Through the Bible for Skeptics and Seekers

Luke 23 - Do You Understand Who Jesus Is? After being betrayed, arrested, and beaten, Jesus faces the religious leaders and government officials. Even as most religious leaders, most soldiers, most of the crowd, and one of the criminals oppose Jesus there is one religious leader (Joseph of Arimathea), one soldier, some of the crowd, and one of the criminals who believe in Him. To understand who Je...

Luke 22 - Does Your Faith Fail? The men closest to Jesus betray Him, deny Him, fall asleep on Him, and abandon Him. One even resorts to violence. Jesus even pray that Peter’s faith would not fail, yet he gives into the temptation. We shouldn’t view the disciples so harshly when their faith fails. We also shouldn’t worry about our faith failing because we have access to the Holy Spirit and God is q...

Luke 21 - Are These the Last Days? Jesus predicts that destruction is coming. Prophecy can be difficult to understand because sometimes Jesus or the prophet is talking about the immediate future and sometimes about the very end of times and sometimes both all in the same paragraph.“But this passage, though vital in its specific reference to that first generation, has a good deal to say to the subs...

Luke 20 - Are You Spying or Are You Sincere? In Luke 20 there were several religious leaders and others on their side trying to trap Jesus with their questions rather than sincerely wanting to learn from Him. Time after time Jesus knew exactly how to respond. He would often respond with a question. Sometimes he would respond with a parable. Other times he spoke with boldness and directly to them....

Luke 19 - Do You Have Peace? What seemed impossible in the previous chapter now happens in Luke 19 as a wealthy man named Zaccheus chooses to follow Jesus. Jesus tells a parable about being trustworthy with a few things in order to gain more responsibility. Jesus enters Jerusalem and is hailed as the King and the One who will bring peace. He clears out the money changers in the Temple courts becau...

Luke 18 - Do You Give Up Too Easily? Jesus shares a parable about a persistent widow. If an injust judge will listen, how much more will God bring justice when we come to Him day and night? We discover those who are humble and willing to follow Jesus are made with God like the tax collector and those willing to leave their family and unlike the religious leader and the wealthy man. A blind man per...

Luke 17 - Are You Willing to Forgive? Jesus describes how those who follow Him should maker personal sacrifices to avoid causing others to stumble. They should be known for their humility and willingness to forgive. Jesus healed some people instantly, but others had to go on a journey. Faith the size of a mustard seed is all we need to change the world. The Kingdom of God is within our grasp! We c...

Luke 16 - How Could a Loving God Create Hell? Jesus tells a parable about a Rich Man and Lazarus in which the Rich Man ends up in Hades and Lazarus ends up in the presence of God. Interestingly the Rich Man doesn’t want to leave but wants Lazarus to come to him to ease his suffering even though the Rich Man never tried to ease Lazarus’ suffering. We experience glimpses of heaven and hell on earth...

Luke 15 - Are You Lost? (Do You Want to Be Found?) God pursues those who do not know Him like the shepherd who leaves the 99 sheep to find the one lost one. He’s like the woman who searches everywhere in her house to find the lost coin. He’s like the father of the prodigal son who comes home. We can be found and have the home we have always longed to have.#NewTestament #Jesus #faith #spirituality...

Luke 14 - Do You Make Excuses? Jesus shares a parable about a great banquet where many of the people invited make excuses so they don’t come. How often do we miss out on something great because we hold onto an excuse? Too often we would rather stay with what we know rather than step out in faith into the unknown.#NewTestament #Jesus #faith #spirituality #deconstructing #reconstructing #deconstruct...

Luke 13 - Do You Have Faith the Size of a Mustard Seed? Jesus reframes the misconception that bad things only happen to bad people. Bad things happen because there is evil in this broken world. Even faith the size of a tiny mustard seed can grow and spread beyond what we can imagine! Faith requires the humility of acknowledging we need God’s help, His forgiveness, and His leadership.#NewTestament...

Luke 12 - Do You Worry Too Much? We have no reason to fear or worry in this life because God will provide for us much like he cares for the lilies of the field and birds of the air. Our money and resources are gifts from God. We are invited to trust Him with what we’ve been given - being rich with God and generous with others rather than selfish with our money. #NewTestament #Jesus #faith #spiritu...

