Thursday, March 31

Thursday

Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing.  So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on.  ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied,  ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’  “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.  But he answered his father,  ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.  But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’  “‘My son,’ the father said,  ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.  But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”   - Luke 15:25-32

What did it cost to bring the younger brother home?  At first glance, it seems not to have cost anything. There is no punishment—he is just taken in.  The father opens his arms, puts new clothes on him, and that’s that. It’s free.  Some critics of evangelical Christianity have pointed to this and then argued something like this: “God in heaven is like this father, He just accepts and forgives anyone who asks. There is no need for the classic Christian doctrine of the sacrifice on the cross for our sin.”  As Christians we believe that God cannot simply ignore sin, that there must be payment for sin—but here we see that reconciliation is completely free (or is it?).

The reconciliation is free to the younger brother.  But it is very costly for someone else.  The elder brother is furious with the father for receiving his younger brother back into the family.  He alludes to it when he says, “you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But... you kill the fattened calf for him!”  The elder brother is angry because of the cost of this reconciliation.

Remember—the father had given the younger brother his entire legal part of the inheritance.  And he had wasted it all —all gone.  Yet now the father is restoring him into the family.  He has already put a robe on him, and given him a ring, which was probably the family signet ring, symbolizes his status as a son again.

The younger brother’s fair share of the wealth is all gone, but now he is back, and every robe, ring, fatted calf is coming out of someone else’s pocket (you know who).  Everything the father has, now is legally the elder brother’s.  He is the only heir of all the father has left. So every robe, every ring, every fattened calf, every cent of the father’s, is ultimately the elder brother’s.  When the father says to the elder brother, “everything I have is yours” (Luke 15:31) he is speaking the literal truth.

So the salvation of the younger son is not free after all. It has already been extremely expensive.  The father cannot forgive the younger brother, except at the expense of the elder brother.  He is the one who must bear the cost of the reconciliation. 

Did you catch that?  The Father cannot forgive the younger son without the older son paying the price.  He (the father) could make the boy a slave, or a servant, but he cannot receive him back into the family as a son without the older son bearing the cost!

Lord Jesus, what an amazing older brother you are to us!  You have borne the cost of our rebellion so that we could be called children of the Father! 


Jeff Frazier 

Wednesday, March 30

Wednesday

In Luke 15, Jesus told his listeners three parables together—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. In each of the first two parables there is a lost object and someone who goes out, searches for it, and brings it home with joy. The shepherd searches until he finds the lost sheep. The woman searches until she finds the lost coin. So when we get to the parable of this lost son, we should fully expect that someone will set out to search for the lost brother and bring him home.

But…no one does. Jesus is leading us to ask the question, who should have gone out to search for this lost boy? And the answer would have been quite clear to 1st century listeners: it should have been the elder brother. That was the reason that the oldest son got the lion’s share of the estate.

It was his job to sustain the family’s unity and its place in the community. It is the elder brother in the parable who should have said something like this: “Father, my younger brother has been a fool, and now his life is in ruins. But I will go look for him and bring him home. And if the inheritance is gone—as I expect—I’ll bring him back into the family at my expense.” 

Jesus doesn’t put a brother like that into the story. Instead the younger son and the father have to deal with an arrogant, selfish, and self-righteous elder brother.

But we don’t!

The elder brother in the story is there to make us long for a true elder brother, one who, if we go astray, won’t hold it against us but seek us and bring us back at any risk and any cost to himself.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.  He is before all things and in him all things hold together.       – Colossians 1:15-17

Paul clearly asserts the truth of the Incarnation in Colossians 1, but his use of the word "firstborn" does not mean that there was a time when the Son of God wasn't (any more than John 3:16's use of "begotten" does - as the Nicene Creed insists, Jesus is "eternally begotten"). Paul's use of "firstborn" here holds such a wealth of meaning: namely, as it applies to Christ's sovereign authority and to his redemptive activity.

