March 31st 2009
A Father’s Heart Of Love
“Yet the proof of God’s amazing love is this: that it was while we were sinners that Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8 (Phillips)
In the past I have received letters from people who would like to “come home to God” but are afraid they have left it too late, or that they are not good enough. They believe that repentance and salvation is not for the likes of them. Yet nothing could be further from the truth!
Jesus emptied himself of all his glory and came in flesh to seek and save those who were lost. In fact, He told a parable which we call “The Prodigal Son” (Luke 15:11 – 32), that demonstrates just how much God is ready and willing to welcome back any and all who want to come to Him, no matter who they are, and no matter what they have done.
Let me tell this parable in my own words:
The young Jewish man in the story asks for his portion of the father’s estate, leaves home and blows all of this wealth on “the good life”; finally ending up working for a gentile farmer, feeding pigs in a field! To make matters worse, there is also a famine in the land. Hungry and alone, this boy decides to get up and go back home to his father. Here in the field, he has decided to ask for the opportunity to work off his debt–in other words, to repay his father all he owes him in the hope that then they can be reconciled. He was tired, hungry, sad, ragged, barefoot and smelling of pig manure as he trudged slowly toward the village where he grew up. How would he be received? No doubt this young man was worried about what lay ahead of him.
The grey haired old man gazed off into the distance from the flat roof of his farmhouse, straining his eyes for some sign of a solitary traveller approaching the village. His heart had been heavy ever since his youngest son had rejected his love and left home. Suddenly his heart almost stopped. There on the dusty road to the village was a lone figure. He recognised that walk. Tears welled up in his eyes. The father scrambled down from the roof and, tucking up his long robes, this elderly gentleman, who, all of his adult life had walked with dignity in public, ran to meet his son.
In Middle Eastern culture, men of his stature never run in public, it is humiliating for them to do so. Paying no attention to the filth and the rags, or the smell of pigs, he sees only this thin, sad, barefoot and weary son. With tears running down his face, the father wraps him in his arms and kisses him over and over again! He is then quickly clothed in new garments, given the family signet ring and has sandals placed on his feet because only slaves are barefoot, and he is a son.
Overwhelmed by this unexpected love, the son realises he can never pay for this reconciliation, he just accepts it and that’s what we all do with our Heavenly Father! Here we see the Father’s heart of love; do we think we don’t deserve that? Are we afraid the Father won’t love us in the condition we’re in?
The truth is, we can come home to our Father in our filthy rags, knowing he will run to us and clothe us in garments of salvation and restore us to His family. Don’t be afraid to step out on the road, don’t be afraid to say “I will arise and go to my Father”. He is waiting for you with great longing and heaviness of heart. And when He sees you limping in His direction…just watch the Father run!
Prayer
Heavenly Father, help us to put aside our pride and our doubts and run to you. If we have strayed, help us to return in faith that your love removes all obstacles as you welcome your sons unconditionally.
Amen
Study by Cliff Neill
March 30th 2009
Becoming Best Friends With God
“I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. And here is how to measure it – the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends. You are my friends if you obey me.”
John 15:12-14 (NLT)
Your relationship to God has many different aspects:
God is your Creator and Maker, Lord and Master, Judge, Redeemer, Father, Saviour, and much more.
But the most shocking truth is this:
Almighty God yearns to be your Friend!
Friendship with God is possible only because of the grace of God and the sacrifice of Jesus.
The old hymn says, “What a friend we have in Jesus”, but actually, God invites us to enjoy friendship and fellowship with all three persons of the Trinity – our Father, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”
The word for friend in this verse does not mean a casual acquaintance but a close and trusted relationship.
The same word is used to refer to the best man at a wedding, and a king’s inner circle of intimate trusted friends.
In royal courts servants must keep their distance from the king, but the inner circle of trusted friends enjoys close contact, direct access, and confidential information.
Knowing and loving God is our greatest privilege, and being known and loved is God’s greatest pleasure.
God says, “If any want to boast, they should boast that they know and understand me. These are the things that please me.”
Prayer
Father, I stand amazed that You should call me Your friend.
Thank You that through Your Son Jesus I can get to know You.
Help me to grow closer to You today.
Amen
Study by Fraser Murdoch
March 29th 2009
Give Your Worst To The Master
“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”
Romans 7:18-20 (NIV)
You might know the old hymn that begins, “Give of your best to the Master, none else is worthy his love.” It’s a wonderful reminder, and an important one. God deserves the very best we can give him. But if you think about it, God not only wants our best – he also asks us to give him our worst.
In 1 Peter 5: 7 we are told, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you,” (NIV).
