5 Minute Read
TODAY’S BIBLE READING:
Deuteronomy 28:1-68
Luke 11:14-36
Psalm 77:1-20
Proverbs 12:18
TODAY’S BIBLE VERSE(S):
Luke 11:28 (CSB): “He said, ‘Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.'”
REFLECTIONS ON TODAY’S BIBLE VERSE(S):
In Luke 11, we observe Jesus as he was owning His space. He was clearly in charge of the situation.
Jesus had previously been in prayer. His disciples wanted to learn how to pray so He taught them some prayer principles.
Then he cast a demon out of a man, bringing immediate healing and liberty to that man. But, there were some in the crowd (we suspect scribes and/or Pharisees) who acknowledged the powerful act but said that He, Jesus, was casting demons out by the power of Satan (Beelzebul).
Jesus would have none of it. He was operating in the power of the Holy Spirit and such reckless, wicked accusations could not go unnoticed. So Jesus addressed the foolish rationale of those who claimed He was casting demons out by the power of Satan.
After He finished speaking, a woman in the crowd couldn’t contain herself any longer. Listen to what she said.
Luke 11:27 (CSB): “As he was saying these things, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore you and the one who nursed you!'”
This woman was proclaiming how wonderful it would be to have family ties to Jesus, especially to be His mother. This woman suspected that there was no one who would feel so blessed as the woman who gave birth to this incredible man named Jesus.
However, she was mistaken. In the Kingdom of God, family ties are assessed differently. The spiritual trumps the biological.
While there is never a scenario in which a child should dishonor his parents (Exodus 20:12), or a husband should fail to sacrificially love his wife (Ephesians 5:25), or a parent should fail to love (Psalm 103:13), train (Ephesians 6:4), and provide for their children (1 Timothy 5:8), our true source of blessing comes from spiritual relationships. (But how wonderful it is when our biological and spiritual relationships are one and the same!)
Listen as Jesus responds to the woman’s well-intentioned but ill-informed comments.
Luke 11:28 (CSB): “He said, ‘Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.'”
Jesus said that the folks who are truly blessed are not necessarily the biological family of Jesus. Instead, they are the ones who get into God’s Word, they let it get into them, and then they live it out.
Here, Jesus is speaking of the blessings that are intended for those who know and apply God’s Word to their life.
But it also points out something else: Those who do what God has said demonstrate that they are truly saved.
Matthew 7:21 (CSB): “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”
Luke 6:46 (CSB): “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?”
John 14:15 (CSB): “If you love me, you will keep my commands.”
Titus 1:16 (CSB): “They claim to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.”
So, are you saved? Do you know for certain that you will go to Heaven when you die?
If so, good! But, here’s another question…
Does your faith cause you to desire to spend time in God’s Word, learn from it, and live out its truths in your life?
If so, wonderful! Your faith is a saving faith! And further, it will be a source of blessing to you as you reap the benefits of a moral, godly life.
Matt’s Musings 