We found 8 articles with the tag “soul care”.
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Luke Chapter 11
Article | June 23rd, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Jesus Follower
audio bible, daily bible, daily devotional, personal development, self care, soul care, spiritual growth, spiritual journey, spiritualityWe don’t talk a lot about spiritual warfare, because if we can’t see it our touch it , we can’t understand it and if we can’t understand it, we dismiss it as not real. However, the more we hang out with Jesus, we realize that spiritual warfare is real and we need to be on guard against the spiritual forces that want to torment us. Jesus said that this is war and we need to choose our side and guard his word with our lives.
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Luke Chapter 8
Article | June 20th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Jesus Follower
audio bible, daily bible, daily devotional, personal development, self care, soul care, spiritual growth, spiritual journey, spiritualityWhat stuck me in the chapter is that obedience is thicker than blood and how trust and obedience go hand in hand. Trust leads to obedience and we see some examples of what trust looks like and doesn’t look like. Trust looks like some women who fund his ministry and a man who is relieved of demon possession and obeys Jesus by going home and proclaiming what Jesus had done for him. But, the disciples who had seen everything that Jesus had done didn’t trust him in the storm and began to panic. Trust and obey is the only way to live our lives for Jesus, let’s pray…
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Luke Chapter 6
Article | June 9th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Jesus Follower
audio bible, christianity, daily bible, discipleship, personal development, self-care, soul care, spiritual formation, spiritual journey, spiritualityThere is so much teaching in this chapter and there are some great things that will make you think and what Jesus finishes the chapter with is what struck me. We need to work the words of Jesus into our lives and it will give us a firm foundation that will stand in the storms of life. If we don’t work Jesus’ words into our lives, we will fall flat in the storms of life.
The words that I want to work into my life are from Luke 6:27–28 (The Message): “To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. Instead of getting mad and fighting back, we can respond by praying for that person, it will do much more for them than my anger. -
Luke Chapter 5
Article | June 7th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Jesus Follower
audio bible, daily bible, daily devotional, daily wisdom, discipleship, personal growth, self-care, soul care, spiritual formation, spiritual growth, spiritual journey, spiritualityIn the story of the miraculous catch of fish it never quite dawned on me exactly how many fish that was and what that meant for those fishing families. To have two boats filled with fish, that was enough money that they would be set for life. They were able to walk away from their lively hood because their families were taken care of. They answered the call of Jesus to fish for people because of this miracle, they had been eking it out to that point but now God provided more than enough. I think ahead a little to the catch that Peter had at Pentecost of 3000 people saved that day. This story reminds me that when God calls you, he will provide for you.
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Luke Chapter 4
Article | June 6th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Jesus Follower
audio bible, christianity, daily bible, daily devotional, personal development, self-care, soul care, spiritual journey, spiritualityWhat stuck out to me in this chapter is the Holy Spirit’s role in Jesus’ ministry. It is the Spirit who led him to the wilderness and powered his ministry and teaching. I find it interesting that Luke picks up on how the Holy Spirit was involved in Jesus’ ministry as a template for us who are given the Holy Spirit as a gift when we believe in Jesus. We see the Spirit in the driver’s seat steering Jesus where he should go and also powering the engine of his ministry. How many of us who follow Jesus allow the Spirit to steer and power our lives? I do not yield control of my life to the Holy Spirit very well and unfortunately, I lack the power and direction that he wants to offer me. I want to follow Jesus’ example and allow the Holy Spirit access to steering wheel and to power my ministry engine. This is something worth praying about and pondering as we look for clues while reading through Luke.
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Luke Chapter 3
Article | June 2nd, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Jesus Follower
audio bible, christianity, daily bible, daily devotional, discipleship, personal development, self-care, soul care, spiritual formation, spiritual journey, spiritualityIn our reading today, we have a ton of names to read through and the temptation is to skip over them and get on with the good stuff. However, part of getting to know someone is to understand where the came from, who in the past shaped their life by what they passed down. I also love the fact that Luke traces Jesus’ lineage all the way to God and we will see that color the story that Luke tells. Don’t let your eyes glaze over when we read the names, but think of them as people who influenced who Jesus was.
What strikes me in this chapter is the role of the Holy Spirit in Jesus life and ministry. Jesus is going to ignite in us the kingdom life, fueled by the Holy Spirit that will change us from the inside out. That is a key thing for us to remember as we continue with Luke and later in Acts. Jesus is given the Holy Spirit at his baptism and God speaks this blessing over him, “You are my Son, chosen and marked by my love, pride of my life” Luke 3:22 (The Message). Jesus is set apart to usher in God’s Kingdom and he opens up access to God for all of us. There is a part of me that feels like this is a stretch, but when you realize that Jesus has made us children of God, this blessing can relate to us as well. We are God’s children and we are chosen by God, marked by his love and God is proud of us. -
Luke Chapter 2
Article | June 1st, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Jesus Follower
audio bible, christianity, daily bible, daily devotional, discipleship, personal development, self development, self-care, soul care, spiritual formation, spiritual journey, spiritualityWe are on a journey through the Gospels and we find ourselves in a very familiar story from Jesus’ life. Every year, before we opened Christmas presents, my grandma would break out the bathrobes and towels so that we could act out the Christmas story from Luke 2. It is easy, then, to speed past this story, but I want us to listen with new ears and savor the details so that we can learn who Jesus is.
What I learned about Jesus in this chapter is that the temple is a magnet for Jesus, because his purpose is to be about the things of his Father. I was struck that the teachers in the temple were impressed with him, but his parents were NOT! However, Jesus lived obediently with them and grew up. Jesus knew who he was, but he also knew that he didn’t have to rush it either. He had other things to do and experience before he went back to the temple and focused on the things of his Father.
I was reminded of the fact that even if we know where we want to go, we have to go through the journey of life’s ups and downs to get there. We have to grow in wisdom and to have the blessing of being shaped by those who are further along in their journey. Jesus had to grow up before he could save the world and so do we. -
Mark Chapter 15
Article | May 26th, 2022
By Nick Oyler | Jesus Follower
audio bible, christianity, daily bible, daily devotional, discipleship, personal development, self-care, soul care, spiritual formation, spiritual journey, spiritualityWe are making progress in our journey through the Gospels and we find ourselves at the end of the book of Mark. We have seen Jesus in action, from healing the sick, raising the dead, feeding thousands of people, and walking on water. We have also seen him get away from the crowds to pray and recharge and he has been teaching us about the kingdom life that he is ushering in. The one thing about Mark 15 is how much Jesus told his disciples that it was going to happen and it did. This was what Jesus came to do, to take the abuse of violent people to open up God’s kingdom to all of us.
At the moment that Jesus died, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The significance of this moment is that God is opening up access to himself to everyone. Now we can have direct access to God and not have to go to the temple and have someone else go into God’s presence for us. His sacrifice made that possible for us. The other thing that I am pondering is the fact that God had to watch his only son die at the hands of wicked violent people. God knows what it’s like. God stands with those who have lost children senselessly by wicked violent people and he weeps with them. He also points to the torn veil and says today your child is with me.