Luke 11 - 9.11.25

S – Luke 11:1-4; 9-10

1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”

2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:

“‘Father,[a]
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.[b]
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
    for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.[c]
And lead us not into temptation.[d]’”

9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

O -  In this chapter the Disciples are asking Jesus to teach them how to pray. When we look at the order of Jesus’ prayer, we see that he praises God BEFORE he makes his requests. When we praise God first, it puts us in the right frame of mind to then tell him about our needs. We need to be cognizant not to be hurried in our prayer time and just present a wish list to God. He could check off our entire list in a single moment if He wanted to, but then where would our communication and relationship be? These versus focus on our prayer’s content, persistence, and God’s faithfulness. His goal is that we come to Him EVERYday, with ALL of it…our gratitude, our love for him, our fears, worries, hurts, anxieties, hopes and dreams, and pour it all out…not once, but continuously.

A – I love verse three and the reminder that we MUST turn to God daily!  Give us each day our daily bread. God does not provide for us all at once. Could you even imagine?! I’d like to say I would still go to Him daily to tell Him how much I love and appreciate Him, but honestly I think many of us would get everything desired and not communicate with Him again, or just as an afterthought. We would become very self-satisfied. God created us for relationship WITH Him. He wants our constant communication with Him. It was not designed to be one and done. He gives us continued strength and perseverance when we continue to seek Him as our source for all things. Persistence or boldness in prayer overcomes our insensitivity, not God’s. To practice persistence will transform OUR hearts and minds, and help us understand and express the intensity of our need for Him. Persistence in prayer helps us recognize God at work in our lives. When we have been praying for years for someone to be healed, or to come to Christ and then we see that happen ….suddenly…what a WOW moment! You know then that it could have only been at the hand of God.

Let’s be honest, NO one likes the waiting, but God is not just having us sit idly by twiddling His thumbs and watching us squirm. He is working IN and THROUGH us during that time. He is teaching us, molding us, shaping us, refining us to be more like Him all the time, and all the while He is loving us. As much as we want to give our kids everything under the stars, we know that is not what they need. I think we can all agree that raises entitled adults. Sadly, we see this everywhere. God wants the very BEST for us just like we do for our children. But sometimes He lets us hurt because that is where the growth happens, because that is when we recognize our need for Him and Him alone.

Quick story, just last night Dom asked if he could play his video games for an hour because all his homework was complete as well as his chores. The rule is that he cannot play on school days. Is it because I’m just mean? He may think so. But I know that when he is not allowed to play, he finds other, more physically active or stimulating things to do that help him grow as a young man. Now there may not be much mental growth in this example but that kid went on a mission collecting large rocks for our backyard which is something Rich has been doing on his walks with the dogs. He grabbed his backpack and went back and forth on his new bike about 10 times, filling it up. LOL  Now, if I had just let him play on his games like HE wanted, he would have just wasted an hour and got himself all worked up. Instead, he did something to help his dad out, got some fresh air and exercise, and slept like a baby.

P –  Lord may we not give up on praying for the needs in our lives, and may we also remember that our prayers are not a wish list, but a time to reflect, to give thanks to you for everything you are doing in our lives, even when we cannot see it. Help us in our faith to trust that you are working for our good just as your word says. When we are hurting and weary, may we not just think you are mean and turn from you out of anger or frustration, but instead run into your arms just as a child who has scraped their knee runs crying into the arms of their earthly father. May we know that you always have our best interests in mind when you say no, or don’t give us our way. Let us press in and grow! And thank you that no matter how many times we may mess this up, you don’t give up on US. There is nothing we need to do or perfect to have a relationship with you. JESUS is enough! Amen

- Crystal Flory

Luke 10 - 9.10.25

Scripture: Luke 10:25-28

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

Observation

These verses are the foundation for the DSC Mission: Love God. Love People. Make Disciples. Jesus tells us, do this and you will live; put God first in all you do, focus your life on pleasing Him, and everything else will flow out of that connection. 

Matthew 6:33 - But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Application

While studying Luke 10, I came across this quote: “How we respond to our neighbor and how we walk with God are connected.” IVP New Testament Commentary Series. If we are truly loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind (inward), it will naturally overflow into how we love and care for others (outward). And if we aren’t, well that shows too.

I want to love others more - I want to serve, encourage, meet needs, and lead people to Jesus. Those things don’t come naturally to me. So I need to spend more time with the source, sitting at His feet, asking Him to fill me.

Prayer

Lord, help me to submit myself to You daily and allow you to mold me and shape me to Your will. Thank You for a fresh start every morning. As I seek after You, please fill me with Your love for others.

- Debbie Dunn

Luke 9 - 9.9.25

SCRIPTURE:  Luke 9:62

“Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

OBSERVATION

The last verse of this chapter stood out to me not only because of the meat to what Jesus said, but it seemed to encapsulate a lot of what was spoken in the prior verses. There were many examples of what moving forward in a life with Jesus looks like:

·       Jesus sends out the Disciples on a missions trip to do many things by the power of God

·       Jesus shows the Disciples and others about stepping out in faith with the miracle of feeding the five thousand

·       Jesus reveals his Heavenly position during the Transfiguration

·       Jesus heals the demon-possessed boy when the Disciples couldn’t

·       Jesus shows the disciples who will be greatest and the least based on their love and humility

All of these things lead up to the end verse:  you can’t move forward in a life with Jesus or be an effective servant if your heart isn’t in line with serving God, you’re distracted or pulled away from your God given purpose.

The example Jesus gave of the plow is well known to many in His time; however, some today might not know what it does or how it works. To a farmer, a plow is one of the most important tools for when you start to prepare the soil to plant seeds: The plow digs down deep in the soil to carve out an area where to plant seeds so you’ll have a successful harvest. The plow works up the soil, helps break up any hardened areas, and makes the soil just right for planting seeds. Jesus is saying you can’t put your hand to the plow – to do God’s work in the soil of life – and be looking backwards, distracted, or not focused to work the plow. It would be impossible to properly work the plow if your head is turned backwards.

APPLICATION

If you want to do God’s work, and you’re ready to do the work, your head and heart need to be in the right place. Are you really committed to God?  Is your hand on the plow with a firm view, looking forward and ready for all God has planned? Looking backwards takes your eyes off what’s before you and distracts you from what is needed. There is a mighty harvest of planting the seeds of faith by sharing the Gospel, living your life as an offering to God, and being ready for His service. Listening and following the lead of the Holy Spirit is also an important part (and something that I’m working on). God’s work requires no distractions that would take your eyes off of Jesus. These distractions can be idols in your life, your focus on family, friends, work, possessions or anything in this life. Ultimately God needs to be #1 in your life. Everything else is secondary.

Right now we’re in the midst of the 21 day Challenge to read the Word, journal, and grow closer in our relationship with God. The Challenge is a great place to start. God will speak to you. Take the step and begin in ernest with your hand firmly on the plow looking forward to serving the Lord. If you’ve not started yet on the Challenge, there’s never a better time than the present. If you’re struggling knowing where to start, what to do in your relationship with Christ, or if you’ve never made that commitment to Christ, please be sure to reach out to our prayer team for help: https://desertstreams.churchcenter.com/people/forms/3457?open-in-church-center-modal=true

PRAYER

Lord, thank you for the many examples of living for you in this chapter, what that means, and how to achieve it by keeping my focus on following you only. My focus should only be on having Jesus as a top priority in everything in this life. Help me to always have you in focus, not to look for anything else or make anything else a priority in this life except you and service for you. Keep me away from any distractions! If anything becomes a distraction, Holy Spirit, please move me back to the plow and in the direction of Jesus, to do His work on this earth. Find me fit for service for you!  In Jesus mighty name! Amen and Amen.

- Mary Oberg

ps: I wasn’t able to attend church this last Sunday but I just listened to the recorded service entitled “I am the Lord’s servant.” God is so good with his direction in highlighting this scripture and bringing the focus of serving the Lord in our life. God is on the move!! Here’s where you can see and listen to the services: https://www.desertstreams.com/sermons