SHARING BREAD

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.

Luke 15:15-16 (NIV)

Anyone out there besides me ever been in a situation where “no one gave him anything”?  A helping hand would have been nice or perhaps even an encouraging word or look – scared, needy, and frightened and the world just keeps on passing us by.  Not a very fun place to find oneself particularly if the miseries we are encountering are directly related to our own doings or should I say un-doings?  Not too dissimilar to the prodigal in our verses for today, poor choices, bad decisions and momentary lapses of weaknesses are all fuel for the fire for this solitary situation we perhaps have found ourselves in.  But God (two of my favorite words in Scripture) gives His followers the following hope through the promises in His Word:

“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” ⁶ So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?”   Heb 13:5-6 (NIV)

⁵ No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. ⁶ “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them.   Josh 1:5-6 (NIV)

²⁵ I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. ²⁶ They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed.  Psalms 37:25-26 (NIV)

The wonderful riches of God’s grace and mercies are of unspeakable value to the poor sinner in these dire circumstances.  When we come face to face with our own folly and weaknesses the grace and mercy of God stands out to us like a sparkling gem.  How precious and valuable it is – oh that we would remain with this mindset when the winds of ease are blowing.  Matthew Henry writes:

“A sinful state is a state of departure and distance from God.  It is the sinfulness of sin that it is an apostasy from God.  He set off from his father’s house.   Sinners are fled from God.  They get as far off him as they can.  The world is the distant country in which they take up their residence.  It is the misery of sinners that they are far off from God, and are going further and further from him.  What is hell itself, but being far off from God?” 

The total absence of goodness and righteousness, the total lack of light – heavy darkness and vilest evil – a state of perpetual dissatisfaction all apt descriptions of hell.  Jesus appropriately describes the activity there as “weeping and gnashing of teeth”.  We find in Matthew:

 ⁴⁰ ”As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴² They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.   Matt 13:40-43 (NIV)

Just as God allows for those who pursue holiness and righteousness to experience a taste of heaven on earth through the enjoyment of walking with Him and growing in knowledge of Him, in love, He allows those who choose to pursue evil and destruction to experience a taste of hell with the desire for them to turn back to Him.  I am reminded of Paul speaking to the Church at Corinth regarding a brother engaged in apostasy:

¹ It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. ² And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? ³ Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. ⁴ When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, ⁵ hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.   1 Cor 5:1-5 (NIV)

God has no desire for any to perish but all to come to repentance.  Peter tells us:

⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.   2 Peter 3:8-9 (NIV)

“He who yields a point or two to the world is in fearful peril; he who eats the grapes of Sodom will soon drink the wine of Gomorrah.  Worldly conformity, in any degree, is a snare to the soul, and makes it more and more liable to presumptuous sins.  Careful walking may involve much self-denial, but it has pleasures of its own which are more than a sufficient recompense.”  C.H. Spurgeon

“How sweet the remembrance that inexhaustible mercy is waiting to be gracious to us, to restore our backslidings, and make our broken bones rejoice!”  C.H. Spurgeon

What I glean from this:

• As His child, God will never leave me nor forsake me.
• God’s grace and mercy are of unspeakable value to me.
• As I pursue holiness and righteousness, God allows me to experience a taste of heaven on earth.  “There are joys unearthly in their power and in their sweetness.”  Amy Carmichael

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SHARING BREAD

¹¹ 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.

Luke 15:11-14 (NIV)

In our verses for today Jesus begins the all too familiar parable of the lost son, in my opinion, more appropriately named the parable of the loving Father – clearly setting forth for us the immeasurable riches of the gospel of grace.  The prodigal here is representative of the tax collectors and “sinners” while the elder “self-righteous” son represents the Jews in general and particularly the Pharisees.  Jesus begins the parable with the prodigal making an imperious demand upon his father – “Give me now, what is my right.”  Of this request Matthew Henry states:

“The great folly of sinners is being content to have their share in hand, now in this lifetime to receive their good things.  They look only to the things that are seen, and covet only a present enjoyment, but have no care for a future happiness.”

