PERSISTENT FAITH…GOD IS LOOKING FOR IT…IN US

Posted on May 23, 2015 by randscallawayffm

Luke and the Lost

Are we there yet? When’s lunch? Are we there yet? When’s lunch? Can I have this? When can I have this? Can I have this now? Paaaleeeese, can I have this now? Why? Why can’t I have this? When we don’t get answers quickly from mom or dad, we change the topic for a bit to “I’m hungry” or I have to go to the bathroom. My all time favorite nagging came from our oldest at an early age, on a hot Oklahoma day, while in the car, “I am NOT at maximum comfort!”. She was reading the knob on the air conditioner unit. This persistent asking happens when adults are doing things that kids get bored with easily. After a few minutes, the kids jump back to when can we go? Can we go now? When’s lunch? Are we there yet? Can I have this now?

I smile as I remember the constant, Mom, Mom, MOM from my own kids as they were pretty persistent in their asking for something. I now watch their kids do the same. This persistent asking seems to be born within all of us.

Jesus taps into that with a story about a persistent widow…

The Story of the Persistent Widow
18 1-3 Jesus told them a story showing that it was necessary for them to pray consistently and never quit. He said, “There was once a judge in some city who never gave God a thought and cared nothing for people. A widow in that city kept after him: ‘My rights are being violated. Protect me!’

4-5 “He never gave her the time of day. But after this went on and on he said to himself, ‘I care nothing what God thinks, even less what people think. But because this widow won’t quit badgering me, I’d better do something and see that she gets justice—otherwise I’m going to end up beaten black-and-blue by her pounding.’”

6-8 Then the Master said, “Do you hear what that judge, corrupt as he is, is saying? So what makes you think God won’t step in and work justice for his chosen people, who continue to cry out for help? Won’t he stick up for them? I assure you, he will. He will not drag his feet. But how much of that kind of persistent faith will the Son of Man find on the earth when he returns?”

What do we glean from Jesus today? PRAY CONSISTENTLY, never give up. Why? God is listening. God will step in and work justice. When we cry out, in sincere, persistent faith, our just God will provide exactly what HE knows we need at exactly the right time. He will not drag His feet. Be assured.

Another thought…when kids don’t get what they want when they want it…they turn to fighting with each other. Church, don’t. When we don’t get what we think God should deliver, our persistent faith falters and we begin to turn on each other and find fault with each other. Church, don’t.

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Dear Heavenly Father, How awesome You are! You are God, a just God, and we are not. You know what we need before we need it. You rescue us before we know we need rescued. But we will continue to pray without ceasing as the Apostle Paul writes. Jesus, dear Jesus, I think you tell us to pray continuously so we can have daily conversations with you which help us to know YOUR heart and what YOUR will is for us.

We are assured You want the best for us. We are assured you hear us. Somehow, my faith is not only persistent but now affirmed because of your “I assure you.” May you always find us persistently faithful as we continuously cry out for justice in this world that is not our final destination. Are we there yet, Lord? Not quite. So we will pray. All day and all night…In Jesus Name, Amen

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WHEN???

Posted on May 22, 2015 by randscallawayffm

Luke and the Lost

With our kids and now with our grandkids, we always explain time in the amount of “sleeps” if it is a long time over a few days until something really exciting happens. If it is a short period of time, then it was explained in “the amount of time you watch Wild Krats” (or any current, favorite TV show). We all want to know HOW LONG until we get to…..Along with when (which is probably the most important to us, is the where and how. Jesus explains that well…

Luke 17, The Message
When the Son of Man Arrives
20-21 Jesus, grilled by the Pharisees on when the kingdom of God would come, answered, “The kingdom of God doesn’t come by counting the days on the calendar. Nor when someone says, ‘Look here!’ or, ‘There it is!’ And why? Because God’s kingdom is already among you.”

22-24 He went on to say to his disciples, “The days are coming when you are going to be desperately homesick for just a glimpse of one of the days of the Son of Man, and you won’t see a thing. And they’ll say to you, ‘Look over there!’ or, ‘Look here!’ Don’t fall for any of that nonsense. The arrival of the Son of Man is not something you go out to see. He simply comes.

