Tag: Luke

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Anticipated Surprises — Readers’ Choice


Readers’ Choice is here: Over two-thirds of our devotionals get emailed responses from readers like you. Hearing that what we have written is meaningful to you is meaningful to us. That’s why we love sharing some of your comments and messages. Thank you, readers. We do what we do to serve you. There’s still time to tell us about your favorite, most meaningful posts of the year. If you shared it with someone, or it helped you, let us know via email, direct message, or by filling out the linked form.

Links for today’s readings:

Oct 31  Read: 2 Kings 13 Listen: (4:33) Read: Psalms 62-63 Listen: (2:44)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Nov 1   Read: 2 Kings 14 Listen: (5:06) Read: Psalms 64-65 Listen: (2:39)
Nov 2   Read: 2 Kings 15 Listen: (6:21) Read: Psalms 66-67 Listen: (2:42)

Readers’ Choice posts are selected by our readers:

Brian, DC — Thanks for this reflection. I love beautiful surprises sent by The Almighty to me and my family…Thanks again for this wonderful reminder of how God works among us.

Like last year, we will repost all Christmas-themed Readers’ Choice posts together in one week. We pray our hearts are prepared to make room for Christ this coming Advent season. This post was originally published on December 4, 2024, based on readings from Esther 5.5-9 and Luke 1.45.

Scripture Focus: Esther 5.5-9

5 “Bring Haman at once,” the king said, “so that we may do what Esther asks.” 

So the king and Haman went to the banquet Esther had prepared. 6 As they were drinking wine, the king again asked Esther, “Now what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.” 

7 Esther replied, “My petition and my request is this: 8 If the king regards me with favor and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfill my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.” 

9 Haman went out that day happy and in high spirits. But when he saw Mordecai at the king’s gate and observed that he neither rose nor showed fear in his presence, he was filled with rage against Mordecai

Luke 1.45

45 Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!

Reflection: Anticipated Surprises — Readers’ Choice

By John Tillman

Esther and Mary know about anticipation. What are you anticipating?

There’s a lot of anticipatory tension in Esther’s story. After Xerxes’s edict, the Jews anticipated a day of destruction decreed a year in the future. After prayer and fasting, Esther entered the king’s presence uninvited and waited, anticipating his decision to spare or take her life. “If I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4.16)

When spared, Esther did not pour out her request immediately, but made Xerxes wait. He anticipated her request at two banquets she invited him and Haman to attend. 

It’s unclear why Esther delayed. It could have been fear or hesitation, but it seems more likely to be strategic. Xerxes appears rash (Esther 1.12), forgetful (Esther 6.3), negligent (Esther 4.11), and easily manipulated throughout the story. It is likely that Esther knew this and used anticipation to allow him to remember her charms and renew his affection for her.

Meanwhile, Haman also anticipated. Haman’s mind spun with selfish visions as he bragged about his growing power and closeness to Xerxes and the queen. But he was not content to anticipate good things for himself, Haman relished thoughts of torturing Mordecai, who he viewed as an enemy.

Haman had good reasons to anticipate his victories. Esther had good reasons to fear her defeat. We are not wrong to anticipate that the powerful will continue to abuse power and that violence will continue to be wielded against the weak. We are not wrong to expect the world to be wicked and our lot to include suffering but we are also not wrong to anticipate with hope the unlikely victories that God’s providence arranges.

Every wicked thing Haman anticipated was reversed and he became the victim of every device of torture he set up. Every wicked thing Esther feared was reversed and she became the victor over every scheme set against her. Our enemy anticipates our defeat but God loves turning anticipated losses into unanticipated victories.

God loves a surprise ending, like Esther’s. God also loves a surprise beginning, like Mary’s. Mary didn’t anticipate unwed pregnancy, uninvited shepherds and magi, or fleeing to exile in Egypt. There were many surprises of Jesus’ life in which anticipated doom was overcome by unanticipated hope.

God has unanticipated goodness ready to overturn anticipated failures, hurts, and sorrows. Anticipate surprises. Resurrection is the ultimate surprise ending God has promised. Set your hope on both the sure promises and the unanticipated blessings of God.

The Lord’s Prayer:

We will take a break from The Divine Hours prayers for the month of October and instead pray Dallas Willard’s paraphrase of The Lord’s Prayer:

Dear Father, always near us, may your name be treasured and loved, may your rule be completed in us—may your will be done here on earth in just the way it is done in heaven.

Give us today the things we need today, and forgive us our sins and impositions on you as we are forgiving all who in any way offend us.

Please don’t put us through trials, but deliver us from everything bad. Because you are the one in charge, and you have all the power, and the glory too is all yours-forever-which is just the way we want it!

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Read more about Scandalous Surprise of Hope — The Hope of Advent

Who are we to have such hope as advent promises? That Christ would come to us is baffling, surprising, and to some, scandalous.

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Were They Wrong?

Links for today’s readings:

Read: 1 Samuel 2 Listen: (6:09) Read: Hebrews 13 Listen: (3:31)

Scripture Focus: 1 Samuel 2.1-2

1 Then Hannah prayed and said:
“My heart rejoices in the Lord;
in the Lord my horn is lifted high.
My mouth boasts over my enemies,
for I delight in your deliverance.
2 “There is no one holy like the Lord;
there is no one besides you;
there is no Rock like our God.