Luke 11 - How Do You Pray? Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray. It’s a very simple yet potent prayer. We can come to God with our needs and grow our relationship with Him. A model for prayer is A.C.T.S. -AdorationConfessionThanksgivingSolicitation #NewTestament #Jesus #faith #spirituality #deconstructing #reconstructing #deconstructingchristianity #reconstructingfaith #starthere

Luke 10 - Are You Willing to Be a Worker in This New Kingdom? “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” All followers of Jesus are invited to bring more of heaven to earth! We don’t need to try to convert anyone that’s not interested, but instead look for “persons of peace” – those who are searching, and they are all around us. We need to be more like the good Samaritan, who offered mer...

Luke 9 - Are You Ready to Lose Your Life in Order to Find It? Following Jesus means He is our highest priority. All other parts of our lives flow from that level of surrender and devotion. We are willing to die to self every day. Ironically, if you learn to become more like Jesus you will be a more loving, devoted, and selfless family member, friend, and neighbor. #NewTestament #Jesus #faith #spir...

Luke 8 - Do You Want the Knowledge of the Secrets of the Kingdom of God? Jesus explains that some have access to the knowledge of the secrets of this new Kingdom but many don’t have eyes to see or ears to hear. In other words, they do not have an open heart or an open mind. We can have access to the secrets of the Kingdom of God as part of His family, those who hear God’s Word and put into practic...

Luke 7 - Have You Been Forgiven Much? Jesus heals a Roman Centurion’s servant and brings back to life a young man who had died! John the Baptist wants this miracle worker to get him out of jail. Jesus reminds the crowd that John prepared the way for the Messiah. An immoral woman demonstrates tremendous gratitude to Jesus by washing his feet with her tears and perfume. The people were offended by h...

Luke 6 - Are You Producing Good Fruit? Jesus gets pushback from the religious leaders for not following the man-made rules associated with the Sabbath. Instead he heals a man with a shriveled hand! Jesus chooses 12 apostles among his many disciples and then describes life as part of the New Israel, the New Kingdom!#NewTestament #Jesus #faith #spirituality #deconstructing #reconstructing #deconstru...

Luke 5 - Are You Looking for God? Jesus teaches the crowds, heals the sick, and calls the disciples to follow Him. Fishermen, tax collectors, and their friends acknowledge they need forgiveness and healing. The religious leaders don’t feel they need anything. They had it all figured out. As as result, God cannot help them.#NewTestament #Jesus #faith #spirituality #deconstructing #reconstructing #d...

Luke 4 - What Evil Do You Need God’s Help to Overcome? Jesus confronts evil in the wilderness. Satan is not a a Halloween costume but a fallen angel trying to destroy God’s good gifts in our lives. We can overcome temptation’s lies with the truth of God’s Word and following the Spirit of God within us. The arrogant cannot see God, the humble experience God.#NewTestament #Jesus #faith #spirituality...

Luke 3 - Are You Willing to Trust God Even If You Don’t Fully Understand Him? John the Baptist calls the people of Israel to return to God, and there’s signs of spiritual awakening. Jesus is baptized and the voice of God the Father affirms Him and the Spirit of God appears in the form of a dove. One God in three persons. Luke ends the chapter with the genealogy of Jesus via Mary’s family tree. #Ne...

Luke 2 - Do You Treasure in Your Heart What God is Doing? Jesus is born in Bethlehem. A host of angels announce to shepherds that the Messiah would bring peace on earth. When being dedicated at the Temple, Simeon and Anna approach the baby Jesus and affirm his special role as the one who will bring salvation to all nations. Throughout it all, Mary treasured all she saw in he heart. #NewTestament #...

Luke 1 - Do You Trust or Demand More Proof? An angel appears to Zechariah and Mary and their responses are quite different. The Messiah was coming! Miraculously born of a virgin, this baby would grow up to overthrow rulers and reign over a kingdom that would never end!#NewTestament #NewTestament1Year #Jesus #faith #spirituality #deconstructing #reconstructing #deconstructingchristianity #reconstru...

An Introduction to the Gospel of Luke In Luke’s Gospel an angel told Mary that her son “will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” - Luke‬ ‭1‬:‭32‬-‭33‬ ‭NIV‬‬Luke more than likely interviewed Mary as his gospel includes more of her story inclu...

Mark 16 - Who Will You Tell About Jesus? An angel tells the women who came to the tomb: “Jesus has risen! He is not here.”The earliest manuscripts end with a cliffhanger. Those who saw the empty tomb refused to tell anyone because they were afraid. In this final section, we see the disciples struggled to believe, that Jesus appeared before them for many days, that He commissioned His disciples to...