Personality Type: Sinner

The Gospel of Luke Devotional

• Day 5 Luke Chapter 5
• Bible Reading Luke 5:1-39

Take the Quiz: What is your personality type?

Luke 5 reveals at least four different and very distinct personality types.

1. We are introduced to Simon Peter, an observant fisherman who wants to follow Jesus but questions the breadth of His power and authority. Luke 5:4-5
2. The man with leprosy is zealous for God and wants to follow Him. He is enthusiastic in spirit, but doesn’t understand God’s timing. Luke 5:14
3. The care givers that go above and beyond to make sure their friend is healed and able to walk. Luke 5:19-20
4. Finally the ritualistic non believing religious teachers of the law that were so rigid in their misguided beliefs they missed the opportunity to be saved. Luke 5:36-39

Hello, I’m Torrie ISFJ,-A/-T, nice to meet you. Seriously, those six letters correspond to an algorithm, based on the answers I provided to the above quiz. I was accurately summed up in less than fifteen minutes. Myers Briggs personality quizzes are informative if we’re open to the results. Adjusting ourselves to accept what the Word of God reveals is humbling; leading to self-reflection and guidance through the Holy Spirit. Our postures change as we mature in spirit allowing us to let go of our sin nature through repentance.

Luke 5:4-11 tells us how Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John were awestruck by Jesus. All of these men were fishermen, it was their family business, how they earned a living, and what they knew. When Jesus asked Simon Peter to cast his nets out into the deep water, I envision the attitude, frustration, and exhaustion, he must have done it in. Perhaps muttering under his breath, maybe laughing to keep his anger at bay. But when the nets were so full of fish that he had to call James and John over to help, Simon Peter realized what had happened, he recognized his error. Simon Peter repented but asked Jesus to leave him because he was too much of a sinner. (Luke 5:8)

Do you feel like you’ve sinned so much that God could not possibly want to work within you? This is a lie of the enemy because Satan does not want you to repent or grow in Christ. Jesus responded to Simon Peter’s repentance with mercy. Don’t allow the enemy to keep you where you’re comfortable. Luke 5:10 Jesus told Simon Peter to not be afraid. We should not be afraid to admit when we’re wrong! Jesus comforted Simon Peter in that moment and He will comfort all of us. We do not need to turn to other vices, we can turn to God. Jesus revealed Himself as trustworthy and provided an example of how we should respond to an apology and the later feeling of worthlessness by the wrongdoer. Luke 5:32 Jesus came to call sinners to repentance and offered mercy.

Who we align ourselves with can help foster or hinder our intimate relationship with God. The paralytic had God-fearing faithful friends. Their faith was so strong that they cut through the roof of Peter’s house (Mark 1:29 and Mark 2:1-5) to lower him down into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. WOW!!! (Luke 5:20) Jesus saw the faith of the friends, their faith was visible. In contrast we could align ourselves with those that will hinder our growth. The fault-finding religious leaders were such a group. The corrupted Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes were the authoritative resources for interpreting the law. Unfortunately, they could not handle being upstaged by the, Truth. Their envy and pride was blinding. We have such people in the world today, their hearts are full of greed, jealousy, and self loathing. No matter what good we do they will find a way to shame us, hinder our progress, and keep us emotionally tied to their desires instead of helping us develop our God-given purposes. 

How we see ourselves reflects in the way we treat others. But why do we need to change or be refined? God knows are hearts..right? 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just so that He will forgive our sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  We have the right to become God’s children, to be disciplined by Him. Taking a step towards acknowledging our faults is taking a step away from Satan and the life the world wants us to lead. We are worthy of change, love, respect, forgiveness, grace, and mercy; let’s pray to accept this new identity in Christ.

~Torrie

Discussion Questions:

1. After taking the personality test were you shocked by the results?
2. Are there areas you’ve identified a need to fervently pray over?
3. When you have been proven wrong how well do you deal with it?

A Few Points: 

1. Jesus calls out and defines His inner circle. These men are privy to events the others are not. Luke 5:1-11
2. Jesus heals a man with leprosy and does not want to take credit for it. He tells the man to show himself to the Priest and Jesus went to pray in the wilderness. Luke 5:12-16
3. Jesus heal the paralytic because of the faith his friends displayed. The Pharisees and other religious leaders question Jesus’ authenticity. Luke 5:17-26
4. Jesus calls Levi to follow Him and eats with the despised group of tax collectors and sinners. He is again confronted by the Pharisees. Luke 5:27-32
5. The religious leaders question Jesus about fasting.  Jesus illustrated how rigid the leaders were in their ideas and why they were unable to accept Him. Luke 5:33-39

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