Luke 1.46-49

46 And Mary said:
“My soul glorifies the Lord
47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48 for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
holy is his name.

Reflection: Were They Wrong?

By John Tillman

Hannah and Mary’s poems share themes. The hungry are fed. (1 Samuel 2.5; Luke 1.53) The poor are elevated. (1 Samuel 2.8; Luke 1.52-54) Wicked rulers are thrown down. (1 Samuel 2.9; Luke 1.51-52)

Hannah celebrated God fulfilling promises to her, including additional children to follow Samuel.

Mary celebrated confirmation from Elizabeth that God would fulfill promises to her and about Jesus.

Hannah and Mary understood better than most the need for salvation.

Those never experiencing darkness are less thankful for light. Those never having empty stomachs are less thankful when filled. Those never having parched throats are less thankful for drink. Those never wearing patched, damaged, or dirty clothes because they had no others, are less thankful for a closet full of choices. (Luke 7.40-48)

The salvation these prophetic women pictured was not metaphysical, formless, esoteric salvation from invisible things. There were tangible dangers, struggles, losses, and injustices they and their communities experienced. They expected and celebrated salvation in tangible terms.

Were they wrong?

Samuel, much less Hannah, would not live long enough to see Israel “inherit a throne of honor” (v. 8) or God “give strength to his king,” (v. 10) under David’s rule. Jesus, son of David, explicitly refused to bring down Herod or Caesar from their thrones and was executed under their authority. (John 18.36-37; Acts 1.6-8)

Did God fail to fulfill his promises in the way that these prophetic women understood them? Were they “tricked” into anticipating tangible salvation when God only meant “spiritual” salvation?

In short, no. But there is a fuller answer. First, both spiritual and tangible promises come true in time. But perhaps not the timing we or these women expect or prefer. Second, spiritual victories always precede tangible victories. Christ conquers and frees hearts before touching the world. But he will touch it. Third, God’s kingdom is both instantaneously available and incrementally inevitable. The victories prophesied are already true and not yet fully realized.

There is reason to believe that Hannah and Mary understood this ambiguity in their poems. They trusted in faith that spiritual and tangible kingdoms would one day unite and they celebrated every incremental step toward more just and righteous hearts that would work toward a more just and righteous world.

Human effort will not bring about God’s kingdom on Earth, no matter how hard we work. Jesus will bring it. However, let us celebrate the inevitable and imminent victory that is coming in ways small and slow or seismic and sudden.

How long, oh Lord? Come Lord Jesus!

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock; shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim. — Psalm 80.1

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summer
by Phyllis Tickle

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All Roads Lead to Jerusalem

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Leviticus 25 Listen: (7:41) Read: Acts 21 Listen: (5:55)

Scripture Focus: Acts 21.12-15

12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.” 15 After this, we started on our way up to Jerusalem.

Luke 24.13-16, 27

13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him…27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

Acts 20.22-24

22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. 24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Reflection: All Roads Lead to Jerusalem

By John Tillman

Traveling to or from Jerusalem can mean many things, good or bad. Jesus often meets people on the road to or from Jerusalem.

On the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, Cleopas and another disciple encountered the resurrected Jesus. On their way home in disillusionment and discouragement, Jesus joined them. Through scripture, he restored their faith and reversed their journey’s direction.

On the road from Jerusalem to Damascus, Paul encountered the resurrected Jesus. On his way to persecute Jesus’ followers, Jesus confronted him. Through miracles and the ministry of the church, he reversed the direction of Paul’s pursuits. Paul returned to Jerusalem a follower of Jesus.

On Paul’s final road to Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit spoke to him. On his way to testify about Jesus, prayer and prophecies warned Paul of persecution and pain, not to turn him back, but to prepare him.

His arrest set Paul on the road away from Jerusalem to Rome. On this journey, an angel of the Lord stood beside him, promising to fulfill God’s purpose in Paul’s life. (Acts 27.22-24)

Jesus is with us on whatever road we walk. He knows what it is like to walk to and from Jerusalem that kills the prophets. (Matthew 23.37) Jesus knows what it is like to both love your city and nation and know the dangerous wickedness within them.

All roads for the Christian lead to Jerusalem and all of the potential glory, danger, sacrifice, and suffering that means. We must face our Jerusalem, our Judea, our Samaria, and our Rome. (Acts 1.8) Prison and hardship may await us. (Acts 20.23) We must prepare to be bound or to die for the name of Jesus. (Acts 21.13) What shall we say, “Deliver us from this hour?” No. We must say, as Jesus did, “Father, glorify your name!” (John 12.26-28)

Our road to or from Jerusalem can mean difficulty or danger or doubt or depression. Is your Jerusalem road one of mourning and defeat? Anger and retribution? Fear and ominous warnings? Slander and accusations? Persecution or prosecution?

