"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE REGARDING BITTERNESS"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE REGARDING BITTERNESS"

Heb 12:15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

Some explanatory thoughts, application, and a prayer:

1. The author of this letter is dealing with the issue, subject, the thing to watch out for called, Bitterness, or a bitter root.
And, what he does is to issue a warning here about it. He warns against allowing it to take place in your life, and then explains what would happen as a result.

2. The first thing he actually talks about is missing God's grace. Notice how he puts it. " looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God;". Another version, says it this way. " Look after each other so that none of you will miss out on the special favor of God." So, we are to look out, or watch carefully lest we fall short of having God's grace in our lives, or missing out on God's grace in our lives because of bitterness. Implied in Heb 12:15 is that one can avoid bitterness, if they are careful, but they must be careful.

3. What does it mean to be "looking carefully?" It has the idea of looking out for and after each other. It means to be careful that none of you fails to respond to the grace which God gives to us. And, it means, as the Amp Version says, " Exercise foresight and be on the watch to look [after one another], to see that no one falls back from and fails to secure God’s grace (His unmerited favor and spiritual blessing)" So, bitterness can come about if we are not walking in Grace, and we are to be careful not to miss out on God's grace in our lives.

4. The second thing he says, is also a warning, and it goes directly at the issue of bitterness, or a bitter root, Here's what the Bible says. "lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;" Bitterness can spring up, and cause trouble and by it, many, can become defiled. There are some serious consequences that can come about. Trouble and others becoming defiled.

5. A quick look at some of the meanings of these words. Bitterness itself means, a bitter spirit, resentment, hatred, rancor, bitter gall, bitter hatred. Bitterness, comes from a word meaning, sharp, or piercing. Bitterness, can be like a disease or poison, with very severe and harmful in it's effects. It can spread and hurt you like a virus can. The word trouble means, to excite, to disturb, to trouble and annoy. And, the word defile, or defiled, means, corrupted, contaminated.

6. So, when might bitterness be a danger, and what can we do about it, to avoid it. Here's what Dr David Jeremiah said about it. "Amid persecution and the temptation to give up, Christians are responsible for each other's spiritual well being. Thus the writer of Hebrews is challenging believers to examine their own ranks-not to find fault, but to act like a physician who is interested in his or her patients health.

Believers should look for the symptoms of disease, bitterness, sexual immorality, and unbelief to help bring fellow believers to spiritual health." He goes on to say, "This root of bitterness refers to people whose attitudes poison and divide the church. Such people have an evil heart of unbelief that rejects Christ and the gospel."

Let's pray:

Father, thank You for Your grace, Your unmerited, undeserved favor towards us. Lord, help us to be careful not to fall short of Your grace, to miss it in our lives, by allowing attitudes to spring up in our lives. Father, we need to be especially careful during certain times, times of trouble, difficulties that have come upon us, times of persecution, that we are careful as to how we are going to react.

Keep us from sin and temptation Lord. Help us Lord to care for others and to try and help them if they are having trouble in this area as well. We love You Lord. In Jesus name.

Pastor Bob Grenier

“SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT NOT DOING WHAT YOUR SINFUL NATURE CRAVES"

“SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT NOT DOING WHAT YOUR SINFUL NATURE CRAVES"

Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

1. Paul was helping the Christians in the greek city of Galatia, and for all who read the NT, and seek to follow Jesus Christ, and live for Him. Paul was specifically helping them understand, God's way for them to deal with the natural sinful desires they have.
The good news Paul shares is for each believer in Jesus Christ. So, let's take a look at what God says in regard to not doing what your sinful nature wants to do, ( and what You don't want to do either )

2. Here's the verse again, Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

(1) First of all, we are told how to live, we are to "walk in the Spirit" What does this statement mean? It simply means to live according to your new life in the person of the Holy Spirit. Or to conduct your life day by day, as the new person You are, and do to it, by "walking in the Spirit" Or surrendering yourself day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute you might say, or just throughout the day, give yourself to God, that's how to live your life. Walk in the Spirit.

