Tag Archives: prodigal son

Celebrate the new birth (Luke 15:25-32) December 8, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Song of Songs 1-2

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 15:25-32
Jesus: Now the man’s older son was still out in the fields working. He came home at the end of the day and heard music and dancing. He called one of the servants and asked what was going on. The servant said, “Your brother has returned, and your father has butchered the fattest calf to celebrate his safe return.”
The older brother got really angry and refused to come inside, so his father came out and pleaded with him to join the celebration. But he argued back, “Listen, all these years I’ve worked hard for you. I’ve never disobeyed one of your orders. But how many times have you even given me a little goat to roast for a party with my friends? Not once! This is not fair! So this son of yours comes, this wasteful delinquent who has spent your hard-earned wealth on loose women, and what do you do? You butcher the fattest calf from our herd!”
The father replied, “My son, you are always with me, and all I have is yours. Isn’t it right to join in the celebration and be happy? This is your brother we’re talking about. He was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found again!”

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Man, I hate to read this part of the story sometimes. It reminds me too much of what we do as Christians. The new guy comes to church, goes to an altar and prays. God forgives him and suddenly the pastor and teachers and everyone gushes all over him. They invite him to lunch, invite him to go play golf with them, invite him to use their extra ticket to the basketball game even. They never did that for me and I’ve been in the church my whole life! What gives? Why does the new guy get all the attention?

Maybe I’ll just quit. That will show that crowd of do-gooders. Then maybe they’ll pay attention to me. At least they’ll miss my tithes. Well, my offerings because I don’t really believe in that tithe stuff anymore. That’s Old Testament stuff and we live according to the New Testament, right? They just don’t understand. And this new guy, he’ll probably fall off the wagon again and be right back where he was before the year is out. He’s had this roller-coaster ride of trying to be good before.

Can’t the pastor understand that I need some attention, too? Doesn’t he understand that he has some parishioners that he doesn’t call on enough, like me? Sure I’m there all the time. Sure I help out in a lot of ways. Sure I have a good relationship with everyone in the church and read my Bible and pray. Sure I do everything the church asks me to do. But doesn’t that mean the pastor should spend a little time with me instead of this sinner guy that just came in off the street and said he felt forgiven by God?

Green with envy. That’s where we find ourselves sometimes. But why? Aren’t we already in the church enjoying the fellowship of other believers? Don’t we have the assurance of our eternal rest as we follow God’s commands and stay in His will? Can’t we rejoice in seeing one more added to the kingdom? And isn’t it our job to teach others the practices we have been taught as Christians so that they stay grounded in the truth of God’s word? Did those practices include being jealous of the pastor’s time? Did those practices Jesus taught include wanting to quit because we don’t get the attention we think we deserve because of the work we do for the kingdom?

Yeah, it gets tough to read the last part of this parable, sometimes. It can be pretty convicting if you pay attention to the actions of the older brother. Not someone we should emulate, but too often we follow in his footsteps instead of Jesus’. But there is a solution to the older son’s problem just as there was a solution to the younger son’s. The father embraced his youngest son and welcomed him home. He had a few strong words for his older son but still reminded him that he was welcome to join the party. All he had to do was accept the invitation.

It’s funny, though, we never find out if the older son goes to the party or not. We know the father wants him to come, but we don’t know if he shows. Why is that? Because the son has to make his own choice. The father can’t choose for him. It’s the same with us. The Father invites us to His party, but we much choose whether we will attend. We have to play by His rules to get there. We have to celebrate the return of our lost brothers and sisters. We have to rejoice every time one more person comes to know Him as Lord of their life. We have to understand our position. We are all His children. No one is more important than another and every time one more joins the family we all celebrate the new birth. 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

You don’t have to eat like a pig (Luke 15:11-24) December 7, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Psalms 140-142

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 15:11-24
Jesus: Once there was this man who had two sons. One day the younger son came to his father and said, “Father, eventually I’m going to inherit my share of your estate. Rather than waiting until you die, I want you to give me my share now.” And so the father liquidated assets and divided them. A few days passed and this younger son gathered all his wealth and set off on a journey to a distant land. Once there he wasted everything he owned on wild living. He was broke, a terrible famine struck that land, and he felt desperately hungry and in need. He got a job with one of the locals, who sent him into the fields to feed the pigs. The young man felt so miserably hungry that he wished he could eat the slop the pigs were eating. Nobody gave him anything.
So he had this moment of self-reflection: “What am I doing here? Back home, my father’s hired servants have plenty of food. Why am I here starving to death? I’ll get up and return to my father, and I’ll say, ‘Father, I have done wrong—wrong against God and against you. I have forfeited any right to be treated like your son, but I’m wondering if you’d treat me as one of your hired servants?’” So he got up and returned to his father. The father looked off in the distance and saw the young man returning. He felt compassion for his son and ran out to him, enfolded him in an embrace, and kissed him.
The son said, “Father, I have done a terrible wrong in God’s sight and in your sight too. I have forfeited any right to be treated as your son.”
But the father turned to his servants and said, “Quick! Bring the best robe we have and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. Go get the fattest calf and butcher it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate because my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and has been found.” So they had this huge party.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

That young man reminds me so much of us today. It seems each generation just gets more selfish and self centered. What can I get and how fast can I get it. It doesn’t matter if anyone else is inconvenienced or hurt by my gain, just give me what I want. And give it to me now! We are an instant gratification society and the advertising industry know it in spades. Every ad grabs your attention and is aimed at pleasure. Even the products that have nothing to do with pleasure use images, sounds, and innuendos that aim at the pleasure centers of your brain.

