Author: Bill Hall

Untitled

 Luke 9:7 “Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by Him; and he was perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,”

   Herod didn’t know what to do with himself. He never liked to feel out of control. He needed to have the inside scoop on everything. He was the classic control freak. The ministry of Jesus right on the heels of the ministry of John was just too much for this bloated tyrant. He had ended John’s ministry, but now there was another. And Herod was at a loss.

   Heavenly Father, thank You for confidence in You. We don’t have to worry about the things that this world is worried about. We don’t have to be ‘in control’ if we are Yours. We can just depend upon You, and that is a position of power and peace, and joy. To be Your servant is a great privilege. But also as we serve we rest in You. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Untitled

 Luke 9:6 ” So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.”

   The disciples went to where the people were. These ‘towns’ were the small regional villages made up of the domiciles of simple farmers and herdsmen. The disciples preached, sharing the truth with these folks. They also used the power the Lord gave them to bring healing to the sick and hurting.

   The word we find here for healing can also mean to serve. This is appropriate. Our mission as the church today is the same. We are to preach the gospel. But we serve people as we do so. Charitable hearts and preaching mouths go together. We should not fail to share and serve in our world as the salt and light.

   Heavenly Father, You are amazing beyond all that we can understand. You have given us truth and love and we can rest in Your care. Being content in Your provision and guidance leads to great joy. It is so wonderful that in spite of the sinful state that we are born into You reach into our lives and give us the peace that we can have if we seek it from You. Oh Lord, make us experts in You! Give us knowledge of You! To live in sync with the creator of all we see is the right way to live. I will praise You all my days Lord, for You are worthy! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Untitled

Luke 9:5

Jesus isn’t playing games. The gospel is serious business. The Jewish nation had been given a great privilege to have God Himself right there physically in their midst. Rejection of His representatives meant rejection of Him. This action that He proscribed for towns that shunned His disciples was a portent of future judgement.
Heavenly Father, thank you so much for the privilege of hearing from Christ. Only the Lord Jesus has the truth we need for our lives. Without Him, I would wander in darkness. Thank you for the light! Though You have drawn me to Yourself, I will not fail to pursue You. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Untitled

Luke 9:4 “Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart.”

   This is the kind of hospitality the disciples could expect from Jewish families who recognized them as messengers of God. It was considered rude and an affront to deny Jewish travelers this convenience. Thus, if the disciples were not given this basic consideration, it would mean they were unwelcome.

Heavenly Father, there is always room for You in our lives. If we make no room for You, we don’t know where we are. Because truly, You don’t just need space in our hearts, You are to be the Sovereign in us. We must put You on the throne. Only You are worthy of all honor and glory and power! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Untitled

Luke 9:3 “And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece.”
   The disciples would have understood the instructions Jesus gave here a bit more readily than we do. We would naturally see Him telling them to go somewhat unprepared. And, this seems strange. But the disciples knew what we can determine by looking closely and considering the customs of the Jews in that day.
   What Jesus was doing was telling the disciples to go to the Jewish community. They were to go as did the Old Testament prophets. And, as such, they were to depend on the hospitality of believing Jews. Remember, Jewish people memorized Scripture from an early age. They knew who Jesus claimed to be. And they knew what it meant to either harbor His disciples, or to refuse to do so. They would understand why His disciples would come to their towns without these extra provisions. They would understand that these men were coming as God’s messengers.
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your provision for us! You have through Your messengers given us the Word from You. The Jewish community has given us the Bible. It is the most wonderful gift short of salvation itself. I will search it all my life, knowing within it I can find treasure for every single moment. In it I can find strength from You. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Untitled

 Luke 9:2 “He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.”

   The message to be preached at this time was to the Jewish nation. The sick were healed as an evidence of the authority of the disciples to preach this message. They were telling Israel that the long awaited Messiah had come.

Heavenly Father, You are always faithful. You do not change even though we lose sight of You and forget what we know of Your goodness. You so often remind us of Your truth. What a mercy that is! We must remember and see and praise You, for You are worthy. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Untitled

 Luke 9:1 “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases.”

The twelve disciples are the nucleus of what becomes the church. Early on Jesus gave this pre-birth church the power and authority it needed to do what it does. In this case He enabled the disciples to represent Him in the work that He was currently doing.

Power denotes ability. Without Him we cannot do what needs to be done in the church. We will be weak and unable to make a difference without His power. Beyond this, we need His authority in what we are doing. When we try to act without it, the church does not reach the world in the way it should. This leads to a bad reputation and a poor testimony. We cannot forget the importance of this power and authority from Christ.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your power for action in this world! The ravages of sin have left so much pain and suffering. The hope the world claims is empty because of sin as well. Without Christ we would have nothing with which to combat this plague. You know exactly what we need. Thank You for Your provision! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Untitled

 Luke 8:56  “And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened.”

   Imagine this from the perspective of the girl’s mother. She was apparently not with Jairus when he went to speak with Jesus. So, once her daughter perished she may well have thought there was no hope. In this case, she would have been waiting for Jairus to return so that the funeral process could begin in earnest.

   Instead, Jairus shows up with Jesus. And the whole situation is shortly reversed. Just think of the feelings involved in this interchange. I am sure Jairus and his wife never saw this coming and they certainly never forgot it.

   Here again we find Jesus limiting the spread of news about the miracle. Jesus understands us better than we understand ourselves. He allowed the miracle of Lazarus to be proclaimed. But that press served mainly to get Him targeted. The religious elite at the time was not at all friendly to truth.

   Heavenly Father, You make us different just by Your Presence. If You hid Yourself from us entirely, what would we be? Oh thank You for showing Yourself! Though we understand You imperfectly, to try is the redemption of our souls. Thank You for Christ and hope of salvation through Him! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Untitled

Luke 8:55

Some folks will be curious. I understand, I’m one of them. Where did this girl’s spirit go while away from her body? And would she have remembered? And, why was she hungry?
The simple answer is that we don’t know. But, based on what we do know, there are some good guesses. Her spirit was likely in a place the Jews would have called ‘Abraham’s Bosom’. This was a division of Sheol or Hades, the abode of the dead, where righteous souls awaited judgment. And, no she very likely didn’t remember it afterwards.
As far as the hunger situation goes, I think it is quite likely that malnutrition could have contributed to her condition. This is not to say that Jairus and his wife were bad parents. In that time, though, things like dehydration and lack of needed vitamins and so forth was not well understood. 
Heavenly Father, thank You for caring for us. We see death and destruction in this life and we want to blame someone. And often we blame You. Help us to see that it is Your intention for us to wonder why. You want us to seek to understand. Your desire is for us to know the truth about sin and its consequences. To let us live in this state of anxious trouble without giving us the truth would be horrific. But, You have given us the truth. You have revealed Yourself. Thank You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen. 

Untitled

Luke 8:54

Simple. Powerful. Confident. Sometimes people get the idea that Jesus was hesitant. They think He was unsure of Himself. They think maybe He didn’t know for sure what He was capable of. Well, none of these notions come from Scripture. The picture here is plain. Jesus knows exactly Who He is and exactly what He is doing.
Heavenly Father, thank You for another day. We think of each day, and each breath, as a forgone conclusion. But no less was done to start today than to start the very first day. You are at all times the One and Only Who can sustain this massive creation of Yours. All else are tiny in comparison with You. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.