“Just a Minute”

A Series on the Milestones in Jesus’ Life

Luke 4:14-30

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%204%3A14-30&version=NIV;NLT

 

When I was a little boy of about eight, I remember a time when I was playing with my little men. I must have had an exciting story developing because I was very involved when my Dad called me to dinner.

 

But, it wasn’t a good time for me to stop; so I said, “Just a minute”. My Dad called out to me again to come to the dinner table. Still not quite ready I said, “Just a minute”.

 

I wasn’t getting his message because playing was more important to me than the fact that my Mom had dinner prepared on the table, and they were both waiting for me. I’m not sure if my Dad called me a third time or not, but he did come over and knock all of my little men down. I was devastated! But I did get his message.

 

Jesus was bringing a message to the Jews, and had returned to Galilee. In this story, he was in Nazareth where he grew up. People there may have known him better as Joseph’s son than Jesus the rabbi. They knew him when he was a little boy getting into trouble for not coming to the dinner table.

 

At the synagogue, it’s not hard to imagine that his parents, siblings, neighbors and friends he grew up with, would have been there. Word had spread about Jesus performing miracles, and people were curious. It was a homecoming of sorts; a milestone for Jesus. And what message did Jesus have for them?

 

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.”               NIV

 

The “year of the Lord’s favor” was the beginning of the Messianic age. Basically, Jesus had claimed to be the Messiah; but he didn’t stop there. He went on to remind them how when Elijah and Elisha were messengers of God’s salvation, that non-Jews received His message; not the Jews.

 

“Just a minute”, the Jews at the synagogue cried out. They didn’t like his message. They didn’t want to hear his message. And don’t we do the same thing today?

 

Aren’t there times when we hold up our hand to Jesus and say, “Just a minute. I’m not ready”? What keeps us from hearing Jesus’ message? Is it pride; rebellion; selfishness; a broken relationship; difficult life circumstances; busyness?

 

Whatever the reason, the next time you catch yourself saying to Jesus, “Just a minute”… STOP! Think about it! Listen for his still, small voice! Draw near to him. What is he trying to say to you? Figure it out; and then obey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are You a Chicken or a Pig?

John 15:18-25

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2015%3A18-25&version=NIV;ESV

 

Question: In a bacon and egg breakfast, what's the difference between the chicken and the pig?

Answer: The chicken is involved, but the pig is COMMITTED!

 

On January 8, 1956, Jim Elliot and four other missionaries, were killed by members of the Auca Indians in Ecuador. They had landed their plane to make friendly contact with the tribe.

 

On April 20, 1999, Rachel Scott was the first student to be shot and killed in the Columbine High School massacre. One of the shooters asked her if she still believed in God. When Rachel answered him that she did, he killed her.

 

Although very different circumstances, these six people died because of their faith in Christ. They were fully committed! There have been many other Christian martyrs during the past two thousand years. In fact, according to an April 14, 2017 Fox News report, as many as 90,000 Christians each year are martyred.

 

Jesus spoke the following words to his disciples as he prepared them for what was to come. He seems to be saying, get ready to be martyred for following me.

 

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.     ESV

 

Jesus spoke these words to his disciples at a specific moment in time and in history. What do they mean to us today? Should we expect to be martyred? And if we’re not, does that mean we’re not following Christ? I don’t believe so.

 

For sure, Rachel Scott did not anticipate that on that day she would lose her life because she said that she believed in God. She was being obedient to Christ. That is what we are called to do regardless of whether it means going to the jungles of Ecuador, the hallways of your high school or the office at your job.

 

So, the question is: Are you a chicken or are you a pig? Are you fully committed to follow Christ or just involved?

 

 

 

The Cubs Win it All!

 

1 John 2:15-17

 

For the first time in 108 years, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series! The hero of the final game for the Cubs was Ben Zobrist. In the top of the 10^th inning, he hit a double driving in the go ahead run. In fact, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the whole series. But winning the World Series and being named the MVP is not what is most important to him.

 

"I think that we are all placed wherever we are to share the Gospel and the good news. And the good news is that we can all be saved from our sins. I am grateful to be able to bring that to the game and to my teammates, and to anyone I come in contact with. God's given me a great platform to be able to share that and I will do that as long as God's given me the breath to do it." (Taken from an interview with Tom Rust on Face to Face at www.facetofaceradio.com)

 

Here’s a man who on the surface has everything that the world has to offer. Fame, fortune and power; anything he desires he can have. Most of us will never experience anything close to this, but we still feel the pull of the world. In fact, John’s words strike

a little too close to home for us.

 

^15-17 Never give your hearts to this world or to any of the things in it. A person cannot love the Father and love the world at the same time. For the whole world-system, based as it is on human primitive desires, their greedy ambitions and the glamour of all that they think splendid, is not derived from the Father at all, but from the world itself. The world and all its passionate desires will one day disappear. But the person who is following God’s will is part of the permanent and cannot die.               J.B. Phillips translation

 

For 108 years, the Cubs chased after another World Series. Isn’t that what the world-system is based on; “human primitive desires, greedy ambitions and the glamour of all that they think splendid”?

 

Don’t get me wrong. I love sports and cheer for my teams; and I strive after things of

this world, but that’s just the point. We struggle every day to give our hearts to our Father; to love Him and not the world; and to follow His will.

 

Every day we face decisions that will reflect our love for Him… or not. Every day we struggle with the temptations of the world. Every day we fight the good fight so that in the end God will say to us, “Well done my good and faithful servant”.

 

 

(If God has spoken to you through this devotional, please feel free to share it with others.)

 www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com