Let the Children Come Luke 18:15-17 --- Kingdom of God Welcomes Child-likeness

 Let us never outgrow our child-likeness. The energy and the interest to explore and learn whatever with humility and open-mindedness. The ability to ask and to trust. Such are the requirements to receive the kingdom of God.

Lessons:

• Humility:
  • Children are naturally humble, free from the pride and self-reliance that can hinder adults from accepting God's grace.
• Trust:
  • Children often have a simple and trusting faith. Jesus highlights the importance of this kind of trusting belief in God.
• Openness:
  • Children are open to new things and experiences. Entering the kingdom might require letting go of preconceived notions and embracing God's will.
• Dependence:
  • Children rely on their parents for provision and care. This can be seen as a call to depend on God completely.
• Value of Children:
  • Jesus elevates the status of children, implying that they are not to be dismissed or overlooked but rather valued and esteemed.
• Inclusivity
  • Children welcome others even from other ages and races

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector Luke 18:9-14 --- The Hypocrite & Repentant Tax Collector

The biggest problem with Confucianism is the value called "礼"， which translates to etiquette, propriety, ritual, good manners, and social order. Love is an inner attitude that cannot be easily seen. So they come out with a set of rules for proper behavior to show the inner attitude of love and respect. However, outward behavior can be performed without the inner attitude, resulting in hypocrisy. While it is good to practice 礼， it could be easily used to mislead people as this proud Pharisee shows. 

Lessons:

• Be not self-righteous and proud and look down on others. Must give others respect.
• Be not a hypocrite to self-justify and look down on others.
• If commit any sin, please repent and ask God for forgiveness and make any restitution when directed by the Holy Spirit
• Be not self-condemning when Christ has forgiven us.

The Parable of the Persistent Widow Luke 18:1-8 --- Pray and not lose heart; Do you have faith to stick it out?

 Persistence brings results. Even the evil judge was moved; how much more will your loving God answer your prayer. Keep the faith alive until He comes again.

Lessons：

• Be persistent and you will get what you want.
• God will answer prayer of justice and other needs speedily
  • Sometimes God's answer is "no": While persistence is important, it's also important to accept that sometimes things don't go according to plan. Faith can also involve trusting God's wisdom even when the answer isn't what you hoped for.
• As evil grows in the world, we need to persist in our faith even more.
  • Focus on good along with evil: The world isn't all bad. There's still a lot of good in the world, and focusing on that can strengthen your faith as well.

The Coming of the Kingdoms Luke 17:20-37 --- The Comings - 1st & 2nd

Before COVID-19, everyone was still living life as usual. No one expected a locked down. Many were caught not prepared for the lockdown. Christ's 2nd coming will be a much much bigger and glorious event. But, are we prepared for it? We are given much time to consider His offering of salvation and grace for His first coming. But it would be no time to think or do. His coming will be sudden glorious and impactful.  While there is still time now, let's reflect on our lives and decide. There will be no time to do that at His 2nd coming. Choose wisely now.

Lessons:

• There are two coming of His kingdoms
• The first is the inner transformation of men.
• The 2nd is the judgments of men and the establishment of His kingdom on earth.
• For the 2nd coming, there will be many imposters. Don't follow them.
• His first coming is the route to the cross of suffering.
• His 2nd coming will be glorious from the sky and clearly seen by all
• His 2nd coming will catch common people unexpectedly. We, who are in the known, should be ready for His return anytime.
• When he comes, whether 1st or 2nd, we are to quickly and decidedly run to Him. Don't doubt and don't delay. Act immediately and don't turn back.
• It is a choice to make. Unfortunately, not all choose rightly, and about half will be taken away to hell - where the vultures gather.
• You are to decide now for Jesus and don't miss His coming again. While preparing for the future, some interpretations emphasize the importance of living a Christ-centered life in the present.

 

Jesus Cleanses Ten Lepers Luke 17:11-17 --- Faith and Gratitude

Our faith must be on the right and truthful thing. Our faith then must be followed up by action for us to receive the promise. Once we get it, be grateful to give thanks and share with others.

