The Widow’s Son

Luke 7:11-17

“11 Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. 12 As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. 13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. 16 Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen among us!” and “God has looked favorably on his people!” 17 This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.”

Jesus saw a funeral procession going by and had compassion for the weeping mother.  The Greek word used for compassion means deeply moved, down to one’s very soul; to the depths of one’s heart.

It is not the dead son that triggers such compassion in Jesus’ but the emotions of the mother.  It is also important to note that the woman did not seek Jesus out or ask Jesus for his help.  Her faith or lack of faith is never mentioned by Jesus.

Why did Jesus offer His help?  The woman was a widow.  Her son had just died.  A widow in the time of Jesus had no other means of support other than a husband or a son. A widow in such a situation had to rely on the charity of her neighbors. The son’s death meant a life of uncertainty and suffering for the widow.

The resurrection of the young man from the dead represented healing and life for both the man and his widowed mother.  It also caused a great hope and consciousness of God among the people of the community.

In the same way, the resurrection of Jesus gives Christians today the hope and assurance of eternal life, and fills our current lives with joy and abundance. 

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Centurion

Luke 7:1-10

“7 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them.He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.”

Centurions were Roman Army officers who generally commanded 100 soldiers.

They occupied their positions not because of family connection, but from military prowess alone.  They were the backbone of the army.  They were steady in action, reliable, and ready at a moment’s notice to fight.  They were men who had earned the respect of their men.

The centurion in the scripture above was unusual in his love for his servant (or slave in some translations).  Servants/slaves were no more than objects or tools in ancient times.  They had no rights and were completely at the mercy of their owners.  Normally when a slave could not work, they were simply replaced.

He was unusual because he was humble, and considered himself unworthy to have someone like Christ in his home.  Needless to say, centurions were not known for their humility.

The centurion was also unusual because his religious beliefs were more than just practical aspects of his position that he used to placate the people that he subjugated. His beliefs affected the way he lived and the way he treated others.

Christ was amazed by the Centurion; not by his achievements, his title, his position, or his authority…

but by his faith, 

by his love, 

by his heart.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

A New Way

Luke 5: 36-39

“36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and sews it on an old garment; otherwise the new will be torn, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new wine, but says, ‘The old is good.’”

In the life of Jesus, in His teachings, in His actions, in His love, we see that God was making all things new; a new way of understanding Him; a new way of seeing and  relating to others; a new covenant.

The Pharisees and the Sadducees, still very much rooted in the old way, were drinking “the old wine” and saying “the old is good”.  But the new wine that was being offered by God was being poured and people were drinking.

Jesus' message to the religious authorities was that God’s new covenant would not be  a sub paragraph of the old covenant, but would be an entirely different, entirely new way of God.

This way would not be known by ritual but by love; would not be exclusive, but inclusive; would not be written on stone but in the hearts of all believers.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Rituals

Luke 5:33-35

“33 Then they said to him, “John’s disciples, like the disciples of the Pharisees, frequently fast and pray, but your disciples eat and drink.” 34 Jesus said to them, “You cannot make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”

The lives of the orthodox Jews were totally ritualized.  Ritual was religion to them.  They fasted on Mondays and Thursdays and whitened their faces so that people would know that they were in fast (the feast with Levi may have been one of thes fast days).  They offered prayers two or three times a day in the morning, at noon and in the evening.  

Jesus fasted and prayed and he taught his disciples these things, but he did not strictly observe the rituals associated with fasting and prayer.  To the Pharisees, this proved that they were not religious.  

Jesus taught that religion was more than rituals and that rituals themselves were useless if performed with a corrupted heart.

For Jesus, the most important aspect of religion was not rituals but the condition of one’s heart.  Praying, fasting, and all the other disciplines and rituals should flow from our love; our love for God, and our neighbor. 

There is a time and place for all disciples to pray, and to fast.  When these are practiced, they should not be done to reveal how holy and obedient we are, but practiced in a spirit of love, and humility.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Tax Collector’s Heart

Luke 5: 27-30

“27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And he got up, left everything, and followed him.

29 Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house; and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. 30 The Pharisees and their scribes were complaining to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 

The tax collectors were the most hated people in Roman dominated Palestine.  The tax collector collected the money that the Romans needed to resupply and feed the very armies that oppressed them and because of this the tax collectors were regarded as traitors.