24-25 “You know how the whole sky lights up from a single flash of lightning? That’s how it will be on the Day of the Son of Man. But first it’s necessary that he suffer many things and be turned down by the people of today.

26-27 “The time of the Son of Man will be just like the time of Noah—everyone carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ship. They suspected nothing until the flood hit and swept everything away.

28-30 “It was the same in the time of Lot—the people carrying on, having a good time, business as usual right up to the day Lot walked out of Sodom and a firestorm swept down and burned everything to a crisp. That’s how it will be—sudden, total—when the Son of Man is revealed.

31-33 “When the Day arrives and you’re out working in the yard, don’t run into the house to get anything. And if you’re out in the field, don’t go back and get your coat. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you grasp and cling to life on your terms, you’ll lose it, but if you let that life go, you’ll get life on God’s terms.

34-35 “On that Day, two men will be in the same boat fishing—one taken, the other left. Two women will be working in the same kitchen—one taken, the other left.”

37 Trying to take all this in, the disciples said, “Master, where?”

He told them, “Watch for the circling of the vultures. They’ll spot the corpse first. The action will begin around my dead body.”

The words that speak peace, comfort and Truth to me today as I read over this a few times is what Jesus is telling my heart and soul…”The arrival of the Son of Man is not something you go out to see. He simply comes.” So, stop worrying or fretting about when, where or how. Read over this passage until we lose the fear of the unknown and gain hope in what will be.

Stop worrying if you are good enough, strong enough, or ready enough. God is more than enough for all of us. Jesus is more than enough as our advocate before the Father. His Holy Spirit guides and comforts us more than enough. The only thing we need to know is that He will simply come…to those who “don’t see, yet believe”. He simply comes every day into hearts that are totally yielded to Him, whose hearts are completely His. He is the great I AM who loves us more than we can imagine. That is more than enough for me.

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Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for your Word of power and peace. Continue to go with us. I’m yours…because You will not let me go. You are more than enough. Thank you, Lord.
In Jesus Name, Amen

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TURN AROUND, LOOK BACK, ONLY TO GIVE PRAISE!

Posted on May 21, 2015 by randscallawayffm

Luke and the Lost

I type in a journal each morning, talking over the events in my life with God while eating Cheerios and drinking a mug of coffee. I call it breakfast with the Boss! I begin by realizing Who I’m talking to and then asking for forgiveness of the imperfections of yesterday. Then I typically move on to telling him the troubles of my family, friends and then myself. Then my joy travels up my spine as I thank God for all the moments He brought me through. I thank Him for salvation, mercy and grace nearly every day. Repetitious? Not really, at least not in my heart, for God is with me EVERY hour of every day. I feel I must thank Him for that at the beginning of each new day.

As I read our passage today and meditate on it, I am reminded of how few of us remember to look backward to praise, not dwell on the past, but to really see God for Who He is and how He responded to those many moments of pain and heartache, shout for joy and then give Him glory for where we stand now.

God gives us memories so we can praise Him not so we can wallow in the past and be kept down by it. Look back to praise then move on!

Luke 17, The Message
11-13 It happened that as he made his way toward Jerusalem, he crossed over the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten men, all lepers, met him. They kept their distance but raised their voices, calling out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

14-16 Taking a good look at them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”

They went, and while still on their way, became clean. One of them, when he realized that he was healed, turned around and came back, shouting his gratitude, glorifying God. He kneeled at Jesus’ feet, so grateful. He couldn’t thank him enough—and he was a Samaritan.

17-19 Jesus said, “Were not ten healed? Where are the nine? Can none be found to come back and give glory to God except this outsider?” Then he said to him, “Get up. On your way. Your faith has healed and saved you.”

The “outsider”, even a Samaritan, as Jesus relates, came back to praise Him for what He did for him. “He couldn’t thank him enough”. We are outsiders until Jesus comes and takes over our heart, mind and soul.

