The Devotional – Search the Scriptures - 174


The Devotional – Search the Scriptures - 174

Luke 15:1-2; 28-32 – The all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying. This man receives (lit. welcomes) sinners and eats with them… “But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore, his father came out and pleaded with him. “So, he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. ‘But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. ‘It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’

Jesus, the Christ of God/Messiah
Luke Chapter 15 contains three parables concerning ‘repentance and joy’, the two subjects have to do with the kingdom of heaven on earth as well as the Kingdom of God in heaven. Thus, I decided to discuss the entire chapter based on repentance on earth and joy in heaven, but not without saying that there is much joy on earth as well when true repentance is found in just one person in heaven. Concerning the lost sheep, literally, the sheep may not realize the wonderful truth of what has happened. However, lost SINNERS do! The seriousness of being lost to the devil’s world is beyond the ‘natural mind’ of mankind to comprehend. Yet, when the Holy Spirit reveals the grace of God that brings salvation to the natural mind (Titus 2:11) the response of the lost sinners is OVERWHELMING!

Likewise, if we lose a valuable coin or object, everything we are doing stops, at least in my home it does. Usually, I will say to my wife; “don’t worry about it!” the object will show up sooner or later, but no, my wife will stop everything she is doing to find whatever is lost. We stop first and pray, then we search and within a short period of time the lost object is found, Praise the LORD for that! In this parable, the LORD Jesus directs our attention away from the human frantic search of a material object and He focuses on what is happening in the kingdom of God when a LOST person is recovered from the fallen world. The angels of God are joyful all of the time, but when a sinner repents and their faith in God is reborn, the shouts of joy from the angels of God is very real. When I was saved in May of 1975, I literally heard the shouts of these angels. (1 Peter 1:3-12).

Finally, the parable of the son who lost his way, but returned home after years away from the home whose builder and maker is God. There seems to be a lot of confusion regarding this parable among preachers. Some say the boy was lost, to begin with, others say that since the boy was in the household and a son, that he was not lost to the kingdom of his father but lost to the world at hand. I would agree that the son was wayward, but not lost from his father, even though he disowned his father. Wayward children of God are found throughout the history of the Bible; King David – see Psalms 25, 38 and 51. And what about the apostle Peter (Luke 22:31) reveals Satan’s desire and the result (Luke 22:54-62).

Just a quick recap – The kingdom of God is full of JOY and the GLORY of God, there is no time on this earth to WASTE by anyone. While we cannot work our way into being saved by Grace through faith, we can rely on God the Holy Spirit to guide us away from the world’s darkness and confusion and by faith, place our lives in the ONE who redeemed the world through His sinless sacrifice. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, not only is His Name sweet to our soul but to everyone who calls out to Him for salvation, He is truly the sweetest Name that brings PRAISE and GLORY to everyone who will trust Him.

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