04/07/2008
"The Prodigal Son"
The Prodigal Son
Luke 15: 11-32
And He said, "A man had two sons. "
The younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me ' So he divided his wealth between them.
"And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.
"Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished.
"So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
"And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.
"But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!
'I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight;
I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men."'
"So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
"And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
"But the father said to his slaves, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet;
and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate;
for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.' And they began to celebrate.
"Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. "And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be.
"And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.'
"But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him.
"But he answered and said to his father, 'Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends;
but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.'
"And he said to him, 'Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours.
'But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.'"
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It has taken me a long time to come to the understanding of this explanation of the Prodigal son.
How many times I have been in this guys shoes, gone off doing my own thing, and expecting G-ds wrath, only to find He still loves me, and opens His heart and His arms to me. Bidding me to come back.
I have felt as the other brother too, wondering why I got no recognition for the things I have done, in the past, no open arms no extra celebrations. And now I see, something here, I only had to open my eyes to see, that the love was there all the time, I was blinded by my own selfishness to see.
Thank You L-rd, for opening my spiritual eyes to see You more clearly, and for giving me understanding of the "Prodigal son"
17:47 Posted in my thoughts & more | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this
11/15/2007
East to West 2002
"As far as the east is from the west, So far has He
removed our transgressions from us" Psa 103:12
Something strange happens when we are forgiven. Though God
forgets, we don't forgive ourselves. How often we think about our
past sins. How frequently we pray, "God, I've sinned the same
thing again!" All we are saying is that we haven't forgiven ourselves.
We still have our eyes set upon our past. Don't get me wrong. It is
not bad to look at the past. We must learn from our mistakes. We
must realize how we got into the mess that caused us to "fall" into
sin. If we don't, we are condemned to continually repeat our sins.
The truth is that we must remember our past, but in remembering,
we must grow beyond it.
The thing that is wrong is dwelling upon the sins of the past -- continually
feeling condemned because of those sins. After all, when you are forgiven,
YOU ARE FORGIVEN! Get that? The psalmist says that God removes
our sins "as far as the east is from the west". Think about it. Can you
ever go so far east that there is no longer an east before us? Absolutely
not! We can never come "full circle" and become reattached to our sins.
Can't be done. Our problem is that we cling to them. Perhaps they are
a crutch we think will help us hobble into God's ways. Maybe we hold
to them as a lifeline -- thinking that if this "God thing" doesn't work out
that we can follow that line back to the old ways. We might even think
that we need to punish ourselves by pondering what we were, constantly
whipping our spiritual selves so that we can be forgiven. We may even
think that we can straddle the fence and live a bit in both worlds.
WE CAN'T!
It is time to realize that when God forgives us, we need to forgive
ourselves and quit dragging up those sins. It is time that we
understand that when we ask to be forgiven, the guilt is gone.
Any further guilt we fell is not conviction which leads us to
reconciliation with God, but is condemnation which comes
to us from satan and leads to eternal damnation.
If you've sinned, ask God to forgive knowing that He will. Then move
on into the future knowing that God is your right hand, your strength,
your salvation. All things past are forgiven. All things are made new.
This day is like God's grace. It is new, fresh, and clean just waiting
for us to make it into a good day! Hallelujah, Amen
Grasshoppers' Thoughts written 2002
09:26 Posted in my thoughts & more | Permalink | Comments (3) | Email this
10/28/2007
Upcoming Holiday Blues?
Especially for those who have lost someone dear to them.
I dedicate this poem to us all
Written by Mary Frye 1932
Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning's hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.
18:58 Posted in Blog | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this