Psalm 28 ~ Blessed be the Lord! For He has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.

Psalm 28

1 To you, O Lord, I call;
my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you be silent to me,
I become like those who go down to the pit.
2 Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
when I cry to you for help,
when I lift up my hands
toward your most holy sanctuary, 
your innermost sanctuary.

3 Do not drag me off with the wicked,
with the workers of evil,
who speak peace with their neighbors
while evil is in their hearts.
4 Give to them according to their work
and according to the evil of their deeds;
give to them according to the work of their hands;
render them their due reward.
5 Because they do not regard the works of the Lord
or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and build them up no more.

6 Blessed be the Lord!
For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.

7 The Lord is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.

8 The Lord is the strength of his people;
he is the saving refuge of his anointed.

9 Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

We believe in Jesus and we cry out to Him.
We can remember times Jesus carried us.
We can remember times like this:

Psalm 77:19
Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen.

When we baptize children, we say this:
Over the waters, God's Holy Spirit hovered in Creation.
Through the waters, God led His people.
In the water, Jesus went to be baptized.
And Father God spoke, saying, "Jesus is His beloved Son."

Entitled when we cry out to God?
In His mercy, sometimes.

When Jesus was doing His ministry, He spent time teaching the Disciples how to Shepherd.
Jesus spent a lot of time baptizing His Disciples, cleaning them up, listening to their worries. Even their squabbles.

Look at Luke 9
10 When the apostles returned, they reported to Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him and they withdrew by themselves to a town called Bethsaida, 11 but the crowds learned about it and followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed healing.

12 Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away so they can go to the surrounding villages and countryside and find food and lodging, because we are in a remote place here.”

13 He replied, “You give them something to eat.”

They answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish—unless we go and buy food for all this crowd.” 14 (About five thousand men were there.)

But he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 The disciples did so, and everyone sat down. 16 Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people. 17 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

Jesus is always teaching us about prayer, reality, God and possibilities.

Jesus is told to dismiss His People.(?! And they say Peter is cheeky!)
Jesus, the exact nature of God, says - you feed them.
Jesus is told the disciples are not sufficient enough to do this. Oh?
At this point, Jesus is seeing a prayer being generated - they need God to feed this crowd.

When God is shown genuine weakness in completing a God given task, God is going to - give up HIS Will? Whine? Change His mind? Help? ...Jesus sees a work in progress.

Well, God is going to help, but no magic Hand carried His people to the Promised Land. God parted the waters - wonders appeared - but Father God expected - foot work and a good attitude. To be obedient to God. Not to the human voice saying, "We should have stuck to the easier part of slavery in Egypt."

After Jesus is shown weakness in His disciples which is preventing His people from being fed - Jesus is going to provide - not flat bread - but Living Bread.

Jesus has the disciples - sit down and be seen - No, organize into communities and help - pray - ask the Disciples to work for the food to be taken forth - and they are going to be told to get their hands busy being janitors - cleaning up. Jesus doesn't see a mass of people, He puts them into groups to minister the nourishment.

Jesus is giving a saving heritage - blessing His people.

Only the neediest were just fed. Love provided for the crowd. Multitudes of these people later showed this changed their lives.

What did Jesus' hands show His disciples because Jesus knew He was going to become Holy Spirit and not bodily presence? Jesus prayed, gave thanks, and got His own hands in the fish and the bread, so He could feed others.

Father God, Give us the day. We give You great thanks for Your forgiving nature. Help us to know You are the Source and the Center. You alone are Good. 

Father God, open our eyes to Your Will and Wisdom in our Call from You. We are all coming to You in this journey. Teach us to show Your Love from earnest hearts. 

Father Your Love requires action and faith. Strengthen us to do Your Will each day. 

Please bless the work and our prayers to accomplish Your will on earth as in Heaven. 

We expect You, Father God, knowing the Kingdom and the Power and Glory are Yours. 
We call upon You, Jesus, the Highest name Father God gives us. Amen.

Thank You, Jesus Christ Our LORD!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Mark 2:1-12 ~ Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’?

Painted by James Tissot

Mark 2:1-12

 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 

5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” 

So he said to the man, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 

12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”


Psalm 126

1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
3 The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.
4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like streams in the Negeb!
5 Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

We know this event in the life of Jesus Christ because the Gospels were written by men who knew the call of Jesus to speak and teach of The Son of God.

Someday, because of the gift of Life from the way of Jesus our Lord - we will see the Life. This very event just as Jesus saw this in it's entirety. Just exactly as the event really happened - because those people who have had glimpses of Heaven know that the creator of Heaven created earth.

I'm saying Jesus will make His memories alive for us to see. Our technology - our wisdom - is merely "seeing through the glass darkly" and Jesus will show us His life exactly. We will,  in Heaven, sit with Jesus and see His Life!!!

