Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Guidance, Protection
- Guidance: God grants us His guidance. Sometimes this guidance is God leading us away from temptation. Sometimes this guidance is helping us to follow in a direction for which He has chosen. Our default position should be to wait for God’s guidance and then follow when it comes.
- Protection: In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus teaches us to pray that God might deliver us from evil – even the Evil One. Sometimes we need God’s protection from the sin around us. Sometimes we need protection from the sinful people around us. Other times we need protection from the sin that lies within ourselves. In any case, Jesus’ point is clear. We need protection from the Father to make it through each and every day.
Luke 21 is a really depressing chapter on so many levels. Jesus tells His disciple that the true
example of giving is the widow’s mite, which is a symbolism that should stand
for giving every last drop instead of giving a small amount. We hear about Jerusalem being destroyed. We hear Jesus warn His followers about being
persecuted and dragged before councils.
Then we hear Jesus warn us to not be led astray from this world but
instead keep watch and stay alert. It is
a difficult chapter full of hard lessons.
Yet at the same time, what an incredible chapter to hear about God’s
protection and guidance! Jesus tells His
disciples to plainly not worry about their own defense. God will guide our thoughts and our words. God will allow us to persevere. God will bring us through it. Who can take away the great gift that God has
given to us? God’s guidance is amazing
indeed! Only He can guide us through
persecution as well as guide us through the temptations that would pull us away
from Him.
The same is true about protection, too. Persecution will come, God will protect
us. Look at the example of the rest of
God’s Word. How many of the original
disciples were persecuted? Yet how many
of them were protected by God and will find eternal life with Him? How many towns tried to imprison the apostle
Paul? Yet look how God protected him
again and again. We cannot go into a
place where God cannot protect our eternal salvation as long as we put our
faith in Him.
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