The Parable of the Lost Sheep…

 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying:

4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 

7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.—Luke 15:1-7

This is a famous parable...most people probably get its meaning, but maybe you are like me and have not really rethought its meaning since you first heard it as a child.  Having done that (rethought its meaning) this morning, I am feeling...well...sheepish.

I have loved this particular parable since I was a child for two reasons.  The first is because I really love animals, and the second is because I personally HATE to lose anything.  For example, when my children were little, I would take care to ensure that when a toy or puzzle was put away it had all its pieces.  If it didn’t, a search would ensue. I could really relate to the Shepherd’s joy in finding the sheep that was lost. 

Today as I read, I observed a word in verse 7 that I had not noticed in all my previous readings.  The word was “just”, and that one little word made me rethink the entire parable.  Read the verse again and notice how the “just” person is defined. 

 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance

Do you see why I am feeling sheepish?  Inserting myself into the story, I am the lost sheep who was found!  The other 99 are the ones who are really lost because they think they are righteous and, therefore, have no need of repentance. The Bible says that there is none that are righteous...no not one...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Beloved....the Son of Man came to seek and save that which was lost. He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.  The joy of God Himself is when a blinded, lost “sheep” comes to repentance. 

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.—Hebrews 12:2

For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.—2 Peter 2:25

The Parable of the Great Supper

15 Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, "Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!"

It was a commonly held belief among the Jews that only the Jews would be invited to the heavenly feast. Christ tells a different story.  His parable includes the Gentiles.

16 Then He said to him, "A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, 17 and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.'

Guests were pre-invited.  Apparently, no one declined the invitation. The expectation was that all would come.  According to John MacArthur, the pre-invited guests refer to the people of Israel, who had been told by the OT to be ready for the arrival of the Messiah.

18 But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.' 19 And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.' 20 Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' 

Once the guests were notified that all was ready they began to make excuses.  All of the excuses seemed valid on the surface but digging deeper the insincerity could be exposed.

21 So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.'

The master upon hearing becomes angry and orders the servant to go out quickly and bring in the poor, maimed, lame and blind. These were people the Pharisees of Jesus’ day saw as unworthy. 

22 And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.' 23 Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

There was still room.  Beloved…God wants none to perish but all to come to eternal life in His Son. The highways and hedges here, again, according to MacArthur, refer to the Gentile nations. He also says that the word compel means not by force or violence but by persuasion. 

24 For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.'"

Those who refused or disdained the invitation were shut out of the banquet. Their excuses may have seemed good and reasonable to them but there is truly no excuse for turning down the Kingdom of God when Jesus offers it, given that our eternal destiny rests on our response.  

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.—2 Corinthians 6:2

He came to His own and His own did not receive Him.—John 1:11

34 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! 35 See! Your house is left to you desolate; and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!'"—Luke 13:34-35

Wrestling with God…Genesis 32

 Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day. Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him, He touched the socket of his hip; and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him. And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!" So He said to him, "What is your name?" He said, "Jacob." And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." --Genesis 32:24-28

To My Daughters,

Jacob was left alone...Solitude for some is the last place they want to be.  Solitude means being alone with yourself...alone with your thoughts, fears and anxieties.   This is where we find Jacob, alone and probably filled with anxiety and fear.   Perhaps understanding with heart knowledge for the first that he was not in control...that no amount of deceiving and conniving would save him or his family from harm.  It is here, at his point of need, where His God  met him.

Hosea 12:4 identifies this Man with whom Jacob wrestled as the Angel of the Lord. He is also identified as God, a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ.  In verse 30 Jacob names the place of his struggle as Peniel which means literally the face of God.  Jacob wrestled and struggled with God Himself! 

Most of us can relate to Jacob.  Our own self-will  keeps us from God's best and away from the right path.  God wanted to do a work in Jacob, but Jacob was not in a place of surrender.  For in God's world the way into His presence and to  victory is in surrender.   Jacob did not surrender...not until God crippled him.  God did not want to cripple him, but sometimes (okay, most times) God has got to weaken us to enable us to see ourselves for the miserable, weak, helpless sinners that we are.  A good shepherd will break a wandering lamb's leg to save its life.  He will then carry that lamb on his shoulders until its legs heal.  By the time the healing occurs the lamb has grown to love the shepherd and wants to remain close to his side. 

This is what God did to Jacob.  Jacob had a tendency to stray, go his own way and do things in his own strength.  There is a way that seems right to man, the bible says, but its end is destruction.  Jacob's limp would always remind him of his weakness...it was a wound from a Faithful Friend who loved Him, wanted the best for him and most importantly did not want to see him perish.  Jacob now understood as the apostle Paul did that when he was weak, he was strong.

And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.  Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.--2nd Corinthians 12:7-10

God had blessed Jacob materially..now He wanted to bless Him even more abundantly.  He wanted to fill Jacob with Himself and place His desires on His heart.  This is what Jacob wanted...this is what he desired.