(2) To walk in the Spirit, is in the present tense, indicating a way of life. To walk in the Spirit is to have daily habit of continual obedience. Paul is challenging the Galatians and us, to keep moving in the enabling power and work of the Holy Spirit.
Remember, the Holy Spirit is a person who Jesus called the "Helper", and He is God, and He lives inside of You, and He wants to help you in so many ways. And, by Your daily surrender to Him, He will take your hand as it were and lead you in the way of Victory over sin. He surely is not going to lead you into sin, and He surely has the power to help you not to sin. We need Him, and He is right here with us to help us each and every day. But, God calls for our obedience to Him. Give Him your life day by day.

(3) The promise is right in the verse.  Here it is again, only this time in the NLT Gal 5:16 So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. Two things are said here. Number one, we are being given God's instruction to live a certain way, "according to your new life in the Holy Spirit" again, that means, to surrender to Him, and let Him control your life, go the way He leads you. And, secondly, the promise from God who does not, and cannot lie.
"Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves" You might say the Holy Spirit helps us escape what our natural, or sinful natures want us to do. And, He leads us into what our new natures want to do, and what God wants us to do. Beautiful isn't it. And, praise God it's true.

3. So, in closing, this is a wonderful truthful promise from God to help us live by day in our new lives, and not live the way we use to live, and the way our flesh, or our sinful nature wants us to live. So, let's take God's Word to heart, and yield ourselves this day, and everyday to the wonderful and powerful ( more powerful then our sinful natures ) Holy Spirit and not do what our sinful natures desire. We are to live with God's help. That's one of the reasons the Holy Spirit lives in us, and why there is so much teaching in the Bible about the Holy Spirit.

A prayer:

Father, thank You for giving us the Holy Spirit. We are grateful to You for providing us with a live in Helper. He delights to do the Will of God, and He delights to help us do the will of God. Help us Lord to develop a mind and heart set of yielding to Him, and not just living on our own. We this very moment would like to pause and ask that the Holy Spirit fills us with Himself, and that He takes control of our lives as we yield to Him, and that He teaches us day by day to walk or live our lives in Him. In Jesus name, Amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE WHO LABOR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE WHO LABOR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN"

Matt 11:28 “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Matt 11:29 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matt 11:30 “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

1. This is as mentioned a very gracious command,  and personal invitation from Jesus. And, as you read the verses above, You can see that there are three basic parts to this command/invitation. Let's look at them one by one, and be encouraged.

(1) Come to me. This of course is not hard to understand, it's Jesus inviting people to come to Him. However, it's a command, that means, "Come now" Do it now, don't waste anytime, respond now, and come to Jesus.

(2) "All who labor and are heavy laden" The "all" here does not leave anyone out. If you fall into this category then this command/invitation is for you.

(3) Who is Jesus talking about when He uses these words "labor and heavy laden?" Whom do they describe?
Labor, means, "to grow weary" It's speaking to those who are not only weary, but to those who are oppressed, by routine, monotony, overwork, responsibility and tension.

(4) Heavy laden, on the other hand, means "to endure something that is laid on them from an outside source, and in today's language we would call it burnout"

2. Now, after the command/invitation, we see a promise, some instruction, and personal self description of Jesus, and an two-fold explanation of what His yoke is like.

(1) Jesus makes a promise to those who will come to Him. "I will give you rest" Or I will "rest your souls" That's of course exactly what a laboring, heavy laden, burned out person needs. Rest. It means, rejuvenation, to refresh, to take ease, to recover and collect one's strength, to refresh, to keep quiet, and of calm and patient expectation.

(2) Jesus now gives another command/instruction by saying "take My yoke upon you" To take a yoke, Jesus's yoke, speaks of coming under that person's leadership, and walking in that person's footsteps. In a very real sense, it's not any different from saying "Follow Me" Come to me, and follow Me" Allow Me to lead you, and come My way" Place yourself under my leadership, and let's move forward.