I am reminded of Proverbs 30:

⁸ Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.  ⁹ Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’  Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.  Prov 30:8-9 (NIV)

While riches and material goods are not in themselves intrinsically evil, the love (or should I say lust) of them is.  Paul’s words to Timothy describe this (and for that matter our prodigal) perfectly:

⁹ People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.   1 Tim 6:9-10 (NIV)

Our prodigal takes his inheritance and immediately begins to squander it away in riotous living leaving him destitute and in dire need when famine falls on the land.  Isn’t it interesting when overwhelming need strikes our focus suddenly turns upward?  Isn’t it sad that it often takes these difficult circumstances for God to once again get our focus back on Him?  Sadly, isn’t it is a lesson we just seem to have to keep re-learning?   Jesus tells us:

³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Matt 6:31-33 (NIV)

As believers we are to be kingdom seekers displaying a life of daily faith.  Yet, unfortunately, many will not be bound to God’s authority by seeking His kingdom and righteousness first but sadly, like the prodigal, will bind themselves, as Matthew Henry states, “to the cords of their own lusts”.  When will we ever learn that, as A. W. Tozer writes:  

“The man who has God for his treasure has all things in one.”    

“We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us.  We are far too easily pleased.”  C. S. Lewis

As God was the earthly inheritance for the Priestly tribe of Levi in the Old Testament, so too is He our earthly inheritance today as believers are termed His royal Priesthood in the New Testament.  Scripture tells us:

⁸ At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they still do today. ⁹ That is why the Levites have no share or inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as the LORD your God told them.)   Deut 10:8-9 (NIV)

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone–rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him– ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.  1 Peter 2:4-5 (NIV)

 ⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV)

“It is natural for us to wish and to plan, and it is merciful of the Lord to disappoint our plans and to cross our wishes.  For we cannot be safe or happy until we are weaned from our own wills and made simply desirous of being directed by His guidance.  Although we understand this we seldom learn to put it into practice without being trained for a while in the school of disappointment.  The schemes we form look so plausible and convenient that when they are broken we are ready to say, ‘What a pity!’  We try again, and with no better success; we are grieved, and perhaps angry, and plan another, and so on; eventually, in the course of time, experience and observation begin to convince us that we are no more able than we are worthy to choose correctly for ourselves.  The Lord’s invitation to cast our cares upon Him, and His promise to take care of us, appear valuable; and when we have done planning, His plan in our favor gradually opens, and He does more and better for us than we could either ask or think.  I can hardly recollect a single plan of mine, which if it had taken place in the time and the way I wanted would, humanly speaking, have proved my ruin; or at least would have deprived me of the greater good the Lord had designed for me.  We judge things by their present appearance; but the Lord sees them in their consequences.  If we could do the same we would be perfectly of His mind; but since we can’t, it is an unspeakable mercy that He will manage for us, whether we are pleased with His management or not; and it is regarded as one of His heaviest judgments when He gives any person up to the way of their own hearts, and to walk according to their own wisdom.”     John Newton       

What I glean from this:

• I am not to “covet only a present enjoyment” but rather look forward towards my future enjoyment.
•  When I have God on my throne rather than self, I am most pleased and at peace.  “It is our self-importance, not our misery, which gets in His way.”  Daniel Considine
•  If I could see all things out in their consequences I would be perfectly of His mind.