This day will be a prime example of the Joy Jesus had living here with us. As a man and fully God.

When we think of going to Church - we know Church is made up of people - and we all fall short of His Glory. But know this - Jesus died for His Church. The Church continues after 2,000 years from Jesus explaining a non-existent Church would be here to glorify Jesus. When we go to God's House on Sunday, we are sitting in the House of God.

God will feed us - the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Staying in step with the Spirit - we do away with:
sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like - those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

The way Jesus ministers - He cleansed impurities. He did not try to hide sin exists. The man in the painting demonstrates helplessness and weakness - but God makes all things possible. God is his strength, healing, and grace. Jesus turns this time into His Father's Glory. God is the center. Because Father God is sufficient - Jesus, The Son of God, calls us His.

The purpose of the Church is to Worship God. To encourage us to live the life God gives us. To press on in humility when the victory is unseen. To give us His Grace when life is good. Walking the path of our lives with faith, in all seasons of our lives.

Father God please be the center of me and the ones I love. We hold on to You, Father God - look to Jesus -  for the free gift of Salvation - be within us as the fruit of Your Holy Spirit. We are nourished - in all seasons of our life - we will depend on You  and Your steadfast Love will see us through. Amen.

Thank You, Jesus Christ Our LORD!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Psalm 117 ~ Praise the Lord

Psalm 117

1 Praise the Lord, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.

2 For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

As a child, my grandmother Anita used to read to me about David. And she explained David was beloved of God. I wanted to be beloved of God. God assures us His nature is to love us all.

The Good News of Jesus Christ is God sees what is within all of mankind - and God reacts with Love - to want to save the world. The nature of God is not nice to one and rude to another. Jesus walked away from the people who took offense at Him.

God is steadfast - The Good News is for those of us who call upon Jesus and believe in Jesus - we are saved.

His Great Love is faithful and endures forever. Thanks be to God, in Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen.

Thank You, Jesus Christ Our LORD!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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John 6:16-24 ~ in search of Jesus

John 6:16-24

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. 19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

22 The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

So we are told as it is written:

John 9:4
"We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work."

John 11:10
It is when a person walks at night that they stumble, for they have no light.

We can learn about THE WORD OF GOD made manifest - Jesus our Lord - from what is written.

1. Psalm 139 tells us that nothing is dark to God. He is Light. He is not going to stumble, because He is God.

2. I like this message the best - walking on water - at night - was not "work" to Jesus. This was Joy!

3. John 17 13
“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them."

This point is wonderful. Jesus abides in God - His fruitfulness is Joy.

Can you see the disciples talking in that boat...

"Simon, Simon says hoist up that sail." (Simon the Zeolot and Peter Simon - c'mon you always wondered where the game 'Simon Says'  originated right...)

"Ok, I DID, the wind is really picking up."

John says, "Did you see the way our Teacher fed five thousand people!" The men talk about the wonder of God. Matthew adds, "Well, it's clear we are going to have to have another Party for Jesus!" The men look at Matthew. "And this time - we let Jesus cater the Party!"

Thomas says, "I really admired Jesus today. He fed and healed so many. Jesus put His amazing hands into the bread and even the fish to provide. Jesus puts his Hands out and does whatever is needed for God's people."

The men are silent. It was another amazing day with God.




Thomas cries out, "What is THAT? What am I seeing?"

Then they began to discuss among themselves who was the greatest to see this, Jesus' disciples said, "Now speak clearly and without figures of speech!"

They then had a rapid discussion - how to pray.

James and John cry out, "What would stand like that - there? How is it placed there?"

Andrew cries for Peter to come and look. Andrew yells out, "I think this is the Messiah!"

They cry out together, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"

Thomas said to his fellow disciples, "Let's go to Jesus that we may ... too, so that we may die with Him."

Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to get someone to explain this if you were not here to see this yourself."

Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, "How far would this story go among so many?"

They all started talking at once and said to each other, "What must we do to do the works God requires?”




Yesterday we saw that Jesus just by passed the people who did not want Him to be God.

Today we see when the Disciples see how fully Jesus is God, John 6 reports they were very afraid.

And then we see the people want God to serve them and they show up immediately. 


Jesus reveals hearts. 

Father God, let me each day ask to let me be a good place for You to dwell

Search my heart and mind, discerning the thoughts and intentions of my heart.

Help my heart of flesh - please You.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.

I will ask you to help me Trust in You with all my heart, and not leaning on my understanding. I will acknowledge Your Ways, and will make straight our paths.

Keep my heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Place your spirit within us, and in Your name, we will be pure in heart and we shall see God.

We ask this for ourselves and the ones we love and our Nation. In the Highest Name of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus Christ Our LORD!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Luke 4:14-30 ~ To proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor!

Luke 4:14-30

14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.


23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’”

24 “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

The year of the Lord's favor sounds fabulous. Isaiah 61 tells us of this:

to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the Lord
for the display of his splendor.