Not only this, but the tax collector was given a lot of leeway by Rome in the collection of taxes.  As long as Rome was given its share, they did not care how much over this amount the tax collector kept for himself.  And so, the tax collectors were also regarded as thieves.

We are not told why Jesus selected Matthew, but it was a decision that raised eyebrows and the concerns of the religious and non-religious alike.  And, in looking upon Matthew, they saw only a sinner who should be shunned.

Jesus, on the other hand, saw Matthew’s heart.

“Jesus answered, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.” 

(Luke 5:31-32)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Forgiveness

Luke 5: 21-26

“21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone? 22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”

Jesus forgave the sins of the man whose friends had lowered him through the ceiling to be healed.  Sin and suffering were closely linked in ancient Israel and Jews thought that suffering was caused by sin.  Often the person suffering felt a keen sense of sin weighing on them.

This may have been the case with this man.  Without the forgiveness of his sins, the man would not have believed he could be healed.  So, Jesus forgave him.

I have met people whose past sins weigh them down in such a way that they cannot move forward in their relationship with God.  They cannot believe that Christ can forgive them.

Christ came that all who believe and confess their sins can be forgiven.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John:1:9)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Friends

Luke 5:17-20

“17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” 

Everyone needs a friend.  Nothing is better than knowing that if you needed help at two in the morning there would be someone you could call and count on.  Good friends are a blessing given to us from God.

The paralyzed man in the scripture above had good friends who were willing to go to great lengths for him.  They were willing to carry him on a mat to Jesus to be healed.  Arriving at the house where Christ was staying, they found that the crowds were so great that they could not get near Jesus.  

Instead of giving up, they regrouped and thought of a very unorthodox way of approaching Jesus.  They went up on the roof, moved some of the tiles,  and lowered their friend down inside the house to very the feet of Jesus.

We need friends on our spiritual journey; friends who will be there when we need them; friends we can talk to about our faith; friends who will keep us on the straight and narrow… 

friends who will keep us at the feet of Christ.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Jesus the Leper

Luke 5:12-16

“12 Once, when he was in one of the cities, there was a man covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.” 13 Then Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I do choose. Be made clean.” Immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he ordered him to tell no one. “Go,” he said, “and show yourself to the priest, and, as Moses commanded, make an offering for your cleansing, for a testimony to them.” 15 But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. 16 But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray.”

Jesus touched the leper and healed him. He could have healed the leper from a distance as he did in other instances, but he chose to touch the leper.

In Jesus’ time, leprosy was a terrible disease for which there was no cure and certain death. It also meant isolation from family, friends and from society in general.  No one dared go near a leper, let alone touch one.

By touching the leper, Jesus was making himself unclean,in effect becoming a leper himself, according to Jewish law, until He was ritually cleaned.  

Through the touch of Christ, the leper was made whole physically, socially, and spiritually.  

May we all experience the touch of Christ’s hand.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Go Into the Deep

Luke 5: 4-11

“4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.”

Peter and his fishing partners, James and John had fished all night long and were cleaning their nets, putting them up when Jesus came along.  After preaching to the crowd on shore, Jesus told Peter to go out into deep water and put down the nets.  

Peter was an experienced fisherman.  He knew when the fish were not biting and when they were.  He knew when to quit and when to go out.  Yet here was a Rabi telling him how and when to fish.

Peter listened to Christ.  Even though he was tired.  Even though he was frustrated.  Even though it did not make sense.  And they caught so many fish they nearly sank the boat.

Christ came to fill our spiritual lives to overflowing.  And, though we may be tired and frustrated, Christ calls us to go into the deep water with Him…

and to put down the nets.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Familiar and the Unfamiliar

Luke 5:1-3

“1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.”

Christ, looking for a way to preach to the large crowds that were pressing in on him, approached Simon, whose mother-in-law he had recently healed, and asked him to take his boat out just offshore.  

From the boat, Jesus taught the crowd on the shore about the kingdom of God and God’s forgiveness of sins.

Jesus was an improviser; willing to use the things of ordinary life in his parables and sermons; and here we see Him using a fishing boat in order to deliver a message to a large crowd.

Jesus was willing to try different methods, to use the familiar and the unfamiliar… 

for the sake of the gospel.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Capernaum: Part 4

Luke 4: 42-44

“42 At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. 43 But he said to them, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.” 44 So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.”

Jesus left the crowd at Capernaum at daybreak and went to a deserted place, probably to be alone, to pray, to recharge, and maybe even to sleep.  In needing this time away, we see that He is like us.  

