In The Word
Read: Luke 11:53-12:12
53 When He left that place, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to interrogate Him about many subjects, 54 plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say.
God Knows and Cares
12 Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. 3 Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.
4 “Now I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed someone, has the power to throw that person into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! 6 Are five sparrows not sold for two assaria? And yet not one of them has gone unnoticed in the sight of God. 7 But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not fear; you are more valuable than a great number of sparrows.
8 “Now I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before people, the Son of Man will also confess him before the angels of God; 9 but the one who denies Me before people will be denied before the angels of God. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him. 11 Now when they bring you before the synagogues and the officials and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
As you may have learned from reading through this book of the Bible, following Yeshua is met with a great deal of opposition. But He teaches us that we are not to live in fear of what they, those who have difficulty with those who believe, can do to us. Because they can only bring harm to our bodies and that alone. He says, “Fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him” (Luke 12:5b).
This is a powerful teaching because it reminds believers who Yahweh is in our lives. We often times, because of maybe an inconsistent walk with the Lord, forget that He cares for us and is with us. So we lend our ears and hearts to the people around us and the things they say, which in turn begins to shape our relationship with God. As a result of the misleading of man and the fear of what man would say, we take a passive approach to share how we feel about God. Yeshua said, “And I say to you, everyone who confesses Me before men, the Son of Man will confess him also before the angels of God; but he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God” (Luke 12:8-9).
Today, let’s put our number one priority on making Yeshua’s name great in all the earth. Don’t be afraid of men and what they may say for scripture says, “For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say” (Luke 12:12).