Jesus knows that we are not always at our “best.” Even after we’ve been Christians for many years, we still have worries and concerns. We still make mistakes. We still sin. Even as we sing a song like “Give of your best to the Master,” sometime we end up giving him our worst.
We can all identify with the Apostle Paul’s words in the Romans 7:18-20. We all want to give God our best, but often end up giving him our worst. And that’s just the point. God knows our sins and failures and problems, and he has forgiven them all in Jesus Christ. He wants us to know that he loves us and that he cares for us.
Jesus tells us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest,” (Matthew 11:28 NIV).
Give God your worries — you don’t need them. Give God your anxiety. Give him your fear, your anger, your hatred and bitterness and disappointment, even your sins. We don’t need to carry the burden of those things, and God doesn’t want us to keep them. We need to give them to God because he wants to take them from us, and he’s the only one who can dispose of them properly.
Give God all your bad habits. Give him all your resentment, all your immoral thoughts, all your addictive behaviours. Give him all your sin and all your guilt.
Why? Because he has already paid for it; it belongs to him, and besides, it’s not good for us to keep it. We need to pry our fingers off of all our worst and give it all to God. Give God all your guilt, all the negative things he doesn’t want us to have to carry. He loves you, and he wants to take it off your hands. Let him have it all.
You’ll be glad you did.
Prayer
Loving Master, thank you for giving us rest from all the burdens we carry, allowing us to cast all our cares upon you. Thank you for accepting us completely. Help us to give you everything of ourselves – the good and the bad, and to live in the security of your forgiveness and love.
Amen
Study by Joseph Tkach
March 28th 2009
A Lesson From A Rich Man
...A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but being a short man he could not, because of the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a ’sinner.’ ”
But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
Luke 19:1-10 NIV
Two weeks ago (the 14th) we read of the blind beggar called Bartimaeus. This week it is all about a short, rich man whose name was Zacchaeus. Both stories are linked. Each of them takes place in or near Jericho, the crowds are involved, and the timing is a few weeks before the crucifixion of Christ. In addition both show something about how the gospel of Christ is for everyone, no matter what a person’s status is.
Just like the people did not have time for Bartimaeus, so they also had scant regard for Zacchaeus. After all, he profited from their misery, or so they saw it. A man of questionable reputation, a sinner in their eyes. But Christ had something to tell them plainly whether they liked it or not. The message was that salvation was for all.
What is exciting is how excited Zacchaeus was. He doesn’t care what the people think. He rushes down from the tree and receives Jesus joyfully. And, as a result of Christ’s coming home with him, Zacchaeus decides to transform his life and make up for any wrongs he has done over and above what may be fairly expected.
It begs the question, doesn’t it? What do we decide to do as a result of inviting Jesus into our life and home? Our behaviour should change. Salvation has come to us and therefore we begin to act differently, going against the grain of our previous life, setting things right with others and looking for ways to give.
How has your life changed since Jesus came to your house?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, come into my home just like you went into Zacchaeus’ house. Transform me completely. Help me, through the way I behave toward others, to proclaim how you have saved me.
Amen
Study by James Henderson
March 27th 2009
“You Catch ‘em, God cleans ‘em”
“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
Mark 1:17 (NIV)
What does it mean to be ‘fishers of men’?
Perhaps if we consider some fishing analogies it will give us a better idea of what Jesus means when he says if we follow him he will make us FISHERS OF MEN.
*Anglers WANT to catch fish. Do we want people to be converted?
*Anglers must GO TO WHERE THE FISH ARE. You have to ‘go’ fishing. We live in the world pond, but often the most fish congregate in the deepest, darkest waters.
*Anglers use a HOOK & BAIT. We are to ‘Keep the Faith’–but not from others!
If people don’t see and hear the gospel, we can hardly be said to be fishing! Hence our moto in the Worldwide Church of God, “Living and Sharing the Gospel”.
*Anglers need PATIENCE. Waiting for the fish to bite can take a long time–don’t become bored or weary. The fish may be down there examining your bait and circling cautiously. Even when they bite, deep-sea fishermen need a lot of skill, effort and time to bring a large fish in.
*Anglers need EXPERIENCE & SKILL. We need to know where the fish are and learn how to cast our line expertly. Learn from God’s Word and from other successful fishermen–there are books, courses and fellowship to help.
The fishing analogy can go on and on, but suffice it to say:
“You catch ‘em, God cleans ‘em!”
Prayer
I pray that you will prepare and equip me for my role in living and sharing the gospel. Fill my heart, God, with such love, that my desire to ‘tell the old, old story’ will compel me to ‘go fishing’.
Amen
Study by Nancy Silcox