Biblically and culturally speaking, the firstborn son carried the weight of the family inheritance on his shoulders. The family name rested first with him. In the absence of the father, he is the head of the family. The firstborn son receives greater honor, more responsibility, and more authority.

This is Jesus, of course. The author of Hebrews tells us he is the radiance of God's glory. Romans 8 tells us that he is the heir of God. Inheritance talk is big in Galatians and Ephesians and Titus and Hebrews.  As our older brother, Jesus is due all of the authority and the honor of his position.

But unlike all other older brothers (and I am one, so I know) he lives in a way that is completely worthy of his honor, for our sake!

All through the Scriptures, from the murderous Cain to the hairy bumbling Esau, to the 11 sons of Jacob who sold their brother into slavery, to pompous prig in of Jesus' parable of the Lost Son, the older brother is consistently an utter and absolute failure. (So are most of the younger brothers actually, but God consistently chooses them to make a point, remember David was the youngest of 8 when he was anointed as King of Israel.)

But not Jesus, where disobedience and disregard ruled the roost of the firstborn, Jesus obeys the Father perfectly, submits to the eternal cause of the glory of the Father completely, and cares for and rescues and sacrifices his own well-being for his younger siblings to the utmost!  He is everything an older brother is supposed to be…and so much more!

Jesus is the older brother who delights in , rather than resents his younger siblings joy.

Jesus is the older brother who will not trade his birthright for a bowl of soup. Jesus is the older brother who will not trade his siblings into slavery.

Jesus is the older brother who leaves the comfort of his Father's estate to search for his lost brother among the brothels and pigsties and actually rescues him from the degradation of the mud and dresses him in the Father's robe of his own accord.

To borrow from author and theologian Sinclair Ferguson, Jesus is our "true and better" older brother!

Jeff Frazier

Tuesday, March 29

Tuesday

We have examined the parable of the Prodigal from just about every possible angle over the past several weeks.  We have looked at the younger brother’s external rebellion & the older brother’s internal rebellion.  We have looked at how each of these brothers corresponds to one of the two groups that made up Jesus’ original audience.  We have examined the gracious heart of the father for both of his lost sons, and we have even looked at the significance of the father’s feast at the end of the parable. 

In these last few days of reflection and study, I want to focus on how this remarkable story is really about the one who told it – it is all about Jesus!  If yesterday’s devotional reading of Jesus in every book of the Bible did not convince you, let’s look at just how Jesus Himself is the central theme of His own parable.

Throughout this story, Jesus repeatedly (and subtly) puts himself in the place of the father.  The father is the one who pursues each of his rebellious sons.  He runs down the road to meet his younger son while he is still a long way off, and he goes out to plead with his older son to come in to the celebration feast.  This is precisely what Jesus says that He came to do for the world.

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”    – Luke 19:10

“I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.”       –   John 10:16

When the younger brother returns home and the father kills the fattened calf and throws a lavish party to celebrate the return of his lost son, the older son refuses to join the feast.  Why?  One reason is because he thinks that his father is making a big mistake.  He thinks that this younger son does not deserve such kindness and generosity.  Basically he thinks his father is wrong, and he will not lower himself to sit and eat with his undeserving younger brother.  Now think back to the first few verses of Luke 15.  What was the major complaint that the Pharisees had against Jesus?  “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”  Can you see how Jesus again puts himself into the place of the father?

“On hearing this, Jesus said to them,  “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”  - Luke 2:17

Finally, the father in Jesus’ story is willing to make incredible sacrifices for the good of his sons.  He sacrifices his pride and dignity when he allows his younger son to treat him so shamefully, and when he runs down the road to meet his son.   He sacrifices his wealth and security when he gives the younger son his share of the estate and allows him to leave the family and waste it all.  He even sacrifices his pride when he leaves his own feast to go out and plead with his bitter and self-righteous older son.  The Bible is abundantly clear that Jesus Christ did not just make a sacrifice for us, but He became the sacrifice for us.

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!”  - Philippians 2:5-8

Oh Lord Jesus, we confess that it is always all about You!  You are our source of strength.  You are our hope and our peace.  You are the bread of life and living water. You are the light of our lives and we have nothing without You  – Amen.