And He said, "Let Me go, for the day breaks." But he said, "I will not let You go unless You bless me!" 

Jacob's struggle, as ours are til the day we die, was with himself.   His spirit was willing but his flesh was weak.  We are our own worst enemy...me, myself and I always get in the way of the work God wants to do in our lives..  The Angel of God responds to Jacob's demand for a blessing by asking him what his name was.  Now God did not ask him his name because he did not know it.  He asked him his name because he wanted Jacob to face who he was in his flesh...a deceiver and a heel catcher.  If Jacob wanted to be blessed by God he needed to admit who he was and allow His God to change Him.  Upon this admission, Jacob got a new name.  Israel....which literally means ruled by God or God empowered prince.  God cannot trust us with His work and His power unless we are under His authority...surrendered to His will.  Jacob was crippled in the battle but victory was his because now instead of being ruled by self...He was ruled by God and became one of the patriarchs of God's chosen people.

Ask God to rule in your life.  Lay down your will and accept His.  Look at yourself...really look.  Admit your need and God will meet you.  Even if you have been walking with the Lord a long time there will be much you will find as the Lord peels away the "you" layers that you have not laid down.  Ask God to show you these.  Know that as you lay them down, you are not laying down anything that is good for you.  You are laying down those things that interfere with all that God has for you...the things that interfere with the work He wants to do in you and through you.  As you surrender to Him by faith and allow Him to rule your life, His grace will be there and His goodness and mercy will abound. 

Love

Mom

On Making Peace…

 57 "Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? 58 When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite."—Luke 12:57-59

Jesus’ point here in these verses is that we should do whatever we have to do to be reconciled with our Father in Heaven before it is too late. He wanted the people to be as spiritually wise as they were worldly wise. It makes perfect sense from an earthly perspective to do what we can to be reconciled to our adversaries especially if we can avoid being thrown in prison as a result. How much more, then, if our Adversary is the Lord and that prison is eternal!  

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.—John 3:16-17

One of the Godly “Khaseed”…

But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The LORD will hear when I call to Him.—Psalm 4:3

This was so good to read this morning. In love, the Lord had set David apart for Himself.  Because He had done this, the Lord would hear David when he called. Walvoord says that David describes himself as one of the godly “khaseed” an object of God’s covenantal loyal love…His steadfast unchanging love.  David was in God’s protective care.  He could rejoice even in the face of opposition. God would hear and respond to his prayers. 

As a believer in Jesus, I am the same.  

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.—1 Peter 2:9-10

Truly, I stand in awe.  God hears my prayer.  Like David, He will answer me when I call.  My God is for me, and He is on my side.  I can trust in His steadfast, loyal love.  

14 "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;

I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life I will satisfy him,

And show him My salvation."—Psalm 91:14-16

16 As for me, I will call upon God,

And the LORD shall save me.

17 Evening and morning and at noon

I will pray, and cry aloud,

And He shall hear my voice.

18 He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,

For there were many against me.

19 God will hear, and afflict them,

Even He who abides from of old.—Psalm 55:16-19

When I cry out to You,

Then my enemies will turn back;

This I know, because God is for me.

10 In God (I will praise His word),

In the LORD (I will praise His word),

11 In God I have put my trust;

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?—Psalm 56:9-11

Have Mercy On Me, O LORD, for I Am Weak…

Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak—Psalm 6:2a

This is one of my favorite prayers to pray, because it makes its plea to God on weakness. I read that the word “weak” in the original literally means “I am one who droops.”  I so get that feeling.  I am fading fast.  My body and my spirit are like a withered plant in need of water and TLC. Deal gently with me Lord...give me encouragement and strength.   How good and kind is our God that we can plead weakness with Him and expect kindness.  A bruised reed He will not break and a smoking flax He will not quench.  There are few men in this world to which we could plead weakness and move any of them in our favor.  But our God is RICH in mercy.  His love for us is great and His desire toward us for our good.  His grace is EXCEEDINGLY rich in kindness.  Pleading helplessness, hopelessness, unworthiness, insufficiency, need, misery or tears pierces His heart and opens the door for Him to deliver and show us the exceeding riches of His kindness toward us. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart and saves such as have a contrite spirit.  For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, in order to revive the spirit of the humble and the heart of the contrite ones.

As a father pities his children,

So the Lord pities those who fear Him.

For He knows our frame;

He remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass;

As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

For the wind passes over it, and it is [b]gone,

And its place remembers it no more.

But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting

On those who fear Him,—Psalm 103:13-17

Who is the Greatest?

 33 Then He came to Capernaum. And when He was in the house He asked them, "What was it you disputed among yourselves on the road?" 34 But they kept silent, for on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. 35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." 36 Then He took a little child and set him in the midst of them. And when He had taken him in His arms, He said to them, 37 "Whoever receives one of these little children in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him who sent Me."—Mark 9:33-37

The following is from a Walvoord commentary.  I really liked what he had to say because he stressed that being “last of all” was a deliberate, voluntary choice. The servant of all, Walvoord says, depicts one who attends to the needs of others freely…NOT one in a servile position such as a doulos or. slave. Walvoord goes on to say that Jesus did not condemn the desire to improve one’s position in life but He did teach that greatness in His kingdom was not determined by status but by service. 