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Dear Heavenly Father,
You are God and we are not. We cannot thank you enough for all the ways you rescued us, brought us through challenging times and ultimately saved us by the blood of the Lamb, Your Son, Jesus Christ. Yes, we cannot thank You, praise You or give You Glory enough. It will take an eternity to praise You for all You are and what You have done, are doing and will do! Ah, that is Your plan, isn’t it! Continue to be with us…
In Jesus Name, Amen

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FAITH–WE HAVE IT OR WE DON’T

Posted on May 20, 2015 by randscallawayffm

Luke and the Lost

After a challenging sermon or great, but hard advice, we are prone to wither in our estimation of our faith and abilities to get the work done as the Master has given us to do. But Jesus tells his disciples to consider another way to think about faith and the work expected of us to do…without applause.

A Kernel of Faith
17 1-2 He said to his disciples, “Hard trials and temptations are bound to come, but too bad for whoever brings them on! Better to wear a millstone necklace and take a swim in the deep blue sea than give even one of these dear little ones a hard time!

3-4 “Be alert. If you see your friend going wrong, correct him. If he responds, forgive him. Even if it’s personal against you and repeated seven times through the day, and seven times he says, ‘I’m sorry, I won’t do it again,’ forgive him.”

5 The apostles came up and said to the Master, “Give us more faith.”

6 But the Master said, “You don’t need more faith. There is no ‘more’ or ‘less’ in faith. If you have a bare kernel of faith, say the size of a poppy seed, you could say to this sycamore tree, ‘Go jump in the lake,’ and it would do it.

7-10 “Suppose one of you has a servant who comes in from plowing the field or tending the sheep. Would you take his coat, set the table, and say, ‘Sit down and eat’? Wouldn’t you be more likely to say, ‘Prepare dinner; change your clothes and wait table for me until I’ve finished my coffee; then go to the kitchen and have your supper’? Does the servant get special thanks for doing what’s expected of him? It’s the same with you. When you’ve done everything expected of you, be matter-of-fact and say, ‘The work is done. What we were told to do, we did.’”

Faith…what we have is enough to do what God is telling us to do each day, at every step. Believe it. Focus on the Source of our faith. God is God and we are not.

Work to please the Master, not for applause, but for His glory for He is the Source of Life for us. He is the One and Only who allows us to join Him in His work. We work to please the Lord with enthusiasm. This brings joy unspeakable and full of glory…for Him. Do for His words of “Well done, my faithful servant”…well done”.

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Dear Heavenly Father, Most times Your Word reminds of a song…here is the song I sing to You this morning…in Jesus Name, Amen

Spent today in a conversation
In the mirror face to face with
somebody less than perfect
I wouldn’t choose me first if
I was looking for a champion
In fact I’d understand if
You picked everyone before me
But that’s just not my story
True to who You are
You saw my heart
and made
Something out of nothing

[Chorus:]
I don’t need my name in lights
I’m famous in my Father’s eyes
Make no mistake
He knows my name
I’m not living for applause
I’m already so adored
It’s all His stage
He knows my name oh, oh,
He knows my name oh, oh

I’m not meant to just stay quiet
I’m meant to be a lion
I’ll roar beyond a song
With every moment that I’ve got
True to who You are
You saw my heart
and made
Something out of nothing

[Chorus]

He calls me chosen, free forgiven, wanted, child of the King,
His forever, held in treasure…
I am loved

I don’t need my name in lights…
I’m famous in my Father’s eyes…

[Chorus]

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BUT THEY’RE NOT LISTENING…

Posted on May 19, 2015 by randscallawayffm

Luke and the Lost

Jesus tells a story that reaches our hearts yet again today:

Luke 16, The Message

The Rich Man and Lazarus
19-21 “There once was a rich man, expensively dressed in the latest fashions, wasting his days in conspicuous consumption. A poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, had been dumped on his doorstep. All he lived for was to get a meal from scraps off the rich man’s table. His best friends were the dogs who came and licked his sores.

22-24 “Then he died, this poor man, and was taken up by the angels to the lap of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell and in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.’

