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January 15 - Luke 14 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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  Hello friends, it's Sean here and it is Thursday, it's the
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  15th of January and it's great to have your company.
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  Thank you for tapping on play and inviting me into wherever
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  you are, whatever is going on, so that you and I can put down
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  the busyness of the day and spend a moment reflecting on
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  God's word to us. And if you're anything like me,
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  you must be really enjoying this moment of following Jesus
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  ministry around, listening to his words, listening to the
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  fervour with which he speaks and the generosity with which he
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  deals with others. And today is no different.
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  As we hear Jesus continuing to interact and teach and challenge
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  our Holy Spirit, May these words of Jesus land in our hearts and
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  change us and help us know him better.
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  All right, friends, let us read together Luke chapter 14.
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  One Sabbath day, Jesus went to eat dinner at the home of a
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  leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him
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  closely. There was a man there whose arms
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  and legs were swollen. Jesus asked the Pharisees and
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  experts in religious law, Is it permitted in the law to heal
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  people on the Sabbath day or not?
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  When they refused to answer, Jesus touched the sick man and
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  healed him and sent him away. Then he turned to them and said,
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  Which of you doesn't work on the Sabbath?
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  If your son or your cow falls into a pit, don't you rush to
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  get him out? Again, they could not answer.
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  When Jesus noticed that all who had come to dinner were trying
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  to sit in the seats of honour near the head of the table, He
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  gave them this advice. When you're invited to a wedding
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  feast, don't sit in the seat of honour.
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  What if someone who is more distinguished than you is also
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  invited? The host will come and say, give
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  this person your seat. Then you'll be embarrassed and
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  you'll have to take whatever seat is left at the foot of the
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  table. Instead, take the lowest place
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  at the foot of the table. Then when your host sees you, he
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  will come and say, Friend, we have a better place for you.
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  Then you will be honoured in front of all the other guests,
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  for those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who
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  humble themselves will be exalted.
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  Then he turned to his host. When you put on a luncheon or a
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  banquet, he said, don't invite your friends, brothers,
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  relatives and rich neighbours, for they will invite you back
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  and that will be your only reward.
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  Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the
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  blind. Then at the resurrection of the
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  righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not
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  repay you. Hearing this, a man sitting at
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  the table with Jesus exclaimed what a blessing it will be to
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  attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God.
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  Jesus replied with this story. A man prepared a great feast and
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  sent out many invitations. When the banquet was ready, he
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  sent his servants to tell the guests, come the banquet is
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  ready. But they all began making
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  excuses. One said I've just bought a
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  field and must inspect it, please excuse me.
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  Another said I've just bought 5 pairs of oxen and I want to try
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  them out, please excuse me. Another said I just got married
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  so I can't come. The servant returned and told
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  his masters what they had said. His master was furious and said
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  go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite
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  the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.
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  After the servant had done this, he reported there is still room
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  for more. So his master said, go out into
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  the country lanes and behind the hedges, and urge anyone you find
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  to come so that the house will be full, for none of those I
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  first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.
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  A large crowd was following Jesus.
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  He turned around and said to them, If you want to be my
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  disciple, you must by comparison hate everyone else, your father
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  and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, even
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  your own life. Otherwise you cannot be my
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  disciple. And if you do not carry your own
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  cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
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  But don't begin until you count the cost for who would begin
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  construction of a building without first calculating the
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  cost to see if there's enough money to finish it.
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  Otherwise you might complete only the foundation before
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  running out of money. And then everyone would laugh at
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  you. They would say there's the
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  person who started that building and couldn't afford to finish
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  it. Or what king would go to war
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  against another king without first sitting down with his
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  counsellors to discuss whether his army of 10,000 could defeat
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  the 20,000 soldiers marching against him?
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  And if he can't, he will send a delegation to discuss terms of
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  peace while the enemy is still far away.
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  So you cannot become my disciple without giving up everything you
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  own. Salt is good for seasoning, but
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  if it loses its flavour, how do you make it salty again?
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  Flavourless salt is good neither for the soil nor the manure
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  pile. It is thrown away.
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  Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.
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  Ah Lord Jesus, help us to keep our saltiness.
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  Help us to continue to be inspired by you, to be light and
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  salt in the world around us, not looking to promote our own well
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  being or our own ends, but to be your hands and feet and to love
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  you more than anything else in our lives.
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  But in order to do that, we need your help everyday, Holy Spirit,
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  to continue to shape us and direct us back toward you and
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  your work and your Kingdom. So we pray just that.
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  Make us your own as we continue to walk every step basking in
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  your love, your forgiveness, and your provision.
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  We love you and we pray, all of us, in your wonderful name,
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  Jesus, Amen.