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Luke 5:28 “So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.”

   Those ‘leave all’ moments are what makes faith so powerful. Many people live their entire lives without a ‘leave all’ moment. They never make any changes, but stick only with what is safe and easy. But safe and easy is predictable. Jesus asks us to break out of the predictable with faith in Him. The enemy doesn’t know what to do with that. It makes us hard to pin down. Those who follow Christ can’t be bought, can’t be predicted, and can’t be threatened.

Heavenly Father, we find our sufficiency in You. Thank You for Your work in us. You are the Great Instigator. You have started it all, and You will finish it. We praise You for Your wisdom, power, and steadfast love. You are so worthy of our praise! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:27 “After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.”

   There were some to whom Jesus said this that offered excuses and did not follow. But, Levi, who is Matthew, offered no such excuses. The publican, as Levi was called, followed immediately. Whereas there were other self-righteous ones who did not get the blessings afforded the sinner who followed right away. His obedience honored the One Who called.

Heavenly Father, we want to honor You with our obedience. We need Your leading and we want to follow Christ each day. Thank You for intersecting with our lives. You don’t leave us alone, You get involved. We praise You for how You work in us and through us! I love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:26 “And they were all amazed, and they glorified God and were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today!”

   We can understand the amazement, but why the fear? Well, though it is easy to imagine being amazed by Christ’s miracles and teaching, it is still hard to put ourselves in the shoes of those actually seeing these things occur. The experience had an unsettling effect. This is due to the fact that faith sometimes fades into monotony in such a way that it becomes wrote behavior rather than heartfelt belief. These folks little expected to have a living target for their faith walking before them. As a result their heart filled with fear as is often the case when an new and unusual feeling takes hold.

Heavenly Father, help us to manage our feelings! We tend to be skittish. Give us the courage to praise You, to see You as You would have us to know You. We look in Your Word and see there many marvelous things. May we honor You always! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:25 “Immediately he rose up before them, took up what he had been lying on, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.”

   Hesitation and worship are incompatible. We should be immediate and extravagant with our worship. The paralyzed man needed no lesson on that. He was ready to offer the praise to God right away. His life had been changed forever, and praise was his best response. When Christ has changed us, no less response should be forthcoming.

Heavenly Father, we want to praise you immediately and extravagantly. You alone are worthy! Christ has change our life so much. We can do nothing else but live to praise the Name of the Lord! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:24 “But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins “– He said to the man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.”

   Some have said that Jesus never actually claimed to be God. Obviously, such persons have failed to read and understand a passage such as this one. Jesus made no quarrel with the scribes and Pharisees on the point that God alone may forgive sins. The point He makes here very clearly is that the same power and authority by which He heals, was the same by which He could forgive sin.
   One might ask, if they understood what He meant, why did they not immediately accuse Him of blasphemy? Well, there are several possible answers to that. First, many of them likely didn’t understand. We know their understanding was clouded, so this is quite possible. Second, some may have understood, but dismissed it without much consideration. Since the claim was not a bold-faced declaration in their minds, perhaps they saw no need for immediate action. The miracle itself gave credence to all that Jesus said. Finally, many may have indeed believed, and after this incident began to have more faith that Jesus was indeed Who He claimed to be. Not ALL scribes and Pharisees failed to believe, though MOST did.

Heavenly Father, may we be not faithless, but believing! You know all that we need and You guide us in our way. We would be encouragers to Your flock. Help us build up one another upon our most holy faith. We love to see the faith formed in the hearts of the formerly incredulous. Your power is amazing, and Your love transforms even the hardest of hearts. We praise You for Your works among us! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:23 “”Which is easier, to say,`Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say,`Rise up and walk ‘?”

   The Jewish leaders knew Jesus was about tho heal this man. They had no intention to quarrel with that. But Jesus purposely gave them something to mull over that He knew they would have a hard time swallowing. For Jesus, there was no difference in difficulty in the task of healing, or of forgiving. Both things He could do equally well, and He wanted the Jewish leaders to know this.

Heavenly Father, You know what we need. You give us the truth and help us to see what our lives mean. Thank you for being constantly at work in us. May we always give You the credit in every thing. You are worthy! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:22 “But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, “Why are you reasoning in your hearts?”

   How often does the Lord find the thoughts of our hearts to be questionable? We tend to ‘reason’ out many things that are hardly reasonable. And why? Sin generally causes us to jump to conclusions. We include its influence in our thinking and it taints our reasoning and judgment. This is why the eye of faith is needed to trust in the Lord. The arm of flesh is unable to bring the mind to bear correctly on the facts.

Heavenly Father, You alone understand it all. Please guide our reasoning by Your Holy Spirit. Give us Your wisdom, and all so that we may praise You with a true heart. We are imperfect and need You working in us to produce anything good. We will seek to honor You all of our days. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:21 “And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

   In this case we see a religious sense with no common sense. These students of the law knew that only God has the right or ability to forgive sin. But, they lacked the common sense to put two and two together for the faith to see who Christ is.

Heavenly Father, thank You for the blessings You put into our lives. The people we get to know and love are just a part of Your blessings. Give us the blessing of Your graciousness as we fellowship with one another. You are able to do all we might expect and so much more. But, more significant than that is the fact that You ARE so much more than we might expect. You are worthy of our deepest devotion. In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:20 “When He saw their faith, He said to him, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”

   Jesus saw that the paralyzed man and his companions all had faith. They didn’t need a lesson in faith. They just needed healing for their friend. But, there were many present who did indeed need help with their faith. They needed to know that Jesus was more than just a great prophet.

Heavenly Father, thank You for Your daily blessings. Just the little things You give us every day are amazing blessings. How can we ever thank You enough? We will praise You for all of our lives and through all eternity. You are wonderful! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.

Luke 5:19 “And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus.”

   In this case, as in many others in history, the Lord worked out the logistics to His glory. Imagine the scene. Many are pressing in, closer and closer to Christ. The discussion is intense. At first the noise above their heads distracts nobody. Then, as they begin to realize what is going on, a bed is lowered through he roof. What a testimony to the importance of reaching Christ!
   Dear one, if there is something keeping you from reaching Christ, tear up the roof and enter in. Let no person or thing stand between you and eternal salvation!

Heavenly Father, You are important. We can never find any goal so appropriate as the goal of finding the Christ. No matter what it takes, every man must rip through the roof of life’s distractions and humble himself before the power of Your Christ. We need Him above all else! Salvation through Him is the only way! We praise You for all that our lives may now be if we have been converted. We love You! In the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray and praise You, Amen.