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⁸ “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹ And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ ¹⁰ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15:8-10 (NIV)

Ever lost something extremely valuable to you – even if it was one among ten or even ninety-nine among one hundred?  Would you not search high and low until finding it – giving yourself no rest or having no peace of mind until it was discovered?  Recounting every step you took when you knew it was in your possession – perhaps recalling to mind with fondness and joy the past when everything was in its “proper place”.   Constantly reminding yourself of where you could have possibly placed this cherished gem. This is the exact illustration Jesus gives of a Father full of boundless compassion and love towards His wayward child depicting a glorious picture of our heavenly “Daddy” and His angels welcoming His returning prodigal home. Our Father is full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger and abounding in great love.  He does not treat us as our sins deserve but desires for us to be in constant fellowship and relationship with Him.  When we are in sin, that relationship is broken.  What fellowship does light have with darkness?  Paul states: 

For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? ¹⁵ What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?   2 Cor 6:14-15 (NIV)

Scripture confirms these points through the following verses:

 ³ The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. Jer 31:3 (NIV)

⁴ I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them.   Hosea 11:4 (NIV)

¹⁷ They refused to listen and failed to remember the miracles you performed among them. They became stiff-necked and in their rebellion appointed a leader in order to return to their slavery. But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love. Therefore you did not desert them,   Neh 9:17 (NIV)

⁵ Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. ⁶ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷ maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”  Ex 34:5-7 (NIV)

⁶ But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always. Hosea 12:6 (NIV)

Of our verses for today Matthew Henry states:

“That which is lost is a piece of silver.  The soul is silver, of intrinsic worth and value; not base metal, as iron or lead, but silver.  It is a silver coin.  It is stamped with God’s portrait and superscription.  This silver was lost in the dirt; a soul plunged in the world is like a piece of money in the dirt; anyone would say, ‘It is a thousand pities that it should lie there.’”

As Proverbs depicts the foolish returning to their evil habits even though disgusting:

¹¹ As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.  Prov 26:11 (NIV)

Peter reiterates in 2 Peter:

²² Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.”   2 Peter 2:22 (NIV)

⁶ Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. ⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.   Isaiah 55:6-7 (NIV)

“God loves us not because of who we are, but because of who He is.”  Anonymous

“I remember two things:  that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.”  John Newton

“We forget that God is a specialist; He is well able to work our failures into His plans.”  Erwin Lutzer

¹ I love the LORD, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. ² Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.   Psalms 116:1-2 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• There is great rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents.
• Sin breaks my fellowship with God.
• God is able to make “beauty from ashes” out of my failures.

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⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Luke 15:7 (NIV)

The wording in our verse for today is a description of what occurs in heaven when the heinous and habitual sinner changes their mind or disposition toward God – basically, rejoicing abounds.  Specifically, repentance is “to undergo a moral reorientation of the soul”, according to the New Testament Lexical Aids of the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible.  Further it states:

“This reorientation acknowledges the error of one’s ways and turns them towards the divinely prescribed way of truth and righteousness.  In terms of salvation (or conversion), repentance denotes a turning away from unbelief, mistrust, and rebellion against God and toward complete reliance upon His forgiveness and favor on account of Christ.  Although repentance can be attended by and expressed through sorrow or contrition, it is fundamentally tied to the mind or heart and not the emotions.”

Paul, in speaking to King Agrippa in Acts, recounted words Jesus spoke to him on his Damascus road encounter:

 ¹⁵ ”Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. ¹⁶ ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. ¹⁷ I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them ¹⁸ to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’ Acts 26:15-18 (NIV)

Here we see in Jesus’ own words repentance consists of turning from darkness to light (rebellion to righteousness) and from the power of Satan to the power of God.  Again, this is tied to the mind and the heart and not the emotions.  We simply cannot trust our emotions – they wax and wane like the waves of the sea.  If we are basing our belief on this tossing and turning we are certain to be unstable in our ways.  Scripture states:

⁶ But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.   James 1:5-8 (NIV)

When we allow our emotions to control us, we vacillate over trusting in God’s provision and turning to our own fears and anxieties – as if we were in control of anything!  When we do this we open up ourselves to Pandora’s Box becoming easily duped by those who “follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority”.  Of these people Peter states us:

