The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector..Craig Denison Ministries

 The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

Jesus loved to use stories to illustrate profound, life-transforming concepts. He loved to use real and genuine settings, characters, and ideas that apply to all of us to reveal God’s heart of pursuit and love. This week we’re going to spend time allowing the parables of Jesus to speak directly to our situations, mindsets, and core beliefs about who God is. Open your heart and mind to be transformed by the powerful and captivating stories of Jesus.

Scripture:“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:10-14

Devotional: 

The ministry of Jesus was one of life-giving transformation. His life, death, and resurrection ushered in a completely new way of relating to God: the way of grace. One of the best examples of Jesus shifting paradigms comes in his parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. Luke 18:10-14 says,

Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

Let’s open our hearts and allow the Spirit to guide us to live life more like the tax collector than the Pharisee. Let’s allow him to lead us to a life lived in the new covenant of grace.

In the time of Jesus, God’s people were completely starved for relationship with him. Judaism had become a religion of regulations rather than relationship. God’s people believed that their lives were totally based on their works, placing the religious Pharisees at the top of the totem pole stretching up to God. The Pharisees believed they were justified before God because of their works, as if they could earn their way into right standing with God. So, imagine the shock of Jesus’ listeners when he says that the tax collector, the most hated of all Jews, went home justified before the Lord as the result of his humility. Imagine the shock and anger of the Pharisees in learning that all they had worked for, all the rules and regulations they had lived by, actually placed them lower in stature than any other Jew in the sight of God.

The parable of the Pharisee and tax collector offers amazing news for each of us. The principle Jesus teaches here in Luke 18 is that the greatest posture of our heart is one of humility, not perfection. The way to God is not one of works but of grace. Jesus teaches that whatever weakness you have, whatever sin you struggle with, all God asks of you is that you come before him and ask for his mercy. All he requires of you is a repentant heart.

You see, the Lord is always after your heart. All the works of the Pharisees were birthed out of their own pride. In their egotism, they thought they could earn relationship with the one, true, and holy God. All of their religious deeds were done not out of their love for God, but out of their love for their own reputation. However, the tax collector had nothing to boast about. He lived his life robbing his own people to fill the pockets of the Romans who enslaved them. He was made wealthy by stealing from his own people. But in his desperation, he cried out to God for help, and God heard his cry.

Know that God hears your cry today when it comes out of the reality of your need for him. He answers your need for forgiveness and relationship with the overwhelming power of his presence. So, ask yourself today, what do you value most? Do you value your own reputation or God’s opinion? Are you living in light of God’s grace or trying earn it? Are you going through the motions of religion in order to earn your way into relationship with God, or are you living in response to the wealth of love you’ve freely received in Christ?

Wherever you are, know that it is never too late to come before your heavenly Father in humility. It is never too late to repent of any area in which pride has been your motivation and decide to live your life on the foundation of grace. It is never too late to posture your heart to receive the depths of love and mercy your heavenly Father longs to give you. Christ came to usher in the path of grace, not of works. He came so that you might live in his strength, not your own. The price of his mercy is a humble heart because humility is the key that unlocks the depths of your soul to receive the free gift of his grace. God won’t fill what you believe is already full. He won’t help where you don’t truly believe you need him. But if you’ll cry out to him and ask him for his mercy for your sin and his love to satisfy your need, he will fill your life with the gift of his unending presence.

Posture your heart like that of the tax collector as you pray. Follow his model of humility and find satisfaction for the places of your heart that are in need of God’s love.           

Guided Prayer:

1. Meditate on Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and tax collector. Allow the Spirit to reveal areas in which you need the help that can only be received in humility.

“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:10-14

2. Reflect on your own life. Where are you living with the burden of pride? Where are you living in your own strength? In what ways are you building up your own reputation rather than the only one worthy of glory, Jesus? Know that any area of your life rooted in pride will be without the mercy and help of your heavenly Father. The only way to live entirely in the grace of God is in constant and true humility.

“The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.” Proverbs 22:4

“Before destruction a man's heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.” Proverbs 18:12

“As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man.” Proverbs 27:19

3. Confess your sin and receive the free gift of God’s presence. Cry out to God for his help in your life. Confess your need for his mercy, and take time resting in the incredible and satisfying gift of his presence. There is no greater gift in this life than spending time being with our heavenly Father. He longs to fuel you with the inexhaustible power of his nearness.