Jeff Frazier

Monday, March 28

Monday

Since so many people have asked about the reading at the close of my sermon on Jesus as our true Elder Brother, I have decided to make it the subject of today’s devotional. First of all let me say that this list is not original to me, I did not invent it. I borrowed some of the phrases from a number of different sources. Edmund Clowney’s book, Preaching Christ In All of Scripture, has been a major source of inspiration for me, and Sally Lloyd-Jones’ book The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name, is also a great resource. In addition, there are several good websites that have similar lists of how we see Jesus throughout the Bible. It should also be pointed out that the following list is not exhaustive or complete in any way. There are many types and images of Jesus throughout the Scriptures and some books of the Bible (i.e. the major prophets) contain dozens of images and references to Jesus. All I did was compile a list of one theme for each book of the Bible. So…here is the list…

In Genesis – He is the seed of the promise

In Exodus – He is the Passover Lamb

In Leviticus – He is our High Priest

In Numbers – He is the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night

In Deuteronomy – He is the prophet like unto Moses

In Joshua – He is our conquering captain

In Judges – He is our Righteous Judge

In Ruth – He is our Kinsmen Redeemer

In 1&2 Samuel – He is our trusted Prophet

In Kings & Chronicles – He is our Reigning King

In Ezra – He is our Lawgiver

In Nehemiah – He is the rebuilder of our broken down walls

In Esther – He is our Mordecai

In Job – He is the answer to our suffering

In Psalms – He is our Shepherd

In Proverbs & Ecclesiastes – He is our wisdom

In Song of Solomon – He is our loving Bridegroom

In Isaiah – He is our Prince of Peace

In Jeremiah – He is our Righteous Branch

In Lamentations – He is our Weeping Prophet

In Ezekiel – He is life to dry bones

In Daniel – He is the 4th man in the fiery furnace

In Hosea – He is our faithful Husband

In Joel – He is our vision

In Amos – He is our burden bearer

In Obadiah – He is mighty to save

In Jonah – He is our foreign missionary

In Micah – He is the Messenger with Beautiful Feet who brings good news

In Nahum – He is our Avenger

In Habakuk – He is our Evangelist

In Zephaniah – He is the restorer of the lost remnant

In Haggai – He is the glory returned to God’s house

In Zechariah – He is the gentle King riding on a donkey

In Malachi – He is the Son of Righteousness with healing in his wings

In Matthew – He is the King of the Jews

In Mark – He is the Servant

In Luke – He is the Son of Man

In John – He is the Living Word made flesh and dwelling among us

In Acts – He is the Savior of the World

In Romans – He is the Righteousness of God

In 1&2 Corinthians – He is the wisdom and power of God

In Galatians – He is our freedom

In Ephesians – He is our Cornerstone

In Philippians – He is the Name above every name

In Colossians – He is the Hope of Glory

In 1&2 Thessalonians – He is the returning King

In 1 Timothy – He is our true faith

In 2 Timothy – He is our confidence

In Titus – He is the grace that brings salvation

In Philemon – He is our benefactor

In Hebrews – He is our perfect High Priest

In James – He is the power behind our faith

In 1&2 Peter – He is the Living Stone

In 1 John – He is Love

In 2 John – He is our Example

In 3 John – He is our Motivation

In Jude – He is our Foundation 

In Revelation - He is our coming King, the Bright Morning Star, the First and the Last, the beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega…He is Lord of all creation, He is Lion of Judah and the Lamb of God. There is no one like Him in all the Universe!