¹³ They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. ¹⁴ With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed–an accursed brood!   2 Peter 2:13-14 (NIV)

Again, we are warned by Paul in 2 Timothy:

¹ But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God– ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. ⁶ They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, ⁷ always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth.   2 Tim 3:1-7 (NIV)

Being unstable, vulnerable or gullible sets us up for a coup from the evil one.  Beware!  Know Truth through having a firm grasp of God’s Word. We are not to depend on our feelings.  Scripture admonishes us to:

¹⁵ Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.   2 Tim 2:15 (NIV)

“The best protection against Satan’s lies is to know God’s truth.”  Anonymous

“If we suffer the good to grow weaker, the evil will surely gather strength and struggle desperately for the mastery over us; and so, mayhap, a painful desolation, and a lamentable disgrace may follow.”  Charles Spurgeon

What I glean from this:

·       Heaven rejoices whenever a sinner repents and turns to God.

·       My repentance is fundamentally tied to my mind and heart and not my emotions.

·       I must know God’s Word so that I may be able to take a stand against the evil one.

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⁵ And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders ⁶ and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’

Luke 15:5-6 (NIV)

No doubt, God takes great pleasure in the repenting and returning of the wandering.  Remember, He desires for none to perish but all to come to repentance yet sadly He knows that many will reject Him:

⁸ But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.    2 Peter 3:8-9 (NIV)

³ This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave himself as a ransom for all men–the testimony given in its proper time. 1 Tim 2:3-6 (NIV)

Jesus’ rejoicing over the lost sheep now found certainly displays for us a wonderful heavenly minded perspective which, I might add, would do us all well to have!  Repentance, the rebel returning and coming home, always brings a smile to God’s face and starts the angels singing!  Great rejoicing abounds in the heavens when the children of God finally “get it”!  We are so earthbound in our thought processes.  We rarely think eternal.  We see so dimly.  Scripture tells us: 

¹² Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.   1 Cor 13:12 (NIV)

One day our present partial reflection will give way to the splendor of perfect vision.  If we only knew in completeness what we are saved for and from, like Jesus, we too would be rejoicing over the retuning of the repentant.   As Scripture states:

⁹ However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” — 1 Cor 2:9 (NIV)

“The supreme happiness of life,” Victor Hugo said, “is the conviction that we are loved”….Unfortunately, many people go through life feeling unloved – and unlovable…No matter the reason, your feelings aren’t telling you the truth!  God loves you, and if you begin to see yourself the way God sees you, your attitudes will begin to change.  If He didn’t love you, would Christ have been willing to die for you?  But He did!  The Bible says, “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16).  God loves you.  Hammer that truth into your head and mind every day.  It will make all the difference.”    Billy Graham

It broke Jesus’ heart when Jerusalem would not turn to Him.  In His final lament over the city He states:

  ³⁷ ”O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. ³⁸ Look, your house is left to you desolate.   Matt 23:37-38 (NIV)

This is not the first time in Scripture where God grieves over those who will not turn to Him:

¹⁵ This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.   Isaiah 30:15 (NIV)

Foolish us, when we reject God’s message, we attach ourselves to oppression and deceit.  Earlier in this same chapter of Isaiah we find:

¹² Therefore, this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you have rejected this message, relied on oppression and depended on deceit, ¹³ this sin will become for you like a high wall, cracked and bulging, that collapses suddenly, in an instant. ¹⁴ It will break in pieces like pottery, shattered so mercilessly that among its pieces not a fragment will be found  for taking coals from a hearth or scooping water out of a cistern.”   Isaiah 30:12-14 (NIV)

Let us consider today the great love of God and reflect upon this fact all day long.

¹⁶ ”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.   John 3:16-18 (NIV)

“Jesus loves me this I know; for the Bible tells me so.”

What I glean from this:

• God takes great pleasure in the repenting and returning of the wandering lost.
• God desires for none to perish but for all to come to repentance.
• I have no idea what I have been saved from and for.