 

Lessons

• Follow Jesus' Command and get healed
  • Faith is believe with corresponding action
• Healing is for all types of people. The only condition is faith and action.
• The less we expect the more we are appreciative and grateful.
• Gratefulness brings assurance and commendation
  • He has spiritual healing whereas the other 9 only received physical healing.

Living as a Disciple Luke 17:1-10 ---- Be the Shining Light

A better way to share the gospel is by our behavior.  How we serve in our jobs and how we treat others speak louder than our speech. Our attitudes shown in our behavior have greater influence than our speech alone. Let our actions be the light that shines. Here are some key points where our light can shine brightly:

Lessons:

• Do Not Lead others astray: 
  • be mindful of the influence we have on others and avoid setting bad examples.
• Practice forgiveness but trust not
  • Forgiveness is for your own emotional and mental well-being, while trust is for the health of the relationship.
  • You can forgive someone without trusting them again, especially if the transgression is severe.
  • Open communication is important. Let the person know you've forgiven them, but also express the need to rebuild trust.
• Faith is believing rightly and not the amount:
  • The focus isn't on the quantity of faith, but on its quality – is it genuine and directed towards God?
• Faith is about obedience:
  • True faith translates into action. Having faith allows us to forgive, serve, and avoid leading others astray.
• Serving Rightly is:
  • be sensitive and obedient to God's will.
  • knowing our position and standing and relationship with God - from servant to master; sons and Father.
  • serving with our best effort and doing the right thing at the right time.
  • not serving to gain extra rewards but rather out of gladness and appreciation as sons to Father.
  • Being sensitive to opportunities to serve and acting on them with dedication.

The Rich Man and Lazarus Luke 16:19-31---- How you can be sure where you go after this life?

The key questions in life are:

1. Where did I come from? Why am I born? What's my purpose in life?
2. How should I live this life?
3. Where will I be going after this life?

In this parable we learn it does not matter where you start, the important ones are how you live with what you have, and it will determine where you go after this life.

Lessons:

• #1 Be generous and charitable in this life.
• #2 There is heaven and hell after physical death.
  • Do you know where you go after death?
• #3 Believe in the message of the Resurrected Christ
  • Accept Jesus as Lord & Savior and sealed you eternal destination in heaven with Him.
• #4 Why are you waiting?

The Law and the Kingdom of God Luke 16:14-18 ---- God's Values over Men's

Make sure we follow God's values rather than Men's. God's values are eternal whereas Men's values are temporary and self-glorification. What we value is reflected in how we spend our time and resources and the things we pursue. We need to reflect on that --- Is God our priority? The Good News is God has initiated His plan for us and transformed us by His grace because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for us. Do we eagerly and forcefully receive this grace?

Lessons:

• #1 Outward adherence to the Laws without corresponding inward intention is rejected by God.
  • True faith requires aligning both our actions and hearts with God's will.
• #2 God's values are different from man's values. God should be first before self-interests, God over money, eternal over present, etc.
  • Material wealth and worldly success pale in comparison to spiritual treasures and living according to God's plan.
• #3 Now is the period of the Gospel of Grace. It is God's gift of salvation and not men's effort of self-justification.
  • It is God's initiative in salvation rather than solely human effort.
• #4 Have faith. God's character and Law never change and outlive the present universe.
  • We should value the unchanging values and principles more.
• #5 Marriage is for life and not based on man's ever-changing feelings and will.

The Parable of the Dishonest Manager Luke 16:1-13 --- The Principle of Life

This is an interesting parable. It is not about dishonesty but about knowing how to prioritize things and arrange our lives accordingly.  It is about God first, relationship 2nd, and money last. It starts with using the little money we have now and serving people and God with the little. By being faithful in the little and gaining trust from others, we will grow richer. Even as we get richer, we will not depart from such a key principle. The only difference is that we now have more money to serve others. This is in fact the principle of life.

Lessons:

• #1 Know which is more important in Life: relationship is more valuable than money. God is most important.
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• #2 Faithfulness is seen in the little. Faithful in little will be faithful in much.
  • 不以善小而不为；不以恶小而为之。

     "Do not refrain from doing good because it seems insignificant; do not engage in evil because it appears trivial."

