Here are my thoughts and highlights from Luke as I continue my journey through the Bible:

  • "Nothing, you see, is impossible with God."
  • Simeon was described as "a man who lived in prayerful expectancy." Wow! That’s a pretty cool perspective on how we should approach our prayer life.
  • Too bad "W" wasn’t around back in Bible times. Mary and Joseph could have benefited from that whole "no child left behind" program. (See Luke 2.)
  • "As often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer."
  • Isn’t it something that Jesus offended the religion scholars because he chose to eat and drink with the crooks and the "sinners?" I love it that Jesus was a renegade.
  • People came to both hear Jesus and to be cured of their ailments. Jesus was all about teaching, but he was also all about meeting people’s needs.
  • "There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others… Your task is to be true, not popular."
  • God wants me to live generously.
  • I could be wrong, but it appears the Jesus was using a little sarcasm in Luke 7 when he was talking about John the Baptist. Good to know sarcasm is Christ-like.
  • Jesus traveled from town to town to teach. The twelve disciples were with him. There were also a number of women. In fact, the women were providing the financial support. I think it’s quite incredible how Jesus empowered women for ministry. He was a revolutionary.
  • "You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom–you know how it works. There are others who need stories." That’s why stories through songs, medias, dramas and messages are so important to us at Granger.
  • I’ve never really paid attention to this before, but Jesus directed his disciples to sit people in groups of 50 before he fed the 5,000. Wonder why he did that? Think he was modeling how to encourage relational connections out of larger gathering?  I wonder what was magical about the number 50?
  • Jesus said, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat–I am."
  • Jesus told us to "Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence," and "love your neighbor as well as you do yourself."
  • Isn’t it interesting that when Jesus taught his disciples how to pray, the prayer he modeled was only about 35 words long? Sometimes I make faith too complicated.
  • "Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so. I’ve come to disrupt and confront!"
  • God wants the church to grow. "Then go to the country roads. Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full!"
  • "Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the lost one until you found it?" What am I willing to do to go after the lost one?
  • "Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in." Looks like simple faith is better than big rules and big talk faith.
  • There were times when the twelve disciples, the guys that were with Jesus constantly, didn’t understand everything that Jesus said. I guess it stands to reason then that I won’t understand everything either. I think there’s room for mystery in faith.
  • Jesus left some questions unanswered.
  • "When you hear of wars and uprising, keep your head and don’t panic."
  • "Every detail of your body and soul–even the hairs of your head!–is in my care." I’m glad someone is keeping track of the hairs on my head, because I seem to be losing more and more of them.

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