MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 7/11/2026
11:37 AM
My
Worship Time Focus: Intro to PT-6 “The Popularity and Power of Jesus”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference:
Luke 6:17-19
Message of the verses: “Jesus
came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of
His disciples, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and
the costal region of Tyer and Sidon, who had come to hear Him and to be healed of
their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were begin
cured. And all the people were trying to
touch Him, for power was coming from Him and healing them all.”
I want to begin where I left off in last evenings SD
as I continue to quote from John MacArthur’s commentary as he introduces these
verses in his introduction.
“In keeping with the centrality of
the Lord Jesus Christ in Scripture, Luke carefully, systematically presents the
story of His life and ministry, providing irrefutable proof that He is God the
Son, the Lord Messiah, and Savior. So
far he has given the testimonies of angels (1:11-17, 26-33; 2:9-14), Zacharias
(1:76-79), Elizabeth (1:41-45), Mary (1:46-55), the shepherds (2:15-20), Simeon
(2:25-35), Anna (2:36-38), Jesus Himself at the age of twelve(2:49), the Father
and the Spirit at His baptism (3:21-22), John the Baptist—the last and greatest
of the Old Testament prophets (3:15-17), Jesus genealogy (3:23-38), the
fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy concerning Him (4:16-21), the singular
and divine character of His authoritative preaching (4:32), His power over
Satan (4:1-13), demons (4:33-36, 41), disease (4:38-40; 5:12-15, 17-25; 6:10),
and the natural world (5:4-9), His authority to forgive sin (5:20-25), and His
divine sovereignty over the Sabbath, the core of Israel’s works system
(6:1-11). Luke’s inspired account has
built a masterful case that Jesus was indeed God in human flesh, the Messiah and
Lord.” Now comes the task to look all of
these many verses in order, which I will do beginning with Luke’s “testimonies
of angels:”
(1:11-17, 26-33; 2:9-14)
11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord
standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him,
and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel
said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard,
and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John.
14 And you will have joy and gladness,
and many will rejoice at his birth, 15
for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or
strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his
mother’s womb. 16 And he will turn many
of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and
power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the
disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people
prepared.’”
“26 ¶ In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent
from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was
Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O
favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29
But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what
sort of greeting this might be. 30 And
the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor
with God. 31 And behold, you will
conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called
the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his
father David, 33 and he will reign over
the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’”
“9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great
fear. 10 And the angel said to them, "Fear
not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the
people. 11 For unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will
find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Zacharias (1:76-79) From Luke’s Gospel
76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of
the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins, 78
because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit
us from on high 79 to give light to
those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into
the way of peace.’
Elizabeth (1:41-45”
41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of
Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud
cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 And why is this granted to me that
the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44
For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in
my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed
is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her
from the Lord.’
Mary (1:46-55)
“46 And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the
Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God
my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the
humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call
me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has
done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from
generation to generation. 51 He has
shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of
their hearts; 52 he has brought down the
mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty. 54
He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to
his offspring forever.’’
the shepherds (2:15-20)
“15 When the
angels
went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go
over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made
known to us.” 16 And they went with
haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the
saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the
shepherds told them. 19 But Mary
treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and
praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.’
Simeon (2:25-35)
“25 ¶ Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name
was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation
of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see
death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27
And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought
in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God
and said, 29 "Lord, now you are
letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all
peoples, 32 a light for revelation to
the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel." 33 And his father and his mother marveled at
what was said about him. 34 And Simeon
blessed them and said to Mary his mother, "Behold, this child is appointed
for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed
35 (and a sword will pierce through your
own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.’’
Anna (2:36-38)
“36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the
daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having
lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was
eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and
prayer night and day. 38 And coming up
at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all
who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”
Jesus Himself at the age of twelve(2:49)
49 And he said to them, “Why were you looking for
me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”
the Father and the Spirit at His
baptism (3:21-22)
“21 ¶ Now when all the people were baptized, and
when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened,
22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him
in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved
Son; with you I am well pleased.’’
John the Baptist—the last and greatest
of the Old Testament prophets (3:15-17)
“15 ¶ As the people were in expectation, and all
were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the
Christ, 16 John answered them all,
saying, "I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is
coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize
you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His
winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the
wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’”
Jesus genealogy (3:23-38)
23 Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about
thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of
Heli, 24 the son of Matthat, the son of
Levi, the son of Melchi, the son of Jannai, the son of Joseph, 25 the son of Mattathias, the son of Amos, the
son of Nahum, the son of Esli, the son of Naggai, 26 the son of Maath, the son of Mattathias, the
son of Semein, the son of Josech, the son of Joda, 27 the son of Joanan, the son of Rhesa, the son
of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the son of Neri, 28 the son of Melchi, the son of Addi, the son
of Cosam, the son of Elmadam, the son of Er, 29 the son of Joshua, the son of Eliezer, the son
of Jorim, the son of Matthat, the son of Levi, 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son
of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eliakim, 31 the son of, the son of Menna, the son of
Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David, 32 the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of
Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon, 33
the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of
Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah, 34
the son of Jacob, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the son of
Terah, the son of Nahor, 35 the son of
Serug, the son of Reu, the son of Peleg, the son of Eber, the son of Shelah,
36 the son of Cainan, the son of
Arphaxad, the son of Shem, the son of Noah, the son of Lamech, 37 the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the
son of Jared, the son of Mahalaleel, the son of Cainan, 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of
Adam, the son of God.”