4They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.

5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

6And you will be called priests of the Lord,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.

7Instead of your shame
you will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land,
and everlasting joy will be yours.

8“For I, the Lord, love justice;
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
In my faithfulness I will reward my people
and make an everlasting covenant with them.

9Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the Lord has blessed.”


Father God had this situation before prophets. When The Ark of the Covenant displayed the ways of God and His Power. The people built a Temple and put Him and His Mercy Seat - The Ark - behind a curtain. Politely labeling that "Holy of Holies."


We dislike when God is silent and then when God acts as God - we want our own way. This has been the situation between man and God since the Garden of Eden. Eve wanted to eat from the tree of knowledge to tell God what was right and wrong.

Jesus demonstrates what He does when His Way is ignored - He walked right through the crowd and went on His way.

God does things His way. His ways are holy and eternal - ours are not.

Father God, I give you my heart today - guide and direct me to be in thoughts, emotions, attitudes, discovery and works to Please You. And help me to convey Your Love to the ones I love and You have given me. In Jesus. Amen.

Jesus Christ Our LORD!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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2 Samuel 22 ~ With the merciful you show yourself merciful

Zion Gate - exterior of the Old City. King David is buried on the exterior about 150 meters from here

2 Samuel 22

David's Song of Deliverance

1 And David spoke to the LORD the words of this song on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul.
2 He said, "The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
3 my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my savior; you save me from violence.

4 I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
5 "For the waves of death encompassed me, the torrents of destruction assailed me;
6 the cords of Sheol entangled me; the snares of death confronted me.
7 "In my distress I called upon the LORD; to my God I called. From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry came to his ears.

8 "Then the earth reeled and rocked; the foundations of the heavens trembled and quaked, because he was angry.
9 Smoke went up from his nostrils, and devouring fire from his mouth; glowing coals flamed forth from him.
10 He bowed the heavens and came down; thick darkness was under his feet.
11 He rode on a cherub and flew; he was seen on the wings of the wind.
12 He made darkness around him his canopy, thick clouds, a gathering of water.
13 Out of the brightness before him coals of fire flamed forth.
14 The LORD thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered his voice.
15 And he sent out arrows and scattered them; lightning, and routed them.

16 Then the channels of the sea were seen; the foundations of the world were laid bare, at the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of his nostrils.

17 "He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters.
18 He rescued me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support.

20 He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
21 "The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD and have not wickedly departed from my God.
23 For all his rules were before me, and from his statutes I did not turn aside.
24 I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt.

25 And the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.

26 "With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
27 with the purified you deal purely, and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
28 You save a humble people, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them down.
29 For you are my lamp, O LORD, and my God lightens my darkness.

30 For by you I can run against a troop, and by my God I can leap over a wall.

31 This God--his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

32 "For who is God, but the LORD? And who is a rock, except our God?
33 This God is my strong refuge and has made my way blameless.
34 He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights.
35 He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

36 You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your gentleness made me great.

37 You gave a wide place for my steps under me, and my feet did not slip;

38 I pursued my enemies and destroyed them, and did not turn back until they were consumed.
39 I consumed them; I thrust them through, so that they did not rise; they fell under my feet.

40 For you equipped me with strength for the battle; you made those who rise against me sink under me.
41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me, those who hated me, and I destroyed them.
42 They looked, but there was none to save; they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.

43 I beat them fine as the dust of the earth; I crushed them and stamped them down like the mire of the streets.

44 "You delivered me from strife with my people; you kept me as the head of the nations; people whom I had not known served me.
45 Foreigners came cringing to me; as soon as they heard of me, they obeyed me.
46 Foreigners lost heart and came tremblingout of their fortresses.
47 "The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation,
48 the God who gave me vengeance and brought down peoples under me,
49 who brought me out from my enemies; you exalted me above those who rose against me; you delivered me from men of violence.

50 "For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations, and sing praises to your name.
51 Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed, to David and his offspring forever."

Queen Elizabeth I was inclined to believe David and His God. She set out against the piracy of the Spanish Armada. And won.

For years she was regarded with suspicion and people sought to both use her Royal credentials and to trap her. When the day finally arrived for her freedom. She quoted David because God fashioned us to learn from real people in sticky, real life situations.

Elizabeth was indeed worried about death before her time arrived for peace.

Psalm 118 says:
I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.

18 The Lord has disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.



Elizabeth did not flaunt all of her feelings or bemoan, instead she said the following upon
news of her arrival into peace - saying as the news reached her:

23 This is the Lord's doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes!


And Elizabeth kept this in her heart:
24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Why should we care about a 500 year old story about a Queen?
Because we will all have trials and if we look to the Lord and His Bible for strength -
we will find God's strength which no job, government, person, place or thing can provide
as we all run into seasons, problems and mere opportunities for a solution. Elizabeth was known to read the Scriptures for an hour each morning. And she wrote Hymns. One of the accomplishments of her long reign - one of the largest causes of death in the prior Kings and Queen's reigns was 1/3 of the population died of starvation.  Elizabeth's era saw the increase of jobs and trade. Prosperity and peace.

