March 20, 2021 (Saturday)
Soon after Jesus healed 10 lepers (previous blog), some Pharisees arrived on the scene to ask Jesus a question about the Kingdom of God, “When will it come?” His answer was, “The Kingdom of God does not come in such a way as to be seen. No one will say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’; because the Kingdom of God is within you.” He went on to say more about the kingdom in enigmatic terms. He seemed to be talking about His Second Coming and how sudden and unexpected it would be (Luke 17:20-37).
Then he taught about prayer, how we ought to pray and not allow ourselves to be discouraged. He told a parable about how we should never give up and keep on praying. He then shared a parable that taught us to be humble as we pray (Luke 18:1-14).
They crossed the Jordan River and Pharisees showed up asking questions about divorce, intending to trick him into giving wrong answers. Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you because you are so hard to teach. But in the beginning, at the time of creation, ‘God made them male and female,’ as the scripture says. ‘And for this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.’ So they are no longer two, but one. No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together” (Mark 10:5-9).
“Some people brought their babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. The disciples saw them and scolded them for doing so, but Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the children come to me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Remember this! Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it” (Luke 18:15-17).
Jesus was a teacher. He taught as he traveled the road to Jerusalem one last time. But His emphasis was never on doctrine; it was on people–specifically people in need of God’s love, which He freely provides. We must never allow rules and regulations to keep us from loving others. It is God’s way.
PEOPLE NEED THE LORD
Songwriters: Greg Nelson / Phil Mchugh
1983
Sung by Steve Green
Every day they pass me by
I can see it in their eyes
Empty people filled with care
Headed who knows where?
On they go through private pain
Living fear to fear
Laughter hides their silent cries
Only Jesus hears
People need the Lord
People need the Lord
At the end of broken dreams
He’s the open door
People need the Lord
People need the Lord
When will we realize
People need the Lord?
We are called to take His light
To a world where wrong seems right
What could be too great a cost
For sharing life with one who’s lost?
Through His love our hearts can feel
All the grief they bear
They must hear the words of life
Only we can share
People need the Lord
People need the Lord
At the end of broken dreams
He’s the open door
People need the Lord
People need the Lord
When will we realize
That we must give our lives
For people need the Lord
People need the Lord