the fulfillment of Old Testament
prophecy concerning Him (4:16-21)
“16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been
brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day,
and he stood up to read. 17 And the scroll
of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the
place where it was written, 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, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s
favor." 20 And he rolled up the
scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in
the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And
he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing.’’
the singular and divine character of
His authoritative preaching (4:32)
“32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for
his word possessed authority.’
His power over Satan (4:1-13)
“1 ¶ And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned
from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil.
And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the
Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man
shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 And
the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment
of time, 6 and said to him, "To you
I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to
me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If
you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours." 8 And Jesus answered him, "It is written,
"’You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you
serve.’" 9 And he took him to
Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If
you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written, "’He will command his
angels concerning you, to guard you,’ 11
and “‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot
against a stone.’” 12 And Jesus answered
him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation,
he departed from him until an opportune time.”
demons (4:33-36, 41)
“33 And in the synagogue there was a man who had
the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! What have you to do with us, Jesus of
Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God.”
35 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be
silent and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in their
midst, he came out of him, having done him no harm. 36 And they were all amazed and said to one
another, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the
unclean spirits, and they come out!’’
“41 And demons also came out of many, crying,,
“You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to
speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.”
disease (4:38-40; 5:12-15, 17-25; 6:10)
“38 And he arose and left the synagogue and
entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was ill with a high fever, and
they appealed to him on her behalf. 39
And he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her, and immediately
she rose and began to serve them. 40 Now
when the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various
diseases brought them to him, and he laid his hands on every one of them and
healed them.”
12 ¶ While he was in one of the cities, there came
a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged
him, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” 13 And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched
him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And he charged him to tell no one, but “go
and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as
Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” 15
But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds
gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.”
“17 ¶ On one of those days, as he was teaching,
Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every
village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was
with him to heal. 18 And behold, some men
were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring
him in and lay him before Jesus, 19 but
finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof
and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus.
20 And when he saw their faith, he said,
“Man, your sins are forgiven you.” 21
And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is
this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he
answered them, "Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are
forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive
sins"—he said to the man who was paralyzed—" I say to you, rise, pick
up your bed and go home." 25 And
immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and
went home, glorifying God. 26 And
amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe,
saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.’’
“10 And after looking around at them all he said
to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored.”
and the natural world (5:4-9)
“4 And when he had finished speaking, he said to
Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all
night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” 6 And when they had done this, they enclosed a
large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. 7 They signaled to their partners in the other
boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that
they began to sink. 8 But when Simon
Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a
sinful man, O Lord.” 9 For he and all
who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken,”
His authority to forgive sin (5:20-25)
“20 And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man,
your sins are forgiven you.” 21 And the
scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks
blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he
answered them, "Why do you question in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are
forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? 24
But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive
sins"—he said to the man who was paralyzed—" I say to you, rise, pick
up your bed and go home." 25 And
immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and
went home, glorifying God.”
and His divine sovereignty over the
Sabbath, the core of Israel’s works system (6:1-11)
“11 But they were filled with fury and discussed
with one another what they might do to Jesus.”
“Occasionally
in his careful account of the Lord’s life and ministry, Luke freezes the action
into a still photo. This passage is the
fourth such summary so far in his gospel (along with 4:14-15, 31-32, 40-41),
and provides a rich recap of the Lord’s ministry up to this point. As the video temporarily pauses, the ensuing
snapshot reveals two important aspects of Christ’s ministry: His popularity,
and His power.”
Spiritual
Meaning for my life today:
As I was writing and copying all of these verses it caused me to think that as
one reads over all of these verses that they must come to the conclusion that
Jesus is exactly who He claimed to be, the very Son of God, and so the obvious
thing that one can do is believe it and then to ask the Son of God to save you
from your sins, and He will do that and also send His Holy Spirit to live in
your life to guide you and to bring you closer to the Savior.
My
Steps of Faith for Today: To trust the Spirit of God to get this SD out
to those who need to understand the Gospel and to then act upon the truth of
the gospel by confessing that you are a sinner, and to invite the Lord into
your heart to save you.
7/11/2026
12:41 PM
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