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³ Then Jesus told them this parable: ⁴ “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

Luke 15:3-4 (NIV)

In our verses for today, Jesus begins a parable which He fleshes out in His encounter with Zacchaeus a bit later in Luke:

⁹ Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”   Luke 19:9-10 (NIV)

Our Savior came to save.  Of all the different religions in this world, Christianity is the only one that God condescends to come down to man – seeking him at his own low level.  Think about Adam and Eve right after the fall.  Prior to sin entering on the scene, they had had a completely unique experience of literally being able to walk with God in the Garden of Eden – totally naked yet not ashamed.  Then sin enters on the scene and they hide from their seeking God:

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?”   Gen 3:8-9 (NIV)

What mercy He bestows to His lost sheep!  Charles H. Spurgeon suggests that we “meditate for a moment on the mercy of God” – I believe it will encourage our hearts today.  He states the following gold nuggets regarding the mercy of God:

• It is tender mercy:  With gentle, loving touch, He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.  He is as gracious in the manner of His mercy as in the matter of it.
• It is great mercy:  There is nothing little in God; His mercy is like Himself – it is infinite.  You cannot measure it.  His mercy is so great that it forgives great sins to great sinners, after great lengths of time, and then gives great favours and great privileges, and raises us up to great enjoyments in the great heaven of the great God.
• It is undeserved mercy:  As indeed all true mercy must be, for deserved mercy is only a misnomer for justice.  There was no right on the sinner’s part to the kind consideration of the Most High; had the rebel been doomed at once to eternal fire he would have richly merited the doom, and if delivered from wrath, sovereign love alone has found a cause, for there was none in the sinner himself.
• It is rich mercy:  Some things are great, but have little efficacy in them, but this mercy is a cordial to your drooping spirits; a golden ointment to your bleeding wounds; a heavenly bandage to your broken bones; a royal chariot for your weary feet; a bosom of love for your trembling heart.
• It is manifold mercy:  As Bunyan says, ‘All the flowers in God’s garden are double’. There is no single mercy.  You may think you have but one mercy, but you shall find it to be a whole cluster of mercies.
• It is abounding mercy:  Millions have received it, yet far from its being exhausted, it is as fresh, as full, and as free as ever.
• It is unfailing mercy:  It will never leave thee.  If mercy be thy friend, mercy will be with thee in temptations to keep thee from yielding; with thee in trouble to prevent thee from sinking; with thee living to be the light and life of thy countenance; and with thee dying to be the joy of thy soul when earthly comfort is ebbing fast.

²¹ Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: ²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.  ²³ They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ²⁴ I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”  Lam 3:21-24 (NIV)

⁸ He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the LORD require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.   Micah 6:8 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (me).
• Jesus calls out to the sinner (me) – “Come to me”:  ²⁸ ”Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”  Matt 11:28-30 (NIV)
• Just as Jesus is rich in mercy towards me, His desire is for me to be merciful to others.

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¹ Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him. ² But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Luke 15:1-2 (NIV)

Isn’t it wonderful for us that Jesus chose to come to the hopeless and the sinners and the sick!  Recalling Jesus’ words in Matthew:

 ¹² On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. ¹³ But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”   Matt 9:12-13 (NIV)

“I simply argue that the Cross should be raised at the center of the marketplace as well as on the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles; but on a cross between two thieves; on the towns’ garbage heap; at a crossroad, so cosmopolitan they had to write his title in Hebrew and Latin and Greek… at the kind of place where cynics talk smut, and thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. Because that is where He died. And that is what He died about. So, that is where church-men ought to be and what churchmen ought to be about.” Rev. Dr. George McLeod, Minister, Church of Scotland, 1895-1991

