Prudence in Giving Unrighteous Mammon (2)

Prudence in Giving Unrighteous Mammon (2)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bible Verses~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luke 16:10 He who is faithful in the least is faithful also in
much; and he who is unrighteous in the least is unrighteous
also in much. (11) If therefore you have not become faithful in
the unrighteous mammon, who will entrust to you what is true?
(12) And if you have not become faithful in that which belongs
to another, who will give to you that which is your own? (13)
No household servant can serve two masters; for either he will
hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and
despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Words of Ministry~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Part 2 of 3]
"Least" [vs. 10] refers to mammon, the possessions of this age.
"Much" refers to the rich possessions in the next age. The
"true" [vs. 11] refers to the true possessions in the coming
kingdom age. It is not God's intent in His New Testament
economy for the New Testament believers to care for material
possessions. Though the material things in this world were
created by God and belong to Him, they have been corrupted by
man's fall (Rom. 8:20-21) and usurped by Satan the evil one (1
John 5:19). Hence, they belong to fallen man and are
unrighteous (Luke 16:9). While God does supply the believers
with their daily necessities from the material things of this
age (Matt. 6:31-33) and commits to them as His stewards a
portion of these material goods for their exercise and learning
that He may prove them in this age, none of these goods should
be considered theirs until the restitution of all things in the
next age (Acts 3:21). Not till then will the believers inherit
the world (Rom. 4:13) and have an abiding possession (Heb.
10:34) for themselves. In this age they should exercise to be
faithful in the temporary material things God has given them so
that they may learn faithfulness toward their eternal
possession in the coming age.

Here [vs. 13] the Lord indicates that to serve Him requires us
to love Him, giving our hearts to Him, and cleave to Him,
giving our entire being to Him. Thus we are released from the
occupation and usurpation of mammon so that we may serve the
Lord wholly and fully. The Lord emphasizes here that to serve
Him we must overcome the enticing deceitful mammon of
unrighteousness. In verse 13 we see that mammon is in rivalry
with God, competing with Him. On our part, we cannot serve two
lords. We serve either God or mammon. This matter is very
serious.
[Continued tomorrow]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry. Bible verses are taken from
the Recovery Version of the Bible (RcV) and Words of Ministry,
from Witness Lee, Life-study of Luke, pp. 308-309. Both are
published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. (Repeat
2/18/02)

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Prudence in Giving Unrighteous Mammon (1)

Prudence in Giving Unrighteous Mammon (1)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bible Verses~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luke 16:1 And He said also to the disciples, There was a
certain rich man who had a steward, and this one was accused to
him of squandering his possessions. (3) And the steward said
within himself, What shall I do, because my master is taking
the stewardship away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I
am ashamed to beg. (4) I know what I will do so that when I am
removed from the stewardship they may receive me into their own
houses. (5) And when he had called to him each one of his
master's debtors, he said to the first, How much do you owe my
master? (6) And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said
to him, Take your bill and sit down quickly and write fifty.
(7) Then to another he said, And you, how much do you owe? And
he said, A hundred measures of wheat. He said to him, Take your
bill and write eighty. (8) And the master praised the
unrighteous steward because he had acted prudently; for the
sons of this age are more prudent in their dealings with their
own generation than the sons of light. (9) And I say to you,
Make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of
unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they may receive you
into the eternal tabernacles.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Words of Ministry~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Part 1 of 3]
The parable regarding the prudence of a steward is simple and
brief. Nevertheless, this parable contains a puzzling point,
and this is the Lord's using an unrighteous steward to
illustrate the service of a steward in God's house. ...this
does not mean that the Lord is teaching us to be unrighteous as
we are serving. The important matter here is the steward's
prudence. In verses five through seven we see that the
discharged steward, while he was still in the house, took the
opportunity to do something for others in order that later they
might do something for him. This was the steward's prudence.
Here [vs. 8] the Lord certainly is not teaching us to be
unrighteous. Instead, He is teaching us to be prudent, that is,
to do things at the right time, to take the opportunity at
hand.