25-26 “But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented. Besides, in all these matters there is a huge chasm set between us so that no one can go from us to you even if he wanted to, nor can anyone cross over from you to us.’

27-28 “The rich man said, ‘Then let me ask you, Father: Send him to the house of my father where I have five brothers, so he can tell them the score and warn them so they won’t end up here in this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham answered, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets to tell them the score. Let them listen to them.’

30 “‘I know, Father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but they’re not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead, they would change their ways.’

31 “Abraham replied, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by someone who rises from the dead.’”

Reread the last two verses…”but they’re not listening. If someone came back to them…and “if they won’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by Someone who rises from the dead.”

Maybe, just maybe NOW is the time to tell the Truth, of the Person of Jesus Christ, who died for our sins and rose from the grave and lives to love us now and someday bring us to be with Him. This “Someone” is our Savior.

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Dear Heavenly Father, Save us now. We repent. We will tell. We will live it. We love you with all our heart, mind and soul.
In Jesus Name, Amen

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GOD AND THE BANK

Posted on May 18, 2015 by randscallawayffm

Luke and the Lost

Someone told me a great way to look at what we value most is take a long, evaluative look at our bank ledgers. What does the bank show we spend our hard earned money on month after month? Are we honest in this evaluation? Do we dare look and see? Are we ready to see where our priorities lie? Or do WE just “roll our eyes” at Jesus, too? Do you think He will not understand?

Luke 16, The Message
God Sees Behind Appearances
10-13 Jesus went on to make these comments:

If you’re honest in small things,
you’ll be honest in big things;
If you’re a crook in small things,
you’ll be a crook in big things.
If you’re not honest in small jobs,
who will put you in charge of the store?
No worker can serve two bosses:
He’ll either hate the first and love the second
Or adore the first and despise the second.
You can’t serve both God and the Bank.
14-18 When the Pharisees, a money-obsessed bunch, heard him say these things, they rolled their eyes, dismissing him as hopelessly out of touch. So Jesus spoke to them: “You are masters at making yourselves look good in front of others, but God knows what’s behind the appearance.

What society sees and calls monumental,
God sees through and calls monstrous.
God’s Law and the Prophets climaxed in John;
Now it’s all kingdom of God—the glad news
and compelling invitation to every man and woman.
The sky will disintegrate and the earth dissolve
before a single letter of God’s Law wears out.
Using the legalities of divorce
as a cover for lust is adultery;
Using the legalities of marriage
as a cover for lust is adultery.

Who is “hopelessly out of touch” here? Jesus or us? God’s Word, His Law will never dissolve…unlike our bank accounts when we die. The profits will be divided among the living and life will go on a little longer for them. So, who is hopelessly out of touch? We are, if our focus is mostly on our bank accounts. What drives us to get out of bed each morning? The paycheck? Or Jesus?

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Dear Heavenly Father, You have given us Your Word to talk things over with us about our priorities once again. We are distracted so easily by the world’s demands of our attention. We are so easily trapped into thinking that our work is only to pay bills. Our work, no matter what we do, comes from You, to glorify You! Use the work You have given us to reach someone else today. Use our restored joyful attitudes to reflect the light of Your love with those we share the work. Help us to lay EVERYTHING before you, including our bank accounts, and seek You over all, above all and in all. May Your Kingdom be found in us. In Jesus Name, Amen

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THIS IS A TOUGH ONE!

Posted on May 17, 2015 by randscallawayffm

Luke and the Lost

I have often read from many books on leadership that say there are two skills most often used and defined. Doing things right is being a good manager. Doing the right things is being a good leader. When you really think about it and list what managers do and who managers are versus what leaders do and who they are, you will see distinct differences in their leadership patterns. You rarely see a leader who can do both at the same time. That’s why I lean toward the idea that it takes a team for greater accomplishments than one doing it alone.

This next parable of Jesus is one of the toughest to understand. The shrewd manager is found to be dishonest by the Master. The Master fires him. The manager does not defend himself, but rather finds a way back into the good graces of his Master by making it “right” with his neighbors (even though it is for selfish reasons, so they might take him in). Hmm…a lot to think about here in this passage.