Not only was He divine, but He was also human.

The crowd sought him out and when they found him they tried to talk him into staying with them.  But Christ’s primary mission on earth was proclaiming the good news.  

Healing was secondary to this mission, and was a sign of the good news, a sign that the promised Messiah was among them…

and that God’s gifts of forgiveness, salvation and eternal life were to be offered through His sacrifice to the world. \

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Capernaum: Part 3

Luke 4:40-41

“40 As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. 41 Demons also came out of many, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah.”

If you've ever had a friend or loved one who suffered, you know what a miracle it is when they are healed or made better and what a terrible feeling it is when they cannot be helped at all.

Jesus could heal people, not just physically but also spiritually.  His words, the touch of his hand, and the power of his presence brought healing, deliverance, and comfort.

In Capernaum, Jesus had a busy day.  As the sun was setting, he was busy healing the sick.  

In my mind, I see a golden sunset, and silhouetted against this is Jesus and a long line of people.  I see Him walking from person to person, laying his hands on each, making the blind to see, the deaf to hear, the lame to walk.  He even touches the lepers, who are at the end of the line, away from all the rest, and they too are healed.

Even the demons shouted His glory.

“Shout for joy, O heavens! And rejoice, O earth! Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people and will have compassion on His afflicted.” (Isaiah 49:13)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Capernaum: Part 2

Luke 4:38-39

“38 After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. 39 Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them.”

We don’t normally think of the disciples having a life outside the tight circle of the twelve and Jesus.  But, according to the early church fathers, Clement of Alexandria and Eusebius, Simon Peter was married most of his adult life, including the full period of his apostleship.  Clement and Eusebius wrote that Peter’s wife travelled with him and died a martyr’s death around the same time as Peter.

In this scripture we read about Simon Peter’s mother-in-law, who apparently lived with Peter and his wife in a house in Capernaum.  She was suffering a high fever, and according to the Greek, the fever was life threatening.

Jesus, entering Peter’s home, was asked to look at her.  Jesus rebuked the fever and Peter’s mother-in-law was healed. Not only was she healed, but she was given enough strength and the desire to begin to serve Jesus and those who had come with him to Peter’s home.

When we are touched by Christ and we begin to experience God’s healing of our spirit, a great desire begins to stir in us to serve him;  a desire that burns in us for the rest of our lives.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Capernaum: Part 1

Luke 4:31-37

“31 He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. 32 They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. 33 In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” 35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. 36 They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, “What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!” 37 And a report about him began to reach every place in the region.”

The people of Nazareth, the boyhood home of Jesus, had rejected and attempted to kill Jesus.  For most of us, this would have shaken us to our core.  But in the scripture above, we find Jesus in Capernaum, preaching with authority.

Coming out of the wilderness, Jesus was filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and this gave Jesus a clear sense of who He was, and His mission on earth.  For us, the type of rejection He received in Nazareth seems to run counter to God’s plan of redemption.  But it is worldly rejection that set God’s plan in motion.

In Capernaum, Jesus encountered a man with a demon in the synagogue. It is noteworthy that the demon knew who Jesus was. We think of evil forces as being ignorant of God, but in the Bible we find that they are very aware of God, and fearful of the power of God.

The unclean spirit asked, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?”.  He knew the answer, since he knew who Jesus was.  

This is a question we all have to answer, once we meet Jesus. And after we answer this question, an even harder question waits to be answered….

“What have I to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth?”

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Nazareth: Part 5

Luke 4: 28-30

“28 When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. 30 But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way.”

Jesus told the people of Nazareth, who were in the synagogue, that God had favored the gentiles over the Jews at different times in their history.  They reacted to this with rage and violence, even though Jesus was quoting stories from their own scriptures.

The words of Jesus are often hard to hear and harder to bear.  They make us look at ourselves in the light of God’s perfect love, His truth, mercy and forgiveness and we fall short.  Our need for a savior is laid bare.

It is at this point that we either fall weeping before Christ or we attempt to rid ourselves of Christ.   

The people of Nazareth attempted to throw Christ over a cliff.  But this is not how Christ would be lifted up.  