(3) He also says, to "learn of Me" To be taught by Him, to receive instruction from Him. Or as the NLT says, "let Me teach you"

So, we can see here, that in addition to the invitation, and promise once a person comes to comes to Jesus, there is this instruction as to what do once we come to Him.

To allow Him to lead, surrender yourself to Him. And, let the Lord teach you what He wants to teach You. All of these things by the way, are what bring about this rest in a person's soul. Submission to Jesus, and learning from Jesus.

(4) Jesus gives us some very detailed self description about Himself and His yoke. He says two things here. "I am gentle and lowly in heart" and "My yoke is easy an my burden is light. Or "I am humble and gentle, and My yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light. How delightfully encouraging are these words and description about Jesus. And, of course, they are all true.

3. In closing here, when believers take Jesus's yoke, they place themselves under His dominion. Only then do His followers enjoy the day to day release from stress that God intended. Are you as Jesus described, burned out?

Then come to Him, and surrender to Him afresh, let Him lead you, and study His Word, read it, and apply it, and you will find Him giving you the rest your soul desires.
Jesus is the great "soul rester" He is the "great teacher" He is the one with the light burden, and the easy yoke..

A prayer:

Father, thank You for teaching us what do to when we are in this condition. It's a condition that we often find ourselves in. And, thank You that You provide the way for us to deal with it. It's You Jesus. All that we need for life and Godliness are found in You.

And, You are so willing to take us and to teach us to affect our souls with rest and ease. You want us to come to You, or You would not have asked us to do so. You are truly great, wonderful, and worthy of all the praise and honor that we can give to You.
We love You Lord Jesus. Amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR TROUBLED HEARTS ABOUT HEAVEN"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR TROUBLED HEARTS ABOUT HEAVEN"

John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

John 14:2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Some explanatory thoughts, application, and a prayer:

1. Right off the bat, Jesus tells troubled hearts ( mostly Peter ) what to do, and then explains Himself a little. John 14:1 Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. Essentially, Jesus was saying to the disciples and to us, who were troubled, He simply days, "Don't be troubled"

The word troubled, means, to be agitated, to have inward commotion, to take away one's calmness of mind, to disturb and disquiet, to make restless. To be anxious, distressed, and perplexed. Please read the last part of chapter 13 for the context of what led Jesus to speak this way.

But, the message is clear, "Don't be troubled"

2. Jesus then goes on to say, something else, in fact, it's really how not to be troubled. John 14:1b you believe in God, believe also in Me. Or to put it another way, "You trust God, now trust me" Trust of course, means to have faith in, to rely upon, to depend upon.

So, Jesus was directing Peter and the others, and you and I who may be troubled at this time in our lives, on this very day, to put your ( our ) trust in God. You trust Jesus, now trust God also, and do it now, do it this hour, put your trust in God, and not be focusing on your troubles.

3. Next, Jesus talks about heaven, and what's in heaven, and where He is going, and what He is going to do. John 14:2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. Interesting that Jesus calls heaven, "My Fathers home" That's where God lives visibly as it were. He is of course everywhere, He is with you at this moment, but He is visible in heaven. In His home.

And, in our Father's home are many mansions. People have often been puzzled as to what this means. Many mansions, many homes. Are they actually buildings, or as they something else. Here's a clue to what I think they are. As do many. 2nd Cor 5:1 For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. I believe Jesus is speaking of our new heavenly, eternal bodies.

4. Please notice again what Jesus said John 14:2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. He said it's true. And if it was not true, He would not have told us. So, in heaven, are our bodies being prepared for us.

And, the other thing that Jesus said about His departure to His Father's house, heaven, is that He was going to be working on getting our bodies prepared for us. He is busy in a sense of making them right now for us. They are going to be eternal bodies in the heavens. That's what Paul said over in 2nd Cor 5:1. So, Jesus is at work for you and I at this moment in His Father's house, the place we call heaven.

