Do you know God?

Sometimes God dramatically interrupts our lives to get through to us. But other times, His work is slow and subtle as He patiently leads us to a place of readiness to obey Him. If God is speaking to you in the quiet of your heart and you haven't already received His gift of salvation, don't wait for an unusual event to occur. He is ready to welcome you now, just as you are, wherever you find yourself. There is only one path to life with God and eternity in His presence: Repent of your sins, confess your belief that Jesus is the Son of God, and receive Him as Savior. You can use the following prayer or your own words. ----> Lord Jesus, I believe You are truly the Son of God. I confess that I have sinned against You in thought, word, and deed. Please forgive all my wrongdoing, and let me live in relationship with You from now on. I receive You as my personal Savior, accepting the work You accomplished on my behalf once and for all on the cross. Thank You for saving me. Help me to live a life that is pleasing to You. In Your name we pray, Amen.

Monday, December 26, 2022

Lesson 62: The Divisive Jesus -- Luke 12:49-59

Most of us have had experiences that have forever changed our lives, either for the better or for the worse. We didn’t know when we got up that morning that before night our lives would be different, but that’s what happened. Maybe you got in an accident that left you permanently impaired. Or, positively, maybe you met a person who would become your lifelong friend.

Hearing about the Lord Jesus Christ is just such a watershed experience, whether a person recognizes it or not. To hear about the unique person of Jesus Christ and what He came to do is a fork in the road of life. From that point, either you go down the path toward eternal life or you turn away toward eternal destruction. But you cannot hear about Jesus Christ and remain the same. He draws a line in the sand. Either you cross that line and receive the salvation He offers or you stay on your side of the line and eventually face His judgment.

Jesus has just warned the disciples of the need to be ready for His coming when He will judge every person (12:35-48). Those who have received the most light will receive the stricter judgment. Now (12:49-53) Jesus shows that His purpose was to cast fire on the earth and that fire would cause division, sometimes even among family members. So the disciples need to be prepared for conflict. Then (12:54-59) Luke records Jesus’ words to the whole multitude, where He chides them for being able to analyze the weather, but they ignore the signs of the times, namely that Messiah is in their very midst. He uses an illustration of a person who is going to get dragged into court with a losing lawsuit. If he’s smart, he will settle quickly before he loses everything. Even so, those who are in debt to God would be wise to be reconciled to Him now, before it is too late.

So the message for us is: https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-62-divisive-jesus-luke-1249-59