God had another plan.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Nazareth: Part 4

Luke 4: 25-27

“25 But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; 26 yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. 27 There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

The Jews in Jesus day had a dim view of the gentiles.  They believed that the gentiles were unclean and any association with them made Jews unclean.  Gentiles were regarded as unclean because of their lifestyle and eating habits.  Their lifestyle and eating habits also caused them to be sinners, and since they were sinners they had no hope of knowing the one, true God.

Yet, here was Jesus in the synagogue  preaching that, at different times in the history of Israel, God had favored the “unclean” gentiles over the Jews. 

The Jews of Nazareth thought they had God figured out.  Yet, Jesus used their own scriptures to show them that they did not know God.  

Jesus’ message was that God was willing to speak with and guide the Gentiles just as he did the Jews….

and that God’s love is for all people.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Nazareth: Part 3

Luke 4:22-24

“22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.  They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?”  23 He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.  24 And he said, “Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.”

Although his words are impressive, the people of Nazareth refused to believe that Jesus was who he said he was. To many Jews, the Christ would mysteriously appear and would be a man of power, education and credentials; not the boy who grew up down the street; not the son of a carpenter.

The people of Nazareth had a vision of who and what Christ would be and Jesus did not fit that vision.  Jesus read their doubts and knew they would ask him to perform miracles like he did in Capernaum, in order to prove that he was the Messiah.

The people of Nazareth were, in effect, asking the same thing of Jesus that Satan asked in order to tempt Jesus in the wilderness: “If you are the Son of God …” (Luke 4:3).

In our relationship with Christ, the conditional “if” is a sign of our unbelief.  

Let us approach Him in faith, without conditions… praying, “Your will be done.”

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Nazareth: Part 2

Luke 4: 16b-19, 21

“16b He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” …21 Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Scholars tell us that there were no professional clergy in Jewish synagogues back then. Apparently, the leader of the synagogue had the authority to invite a competent worshiper or guest to read and comment on the Scriptures.

Jesus stood to read and by chance or by God’s providence, He was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.  He read what is referenced in our Bibles today as Isaiah 61:1-2a.  

Christ’s message that day was not really what he had read, but the fact that He was the fulfillment of what he had read.  

Through Him, the good news of salvation and eternal life would be brought to the world.

Through Him, all who were bound and oppressed by sin would be set free; 

Through Him, all who were blind to God’s presence in the world would see God.

The people did not know it, but the hope of the world stood before them that Sabbath day in Nazareth.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

Nazareth: Part 1

Luke 4:16a

“16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. 

Have you ever returned to the place where you were raised and found that no one there knew you?  I mean, they knew the person you were before you left, but they did not know the person that you became after you left?  That can be a strange feeling.

Jesus returned to his hometown and, while there on the Sabbath, he went to the synagogue. Bible scholars tell us that the population of Nazareth back then was probably about 500. 

Everyone there in the synagogue that day probably knew Him as the carpenter’s son; the one who used to carry hammers and hold boards for His father.  No one knew Him as a teacher, a Rabi, and certainly not as the Messiah. 

But they were about to be surprised.  

God was going to introduce His Son to Nazareth.

“Then the Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am about to do a thing in Israel at which the two ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.” (1 Samuel 3:11)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Wilderness Part 6

Luke 4:14-15

“14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.  15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.”

Jesus emerged from the wilderness focused and on fire with the Spirit. The suffering and pain he experienced in the wilderness was used by God to strengthen Him.

In our lives, the wilderness is a time of suffering and pain.  It can be a time when we lose sight of what’s important; a time when we feel lost and alone (Jesus, being human as well as divine, may have felt all of these things, as well).

The wilderness of suffering and pain can also be a time that God uses to change and strengthen us, a time that God uses to draw us closer to him.   We may not understand this until we look back on the experience years later.

It is then that we will see our wilderness was filled with God’s love.

“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom;” (Isaiah 35:1)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)

The Wilderness, part 5

Luke 4:14-15

“14 Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.  15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.”

Jesus emerged from the wilderness focused and on fire with the Spirit. The suffering and pain he experienced in the wilderness was used by God to strengthen Him.

In our lives, the wilderness is a time of suffering and pain.  It can be a time when we lose sight of what’s important; a time when we feel lost and alone (Jesus, being human as well as divine, may have felt all of these things, as well).

The wilderness of suffering and pain can also be a time that God uses to change and strengthen us, a time that God uses to draw us closer to him.   We may not understand this until we look back on the experience years later.

It is then that we will see our wilderness was filled with God’s love.

“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom;” (Isaiah 35:1)

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)