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• #3 Serve God with money and not use God to make money
  • being strategic and intentional in using our resources to further God's kingdom and help others.
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• #4 Gain trust. Trust is built and seen in how you treat the little things.
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• #5 Fix the little defects: Scaling up, and growing big, only reveals the defects and weaknesses that are already there. It is not the size that causes the problem. Size just reveals what is not seen when small.
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• #6 Stewardship and Responsibility:
  • be faithful and responsible stewards of the resources and opportunities that we have been given by God.
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• #7 Know our standing and inheritances from God and use them wisely to serve God.

The Parable of the Prodigal Son Luke 15:11-32 Lost & Found#3 Love is Unconditional & Righteous

The key message in this parable is love. Love is unconditional and also righteousness. The prodigal son abused unconditional love as a license to sin. The elder had the concept of performance-based love --- perform to gain love. Both are wrong. Grace is given not just to forgive us but also to empower us to be righteous and good. We are saved for good work (Eph 2:8-10). 

Lessons:

• #1 For Parent:
  • Whenever possible (no big harmful risks) let consequences be the teacher rather than just nagging and threatening.
  • Love should be unconditional and non-performance base
  • Love should have forgiveness & restoration.
  • Love is prodigal - extremely generous - wait, watchful, restoration, celebration.
  • Love is an assurance of the repentant son by the installation of sonship and letting people know, showing full acceptance.
• #2 Prodigal Son:
  • Ask: Know your rights and dare to ask.
  • Receive & Spend freely. But be wise in the way you spend your resources. The prodigal son spent on himself. He could have built a big influence with the resources he has.
  • Consequences: Face the facts rather than tried to deny the facts.
  • Awaken: Learn from the mistakes and make changes.
  • Scheming: Learn how to reason well and make the right plan.
  • Action: Take action to execute the plan.
• #3 Elder Son:
  • Know your parent unconditional love. Live in security and joy and not in fear of parents' rejection.
  • not be self-righteous - following the rules in outward appearance but inward willingness and commitment gives mediocre output.
  • Be secure and more generous towards others.
  • Be like the father, rejoice in "his is lost and is found"
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• The Balanced View of Righteousness and Love

The Elder Brother Syndrome:

Lost & Found Parables of Sheep & Coin Luke 15:1-10 --- Found Brings Joy Because of Love

Because of love, we feel the pain when we lose our beloved things or people, and we rejoice greatly when we find them. Without love, who cares what we lose; just replace them with new ones. If we feel the pain for lost things, how much more of people. Jesus first talked about lost sheep and lost coin, but the climax is in the next parable of the prodigal son. We look at the first two parables here:

Lessons:

• #1 The loss is only a little of the whole, 1 out of 100 sheep, 1 out of 10 coins, but the whole suffers. It is no longer complete
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• #2 When the loss is found, the whole is complete again, and there is great joy. It is restoration.
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• #3 Responsibility to seek the lost: Spend all efforts to find the lost one. It is the heart of God and should also be ours.
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• #4 The joy of being found should encourage us not to give up until it is found.
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• #5. God's pursuit of the lost
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• #6 Value of each individual
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• Overall, the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin convey God's boundless love, the value He places on each individual, and the joy that comes when the lost are found and restored to Him. They also encourage believers to actively participate in God's mission to seek and save the lost.

Salt Without Taste Is Worthless Luke 14:34-35 ---- Be Your Unique Self & Serve well

Be your unique self and do not try to become what you are not. Develop and serve from your God-given talents. 