Next in verses 36-37 to illustrate servanthood, Jesus set a little child from the home ( perhaps Peter’s child) among the disciples.  Walvoord says that to be a “servant of all” included giving attention to a child, the least significant person in Jewish as well as Greco-Roman society which idealized the mature adult. 

Jesus took the child in His arms.  To welcome, that is, to serve or show kindness to one of these little children, who represented the lowliest disciple in Jesus’ name (on His behalf) is equivalent to welcoming Jesus Himself.  But to do this was not to welcome Jesus only but also the heavenly Father who sent Him to earth.  This gives dignity to the task of serving others. I love that. 

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.—Colossians 3:17

Only Believe…

 While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”  As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” 37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.—Mark 5:35-37

Jesus here encourages Jairus after hearing that his little girl had died to not be afraid...but only to believe.  Luke, in his account of the story says this:

But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.”—Luke 8:50

J MacArthur says the word believe used here, is a verb that expresses a command for present, continuous action.  Jesus then, is commanding Jairus to maintain his faith...the faith that he originally demonstrated in coming to Jesus...even in the face of the loss of his precious daughter.  Jesus goes on in the story to raise Jairus’ little girl from the dead. What a precious gift to her parents and those who witnessed the miracle with them. They maintained their confidence in Christ and were rewarded abundantly. 

Beloved, don’t lose heart in your own seemingly hopeless situation...only believe.  Faith is ALWAYS the right response.  Hear the voice of Your beloved Jesus in your own grief and helplessness...do not be afraid; only believe. His will for you Is good.  His desire for you is to give you a future and a hope. He wants to do great things for you!  Trust Him to do what is best.  There are many, even just in my own life, that need Jesus to breathe life into their hearts.  Believe...Our God is compassionate...He is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to life in His Son.  Truly, good things come to those who believe...even life from the dead.

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed

That I would see the goodness of the LORD

In the land of the living.—Psalm 27:13

The Strength of My Heart…

 1 Truly God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,

my steps had nearly slipped.

3 For I was envious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For they have no pangs until death;

their bodies are fat and sleek.

5 They are not in trouble as others are;

they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

6 Therefore pride is their necklace;

violence covers them as a garment.

7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;

their hearts overflow with follies.

8 They scoff and speak with malice;

loftily they threaten oppression.

9 They set their mouths against the heavens,

and their tongue struts through the earth.

10 Therefore his people turn back to them,

and find no fault in them.

11 And they say, “How can God know?

Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

12 Behold, these are the wicked;

always at ease, they increase in riches.

13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean

and washed my hands in innocence.

14 For all the day long I have been stricken

and rebuked every morning.

15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

16 But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me a wearisome task,

17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;

then I discerned their end.

18 Truly you set them in slippery places;

you make them fall to ruin.

19 How they are destroyed in a moment,

swept away utterly by terrors!

20 Like a dream when one awakes,

O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

21 When my soul was embittered,

when I was pricked in heart,

22 I was brutish and ignorant;

I was like a beast toward you.

23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

24 You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will receive me to glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;

you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

28 But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

that I may tell of all your works.

As the psalm begins the author, Asaph, is struggling with envy as he sees the arrogant and the wicked prosper.  It isn’t until Asaph goes into the sanctuary of God (vs17) that he discerns their true end (sudden destruction)and gains an eternal perspective. 

18 Truly you set them in slippery places;

you make them fall to ruin.

19 How they are destroyed in a moment,

swept away utterly by terrors!

20 Like a dream when one awakes,

O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

How do we, as believers, live in this evil world where the wicked prosper?  More to the point, how do we live in it without becoming envious, angry or bitter?  We make God our stay. He is our shield and our exceedingly great reward.  Read the last portion of the psalm.  

21 When my soul was embittered,

when I was pricked in heart,

22 I was brutish and ignorant;

I was like a beast toward you.

23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

24 You guide me with your counsel,

and afterward you will receive me to glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;

you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

28 But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

that I may tell of all your works.

Asaph helped me speak my heart here with his words.  God, who is my greatest joy, is always with me.  His right hand is under my head and His left hand embraces me.  Whether I am in heaven or whether I am on earth, He is all I will ever want and all I will ever  need. My God is invincible..He cannot be defeated.  No evil in this life can take Him away from me.  My flesh and my heart may fail;

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. He will guide me with His counsel and afterward will receive me to glory.  

Beloved…make God your refuge…those who draw near to Him will find joy and safety. They will never be put to shame. 

But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

that I may tell of all your works

17 Do not let your heart envy sinners,

But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day;

18 For surely there is a hereafter,

And your hope will not be cut off.—Proverbs 23:17-18

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.—1 John 2:15-17