PRODIGAL SON

7 26 12 Don’t forget to pray. Ask God for insight and an understanding of his Word. This insight or enlightenment is a work of grace and a ministry of the Holy Spirit. Pray you will have eyes to see and ears to hear the marvelous ways that God is showing his love to all his creation but especially to his family of believers.

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32 (NIV) Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. 13 "Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. 17 "When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' 20 So he got up and went to his father. "But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 "The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' 22 "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate. 25 "Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 'Your brother has come,' he replied, 'and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' 28 "The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, 'Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' 31 "'My son,' the father said, 'you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"

Occasionally, you run across an article that really speaks to your heart and this is one of those. The story speaks for itself. I know, for I too am a prodigal son. Thank God there’s not a place too far away for him to hear or too filthy and dirty for him to not want anything to do with you. I am a work of grace and give all glory and honor to Christ Jesus my Lord and Savior. david

“Why would God go to all the trouble to endure our bad choices and our flagrant sinning in order to have relationship with us? Hear the story of the lost son from the modern setting as told by Philip Yancey in his book, ‘“What’s so Amazing about Grace.”’

Yancey tells the story of a prodigal daughter who grows up in Traverse City, Michigan. Disgusted with her old fashioned parents who overreact to her nose ring, the music she listens to, the length of her skirts, she runs away. She ends up in Detroit where she meets a man who drives the biggest car she’s ever seen. The man with the big car – she calls him “Boss” – recognizes that since she’s underage, men would pay premium for her. So she goes to work for him. Things are good for a while. Life is good. But she gets sick for a few days, and it amazes her how quickly the boss turns mean. Before she knows it, she’s out on the street without a penny to her name. She still turns a couple of tricks a night, and all the money goes to support her drug habit.

One night while sleeping on the metal grates of the city, she began to feel less like a woman of the world and more like a little girl. She begins to whimper. “God, why did I leave? My dog back home eats better than I do now.” She knows that more than anything in the world, she wants to go home. Three straight calls home get three straight connections with the answering machine. Finally she leaves a message. “Mom, dad, it’s me. I was wondering about maybe coming home. I’m catching a bus up your way, and it’ll get there about midnight tomorrow. If you’re not there, I‘ll understand.” During the seven hour bus ride, she’s preparing a speech for her father. And when the bus comes to a stop in the Traverse City station, the driver announces the fifteen-minute stop. Fifteen minutes to decide her life.

She walks into the terminal not knowing what to expect. But not one of the thousand scenes that have played out in her mind prepares her for what she sees. There in the bus terminal in Traverse City, Michigan, stands a group of forty brothers and sisters and great-aunts and uncles and cousins and a grandmother and a great-grandmother to boot. They’re all wearing goofy party hats and blowing noise-makers, and taped across the entire wall of the terminal is a computer-generated banner that reads – Welcome Home!

Out of the crowd of well-wishers breaks her dad. She stares out through the tears quivering in her eyes and begins her memorized speech. He interrupts her. “Hush, child. We’ve got no time for that. No time for apologies. We’ll be late. A big party is waiting for you at home.” [Contributed By: David Simmons, Sermon Central]

Word from the Lord: “Beloved, it seems that only those who have been plucked out of the pigsty really understand the depths of my love for them. You may be thinking, I don’t ever remember being in a pigsty. Let me remind you that the sin of eating a small piece of fruit in the Garden of Eden is all it took for Adam and Eve to die spiritually. I share that with you to help you understand it’s how I view sin that’s important, not how you view it. Many have a tendency to think that some sins are worse than others; that some sins are considered small indiscretions. Trust me, that is not my view of sin. One sin is all it took for all of mankind to die spiritually and to be in need of a Redeemer and Savior. I’m not interested in how good some of you think you are. My hope for you is for you to be guided by my Holy Spirit and see your real need, the need of forgiveness. It is only then that you are able to call out to me for mercy. When you do you will be able to see sin through my eyes.”

Did the Lord speak to you today?  Why not write it down and claim it for His Glory. 


Prayer:  What do you need to pray to the Lord today? Listen to your heart. He loves you!


If you are not interesting in receiving these devotionals please let me know and I will remove you from the list. I hope you enjoy them and that they encourage you to faithfulness. david