Lessons:

• #1 We are created like salt with a special ability to influence others for good.
• #2 Hence, develop our given talents and not try to become like others.
• #3 Even for our weaknesses, we can outsource them, find opportunities where our weaknesses can become strengths, and partner with others to work together as a winning team.
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• From Claude.AI
  • Be salty/Have influence (vs. 34) - Followers of Christ should positively impact the world.
  • Preserve spiritual qualities (vs. 34) - Maintain Christ-like character and distinctiveness.
  • Light and moral witness (vs. 35) - Let your life point others to Christ.
  • Be Watchful & Intentional
  • Do Not Compromise Values
  • Maintain Distinctiveness

The Cost of Discipleship Luke 14:25-33 --- Prioritize Your Life & Choose Jesus

Jesus teaches us about decision-making - prioritize the important things in life and take action only if you can complete it and win. In terms of priority, Jesus is our Lord and Savior. We follow His lead. He mentioned before, there is no use in gaining the whole world and losing our eternal life.  Whenever there is a conflict between the demands of the world (including ourselves) and of Jesus, choose to follow Jesus.

Lessons：

• #1 Jesus is more important than our families and even our own desires.
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• #2 Count the Costs first before taking action
  • Sun Zi Art of War: Winners calculate first and only choose to fight the wars they can win; losers fight first and then try to win.
• #3 Jesus is more valuable than our possessions and family.
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• #4 Our decision making should consider:
  • what is God's will for us?
  • what are God's standards of right and wrong? Follow His standards.
  • Foundation of God's values and add wisdom, consider the timing, long-term impact, the scope, positioning, routes, and the impact on people.

The Parable of the Great Banquet Luk 14:12-24 --- God is inviting everyone including You.

When we have a big party, we usually invite friends who we know well first.  We seldom organize a party for strangers except maybe during festive seasons like New Year and Christmas for people in hospitals, nursing homes, and orphanages. God wants us to show hospitality to the neglected.

Lessons:

• #1 Be Charitable & Generous
  • Do good to those who cannot repay you. 
• #2 Know the Real Priority of Life
  • Present vs Eternal Life. Don't just live for the present.
  • Put God first in your life now.
• #3 Be more Effective in sharing the Gospel
  • God's salvation is opened to all. It is not by our effort to gain eternal life but by the free gift offered by Jesus. How can we tell the gospel more attractively?
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• I think the initial guest referred to the Jews and the others as Gentiles; salvation was offered to the Jews first and it was rejected that Paul went to preach to the Gentiles.
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• I think further than the original intention was to invite all people since the capacity was very large, a lot more than the original guest list.

The Parable of the Wedding Feast luke 14:7-11 --- Humility brings Exaltation

Many principles of life are opposite to common sense. Such as, giving to receive, and changing others begins with changing our attitudes and behavior toward them, etc. If we want to be exalted, we begin with humility first, giving respect and honor to others, serving others, and learning from others.

Lessons:

• It is better for others to praise you than you to praise yourself.
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• Humility brings exaltation - with humility, we give respect and honor to others and we are open-minded to learn. Others will be willing to help and teach us.
  • Proverbs 11:2: "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom."
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• true honor comes from humility and serving others, not seeking self-importance.
  • Proverbs 22:4 says: "Humility and fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life."
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  • Philippians 2:3-4: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but to the interests of others."

Healing of a Man on the Sabbath Luk 14:1-6 --- Compassion over Legalism

At times, it is so much easier to follow the rules rather than extend a helping hand, especially in today's world of scams, hacks, and deceptions to cheat. People's hearts will grow cold because of all the cheating. Nevertheless, may God give us the wisdom to detect and the strength and boldness to do the right and good thing despite the pressures.

Lessons:

• Sabbath is for the benefits of man.
  • Mark 2: 27 Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath.
• Compassion over Legalism:
  • It ok to heal and help on Sabbaths.
• Challenging Religious Hypocrisy:
  • Go by the truth and not by our prejudices or wrong beliefs. Be open-minded.
• Importance of action:
  • Jesus doesn't just discuss the lawfulness of healing on the Sabbath, he takes action and heals the man.

Lament over Jerusalem Luke 13:31-35 --- Receive God's Love

Rejection of God's grace will bring forth punishments and suffering. The suffering is meant to call us to repentance and be saved.  Receive God's love now and be spared.

Lessons:

• Follow God's plan despite the persecution. Be not afraid
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• Know the future of Israel - suffering till they acknowledge Jesus.
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• God's Deep Love: God's desire is to save us and to enable us to have a good life.
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• Will you believe in Jesus because of the things he said and done? His power through casting demons, healing, death and resurrection, the accuracy of His prediction, etc.