Jeff Frazier

Friday, March 25

Revelation 19:6-9

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:

“Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)

Then the angel said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!’ And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

Years ago I heard author and speaker Brennan Manning tell a story that I have remembered ever since. He told of growing up in a very dysfunctional home – a home in which love had to be earned by good behavior. But because his parents both struggled with alcoholism, he never knew when he had been good enough to receive their love. He told of a time when, as a young boy, he won some sort of contest. His parents were happy, so they threw a party in his honor – but they invited all their adult friends. Of course, he was very excited to be the focal point of a party – so he behaved as any excited young boy might behave. At some point during the party, his parents decided he was attracting too much attention to himself by his behavior so they banished him to his room for the rest of his party. As he lay in his bed with his party hat on his head – he suddenly had the thought that since he had been so naughty, his parents would soon come into his room and take his party hat away from him. So he hid his party hat under the pillow and decided that when they came to take it, he would lie to them and tell them he didn’t know where it was. Many years later, as he worked through his own struggles with alcohol and depression, Manning recalled this incident with a wise counselor. The counselor encouraged him to “re-live” the story of the party hat – only this time to imagine that it would be Jesus – and not his parents – that came into the room. As Manning once again experienced the shame of being punished at his own party, he also imagined Jesus coming into his room. Jesus said, “Hi Brennan, where’s your party hat?” “It’s under my pillow,” the little boy, now a man, replied. Jesus said, “Take out your party hat and put it on again.” Brennan said, “But I was going to lie to my parents.” Jesus said, “Don’t worry about that now; put on your party hat – and I’m never going to let anyone take it away!” With that, Manning said, he felt Jesus reach under his pillow, take out the party hat, and place it gently on his head.

This is a story about love; it’s a story about joy; it’s a story about grace; it’s a story about two lost sons, and, perhaps most importantly, it’s a story about each one of us!

The younger brother in Jesus’ story lost his party hat when he wound up feeding pigs. The older brother refused to wear his party hat because he didn’t think his younger brother deserved a hat as much as he did. In the end, their father offered them both brand new party hats – not because they deserved them at all – but because his grace was greater than their sin!

Whether you have spent your life to this point as a rebellious younger brother; as a prideful, resentful older bother; or as a little of both – Jesus is saying that there is a party hat with your name on it! And he wants you to allow him to put it on your head so that you can join the party he is throwing for you!

Brian Coffey

Thursday, March 24

Isaiah 25: 6-12

On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines.

On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.

In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted him, and he saved us. This is the Lord, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

We’ve all seen the images; we’ve all heard the news reports; we’ve all read the terrible stories about the recent earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan. Hundreds dead; thousands left homeless; millions of lives changed forever. Events like this illicit two reactions: Firsts, we find ourselves asking, ”Why does God allow such suffering in the world he created?” Second, we sense deep in our souls that things are not as they should be – that something is broken in our world – and we long for the day when things will be made right again.

While there is no easy answer to the question of human suffering, the Bible does indicate that God is not the author of sin, pain and death. The Book of Job teaches us that Satan is the enemy of God who desires to destroy everything God made as good – including us. In his sovereignty, God has, for his own reasons and purposes, allowed Satan certain limited freedom to “roam the earth” wreaking havoc and inflicting pain and suffering. The Bible teaches that God entered into the human experience through Jesus – and that Jesus endured all the pain, suffering, temptation and death that Satan could dish out – in order to provide forgiveness, redemption and hope for each one of us. The whole Bible resonates with the great promise that one day God is going to destroy his enemy, and deliver his people and his world from the “shroud that enfolds all people.”

Notice that the celebration of God’s ultimate deliverance of his people is expressed in the language of a feast!  

On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine – the best of meats and the finest of wines.

The imagery of a feast is a theme that is repeated often throughout the Bible. The ancient Israelites celebrated many different feasts as part of their worship and remembrance of God’s goodness. It was during a celebration of the Passover Feast that Jesus first used the broken bread and poured cup to symbolize his body and blood. And the book of Revelation speaks of heaven itself as the “Wedding Supper of the Lamb.”

We don’t use the word “feast” so much in our modern culture – but I think we know what it means. We celebrate many of the significant moments of life – graduations, birthdays, weddings, and retirements – with dinners, banquets and parties. We celebrate by gathering together with the people we love and sharing food, drink, love and laughter – by feasting together!

