Luke 5:12-16, A Bible Study Devotion. “Come first, Clean up second…”

Luke 5:12-16, A Bible Study Devotion. “Come first, Clean up second…”

Read Luke 5:12-16

Anyone who has tried to share their faith has undoubtedly come across this excuse, “I need to get my act together, then I can start to look into God or Jesus or whatever.” You may know some people who believe that God would not accept them after what they have done. What do you say then? What else? Refer them to scripture. Look at these verses.

At this time in Jewish culture, a man who had leprosy was like a walking dead man. There was no cure. There was no hope. It ate away at your flesh, your organs, and your mind. You were not allowed to be in contact with people. You were not allowed to be with family, or your wife, or your children. In fact, you had to shout out in public places, “unclean, unclean,” so people would know to avoid you. A person with leprosy was “unclean” in the eyes of society. A person with sin is “unclean” in the eyes of God. Just like leprosy ate away at you slowly and infested your whole body, sin eats away at your soul and infests your whole spirit. Leprosy bans you from society, sin bans you from Heaven.

Fortunately, Jesus can “clean” both. Look at what the man says, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” There are a few implications we can make from the wording of this: One, he says Lord. This may indicate that he was claiming Jesus as Lord, God, or Messiah. We are not sure, because the term “Lord” could have been used like we use “mister.” However, it clearly indicates that he had belief that Jesus could heal him, pointing to faith. He also says, “…if you are willing...” This phrasing indicates that he had a humble heart. He did not demand anything from Jesus. He did not assume that he was entitled to healing or salvation from Jesus. He knew that there was good work he could do to gain favor. He dropped to the ground and begged Jesus to make him clean. He understood that only God can “clean us up.”

What did Jesus do in response? He reached out and touched the man. If there was a crowd there, you would have heard a huge collective gasp. “Did you see that? Jesus just touched a man with leprosy!” Jesus committed the worst societal blunder one could make. Then he said, “I am willing, be clean!” This is important for those people I described in the opening paragraph. Jesus did not say, “go take a shower, do some sacrificing, walk on the straight and narrow for a few years, and then come back and I’ll see what I can do.” He also did not say, “Go help some ladies cross the street, volunteer at the soup kitchen, and pay back the IRS some ‘lost’ tax money.” He did not require the man to “clean up.” He did not require the man to do some good deeds to offset his sin. Because of course Jesus knows that there is nothing we can do to clean our soul of sin. Only he can make us right with God. Only his sacrifice in our place can make you acceptable to God.

The next time someone says they want to “clean up” before they think about their eternal future, point them to this passage. If you or someone you know thinks that God could not forgive them for what they have done, point them to this passage. You are not more un-clean than a man with leprosy in Bible times…
Written by Chris Vasecka

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Luke 5:1-11, Bible Study Devotion. “What will you do when Jesus gets into your boat?”

Read Luke 5:1-11

Let’s look at Simon to start. Notice the difference in his attitude to Jesus as the story progresses. Is there anything that can be learned?

Simon is going through life like normal. He is involved in his trade, but around him there are things of God going on. It does not say if he was listening or if he was not. Let’s be Simon for this study. You are busy, but over your shoulder is a large crowd. I’m sure you are at least half listening to what is going on. Jesus is famous at this time, as we learned in the chapters before. I’m sure you know who is speaking. …But you don’t leave your work to check it out.

Next Jesus approaches you and gets into your boat. You are thinking, “What is he doing? What does he want with me? Why is he in my boat?” Now you are paying attention… He then asks you for a favor. (We don’t know what Simon is thinking here. Does he think, “Jesus is a celebrity. I’ll take him in my boat.” Or does he think, “Maybe I should listen closer to him.” Or is Simon just a really nice guy who drops his work all the time to help out other people? Whatever the thought process, Simon is now paying full attention to Jesus.

After Jesus is finished speaking he tells Simon to go back out and drop his net again. This goes against all logic. He is thinking, “I just got done fishing and nothing. Not only that, I just got done cleaning my nets out. Why waste my time again?” But to his credit, he obeyed Jesus. He is doubtful, but he takes a leap of faith anyway.

Next their nets fill to the point of breaking. This is when Simon realizes that he is a sinful man. Why now? He had already been in the presence of the Lord for quite some time. It is now that Simon realizes that the Messiah had just gotten into his boat. It was at this time when Simon realizes that he had sinned against God. He was so shame filled that he asked Jesus to go away. Not to look at him. He felt unworthy. It is at this time when he accepts Jesus as Lord.

