Author: Jim Cantelon

Key Verse: Luke 10:20 “…do not rejoice…that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” In the last chapter, we read of Jesus sending out the twelve disciples “to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (9:2). In this chapter, He sends out seventy more. It’s in this context that Jesus says the famous words, “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field” (v.2) So the seventy rookies went out, and...

Key Verse: Luke 9:58 “…Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Read the last part of this chapter, and you get the distinct impression that Jesus didn’t have the foggiest idea, when it came to public relations. Before you get defensive (as if Jesus needs defenders!), think about it for a moment. Suppose you had the greatest message the world has ever heard, but it wasn’t going all that well with the ratings. People were ignoring you at best, and persecuting you at worst. You’ve just had a bad day...

Key Verse: Luke 8:15 “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.” Hear. Retain. Produce. That’s what “noble and good hearts” do. The object of hearing and retaining  is the Word of God (v.11). And “fruit” is the result. What kind of fruit? Well, Jesus doesn’t say. What He does say is that the fruit produced represents “a hundred times more than was sown” (v. 8). We’re talking a 10,000 percent increase here! Pretty intimidating....

Key Verse: Luke 7:9 “…I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!” Most everyone likes to know what others think of them. And if it were possible, to know what God thinks of them. What most of us know, however, is what we think of ourselves. Generally, when it comes to self-assessment, we’re not too impressed with what we see. The centurion in this chapter certainly wasn’t stuck on himself. In fact, he didn’t even consider himself worthy to come to Jesus to request healing for his servant. Instead, he clearly sent some of the Jewish...

Key Verse: Luke 6:47 “Whoever comes to Me…hears My sayings and does them…” Verbal Christianity can be quite enjoyable. You talk about love, discuss theology, give to the poor at Christmas, get lots of “amens!” when speaking about faith to the converted–in fact, it beats most other service clubs all hollow. Mainly because a “Christian” club brings an abundance of self-satisfying righteousness as part of the territory. Your club dues are paid in right talking. Right walking, rather than talking, is, of course, what Christianity is about. Especially...

Key Verse: Luke 5:38 “…new wine must be put into new wineskins…” Let’s follow Jesus’ thinking here. New wine needs new wineskins–that makes sense. Old wineskins have already been stretched by the fermentation process. Stretch them any more and they’ll burst. So the old wineskins are useless now; they’ve served their purpose. But does that mean the old wine is useless? By no means. In Jesus’ own words, “the old is better”. Let’s pursue this a bit. You’ve heard the term, “the old boys network”. I remember...

Key Verse: Luke 4:24 “…no prophet is accepted in his own country”. You’ve heard the old adage, “familiarity breeds contempt”. And if not contempt, familiarity breeds at least neglect. This was the case with Jesus. Interestingly, it was also the case with the nation of Israel. And, if we’re honest, it’s the case with you and me too. In Luke’s account, the temptation in the wilderness is followed by Jesus’ return to Nazareth, His home town. There He attends the synagogue on the Sabbath, and when it’s His turn to read, He find Isaiah...

Key Verse: Luke 3:8 “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance…” John the Baptist must have seemed a rather arrogant fellow to some–how may preachers do you know who address candidates for baptism as a “brood of vipers”? He was so opposite the typical evangelist/prophet with their promotional schemes and follow-up plans. In fact, when people (multitudes of them) showed up for his baptismal ministry, he seemed surprised that they’d come at all–“who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?” Nor was he above knocking religious and national...

Key Verse: Luke 2:30,32 “My eyes have seen Your salvation…a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the story of  Your people Israel.” I’m a Gentile; a Gentile who, with his family lived among Jewish friends and neighbours for seven years in Jerusalem. We speak Hebrew (Kathy and the children, fluently–I, not so fluently), and we have an intimate knowledge of, and great respect for, Jewish culture and religion. In fact, even after being back in Canada this past year and a half, our kids still feel more Israeli than Canadian. Friends and acquaintances here...