For now we live in a world that is broken by sin and death. For now the enemy of God has limited authority to inflict pain and suffering. But this is not the end of the story! The story will end with a feast, a celebration, a party thrown by our God himself! And it will be a celebration of such joy that all the sufferings of this world will simply fade into nothingness by comparison.

Some derisively call this “Pie in the sky” thinking. I call it hope.

Brian Coffey

Wednesday, March 23

John 15:9-11

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

Back in the 1980’s (for those of you who can remember ancient history), a pop music star named Huey Lewis had a hit song entitled, “The Power of Love.” The lyrics included the line, “The power of love is a curious thing.” Now, of course, Mr. Lewis was talking about romantic love rather than a spiritual love – yet it remains true that love is a powerful and curious thing.

The parable we have been studying – the parable of the father and his two lost sons (as I like to call it) – is a story about the power of love. The father in Jesus’ story is “prodigal” in his love for his two sons. That is, he is extravagant and even prodigious in his love for his sons – despite their rejection of his love. The younger son basically treats his father as if he has already died in asking for his inheritance early. The older son accuses him of being a slave-driver as well as a fool for allowing his younger brother to come home. Both have spit in the father’s face and broken his heart, yet his love for them never changes. They can choose to accept and trust his love – to remain in his love – or to reject that love and run from it.

The younger son mistakes his father’s love for “control” – and chooses to run as far from it as he possibly can. The older brother mistakes his father’s love for a “business transaction” – as a reward for his faithful service – and he resents his father for offering love to his wayward younger brother. Both, for different reasons, have failed to remain in their father’s love.

Jesus’ choice of words in this passage from John 15 is very important. It’s easy for us to assume that obedience is how we earn God’s love – for so often, in our human experience, love is granted on the condition of obedience. But that’s not what Jesus is saying. He is saying that God’s love for him – and for us – is unconditional. God’s love is a gift that is offered to us freely. Our obedience is what allows us to remain in his love. The father never stopped loving the younger son – but the younger son rebelled against his rather and ran off to the far country – where he no longer knew his father’s love. The father never stopped loving the older brother – but the older brother grew resentful and therefore ceased to know his father’s love.

The younger son does not re-discover his father’s love until he comes home prepared to become nothing more than a servant – but then is shocked when his father gives him the finest robe, a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet – indicating that he has been reinstated as a son. And it is the power of this unconditional, unchanging and undeserved love that ultimately transforms the younger son’s life.

This is what the older son fails to understand. The love of the father comes first – and obedience second – not the other way around.

“This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loves us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins…We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:10,19 

Brian Coffey

Tuesday, March 22

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!”

“ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Some time ago, a young man I had known when I was leading student ministries at FBCG joined the ministry staff at my brother’s church in Ohio. Shortly after that he got engaged and invited me to share in part of his wedding ceremony – which also was going to take place at my brother’s church, with my brother officiating. The wedding was going to be the very first wedding conducted after the construction of a brand new “fellowship hall” at my brother’s church. The bride and groom planned to have their reception in the beautiful new facility. As part of his gift to his daughter, the father of the bride built a beautiful, hand crafted, parquet dance floor that he hoped would be used at the reception. It was an unusual gift for several reasons – one of them being that my brother’s church had never hosted a wedding reception with dancing before! After a good bit of discussion, the leaders of my brother’s church decided that  Christians should be able to celebrate at a wedding and agreed to allow the dance floor to be installed – so long as the dancing would be “ballroom-type” dancing.

The day of the wedding came – and it was a beautiful ceremony. The bride was radiant, the groom handsome, and everyone sense the blessing of God on this marriage. When time came for the reception, the guests filled the new fellowship hall – complete with the hand-carved dance floor. The MC announced that the first dance would be the bride and her father; and the father of the bride spun his daughter gracefully on the dance floor in a classic waltz. Then the groom stepped in for the second dance – another nice waltz. But when time came for the rest of the wedding party and the guests to join in the celebration – the music changed. Instead of a classic waltz-number – the disco classic from KC and the Sunshine Band blasted from the speakers: “Shake, shake, shake; shake, shake, shake; shake your booty!” Young people ran to the dance floor while the older generation gasped with shock and surprise! I can’t express adequately in words how funny the scene was! Fearing that he would be immediately excommunicated from the church, the groom ran up to my brother and apologized. “Pastor Joe, I didn’t know he was going to play that – I promise!”  Well, the end of the story is that the music was toned down a bit – but the dancing and celebration continued!

