Thoughts on Luke 2-4

I had written the following devotions for publication elsewhere, but they didn’t end up being printed due to a complication.

Looking for Jesus - Luke 2

This chapter of Scripture is probably quite familiar because we hear parts of it every Christmas. What more is there to learn from it? Consider what the main characters have in common. When the shepherds saw the angels, they immediately went in search of the baby who was proclaimed to be the Savior. In Jerusalem, Simeon was waiting at the Temple because “it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (v. 26 ESV). Anna too “did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day” (v. 27). We also learn of Joseph and Mary that they “went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover” (v. 41). And finally, Jesus Himself said, “Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” (v. 49). Each of them sensed an urgent need to pursue their faith and to go where they knew they would meet with God.

Church buildings today are not the house of God in the same way that the Temple was, but they are places set aside for the people of God to meet together. Do we have that same sense of urgency about gathering together for worship and fellowship? In many churches, the pandemic revealed that the faithful remained faithful while the marginal dropped away. Many of us grew up going to church every time the doors were open, and we have kept that habit because we see the need for it. It’s easy to make excuses not to do things if we don’t think they’re necessary. The question is, have we discipled the next generation to see the need for regular gathering with the Body of Christ?

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers… And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God” (Acts 2:42, 46-47a).

Moving On - Luke 3

John the Baptist apparently raised a lot of curiosity. Crowds came out to be baptized by him, and at least some who were present were rebuked for hypocrisy. He told the people to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance” (v. 8 ESV), and he gave them examples of generosity, honesty, and compassion. He baptized with water, but proclaimed the coming Messiah who would “baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (v. 16). There was a definite limit to John’s ministry. He could only point people to the coming Savior. He could not save them.

Likewise today, pastors and church members cannot save anyone, they can only direct people to the Savior. They can point out sin, commend good works, and baptize with water, but only Jesus Christ can save with the power of the Holy Spirit. There are many people who have been baptized without ever really believing in Jesus as Savior and following Him as Lord.

The author of Hebrews wrote, “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instructions about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment” (Heb. 6:1-2). In essence, John the Baptist’s job was to lay the foundation, to “prepare the way of the Lord” so that “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Now that Jesus has provided the way of salvation, we need to press on toward maturity in Christ for ourselves and our churches, building on the foundation that has already been laid.

“Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me” (Col. 1:28-29).

Priorities - Luke 4

Jesus inaugurated His ministry by reading from Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (vv. 18-19 ESV). The people of Nazareth evidently thought this was good news for their town and they marveled at His words. But they changed their minds when He refused to heal the people there, and they ran Him out of town.

He did heal many people in many places, and that was one proof of His identity. John later reported the Pharisees’ words, “Never since the world began has it been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a man born blind” (John 9:32). Physical healing was never Jesus’ primary purpose. “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose” (v. 43). For Jesus, eternal life is far more important than health in this life.

There has long been a misconception that missions must meet the physical needs of people before they will be willing to listen to anything spiritual. That is belied when people in third world countries quickly accept the gospel while those in prosperous countries see no need for any form of religion. If we lose our focus, we can spend a lot of time and money and never get around to pointing people to Jesus. That’s not to say that hunger and illness don’t matter. Christian nonprofits provide all kinds of services that government agencies simply can’t do. We just need to be clear about what God has called us to as individuals, churches, and denominations. How can we best love God and love our neighbors with the resources we have?

“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst’” (John 6:35).

 

© 2021 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture are ESV and all images are copyright free from pixabay.com. The opinions stated do not necessarily reflect the views of my church or employer.

A Timely Prod

I’m reading a book that presents a clear and convicting picture of the church in America today. Following are a few paraphrased quotes:

On raising children- “Every parent wants their child to be fully educated and prepared for the world he is entering, but he is left to collect his religion on his own. The study of Christianity has formed no part of his education, and any attachment he may have to Christianity is merely the result of his place of birth and the church membership of his parents. When such is the hereditary religion handed down from generation to generation, it cannot surprise us to observe young men of sense and spirit beginning to doubt altogether the truth of the system in which they have been brought up, and ready to abandon a faith they are unable to defend.”

On spiritual knowledge- “What is more important than our eternal destiny? When God, by grace, has granted us such abundant means of instruction, how great must be the guilt and how awful the punishment of voluntary ignorance! …Yet we expect to be Christians without labor, study, or inquiry… And when finally summoned to the judgment seat of God to give an account of our lives, what plea can we have in our defense if we remain willingly and obstinately ignorant of the way which leads to life?”

On human corruption- “Endeavoring to justify what he cannot deny, ‘Whatever I am,’ he contends, ‘I am what my Creator made me. I inherited a nature depraved and prone to evil: how then can I withstand the temptation to sin?’”

