Sunday, July 12, 2026

PT-1 “The Power of Jesus” (Luke 6:18-19)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/12/2026 11:57 AM

My Worship Time                                                                    Focus:  PT-1 “The Power of Jesus”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Luke 6:18-19

            Message of the verses:  “who had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were being cured.  And all the people were trying to touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.”

            John MacArthur begins his comments on these verses by stating “The popularity of Jesus was largely the result of His power, displayed in three dimensions.”  Now that we have looked at this sentence we will know where we will be going as we look at these two verses.

            MacArthur then states that “In the mental realm, Jesus’ power found expression in His unprecedented teaching, which the people had come to hear.  At the end of the sermon He was about to preach, ‘the crowds were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as their scribes’ (Matt. 7:28-29).  When the chief priests and Pharisees demanded to know why the officers they had sent to arrest Jesus (John 7:32) had returned empty-handed, they replied, ‘Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks’ (v. 46).”  There are many times when I wish that I could have heard the Lord Jesus Christ preach while He was on  planet earth, and yet there are many parts of His sermons found in the gospels of what He was preaching, and then because I am a believer in Him, that means that the Holy Spirit is within me to aid me to understand what Jesus was preaching about, and of course what the Bible has to say.  Yes it would have been wonderful to hear Jesus preach, but it is wonderful to have His Word to read and think about so that I can serve Him in a way that will bring glory to the Lord.

            Now I want to return to what I am writing about in this morning’s SD.  MacArthur then writes something that to me, is very important in his next sentence:  “Unparalleled teaching, bringing the good news of salvation, eternal life, hope, peace, and joy to the minds of His hearers, was the preeminent aspect of the Lord’s ministry.”  Now because this sentence helps me to better understand what I am to do as a child of God, as I am to give the Word out so that people can be saved, having eternal life, which brings hope, peace, and joy to those who actually read the Spiritual Diaries that I write, and pray that they are done in the power of the Holy Spirit so that He can use them to first of all give an effectual call to people so that they can become born-again believers in Jesus Christ, which results in eternal life, and also it gives hope, peace, and joy to those who read them.  I believe that what I am doing in writing these Spiritual Diaries is what the Lord has called me to do, and it is my desire that they will bring honor and glory to the Lord Jesus Christ.  MacArthur then goes on to write “Miracles corroborated His claim to be the Son of God and verified that He taught the truth, but they could not save anyone (cf. John 12:37).” “37 ¶  Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him,”  “Everywhere He went the Lord preached the good news that God would forgive those who are spiritually destitute, blind, oppressed, and held captive in sin’s grip (Luke 4:18) if they repent (Matt. 4:17).”

(Luke 4:18)

“18  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,”

(Matt. 4:17)

“17  From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

“His mental agility, clarity, force, and depth were without parallel, and salvation came to those who heard His message and embraced the truth.”

            Here is the good news, and that is that Jesus’ words remain equally authoritative today, and my thoughts that they will always be equally authoritative for all eternity.  Perhaps once we are raptured into the presence of the Lord, and then after the seven earth years of the tribulation period and then go and serve Him in the Millennial Kingdom that we will continue to grow in our knowledge of what we read in the Scriptures.  I am not positive of that but we will never know as much as God knows, so perhaps we will continue to grow even when we have a glorified body.  I guess I will just have to wait and see.

            MacArthur writes “As Paul wrote to Timothy, ‘If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jeus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing’ (1 Tim. 6:3-4).  Pastors and teachers merely pass on the truths that He taught.”  That is the difference between real pastors and those who do not know the Lord as their Savior and Lord, and there are plenty of them that fall into that category in today’s world.”

Spiritual Meaning for My Life Today:  It is my desire that what I do will bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ, and certainly not to me, for He is the One who deserves all glory, and He is the One through the Holy Spirit to do what He desires me to do for the cause of Christ.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Make sure that what I do in my life will bring honor and glory to my Lord and my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I can do nothing good on my own accord, only through what Christ does through me will last.

7/12/2026 12:34 PM

 

No comments:

Post a Comment