The Gramazin Blog
One article every day from Charles Wagner's two commentaries on the New Testament.
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Jesus Teaches The Parable of the Lost Son
Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
Saturday August 31, 2024
Luke 15:11-32
Father, thank You for the abundant generosity You have extended to me. Please help me to be always grateful. Father, with the help of the Holy Spirit, please keep me from acting on my feelings. Help me not to trust them. Instead, please make me someone who is self-controlled, disciplined, wise, and reasoned. Father, please help me to learn the lessons that You teach me during hard times. Father, I run to You now and ask for the forgiveness of my sin. Help me to stop rebelling from You but to live a life of continuous obedience to Your Word. Father, above all things, I want to walk and talk with You every hour of my life. Be my God and I will be Your servant. Father, make my soul useful for the building of Your Kingdom. Amen
Father, in this passage Jesus shares with us the parable of the “prodigal” son. In short, a rebellious son, the youngest of two, demands his inheritance from his father. He travels to a distant land ......READ MORE.
Jesus Teaches The Parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin
Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
Friday August 30, 2024
Luke 15:1-10
Father, there is nothing that You enjoy more than the salvation of the wicked. Help me to see the wicked as you do, as people who are lost and need to be rescued by the gospel of Jesus Christ. Father, if You can transform Saul into Paul, You can also transform the most wicked people among us in the 21st century. Help me to see them as the treasure they are in Your eyes, the people who will be wonderfully transformed by the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Father, Jesus continued to travel around the region of Perea. The text tells us that tax collectors and sinners had come, most likely from across the Jordan River, to hear what Jesus had to say. They were so intent on hearing His words that they gathered “around” Him. Those rejected by the elitist self-righteous had come to hear the gospel.
The text leads us to b......READ MORE.
The Cost of following Jesus
Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
Thursday August 29, 2024
Luke 14:25-35
Father, please help me to be a true follower of Jesus. Help me to make Him number one in my life. Help me to become His servant and to live only for His pleasure. Please help me to never give up or turn away from following Him. Father, please make me useful to Your Kingdom so that I never lose my value to You in the building of Your Kingdom. Amen.
Father, the text tells us that a large crowd traveled with Jesus. He was popular and He was someone the people wanted to be affiliated with and to claim Him as their friend. The people believed that life would be good, and times would be easy being with Jesus. Their future looked bright.
Jesus turned to them and shocked them with His words. Following Jesus is anything but easy. It is hard. True disciples of Jesus pay an exorbitant price for following Him.
- Jesus must be number one. Nothing else is important, not even family ties. If any......READ MORE.
Jesus Teaches The Parable of the Large Banquet
Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
Wednesday August 28, 2024
Luke 14:15-24
Father, make the gospel my number one priority in life. I want the forgiveness of my sin through Jesus Christ to be of greatest importance to me. I also want the sharing of the gospel to also be of highest priority. Please work in my heart so that these things are true for me. Amen.
Father, Jesus was a guest in the home of a leader of the Pharisees. He had just spoken about humility and, specifically, how the humble will sit closest to Him at the wedding feast in the Kingdom of Heaven. One of the Pharisees at the table rightfully stated that anyone who will dine at that feast is blessed.
Jesus acknowledged the truth of that Pharisee’s comment by making a follow-up point. While it is true that those who will sit at that table are blessed, many people will decline the invitation and not be present at that feast. Jesus told the story of a man who wanted to hold a great banquet for many people. When everything was prepared, ......READ MORE.
Jesus Teaches About Humility
Take Every Passage to Prayer - Volume 2, The Gospels
Tuesday August 27, 2024
Luke 14:7-14
Father, my sinful nature is proud. I am at the center of my universe. I want to be admired, esteemed, and respected. I want to be powerful, influential, and famous. Please forgive me for any such thoughts and attitudes. Help me to walk humbly before You and before others. May it be said of me that I am a humble servant to the neediest in my community, loving them in Your name so that they encounter Your deep love for them. Amen.
Father, Jesus had a captive audience. He had been invited to dinner at the home of a leader of the Pharisees. The other guests were Pharisees and teachers of the law. Jesus was in hostile territory, dining with those who wanted to derail, if not destroy, His ministry.
It takes arrogance to attack the character, the work, and the life of another individual. One must have a feeling of superiority to judge and rebuke another person. Such was the mindset of those who dined with Jesus that evening. The text g......READ MORE.