To make friends by means of mammon [vs. 9] is to help others by
the use of money to do things according to God's leading.
Mammon, that is, money, is of the satanic world. It is
unrighteous in its position and existence. The steward in the
parable exercised his prudence by his unrighteous act. The Lord
teaches us, His believers, to exercise our prudence in the use
of unrighteous mammon. Verse nine indicates that those who have
been benefited by our proper use of money will welcome us into
the eternal tabernacles. This will be in the coming age of the
kingdom. When the Lord Jesus comes back and we are received
into His kingdom, some of us will have a number of people
welcoming us. Who will be these welcomers? They will be those
who have received benefit in this age by our prudent use of
money.

Let me give a simple illustration of this. Suppose you use an
amount of your money to publish gospel tracts for the purpose
of bringing people to the Lord. Those who have been benefited
by this use of your money will welcome you in the future. They
may say, "Brother, we want you to realize that we were saved
through one of the tracts paid for by you."...while we are
still on the way to the kingdom, we should use our money for
the benefit of others. We should not use it for ourselves, for
our luxury, amusement, pleasure, or indulgence. There is a
great deal of need, and there is much that we can do that will
be a benefit to others. This is to be prudent in serving the
Lord.
[Continued tomorrow]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry. Bible verses are taken from
the Recovery Version of the Bible (RcV) and Words of Ministry,
from Witness Lee, Life-study of Luke, pp. 306-314. Both are
published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. (Repeat
2/12/01)

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Morning & Evening -- Song of Solomon 7:13 and Psalms 84:11

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Monday, October 1, 2007

MORNING:

"Pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee,
O my beloved."
-- Song of Solomon 7:13

The spouse desires to give to Jesus all that she produces. Our heart
has "all manner of pleasant fruits," both "old and new," and they are
laid up for our Beloved. At this rich autumnal season of fruit, let us
survey our stores. We have new fruits. We desire to feel new life, new
joy, new gratitude; we wish to make new resolves and carry them out by
new labours; our heart blossoms with new prayers, and our soul is
pledging herself to new efforts. But we have some old fruits too. There
is our first love: a choice fruit that! and Jesus delights in it. There
is our first faith: that simple faith by which, having nothing, we
became possessors of all things. There is our joy when first we knew
the Lord: let us revive it. We have our old remembrances of the
promises. How faithful has God been! In sickness, how softly did he
make our bed! In deep waters, how placidly did he buoy us up! In the
flaming furnace, how graciously did he deliver us. Old fruits, indeed!
We have many of them, for his mercies have been more than the hairs of
our head. Old sins we must regret, but then we have had repentances
which he has given us, by which we have wept our way to the cross, and
learned the merit of his blood. We have fruits, this morning, both new
and old; but here is the point-they are all laid up for Jesus. Truly,
those are the best and most acceptable services in which Jesus is the
solitary aim of the soul, and his glory, without any admixture
whatever, the end of all our efforts. Let our many fruits be laid up
only for our Beloved; let us display them when he is with us, and not
hold them up before the gaze of men. Jesus, we will turn the key in our
garden door, and none shall enter to rob thee of one good fruit from
the soil which thou hast watered with thy bloody sweat. Our all shall
be thine, thine only, O Jesus, our Beloved!

EVENING:

"He will give grace and glory."
-- Psalms 84:11

Bounteous is Jehovah in his nature; to give is his delight. His gifts
are beyond measure precious, and are as freely given as the light of
the sun. He gives grace to his elect because he wills it, to his
redeemed because of his covenant, to the called because of his promise,
to believers because they seek it, to sinners because they need it. He
gives grace abundantly, seasonably, constantly, readily, sovereignly;
doubly enhancing the value of the boon by the manner of its bestowal.
Grace in all its forms he freely renders to his people: comforting,
preserving, sanctifying, directing, instructing, assisting grace, he
generously pours into their souls without ceasing, and he always will
do so, whatever may occur. Sickness may befall, but the Lord will give
grace; poverty may happen to us, but grace will surely be afforded;
death must come but grace will light a candle at the darkest hour.
Reader, how blessed it is as years roll round, and the leaves begin
again to fall, to enjoy such an unfading promise as this, "The Lord
will give grace."