In Jesus’ story, the father throws a kind of “homecoming party” for his younger son. He orders his servants to kill the calf that has been fattened in preparation for some special banquet. There is music and dancing – and the older brother is both shocked and angered. In his self-righteousness he judges his brother as being unworthy of such a reception; in his pride he feels he deserves more than he is getting; and in his resentment, he is unable to experience joy and therefore unable to celebrate his brother’s homecoming as well as his father’s love. He is joy-impaired!

Sometimes it seems that the longer people are Christians – the more time we spend in church and “church activities” – the more “joy-impaired”  we become! We can start to take God’s grace and forgiveness for granted. We can start to forget the miracle of spiritual new birth. We can forget to celebrate! In this story – and in the stories that immediately precede it in Luke 15 – Jesus presents God as a God who loves to celebrate! He celebrates each an every sinner who repents; each and every one of his children who comes home as if he or she were the only one. And he wants us to learn to celebrate as well!

Brian Coffey

Monday, March 21

Luke 15:11-32

“There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

“Not long after that the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that county, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against you, I am no longer worthy to be called your son make me like one of your hired men.’ So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

A number of years ago, when we just had three young sons (now we have four not-so-young-sons!), I had all three with me on a trip to the mall. I was pushing the youngest in a stroller while the older two walked along with me. As I recall, we walked into a particular store – I think it was a sporting goods store – and I started looking at some stuff. I don’t remember it being a long time – but when I went to gather the boys to leave the store I only had two when I should have had three! The middle son was missing. Assuming he had just wandered into another aisle in the sporting goods store, I took the boys I still had with me on a quick tour of the store. No luck. Then I figured that maybe he had wandered out into the mall concourse looking for a place to sit down so we left the store and checked out the benches in the concourse. No son there either. Now, if you are a parent, you know that right about that time my heart started to beat a little faster and I had to try to keep scary thoughts from running through my head. I’ve seen the crime shows on T.V. and read the stories in the newspaper and while I knew my 4 year old was probably just lost in a different store – I started to feel very anxious. So I started to move faster – my strategy was to move from store to store until I found my son. Remember, I was still pushing a stroller and dragging a six year old by the hand – but I didn’t care how funny it looked to other people because my son was lost and possibly in danger. Fortunately, just as I reached the second store a kind security guard emerged holding my son by the hand. “This your son?” he asked with a smile on his face, and, just like that, my search was over.

But the truth is, had that security guard not found my son, I would have raced through every last store in that mall complex, I would have checked every food court, every bathroom, every movie theatre – and tipped over every rack of clothes if I had to – and I would have done so for two reasons. My son was lost; and I love my son!

The father in Jesus’ story has a son who is lost in the far country. The father does not go out after his son – because he knows the son has to figure out for himself that he is lost – but nonetheless he searches for his son in his own way. Notice that Jesus says that the father sees the son while he is “still a long way off.” That tells us the father has been waiting and watching every day for his son to come home. And when he sees him, Jesus says he runs to meet him. This doesn’t seem unusual to us in our culture – but in that day it was seen as unseemly or embarrassing for a man the father’s age to be seen running. It would have meant to hike up his robe, expose his legs, and look, well, like a fool. But this father doesn’t care what it looks like to others – his son was lost and has come home – and his love for his son compels him to run down the driveway – bare knees and all - to meet him!

Jesus is telling us that God feels like that about each one of us – about you! His love is so great that he is not only willing to receive us again as his children when we repent, turn around and come home – but he is also willing to humble himself and come running down the driveway to meet us when we do!