For Davids, for shepherds, for people suffering injustice, for leaders - the Scriptures
illuminate the certainty - looking to God for answers - bears fruit of God.


Father God, for myself, for the ones I love, I pray Your abundant blessings on this nation. And the way statistics ask questions and for the answers our Nation needs - we say Jesus is Lord. We pray these blessings be given to us - love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. And look expectantly to You, Jesus. Amen.

Jesus Christ Our LORD!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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Luke 4 ~ With authority and power He gives orders

Luke 4

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

3 The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."

4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.' [Deut. 8:3 ]"

5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 So if you worship me, it will all be yours."

8 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only. [Deut. 6:13]""

9 The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. 10 For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
11 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.' [Psalm 91:11,12]"

12 Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' [Deut. 6:16]"

13 When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

14 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. 15 He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." [Isaiah 61:1,2]"

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. "Isn't this Joseph's son?" they asked.

23 Jesus said to them, "Surely you will quote this proverb to me: 'Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.' "24 "I tell you the truth," he continued, "no prophet is accepted in his hometown. 25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. 26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. 27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy [The Greek word was used for various diseases affecting the skin—not necessarily leprosy.]" in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian."

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. 30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

31 Then he went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath began to teach the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.

33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an evil [unclean] spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 "Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"

35 "Be quiet!" Jesus said sternly. "Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.

36 All the people were amazed and said to each other, "What is this teaching? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits and they come out!" 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.

38 Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon's mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

40 When the sun was setting, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. 41 Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ [Messiah].

42 At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. 43 But he said, "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent." 44 And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea. 

In the 4th chapter of Luke, Luke is still introducing us to Jesus. Something unusual the  Gospels bring us - this introduction is continuing. Let's see how the Chapter starts out, the description of Jesus being tempted by Satan. Not your typical method of evangelism. I once had an evangelist come to my door and start out his prepared speech with Hell. I cannot tell you how fast I exited. In evangelism, it is a method that should be stamped with the word - Fail. However, not for Jesus.

Let's take a second and think about evangelism. 
The lost and the wondering, the injured and the spiritually impoverished are not going to Church. They are still unreached. And... thinking about the lessons I learned from a very gentle, successful Priest bringing the message of Jesus' love and hope - God gives us opportunities to introduce Jesus.

We are given teachable moments - not to expand to the point we are shut down. In Youth Ministry this is also called "Earning the right to be heard."

Why would the Gospels of Jesus Christ tell us about the devil... it's obvious mankind understood 2,000 years ago and today - there is a force of evil at work in the world. People still really do believe it - this why there are horror movies. Just as there are horror movies - - there are people who discuss them. They want to discuss them to have a venue to talk about their own spiritual issues.

What types of spiritual questions will be asked? The ones God wanted to tell us about. The ones people will ask you about if you are familiar with the Scriptures. The ones that plant a seed to be thought about - the conversations you are gentle with and you pray during and after.

What Luke 4 Teaches Us

There is a devil, he tempts everyone. There are evil spirits and they can be found in very unlikely places. The darkness pretends to not be subject to God and pretends not to recognize God.

Notice, also, Luke doesn't get busy explaining where the devil came from. The Christian witness moves away from minute discussions of evil. The Scriptures let Judas out of the discussion quickly. If they are interested in the details of the devil biblically, tell them, gently and kindly to look them up in the Scriptures.

God set the boundaries, the devil tells Jesus his boundaries have been given to him. Really doubt what evil will promise. The temptations are sometimes not effective at all, evil is not always the sinister genius we tend to think of. Darkness sometimes tries to expose good to add confusion.

Another common misconception about the Scriptures is that in the "dark ages" everyone believed evil spirits caused illness. Jesus didn't believe Peter's (Simon) mother had a demon with fever. Jesus rebuked the illness - i.e. the cells.

Another mistake is people believe the devil is the power today because miracles have died off. No, Jesus is telling us even biblically, miracles occur when God intends them. Today we have miracles! A King of King triumphs every time.

Yes, you may have the opportunity to bring Jesus up in this fashion, but remember what Luke progresses on to:
18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

The compassion of Jesus is the real message. Just as Jesus did, this is what we proclaim. Very, very few people are against the real hope, the real love Jesus proclaimed, yet there are a lot of people who don't know of Him.

Father God, You are Love. The Scriptures tell us so. We give Your thanks for Your love & the opportunity to give Jesus to others. In the highest name You've given us.Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

  Jesus Christ Our LORD!

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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