The Narrow Door Luke 13:24-30 --- Accept Jesus Now

The answer we are seeking is usually not that obvious and easy, otherwise, we would have known it. It takes an open mind and diligence to find it. Letting go of our pre-perceived opinions and pride is a good starting point. Many are trying to find the meaning and purpose of life, but there is a narrow door to salvation and meaning. Will you consider Jesus' offer?

Lessons:

• 1 Exclusivity of Salvation:
  • There is only one way whereby man can be saved - the narrow door.
  • Acts 4:12 NIV Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”
• 2 Urgency of Salvation
  • The door will be shut when the Master arise --- when Christ come again.
• 3 Humility Needed for Salvation
  • Men want to be saved on his terms but there is only one way of humility, repentance, and acceptance of only God can save us.
• 4 The Reality of Judgment:
  • There are Heaven and Hell where men will be judged and sent to. We need to decide wisely and while there is time now.
• 5 Salvation is for All men
  • Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek"
• 6 Salvation is Relationship to Jesus
  • It not head knowledge but heart of believe and acceptance of Jesus' offer. Salvation is not merely intellectual assent but a personal relationship with Jesus.
• 7 Reversal of expectations:
  • "Last who will be first" is a recurring message in the Gospels. This verse highlights that God's judgment may not align with human expectations. You could explore themes of humility and trusting in God's ultimate fairness.

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven Luk 13:18-21 --- Grow Incrementally to Benefit Others

All great thing begins with a small start, followed by continued accumulation of little steps forward, until it has been completed. This is the Kingdom Principle - start, continue, and complete. 

This is God's promise:

 “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” is Philippians 1:6

It is we who will need to obey and follow Him step by step all the way. 

Lessons:

• #1 Start with the right kind of seed. It does not need to be big, but the right kind of seed, to grow up to be useful.
• #2 Do not despise the small start, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a first step - Lao Zi.
• #3 The power of accumulation of little. Don't stop. Continue the small steps forward.
• #4 Stop only when the mission has been completed.
• #5 Make it a better world.
• See Seven-easy-steps-to-Great-Success DaoDeJing 64 
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• “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” is Philippians 1:6

A Woman with a Disabling Spirit Luke 13:10-17 --- Rules are for the Benefits of Men

We are to be careful not to misinterpret rules and use them against people. Rules are for outside behavior and may not reflect inner intentions. Confucius said, "If a person is not benevolent, then their observance of ritual and music is nothing more than empty formalism.". That is exactly why Jesus called the synagogue ruler a hypocrite for stopping healing on the Sabbath.

Lessons:

• #1 Sickness can be caused by evil spirits.
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• #2 To pray for healing for such a case, command the evil spirit to go and the person be freed from the particular sickness.
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• #3 All rules are to be made for the benefit of the lives of people. Human lives are more important than man-made rules
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• #4 Hypocrisy is outward behavior without corresponding inward goodness.

Pre & Post Believers - Luke 13:1-9 --- Is Your Faith Real?

Pre-believers are given a warning to repent and receive Jesus' salvation before it is too late. How one died is no indication of one's badness as most people thought. All are sinners and need repentance for salvation.

After salvation, we need to live the new life and bear good spiritual fruit such as love, patience, kindness, goodness etc. With the fruit, we can be confident.

Lessons:

For Pre-believers

• #1 Don't worry about how you die. Make sure you can live forever by repentance, which means to turn away from sin and turn towards God.
• #2 A reminder that God's judgment is coming for all, and we should be prepared. Repent now, seize the opportunity of salvation.
• #3 to live each day to the fullest, because we don't know when our time will come.

Lessons:

For Believers

Is Your Faith real?

• #1 God expects us to bear fruit - See Gal 5:22-23 the fruit of the Spirit.
• #2 We are given many chances and help, even so, there is no escape from final judgement.
• #3 Christians are to bear fruits and if not, there will be no rewards. If no fruit, we are to reflect on whether we truly believe Jesus and is really saved. James 2:18 says, "But someone will say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works".