Luke 16, The Message

The Story of the Crooked Manager
16 1-2 Jesus said to his disciples, “There was once a rich man who had a manager. He got reports that the manager had been taking advantage of his position by running up huge personal expenses. So he called him in and said, ‘What’s this I hear about you? You’re fired. And I want a complete audit of your books.’

3-4 “The manager said to himself, ‘What am I going to do? I’ve lost my job as manager. I’m not strong enough for a laboring job, and I’m too proud to beg. . . . Ah, I’ve got a plan. Here’s what I’ll do . . . then when I’m turned out into the street, people will take me into their houses.’

5 “Then he went at it. One after another, he called in the people who were in debt to his master. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

6 “He replied, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’

“The manager said, ‘Here, take your bill, sit down here—quick now—write fifty.’

7 “To the next he said, ‘And you, what do you owe?’

“He answered, ‘A hundred sacks of wheat.’

“He said, ‘Take your bill, write in eighty.’

8-9 “Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.”

SURPRISE!…the dishonest manager is praised for his survival skills…or “leadership” in cutting the cost, probably his own commission in every deal with his neighbors, so his reputation could be upheld in the community and maybe with his Master. In other words, he gave up his own money to survive, for a greater good. He “bare-boned” his budget, to now do the right thing.

Yes, there are many thoughts here, but the one that stands out the most is this: “Live, really live, and not be complacently getting by on good behavior”. Just doing things right can become a mindless repetition of going to church, singing in the choir, teaching a SS class, leading a study, passing out the bulletins, cleaning the church, setting out communion in such a complacent way that the joy is sapped from doing these things in a mindless way because they have become a dangerous routine. Yikes.

What do you think? Wow, I’m challenge to think more and go deeper into what Jesus is teaching us here. Pay closer attention to why we do what we do and how to do the right things versus doing things right.

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Dear Heavenly Father, Wow, Your Word is so amazing in the ways you speak to us and jerk our attention from complacency to focus on You, once again. Help us. Save us from ourselves. In Jesus Name, Amen

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THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

Posted on May 16, 2015 by randscallawayffm

Luke and the Lost

Should we talk about it? Do we just keep sweeping it under the rug? We walk around it, over it, and even smile pleasantly, with political correctness, ignoring the “elephant in the room” in our churches, in staff meetings, in families, with friends, with co-workers, and wonder why peace alludes us.

We cannot leave the passage of the prodigal son, once lost but now found by his father, with talking about…wait for it…the older brother and his attitude.

Luke 15, The Message

25-27 “All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day’s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.’

28-30 “The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’

31-32 “His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’”

What is our attitude when a long term lost person, a person who has even hurt us deeply with their actions in the past, comes home and back to serving in our church. Is there celebration in our hearts? Do we forgive whole and completely like the Father, or sulk like that older brother. Is our first response to treat the lost but found person like royalty? Is their too much “water under the bridge” to trust the lost but found person again? Or can we freely forgive and welcome them back with open arms? Can we really trust this person who has returned? Why does all this go through our minds?

The “elephant in the room” has more to do with the attitude of our hearts as lost are found. “Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends?” Our attitude in serving is at stake, in the church, right here is this acclamation. I even hear the older brother, crying out, as he shouts to his Father in disgust at the celebration of little brother coming home to complete forgiveness over the squandering of his life AND his father’s riches.

HERE IS THE ELEPHANT…
WHY do we do what we do for God’s Kingdom? What reward are we seeking? Do we do it so we will feel better about ourselves? Most of us have low self esteems so this is a common pitfall for many hard working souls. Do we do it because no one else will do it? Have we taken on so much so that our busyness gives us more worth somehow? Has “look what I do” taken over our heart felt attitude to serve because of our love for our Heavenly Father?

If any of these thoughts permeate our attitudes when the “ONE” lost person from the past comes home, we don’t feel like celebrating and lifting them high. We feel very under appreciated for “all the years” we have served. Our thoughts are more focused on balancing the scales of our goodness versus their past sins. Our focus has shifted from seeking the lost to serving that needs noticing. Worse still, we want new lost and found people to think and act like us and take on their share of serving, too! We might even want them to make for “lost time”. Yikes, this is a chaotic place to be in our thinking!

