3 themes

in luke chapter 15, Jesus delivers back-to-back-to-back parables.  the parables are triggered by the accusations and negativity by a few religious leaders that hated Jesus.  at the end of the chapter, Jesus masterfully identifies all of them as the “older brother” and deals with their hardness of heart and pride.

what amazes me about this chapter is that Jesus gives us three themes that reveal the unfailing love of God towards outsiders.  the themes are incredibly easy to identify as you read through the short stories Jesus shares.  in parable number one there is a shepherd that leaves his flock to go after one stray that had drifted off and had been lost.  in parable two, Jesus shares about a woman who frantically searches for a very valuable coin she had lost.  in parable three, Jesus shares about a father that paces on his porch waiting for his youngest son to come home from a distant country where he had made a series of extremely bad decisions and had failed miserably. 

the stories are about three different things:  a lost sheep, a misplaced coin and a runaway son.  but the stories all deal with the exact same themes:  1.  something of value was missing   2.  it warranted an all out search  3.  when it was found, there was a huge party thrown to celebrate finding it. in v10, Jesus says that the angels of heaven all rejoice when one lost person is found.  

in luke 19:10 Jesus said, “I have come to seek and save the lost.”  after Jesus finished his mission on earth, he told his followers that it was now up to them to search and rescue the lost.  no doubt this is a daunting task, it’s overwhelming and terrifying!  

eternity is on the line - it’s up to you and me to find the valuable things that have been lost.  who have you found lately?  are you even searching?  i pray these three themes are forever stamped on our hearts.   

fresh start

one of the things i love about God is that everyday He provides a fresh start to anyone that needs one or wants one.  truth be told, i have to take God up on his offer several times a week.  every 24 hours God makes it clear that we can tap into His mercy and be released from any mistakes we have made.

“Once God has forgiven you, he doesn’t keep track of your sins. What great news! Your slate is clean. You are greeted daily with God’s mercies.”  Lamentations 3:23 (MSG)

i recently talked to a friend that had to declare bankruptcy.  he shared with me that he was bummed to find out that this will stay on his credit for at least seven years.  it made me think… thank God that he does not keep a record of wrongs against us - he doesn’t hold our mistakes, failures and sins against us.  

“I know their pain and will make them good as new. They’ll get a fresh start, as if nothing had ever happened. And why? Because I am their very own God, I’ll do what needs to be done for them.”  Zechariah 10:6 (MSG)  When God extends a fresh start to us, it is with no strings attached.  God forgives us instantly, he forgives us completely, and he forgives us permanently.  

You might be thinking… if God offers me a redo every 24 hours, then i can just do whatever i want. remember paul warned us not to purposely blow it - just because we know God’s grace is available. a fresh start is not a license to take God for granted.   take the fresh start you need, but be extremely thankful and appreciate the price that was paid for God to make us this most generous offer.

“God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I got my act together, he gave me a fresh start. Now I’m alert to God’s ways; I don’t take God for granted. Every day I review the ways he works; I try not to miss a trick. I feel put back together, and I’m watching my step. God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.”  Psalm 18:20-24 (MSG)

i pray you experience the mercy of God as he grants you a fresh start today!  Tap into his mercy and be grateful that he gives us what we need, not what we deserve.

grieve

i came across something today that was shocking.  a verse that i had read hundreds of times (i know that makes me sound really spiritual), but never really understood the full meaning of it.  the verse is ephesians 4:30 (NLT) - “Do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live.”  the message translation says, “don’t grieve God, don’t break his heart.  his Holy Spirit moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself.  don’t take such a gift for granted.”  ok, here is why i was shocked…  i looked up the greek word for “grieve” and found that it was ‘lupete’ (loo-petee). It means pain a husband or a wife feels who’s just discovered that the love of their life has been unfaithful to them. That’s got to be a very serious kind of pain (a pain that i pray i never have to feel in my marriage).  the hurt experienced when your heart is shattered by someone you trusted and loved with all your heart.  

think back on a situation where someone you love betrayed you or was unfaithful to you.  this verse is a harsh reminder that every time we rebel and sin against God - it grieves him.  when we pull a “lupete” - God is deeply wounded.  paul was not sharing this as a suggestion.  paul was commanding Christians to stop sinning, to quit living for themselves and to purpose not to hurt God with their dark thoughts, wrong attitudes and sinful behavior.

the best thing that we could do this year is to focus our energy on pleasing God, obeying him and living the way we know he wants us to live.  paul encourages us in hebrews 12:1 (cev), “we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go.  and we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us.”  

i pray right now wherever you are - you would take a minute to let go of anything that you know has grieved God.  maybe you feel like God is distant or that he is not paying attention to you.  i’ve found in my life that it is usually because of sin that is hindering my relationship with him (aka grieving the Holy Spirit).  isaiah 59:2 (cev) says, “your sins are the roadblock between you and your God.  that’s why he doesn’t answer your prayers or let you see his face.”

jesus said, “if you love me, then you will obey me”.  prove your love to God by living obediently and free from stubborn sins.  in 2009, determine to bring pleasure, not pain, to God.  

regrets

2008 was a horrific year.  it seems like everybody i’ve talked to lately has regrets.  they play the “if only” game - if only i had not done that, if only i would have not bought that new car, if only i had not bailed on that relationship.  regrets are the bad feelings we have about the mistakes we made, the disappointments we suffered, and the sins we committed.  we usually try to bury our regrets, blame others for regrets or (if you are like me) we beat ourselves up and inflict self punishment.  “i am ashamed of my past… will i ever break free?”  jeremiah 31:19

have you ever heard someone tell you “you have to bury the past”?  it is impossible - you can’t bury your past regrets.  just like in a horror movie, everything you bury seems to resurrect and come after you.  if we can’t bury them, we blame others (”you are always ready to accuse others and find fault with them.”  psalm 50:20).  usually we find the 10% wrong someone else has done and focus on that.  but the reality is that we are 90% at fault and as we accuse others we excuse ourselves.   most of us simply beat ourselves up with the mistakes and mess-ups of our past.  after david sinned, he wrote “i am drowning in the flood of my sins, they are a burden too heavy to bear.  because i have been foolish, i’m utterly worn out and crushed, my heart is heavy.”  psalm 38:4-8

there is only one antidote to past mistakes and regrets - to confess it and move on.  psalm 32:5 says, “then i let it all out; i said, i’ll make a full confession to God.  Suddenly the pressure was gone - my guilt dissolved my sin disappeared.”  as we confess our faults, mistakes and regrets to God we suddenly get forgiveness, relief and peace.  God forgives us instantly, completely and permanently (”…i will remember your sins no more…”  jeremiah 31:34).  “No matter how deep the stain of your sins, i can take it out and make you as clean as freshly fallen snow.”  isaiah 1:8  

i want to encourage you to give all your regrets to God by accepting his forgiveness, forgiving yourself and focusing on the future.  ”the Lord says, do not cling to the events of the past or dwell on what happened long ago.  watch for the new thing i am going to do.”  isaiah 43:18-19.  “no one who hopes in me ever regrets it.”  isaiah 49:23

as 2008 fades away and 2009 unfolds - i pray you look up, let go and have the greatest year of your life!