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Luke 20 - Does the Bible Teach the Separation of Church and State?

Luke 20 - NIV Luke 20 - Enduring Word Commentary Key Verses: Paying Taxes to Caesar 20 Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be sincere. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said, so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor. 21 So the spies questioned him: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach what is right, and that you do not show partiality but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” 23 He saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. 25 He said to them, “Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” Commentary: The Pharisees were trying everything and anything to trap Jesus. They felt their grip on him slipping away, so they started getting desperate. In this case they asked Jesus if it was right to pay taxes to Caesar. The trap they set f...
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Luke 19 - The Reward for Faithfulness!

Luke 19 - NIV   Luke 19 - Enduring Word Commentary The Parable of the Minas 20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’ 24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’  25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’  26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over th...
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Luke 18 - Don't Give Up On Prayer!

Luke 18 - NIV Luke 18 - Enduring Word Commentary Verses for the Day The Parable of the Persistent Widow 18 Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. 2 He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. 3 And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ 4 “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” Commentary ...
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Luke 17 - Do You Have Kingdom Mentality?

Luke 17 - NIV Luke 17 - Enduring Word Commentary Key Verses: The Coming of the Kingdom of God 20 Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, 21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.” 22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. 24 For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.  Commentary The coming of the kingdom of God was an important theme which Jesus referred to on more than one occasion. When John the Baptist welcomed Jesus he said, " Repent for the kingdom of God has dr...
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Luke 16 - "How Do We Sell Eternal Life Insurance?"

Links to Reading and Commentary Luke 16 - NIV Enduring Word Commentary Verses for the Day 8 “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10 “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. 11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? 12 And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? Commentary: This is one of the hardest parables to interpret. Why? Because it seems as though Jesus might be praising the manager for his dishonesty. Actually the parable, when interpreted correctly, gives us great insight ...
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Luke 15 - Do We Really Care About Lost People Who Matter to God?

Luke 15 - NIV Luke 15 - Enduring Word Commentary Verses for the Day The Parable of the Lost Sheep 15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Commentary In Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables. The Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin , and the Parable of the Prodigal Son . The three p...
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Luke 14 - Does Jesus Really Want Us To Hate Our Family Members?

Luke 14 - NIV Luke 14 - Enduring Word Commentary Verses for Today The Cost of Being a Disciple 25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. Commentary One of my goals in writing the Daily Bread this year is to write on some of the more difficult passages in the New Testament. Today's passage is certainly one of those. It makes it even more difficult because Jesus is the one saying these words.  So the question is what did Jesus mean when he said, "If anyone does not hate their father, mother, children, and siblings, such a person cannot be my disciple? " Does Jesus really want us to hate the members of our family?  So let's unpack this. First of all, as students of the bible, we have to realize that no...
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