" And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, 'This Man receives sinners and eats with them.'" (Luke 15:2)
A bystanding disciple could have said, "Get used to it; it is only beginning." And thank our Lord Jesus Christ it was. Jesus then goes on in the remainder of what we call chapter 15 to explain just Who He Is, Whom He manifests, and the purpose of His Appearing. He will go to any length to find the lost, to save and deliver them, to heal them and set them free from bondage. He demonstrated this supremely, "in His Cross." While others may complain and even marvel to the point of disbelief that Jesus loves you and me, and saves you and me, He nonetheless does. He has "proven" this, as the hymn says, "o're and o're."
What are you facing right now? In time/space language, our Lord Jesus Christ is searching for you, just as in the three parables in Luke 15, lost coin which has no mind, lost sheep which just wanders away, perhaps following other sheep blindly and more than likely going to its death, and the lost son who deliberately left his father's house for something "better." But the searching, waiting Savior of mankind, fulfilling His Eternal Heart for a lost humanity goes looking for the utterly helpless (coin and sheep), and goes to the very end of His "property" to keep waiting for the rebellious, self-willed child.
Now rest in His Arms; "Be still, and know that [He] is God.....Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved." The, "never," here is His "trademark."
Father, in Jesus' Name, Your endless "search" for this wayward sinner never ceases to amaze me. As Your Word says, "Teach me to do Your will." Amen.
A bystanding disciple could have said, "Get used to it; it is only beginning." And thank our Lord Jesus Christ it was. Jesus then goes on in the remainder of what we call chapter 15 to explain just Who He Is, Whom He manifests, and the purpose of His Appearing. He will go to any length to find the lost, to save and deliver them, to heal them and set them free from bondage. He demonstrated this supremely, "in His Cross." While others may complain and even marvel to the point of disbelief that Jesus loves you and me, and saves you and me, He nonetheless does. He has "proven" this, as the hymn says, "o're and o're."
What are you facing right now? In time/space language, our Lord Jesus Christ is searching for you, just as in the three parables in Luke 15, lost coin which has no mind, lost sheep which just wanders away, perhaps following other sheep blindly and more than likely going to its death, and the lost son who deliberately left his father's house for something "better." But the searching, waiting Savior of mankind, fulfilling His Eternal Heart for a lost humanity goes looking for the utterly helpless (coin and sheep), and goes to the very end of His "property" to keep waiting for the rebellious, self-willed child.
Now rest in His Arms; "Be still, and know that [He] is God.....Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved." The, "never," here is His "trademark."
Father, in Jesus' Name, Your endless "search" for this wayward sinner never ceases to amaze me. As Your Word says, "Teach me to do Your will." Amen.
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