The little conjunction "and" in this verse is a diamond rivet binding
the present with the future: grace and glory always go together. God
has married them, and none can divorce them. The Lord will never deny a
soul glory to whom he has freely given to live upon his grace; indeed,
glory is nothing more than grace in its Sabbath dress, grace in full
bloom, grace like autumn fruit, mellow and perfected. How soon we may
have glory none can tell! It may be before this month of October has
run out we shall see the Holy City; but be the interval longer or
shorter, we shall be glorified ere long. Glory, the glory of heaven,
the glory of eternity, the glory of Jesus, the glory of the Father, the
Lord will surely give to his chosen. Oh, rare promise of a faithful
God!

Two golden links of one celestial chain:
Who owneth grace shall surely glory gain.

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Mustard Seed Thought: Loaves, Part 1

Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. John 6:11 NIV

This is a great story! Jesus did a great miracle through the feeding of more than 5,000 people. I want to encourage you, however, not to rest on the promises of this story! Jesus is so much more than this story portrays. Please, let's don't miss Him!

Several years ago, while on vacation, my family visited a large city zoo. We had a great time, but it started to rain and so we left early. Once I returned home, I remember telling someone about the zoo. They asked me several questions to see if I had seen what they had seen on their visit to the same zoo. I hadn't seen any of what they described. What we missed, by not going deeper into the zoo, would have been more fascinating than the part we did see.

I also recall the story of the homeless man, who died on the streets of New York City from starvation. When his body was found, an autopsy was performed and he was found to be a man for whom authorities had searched for years. Over one million dollars was being held in a trust for him, since he was the missing sole heir to a large estate. He was wealthy and didn't know it.

Our relationship with Christ is like that sometimes. If we are content just to rest on what we know about Him, and we never grow in our faith, we miss the greatest blessings of life He has for us. This week, let's go deeper in our faith, as we discover that there really is more to the Jesus feeding miracle than just filling some empty stomachs!

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Morning & Evening -- Psalms 66:2 and Ecclesiastes 9:4

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Sunday, September 30, 2007

MORNING:

"Sing forth the honour of his name, make his praise glorious."
-- Psalms 66:2

It is not left to our own option whether we shall praise God or not.
Praise is God's most righteous due, and every Christian, as the
recipient of his grace, is bound to praise God from day to day. It is
true we have no authoritative rubric for daily praise; we have no
commandment prescribing certain hours of song and thanksgiving: but the
law written upon the heart teaches us that it is right to praise God;
and the unwritten mandate comes to us with as much force as if it had
been recorded on the tables of stone, or handed to us from the top of
thundering Sinai. Yes, it is the Christian's duty to praise God. It is
not only a pleasurable exercise, but it is the absolute obligation of
his life. Think not ye who are always mourning, that ye are guiltless
in this respect, or imagine that ye can discharge your duty to your God
without songs of praise. You are bound by the bonds of his love to
bless his name so long as you live, and his praise should continually
be in your mouth, for you are blessed, in order that you may bless him;
"this people have I formed for myself, they shall show forth my
praise"; and if you do not praise God, you are not bringing forth the
fruit which he, as the Divine Husbandman, has a right to expect at your
hands. Let not your harp then hang upon the willows, but take it down,
and strive, with a grateful heart, to bring forth its loudest music.
Arise and chant his praise. With every morning's dawn, lift up your
notes of thanksgiving, and let every setting sun be followed with your
song. Girdle the earth with your praises; surround it with an
atmosphere of melody, and God himself will hearken from heaven and
accept your music.

"E'en so I love thee, and will love,
And in thy praise will sing,
Because thou art my loving God,
And my redeeming King."

