Devotional Story on Book of Luke

Page by page, the book of Luke has gotten more and more exciting. What makes it more profound and inspiring is that the name Jesus is on every page. Our artisans have expressed that they relate to this book in so many ways and I find that to be true as well. We can imagine Zechariah and Elizabeth’s journey as they wait for the baby, their humility and faithfulness to God over the years. Despite their imperfections, God did not remove a single word from what He had promised them. Imagine the joy, the music and the laughter that ensued when baby John was born.

 

Through our discussions, we have admired the beautiful relationship that Mary had with Elizabeth. Their bond was incredible and even the babies in their wombs could feel it. We all have those close bonds with people in our lives; bonds so strong that they last until the end of our lives.

 

The birth of Jesus is described in beautiful and profound detail. Even typing this invokes the emotion I felt reading the passage with our artisans. We wondered what was on God’s mind sending Jesus down as a baby; being born in a poor family, in a manger. But the well-known verse from John 3:16 reveals the reason: “For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. We imagined that he would play outside like other children, do chores, help his father with carpentry, cry and make mistakes like other children.

 

One of our artisans shared that she felt motivated by Jesus’ outstanding character as a child.  Verse 2:40 and 52  from the book of Luke tells us that the child grew strong; he was filled with wisdom and the grace of God was on Him. He was indeed a special child. Jesus knew his mission from a young age. For instance, he got lost while in church listening and asking questions with the church elders. The artisans are all parents. Reading the passage, they felt encouraged and motivated to raise their children in a Godly way, because their foundation while still young will determine how they are going to live the rest of their lives.

 

The incredible joy and sense of gratitude from the shepherds when they received news about Jesus’ birth and sharing the good news was a reminder to the artisans to live with the same gratitude and joy.

 

The artisans wondered as well why God would use ordinary people like the shepherds, Mary, and Joseph to do these incredible things. We all know that God uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary. It was a relatable and comforting truth to the women. Despite their difficult backgrounds and their imperfections God will still choose to use for his glory.

 

The artisans were amazed at how Jesus’s birth was prophesied. It is not just a fictional story. It was so assuring for them to understand that these places in the book of Luke still exist, even up to today.

 

In Luke verse 34-35 “Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother; the child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many of many hearts will be revealed”.

 

The artisans understood that even though Jesus was born to save mankind from and share the good news, some people were hurt and hated what he preached because they held false beliefs in their hearts and they were not willing to change.

 

In chapter 3, the women felt like John was doing the right thing to be angry at the people who were following him to be baptized. They were living a sinful life including their king Herod who had taken his brother’s wife. He was telling them to repent of their sins and how every tree that does not bear good fruits will be cut down and be thrown in the fire.

 

It was a moment of reflection for the women to check in their hearts what kind of fruits they are bearing. They were asked if Jesus would find them ready to be with him when he comes back.

 

One of the women was amazed to find that the tax collectors and soldiers were following John to be baptized and asking what should be their next steps. They understood that being a leader in a political setting isn't bad as long as you honor God in your responsibilities. The women shared that most things we see in the Bible still happen today and that most of the world structure systems must have been copied from the Bible because there is so much to learn from it and I agree with them as well.

 

I shared with them  Romans 13: 1-4, which tells us to be  subject unto higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. We are requested to obey the political leaders and even pray for them.

 

In addition they felt challenged by John’s to the people , the tax collector and the soldier. These challenged them to be more generous, not to take what doesn’t belong and being content with the little you have and not being false witnesses. These confrontation words were really profound. We all realized how we struggle with most of these things but we can come to God with hearts of repentance and he is able to help us overcome them.

 

The women understood why John was baptizing with only water and telling people the one who will come later will baptize them with the Holy Spirit. John had come to prepare a way for Jesus and he was simply informing people who that was and how he is more powerful than Him and he takes away the sin of people.

 

Luke 3:21-38 talks about the baptism of Jesus and His geneology. It was beautiful to read that the Almighty God in heaven made it very clear that Jesus was His Son whom He loves and He is pleased with Him. I asked the artisans why they thought God would do that. They responded that He wanted people who were there at the moment, as well as us reading the words today, to believe in Him. He didn’t want people to spread lies about Jesus. God also wanted to confirm what He has been teaching the people that the one who comes later is much greater than Him and He will baptize them with the Holy Spirit and fire.