“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13

Philippians 2:3-7 says, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” If God himself lived his life in total humility, then we must follow his example in order to walk in the favor and abundance God longs to bestow on us. Look to Christ as your example, and discover God’s desire to exalt you as you bow yourself before him as your Lord and King.

Extended Reading: 1 Peter 5

If You Feel Overlooked or Underappreciated..LYSA TERKEURST

 If You Feel Overlooked or Underappreciated

LYSA TERKEURST 

“After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’” Acts 13:22 (NIV)

Sometimes I wake up in the morning feeling a little grumpy. Time to do it all again.

I’ll buy food that gets eaten. I’ll wash clothes that get dirty again. I’ll sweep floors that will somehow need to be swept again before the day is even done.

Is there more to all this than just doing the tasks of everyday life?

One day, before I jumped into the normal routine, I sat with Jesus. And I found some big truths as I read my Bible and took a little glance into David’s life. Despite his tendency to sin and his low position in his own family, and despite how others viewed him, David had the sweet reassurance of God. And that was enough.

Overlooked by everyone else. Hand-picked by God.

To his older brothers, David was young — possibly even a pest. To his father, Jesse, he was just another son. To onlookers, he was a mere shepherd boy. But to God, David was the one destined to be king of Israel. And not just any king. His was the bloodline from which Jesus would come.

Overlooked by everyone else. Hand-picked by God.

Even the way David was anointed to be king is a telling story. In 1 Samuel 16, God revealed to Samuel that He had rejected Saul as king and had chosen one of Jesse's sons to be the replacement.

Think of the list of qualifications that must have run through Samuel's mind for such a position: tall, smart, articulate, brave, well-groomed, well-mannered, a natural-born leader. Samuel saw some of these characteristics in Eliab, David's brother. “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart'” (1 Samuel 16:7, NIV).

Samuel had Jesse line up all of his sons. All of them were to be considered. Yet Jesse didn’t call David in from tending sheep. Was this an oversight? An assumption? A judgment call? A deliberate choice?

Overlooked by everyone else. Hand-picked by God.

Samuel declined each of Jesse’s sons and then asked, “Are these all the sons you have?” I imagine Jesse with a quizzical expression as he replied, “There is still the youngest … He is tending the sheep” (1 Samuel 16:11, NIV). Surely one who spent his time taking care of animals was not the one to take care of a nation.

Overlooked by everyone else. Hand-picked by God.

As soon as Samuel saw David, he knew he’d found the one. David was anointed to become king (1 Samuel 16:12-13). But he was not immediately ushered to the throne. It would be many years before David was recognized by the world. So where did he go after being anointed? To a refining school? A government academy? Military training?

Nope.

He went back out to the fields and continued to shepherd his flock. A king-to-be was doing lowly tasks. A future king's character was refined in the fields of everyday life to prepare him for his calling.

How like us. In the midst of smelly laundry, dirty dishes, misplaced keys, bills that need to be paid, kids who need our attention, and birthday gifts that still need to be mailed — there is training. There is character-building. There is attitude-shaping. There is soul-defining. All of which must take place for us to become what God intends.

Do you ever feel overlooked by the world? Take heart — we are hand-picked by God.

We aren’t just doing tasks. We are building a legacy. We are shaping God’s Kingdom. We are in the process of discovering not only our God-given callings but the callings of our family as well. And I don't know about you, but this sure does make me look at my everyday tasks in a whole different light.

Dear Lord, I’m grateful that even when I feel overlooked, I can rest in the fact that I am hand-picked by You. Help me see purpose in even the most ordinary moments today. And help me live my life for an audience of One. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Fight the Temptation to Pacify..Emma Danzey

 Fight the Temptation to Pacify

By Emma Danzey

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” - John 6:35

I Am the Bread of Life
As I held my newborn son and saw him upset and crying, my husband and I began to introduce the pacifier. The concept is genius in some ways. It created the effect of comfort for the baby when we could not hold him, and it assisted him when he was seeking to calm down. When my son is not hungry, the pacifier is wonderful, however, if he is ready to eat, a pacifier is never going to satisfy his hunger. He will continue to cry out hoping for some of that delicious mother’s milk. Similarly, there are things in life we pacify with as adults. Things that are not totally bad and can temporarily satisfy us, but our spiritual hunger is only met by Christ alone.