EVENING:

"A living dog is better than a dead lion."
-- Ecclesiastes 9:4

Life is a precious thing, and in its humblest form it is superior to
death. This truth is eminently certain in spiritual things. It is
better to be the least in the kingdom of heaven than the greatest out
of it. The lowest degree of grace is superior to the noblest
development of unregenerate nature. Where the Holy Ghost implants
divine life in the soul, there is a precious deposit which none of the
refinements of education can equal. The thief on the cross excels
Caesar on his throne; Lazarus among the dogs is better than Cicero
among the senators; and the most unlettered Christian is in the sight
of God superior to Plato. Life is the badge of nobility in the realm of
spiritual things, and men without it are only coarser or finer
specimens of the same lifeless material, needing to be quickened, for
they are dead in trespasses and sins.

A living, loving, gospel sermon, however unlearned in matter and
uncouth in style, is better than the finest discourse devoid of unction
and power. A living dog keeps better watch than a dead lion, and is of
more service to his master; and so the poorest spiritual preacher is
infinitely to be preferred to the exquisite orator who has no wisdom
but that of words, no energy but that of sound. The like holds good of
our prayers and other religious exercises; if we are quickened in them
by the Holy Spirit, they are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ,
though we may think them to be worthless things; while our grand
performances in which our hearts were absent, like dead lions, are mere
carrion in the sight of the living God. O for living groans, living
sighs, living despondencies, rather than lifeless songs and dead calms.
Better anything than death. The snarlings of the dog of hell will at
least keep us awake, but dead faith and dead profession, what greater
curses can a man have? Quicken us, quicken us, O Lord!

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Morning & Evening -- Leviticus 13:13 and Song of Solomon 3:4

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Saturday, September 29, 2007

MORNING:

"Behold, if the leprosy have covered all his flesh, he shall
pronounce him clean that hath the plague."
-- Leviticus 13:13

Strange enough this regulation appears, yet there was wisdom in it, for
the throwing out of the disease proved that the constitution was sound.
This morning it may be well for us to see the typical teaching of so
singular a rule. We, too, are lepers, and may read the law of the leper
as applicable to ourselves. When a man sees himself to be altogether
lost and ruined, covered all over with the defilement of sin, and no
part free from pollution; when he disclaims all righteousness of his
own, and pleads guilty before the Lord, then is he clean through the
blood of Jesus, and the grace of God. Hidden, unfelt, unconfessed
iniquity is the true leprosy, but when sin is seen and felt it has
received its death blow, and the Lord looks with eyes of mercy upon the
soul afflicted with it. Nothing is more deadly than self-righteousness,
or more hopeful than contrition. We must confess that we are "nothing
else but sin," for no confession short of this will be the whole truth,
and if the Holy Spirit be at work with us, convincing us of sin, there
will be no difficulty about making such an acknowledgment-it will
spring spontaneously from our lips. What comfort does the text afford
to those under a deep sense of sin! Sin mourned and confessed, however
black and foul, shall never shut a man out from the Lord Jesus.
Whosoever cometh unto him, he will in no wise cast out. Though
dishonest as the thief, though unchaste as the woman who was a sinner,
though fierce as Saul of Tarsus, though cruel as Manasseh, though
rebellious as the prodigal, the great heart of love will look upon the
man who feels himself to have no soundness in him, and will pronounce
him clean, when he trusts in Jesus crucified. Come to him, then, poor
heavy-laden sinner,

Come needy, come guilty, come loathsome and bare;
You can't come too filthy-come just as you are.

EVENING:

"I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not
let him go."
-- Song of Solomon 3:4

