The Gospel of Luke Devotional
- Day 10 Luke Chapter 10
- Bible Reading Luke 10:1-42
- Focus Scripture: Luke 10:2 And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
God guides us no matter how much we have sinned, how wretched our prayer life is, or how many times we ask for His help. He will forgive us and draw us nearer to Him. Once we acknowledge our sin, He wills us to seek correction. Our God is so amazing that He will continue to teach those that still haven’t figured out that His love is unconditional and everlasting.
In contrast…
Have you ever tried to get out of the parking lot of a mega church? We will quickly resume our normal driving habits, won’t we? Honking our horns, rushing people ahead of us, and swerving in and out of traffic, to get home or the closet restaurant. The overwhelming praise and adoration we showed while under the church roof has now been replaced with road rage. We conform back to the world and its fast pace; not thinking about what we saw or the joy we felt.
This was likely what happened with the Priest and the Levite. Perhaps going home from service at the Temple but their empty praise and worship was all for show. They sang with lifted hands and cried through prayers much like we do. I remember being stuck in a parking lot after a service years ago. The choir was amazing and the sermon was given by a dynamic speaker. After closing prayer, everyone seemed to have had their spirits fed and joy filled the room. (I believe somewhere between the church doors and our vehicles we allow the enemy to hitch a ride.) There were two exits getting out of the church parking lot and with over 400 people attempting to do the same thing at the same time you can imagine the chaos. No one could move and we couldn’t figure out why. It wasn’t until we saw smoke rising in the air that we realized a car had broken down. Easy fix right?…. I’m afraid not. With all the vehicles and thin patience, it took 45 minutes for the car move. But why? Because everyone thought someone else was helping. We had all worshiped together we had, at least, seen each other faces yet no one moved a muscle.
The Priest and the Levite were people who we hoped would have helped the half-dead man. But they ignored him and were not bothered. As believers, we think we would stop to help anyone in need. But that is not the case. We are unfair to each other because our priorities are skewed. (Luke 10:39-42) Martha’s eyes were opened to her sin of service..yes service, she didn’t prioritize the guest of honor teaching and allowing her sister Mary the opportunity to listen. We may think we know it all and prohibit others from learning. Or we may do as Martha did and ask Jesus to change someone else instead of Him working within us. The rule of 5 would apply to this situation. Make a habit of asking yourself: Will this matter in 5 minutes-5 hours -5 days or -5 months?
The man left by the road would have died if left alone for 5 days. However, Martha’s guests could wait 5 hours to eat. Prioritizing our schedules and being able to shift when necessary helps with our attitudes. We can approach being helpful from a different point of view. Some inconveniences don’t have to take over our days, we can delegate responsibilities to other trusted people as the Samaritan did. We don’t know where he was on his way to but he slowed down long enough to do what God would have wanted.
The Priest and Levite avoided the half-dead man (Jesus) and chose not to receive or help Him. But the Samaritan a Gentile took Him in and made provisions for His care. The innkeeper accepted Jesus and allowed Him to stay. We are the innkeepers keeping watch until Jesus’ second coming…
Luke 10:30-32
Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
~Torrie
Discussion Questions:
- Do you recall a time when you could have served someone but did not based on who they were?
- Do you miss opportunities to fellowship with other Believers or put off individual Bible study?
- As disciples we all have gifts and we are to share and continue to spread the Good News of God’s Kingdom. How do you share your gifts?
A Few Points:
- Luke 10:1-16 Jesus instructs and sends out the 72 messengers in pairs to spread the word of His coming. They were to mobilize people to pray and join with those who were ready to receive Jesus as the Son of God. They were not to create envy among neighbors or take any resources with them.
- Luke 10:17-24 The 72 return and Jesus reminded them not to celebrate this victory or become complacent, more work needed to be done. Jesus praises God for the wisdom being revealed to even the most uneducated.
- Luke 10:25-37 The Parable of the Good Samaritan
- Luke 10:38-42 Jesus visits Mary and Martha. Martha is busy serving and was so upset with Mary, that she thought Jesus did not care. Sometimes our own busyness is our doing. When we prioritize we will see that God does care about what we are doing. We may need to take our focus of serving others and sit with God.
It is so refreshing to read God’s word from you. Thank you fo today’s and yesterday’s lesson. Thank you for sharing with us all……I love you. May God continue to work through you. 🙏🏾❤️
Thank you so much for this lesson. We are truly the Inn Keepers until Jesus returns. How we treat others matters. I know that I am a news junkie I love being current on what’s going on I am so saddened by what we as a nation who makes claim to “in God we trust” and have elected leaders who misuse God’s Word to separate once again (historically done to manage slaves – divide to conquer) children from parents.
I we will go to church on Sunday and not hear and not even expect to hear outrage with this administration’s position on immigration or expect the church to have a come to Jesus moment to unite to do anything about it. What does this say about believers! Love agape Mom.