Applying the Bible

By: Krystal Craven Christian Music
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  • Summary

  • A weekly devotional designed to help you grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, through practical application of spiritual truths from God's word.
    © 2020-2025 Krystal Craven
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Ministry & Evangelism Spirituality
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Episodes
  • Perhaps They Will Respect Him

    Perhaps They Will Respect Him
    Jan 16 2025
    And [Jesus] began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while. When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed. And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out. Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!” (Luke 20:9-16) This parable is literally jam packed with amazing things! It includes referencing past prophecies and Israel’s history, thoroughly explains the spiritual state of Israel, and what was then future prophecies about Jesus as Messiah. The setting of the parable is a vineyard and it directly correlates to the nation of Israel. We know this because Isaiah specifically told us when he wrote, For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, an outcry! (Isaiah 5:7) And with the people of Israel listening to the Law and Prophets read in the temple regularly, they understood they were the vineyard, which is why the last part of verse 16 mentions their exclamation of “Surely not!” The Past and Patience Jesus makes mention of the prophets who God had sent to Israel in His parable when He includes that the man who planted the vineyard had sent multiple servants to reap fruit from the tenants. The tenants had beaten them and treated them shamefully, sending them away empty-handed. The prophets of old, and there were many of them over the years, had also been treated awfully by the people, ignored, reviled, and killed. And while the parable only has one sentence that speaks of the period between the prophets and Jesus being sent, where Jesus said in the parable, Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? This shows a tremendous amount of patience and long-suffering on the part of God. No earthly king would have sent that many servants and seen that kind of treatment and then decide to send his son. An earthly king or ruler would have long since sent an army to destroy the tenants and take what was theirs without any mercy. And the tenants would have deserved it. But God, our King of kings, is gracious and merciful, patient and long-suffering, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9) The Inheritance In the parable the tenants see the son of the vineyard owner and say, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. This is mind-blowing because the perspective of the tenants here is to gain the inheritance, yet Jesus as Messiah came to share the inheritance by adopting us as children of God through the redemption of His blood. Notice how the vineyard owner had only desired to get some of the fruit of the vineyard. He had every right to take it all, but he desired to bless and continue providing for the tenants, and yet the greed of the tenants and pride of thinking they could gain the inheritance by means of their own plan would lead to destruction. And while the Jewish people did indeed kill Jesus, hoping to maintain the earthly status they thought they had amassed for themselves, the irony is that God used their evil for the ultimate good of mankind, which was His plan all along. The death of Jesus brought about life and inheritance for those who believe. And they did take Jesus outside of the vineyard, outside the walls of the city, to kill him, and Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed a few short decades later and the gospel message was given to the Gentiles. Given to Others We, as Gentiles, are the others. God was faithful to carry out the plan of salvation and spread that good news, the gospel, all over as He had commissioned His followers to do. But here’s the thing… In the parable, it said, Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him. Jesus was sent and the Jewish people did not respect Him, they killed him. Yet to every heart who hears the gospel, the decision remains the same – will Jesus be respected as the Son of God and His commands obeyed or will selfish desire and pride reject Him? As we know the Lord wills, may the respect and obedience of the Son be the ...
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    9 mins
  • A House of Prayer

    A House of Prayer
    Jan 9 2025
    One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.” He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me, was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?” And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” So they answered that they did not know where it came from. And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.” (Luke 20:1-8) Let’s take a quick note of the setting here: Jesus is teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel. The people, who as we see throughout Luke and the other gospels, had been pretty well starved of solid teaching from the Law and Prophets and instead strived to live up to the man-made traditions that the chief priests and scribes and elders had taught them to observe. The words of Jesus as He taught with authority were life giving to a spiritually starved people and in comes the chief priests, scribes, and elders to demand that Jesus tell them by what authority He was doing things. They were so worked up with their own issue with Jesus, especially in light of the fact that He had just driven out those who sold within the temple, that they couldn’t see past the nose of their own faces to be aware of the good teaching that was going on inside the temple and the good it was bringing to the hearers. It would appear that pride was the ultimate driving motivation of those chief priests, scribes, and elders in that moment. The Wise Response Jesus, from a young age, had increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man (Luke 2:52), and this was just one of the many ways in which He demonstrated that wisdom in rough situations like these. Jesus could have engaged with the men as they rudely interrupted His teaching in the temple, but He chose to ask them a question, that if they answered correctly would have given them the answer to their demands and led them to the message of the gospel. The problem between the chief priests, scribes, and elders came when they didn’t seek to answer the question in truth, but to attempt to work out an answer in a way that would simply get them what they wanted. The sad part is, the very first part of their discussion would have led them to truth had they not hardened their hearts in their pride. If We Say Jesus asked them about the baptism of John, which was that of repentance and the start of receiving the message of the gospel. As they discussed it, there really were only two options to answer – from heaven or from man. But they said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.” They had the answer, it was from heaven, and even the people were convinced of the truth that John was a prophet of God, but they were so blinded by their pride which led to the refusal to accept truth, that the question meant to guide to truth ended up being perceived as a riddle of sorts in their minds. Here’s the kicker though, they were forced to humbly admit they didn’t know where it came from, yet if they had chosen to humble themselves, they could have received the truth. Nonetheless, the interaction seems to have been a quick conversation that Jesus then segways into a parable, which we’ll dig into next week. What Will You Say? But right now, we are faced with some uncomfortable parts when we seek to apply this to our lives and to learn from this interaction the chief priests, scribes, and elders had with Jesus. How do we approach Jesus when how we’ve perceived something is upsetting to us? I don’t think any followers of Jesus are necessarily asking Jesus what authority He has, but we just might ask or think that about one of His followers as they operate in the gifts He’s given or the callings He’s placed them in. If we’re finding this happening, we have to be careful not to approach things in our pride, or we just might end up making demands and untruthful claims, which if it’s against one of God’s servants is ultimately against God Himself. If we can enter situations with that unfortunate truth in our minds that we are naturally prideful and self-seeking, then we can be watchful to deny ourselves, humble ourselves, and truly listen and seek truth as it comes, instead of twisting what we hear to fit our self-seeking agenda that our pride has created for us. These are hard things that the Lord wants to break down in us and smoothen out those hard, destructive edges that snag everything on them. So ask yourself ...
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    10 mins
  • A House of Prayer