5. Here's the last thing Jesus said about this. John 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. He was summing it all up. Another way of saying this is "When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am." Pretty wonderful don't you think?.

When Jesus is through with His current task, He is going to return to get us, His followers, so that we will always be with Him. We will be with Him in His Father's house, Heaven.

6. Here's how Paul addressed this same matter. In 1st Thess about seeing Him, and in Philippians about our new bodies.

1 Thess 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

1 Thess 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

And, speaking of our new bodies.

Php 3:21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

A prayer:

Father, You comfort our troubled hearts by Your Word. Thank You. And, may we follow Your Word, and not be troubled, but simply believe in not only God, but also in You. Thank You for the work You are doing at this very moment for our eternal future. Making us new bodies.

Bodies like Yours. Thank You that You are coming back to get us, so that where You are, we will be also. What a glorious future we have. Indeed, thinking about these truths are better then being troubled by our current problems and circumstances, whatever they may be. May we think upon You, and follow Your instructions. In Jesus name. Amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR LONELY HEARTS"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR LONELY HEARTS"

1st Cor 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
NKJV

1st Cor 10:13 But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it.
NLT

Some explanatory thoughts, application, and a prayer:

1. Paul is giving us a statement, that includes some facts and a promise, and I'd like to apply this to the harsh reality of loneliness.
While the verse does not mention the issue of loneliness, the verse has much to say by way of offerning hope to the person, or person(s) who are dealing with "loneliness" I don't think I need to write out a Websters Dictionary Definition, but here's one anyways. Here's what it said. Sad from being apart from other people, causing sad feelings that come from being apart from other people. And, finaly not visited by or traveled on by many people. So, let's dig into this verse and find the Hope from God's Word that applies in this area.

2. First of all, Paul reminds us that our trial or temptaion in this area is common to man. In other words, there are many people who all experience whatever particular trial or temptation that a person is going through. It's a play on words, but for those who are lonely, there are other believers who are also lonely. They know what you know, and they are going through what you are going through. 

3. But, says Paul. Here's an additional truth, and, it' this, that God is faithful, or dependable, or can be trusted. And, there are two specifics about God's faithfulness that Paul lists for us here. 

(1) God will not allow the temptation, or trial to become so strong that you can't stand up against it. He will never allow you to go through more then you can handle. Although, it certainly and often seems, as if it's right at the breaking point. We say things, and feel things like, "I just don't think I can take any more of this" It's as if we are facing a hopeless future with no way out in sight. 

(2) And, here's the second truth about God's faithfulness, or dependability.  "but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it" This does not mean, that God will just remove the trial, but it means that in the trial, God will reveal a way for you to escape the sense of it being so overwhelming as it were, and will show you how to bear it. In other words in the trial you are going through God promises to show you how You can bear it, or show a way out, so that you will not give in to it. 

4. So, in pulling all this together. If you are at this time going through a difficult time of being lonely, may I encourage you to look at this verse from 1st Cor 10:13, and ponder it, pray for God to help you understand it, be patient, and know that God indeed is faithful, and He will do what He has promised. Pray for wisdom about what God wants you to do in this trial. May I offer a suggestion, that I believe will be of tremendous help to you? Please consider asking God where and how He might open a door for You to serve Him, by serving His people. In other words, the way of escape for being lonely, may very well be found in simply serving the Lord in some new capacity. Ask Your pastor what needs there are in the church, and see if any of those needs ring a bell in your heart. Or maybe there is some new ministry that God would have you start in your church. 

5. Here's a promise from the Lord Jesus. It's not found anywhere in the Gospels, but Paul assures us that Jesus did indeed say it.  Acts 20:35 “I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” The crux of the matter in this verse, is that there is a blessing associated with giving. And, we know that God cannot lie. He wants to bless you, and reaching out to serve other's may very indirectly, bring comfort to your lonely soul. 