Jesus tells him to not fear. Come with me and I’ll make you fishers of men. At this, they pulled their boats on shore, left everything and followed him. The day started like any other day…and a few hours later, you leave your old life behind to follow Jesus. You were a fisherman by trade. You were a fisherman for years. That is the life you know and are comfortable with. But you got a glimpse of what life with Jesus can be like. You spent one afternoon with Jesus and changed your whole life.

(Because Simon walks away from his life as a fisherman, it can be assumed that he did not see Jesus as a golden goose. It does not say that Simon said to Jesus. Stay here and help me get rich fishing. With you in the boat we can make more than any other in the business.)

So what does this mean to you? Are you listening to God? Is he off in the back ground? Will you let him get into your “boat?” Will you listen to him? Will you follow him?

You don’t really feel that special… You don’t have a God type life… Neither did Simon. He was a fisherman. You don’t feel worthy to be in the presence of Jesus… Neither did Simon. But he wanted him anyway. …Just the way he was; smelly from fishing. A sinner…

Here I am. I stand at the door and knock… (Rev 3:20) He does want to get into your boat. Will let him and see what happens?

Written by Chris Vasecka

To join a group of Christian business professionals who want to guide the next generation of Christian small business owners and professionals go to www.goodfaithpeople.ning.com.

Luke 4:31-44, A Bible Study Devotion. “Jesus was too busy to pray too…”

Luke 4:31-44, A Bible Study Devotion. “Jesus was too busy to pray too…”

Read Luke 4:31-44

Are you busy? Don’t answer. I know the answer is yes. We are all busy. We have work, and kids, and baseball, and swimming, and church, and hobbies, and yard work, and, and, and… We certainly don’t have any space left for personal time with God. We couldn’t possibly start our morning in prayer and study. Oh, sure, out of guilt, we might throw a quick “just checking in” prayer. “Dear God, thanks for the day, watch over the kids, help me with this and that, love ya, gotta run.”

Look at these verses: Here was Jesus’ day: (This is just one example of the typical day for Jesus; the Bible is filled with other examples.)

• Luke 4:31, Jesus was traveling
• Luke 4:31, Jesus was preaching
• Luke 4:33, Jesus threw out a few evil spirits
• Luke 4:34, Jesus, for his reasons, tells the spirits to be quiet. (He is multitasking…)
• Luke 4:38, Jesus leaves to go heal Simon’s mother-in-law
• Luke 4:40, Don’t miss this one… The sun was setting, Jesus had just put in a full day. It was time to relax. But then it says that the people brought ALL who had various sicknesses, and he healed them all. He did not do a sweeping hand across the whole crowd, but took the time to lay hand on each one and heal them individually.
• Luke 4:41, More demons to deal with…
• Luke 4:42, Jesus tires to break away to a solitary place, but the people found him and tried to keep him from leaving.
• Luke 4:43, Jesus moves on to the next day to start all over.

Sounds like a busy day. Sounds like a demanding day. People needing him from all directions, pulling, asking, following. All the while he is trying to help, he has the evil spirits to deal with who are trying to sabotage his work. This was his life, day after day. But it was not the whole story. Look at these verses:

• Luke 4:42, Jesus went to a solitary place
• Luke 5:16, But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed
• Luke 6:12, …Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and spent the night praying to God.
• Luke 9:18, Jesus was praying in private.
• Luke 9:28, Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the mountain to pray.
• Luke 11:1, One day Jesus was praying in a certain place.

These are just a few examples from Luke, there are many, many more. Believe me your life is not more demanding than Jesus’ was/is. Remember that also through this, there was the pending cross issue in the back of his mind. Jesus was too busy too, but he still took the time to have one on one time with God. I don’t know the author of this, and I am probably re-wording it, but listen to this:

…So busy, too much to do, better pray for three hours instead of the normal two…


Written by Chris Vasecka


To join a group of Christian business professionals who want to guide the next generation of Christian small business owners and professionals go to www.goodfaithpeople.ning.com.

