by Bill Hall
I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny.
Luke 12:59
Greed never pays. It is always better to be sensible, not selfish, with money.
Heavenly Father, You are the Beneficent One. You could choose to never give anything to anyone. But You have blessed Your creatures. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
As you are going with your adversary to the ruler, make an effort to settle with him on the way. Then he won’t drag you before the judge, the judge hand you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff throw you into prison.
Luke 12:58
Jesus is speaking of situations in which a person legitimately owes a debt, but is trying to avoid it by allowing the matter to be taken to court. In such cases, it is better to compromise and pay the dept through agreed terms than to wait and let the court decide.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your mercy upon us. You are Great and Wonderful! You are the Only True and Living God, and we will praise You forever. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right?
Luke 12:57
Jesus is changing the subject, and yet this flows from what He had been saying. Even those who are supposedly godly people will try to get away with things that they know are wrong.
We tend to use our judgment for our neighbor, or our friend, but fail to use it on ourselves. Judgment is a a good internal tool, but a poor external one.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your love for us. Sometimes we feel so inadequate, but really we know very little of our true need. You alone can show us the way that we must go. Give us a heart of love for You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky, but why don’t you know how to interpret this time?
Luke 12:56
This is one of the consistent messages of Scripture. Humanity spends a lot of time predicting for ourselves what we think might happen next. We spend a lot of our resources trying to determine what the future holds.
Weather tracking systems are a perfect example of this. They can help us avoid loss of life and possessions. But we very often fail to even think about the cosmic timetable. Predicting this new 2022 is important to us. Yet knowing what eternity holds for us is not considered nearly as much.
Because of the message of the prophets, there was a lot of material from which to make a determination concerning the timetable of God. Only God knows exactly what will happen. And yet, He has chosen to reveal a lot of things to us in His Word.
Heavenly Father, You are the God of this new year we have before us. It is Yours in every way. Every day of it is meant to be lived for You. And the story of this year is about You. Each day in it is new because of You. And each day is a gift. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
And when the south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is.
Luke 12:55
Obviously a good strong wind from the south will usually bring warmer temperatures with it.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your provision. You know everything ahead of time. You know what we need and when we need it. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, right away you say, ‘A storm is coming,’ and so it does.”
Luke 12:54
A cloud from the west would be from the sea, and so would be likely to be a storm headed inland. Weather patterns in many parts of the world are fairly predictable.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your faithfulness. You are always in control. Your ways are constant. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
They will be divided, father against son,
Luke 12:53
son against father,
mother against daughter,
daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law,
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.
This is a quote from Micah chapter 7. Micah speaks of the decline of Israel spiritually. Jesus connects to it here to show why so many would reject Him.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your love, your compassion, and your grace. So many have failed to accept the gospel, and yet you have offered it freely. You are perfectly wonderful! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three.
Luke 12:52
For almost all of the modern Jewish households I have known about this is the reality. Jesus causes this division because to submit to him requires a genuine change of heart. But the gospel also has a powerful pull that is not easily resisted.
Heavenly Father, thank you for the power of the gospel! The truth is really worth living for. It changes everything! Your grace, your mercy, and your love, bring undescribable joy to our hearts. Can we ever thank you enough? In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
Do you think that I came here to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
Luke 12:51
Though the message of Christ is a message of peace, it brings peace with God, not always peace with man. As Christians we desire peace with all people.
But people divide over Christ. Oh the enemy will accept a lot of truth. Our foe will not run from anything, until Jesus is brought to bear upon it. The old serpent has decived hoards of good moral, kind, and friendly people. And they will divide more quickly with true followers of Christ than anyone.
Heavenly Father, without You we would be so confused, so lost in the maze of the enemy’s lies. You bring The Truth and Hope into our lives. Thank You! Only by Your guidance can we live lives that truly matter. Your grace upholds us daily! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.
But I have a baptism to undergo, and how it consumes me until it is finished!
Luke 12:50
Jesus is of course not referring to water baptism at all here. Instead, He is talking about His upcoming death, burial, and resurrection. He Who had been for all eternity was to experience death, and be baptized into new life.
It is easy for us to forget that upon His ascension Jesus did not cease to have a human form. The first advent, the first Christmas, we see the incarnation, which is a permanent condition. But, through the baptism into life, Jesus, though actually human, is as eternal as He ever was.
Jesus was looking forward to this event. He anticipated the victory. The plan of the Godhead would in many ways consumate in the cross and resurrection. He constantly thought of it during His time here on earth.
Heavenly Father, You are The One this is all about. All glory to You by Christ through the Spirit! Your plan, Almighty God, is so perfect! We look forward to the future in which Christ will complete the plan by the power of what He has already finished. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.