A prayer:

Father, for many reading this devotional, loneliness may not be an issue they deal with. But, for many others it may be very familiar to them. We would like to bring those people before Your throne of Grace, and ask for mercy and grace to help them in the midst of this trial/temptation. Thank You for the facts, the promise and the instruction in 1st Cor 10:13, and the truth of Acts 20:35.
Please guide the lonely to find Your way of escape, so that they can bear up under the loneliness, and if it's by giving and serving, then please show them what You have in mind, loud and clear. Give them the wisdom you promise to give to all who will ask of You. James I:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. In Jesus name. Amen

Pastor Bob Grenier

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT NOT GIVING UP"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT NOT GIVING UP"

2nd Cor 4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.

2nd Cor 4:14knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.

2nd Cor 4:16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.

2nd Cor 4:17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,

2nd Cor 4:1while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Some explanatory thoughts, application, and a prayer:

1. Please notice that Paul repeats himself about not losing heart, or giving up. ( See 4:1, and 4:16 ) And, if ever there was a man who had his share of troubles, and could have given up, and quit, it would have been Paul. He went through so many things. For example, here's how he described the things he went through in the ministry. Please read through the 4 verses below for an explanation of what he faced in his life and ministry for Jesus Christ. ( by the way, he will elaborate on the things he experienced latter on in this letter, there was a whole lot more then what's listed below ) But, he did not quit, he did not give up.

2nd Cor 4: We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit.

2nd Cor 4:9 We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.

2nd Cor 4:10 Through suffering, these bodies of ours constantly share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

2nd Cor 4:11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be obvious in our dying bodies.

2. So, what was his secret, what kept him going through all the difficulties he faced. And, To make it more personal, what can keep you going through what You may be going through? If God did it for Paul, He can and will do it for You also. Let's look then, at Paul's secret if you will, and make it your own. God will give to You, what He gave to Paul.

(1) Paul had received mercy. See 4:1, and so have You.

(2) Paul knew that God who raised up Jesus, would one day raise him up, See 4:14, and, God is going to raise you up also.
In other words, Paul was looking forward to the resurrection to come. And, that he would be presented to God. This is our hope.
Paul even states in 4:16, that this is why he never gave up, never quit. Because He was looking forward, he had hope. And, You can look forward in Christ, You can, and ought to be living in this same hope, of what God is going to do, in spite of what You may be going through right now.

(3) Paul had the right view regarding his troubles. Here is it. Cor 4:17 For our present troubles are quite small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us an immeasurably great glory that will last forever! NLT He knew that though he had troubles, they would not last very long. And, that eternal glory was coming, and it would last forever. He compared the present with the future. The present was short, the future is eternal. Same for You and Me as believers in Jesus Christ.

(4) Lastly, and here it is in the NLT Cor 4:18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see right now; rather, we look forward to what we have not yet seen. For the troubles we see will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever. So, he did not focus his life on his present troubles, or the temporal visible things, but rather he looked forward to the invisible, eternal things. This is what Moses did also. Heb 11:27 By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. Moses endured, and so can You. But, the secret if you will, is to keep Your eyes on the Lord.

3. You may be facing many troubles right now. You may be going through things that are nearly unbearable, or seem that way anyways. But, here's the good news. It has to do with believing what God has given you, i.e Mercy, and by keeping Your eyes fixed on the eternal things of God. Don't allow Yourself to get caught up in looking at Your present troubles, just lift your gaze up and above them if You will, and You will see Jesus. And, He will keep you, preserve you, protect you.

A prayer:

Father, we thank You that there is more to this life then what we can see with our eyes. Troubles abound, but they are short lived, when you compare them to the eternal glory awaiting us. Help us Lord to keep our eyes fixed where You want them to be fixed. There are things temporal, and things eternal. The one is short lived, the other is forever. You promise to get us through, and when it's all said and done, to present us to the Father. And, with brand new bodies, raising up these corrupt ones into glory.
Thank You Lord. We pray for those who are going through it right now, and are reading this, may You find strength and grace today through the truth of God's Word. In Jesus name, amen

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia.

