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Welcome to Luke Chapter 12 in our Certainty of Faith series through the Gospel of Luke.
In Luke 12, Jesus is teaching his followers lots of valuable lessons about what it means to follow Him. I encourage you to listen to the full chapter sometime this week on your favorite audio Bible app.
Today we will focus on Jesus’ teaching about possessions in Luke 12. How can we honor God with our wealth? How can it become a hinderance.
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In the beginning of chapter 12, Jesus warns and encourages his followers to not be shy in following Him and declaring themselves as Christ followers—no matter what happens. To not be afraid because God cares for the sparrows and God’s children are worth more than many sparrows.
And then Jesus is prompted to teach about our attitude toward earthly possessions, when a man yelled for Jesus to make his brother divide his inheritance with him.
Jesus said, ““Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
This is where we pause to drink in slowly a passage of Scripture.
First, take a moment of silence, to open your heart to the Lord to be willing to receive His Word about money and possessions.
Holy Spirit, open our hearts to receive Your Word today—even if it feels uncomfortable.
Luke 12:22-34
22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life[b]? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.
32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Take a moment of silence. What is the Holy Spirit speaking to you from the verses?
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Do not worry. Do not be afraid.
These are two commands in our passage today that speak to us learning to trust GOD’S leading in our work and possessions.
When we are afraid, our fists tighten, our attention becomes distracted, and we forget to trust in God.
The rest of Chapter 12 has some other great thoughts on living for Jesus. Such as living in a way that we are always ready for the Lord to return and how following Christ will cause division among families, but we are to remain steadfast—to know the signs of the times—and follow Him no matter what.
Can we follow him even in how we make, save, and give our resources?
I am going to re-read a couple verses from our passage today. Listen for the Holy Spirit’s leading.
“And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.”
What is on your heart from the Scripture reading today? Pray about this
Let’s pray.
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There is so much more to the story in this chapter, so if you would like to drink in the scriptures more slowly than the podcast allows, I encourage you to look at the resources linked in the show notes.
I would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Sandra Glahn for her Latte with Luke Bible study and Brian Vasquez productions, who has made this podcast possible. This episode is sponsored by socialremix.co to SocialRemix.co, a social media generating website that saves you hours of content creation with just a click of a button. For more information, see the Links in the show notes.
God bless you and I pray that you have a well soul.