May you feel the embrace and sense the joy of your heavenly Father as he rejoices over you!

Brian Coffey

Thursday, March 17

Thursday

“How can you say,  ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there, a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her craving — in her heat who can restrain her? Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves; at mating time they will find her. Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you said,  ‘It’s no use! I love foreign gods, and I must go after them.’  “As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced — they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets. They say to wood,  ‘You are my father,’ and to stone,  ‘You gave me birth.’ They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble, they say,  ‘Come and save us!’ Where then are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble! For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah.       - Jeremiah 2:23-28

I have to admit that this passage is a little strange and it is full of provocative images.  At first reading, it sounds like God is dealing with primitive people who are stuck in some ancient idol worship.  However, it is actually a profound statement about our sinful nature and the human tendency to run from God, and it is highly relevant for us today. 

First of all, the ‘Baals’ were the false gods of the pagan nations surrounding Israel.  In other words, God’s people were tempted by and attracted to the false gods of the surrounding culture (sound familiar?).

The part about the “swift she-camel” and the “wild donkey” are images intended to communicate that God’s people are running out of control.  Have you ever seen an animal “in heat” during the mating season?  Most of us living in the suburbs have not, unless it was on the Discovery Channel or Animal Planet.  The people of the Old Testament would have immediately understood the imagery used here.  God is comparing them (and us) to animals out of control with desire when we chase after the false God’s of our culture!  The Bible tells us that the sin in hearts is a kind of fatal attraction.  The human heart cannot live without some object to which it can attach its ultimate devotion. 

The Bible calls this “idolatry” and it is at the very root of sin.  Idolatry is the most talked about problem in the entire Bible. The apostle Paul even connects the dynamics of human greed and lust with idolatry. Colossians 3:5 – “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.”  Ephesians 5:5 – “For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person — such a man is an idolater — has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.”  Yet most of us do not think of ourselves as idol worshippers, if we use the term at all it is probably only in reference to the TV show American Idol. As modern people we usually think of an idol as an animal or human figure made of stone or wood or gold. We see it as an object for religious devotion or magical power for pre-modern people who might bow down before it or offer sacrifices up to it. But, idols are not just on ancient pagan altars, they are in our contemporary, educated hearts and minds as well.

John Calvin once wrote, “The human heart is a perpetual factory of idols…every one of us, from our mother’s womb, is an expert in inventing idols.”

An idol is not simply a statue of wood, stone, or metal; it is anything we love and pursue in place of God, and can also be referred to as a ‘false god’ or a ‘functional god.’ In biblical terms, an idol is something other than God that we set our hearts on, that motivates us, that masters or rules us, or that we serve.

Notice how God pleads with His people not to run after these false idols.  He says, “Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry”.  God knows that our pursuit of any gods but Him will ultimately ruin us.  At the end of this passage from Jeremiah, God even warns us that these idols will not be able to help us when the crisis comes.  Now look at how the people responded to God’s pleading, they said, “It’s no use! We love foreign gods and we must go after them.” 

This sounds very much like the kinds of conversations parents have with young children.  We warn them about the dangers of crossing the street, or touching the stove, or talking to strangers.  We plead with them and try to explain to them what will happen if they don’t heed our instruction.  But, there is just something inside of us (kids and adults) that causes us to learn the hard way.  Read the following words from 1 John as a loving reminder and rebuke from your Father.

We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true — even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.  – 1 John 5:20-21


Jeff Frazier

Wednesday, March 16

Wednesday

Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the LORD your God and have no awe of me,” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty. – Jeremiah 2:19

Some people tend to think of God punishing people for their sins.  The Bible does teach that God is just and He will ultimately punish all sin, but here in the first part of Jeremiah 2:19 we see that there is a very real sense in which sin is its own punishment. 

This was certainly the case for the younger brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son.  His selfish choices, and reckless living led him to the point where he found himself in the midst of pig slop (literally) with nothing and nobody to turn to.  Oh, I’m sure he had his share of laughs along the way, but his choices were steadily leading him further and further from home and closer and closer to the place of brokenness and despair.

