Scripture:
Luke 20:38
“For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.”

It’s About Relationship

Today’s reading would normally come from Mark 12, but I chose Luke’s version of the text because Luke is the only Gospel writer who includes the words “for all live to Him.”

A little context: the religious leaders have been trying to trap Jesus with questions. The Sadducees, who don’t believe in the resurrection, are trying to read their own beliefs into God’s Word. They took the levirate marriage law (Deuteronomy 25:5–6) and used it to argue that there is no resurrection. That only shows they didn’t understand who God is. Jesus answers by reminding them that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and then He closes with this: “He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.”

It’s about relationship. God wants to live with us. He sent His Son to DIE so that we might LIVE.

Today our God-Shot is in Jesus’ words, “for all live to Him.” We were created to live our lives “TO HIM.” We were made by Him, for Him, and to be with Him. So today’s question is: how are you living for Him right now? Does your life reflect this relationship with Him, or is the picture hazy?

Today you and I have the chance to reflect on that question and answer it honestly: Am I living for Him?

Lord, today I pray that our lives would be lived with You and for You. Help us to invest in the things that last, building crowns in heaven rather than palaces on earth. Help us to bring Your Kingdom down into our homes, our lives, and the lives of the people around us. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Scripture:
John 12:9-10
9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also,

Deeper than the Surface
Sometimes we get so stuck in our trauma, our pain, our suffering, and our situations that we miss the work of God in them, and even through them. We are in chapter 12 of John, but in chapter 11 the whole story of Lazarus’ resurrection unfolds. Jesus said these words: “And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless, let us go to him.” This reminds us that sometimes we miss the story unfolding and the movement of God in it, and it was no different this time, as we see later in this story. See, just like yours and mine, Lazarus’ story was so much bigger than his personal resurrection.

The bigger part of the story was the revelation of Christ in it: how He would be glorified, and how that would change the hearts of so many that the chief priests would plot to kill (get this) a man who had already been raised from the dead. Kind of ironic, isn’t it? The point is that because of Lazarus, many believed. Have you ever thought that your circumstances, your past, and your victories could be the reason others are set free and come to know Christ?

Today our God-Shot is that God is still in the business of turning our past into victory. Our story, our testimony, is the key to many people’s prisons. We have a place in His storyline, and like Lazarus, through your story of the greatness of God, others could come to know Him, be transformed by Him, and seek Him too.

Q: Who have you shared your story with lately?

Lord, let us not keep quiet. Let our story be heard and Your glory be seen. Let us shout it from the rooftops, that all who hear might bring You praise. Let our pain, our past, and our victories not be wasted, but let them serve the bigger plan: to reach the lost, to heal the broken, and to set at liberty the captives. Let it accomplish Your good work. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Scripture:
Mark 10:24
24 And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, "Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!"

One day in Jesus' travels, as He was on the road, He encountered a rich young ruler who asked Him, "What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" Jesus responded by telling him to keep the commandments, to which the young man replied, "All these things I have kept from my youth." But Jesus saw something in him: the "One Thing" that was keeping him from truly surrendering his life to God.

I recently heard a short by Josh Howerton on this very passage, and I loved the possibility he raised. He asked, what if this young man had been obedient in that one thing? Might he have become the thirteenth disciple? Might he have written an epistle, so that you and I would be touched by his walk with Jesus, his words ringing with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives?

The point is this: What is the "One Thing" holding you back from the greatness God has for you? What do you have a death grip on that is keeping you from living a fully surrendered, empowered life in Christ?

Today, our God-Shot is more of a self-examination. We examine our hearts and ask, "What is my barrier? What am I withholding from Him? What am I trusting more than I trust Him?" Pause today and think about your priorities. When you stand before your Maker, will those things still matter? Then ask yourself why they hold greater priority in your life right now. For the rich young ruler, it was wealth. What is it for you?

Lord, I pray that this morning You would reveal the "One Thing" that stands in our way: the thing that keeps us from being great, from becoming what You have called us to be, and from being fully committed to You. What stands in my way? Is it my priorities, my job, my school, my gym, my hobbies? What carries greater weight than You in my life? Reveal it, Lord. Help us look honestly at our lives, surrender that thing to You, pick up our cross, and follow You. In Jesus' name, Amen!

Scripture:
Luke 16:9
9 “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous [a] mammon, that when [b] you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.”
a. Worldly wealth

Maybe you’ve caught the overarching theme in the Word this week: God is dealing with our loyalty, our motives, and what we do with what He has given us. If you want to understand the depth of that, just read Psalm 24. Everything we have and everything we are was created by Him, so it all belongs to Him. But I digress.

In today’s portion, the Lord is dealing with how we use what we have been given. He tells a peculiar story about a dishonest manager, and you might even misinterpret it, thinking He is commending dishonesty. But that is not what He is doing.

What He was praising was the wisdom, not the wickedness. The master in the parable praises the manager because he acted “shrewdly” (Luke 16:8), meaning he was clever and thought ahead about his future survival. Jesus points out that worldly people are often more forward-thinking about their earthly futures than God’s people are about their eternal futures.

Q: How are you preparing for your eternal future?
Q: What are you doing with what God has given you? (Time, Treasure, Talents)

Growth happens as we tend the soil and cut away (prune) the things that are not fruitful. This week has been a bit of that, and today’s God-Shot might hit differently because it speaks to what we are doing with what He has provided and how we are using it to prepare for eternity. So the call to action for us today is to evaluate how we spend our resources: our time, treasure, and talent. Are they Kingdom-focused?

Lord, I thank You for Your Word. I pray that as we read this, we would take to heart Jesus’ charge to be shrewder with our resources, spending them not just on what pleases us, but on what pleases You. Transform our hearts and what we value so that You rank at the top of that list, and so that our treasure is stored up in heaven, not here on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Scripture:
13 But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. 14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
~Luke 14:13-14 NKJV

You might have caught a theme this week. In the portions we have read, and in what the Lord has highlighted, it seems God is asking the question, “Where are you invested?” Just yesterday we were asked, “Are you rich toward God?” Today, it seems the Lord is speaking to us about where we are building our reputation, our treasures, and our praises, and where we are sowing. Notice that He says not to invite only those who will invite you back, or to love only those who already love you. Jesus asks, what good is that? (Luke 6:32)

So there really is a call to evaluate not only our lives but where we are invested. If we are just building a life here, then we have missed the truth that this place is not our home. The Bible says that we are not of this world; we are ambassadors, representatives of the Kingdom of Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:20). That means we bring the Kingdom with us, but we are not meant to settle into this world. Instead, we are to prepare ourselves and others for the day we return to our home in His Kingdom.

So today’s God-Shot is really a question: “What are you building?” Are you building a reputation in a place where you don’t belong? Are you only doing nice things for those who are nice to you? Are you only loving those who are lovely?

Really, Jesus is asking these questions:

• Do you know where home is?
• Which life are you living for: the world’s, or the Kingdom’s?

Lord, I pray for us today that You would challenge us to examine our motives: what we do, how we serve, whom we serve, where we are invested, and which Kingdom we are serving. I pray that the world would lose its pull on our lives, that our motives would shift, and that we would be moved to evaluate everything we do so that it brings You honor. In Jesus’ name, Amen!