On self-evaluation- “It seems in our days to be the common opinion that a man can admit in general terms the truth of Christianity without knowing much of the details, and if he is not habitually guilty of any of the grosser sins against others, we have no great reason to question the validity of his claim to the name of Christian.”

On stewardship- “They assume religion can claim only a stated proportion of their thoughts, and time, and fortune, and influence… the rest is their own to do what they will with. They have paid their tithes, the demands of the Church are satisfied, and they may surely be permitted to enjoy the rest without molestation or interference.”

On sanctification- “Instead of keeping at a distance from all sin, in which alone is our safety, they do not care how near they approach what they believe to be the boundary line. If they have not actually passed it, there is no harm done… They will of course be constantly, and almost insensibly, pressing the limits and moving farther and farther toward forbidden ground… ‘Mortify the flesh with its affections and lusts’ is the Christian principle, but a luxurious course of habitual indulgence is the practice of the bulk of modern Christians.”

On wasted time- “Life rolls away with too many of us in a path of ‘shapeless idleness.’ Its recreations constitute its chief business… amusements are multiplied… year after year wears away in unprofitable vacancy… Meanwhile, knowing that we are not giving in to any flagrant vice and are not neglecting the basics of religion, we persuade ourselves that we need not be uneasy. We don’t fall below the general standard of morals, so we therefore allow ourselves to glide down the stream without realizing its consequences.”

I think many will recognize these traits within our churches and perhaps in our own lives. Now here’s the kicker—this was written by William Wilberforce in England in 1798 under the title, A Practical View of the Prevailing Religious System of Professed Christians, in the Middle and Higher Classes in this Country, Contrasted with Real Christianity. The more things change, the more they stay the same. It illustrates the fact that we must be highly intentional about preaching, teaching, and living out the truths of Scripture. “Unless the affections of the soul be supremely fixed on God; unless it be the leading and governing desire and primary purpose to possess His favor and promote His glory, we are considered as having transferred our fealty to a usurper, and as being in fact revolters from our lawful Sovereign.”

It’s not enough to go to church regularly or to bear the name of Christian if we are not in fact seeking to follow Christ wholeheartedly. The enticements, distractions, and habits of this world will surely cause us to drift away from our faith if we are not actively working against them. May we not get complacent about the pursuit of God and the path of life.  

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14 ESV).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.

Unplugged

I made the decision this week to delete the Facebook app from my phone, which will greatly curtail (though not eliminate) my use of Facebook. There were several good reasons to do so, some of which are as follows:

1) It is easy to waste vast amounts of time scrolling through hundreds of posts with varying degrees of importance. I could be spending that time in Scripture, prayer, writing, practicing piano, or many other more profitable pursuits.

2) It is dangerous to let one’s ego hang on public opinion. A negative comment, careless post, or an inappropriate image can quickly turn into a black cloud of anger, pride, shame, or other sins, and obscures the fruit of the Spirit. My identity is in Christ, not online.

3) It is human nature to make comparisons, and comparing the worst of what I know about myself with the best of what everyone posts online is sure to lead to negative thoughts. I don’t need to know about everyone else’s perfect family vacations when I’m sitting home alone.

4) Social media is predominantly superficial by its very nature. We all present the face we want the world to see. Yes, in some cases that may lead to deeper communication offline, but that is the exception rather than the rule.

5) Social media gives the illusion of intimacy where none exists. Knowing a few facts about someone or laughing at cat videos they’ve posted is not a relationship. The church already struggles to nurture authentic relationships, and social media is not helping. As Sam Allberry put it, friend has moved from being a noun to a verb meaning “to share one's contact details.” We’re still just as lonely and isolated as ever, we just have more things to distract us from recognizing that fact.

Bruce Hindmarsh said,

“Our spiritual condition is one of having spiritual ADD. We are more easily distracted from the important issues of our lives moment by moment. The nature of digital communication is that we are endlessly distracted.”

I don’t know if my decision will be long-term or not. Such resolutions tend to creep away over time. I just know it is the right thing to do right now. I know I can’t love God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength when I am also wondering how many new comments there are to read or when I’m trying to think of amusing responses. I also can’t love my brothers and sisters in Christ well when I am annoyed with them for something they have posted or when I realize how little they know of who I really am beneath the surface.

I yearn for more intimate relationships with a few close friends and for closer communion with God. I haven’t seen that happen to any significant degree in however many years I’ve been on Facebook. Not that there haven’t been good things there—encouraging words, inspiring quotes, reasons to laugh, prayer requests and answers to prayer. Social media can be a good thing, but it is not an ultimate thing.

“I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:35 ESV).

© 2017 Dawn Rutan. Unless otherwise indicated all images are copyright free from pixabay.com.