Jesus calls Himself the Bread of Life in John 6:35. He claimed He is the only one who can fill our empty hearts. He made this claim to the woman at the well. She had been pacified with a life of seeking her identity in men. Jesus told her only He could give her what she was truly looking for in life. The bread was significant to the culture at the time. It was a staple food in every home, connected to the manna provided to the Israelites in the desert. Jesus proclaimed more than just helping the woman, He told her He was the Messiah, the Manna coming down from heaven, was and is, and always will be God.

Whoever Comes to Me Shall Not Hunger
A hungry baby is not a pretty sight or sound. When my son begins to cry out for food only I can provide, I give him what he needs. If I continuously stuck a pacifier into his mouth, he would never be filled or grow, and I would be a terrible parent. Jesus recognizes we all have a hunger in our hearts for reconciliation with the Father. The Lord is perfect, and our sins separate us from Him. Jesus came so we could have His fullness. Unlike temporary milk, He provides the eternal solution to our sin problem. The moment we accept Christ as our Savior, there is no more eternal hunger. He is ours forever. However, as life causes us to seek out other things to fill us up, we come back to knowing He is the only One that will ever meet our needs.

And Whoever Believes in Me Shall Never Thirst
Jesus goes as far as to say that we will never thirst. You can go weeks without food, but only a few days without water. Water is a dire need. Jesus emphasizes that He is a great and regular need in our lives. We will never be thirsty spiritually for anything else once we are satisfied in Him. As I picture my 3-month-old crying out because the pacifier just is not cutting it, I imagine my own life. I hold on to temporary fixes and worldly comforts only to discover nothing measures up to the real deal, nothing but Jesus will ever be my all, forgive my sins, or bring me safely to heaven. He is the Giver of Life. Where sin and my flesh dry out the heart, He quenches it. His Living Water is for me, for you, and for everyone who believes in Him.

Intersecting Faith and Life:
I mentioned my son’s desire for milk and the insufficiency of the pacifier. What is a pacifier in your life right now? Where or what do you turn to for comfort that cannot satisfy your heart? How are you hungry or thirsty for Christ today? What is stopping you from seeking Him and letting go of your pacifiers for the real deal?

Further Reading:

• Psalm 23:1-2
• Psalm 42:1-2
• Matthew 5:6

Set Apart for His Glory..Jennifer Waddle

 Set Apart for His Glory

By: Jennifer Waddle

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. - Genesis 1:3-5

You’ve probably heard the old phrase, “a place for everything and everything in its place.” It’s a quote attributed to Benjamin Franklin, but some believe it existed long before his time. Whatever the case, it’s a quote that parents often use when trying to get their kids to tidy their rooms and put everything back where it belongs.

Of course, the original example of putting things in order comes from God. The instant He spoke the words “Let there be light,” He saw that the light could not reside with darkness. He separated them and gave them each a name. There was no meshing of the two—no blending them together. Instead, God saw that the light was good, and He separated it from the darkness.

What a beautiful word picture for us, as Christians, to live separately from the darkness of the world. While we are required to live in the world, we are not required to mix with the ideas and beliefs that call “good evil and evil good.” There are no gray areas for believers in Christ. For in Him, there is a perfect standard of right and wrong, darkness and light.

Sadly, many well-meaning people have decided to blend their beliefs into a broad, gray area that is neither light nor dark. Compromise has taken the place of standing resolutely on God’s unchanging Word. Blending in with the culture has replaced being set apart for His glory.

I get it. Living in peace with each other is a noble thing. As a peacemaker myself, (sometimes to a fault), it’s sometimes difficult for me to take a firm stand on what is true. But as I re-read Genesis chapter one, I’m reminded of God’s perfect order and His way of separating what needs to be separated.

