Bible Chapter: Luke 18

Because the Bible is practical, here are some statements to get you thinking.

1.  Write one or two key thoughts that come from today’s reading.
    Why is it so hard to consistently pray and develop a powerful prayer life?  I think that many Christians battle this.  I believe the answer lies somewhere near the fact that prayer is so powerful and there is great temptation to put it off till a more convenient time.  Teaching such as this parable comes from Jesus’ desire that we all understand the importance and power of prayer.  The woman had a need and wasn’t going to give up.  Perseverance in prayer is one of the keys to winning the battle.  Never give up.  We have an adversary who is mean.  We have a Savior who is all powerful.  Some have said that we shouldn’t persist in prayer, just pray once and forget it.  That is not what Jesus taught.  Keep focus on eternity and it will help keep focus on prayer.
    The stronger our prayer life, the more we will be drawn close to Jesus.  This will help us gain the victory necessary that we see through the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.  One of the problems Jesus addressed was spiritual pride.  “I’m really good and God is lucky to have me.”  We must humbly acknowledge our need of forgiveness and actively pursue God’s power living through our lives.
    Again Jesus talked about the importance of children.  It is important to reach children with the message of the love of Jesus.  We also see that children are a pawn in the enemy’s spiritual battle against God.  More than ever children are being attacked and hurt.  Jesus said we are to let the children come to Him, we are to encourage the children to come to Him.  Make every effort to bring children to where they will know Jesus.  Children need to grow up going to Sunday School, etc.  If we don’t train them, the world will.

2.  What can I apply in my life from the reading?
    There was a certain rich young ruler who came to Jesus asking Him the key question of life: what must I do to inherit eternal life?  Jesus started His response with the reminder to obey God’s law.  Then He challenged the man about his love for material gain.  We all need to settle the question of priorities.  Will we let anything become more important than God?  The fact that this man was wealthy was not a problem.  The problem was that his wealth was more important than accepting Jesus’ answer to his question.
    Sadly, this man couldn’t put Jesus first.  This section ends with an encouraging message from Jesus.  With God, anything is possible.  Put Jesus first.  Strive to grow in Him and learn what He has for me to do.  Then He will make possible what needs to be made possible.  If necessary, God will allow the camel to go through the eye of the needle.

3.  How can I help someone?
    The world needs to see Christians who have the humility that honors God.  They don’t need to see spiritual pride that makes me look good and them look bad.  This doesn’t mean that I endorse sinful lifestyles.  It means that I let Jesus shine through me that He gets the honor, and people are drawn to HIM.