Predict the Outcome 1st & then Decide Luk 12:54-59 - OODA Observe, Orientate, Decide, Action.

Decision-making could be tough. But there is a proper way - OODA Observe, Orientate, Decide, Action. See how Jesus illustrates it...

Lessons:

• #1 OODA Loop
  • Understanding how things work out --- read the signs and interpret the meaning and the consequences and then decide. OODA - Observe, Orientate, Decide, Action.
• #2 Discernment:
  • Be aware of the physical and spiritual dimensions of things happening to us and others; recognize the significance of the present moment and take appropriate action.
• #3 Personal Responsibility:
  • The importance of taking personal responsibility and resolving issues before they become larger problems.
• #4 Reconciliation
  • The importance of reconciliation and settling disputes before they escalate into serious consequences. Spiritually, it symbolizing the need for repentance and seeking forgiveness from God before facing judgment.

Not Peace, but Division Luke 12:49-53 --- Gospel brings Divide

 Any new thing will challenge the existing one. There will be some for it and there will be some against it. Do you want to receive the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ? It seems so simple, but you must admit your sins and your need for your salvation. It could be a dent to your ego.

Lessons:

• Any new message that is better will challenge and overtake the present and past ideas. Jesus' message of grace is such a message. It challenges the status quo and will cause conflict.
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• Following Jesus requires commitment and prioritizing him above all else - forgetting the past and accepting the new.

You Must Be Ready - Luke-12:35-48--- Rewards

How not be caught by surprise? It is to be ready all the time. Sun Zi's Art of War tells us, "You cannot count on the Enemy not coming/attack but be ready for him when he comes/attack. We all will be held accountable for the things we do and let's us be found faithful.

Lessons:

• We will be held accountable for our actions
  • Be faithful stewards of what God has entrusted to us
• How can one be ready for Jesus' return anytime and be not surprised?
  • It is to be ready all the time. It is to be faithfully doing all the necessaries all the time regardless of whether anyone watching or not.
• More Responsibility for the Able:
  • The more one has, the more one needs to contribute. The standards and so will the rewards be dependent on how one uses the resources he has to contribute to the kingdom of God.

Do Not Be Anxious Luke 12:22-34 --- Get Right with God 1st Will Get Rid of Worry

How not to be anxious? Know that it is useless. Better to know the God that is in charge of all things. Know that God cares for us. Know that the important thing in life is spiritual development and material development will follow. Pur God first and use money to serve God. Be generous and invest in the heavenly bank by giving to the needy.

Lessons:

• Focus on seeking God's kingdom and our relationship with Him, our spiritual life, knowing God will care for us because we are His, and be calm and confident to live physically well.
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• Such faith and trust on God is not blind. Jesus asked us to look at the birds and lilies and God's care for them and because we are more valuable than them, God will surely care for us. So worry not.
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• Get our relationship right with God is more important. Getting this right will get other things in our life be right.
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• Gemini AI:
  • Don't worry about material possessions:
    • Jesus teaches that life is more than just food and clothing, and that we shouldn't be consumed by anxiety about our basic needs. God cares for us, and will provide for what we truly need.
  • Trust in God's providence:
    • Look at the birds of the air - they don't worry about where their next meal is coming from, yet God takes care of them. We are much more valuable to God than the birds, so we can trust that He will take care of us as well.
  • Worrying is unproductive:
    • Worrying won't change our circumstances or solve our problems. Instead of worrying, we should focus on things that we can control.
  • Seek God's Kingdom first:
    • Our focus should be on living according to God's will and building God's kingdom on earth. When we do this, God will take care of our needs.
  • Be generous:
    • Jesus instructs his disciples to sell their possessions and give to the needy. This is a call to generosity and to not place our ultimate security in material things.
  • Store up treasures in heaven:
    • The passage emphasizes that true wealth is found in our relationship with God and the things we do for Him. These treasures will last for eternity.
  • Where your treasure is, there your heart will be:
    • This proverb emphasizes that our priorities are revealed by how we spend our money and our time.

