Observations from the Doctor, Day 10 Faith. Read Luke 8:22-56. Yesterday, we saw Jesus teaching the lesson and telling the people that they needed to pay attention and hear what he was saying. Today, as we look through the second half of Luke, chapter 8, we see four specific examples of Jesus performing incredible miracles and the faith that the people had. First, we see Jesus calming the storm and his disciples being amazed that he could do that, even though they had been spending time with him they still didn’t really know Jesus. Jesus tells them they should have faith in him. Next, we see the demons being cast…

Observations from the Doctor, Day 8 The picture of faith. Read Luke chapter 7. Of the many stories of faith and miracles and healing throughout Luke chapter 7, this story of the centurion’s sick servant always has stuck out to me. This was a man who had heard of Jesus but had never met him. He sent servants to Jesus because he didn’t feel worthy to come to him himself. He didn’t even want Jesus to come under his roof because he knew he was a sinner. Yet, he appealed to Jesus to please save his servant knowing that Jesus could do that from wherever he was. This is an…

Observations from the Doctor, Day 7 What does Jesus say and do? Read Luke chapter 6. Today, as we read through Luke chapter 6, we get a much better picture of the kinds of things that Jesus was doing and also the kinds of things Jesus was teaching. Interestingly, the chapter starts out with some things that Jesus did. Now these things were controversial and the source of a lot of frustration from the religious leaders of the day. Jesus was healing people which was fine, but he was doing that at a time and in a way that they didn’t feel like was appropriate. Healing definitely constituted work. Work…

Observations from the Doctor, Day 6 Why did Jesus come? Read Luke chapter 5. Reading through Luke chapter 5, it’s a reminder of how Jesus calls people to follow him. He finds people and meets them where they are and then offers to change them. Following Jesus is allowing God to transform our lives into the life that God desires for us. We have to be willing to leave everything we have and everything we know behind in order to only follow him. Why did Jesus come? He came because he knew we needed him. We are all sinners and he came to provide salvation. He came to heal the…

Observations from the Doctor, Day 4 Origin story. Read Luke chapter 3. Whether it’s books or movies, every good character has an origin story. We need to understand who this person is, what they’ve gone through in their life, how that has forged them into the individual that we see. Luke has been building Jesus’s origin story for us. Last chapter, we saw Jesus’s birth and early childhood information. In chapter 3 of Luke today, we see the cultural climate in which Jesus is coming into. There is unrest and there is dissension. John the Baptist, whose birth we read about in chapter one of Luke, has started preaching. He…

Observations from the Doctor, Day 3 Jesus as a Child. Read Luke chapter 2. We only have a few stories about Jesus as a child. Luke and Matthew are the only gospels that share the story of Jesus’s birth and Luke is the only one that shares more information about the time Jesus spent as a child. Jesus was amazing, even as a child. People were astounded by him and his answers. He was amazing his parents. Jesus went through every single experience that every other child goes through. He learned how to walk. He probably went to school. He went with his parents to the temple every single year.…

Observations from the Doctor, Day 2 Do we recognize God and all that he has done. Read Luke chapter 1. As we read through Luke chapter one, we see some interesting correlations. There are multiple greetings, and there are multiple responses. The angel Gabriel greets both Zachariah and Mary. Mary comes to greet Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s baby greets Mary. Then, we see Mary’s song of response, followed by Zachariah’s song of response. We also see Elizabeth responding in praise and prophecy. All of these people we’re greeted in some way by the Lord and by what the Lord was doing. Each person had an opportunity to see how God was working…

Observations from the Doctor, Day 1 To observe and to know. Read Luke 1:1-4. We’re going to begin a study through the book of Luke. This book chronicles the life of Jesus, as recorded by Luke. Luke was a physician and was not one of the original 12 disciples, but he joined the church early on and ultimately ended up writing the books of Luke and Acts. As we read through the book of Luke, we see very clearly Luke’s attention to detail and the way his medical mind categorizes the evidence to present a case as to why Jesus is the Christ. Luke is writing to someone named Theophilis,…