07/12 Luke 6:17-19
When they came down the slopes of the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed, and Jesus cast out many evil spirits. 19 Everyone was trying to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and they were all cured.
NEED
We need Jesus. We need Him to heal our life. We need Him to give us eternal life. We need Jesus every moment of every day. We need Jesus.
07/11 Luke 6:12-16
One day soon afterward Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. 13 At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names: 14 Simon (he also called him Peter), Andrew (Peter’s brother), James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew, Thomas, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), 16 Judas (son of James), Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).
KNOWLEDGE
Jesus doesn’t make mistakes. He knew Judas Iscariot from the beginning. Christ knows you. Are you in His family or are you an outsider? You choose.
07/10 Luke 6:6-11
On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. 7 The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched closely to see whether Jesus would heal the man on the Sabbath, because they were eager to find some legal charge to bring against him. 8 But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand here where everyone can see.” So the man came forward. 9 Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Is it legal to do good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing harm? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?” 10 He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Reach out your hand.” The man reached out his hand, and it became normal again! 11 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.
HATE
Hate is evil. We never have enough knowledge or understanding to critique God and yet these religious leaders are doing that seeking to save their future. When you go against God you have no future. Jesus came seeking the Lost. He came to give them life. Who are you seeking?
07/9 Luke 6:1-5
One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grain fields, his disciples broke off heads of wheat, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grains. 2 But some Pharisees said, “You shouldn’t be doing that! It’s against the law to work by harvesting grain on the Sabbath.” 3 Jesus replied, “Haven’t you ever read in the Scriptures what King David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God, ate the special bread reserved for the priests alone, and then gave some to his friends. That was breaking the law, too.” 5 And Jesus added, “I, the Son of Man, am master even of the Sabbath.”
JESUS
Jesus is God’s everything. He created us, He births us into the Kingdom, He raises us and He sustains us. Religion loves only itself. Christ died for you and Jesus loves you. Follow Him.
07/8 2 Kings 4:42-44
One day a man from Baal-shalishah brought the man of God a sack of fresh grain and twenty loaves of barley bread made from the first grain of his harvest. Elisha said, “Give it to the group of prophets so they can eat.” 43 “What?” his servant exclaimed. “Feed one hundred people with only this?” But Elisha repeated, “Give it to the group of prophets so they can eat, for the LORD says there will be plenty for all. There will even be some left over!” 44 And sure enough, there was plenty for all and some left over, just as the LORD had promised.
PLENTY
Christ will meet our need. The Bible voices this in multiple places pointing out the activity of Jesus in the life of the believer. Christ is all and is able to do above and beyond what we can see, think and believe. Jesus is God’s everything.
07/7 2 Kings 4:38-41
Elisha now returned to Gilgal, but there was a famine in the land. One day as the group of prophets was seated before him, he said to his servant, “Put on a large kettle and make some stew for these men.” 39 One of the young men went out into the field to gather vegetables and came back with a pocketful of wild gourds. He shredded them and put them into the kettle without realizing they were poisonous. 40 But after the men had eaten a bite or two they cried out, “Man of God, there’s poison in this stew!” So they would not eat it. 41 Elisha said, “Bring me some flour.” Then he threw it into the kettle and said, “Now it’s all right; go ahead and eat.” And then it did not harm them!
HARM
We face the possibility of real harm from a dangerous world. People who are lost hate Jesus. He is Lord and He loves His creation and He loves us that name His name as our Lord and Savior. Trust in the Lord and know Him and your pathway will be protected. Sometimes we discover that the protection is as we go and sometimes before we go. Seek the Lord and He will be found. Trust in Him.
07/6 2 Kings 4:31-37
Gehazi hurried on ahead and laid the staff on the child’s face, but nothing happened. There was no sign of life. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, “The child is still dead.” 32 When Elisha arrived, the child was indeed dead, lying there on the prophet’s bed. 33 He went in alone and shut the door behind him and prayed to the LORD. 34 Then he lay down on the child’s body, placing his mouth on the child’s mouth, his eyes on the child’s eyes, and his hands on the child’s hands. And the child’s body began to grow warm again! 35 Elisha got up and walked back and forth in the room a few times. Then he stretched himself out again on the child. This time the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes! 36 Then Elisha summoned Gehazi. “Call the child’s mother!” he said. And when she came in, Elisha said, “Here, take your son!” 37 She fell at his feet, overwhelmed with gratitude. Then she picked up her son and carried him downstairs.
SUCCESS
Elisha raised the boy from the dead. Jesus raises us from our position of being dead in our trespasses and sin. Christ raises us to real life and makes us a part of His family. He is Lord.
07/5 2 Kings 4:28-30
Then she said, “It was you, my lord, who said I would have a son. And didn’t I tell you not to raise my hopes?” 29 Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Get ready to travel; take my staff and go! Don’t talk to anyone along the way. Go quickly and lay the staff on the child’s face.” 30 But the boy’s mother said, “As surely as the LORD lives and you yourself live, I won’t go home unless you go with me.” So Elisha returned with her.
GENUINE
She knew that Elisha was the only one that could help her. She claimed his attention and then his commitment. Jesus is the only help that we have. He is able to meet all the obstacles that we face. He will do it now and He does not fail. Call on Jesus, Lord help me.
07/4 2 Kings 4:18-27
One day when her child was older, he went out to visit his father, who was working with the harvesters. 19 Suddenly he complained, “My head hurts! My head hurts!” His father said to one of the servants, “Carry him home to his mother.” 20 So the servant took him home, and his mother held him on her lap. But around noontime he died. 21 She carried him up to the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and left him there. 22 She sent a message to her husband: “Send one of the servants and a donkey so that I can hurry to the man of God and come right back.” 23 “Why today?” he asked. “It is neither a new moon festival nor a Sabbath.” But she said, “It’s all right.” 24 So she saddled the donkey and said to the servant, “Hurry! Don’t slow down on my account unless I tell you to.” 25 As she approached the man of God at Mount Carmel, Elisha saw her in the distance. He said to Gehazi, “Look, the woman from Shunem is coming. 26 Run out to meet her and ask her, ‘Is everything all right with you, with your husband, and with your child?'” “Yes,” the woman told Gehazi, “everything is fine.” 27 But when she came to the man of God at the mountain, she fell to the ground before him and caught hold of his feet. Gehazi began to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone. Something is troubling her deeply, and the LORD has not told me what it is.”
CONFIDENCE
As I said the woman had received this gift and knew that Elisha wouldn’t trick her. Note her confidence in dealing with the situation-no crying; no emotion- she saddles her donkey and goes to see Elisha. She knew he could do something about this.
07/3 2 Kings 4:14-17
Later Elisha asked Gehazi, “What do you think we can do for her? “He suggested, “She doesn’t have a son, and her husband is an old man.” 15 “Call her back again,” Elisha told him. When the woman returned, Elisha said to her as she stood in the doorway, 16 “Next year at about this time you will be holding a son in your arms!” “No, my lord!” she protested. “Please don’t lie to me like that, O man of God.” 17 But sure enough, the woman soon became pregnant. And at that time the following year she had a son, just as Elisha had said.
GIFT
Elisha gives to her a son. She loves the son and is confident that Elisha didn’t give her the son to cause her heartache. Gifts are things that we receive freely. She receives the child and continues with her life. Most of us lead down to earth lives. We are grateful for what we have and are not seeking to be somebody admired and adored by the masses. We want to be faithful and live the life the Lord has given us. Thank you Lord for gifts that You give us.