The Parable of the Rich Fool Luke 12:13-21--- Live for God & Not Wealth

When there are two conflicting objectives such as God vs Money, then one should subjugate one to another. You can choose God and use Money to serve God. Or you could make the mistake of choosing Money over God, and using god, religions, to serve Money. i.e. exploiting religions to make money like the prosperity gospel preachers. How is choosing Money over God wrong? Money is external and does not have life. God is the life-giver who is in charge of everything. Our life here is temporary. God is eternal. It is better to use the temporary external money to serve God to have a real and meaningful life, now and forevermore.

Lessons:

• #1 Use wealth to serve God and not use god/religion to serve wealth like the prosperity gospels people.
• #2 Life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Our unused wealth is a testimony to our bad stewardship. Wealth is not measured by your possessions but by your contributions to God and society.
• #3 Don't be a fool. Know the priorities of life.
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• ChatGPT AI gives us some very good lessons:
  • Guard Against Greed
    • The parable warns against the dangers of greed and materialism. The rich man in the story is solely focused on increasing his wealth and building bigger barns to store his crops, but he neglects the spiritual and relational aspects of life.
  • Life is Not Defined by Possessions
    • Jesus emphasizes that life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. True fulfillment and meaning in life come from relationships, serving others, and living in alignment with God's will.
  • Temporal vs. Eternal Perspective
    • The rich man in the parable is only concerned with his temporal needs and desires. However, Jesus reminds his listeners to consider the eternal perspective. Investing in spiritual matters and storing up treasures in heaven is far more valuable than earthly wealth.
  • Uncertainty of Life
    • The parable also highlights the uncertainty of life. The rich man assumes he has many years ahead to enjoy his wealth, but his life is unexpectedly cut short. This serves as a reminder that we should not take our lives or blessings for granted, but rather live with a sense of urgency and purpose.
  • Responsibility with Wealth
    • While wealth itself is not condemned in the passage, the responsible stewardship of wealth is emphasized. Jesus teaches that those who have been blessed with resources should use them wisely, not hoard them selfishly.
  • Prioritize Kingdom Values
    • Ultimately, the lesson encourages prioritizing the values of the kingdom of God over earthly pursuits. Seeking righteousness, generosity, and faithfulness should take precedence over the pursuit of wealth and worldly success.
  • Overall, the Parable of the Rich Fool serves as a cautionary tale against the dangers of greed, materialism, and misplaced priorities, while also highlighting the importance of living with an eternal perspective and prioritizing spiritual values.

Acknowledge Christ Before Men Luke 12:8-12 --- Boldly Sharing the Gospels by Words & Deeds

 If we believe something strongly, we will be telling others about it. If we are unsure, we may dare not share it.  Jesus is reminding us to examine our commitment to Him. Do we dare acknowledge Him and His teachings publicly? We may be worried that we are unable to do a good job. But seek and trust the Holy Spirit to help us. The root question is, are we willing?

Lessons:

• #1 be bold to witness for Christ publicly.
  • Don't worry about what to say and the consequences, seek the Holy Spirit's guidance and leave the consequences to God. We are instructed to present the gospel in love (Eph. 4:15) and with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15)
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  • Perplexity.AI: 
  • Acknowledging Christ, as mentioned in Luke 12:8, involves publicly confessing and proclaiming one's faith in Jesus before others. This act of acknowledgment goes beyond mere belief in the mind; it requires believers to openly speak about their faith and align their words and actions with the teachings of Jesus. By acknowledging Christ before men, individuals not only express their faith but also commit to living out their beliefs in a way that reflects Jesus' teachings and values. This public confession is significant as it demonstrates a deep commitment to Jesus, akin to making solemn vows or promises, and it is a crucial aspect of the Christian faith that emphasizes the importance of openly declaring one's allegiance to Christ. Ultimately, acknowledging Christ involves both verbal affirmation and living a life that reflects the teachings and values of Jesus, serving as a testimony to one's faith in Him
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• #2 Do not harden our heart against the promptings of the Holy Spirit
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• #3 Seek God for wisdom about what to say and do, especially when you are challenged for your sharing of the gospels.