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12, A Bible Study Devotion. “I’m afraid to share the Gospel…”

1 Thessalonians 2:1-12, A Bible Study Devotion. “I’m afraid to share the Gospel…”

I’ll start with a question. Are you afraid to share the Gospel? The answer is usually, yes. So the better question is, “Why are you afraid to share the Gospel?” There are several typically answers to this question. “I don’t know what to say, My past would prohibit me from having credibility, I prefer to be a silent witness, I don’t want to ram it down their throat, …I’m scared.” Don’t worry, this response is normal. When I say “don’t worry,” I only mean don’t worry that you are normal; you are. However, I am not saying “don’t bother telling people about Jesus; because you should.

Why should I tell people about Jesus? Let’s say you were going to leave your family for several years and you wanted to tell them something before you left. What would it be? Would it be important to you? Probably. Well Jesus did the same thing. Before he ascended to Heaven he said one last thing. “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.” Must have been pretty important to him. Notice he did not say, “If you want to, go and preach the Gospel, if you’re not too busy, if you are an expert at the Bible, and especially if you are not scared.”

“Ok, great. I should do it… but how?” If you want to succeed at sharing the Gospel, (and we just established that you should,) there are three things you must remember:

1. God entrusted you to share the Gospel. Look at verse 4. If God trusts you to share the Gospel, why don’t you trust yourself? Look at some of my other posts. Who do you think knows best, you…or God? God says he trusts you to share the Gospel; so trust yourself.

2. Make sure your motives are for God and not for you. This one is critical if you want God’s help. A personal note: I was a youth group leader for 4 years. Many new people came into the group. All of them were given the Gospel message. When it was given out of love and concern for their salvation, they received the message. Other times I went through the routine for my own glory and the approval of the other people in the group. On these times, I didn’t rely on God and drove the new people away from the group. I pray that they received the Gospel from someone more humble than me.

3. Trust that God will give you the words. This is the hardest part, but once you see it in action, you’ll be a changed person. For all of you people that say, “I don’t know what to say,” have faith. God knows what to say, and he will give you the words. Remember, God does not place you in situations that you cannot handle with his help. This is the greatest time to get closer to him. When you are doing His purpose. When you know it is something that you cannot do on your own. This is when you need God. Rely on him, he wants to help you. Remember this phrase that I heard at Promise Keepers. “God doesn’t care about your ability; he only cares about your availability.” Those are powerful words. Have faith in God and step out of your comfort zone. It will be hard, but I guarantee you’ll never forget it.

Do those three actions steps and see what God can do. Pray that God will place you in a situation where you can witness for him. Just remember to do it for God. Verse 6 says, “We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else.” Verse 4, “we are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts.”

Written by Chris Vasecka

To join a group of Christian business professionals who want to guide the next generation of Christian small business owners and professionals go to www.goodfaithpeople.ning.com.

Jesus goes home, but home don’t want him. A devotional from Luke 4:14-30

Read Luke 4:14-30

We see here that Jesus has returned to his hometown for the first time since he has started his ministry. It says in verse 14 that word of his teaching had spread, so it is assumed that the people of his home town had heard of him and his great works. It says in verse 16 that he went to the synagogue as was his custom. (Note to the person who claims to be a Christian but does not go to church…WWJD? He went to “church.”) Jesus stood to read from scripture. He read these words from Isaiah:

“The spirit of the lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

After he reads this he sits down and all eyes are on him. Imagine a silent room. Their sacred scripture had just been read. Now it was time for the reader to expand on what was just read, as was the custom. In our day, it was time for the sermon. Everyone in the synagogue had heard of the great preacher that Jesus was and now it was their time to see for themselves. In verse 22 is says that all spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. From this we can make the assumption that Jesus spoke for some time delivering a sermon or teaching. He begins with these words, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” …and then we can assume he goes on to deliver a “good speech.”

Put yourself in the room. First of all, here you are in Church on Sunday, just like a good follower of God should be. You are listening to the preacher, just like a good follower of God should be. You appreciate the gift that God has clearly given to the speaker. He says some great things that can really apply to the pagans or sinners out there. You are caught up in the moment, nodding your head in agreement…when you think, “wait a minute!” Did he just say “today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing?” “Is he saying that he is the messiah?”

It says in verse 22 that all spoke well of him and were amazed by his grace. Then as if suddenly realizing what was just said, the say this, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Or, “who does he think he is?” “This man, who is right from my neighborhood is claiming to be the Christ?”

