Tag: lost

The Prodigal’s Pain

The Prodigal’s Pain

Isaiah 66:9

“Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?” Says the Lord; “shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?” Says your God.

This verse is powerful, God is saying why would I cause pain and not let something good come out of it. Why would I waste a trial in a persons life? why would I let the test not be a testimony? Why would I let the very pain that my child is experiencing not have any good come from it?

I have been brought to this verse many times in the past. With the passing of a loved one, a broken relationship, we’ve all experienced pain. And there was always a purpose behind it.

You see, “…He has put eternity into man’s heart…” – Ecclesiastes 3:11. God put in our heart, eternity. There’s nothing that this World offers that replaces, fills, permeates the desire that our hearts long for — the Creator, God. Your friend or family member who has once tasted and seen and felt the love of God at one time who is now living life to the fullest, so they think. In the World. They feel the pain, and so do we. But we have to remember that there is a purpose with the pain.

Much like the Prodigal in Luke 15 who packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land. He spent all that he had carelessly, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. “When he finally came to his senses” the pain had finally caught up with him and he said to himself “At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!” So he returned home to his father.”

But today, as I was praying for a family member who have strayed away, who once knew Him, the Lord showed me an analogy of Isaiah 66:9 of the person who I was praying for.

A pregnancy is nine months, nine long months of having discomfort, sick, carrying extra weight that they have to carry until the time of the birth. Much like the Prodigal, they too are experiencing pain, discomfort, the shame and guilt. But remember that God has to cause the pain, the discomfort to lead them back to Him. His love is relentless, He is always pursuing the hearts of those who have known Him and have not yet known Him. It’s His kindness that leads us to repentance. It’s all part of His plan.

If you know someone who is a prodigal, don’t stop praying, don’t give up. They are of the Lord’s, He sees them where they are, even if they have forgotten Him, He has not. There is purpose in the pain, your prodigal is coming home!

The Blessed Hope

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The Resurrection of Christ brings hope. The late Emil Brunner once said, “What oxygen is for the lungs, such is hope for the meaning of human life.”

As the human organism is dependent on a supply of oxygen, so humanity is dependent on its supply of hope. Yet today hopelessness and despair are everywhere. Peter, who himself was given to despair during the episode of Calvary, writes in a triumphant note, “Blessed be the God and who according to His abundant mercy hath begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.”

There is hope that mistakes and sins can be forgiven. There is hope that we can have joy, peace, assurance and security in the midst of the despair of this age. There is hope that Christ is coming soon-this is what is called in scripture “The blessed hope”

Our hope is not in our own ability or in our goodness or physical strength. Our hope is instilled in us by the resurrection of Christ!

 

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Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are

COME OUT

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand”…- Matthew 3:1,2

…Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. – Matthew 3:4-6

 

Why would God’s spirit preach in a wilderness? God brought thousands out of the city, away from the comfort, away from the luxury, away from the distractions.

How far would you be willing to go in order to receive the blessings of God?

God wanted to save and preserve those who love Him and leave those in the city to fall to there own demises.

Sometimes we must see the prosperity and blessing in the desert rather than the corrosion and weathering of the city.

Sand erodes by the ocean, but is preserved in the desert

Fan or Follower? Part 1

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PART 1
” The Follower”

So many times we can find ourselves becoming a fan of Jesus instead of a follower of Jesus.

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The concept of a forerunner runs throughout the Bible. We could say that Adam was a forerunner, as well as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, and of course, Christ. Notice that each of these forerunners had followers—their firstfruits. Adam had Eve and their sons and daughters that followed them. Noah had his wife and family. Abraham had Sarah and Lot, and later were added Ishmael and Isaac, and then Jacob and his children. Moses had Aaron and Miriam and then all the children of Israel. Elijah led to Elisha. John the Baptist proclaimed the coming of Christ, who called His disciples—us.
Definition of follower – Habitually follow regardless of the price, even to death. Not just when it is convenient, easy and popular.
Q: What does it mean to be a follower of Christ?
From the chapter of Matthew 4 we find out that as Jesus was walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fisherman. And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
A: We must surrender ALL
– There is a cost
Peter and Andrew paid that cost.
Sacrificing what they had for the cause of Christ.
These men who had their own life and their own way of doing things, fishing was their way of life. But when the master had walked by they saw Him and immediately left with no hesitations of coming back.
What was it like? What appealed to these men as if He was no ordinary man who Peter and Andrew would just stop what they were doing and become a follower? We must to answer this question to ourselves. There is no life outside of Christ that is fulfilling. We all have been on that other side of the fence, and as for me speaking, it was horrible. We must deny ourselves daily.

~ Matthew 16:24 ~

{The “if” Problem}

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”.

These words are hard to swallow some days, when the flesh is fighting with your spirit. The fame that puts the spot light on ourselves that forms the pride that comes before destruction is a dangerous circumstance that we can find ourselves in at some points in our life if we are not careful.

He didn’t say “…If anyone could come after me”, it’s not that it’s impossible to be with Him but only “if” we are willing. “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” Mark 14″38

What we, ourselves want out of this life, will be only through Him, to follow Him with everything. While some choose to be a fan of Him that would follow Him “if” they would deny themself.

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“…And from there He called the other disciples and began to teach and proclaiming the Gospel”

Peter and Andrew were not the only disciples He had. From the instant Jesus called Peter and Andrew He began to teach and preach in the synagogues. Which led to more disciples along the way.

Q: How do we deny ourselves?

A: To not rely on ourselves

We must walk by faith and not by sight.

WHO ARE YOU FOLLOWING?

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