Bible

[plugger]

I have had so many thoughts as I traveled through the gospel of Luke, now towards the end, coming upon the crucifixion, the betrayal, the denial and taking my time trying to understand it all, there are so many different thoughts.....notice in verse 32, Jesus knew that Peter was going to deny Him, and He prayed that Peter's faith would not fail, He also made the statement to Peter--"when you have returned to me". I thought on this a bit, I or we may fail Jesus miserably, we may very well fall off the wagon and get all dusty and dirty, but if I or we believe-- then our faith will never be overthrown. We all fall short, sadly this is life in general, but somehow or another we maintain our faith and it is our faith that always carries us through.

Then those thoughts that pass by, those very thoughts that really make us wonder.... Take verse 35-36:
35 And He said to them, “When I sent you without money bag, knapsack, and sandals, did you lack anything?”
So they said, “Nothing.”
36 Then He said to them, “But now, he who has a money bag, let him take it, and likewise a knapsack; and he who has no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.

HUMM!!! You mean that Jesus was telling His decibels to sell their garment and purchase a sword? WOW, That is pretty heavy....I suppose that this is one of those Scriptures which calls us to speak to God about and draw our own conclusion......Most interpreters refuse to believe that Jesus was speaking literally. Some think of "sword" as used in Ephesians 6:17----but over the years I have really wondered about this Scripture and where I arrived, was that the Jewish people's attitude had changed so much that now Jesus thought that His decibels would now need money, provisions and even a means of defense. (earlier in His ministry, He told His decibels to go out with nothing---but now times have changed) Some will say, NOPE...sword really is just a knife, maybe something to use against wild animals and the such, but the Greek word for sword used here in Luke means "a weapon of warfare."....Then I looked up the Greek & Hebrew word for knife and learned that they are 2 different words. It is possible that Jesus contemplated the emergence of a situation in which His followers would have to resist aggression by the means of force. Nothing here indicates violence, but self-defense. My belief, and this would be my opinion, God has given me a wonderful, beautiful family and I believe that God expects me to care for them, to protect them---like I said my opinion. My attitude also carries over to FREEDOM, God has given me freedom and I also have a responsibility to protect freedom.

God Bless----Hope this gave you something to think on today