Jesus will meet us, join us, confront us, comfort us, protect us, and prepare us. Let him open scripture to us, challenge us when we are wrong, warn us to prepare us for the future, and promise us that his purpose in us will be fulfilled.

The road through a Jerusalem of suffering, leads to the new Jerusalem of glory. This is the way and there is no other.

Divine Hours Prayer: A Reading

Then they said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?” They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to them, “The Lord has indeed risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognized him at the breaking of bread. — Luke 24.32-35

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

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A Pondering Pause

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Nehemiah 8 Listen: (4:07), Read: Revelation 17 (3:19)

Scripture Focus: Luke 2.17-18

17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Reflection: A Pondering Pause

By John Tillman

Do you crash after Christmas?

For many, the pressure of making and having a “perfect Christmas,” sends our activity and stress levels soaring like magic reindeer. Once the day passes, we can crash emotionally, physically, or even spiritually.

The disciplines of the church calendar can help prevent this. Advent’s weekly themes of hope, peace, joy, and love, moderate the influence of our splurge and purge, dash and crash culture. But we still may sense the need for a rest. A pause.

Mary surely rested following the excitement, stress, and danger of the day of Jesus’ birth. She had messages of angels and shepherds to ponder. But the revelation that began with the annunciation and continued in her prophetic song was incomplete. There was more to be revealed.

No. Mary didn’t know everything.

She had not yet heard Simeon’s or Anna’s prophecies in the Temple of her child’s importance and the sword that would pierce her. She had not yet received strange foreign Magi and their grand, yet prophetically disturbing, gifts. She had not yet fled into Egypt to protect her child’s life. She had not yet seen him, twelve years old in the Temple, confounding religious leaders with his wisdom. She had not yet heard him call God his father and the Temple his home. She had not yet seen him turn water to wine, protecting the dignity of the unfortunate. She had not yet heard his first sermon, proclaiming liberty for the captives. She had not yet seen the audience for this sermon attempt to kill him for his words.

There was much Mary did not yet know and much we do not yet know. Like Mary, you have not yet seen all that God will do. Like the Magi, you will discover Jesus is so much more than a star, a baby, or an earthly king.

Following Christmas Day, instead of collapsing in exhaustion, despair, or regret, take a more positive, pondering pause. Instead of a post-Christmas crash, find comfort in the slow burn toward Epiphany. Epiphany means “manifestation” and is another gift of the church calendar falling on January 6th.

The days in between can be a beautiful time to ponder the past while leaning forward in anticipation. Take a breath in these days following Christmas and prepare your heart for new revelations.

Rest in what we know and reach toward what will be revealed.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Morning Psalm

In you, O Lord, have I taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.
Incline your ear to me; make haste to deliver me.
Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe, for you are my crag and my stronghold; for the sake of your Name, lead me and guide me.
Take me out of the net that they have secretly set for me, for you are my tower of strength.
Into your hands I commend my spirit, for you have redeemed me, O Lord, O God of truth. — Psalm 31.1-5

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

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What About Those Shepherds? — Joy of Advent

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Nehemiah 1 Listen: (2:06)
Read: Revelation 10 Listen: (1:59)

Scripture Focus: Luke 2:13-20

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Nehemiah 1:8-9

8 “Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, 9 but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’”

Reflection: What about those Shepherds? — Joy of Advent

By Jon Polk

In Luke’s nativity narrative, an unlikely group of shepherds takes center stage. These poor guys are out in the middle of the night, minding their own business, doing what shepherds do night after night, guarding against wild animals and thieves.

Nothing. Exciting. Ever. Happened.

As for career choices, they were the blue-collar of the blue-collar. We romanticize shepherds as if they stepped out of a Thomas Kinkade painting, but reality was harsh.

Shepherding was a despised occupation. They were considered shifty and untrustworthy, often grazing their flocks on other people’s lands. If Mike Rowe had been around in the first century, shepherding would have been featured on Dirty Jobs Israel.

Not only were they social outcasts, but the nature of their work kept them ceremonially unclean according to Jewish laws.

So when the angel showed up in the middle of the night with a big proclamation, they were dumbfounded by what they were hearing.

It was customary in the Roman Empire for the birth of an emperor to be heralded by poets and orators declaring peace and prosperity across the land. These angelic messengers, however, proclaimed not a new emperor, but one they called Savior, Messiah, and Lord.

This royal birth announcement came not to the secular or religious rulers of the day, but out in the fields to the poor and lowly, to the most common of common folk.

Jesus would later inaugurate his own ministry by quoting from the prophecy of Isaiah:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners… (61:1)

Indeed, the good news was first announced to these poor shepherds, social outcasts of Jesus’ day.

There are many reasons to be unhappy at Christmastime. Financial difficulties, health issues, difficult job or family situations. It can be a dark and difficult world we live in. It’s not surprising that many people have difficulty with the holiday season.

Jesus came to bring hope, peace, and joy to the lowest of the low, the poorest of the poor, the saddest of the sad. Those shepherds remind us that no matter who we are or what we have experienced in this life, the good news is for us!

As the prophet Isaiah proclaimed, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light!” (9:2).

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

Truly, his salvation is very near to those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land. — Psalm 85.9

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle.

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