NEW KING JAMES VERSION
LUKE 15: 11-32
Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. 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. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
"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! I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."'
"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. 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.'
"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. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry.
"Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, 'Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.'
"But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. So he answered and said to his father, 'Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.'
"And he said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.'
Have you ever confessed a sin to God and continued to feel guilty about it? Perhaps it is a certain weakness you have and you find yourself continuously falling on your knees and begging forgiveness from our heavenly Father? The burdens of guilt growing heavier and heavier upon your shoulders each time you mess up, stumble and fall. Well, today we’re going to forget about our own views on what God thinks of us and we’re going to focus on what the scriptures actually say about it.
The parable of the prodigal son paints a true picture of how God actually feels about us, who aren’t perfect in our fleshly bodies. It shows us God’s forgiving spirit toward His own children, (us), and how He welcomes us back to His embracing arms, each and every time we stumble. And, here is a key issue of the parable, He particularly portrays the prodigal son as one who has willfully chosen to live a back-slidden lifestyle. And still He welcomes His child back to Him, with joy and good feelings toward him, in spite of the horrible things he has done.
Jesus created the parable in this way to show us that it didn’t matter how bad we have been and fallen. No matter how disgusting the life we have chosen to live for a time, it could never change God’s forgiving heart, and who He is, and how He feels about us. He will welcome us back each and every time, with a loving embrace, as long as we do not try to hide our transgression but take it to Him with a repentive heart.
And He will rejoice in your reuniting!
The parable also shows us how we are to behave in our attitude about the sin we have committed. If we are sincere in our regret of having stumbled in sin once more, God has already forgiven us in this transgression. In the parable, the youth came home to receive forgiveness but in the mind of the father he had already forgiven his son. And so, in the same way, all of our sins were forgiven more than 2,000 years ago, when Jesus took our place and hung in suffering on the Cross.
He died in our place for ALL of our sins, past, present and future. Our God IS an awesome God, just as the songs�?lyrics proclaim! When we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God applies all of His love and forgiveness, now and forevermore, unconditionally and never ending. With a desire to do so, with patience and an abundant amount of joy. He loves us more than we could ever comprehend. When we come before His throne with confession and repentance- it is not forgiveness that we receive- that was already accomplished at Calvary.
Instead He feels delight in having you approach Him, just as we as parents delight in our teary-eyed child who has come to us with a desire to be good to say they are sorry for the bad things they have done. Jesus Christ has formed the "bridge" between God and man that makes this possible once more. Our Lord and Savior brings fellowship once more with our Father in heaven.
Share your life completely with Him!
The next time you are kicking yourself with guilt over something wrong you have done, realize it is only a trick of the enemy to get you to condemn yourself. Know that God isn’t condemning you no matter what you have done. He may convict you at times to put you back on the right path but only the enemy the devil will point his accusing finger at us and say see God! He’s a sinner! When that happens our Advocate in heaven intercedes for us and says no Father, I took care of his ransom when I died for him. He is mine and he is free!
The God of Glory stands before you with open arms and a loving smile on His face, welcoming you to His loving arms with an embrace full of forgiveness. A forgiveness that was culminated and made complete one dark day on the Cross at Calvary.
Our God is an awesome, and loving, God. Praise Him and give Him glory!
For those of us who are in Christ, this is the very reason to live a repentive life. Out of love for Him, who has given us so much.
He said if we love Him we will obey His commandments. This was not an ultimatum but a fact for us who are now alive in Christ!
If we love Him we will automatically follow Him, it is the work of the Holy Spirit, God, who IS love that dwells within us. We are new creations in Christ, and we have become creatures of love; the love of Christ, which develops in us daily as we walk with Christ.
"Lord Father God, we thank You for Your work in our lives as You mold and shape us to become sanctified as the new creations we are in Christ. We know Your word says that this work will not be made complete until the day of Jesus Christ, but we thank you for continuing Your good work in us. Help me to repent Lord and live a life that honors You. Thank You for the gift of Your Holy Spirit who helps us stay on the path, in the light of Jesus Christ, and it is in His name we pray, Amen."
May you never feel guilty again, love in Christ, Rev. Michael <:)))><
Copyright ©2005 Michael Sparr
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