Does Christ receive us when we come to him, notwithstanding all our
past sinfulness? Does he never chide us for having tried all other
refuges first? And is there none on earth like him? Is he the best of
all the good, the fairest of all the fair? Oh, then let us praise him!
Daughters of Jerusalem, extol him with timbrel and harp! Down with your
idols, up with the Lord Jesus. Now let the standards of pomp and pride
be trampled under foot, but let the cross of Jesus, which the world
frowns and scoffs at, be lifted on high. O for a throne of ivory for
our King Solomon! Let him be set on high for ever, and let my soul sit
at his footstool, and kiss his feet, and wash them with my tears. Oh,
how precious is Christ! How can it be that I have thought so little of
him? How is it I can go abroad for joy or comfort when he is so full,
so rich, so satisfying. Fellow believer, make a covenant with thine
heart that thou wilt never depart from him, and ask thy Lord to ratify
it. Bid him set thee as a signet upon his finger, and as a bracelet
upon his arm. Ask him to bind thee about him, as the bride decketh
herself with ornaments, and as the bridegroom putteth on his jewels. I
would live in Christ's heart; in the clefts of that rock my soul would
eternally abide. The sparrow hath made a house, and the swallow a nest
for herself where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O Lord of
hosts, my King and my God; and so too would I make my nest, my home, in
thee, and never from thee may the soul of thy turtle dove go forth
again, but may I nestle close to thee, O Jesus, my true and only rest.

"When my precious Lord I find,
All my ardent passions glow;
Him with cords of love I bind,
Hold and will not let him go."

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The Father and the Prodigal Son (2)

The Father and the Prodigal Son (2)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bible Verses~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(RcV) Luke 15:21 And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned
against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be
called your son. (22) But the father said to his slaves, Bring
out quickly the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on
his hand and sandals on his feet. (23) And bring the fattened
calf; slaughter it, and let us eat and be merry, (24) Because
this son of mine was dead and lives again; he was lost and has
been found. And they began to be merry.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Words of Ministry~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Part 2 of 2]
When the son returned home, he was a poor beggar dressed in
rags. But after the best robe was put on him, he was covered
with a splendid garment prepared especially for him. With this
robe on, he was qualified to match his father. The best robe
put on the son is a full type of Christ as our righteousness in
whom we are justified before God. Hence, putting the best robe
on the returned prodigal signifies justification in Christ. As
those who have Christ as the best robe, we are justified by
God.

The father also told the slaves to put a ring on his son's
hand. I believe this was a gold ring. This ring signifies the
sealing Spirit given to a returned sinner (Eph. 1:13). This
ring is a sign that a repentant sinner receives something
divine, the very Spirit of God Himself. The ring signifying the
sealing Spirit indicates that the returned prodigal belongs to
the Father. It also indicates that whatever the Father has as
an inheritance belongs to the returned son.

In 15:22 we see that sandals were also put on the feet of the
returned son. Sandals separate one's feet from the dirt of the
earth and strengthen him for walking. The sandals put on the
son's feet signify that God's salvation separates us from the
world and unto Him so that we may then take His way.

With the robe, the ring, and the sandals the returned one was
fully clothed and adorned. This means that he was fully
justified and qualified and could be accepted into the father's
house. Then the father told the slaves to bring the fattened
calf and slaughter it for their enjoyment. Thus far, we see
Christ as righteousness to justify a repentant sinner
outwardly, the Spirit as the seal, and the power of God's
salvation separating a repentant sinner from the world. Now we
see that Christ is also the fattened calf to fill us with the
divine life for our enjoyment. The father, the returned son,
and all the others could enjoy feasting on this fattened calf.
So "they began to be merry."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry. Bible verses are taken from
the Recovery Version of the Bible (RcV) and Words of Ministry,
from Witness Lee, Life-study of Luke, pp. 301-302. Both are
published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. (Repeat
2/12/01)

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Mustard Seed Thought: Having to Wait

On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance.

Genesis 22:4 NIV

Why did God pick a mountain three days away? Think about it. Abraham was called to sacrifice his only son Isaac on an altar. God told him to go to the mountain He would show Abraham. We saw yesterday that perhaps Abraham got up early because he hadn't had such a great night of sleep. He chopped his own wood, perhaps to take his mind off of the journey ahead. Can you see how real this Abraham character is? He was a real person with real struggles.

Now, we see that the mountain God chose was three days away. What, were there no mountains close by? Could Abraham not have built an altar right where he was? Wouldn't that have sufficed? No, apparently not! God took Abraham on a journey that we know lasted three days. Actually it could have taken longer, because the Scripture says he saw the mountain in three days. It doesn't say how long the journey continued after that.