Jesus goes on: In verses 23 through 27 Jesus says that the people will ask him to perform miracles of healing just like they heard him do in Capernaum. He tells of two periods of history when God used non-Jews to fulfill his purpose. (To the Jews, anyone who was not a Jew was a pagan, not chosen by God) Go back to the reading from Isaiah that Jesus read. …good news to the poor, freedom for prisoners, sight to the blind… The people in the synagogue finally realize that Jesus is talking about them, not some stranger down the block. “But we are the good people! We are here in church!” It says in verse 28 that the people became furious and drove Jesus from the synagogue. What a change in the short time it took to deliver a sermon. They went from amazement at his words, to furry at his words in the time of one “speech.” What happened in between? Jesus pointed out that the people right there in church needed a savior…

People don’t like to hear that they are sinners that need a savior. …especially from someone they already know. Someone who has a past that might not, in their eyes, be worthy of telling the good news. (I’m talking about you and me here, not Jesus.) If someone you know sent you to this devotion, trust me, they love you. They do not consider themselves better than you. They just want you to know the saving grace that is available to you…but only through faith in Jesus Christ.

People don’t like to hear that they are sinners. They even can get mad at the messenger. Ever been there? Look at what these people that Jesus was preaching to did…

In verse 29 it says they drove him out of the synagogue, out to the edge of town, to throw him off a cliff!

Wow, what a change. They went from amazement, to murder! Consider the enormous irony here that couldn’t have possibly been lost on all of them. In their eyes they were the good ones, the ones in church, God’s chosen people, but here they stood on the edge of a cliff willing to throw one of their own down to his death because he pointed out that they were sinners…

Tell your friends about Jesus. Tell them using the pattern that Jesus used; sin-repentance-restoration. (See previous post) But you can expect them to get mad at you. This is ok though. It means the Holy Spirit is working on their conscience. Try and explain that they are the Bible’s words, not yours. Tell them that you love them and just want them to know who Jesus is. You can count on them getting mad, but hopefully they will not throw you off a cliff…

Written by Chris Vasecka


To join a group of Christian business professionals who want to guide the next generation of Christian small business owners and professionals go to www.goodfaithpeople.ning.com.

Dessert in the Desert?

Dessert in the Desert?

Read Luke 4:1-13

The first observation we can make is the timing and style of the questions/temptations by satan. When did this happen? Immediately after Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit came upon him. Jesus had just made the public proclamation that he was "open for business." He was led by the Spirit into the desert, presumably to pray and get closer to God before he started his public ministry. And who was right there with him? Who was watching him and making note of what he was doing? Jesus was not eating, he would use that... Jesus was praying; he would use that... Jesus was led by the Spirit; he would use that too... How long was Jesus tempted? 40 days straight! Satan is relentless...

How does he start his temptation? (vs. 3, 9) “If you are the Son of God…” He is doing one or both of two things. First he is introducing doubt. He did this with Eve too; see Genesis 3:1. “Did God really say you could not eat...?” To us, today it can sound like this, “Do you really think God cares about that?” “You’ve worked hard, you deserve this.” And so on… The second thing satan is trying to attempt in his question is an appeal to your ego. He is daring Jesus. “If you are really the Son of God, then do this…” What is the root of all sin? Ego, pride, you wanting to be God, just like satan. I know you don’t say before you sin, “I want to be God, so I will do this sin.” But guess what? You are saying that. By choosing to sin, you are saying to God, “In this case, I know better than you.”

How does satan try to appeal to Jesus? He uses three different temptations, in this order. First he tries to appeal to a physical need/want. Jesus was hungry; he hadn’t eaten for 40 days. Satan observed this, so tried to temp him where he knew he could be weak. This should not be glossed over. Imagine how hungry He would be? Have you ever said this to yourself? “I haven’t had this in a long time, I deserve it…” In this case satan tells Jesus to “tell” the stone to become bread.

He couldn’t get Jesus to fall by appealing to his physical want, so he steps it up. Next he tries to temp him by appealing to his long term vision or dream. (At least what he assumes is his long term vision or dream) Are you doing all things according to the Bible at work? Have you ever cut corners, cheated, fudged a little to help along in your long term dream? In this case satan tells Jesus to “worship.”

The last appeal satan makes to Jesus is to throw himself off of the Temple and have God save him. Basically he is telling Jesus to challenge God. If Jesus can throw himself off of the Temple and God will save him, then Jesus is Lord over God. In this case satan tells Jesus to “throw, or (challenge).”

