October 26 - November 1, 2025

Heart Preparation:
  As you read this week, God is showing you His character in the person of His Son Jesus.  “He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation,” as Paul wrote in Colossians 1:15.  Hebrews 1:2 tells us that God “in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.”  When Jesus was transfigured on a mountaintop in front of Peter, James and John, “a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, ‘This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!’” (Mark 9:7).  Ask God to help you learn more and more from Jesus, and to love Him (which means to obey Him) more and more.

 Week’s Reading Plan:• Sunday, Oct. 26th – Luke 12-13
• Monday, Oct. 27th – Luke 14-15
• Tuesday, Oct. 28th – Luke 16:1-17:10
• Wednesday, Oct. 29th – John 11
• Thursday, Oct. 30th – Luke 17:11-18:14
• Friday, Oct. 31st – Matthew 19, Mark 10
• Saturday, Nov. 1 -- Matthew 20-21
 What to Expect:  These chapters take place during the last 3 months of Jesus’ earthly life, from early Jan. to early March of 33 A.D.  In Luke chapters 12-16, Jesus was still proclaiming Truth to crowds, “passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem.”  After the Jerusalem temple leaders tried to stone him in John chapter 10, Jesus and His disciples had gone away to Perea, east of the Jordan River.  In John chapter 11, the pivotal point in John’s Gospel, Jesus went to Bethany, just 2 miles from Jerusalem, to raise his friend Lazarus from the dead.
 
  The outraged Jerusalem temple leaders then sought to kill both Lazarus and Jesus, so Jesus and His disciples went to Ephraim, about 25 miles north of Jerusalem and near the border with Samaria.  There he healed 10 lepers, but only the one Samaritan leper came back to thank him (Luke 17:11-19).  Jesus then made his final trip south to Jerusalem, met the rich young ruler, healed blind Bartimaeus in Jericho, and called Zaccheus as a disciple in Jericho.  He made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem from Bethany on the Mount of Olives, while people proclaimed Him as Messiah and King.
 Things to Look For:  In Luke 12:4, Jesus says to not fear those who kill the body, but to fear God.  He says this knowing that He will be killed in less than 3 months, and that many of His followers will later be persecuted and killed.  He then tells the parable of the rich fool, and tells people not to lay up treasure for themselves, but to be rich toward God.  In Luke chapter 15, Jesus tells the parables of the lost sheep, lost coin and lost son, and concludes each parable with: “There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous persons who need no repentance.”
 
  Jesus makes his 5th of 7 “I AM” statements in John 11:25, saying “I AM the resurrection and the life” (which equates Jesus with God the Father). In John 11:27, Martha is the5th of 7 witnesses in this Gospel who state that Jesus is God.  The last of Jesus’ 7 “signs” in John’s Gospel, that prove that He is God, is raising Lazarus from the deadafter he’s been in the grave for 4 days (something never done before or since then).  This final sign is a dividing point among people in Israel, as many more come to believe in Jesus as Messiah and God, but the Jerusalem temple leaders become hardened and dead-set to killJesus.
 
  On Jesus’ final trip to Jerusalem, the rich young rulerrefuses to repent and give up his privileges to follow Jesus.  Soon after that, Zaccheus (a chief tax collector) does repent, makes restitution to those whom he cheated, gives to the poor, and follows Jesus.  This echoes the joy in heaven in the parables of Luke chapter 15.  The religious rulers’ rage grows as Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey,fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9, but the common people proclaim Him as Messiah and King.
 Personal Insight:  Jesus acts out His stated mission (and parables) of seeking and saving the lost by asking the rich young ruler to follow Him, inviting Himself to Zaccheus’ house, healing the injured in synagogues while teaching on the Sabbath, and healing lepers and blind men along the road.  Jesus demonstrates the wisdom of God in His teaching, the power of God in His miracles, and the compassion of God in His concern for people.  Jesus weeps 3 times: over unrepentant Jerusalem in Luke 13:34-35 and in Luke 19:41-44, and over the curse of death in John 11:35.
 
  Jesus has fully dedicated His life to bringing people back to God the Father, and will soon lay down His life to accomplish this.  He calls us to follow Him by always listening for the Holy Spirit’s leading in opportunities to share the love of Jesus with others.
We cannot do this on our own, as we’re all born with a sinful bent.  The model for coming to God is in John chapter 11.  We must die to our worldly false self, be buried in baptism, and allow Jesus to call us to our true, eternal life in Him.
 Prayer:  Father God, empower us with your Holy Spirit to be boldly preemptive like Jesus in seeking out those who don’t know You but are searching for meaning or fulfillment in their lives.  Help us to not be “rich fools” but to emulate Zaccheus by continuing to repent of any and all sins that You reveal to us, and to give generously to missions that help people and lead them to Christ, both nearby and around the world. Enable us to fully dedicate our lives to following Jesus and bringing people to Him, as we pray this in Jesus’ name.  May it be so.
 
This week’s devotion was prepared by Brenda Reid, Missions Team leader at Center Christian Church.