It appears to me that the only ones Jesus is not calling are those who are convinced of their own “righteousness”.  Sadly, being “righteous” in their own eyes, they mistakenly believe they have no need for a Savior.  This brings to light a wonderful question for each of us to ponder – what is our estimation of our own self?  Do we first begin by thinking of all the wonderful things we have accomplished?  Perhaps we believe all the “press” about us and the kudos we receive from others.  Maybe our thoughts turn to our possessions and like King Nebuchadnezzar we claim:

³⁰ he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”   Dan 4:30 (NIV)

Before we get too pompous in our own beady little eyes and like King Neb start eating grass on all fours, it would behoove us to take heed of God’s word describing our standing apart from Christ before a holy God:

⁶ All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.   Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)

Paul also gives us the following insight in Romans:

¹⁰ As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; Romans 3:10 (NIV)

²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,   Romans 3:23 (NIV)

We may be rehearsing in our minds all the “good” things that we have done in our own strength,   thinking to ourselves we are really not that bad.  Compared to others, we appear to come out pretty good.  Unfortunately, God does not compare us to others.  He compares us to Himself and to all of His holiness and we are all found sorely wanting.   The Bible is very clear about this point – anything done apart from Christ is done with improper motives.  God always examines the motive behind the action.  Was the action done to glorify God or self?  FYI – God is not into our self-glorification!  Anything eternal we do is through the Holy Spirit’s power which indwells those who belong to Christ and which always points others to Christ and elevates and glorifies Him.  This is exactly what Jesus is referring to in John 15:

¹ “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. ⁵ ”I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.   John 15:1-5 (NIV)

“Christianity simply does not make sense until you face the sort of facts I have been describing. Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness.  It therefore has nothing (as far as I know) to say to people who do not know that they have anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need any forgiveness. It is after you have realized that there is a real moral law and a power behind the law and that you have broken that law and put yourself wrong with that power – It is after all this, and not a moment sooner, that Christianity begins to talk… (Christianity) tells you how the demands of this law, which you and I cannot meet, have been met on our behalf. How God himself becomes a man to save man from the disapproval of God. It is an old story…All I am doing is to ask people to face the facts – to understand the questions which Christianity claims to answer. And they are very terrifying facts. I wish it was possible to say something more agreeable. But I must say what I think true. Of course, I quite agree that the Christian religion is, in the long run a thing of unspeakable comfort. But it does not begin in comfort; it begins in the dismay I am describing and it is no use at all to go on to that comfort without first going through that dismay. In religion, as in war and everything else comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: If you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth. – only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end despair.” CS Lewis, Mere Christianity

What I glean from this:

·       Jesus came to call sinners (me) back to God.

·       Apart from Christ, in my own standing before God I am unrighteous.  It is through Christ that I am declared righteous – praise Him!

·       Through Christ I can do all things.

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SHARING BREAD

³⁴ ”Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? ³⁵ It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Luke 14:34-35 (NIV)

Jesus gives us a stern warning with His “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” ending to our verses for today which He states regarding losing our flavor.  It is very reminiscent of His words to the Church of Laodicea found in Revelation:

¹⁵ I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.   Rev 3:15-17 (NIV)

Matthew Henry states the following regarding “lukewarmness” in our walks of faith:

“Lukewarmness or indifference in religion is the worst attitude in the world.  If religion is worth anything, it is worth everything.  Here is no room for neutrality.  Christ expects that men should declare themselves in earnest either for him or against him.  As lukewarm water turns the stomach, and provokes to a vomit, lukewarm professors of religion turn the heart of Christ against them.  He is sick of them, and cannot long bear them.  What a difference there was between the thoughts they had of themselves and the thoughts that Christ had of them.  The high thought they had of themselves.  Perhaps they were well provided for as to their bodies, and this made them overlook the necessities of their souls.”  