It is an amazingly sinful world we live in and Satan tempts us through our own selfishness. Unfortunately, we too seldom wake up to our fallen condition as the young man in the parable or if we do rather than go back to the father we keep trying to fix our brokenness ourselves. But we can’t, we just get ourselves deeper into the hole we dig for ourselves.

But the Father wants us back. He welcomes us when we come to Him as the young man did, knowing our brokenness and ready to give ourselves fully to Him in servanthood. The father restored his son to his position of honor and sonship. He restored him to his home and laid out a banquet for him. He put new robes on his back and rings on his fingers. He treated the young man as a son because he was. The young man made mistakes. He squandered his inheritance. But he came back to his father.

That’s all God asks of us. Come to our senses and then come back to Him. But we first need to come back to our senses. We need to quit listening to the lies the world screams at us and understand that selfishness is where every sin begins. I want what I want instead of what God wants. And so it begins. Every broken commandment, every lie, every grab of property, riches, relationships for the purpose of gain. Every sin starts with a focus on me instead of focusing on the creator.

We don’t have to settle on the pods the pigs eat, we can eat from the banquet table of the king. We don’t have to wear the rags of guilt, we can be clothed in a raiment of righteousness. We can be everything God wants us to be when we come back to Him and let Him take charge of our lives. When we don’t, when we think we know how to run our lives better than God, we end up just like the younger son in the story. When we understand the Father knows us better than we know ourselves and always has our best in mind, we can follow His commands and know He will do incredible things in our lives. We will spend eternity at home with Him. What could be better than that? 

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Join my household (Luke 15:11-31), Jan 15, 2015

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Today’s Podcast


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Today’s Devotional

Today’s background scripture comes from Luke 15.

I want you to stay with Me and enjoy the life I can provide for you. But you have a choice. You can choose to leave Me and settle for the temporary pleasures of the world. Beware, though, those pleasures run out. They satisfy for a moment and then they’re gone. You’ll be left with nothing.

The young man in the parable I told was like that. He thought he could do better than second place on his father’s farm. So, he demanded his inheritance and left. I want you to note the sacrifice his father made for this second son. He liquidated his assets to give his son an early inheritance. The property and business he spent his life building, he gave up so he could satisfy the desires of his sons. The man willingly started over in his old age because he loved his sons.

I sent My son to you to show you a different way to live. He lived with you for more than 30 years and showed you how to live the way I want you to live. Things didn’t impress Him. He spoke with ease to the rich and the poor alike. He came to liberate men and women from the enslavement of things. He came to release you from the captivity the focus on material things can cause.

I know that money is important to help with the necessities of life, but the world has turned its importance upside down. It’s not something you need to hoard. It’s not something you need to worry about. I can give it or take it away. In fact, the gift of giving comes with the gift of accumulating so you can give abundantly. But if you’re tight-fisted with what comes, you will stifle My gift of giving to you.

More important than money is your reliance on Me. Like the son in the parable, you must discover the Father’s house is the place you want to live – My house. I, too, will embrace you with open arms. We will feast together. I will welcome you when you come in repentance to Me. I want you in my household, not as one of the servants, but as one of my children. Wake up from your most harrowing situation and turn to Me.

Today’s Scripture

Today’s Bible reading plans include:

Ready – Luke 15:11-31
Set – Psalms 7; Luke 15
Go! – Genesis 37-38; Psalms 7; Luke 15

Luke 15:11-31
Once there was this man who had two sons. 12 One day the younger son came to his father and said, “Father, eventually I’m going to inherit my share of your estate. Rather than waiting until you die, I want you to give me my share now.” And so the father liquidated assets and divided them. 13 A few days passed and this younger son gathered all his wealth and set off on a journey to a distant land. Once there he wasted everything he owned on wild living. 14He was broke, a terrible famine struck that land, and he felt desperately hungry and in need. 15 He got a job with one of the locals, who sent him into the fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man felt so miserably hungry that he wished he could eat the slop the pigs were eating. Nobody gave him anything.

17 So he had this moment of self-reflection: “What am I doing here? Back home, my father’s hired servants have plenty of food. Why am I here starving to death? 18 I’ll get up and return to my father, and I’ll say, ‘Father, I have done wrong—wrong against God and against you. 19 I have forfeited any right to be treated like your son, but I’m wondering if you’d treat me as one of your hired servants?’” 20 So he got up and returned to his father. The father looked off in the distance and saw the young man returning. He felt compassion for his son and ran out to him, enfolded him in an embrace, and kissed him.

21 The son said, “Father, I have done a terrible wrong in God’s sight and in your sight too. I have forfeited any right to be treated as your son.”

22 But the father turned to his servants and said, “Quick! Bring the best robe we have and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. 23 Go get the fattest calf and butcher it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate 24 because my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and has been found.” So they had this huge party.

25 Now the man’s older son was still out in the fields working. He came home at the end of the day and heard music and dancing. 26 He called one of the servants and asked what was going on. 27 The servant said, “Your brother has returned, and your father has butchered the fattest calf to celebrate his safe return.”

28 The older brother got really angry and refused to come inside, so his father came out and pleaded with him to join the celebration. 29 But he argued back, “Listen, all these years I’ve worked hard for you. I’ve never disobeyed one of your orders. But how many times have you even given me a little goat to roast for a party with my friends? Not once! This is not fair! 30 So this son of yours comes, this wasteful delinquent who has spent your hard-earned wealth on loose women, and what do you do? You butcher the fattest calf from our herd!”

31 The father replied, “My son, you are always with me, and all I have is yours.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
Music by the Booth Brothers from Room for More, “Faithful One” ©2008.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.