So what are we supposed to do when tempted? You know the saying, “What would Jesus do…WWJD.” Well what did Jesus do? He quoted scripture. By doing this, He acknowledged that he followed God. How was he able to quote scripture? He knew scripture. What must we do to know scripture? Read the Bible. We all know we should not steal, but what about a little tougher dilemma? Example: my niece is almost done with college. She needs to borrow $2500 to finish this semester. Her parents are in tough financial shape. She is a good kid. You have the money. What do you do? What does the Bible say you should do? There is only one way to know, and that is to know what the Bible says. Jesus quoted a different part of scripture to counter any temptation satan had.

But here is where it really gets tricky… look at satan’s progression. First he tempted with the simplest form. he went after the physical need/want to be satisfied. Next he progressed to the dream or grander form. And lastly, he went for a direct challenge to be God. But how did he do it? He quoted scripture too! His scripture seemed to fit. It appeared to be relevant. In other words, satan knows how to use the scripture, so you had better know it too. This is scary. How can you defeat satan? I will alleviate you from that worry right now. You can’t! However, if you go back to verse 1, it says that Jesus was full of the Spirit; he was being led by the Spirit. You can’t defeat satan, but the Spirit can. And he will help you if you appeal to him.

So after all of this, after satan had failed to temp Jesus for 40 days is a stronger and stronger progression, he quit. It say’s he left…

…until an opportune time. Be on the watch. Live in the Spirit.

Chris Vasecka

To join a group of Christian business professionals who want to teach the next generation of Christian business leaders go to www.goodfaithpeople.ning.com and join..

John the B did not scream “Jesus loves you...”

John the B did not scream “Jesus loves you...”

Read Luke 3:1-22

The question: What, according to the preaching of John, are the cause, nature, and outcome of repentance? (Repentance is the turning away from sin)

The cause, from these verses, first of all is sin. Without sin, there is no need for repentance. Don’t get excited though, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. In other words, if you are a person, you must repent. Yes, that is you… The other cause for repentance is the wrath of God. (Vs. 7-9) Verse 9 says, “The ax is already at the root of the tree.” So all you have to do is nothing and you will be chopped down and thrown in to the fire.

The nature of repentance is to produce fruit. (vs. 8) If sinning is producing bad fruit and repentance is turning from sin, then repentance is producing good fruit. Don’t like to have the ax ready at your tree trunk? Repent and produce fruit… Verses 10-14 are a short list of types of sin (not all inclusive) that must be repented. To the man with two, he says give one. To the tax collector, he says don’t cheat. To the soldier he says don’t take bribes. In other words, be generous, honest, and content. So how do I know if I’m repenting? Are you generous? Are you honest? Are you content? (That last one is extremely counter-cultural, so be careful.)

The outcome of repentance is the forgiveness of sins. (V 3) In verse 15-17 two very important things are explained. First, God is the one who forgives, not John (not people.) He will separate the wheat from the chaff. The chaff will be thrown into the fire, but the wheat will be gathered into his barn.

What is the pattern here? Don’t miss this…


You did not see this: All the people showed up and sat in the pews. John the preacher said, “Jesus loves you and you are all going to Heaven!”

What he did say was “You brood of vipers!” (vs.7) …”the ax is at your feet…you will be thrown into the fire…”

The pattern is this: Sin, Repentance, and Restoration. First you must know that you are a sinner. You must have your sin pointed out to you, if you cannot see it. I dare you to pray, and mean it...”God please show me my sin.” Next is repentance, or the turning from your sin. Then and only then is there restoration. …and God will take you into his barn, or Heaven. This pattern is consistent throughout the Bible. The woman at the well… Jesus pointed out her sin. The woman who was about to be stoned… He pointed out her sin,etc. Does this mean it takes a long time to gain God’s forgiveness? No, look at the thief on the cross. Jesus told him he would be with him in paradise that very day. …but first he acknowledged his sin…

So it is your choice. Do you want the ax at your feet? To be chopped down and thrown into the fire? Or do you want to be forgiven and gathered into God’s barn? If you pray to God, “please show me my sin,” and if you mean it, He will show you. Get ready though, once he does, you’ll certainly see the need for a savior. Your list of sins that come to mind will not look like this: I lied, I stole when I was a kid, I cheated on my taxes a little, etc…

It will sound more like this: I spat in the face of God, I told God, “NO!” “I am smarter than you.” “I know what is best for me, not you.” “I think you are a chump.” “I think I’m so smart and you are a simpleton.”

Pretty scary stuff…


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