Jesus states almost the exact same words in Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount:

¹³ “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.  Matt 5:13 (NIV)

As followers of Christ we are to be like salt creating a thirst for righteousness among our spheres.  Our being salt also describes us metaphorically as a preservative against evil in our fallen world.  Salt, too, provides a wonderful flavor pointing others to our Lord Jesus whom David says:

⁸ Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.  Psalms 34:8 (NIV)

I have no idea about any of you, but I have never experienced the taste of saltless salt.  It must be a pretty worthless taste.  I have, on the other hand, tasted a flat diet coke!  Looking forward to the anticipation of having my thirst quenched, I took a big gulp only to be disappointed by the terrible taste.  While God is never surprised by our lack of “flavor” or “seasoning” to a fallen world, He is, I am afraid, very disappointed and saddened by our behavior.  Hence, the strong words of Jesus.  As believers we are here to be salt and light to our spheres of influence.  God has uniquely placed us in our settings to carry out His work.  So, how are we doing?  Whether we choose to think of it this way or not, we are all Esther’s – placed in each of our positions “for such a time as this”.  We not only hurt others by not being faithful to the call, we hurt ourselves.  Being “saltless” results in a wasted life:

 “If you are not impacting the world for Jesus – you are wasting your time.”  Anonymous

“We live a life- and make a legacy- one day and once choice at a time. May God enable each of us to be the “real deal,” not for our glory but for His.”  “The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands.”   Proverbs 14:1   Donna Evans

“Every Christian life ought to be a force among men, a witness for Jesus and an influence for blessing and good. I know that there are few people like Billy Graham, whom God calls to do great things for Him. For men like  me, and perhaps you, the best thing that we can do in the small time allotted to us in this world is to live out a genuine, simple, beautiful, strong Christian life. In our little measure we can repeat the life of the Lord Himself, doing in our imperfect way a few of the wonderful things He would do if He were Himself in our place.”    Wales Goebel

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

What I glean from this:

• I am to remain salt and light for Jesus – to bring Him glory and honor.
• Lukewarmness or indifference is repulsive to Jesus.
• I will waste my life if I choose to be “saltless”.

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SHARING BREAD

³¹ ”Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? ³² If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. ³³ In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

Luke 14:31-33 (NIV)

In our verses for today Jesus shows us through His illustration the answer to our question for “terms of peace”.  Who does not desire peace for their lives?  The word itself is simply wonderful – translated from the Greek word “Eirene”, it denotes a state of untroubled, undisturbed, well-being; tranquility, repose, calm, harmony and accord.  The New Testament Lexical Aids for the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible goes on to say: 

“Such a state of peace is the object of divine promise and is brought about by God’s mercy, granting deliverance and freedom from all the distresses that are experienced as a result of sin.  Hence the message of salvation is called the gospel of peace, for this peace can only be the result of reconciliation with God, referring to the new relationship between man and God brought about by the atonement.”     

True peace comes only through reconciliation with God which Christ provided for us through His death on the cross and by which He has given us access into this glorious position of high rank and standing.  Many of us search for peace in all the wrong places which eventually causes us to come up wanting.  Having peace with God allows us to remain undisturbed or tranquil even throughout the direst of circumstances.  Paul tells us in Romans:

 ¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.   Romans 5:1-2 (NIV)

Jesus holds this peace out to us all.  Just as He told the woman with the issue of blood who was desperate to touch only the hem of our Savior’s garment for healing, Jesus desires for us to come to Him so that we too may “go in peace and be freed from our suffering”:

³¹ ”You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” ³² But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. ³³ Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. ³⁴ He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”    Mark 5:31-34 (NIV)

Jesus concludes His illustration in our verses for today by stating: 

³³ In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

Here he gives us the gateway to peace – the emptying of self – a theme addressed in some form or fashion throughout all the New Testament.  Paul gives us this same directive in Philippians:

⁵ Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: ⁶ Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, ⁷ but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. ⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death– even death on a cross! Phil 2:5-8 (NIV)

Believers are exhorted to have this same attitude of self-less humility.  Christ divested Himself of His self interest yet not of His deity – having all rights yet surrendering them for a greater good.  Those who follow Christ, in like fashion, are to divest themselves of their “rights”.  It takes one good look at holiness to realize our nothingness – all of our rights seem to fade away! The Bible Knowledge Commentary states:

“As God He had all the rights of deity, and yet during His incarnate state He surrendered His right to manifest Himself visibly as the God of all splendor and glory.”