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE WITH A PRODIGAL(S)"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE FOR THOSE WITH A PRODIGAL(S)"

This is a long passage, but may I ask that you just read it through, and then note the explanatory thoughts, the application, and prayer at the end.

Luke 15:11 He said: “A certain man had two sons.

Luke 15:12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.

Luke 15:13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.

Luke 15:14 But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.

Luke 15:15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

Luke 15:16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

Luke 15:17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

Luke 15:18 ‘I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,

Luke 15:19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.

Luke 15:20 And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

Luke 15:21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.

Luke 11:22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.

Luke 11:23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry;

Luke 11:24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

Some explanatory thoughts, application and a prayer:

1. Many families have more then one child, and in this family, there were two boys, and the one went off and wasted his livelihood, and the other stayed home. It was of course not normal for this to happen, The boy would normally have waited till much later, and then went off on his own as most sons do, but not this boy, He broke his fathers's heart.

2. Several things happened to the boy.

(1) When he ran out of money, and unexpected famine took place, and he began to now be in need. He had been riding high as it were, but now the tides had changed for him. This must have been a sobering surprise to him, he had not expected misfortune to come his way. But, God used this misfortune to minister to this young man.

(2) The boy got into a working relationship with a local, and began feeding pigs. This was to say the least the bottom of the barrel for him. Feeding pigs. He was so hungry, that he would have been happy to eat pig food, but no one would give him any. So, he was now, out of money, surprised at the famine, feeding pigs, and very hungry.

(3) But, when he came to himself. Now, this is where the story begins to change, and this of course is what we as parents with prodigals pray for, that our children would come to themselves, or really recognize what they have done, and the position their choice has brought them into. He began to think about his home, and how that his fathers servants had plenty to eat, but, he was dying of hunger.

So, he decided that he would go back home and admit to his father that he had sinned against heaven, and in the sight of  his father, and, that he was no longer worthy to be called his father's son. He truly had come under a conviction as to what he had done, and the sinfulness of it all. This is what our prodigals need, and the Holy Spirit is the one who can bring this conviction.

(4) So, he started to make his way back home. However, while he was till way down the road, his father saw him, and It would seem to me, that each day the father no doubt would glance down that road, to see if by chance his son might be coming home. The Father was old enough to know that living like his son was living would not end well, and maybe the son would indeed come to himself and come home.

And, lo and behold, when he looked this day, there was the son, and the father seeing him, started running to him, and had compassion, not condemnation, but compassion on him, fell on his neck, or hugged him, and began to kiss him. Mind you, this young man must have smelled terrible, had matted hair, dirty clothes etc, but, that made no difference the father, he was just happy to see his son home.

(5) The son told his father all that was in his heart, and to his surprise the father said, "to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet." The robe, the ring, the sandals and the fatted calf were all expressions of grace, forgiveness, mercy, and joy, and restoration. A real picture for us of how God welcomes home a sinner. The father said, "for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry."

3. What a wonderful story of so many things. The foolishness of sin. The reality of our free wills to do as we like. The fact of high living being suddenly over. The unexpected circumstances that the boy could not have imagined. The terrible and unfriendly circumstances he found himself in. But, then, the great fact of "coming to himself"

All is not lost for your prodigal(s) They can come to themselves also. The genuineness, of his heart, admitting his sin, His humility, being willing to just go to work for his father, and feeling as if he was no longer worthy to be called his fathers son. And, the great response and love of his father. The boy must have been overwhelmed at the way his father treated him. Just as sinners are who return to God.

A prayer:

Father, there are probably many people reading this who have prodigals. Some parents have no idea of even where there prodigal(s) are at this moment, but You know Lord, You know. And, Lord, there is no one who can bring them to themselves but You. Your Holy Spirit is the great convictor, the great convincer of truth. We pray Lord that He, the Holy Spirit would work in a mighty way, even this very hour to bring the prodigals to themselves. And, Lord, we pray You would bring them back into a right relationship with their parents. That's us Lord, that's us. We ask these things in Jesus name.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia