon went to the Temple and he not only saw, but held the baby in his arms. Are we listening to the Holy Spirit and allowing him to guide us? If not, we are missing out some of God’s greatest blessings! And when Simeon saw Jesus he said he could now die in peace. Death is imminent and cannot be avoided. When you think about death are you filled with fear or peace? If we know Jesus as our Lord and Savior then we don’t have to fear death because when we take our last breath on earth, we take our first breath in heaven where we will worship our Lord for eternity!

Luke 2 starts with more details from Luke as he gives us more names of Roman leaders which gives us a time frame for the birth of Jesus. He talks about a census that had taken place which many people use to discredit Luke and his gospel. There are several arguments that support Luke including an autobiography by Augustus himself called the Res Gestae and in it he mentions having a census done several times. I have provided a couple of links that are interesting reads that support Luke and his gospel in the description on YouTube. We get into the birth of Jesus as well and one thing to point out is how Jesus touched people that are on opposite ends of the spectrum: Luke, a doctor who is writing this gospel, yet never met Jesus face to face, and the shepherds, who saw the baby Jesus and it changed their lives forever! How has Jesus impacted your life? Or has he?

Darrel is a former elder at Partnership Christian Church and he currently plays on the worship team. Darrel sat down with the GRINDIT Podcast to talk about his life and being an elder of a congregation.

Finishing up Luke 1 with some things to ponder:

Luke ends chapter 1 with a prophecy from Zechariah that talks about Jesus being the mighty savior and how John will prepare the way for the Messiah. He is probably holding the baby, looking down at him in his arms, and he says in vs76, “And you my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High because you will prepare the way for the Lord. What a proud dad moment!

Mary has a visit from the angel Gabriel and he tells her that she is going to be with child and that child is from God Himself! She asks, “How can this be?” she asked, “I can’t have a child…I’m a virgin!” And the angel explains to her that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her. A couple of says later she leaves to visit her cousin Elizabeth who is six months pregnant with John the Baptizer. Mary stays for three months and comes home. This would be a shock to Joseph! Why? She would be showing when she came back home and Joseph knows he hasn’t had sex with her, so in his mind he is thinking she has slept with someone and has cheated on him. He was going to divorce her and it took an angel to intervene! Artificial insemination is no big deal today with our technology but this was unheard of 2,000 years ago! God became flesh, lived a normal life up until the age of 30 when his ministry started, then his mission was to die on a cross, be buried in a tomb for three days, and was resurrected! Just as the angel had told Mary, “He will be called Emmanuel which means God With Us and you will name him Jesus which means God Is Salvation. Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?

In Luke 1 we are introduced to two women who are related, they are cousins—Mary and Elizabeth. One is old and has been serving God a long time. The other is young and is basically trying to figure out where her place is in society. One has been praying to God for a long time to have a baby yet she never did and has passed the age of being able to get pregnant…way past. The other is a virgin and is more concerned with helping her parents around the house. I’m sure having a baby was the farthest thing from her mind. Both have a visitation from an angel and both become pregnant miraculously! Some people may work hard all of their lives and never get what they have been praying for while some have the “it” factor meaning they don’t work hard and things come easy for them. Elizabeth was old, too old to have children, yet she stayed faithful to God and He came through when she couldn’t do it on her own. Mary was a teenager, not even married yet, so she wasn’t looking to have a child, yet she is blessed to be chosen as the mother of the savior of the world—Jesus the Messiah! The point: Don’t give up on God; stay faithful because He will come through for you just as He did for Elizabeth!

Luke says he has checked out other people’s accounts about Jesus and how they compared. He said he investigated them going all the way back to the beginning and not only that but he used eyewitness accounts from the early disciples when he wrote his gospel. Why? “…so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.” In other words. Luke is meticulous with his writings therefore his readers, even 2000 years later, can trust what he says is true. The question is: What are you going to do with what he writes? Believe it? ? Or reject it? In his details Luke mention Zechariah has a conversation with the angel Gabriel as he is doing his priestly duties in the Temple. I briefly talk about angels because we have the wrong idea about what angels look like. We usually picture them as men-like figures with wings and when a certain holiday comes around we picture a baby with wings shooting arrows. You may be surprised to learn what angels really look like!

Paul has an opportunity to share his defense with Agrippa and as he does, Agrippa comes to the conclusion that Paul could have been set free that day if he had not appealed to Caesar. But since he did, the book of Acts continues with Luke giving us a lot of details of the trip to Rome; how the weather was, where they sailed to and from, the storm that tore the ship the pieces, and even how the guests on the island of Malta treated them so well. He ends the book with Paul having a discussion with the Jewish leaders in Rome about Jesus and how he is the Messiah that the prophets wrote about. As usual, some believed but many didn't and Paul tells them that the Gentiles are more open than they are and that's who will continue to share the message of Jesus with. What happens after Acts 28? You can Google that because people smarter than me have taken pieces of history and scripture and came up with what they believed happened including Paul being set free and preaching in Spain! But unfortunately it comes to an end when Paul, along with many other Christians, are persecuted for their faith and he is beheaded under Nero's reign in 68AD. The question for you is: What are you going to do with the message of Jesus? Believe and live for him? Or reject and do your own thing?