Jesus explains what our Heavenly Father wants us to know…

“Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours–but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, but he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!”

Our Father knows our hearts. He longs for us to know that we are with Him ALL the time. (Brings tears to my eyes!) He knows we mean well, because He knows our hearts. He appreciates our serving Him out of love, not for the above reasons. So we need to stay focused. Be free of our own past sins of serving with impure attitudes. Be free from the past of others’ sins, as well! Move forward. Join in the celebration for today. Serve the Father with gladness…or don’t serve at all.

I was lost, but now I am found! I was blind, but now I see…and understand. Elephant gone. Change of heart brings peace.

elephant

Dear Heavenly Father, Those of us who haven’t sinned in extraordinary ways have sinned with our attitudes of heart in serving from time to time. Forgive us. Sin is sin. Help us to stay focused on You being with us and us being with You ALL the time. That is reward enough! Go with us this day, filling us with Your Holy Spirit that splashes over into the lives of those You put in our paths today. Let’s celebrate!
In Jesus Name, Amen

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COME HOME!

Posted on May 15, 2015 by randscallawayffm

COME HOME!

Luke and the Lost

There was no greater joy than seeing our son step off the plane after six long months of deployment overseas. Still in uniform, and with smiles that would not leave our faces, we hugged and hugged some more. He had a welcoming crowd of his sisters and their families, his parents, as well as his wife and kids. The nieces and nephews wrapped themselves around his legs and jumped on his back. He was home! We didn’t ask questions or even talk much, we just wanted to touch him, feel the reality of his being where we are and celebrate with hugs and unconditional love for our son. What a picture of love!

But this is only a glimpse of the celebration in heaven when one lost soul comes home! Yes, Jesus has a final story picture in his trilogy of lost but found episodes of a homecoming for all who come home by turning back back to God with words of repentance. Pay attention to the words of remorse and repentance from the son who strayed. This is important and detrimental to our own words of true repentance.

Luke 15, The Message

The Story of the Lost Son
11-12 Then he said, “There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, ‘Father, I want right now what’s coming to me.’

12-16 “So the father divided the property between them. It wasn’t long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.

17-20 “That brought him to his senses. He said, ‘All those farmhands working for my father sit down to three meals a day, and here I am starving to death. I’m going back to my father. I’ll say to him, Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son. Take me on as a hired hand.’ He got right up and went home to his father.

20-21 “When he was still a long way off, his father saw him. His heart pounding, he ran out, embraced him, and kissed him. The son started his speech: ‘Father, I’ve sinned against God, I’ve sinned before you; I don’t deserve to be called your son ever again.’

22-24 “But the father wasn’t listening. He was calling to the servants, ‘Quick. Bring a clean set of clothes and dress him. Put the family ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Then get a grain-fed heifer and roast it. We’re going to feast! We’re going to have a wonderful time! My son is here—given up for dead and now alive! Given up for lost and now found!’ And they began to have a wonderful time.

25-27 “All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day’s work was done he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, ‘Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound.’

28-30 “The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn’t listen. The son said, ‘Look how many years I’ve stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!’

31-32 “His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’”

THE REPENTANT CONFESSION:

1. I HAVE SINNED AGAINST GOD. Put no other Gods before me. Worship God alone. Love God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul. This is what we are taught from birth and new birth.

2. I HAVE SINNED BEFORE YOU. Because the sin of turning from God and all that we believe, deeply hurts those who love us most, those who God has given us to love back, we need to confess that hurt to them.

3. I DON’T DESERVE…No, we do not deserve God’s grace and mercy, but He gives because of His unconditional love for us. We should not take advantage for He knows our hearts. Humbly coming before God, with confession in this order of priority results in God’s tender mercy and grace with all debts paid in full. Yes, we do not deserve it but that is the very definition of God’s grace and mercy.