Hebrews tells us:

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ² Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.   Heb 12:1-3 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• My peace comes through my reconciliation with God.
• Jesus desires for me to go in peace and be freed from the suffering of sin.
•  The gateway to peace is my emptying of self.

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SHARING BREAD

²⁸ ”Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? ²⁹ For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, ³⁰ saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’

Luke 14:28-30 (NIV)

Ever consider the cost of following hard after Christ?  In our verses for today, through a succinct illustration, Jesus is giving us this command.  I am fearful many modern day men and women are well versed in considering the benefits of faith in Christ but few indeed contemplate the cost He requires.  We are definitely a “name it and claim it” society desirous of instant gratification and ease – seeking anything to obtain thus.  The Bible simply does not teach this.  We are told in Colossians:

²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.   Col 3:23-24 (NIV)

We are also told a few verses later in Luke 14 that everything in our lives must be subordinate to Christ.  Jesus demands that in terms of interest, attachment, and priority everything must be secondary to our Savior:

³³ In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:33 (NIV)

Regarding our verses for today Matthew Henry writes:

“Those who intend to build this tower must sit down and estimate the cost.  Let them consider that it will cost them a life of self-denial and watchfulness.  It may, perhaps, cost them their reputation among men, and all that is dear to them in this world, even life itself.  And if it should cost us all this, what is it in comparison with what it cost Christ?  Many who begin to build this tower do not go on with it, nor persevere in it, and it is their folly.  It is true, we have none of us in ourselves enough to finish this tower, but Christ has said, ‘My grace is sufficient for you’.  Nothing is more shameful than for those who have begun well in religion to give up.”

“I have rightfully no other business each day but to do God’s work as a servant, constantly regarding His pleasure.  May I have grace to live above every human motive, simply with God and to God.”    Henry Martyn

“No work that is set on following the Crucified escapes the cross.”  Amy Carmichael

For some of us our flesh may be beginning to rise up saying “This isn’t sounding too good.”  “I am not sure I want to suffer or go through the difficult.” Perhaps we are even asking “Why”?  It certainly would be easier for God to just take us to heaven as soon as we became a believer – never having to deal with the valleys, never having to experience the hurts and pains this fallen world brings.  Scripture gives us many reasons why God leaves us here.  While certainly not exhaustive, a few are listed below:

• God desires to transform us into the image of His Son.  This process is called sanctification:  ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  Romans 8:29 (NIV) This is done through the brick and mortar of human life experiences – God is always building to the end.
• As believers, we are the body of Christ and we are to be using our gifts to minister God’s grace in its various forms:   ¹⁰ Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.  1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
• We are to point others to Christ:   ¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”   Romans 10:14-15 (NIV)
• It has been granted to us on behalf of Christ:  ²⁹ For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him, ³⁰ since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.   Phil 1:29-30 (NIV)

These are only a few reasons yet we must also remember that we live in a fallen world.  Pain is experienced by the redeemed and unredeemed alike.  At least for the redeemed our pain and suffering always has purpose – that is the glorious promise of Scripture!  This has a sweet ring to it since I have an aversion of wasting anything, particularly my pain (or my life!)!  Paul tells those who” love Jesus with an undying love” in Romans:

 ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.   Romans 8:28 (NIV)

What I glean from this:

• I must consider the cost of following hard after Christ.
• Everything in my life must be subordinate to Christ.
• My suffering and pain as a believer in and lover of Christ will always have purpose – God will work it for the good.

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