Devotional Song: Go to this link … Please take the time to see/hear Phillips, Craig , and Dean singing on of my favorite songs ... He’ll Do Whatever It Takes. declaring the truth of a Savior Who will do whatever it takes to pursue, find, and bring one of His wayward lambs back to God's flock. … And THEN ON THIS LINK where you’ll hear the group, Avalon, singing the song Orphans of God declaring the intent of God to bring all Who have been orphans of the world to come back into the family of God
Highlight Passage - NKJV Luke 15: 7 …
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.
============
Highlight Context - NKJV: Luke 15: 1-7 [NKJV] … GO TO THIS LINK … Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep
Reference Passage #1 … Isaiah 53: 6 [NKJV] - The Prophet declares the reality of a Messiah who will take the sins of mankind on His shoulders and bring His lost sheep back into the family of God …
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Reference Passage #2… Luke 15: 8-10 — GO TO THIS LINK … Parable of the lost coin
Reference Passage #2… Luke 15: 11-32 — GO TO THIS LINK … Parable of the lost son
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional entry, authored by Dave Branon, told a story of a group of kids on a missionary trip who visited an orphanage while one of the young boys had been claimed by new parents. And they gathered as the new parents arrived for the boy and had a celebration, singing a song of joy as the boy was “claimed” and hugged by his new parents. And one of the missionary kids commented that this is what it must be like in heaven when a newly saved child of God is re-ushered into the family of God.
If you’ve been a “lost sheep,” as I was until age 39, you have to rejoice when reading the three stories in Luke, Chapter 15 [all three linked above] of our relentless pursuer Who, as it is sung in the linked song above, will Do Whatever It Takes to seek out, rescue, and bring back one of His lost sheep back into God’s sovereign flock. And in each of those parables from Luke 15, we note that there is a celebration in the kingdom of God when God pursues, finds, and rescues one of His flock.
And I know that on April 13th, 1983, there was a wild party in heaven because one of God’s most recalcitrant lambs [yes, yours truly] was broken down to a place where I could repent and open my heart to my relentless Pursuer … the Spirit of God. It’s a long story, too long to relate here; but I had been one of the Good Shepherd’s wayward sheep for years; and He led me through one messy journey before He reached into the life of one of His most wayward sons and rescued me from a life of degradation and personal selfishness. And on that April 13th the angels no doubt had a party when I surrendered to my Lord’s pursuit. And I was adopted into the family of God.
If you’ve been one of those wayward sheep, running from the Prodigal Father, it’s time to look for Him running to greet you with open arms. It’s time to repent and come back to your Heavenly Father, Who wants to celebrate your coming home to Him.
My Prayer for Today … Lord, … Hug me again today, my Father.
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
No comments:
Post a Comment