To simply regret we got caught and/or using the excuse, “Oh well, I’m just me, just human and not perfect so I will probably sin again” is not a repentant confession. This attitude also lends nothing to our maturity and spiritual growth. The world will tell you the opposite. But we must stand by the Truth, the Person of Jesus’ words that we read here as recorded by Luke. Oh, Lord, help us. Save us…from selfish selves.

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Dear Heavenly Father, Coming home means celebration in heaven above with shouts of “she’s home, she’s come to her senses and realizes that she must come back to her Father!” This celebration is so great it is beyond our imaginations. Thank you for going after the “ONE” sheep. Thank you for helping us find the “COIN” of value of You in us and us in You. Thank you for welcoming us home as we come with humbled, repentant hearts. In Jesus Name, Amen

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COUNT ON IT!

Posted on May 14, 2015 by randscallawayffm

Luke and the Lost

We have a family story about our son who was about eight years old at the time of our youngest daughter’s birthday party to celebrate five years old. The party was larger than the regular family only with friends from school and church. As Carrie was opening up all her presents and cards, Sam was in a corner of the room counting…and reporting. While she opened the pretty cards, he caught the money and checks that fell out. As a helpful brother, he kept and running total and told this five year old what she had…every few seconds. We had to put an embarrassing stop to that, but had to laugh at his accounting skills. There was not going to be anyway that any coins or dollars would be lost under his watch! He high-fived his sister on the final total.

I smile as I remember that precious moment in time as we read the next passage from Luke’s concise reporting of another kind. It seems the woman in Jesus’ story lost one of her coins, but soon found it.

Luke 15, The Message

The Story of the Lost Coin
8-10 “Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”

The woman’s coins were probably more than “grocery money”. The woman was frantic. These coins could have been her dowry, her life savings, that would sustain her life. She loses one. She stops everything to find it. She stops life to look for one of these precious coins until she finds it and returns it to a safe place with the others.

Are you lost? Have you lost one of your family members to the world?

These parables introduce the importance of sinners for Jesus, and thus for disciples. The parable’s drama is built on the tension of an attempt to find something that has been lost. Anyone who has lost anything or loses anything on a regular basis can identify with this tension. In our house it is keys and the remote control for the television that most often go AWOL. At such times an all-points bulletin sends my children on a hunt for what their mom has misplaced. When it is found, all are relieved. So in these parables with the sheep and the coin.

Jesus tells these parables to tax collectors and sinners. Thus the stories offer comfort, especially in the face of the Pharisees and scribes’ grumbling that Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them (compare 5:30, 37; 7:34, 39). The fact that tax collectors and sinners listen to Jesus while the leadership does not is a cultural reversal of expectation. Sometimes hearers are found in surprising places. The issue of listening to Jesus is a major one in Luke (5:1, 15; 6:17, 27, 47, 49; 7:29; 8:8-18, 21; 9:35; 10:16, 24, 39; 11:28, 31; L. T. Johnson 1991:235). To experience God’s blessing, we need to listen to him.

Again, do we know someone who is lost who needs to desperately be found?

Is there any significant difference between the two parables? At their most basic level they make the same point. The second parable, however, stresses the search a little more than the first. Recovering a lost sinner can take diligent effort. But the effort is worth it when the lost is found. Sinners should know that God is diligently looking for them. Disciples should diligently engage in the search for sinners on behalf of the Master they serve.

Jesus provides a clear example for us to follow. Finding lost “sheep” and missing “coins” is a disciple’s priority. Jesus involved himself with sinners; so should disciples.

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Dear Heavenly Father, We understand the point you are making through Your challenging and convicting Word this morning. Lost people are tough when they seemingly don’t have a desire to be found. But You know that. You came to earth and dealt with that. You have shown us how to seek the lost and love them back to You. We are all sinners in need of a Savior. Save us, Lord from ourselves. Lead us to others who need You, too. May the celebration be tremendous when the lost are found…as it is in heaven. In Jesus Name, Amen

Posted in Christian Living, Christian Perspective, Faith, Salvation, Teaching, Training, wisdom | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment