GIVING A PROPER ACCOUNT
Luke 1:1-4, 2 Corinthians 4:5
it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account,… Luke 1:3.
The gospel book of Luke shows the heart and seriousness attached to a proper account of the word. His opening words point to the fact that he put in the hard work of reading and researching other documents from others about his subject. He reveals his dependence on oral reports from “those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered.” Truth is that the sacred writers were inspired by God but Luke shows us the human side of putting in the work. “Luke makes it perfectly clear that the inspired writers were not miraculously freed from the necessity of hard historical research…inspiration was God expressing His will through the dedication of human minds and faculties”- James S. Stewart. After his brief introduction, the story became about Jesus and Luke never mentioned himself nor alluded to his experiences. He stuck to Jesus who is the main subject.
As believers, we must seek the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and do our part of hard study to teach God’s word to people; we must not neglect either. Ignorance is celebrated when we use inspiration as a cover for a lack of preparation. Also, a proper account of the word focuses on Jesus as the subject. It is never about our successes, failures, or experiences. Luke also stated that he wanted his reader to know the certainty of the received instructions. A proper account of the gospel seeks to create conviction in the hearts of its hearers. Are you giving a proper account of the gospel? What steps would you take to ensure this in your life and ministry?
Prayer
Lord, cause me to apply the necessary work as I depend on the inspiration of Your Spirit in sharing the gospel. Create conviction in the heart of my listeners. Amen.
THE PRIVILEGE OF SERVING
Luke 1:8-10
And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron Hebrews 5:4.
Only priests from a particular lineage could serve in the temple. Over the years the number of priests multiplied. In Jesus’ time, there were about 20,000 priests and the lot-casting method was used to determine which priests would serve when. The lot to serve might fall to a priest only once in a lifetime. Zechariah was described as a righteous man. This resulted from obeying and walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the law.
The whole event was filled with anticipation because of the privilege to serve. This is not the case with some of us, as we have become familiar with all of the services that God has given us the privilege to do for Him. We who never would have qualified without the cross, are the ones that are not seeing it as a privilege. And because we don’t see it as a privilege, we don’t put in any form of preparation to stay before God to help us hear what He is saying about what He wants us to do, how to do it, where and when. This may be the reason our services do not produce results. Zechariah, who without the cross was righteous, yet, saw it as a privilege to serve in the temple, how much more we that are brought near by the cross? Don’t forget that countless people can do what you are doing a hundred times better than you. It is only a privilege.
Prayer
Lord help me to always count it a privilege to do service for You. Amen.
LOOK UP
2 Chronicles 4:1-6
Moreover he made a bronze altar: twenty cubits was its length, twenty cubits its width, and ten cubits its height. 2 Chronicles 4:1
The altar Solomon built was twenty cubits wide and ten cubits high, larger than the one originally built for the tabernacle furnishing. God had greatly blessed His people therefore it was expedient for them to enlarge the altars so no man would have an excuse for withholding large sacrifices from the temple. God’s blessings to us are not for keeps rather they are for His glory and the advancement of His kingdom. Our returns should bear a certain proportion to our receiving.
The height of the altar was ten cubits high, such that everyone who worshipped in the temple could have a clear view of the sacrifice and their eyes fixed upon it. This would progressively alter the state of their hearts and cause them to repent from their sins. Today, the cross is our gaze for repentance. We must keep our eyes fixed upon Jesus Christ who died on the cross and became the great atonement for our sins. Basins for washing were placed at strategic positions in the temple to be used by the priests for cleaning themselves and others. The blood of Jesus and His word are our cleaning agents today. Are you looking up to Jesus? Do you have a regular place of communion where you are sanctified by His word daily?
Prayer
Father, help me to continually fix my gaze on Jesus Christ and to apply the cleaning benefits of Your word. Amen
CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?
Luke 1:18-20
Jesus said unto him, if thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. Mark 9:23.
It isn’t that Zacharias didn’t want to believe this promise; he did because they wanted children. The issue is that he felt what the angel said to him must be too good to be true, and he may also be protecting himself from disappointment by not setting his expectations too high. We rob ourselves of many a miracle with the same attitude. Many of us behave like Zacharias when it comes to God’s promises and what God wants to do through us. We look at the circumstances first, and the ability of God last, and we say that we are being real. Brothers and sisters, if God is real, there is nothing sensible about putting circumstances before God.
There is always a price to pay for not believing God. Zacharias’ unbelief did not make God take His promise back; it just made him pay the price for unbelief which was muteness for him. What made this such a severe punishment was that he had such great news to tell. You may be confessing, praying, fasting, and teaching yet nothing is happening because of unbelief. Do you believe God?
Prayer
Father forgive my unbelief, that has kept me from enjoying divine possibilities.
TROUBLES WILL COME
Luke 2:1-7
Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12.
Trials and tribulations are a part of our lives as believers. The Old Testament saints and the early church were familiar with trials and tribulations. God finally uses these trials to fulfil His will. He doesn’t thresh all his crops the same way. A heavy sledge is never used on black cumin; rather, it is beaten with a light stick. A threshing wheel is never used on cumin; instead, it is beaten softly with a light stick. Bread grain is easily crushed, so he doesn’t keep on pounding it. He threshes it under the wheels of a cart, but he doesn’t pulverize it. (Isaiah 28:27-28 NLT).
Joseph and Mary had to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, which is a trip of about 80 miles. Today, with cars it will take an hour and a half. This 80-mile journey took them several days, not forgetting that Mary was nine months pregnant. Things only got worse when they finally arrived in Bethlehem. All the inns were full “There was no room for them.” It couldn’t get worse than this for him. All his plans to provide for his new wife and soon-to-be-born child were shattered. They faced several challenges in the process of giving birth to the Saviour but they endured without complaining or becoming bitter, and as a result, God acted on their behalf and everything changed. You will also face trouble if Joseph, Mary, and unborn Jesus faced it. Joseph did not faint facing troubles, if you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small (Proverbs 24:10).
Prayer
God give me strength to face every trouble that will come my way. Amen.
WHAT IS YOUR MISSION?
Luke 3:1-6
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. John 1:6
John lived in the desert from his youth (Luke 1:80). But now, prompted by the word of God, John began to fulfil his ultimate calling; to be a forerunner of the Messiah. John’s message was a call to repentance. Some people think that repentance is mostly about feelings, especially feeling sorry for your sin. John told his listeners to have a change of mind, not merely to feel sorry for what they had done and are doing. Repentance speaks of a change of direction, not a sorrow in the heart. John was born with a mission stayed with it, and died fulfilling it.
So many of us are like that servant in 1 Kings 20:40, who was busy here and there and forgot to do what he was asked to do. God will not reward us for all the good words and deeds we did, He will only reward us, for doing what He asked us to do. This means that God will judge you based on what He has instructed you to do for Him on earth. Don’t forget there is a general work and there is a specific work. Preaching the gospel, praying, loving one another, and being an example of the believers are all general works, etc. We also have that specific work, “Then I said, Behold, here I am, coming to do your will, O God what is written of me in the volume of the Book” (Heb. 10:7 AMP). Do you know your mission on earth, are you doing anything about it?
Prayer
Father help me to be remembered as that man that fulfilled his mission on earth. Amen.
POINT PEOPLE TO CHRIST
Luke 3:15-18
He must increase, but I must decrease John 3:30
John made so much impact that people wondered if he was the Messiah. Instead of cultivating his own popularity, as a result of the things happening through him, he gave it all to Jesus. The teachers of Jesus’ days taught that a teacher might ask anything of his followers except to ask them to take off his sandals because that was considered too humiliating to demand. Yet John said he was not even worthy to do that for Jesus.
John had many reasons to point people to himself, yet he didn’t. He had a miraculous birth, a prophesied destiny, a man called to personally fulfil a great prophetic promise, a powerful preacher, and a man with a great following. C. H. Spurgeon said, “What was the reason, think you, of John, always retaining his proper position? Was it not because he had a high idea of his Master and a deep reverence for him? Ah, brethren, because of our little estimate of Christ it is often unsafe for the Lord to trust us in any but the very lowest positions.” John understood that it was about the Lord and not about him. John had two very rare combinations in our time, being strict (preaching the hard truth) and humble simultaneously. These are some of the reasons for his level of impact. Is your life and actions representing the sender and the message you are sent with?
Prayer
Father, let me always be at my duty of pointing people to You. Amen.
TEMPTATION: NEVER GIVE IN
Luke 4:1-13
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13.
We can say that Jesus lived His life and performed His ministry as a spirit–filled man, choosing not to rely on the resources of His divine nature, but willingly limiting Himself to what could be done by the guidance of God the Father and the empowerment of God the Holy Spirit. We sometimes think that Jesus’ temptations were not real because they were not exactly like ours. There was never a sinful memory in Jesus, like in us but in many ways, Jesus’ temptations were real. The pressure of temptation only relents when we give in – and Jesus never did. He had to withstand a much greater pressure of temptation than you or I ever will.
Temptation can be a way of promotion because overcoming them makes you stronger. “No temptation (regardless of its source) has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word- He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy]” (1Cor. 10:13 AMP).
Prayer
Father, I receive grace to overcome the temptations around me and stand in Your righteousness. Amen.
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