Reading the Bible Everyday; Luke 14

Joy: You’re listening to the Lifting Her Voice podcast, Episode #58.  Today we’ll read the 14th chapter of Luke together: Jesus gives us great advice about humility; about putting Him first in our lives; and about counting the cost following Him.

Welcome to the Lifting Her Voice podcast.  I’m your host, Joy Miller, and I invite you to grab your Bible and join me as we simply read God’s word together.  Some things require discipline and sometimes that’s just not easy to muster by yourself, no matter how badly you want to do it or how much you know you should.  It’s just easier to do it with a friend.  So refill your coffee or tea, get comfortable in your favorite chair and follow along as I read aloud.  I’m so glad you’re here!

Did you commit to giving the care and control of your life to Jesus yesterday in our close?  Well, if so, whether yesterday or another time, I don’t want to leave you hanging.  Remember Jesus’ parable about the seed?  I don’t want you to be that kind that withers because you have no root.  You’re already doing a great thing by reading the Bible everyday in a systematic way. It helps you to get to know Jesus.  But just like a baby starts on milk and then moves to meat, you need to get yourself dug into a Bible-believing, local church body.  They will care for you, they will teach you and encourage you, and they will love you.  That church body will also give you opportunities to serve, which is an important way to be like Jesus.  Finally, I encourage you to begin to pray.  Yes, it will likely feel weird at first, but with practice and consistency, God will begin to speak to your heart.  If I can ever be a help to you, you can always email me thru my website at liftinghervoice.com. 

Luke Chapter 14:  1 One Sabbath, when He went to eat at the house of one of the leading Pharisees, they were watching Him closely. 2 There in front of Him was a man whose body was swollen with fluid. 3 In response, Jesus asked the law experts and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” 4 But they kept silent. He took the man, healed him, and sent him away. 5 And to them, He said, “Which of you whose son or ox falls into a well, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” 6 To this they could find no answer. 7 He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noticed how they would choose the best places for themselves: 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don’t recline at the best place, because a more distinguished person than you may have been invited by your host. 9 The one who invited both of you may come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then in humiliation, you will proceed to take the lowest place. 10 “But when you are invited, go and recline in the lowest place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ You will then be honored in the presence of all the other guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 12 He also said to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, your brothers, your relatives, or your rich neighbors, because they might invite you back, and you would be repaid. 13 On the contrary, when you host a banquet, invite those who are poor, maimed, lame, or blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” 15 When one of those who reclined at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “The one who will eat bread in the kingdom of God is blessed!” 16 Then He told him: “A man was giving a large banquet and invited many. 17 At the time of the banquet, he sent his slave to tell those who were invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ 18 “But without exception they all began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’ 19 “Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m going to try them out. I ask you to excuse me.’ 20 “And another said, ‘I just got married, and therefore I’m unable to come.’ 21 “So the slave came back and reported these things to his master. Then in anger, the master of the house told his slave, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind, and lame!’ 22 ” ‘Master,’ the slave said, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there’s still room.’ 23 “Then the master told the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and lanes and make them come in, so that my house may be filled. 24 For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will enjoy my banquet!’ ” 25 Now great crowds were traveling with Him. So He turned and said to them: 26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters-yes, and even his own life-he cannot be My disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. 28 “For which of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn’t first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, after he has laid the foundation and cannot finish it, all the onlookers will begin to make fun of him, 30 saying, ‘This man started to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ 31 “Or what king, going to war against another king, will not first sit down and decide if he is able with 10,000 to oppose the one who comes against him with 20,000? 32 If not, while the other is still far off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, therefore, every one of you who does not say good-bye to all his possessions cannot be My disciple. 34 “Now, salt is good, but if salt should lose its taste, how will it be made salty? 35 It isn’t fit for the soil or for the manure pile; they throw it out. Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!” 

Okay, I’m pretty sure there isn’t one of us who doesn’t trip on verses 26 & 27.  I get it…it’s jarring. The problem is that most of us don’t speak ancient Greek and Hebrew.  It’s always confused me why translators don’t tone down that word ‘hate’ but I suppose that will have to wait for a future day when I’m able to corner a Bible translator with my questions.  According to my MacArthur study note, the hatred is actually a ‘lesser love’.  We should be so devoted to Christ that our attachments to everything else will seem like hatred by comparison.  At ease, Jesus is not telling us to hate our mothers.  Let’s pray.  Lord, I’m just gonna dive in an say that we’re going to need your help on this one.  We want to be Your disciples; we want to follow and obey You.  But I fear the cross You require us to bear is the distracted life we live here on earth.  And it makes us afraid.  How can we possibly bear that and try coming after You (like you ask) only to risk being told we cannot be Your disciple?  Please help us.  Give us discernment and courage and wisdom and discipline, Lord.  We need it.  In Your name we pray, Amen.

Thank you for joining me here today.  I pray God will grow in you what has been planted and watered here.  In this time of unprecedented struggle worldwide, we can look to God for guidance and comfort.  Be sensitive to those in your circle of influence who need a word of encouragement and invite them to join us.  If you like this show, it would be great if you give it a five-star review.  Don’t forget to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.  See you right here tomorrow.  Be well!