So, why the long journey? Quite frankly, I think one of the reasons might have been that God wanted to make sure Abraham wouldn't change his mind. He left promptly on the journey after hearing from God, but during the three days, don't you think he got a bit nervous. Each time he looked at his son, he must have sensed his stomach turn into knots. It must have been very tempting to turn around and go home. But, he stayed the course, and he passed the test!

It is easy to show faith on Sunday morning! It's easy to make commitments to God standing at the altar of a church. Let Monday mornings come and let's see how strong our commitment is! Let the struggles of life go into the third day and beyond and we'll see how devoted to God we remain! God didn't just test Abraham's commitment, He tested Abraham's commitment to the commitment!

How committed to obeying God are you? Is that what you will say tomorrow, and the next day, and the next?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This ministry is touching lives around the world. The largest growth of this ministry is in country's that are hard to reach by means other than the Internet. If you would like to support an International ministry, send donations to Mustard Seed Ministry, PO Box 3698, Clarksville, TN 37043. Mustard Seed Ministry is a 501 (C) (3) non-profit ministry and gifts are tax deductible.

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The Father and the Prodigal Son (1)

The Father and the Prodigal Son (1)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Bible Verses~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Luke 15:11 And He said, A certain man had two sons. (12) And
the younger of them said to the father, Father, give me the
share of the estate that falls to me. And he distributed to
them his living. (13) And not many days after, the younger son,
having gathered everything together, went abroad to a distant
country and there squandered his estate by living dissolutely.
(14) And when he had spent all, a severe famine occurred
throughout that country, and he began to be in want. (15) And
he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that
country; and he sent him into his fields to feed hogs. (16) And
he longed to be satisfied with the carob pods which the hogs
were eating, and no one gave him anything. (17) But when he
came to himself, he said, How many of my father's hired
servants abound in bread, but I am perishing here in famine!
(18) I will rise up and go to my father, and I will say to him,
Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. (19) I am
no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of
your hired servants. (20) And he rose up and came to his own
father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw
him and was moved with compassion, and he ran and fell on his
neck and kissed him affectionately.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Words of Ministry~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[Part 1 of 2]
In verse 19 we see that the prodigal intended to say to his
father, "I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me
as one of your hired servants." This indicates that the
prodigal son did not know the Father's love. A fallen sinner
having once repented always thinks of working for God or
serving God to obtain His favor, not knowing that this thought
is against God's love and grace and is an insult to His heart
and intent. The father's seeing the son did not happen by
chance. Rather, the father went out of the home to look for his
prodigal's return. When the father saw his son, he ran to him
and fell on his neck and kissed him affectionately. This
indicates that God the Father runs to receive a returning
sinner. What eagerness this shows! The father's falling on his
son's neck and kissing him affectionately shows a warm and
loving reception.

If we read carefully the parable of the loving father, we shall
see that while the prodigal son was still squandering the
father's riches, the father was waiting for him to come back.
When the son came to himself and decided to go to his father,
he prepared what he would say to him: "Father, I have sinned
against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be
called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants" (15:18-
19). What would you have said to the father if you had been the
prodigal son in this parable? Perhaps you would have said to
yourself, "...I feel ashamed and foolish for squandering
everything my father gave me. I cannot bear to recall the way I
have been living. I know for sure that my father will not be
outside waiting for me...."

To the prodigal son's great surprise, "While he was still a
long way off, his father saw him and was moved with compassion;
and he ran and fell on his neck and kissed him affectionately"
(v. 20). Perhaps the prodigal said to himself, "This is like a
dream! I didn't call out or knock on the door, but my father
comes running to me. Now he is embracing me and kissing me!"
[Continued tomorrow]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(c) 2007 Living Stream Ministry. Bible verses are taken from
the Recovery Version of the Bible (RcV) and Words of Ministry,
from Witness Lee, Life-study of Luke, pp. 294, 300. Both are
published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. (Repeat
2/8/01)

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