    A House of Prayer
    Jan 2 2025

    And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words. (Luke 19:45-48)

    In this powerful scene from the Gospels, Jesus enters the temple and takes direct action against the corruption He sees there. The temple was meant to be the place where God’s people could come together in worship, prayer, and communion with the Lord. But what Jesus found was a place of commerce, exploitation, and distraction from the true purpose of the temple.

    He declares that the temple, God’s house, “shall be a house of prayer,” but instead, the religious leaders and merchants had turned it into a “den of robbers.” They had focused on profit, tradition, and outward appearances, ignoring the heart of God’s intention for the temple: a place of reverent communion with God.

    A Temple of the Holy Spirit

    We, as followers of Jesus of whom the Spirit indwells, are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Jesus’ words were not only applicable for the physical temple in Jerusalem during that time, but they’re also a reminder to us about where the purity and focus of our hearts and worship should be. God calls us to be a place where prayer, worship, and His glory are central. But so often we allow the distractions of the world—the culture, our personal ambitions, entertainment, or even traditions—to distract us from the call.

    Jesus' cleansing of the temple is not just a historical event, it’s a call to personal and corporate repentance. Have we allowed our hearts or churches to be filled with things that distract from the purity of worship? Have we, in our modern culture, turned the Church into something that serves our preferences, comfort, or desires, rather than being a place that humbly seeks God’s will and draws near to Him in prayer?

    It’s important for us to remember that the Church exists for one primary purpose: to bring glory to God, through worship, prayer, fellowship, and the preaching of His Word (Acts 2:42). Every action we take as the body of Christ should aim to glorify Him, not to cater to the expectations or distractions of the culture around us.

    Remain Steadfast

    In a world that often misunderstands and misrepresents the Church, we must remain steadfast in keeping the focus on what God intended. The culture may try to redefine the Church, but we must hold firm and live out the truth that it is a place where God’s people gather to seek Him in prayer, in the reading of His Word, and in the fellowship of believers.

    The Church is not a place to gain social status, not a building for personal advancement, and not a platform for self-promotion or the promotion of cultural ideals. The Church is solely God’s house, which He has set apart for His glory as a place of prayer, worship, and deep, authentic relationship with Him. Let us be faithful to keep the focus on God’s purpose for the Church, not on what culture or consumerism might want to make it.

    To be faithful in keeping that focus, we have to be willing to do regular heart checks and ask ourselves the hard questions, and even further being willing to be honest with ourselves in the answers, letting God mold and shape what’s out of place. Ask yourself these questions:

    • Am I making space for prayer and is it central in my life?
    • Am I seeking God’s heart above all else?
    • Am I making room for the Holy Spirit to work in my life and in the life of my community?

    I encourage you, take time to reflect on your personal worship this week. May we not allow the enemy who seeks to steal, kill, and destroy us turn any part of the God’s Church into a den of robbers. But may it always be our goal to seek God’s heart in prayer with purity, humility, and devotion, making His house a house of prayer.
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    12 mins

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Scripturally accurate Bible devotionals

This is a huge number of devotionals that are accurate to scripture and help me to be encouraged in my walk of faith through life.

The production quality of the podcast is high, Krystal's voice is easy to hear, her personality is upbeat and fun (as much as a devotional can be), and you can tell she is faithful in her walk with Christ.

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