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Seek First The Kingdom
Luke 10:40 - 'But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.'
There are only three instances in Scripture that give us information about Martha. From these accounts, we can see that Martha had a brother named Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead, and a sister named Mary. Martha had misplaced her priorities on this occasion and was corrected by Jesus. Later, at a supper for Jesus in the home of Simon the leper, Martha was once again serving while Mary her sister was worshiping Jesus by anointing His feet with a costly perfume.
Martha was the first one to run and meet Jesus when He came to their home after...
Who Crosses Your Path?
Luke 10:29 - 'But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbor?'
This question of 'who is my neighbour' can be used by Satan to deceive us in more than one way. Not only can he deceive men into thinking they have fulfilled the command to 'love thy neighbor as thyself' when they haven't, but he will also try to apply this command in a way that condemns those who are seeking to fulfill it, by making them think they are not doing enough.
We cannot meet the needs of every single person in the world. Jesus wasn't teaching that. This wounded man was directly in the path of these three men. The priest and the Levite had to walk around him. Jesus is simply teaching that we should take advantage of the opportunities...
Saved By Grace
Luke 10:28-29 - 'And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?'
Just as with this lawyer, pride causes many people to resist the truth of justification by faith in the grace of God. This lawyer loved himself and the public recognition his 'holy acts' gave him. He was not willing to love God first and his fellow man ahead of himself. His was not a sincere question but rather an evasive question to shun responsibility. This man was seeking to be justified in the sight of God through his actions. He knew he had not loved everyone as he loved himself, so he is tried to interpret the scripture (Lev. 19:18) in a way that would conform to his...
Focus On Jesus
Luke 10:20 - 'Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.'
We were never instructed to have a Ph.D. in demonology. However, some justify focusing on Satan and his activity to an inordinate degree. This will actually encourage demonic activity and become a device that Satan can use against us.
As Paul said, we should not be 'ignorant' of Satan's devices. We certainly need to know that the devil and demons exist, and we need to recognize when we are facing demonic activity. But we need to keep our focus on the Lord.
Some people who are excessive in 'spiritual warfare' actually spend more time talking to the devil each day than they do talking to...
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Freedom From Temptation
Luke 10:19 - 'Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.'
Although these are examples of God's protection from harm caused by the physical creation, this scripture is also speaking of mastery over the spiritual realm of the enemy (i.e., Satan). This Scripture does not say that Satan cannot inflict any harm. The scriptures abound with examples, and warnings of the enemy's damage on the godly and the ungodly alike (2 Cor. 2:11, 2 Tim. 2:26, 1 Pet. 5:8-9). However, he cannot harm us when we are walking in faith in Christ's redemptive work.
There are no unique temptations. The devil likes to make us think there are. If he can convince us...