The thing is, living separately for God shouldn’t be done in an unloving or self-righteous way. In contrast, being set apart for the Lord should be displayed as great love for God and for others—without compromise. We are lights in a dark world, and we should be drawing people to the light of Jesus by the way we live, not repelling them because of a spirit of hatefulness or judgment. This doesn’t mean we accept every belief or opinion. Instead, it means we unapologetically cling to the absolute truths of God’s Word in the most gentle and loving way possible.

Ultimately, our Creator is the Master organizer, who spoke everything into existence and separated the light from the darkness. He was the first example of “a place for everything and everything in its place.” And when we choose to live separately for Him, we’ll find ourselves exactly where we need to be.

A Prayer for Women Who Struggle With Motherhood.. Lynette Kittle

 A Prayer for Women Who Struggle With Motherhood

By Lynette Kittle

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms"—Ephesians 6:12

There is a struggle in the hearts and minds of many women concerning motherhood. More women are skipping out on maternity. The costs seem too high for some, outweighing motherhood's blessings and benefits. Motherhood was a noble choice in the past, but women are now discounted, demeaned, and even shamed for choosing it. These changing mindsets concerning motherhood can cause some mothers who choose to be mothers to second-guess their choice and struggle with the reality it involves. 

Motherhood Is a Sacred Privilege
Motherhood is a beautiful calling designed by a loving God. It's a sacred privilege given to women to nurture, love, and care for another human being created in the image of God. Parenting is a godly endeavor created by God our heavenly Father. It is of the highest calling, which brings blessings and treasures in Heaven to women that last for eternity.

Motherhood's Choices
Motherhood is full of everyday choices and struggles, such as whether to work outside the home or stay at home, how to spend daily time, and who to put first into consideration. It's a day-to-day choice between what she wants over her children's needs. For some, these struggles involve feelings of missing out and lost opportunities, an idea currently being strongly promoted, pushed, and ingrained in the minds of modern-day girls and women. Tragically, these feelings can influence mothers to reject their children, thinking satisfaction can only be found outside motherhood.

Motherhood Struggles
Mothers don't have to face these struggles on their own. They can turn to God, the truth of His word, and to the hope of their future in Him. He is the One who opens doors no one can close (Revelation 3:8) and calls things into existence (Romans 4:17). There is nothing too complicated for God to accomplish (Genesis 18:14). The world may try to diminish motherhood. Some people will continue to consider mothers weak, but Scripture says:

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong" (1 Corinthians 1:27).

The evil one attempts to blind the world to the truth of what is valuable and lasting in life and eternity. When we rely on God, we look forward to confessing, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7) We find victory over earthly struggles through Christ Jesus: "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Let's pray:
Dear Father,
Thank you for the gift of motherhood and for giving women the privilege of bringing forth life. As women, You have created us with the sacred ability to carry, nurture, and bring forth children who bear Your image. Lead us to rely on You and Your wisdom in dealing with and overcoming earthly struggles. Protect our hearts and minds from the lies and deceit of the evil one who is out to destroy the high calling of motherhood. With Your help, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5). Lead us, O Lord, to believe, "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7). In Jesus' name, Amen.

Selfish Christianity..Dr. Charles Stanley

 Selfish Christianity

Dr. Charles Stanley

John 6:22-27

Which interests you more—who Jesus is or what He can do for you? I’m afraid that too many of us are more concerned about what He can give us than we are about getting to know who He is.

But this is nothing new—Jesus had this problem when He walked on earth. The crowds often sought Him out for what He could do for them. Even though their needs were quite often legitimate, Christ knew their motives.

There is a fine line between selfishly trying to use the Lord to get what we want and humbly coming to Him with our needs and struggles. Some of the issues we bring to Him are so pressing and urgent in our minds that our desire for Him to take action in the way we want becomes greater than our willingness to submit to His will. At times, what we call “faith” is really a demanding spirit.

We must remember that our needs will come to an end, but Jesus Christ will remain forever. If our prayers have dealt only with presenting our requests to the Lord, we’ve missed a great opportunity to get to know the One with whom we’ll spend eternity. Let’s invest time in pursuing intimacy with Christ. Then we can enjoy the benefits of that relationship forever.

How much of your communion with God is devoted to your needs—even legitimate ones? Are you spending any time getting to know the Lord? Although God delights in our prayers and tells us to pray about everything, He also wants us to come to Him just because we enjoy being with Him.