St. Luke's Blogs

Give us this day our daily bread.

I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
    in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore, my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
    my body also dwells secure.
For thou dost not give me up to Sheol,
    or let thy godly one see the Pit.

Thou dost show me the path of life;
    in thy presence there is fullness of joy,
    in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

“One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.” – Luke 5:17-19

I must admit this has always been one of my favorite passages of scripture. In one brief story, Luke offers the church a beautiful visual of the love we are called to have for our neighbors. The story begins with Jesus teaching the experts and ends with everyone bewildered by what they have witnessed.

It is not Jesus’ teaching that necessarily amazes all who have gathered in this house…

Brody Rider is a sixth grader who was excited to receive his first yearbook in middle school. He took time to look over the pages with great excitement. Brody wanted to have others sign his yearbook. Sadly, very few students wanted to do it. In fact, so few would sign his yearbook that Brody himself wrote on the front page, “Hope you make some more friends” and he signed it.

Brody’s mom, Cassandra, saw his note in the yearbook and it broke her heart. Brody had experienced being bullied before. Cassandra did not want to keep silent about how bullying had affected her son. She took a photo of his lonely writing and posted it to her social media with a note about how we should treat one another. Cassandra wanted others to be upset, just like she was. However, a few high school students saw the post and decided to turn a sad event into something special…

Can you imagine what it must have been like to witness Jesus perform a miracle? How amazing would it be to see Jesus defy the laws of nature? What was it like to see a prayer answered right before your eyes?

Matthew records the story of Jesus healing a paralyzed man. It is a beautiful story of a group of men who bring a paralyzed friend to Jesus. Jesus and his disciples had crossed over the Sea of Galilee. When they arrived on the shore, these men met Jesus with the hope that this man, who spent his days lying on a mat, would be healed. When Jesus witnessed this beautiful scene, he noted the faith of the men and extended mercy. Jesus told the man on the mat, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2)

When some of the teachers of the law heard this, they immediately began to say negative things…

When I was young, I’d often spend time with my grandparents at our family farm.  I enjoyed roaming freely and riding my pony, Midnight.  Grandma had a garden full of flowers (I thought it was the Garden of Eden), and she grew all their vegetables.  My brother, Fred, and I loved to gather eggs and help with other chores.  Grandma was a wonderful cook, so there were always great things to eat, too.  Our grandparents truly spoiled us each time we visited!

But one thing I disliked about those visits was the early morning prayer and devotional time.  My grandparents were strong believers, and they could read from the Bible for what seemed like hours.  Then they’d each pray while we were all in a kneeling position, so it seemed like an eternity…

The book of Matthew is the longest of the four gospels. It contains many of the teachings of Jesus. The longest teaching of Jesus in Matthew’s gospel is the “Sermon on the Mount.” This sermon is uninterrupted for three chapters (Matthew 5,6,7). This long, continuous teaching includes the “Beatitudes.” The “Sermon on the Mount” is truly worth our reading and meditation.

In the longest gospel, in the middle of the longest uninterrupted teaching of Jesus, is a large section on prayer. Starting in chapter six, Jesus teaches us what not to do when we pray. Jesus also teaches us how to pray. This is where we find “The Lord’s Prayer.” It is a powerful teaching that leads all disciples to a fuller life of prayer…

“Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

“So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and struck the Philistine, and killed him; there was no sword in the hand of David.” – 1 Samuel 17:50

It is one of the great stories of our faith… David & Goliath. It is the story of a powerful soldier, Goliath. He is a giant of a man who is strong and brash. Goliath is described as a “Champion of the Philistines.” They are the dreaded enemies of Israel. Goliath and the Philistines had come to the Valley of Elah, which is only about 15 miles from David’s home outside of Bethlehem. They had a strong army, better equipped than the army of Israel, led by King Saul. Things were not looking good for Israel. They were outmatched on this battlefield and there was no better example of that than the great warrior, Goliath.