16th - 22nd March 2026
Jesus often quoted Scripture. As he answered dozens of questions and talked, he loved to quote the Old Testament, especially Deuteronomy. So, this week, let’s meet Jesus in Luke’s Gospel and listen to some of his references to the fifth book in the OT. It’s a gentle reminder to us all, to know God’s Word and apply it to this world which is spinning out of control on the international stage and personally for many. Every day we meet people with no direction in life.
God’s instruction book is a great manual for us humans ... his masterpieces.
At the end of these thoughts each day, I want to pray for a Christian agency which delivers God’s book to people.
It’s so encouraging to realise that many groups are giving the Word of God in a variety of ways. It’s happening today!
Written by John McIlvenna
MONDAY
Luke 4:1 finds Jesus tempted/tested by Satan. It’s a very tough 40 days where Jesus faces three temptations and he quotes the Old Testament four times. Wow! The first quote is in Luke 4:4 when Jesus says, ‘Man does not live on bread alone’ (but on the Word of God). This is a quote from Deuteronomy 8:3. Many people focus on what they see around them such as food, homes, money, etc. God’s Son reminds us of the spiritual dimension to life here. We can keep our balance in life by knowing and applying Scripture daily … or we can be dazzled by secular society.
Please pray for ‘Good News for Everyone’ (formerly Gideons UK), which delivers thousands of Bibles and New Testaments to schools, prisons, hotels, coffee shops, taxis, etc. ‘Explore’ is Luke’s Gospel in magazine format.
TUESDAY
Luke 4:5-6. Let’s go back to Jesus in the wilderness. Satan wanted Jesus, the Son of God, to worship him. That is so ridiculous! In verse 8 Jesus replies by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13 ... ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only’. Jesus tells him plainly. Worship God only. It’s basic but relevant in Europe in 2026. People get distracted by their ‘toys’ which became essential to their lives ... and overlook worshipping God.
I remember sitting as a young teen in Carrickfergus Baptist Church and hearing Old Testament stories of people in Canaan who worshipped gods of wood and stone. I thought they were daft. Why would anyone worship such things?
But then I observe life today and many people are completely dependant on their phone, or car or home. God tells us to ‘worship the Lord your God and serve only him’.
Please pray today for Wycliffe Bible Translators who help to translate the Bible for the 1 billion people who do not have Scripture in their own language. The good news is that the whole Bible is available in 750 languages.
WEDNESDAY
In Luke 4:9 Satan says, ‘If you are the Son of God’. It reminds me of Satan in the Garden of Eden when he said to Eve, ‘Did God really say?’ It’s not a direct challenge to Almighty God, but … subtle, gentle wondering? When we are tested, this is often his style, to raise ‘harmless’ doubts that may erode our faith. In verse 12, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test’. The Old Testament verses here around verse 16 show God appealing to his people to remain true to Him. Temptations face us daily whoever we are, God knows that, and he urges us not to yield.
I wonder did Jesus deliberately quote from this section of Deuteronomy as it reflects another wilderness experience which God’s people Israel faced on entering Canaan. Jesus shows the way. He faced temptations and did not yield. May God help us today to stand firm.
Please pray today for Scripture Union. Some of us will remember SU as the organisation that provides notes to help us read the Bible every day. SU reaches young people with the story of Jesus and aims for the 95.
THURSDAY
Luke 10:25. Jesus meets a devout Jew who wants to trap Jesus. He asked, ‘How do I get eternal life?’
Again, Jesus turns to the Scriptures and asks the man about the law of God. He repeats a well know section. ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind’. It’s so straightforward. Love God with all you have got.
Here we are in ‘the Shema’. All good Jews repeat these verses in Deuteronomy 6, especially verses 4 and 5. This famous part of the bible takes its name from the word Hear. ‘Hear O Israel’, which means ‘Hey! Pay attention’. God is shouting at us here to listen to what he says. ‘The Lord our God. The Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength’. The first 12 verses of Deuteronomy 6 are classic.
Please pray today for Biblica which began over 200 years ago. It sponsors and owns the copyright for the New International Version of the Bible. It distributes thousands of Scriptures across the world. Talk to Stephen Cave!
FRIDAY
Luke 18:20 has the very famous story of the rich young ruler. His question was similar to the Jew we met yesterday. But the two men were very different. This man was sincere and knew Jesus could help. Jesus responded with the law of God as found in Deuteronomy 5:16-20. We are in the Ten Commandments here. Jesus believed the law is important, and many societies recognise the value of the Ten Commandments.
Can you imagine how a society would operate if it disregarded these basic laws of life? There would be pandemonium, disorder and enormous pain for its citizens. Thank God we have these Ten Commandments.
Please pray for Open Doors. Brother Andrew began smuggling Bibles into eastern Europe in 1955. For the last 25 years friends of the mission smuggle Bibles into Muslim countries where Christians are often persecuted.
SATURDAY
Luke 4:18 takes place in the synagogue in Nazareth where Jesus is the preacher. The place was packed to meet the local boy who had been getting rave reviews across Galilee. Everyone wanted to hear Jesus. He stood up and read from Isaiah 61:1-2. ‘The Spirit of the Lord … has anointed me ... to proclaim good news to the poor’.
I wonder if his listeners understood that, the local boy they grew up with, was God ... absolutely and completely! Jesus, God’s Son, brings Good News to our world. Can we, as his reps in Co Antrim, convey good news to our neighbours today? Go on ... try it.
Please pray today for Lifewords … (formerly Scripture Gift Mission). At Christmas supporters in UK distributed 33,000 attractive leaflets which contain the Bible story of Jesus’ birth. Street children in Brazil also hear the Gospel.
SUNDAY
Luke 1:79. Let’s finish in Bethlehem and listen to Zechariah’s song at Jesus’ birth. (Modern versions of the Bible helpfully make quotations and songs stand out from the text). His song from Luke 1:67-79 has at least 12 references to the Old Testament. This man knew the word of God! But let’s look at verse 79 – a light ‘to shine on those living in darkness’, which echoes Isaiah 9:2 – ‘a light has dawned’.
I just praise God that Jesus came to us. He is the light that shines in darkness. (It’s terrible to be stuck in pitch black darkness with no light.) Jesus guides us. Jesus gives us hope. I am so glad that Jesus Christ is my Saviour today … and that Satan can do nothing about it!
Please pray for Bible Society. There are many Bible societies. The Bible Society of Egypt has a stand at the Cairo International Book Fair every year in January. Over 3 million people from across the Arab world visit, to buy books.
In 1535 most people could not read or write. A fisherman paid for his son to go to school, to learn to read, so that he would read the Bible to his father. In 1526 William Tyndale, an Englishman, produced the first printed New Testament in English. That was dangerous. He paid for that with his life when he was strangled and burned at the stake. It’s 500 years since that event, and I have prepared a talk on William Tyndale who lived during the reign of the unpredictable King Henry V111. I am happy to deliver this talk to groups.