Jesus continued:  “There was a man who had two sons.  The younger one said to his father,  ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.  “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living."     – Luke 15:11-13

When he finally returned home in rags and full of shame, his father apparently did not feel the need to heap further punishment on his son.  I think it was probably quite clear that the boy had already suffered greatly because of his decisions. 

Although not as immediately obvious, this was the case with older brother as well.  He stayed at home and obeyed the rules, but his heart was far from his father.  When his younger brother came home and his father threw the biggest party the village had ever seen, he (the older brother) was outside on the porch refusing to come in. 

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.  But he answered his father,  ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.  But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’     - Luke 15:28-30

His heart was full of self-righteous anger and he was a captive of his own bitterness and resentment.  Look again at what God says to us in Jeremiah 2:19 “Consider then and realize how evil (younger brother) and bitter (older brother) it is for you when you forsake the LORD your God…” Some of us end up in the pig slop because of our choices, and others of us end up in an internal prison of anger and bitterness, but the point is that left undealt with, our sinfulness always leads us away from our Father. 

"When tempted, no one should say,  “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."   - James 1:13-15

So, what are we to do about this serious problem of sin?  Notice what God tells us at the end of this verse from Jeremiah. “Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the LORD your God and have no awe of me,” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.” (2:19b).  The word used for “awe” in this verse is the Hebrew word ‘yirah’, it is the same word that is often translated as “fear” in the Old Testament.  Not fear in the sense of being afraid of God, as if He is going to strike you down when you least expect it, but fear/awe as a holy reverence for who God is and how we are to live in reference to Him.  Jeremiah is telling us that when you lose this sense of awe and reverence for God - watch out, because you are on the path toward real trouble. 

Perhaps a good way for us to think about what living with “awe” for God really means is to ask ourselves these questions…

Do I have a sense of my total dependence of God or am I living the lie of self-sufficiency?

Is God the primary filter through which I make every decision in my life?

Is God’s opinion of me the one that matters most in my life?

Is God the one I turn to first for counsel, comfort, and guidance?

            Does God have my attention throughout the day, or only in those few moments when I     

            am feeling “spiritual”?

Oh God our Father, give us this holy awe in our hearts so that we will not stray from You.  Let us not be afraid of You, but let us live with fear and reverence in our hearts for who You are – Amen. 


Jeff Frazier

Tuesday, March 15

Tuesday

Has a nation ever changed its gods?  (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the LORD. “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.    - Jeremiah 2:11-13

Yesterday we saw that our fundamental problem and the fundamental problem in the world today is what the Bible calls sin.  Scripture has a good deal to say about this issue; what it is, how it affects us, and what can be done about it.  The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah gives us a kind of anatomy of sin the second chapter of his book.  Actually, most of this chapter is God speaking directly through the prophet Jeremiah.  God is spelling out exactly what is wrong with His people.  In verse 9, God says that He is bringing charges against His people!  (that had to be a pretty unsettling thing to hear from God)

In the passage above, God tells them (and us) that the core of their issue comes down to these two things; they had forsaken God, the source of living water, and instead they had been drinking from their own rotten wells.  This is the essence of sin - rejecting God and going our own way.  This was clearly the issue for the two brothers in Jesus’ parable in Luke 15, they both rejected the father and they both wanted their own way.  This is our issue as well; in fact, this has been humanity’s problem since the very beginning.  In Genesis 3 we see the very first humans rejecting the loving rule of God and attempting to rule their own lives, and this has been our spiritual legacy ever since. 

When I was in Jr. High, I got into trouble for making and keeping several small explosives in my school locker.  Some friends and I thought it would be fun to light them off in a field behind the school and they convinced me that I should keep them in my locker until school was over.  I know, I know, it was an incredibly dumb thing to do, but at the time I probably thought it sounded like a good idea.  Anyway, a teacher overheard my friends talking about our plans and the next thing I knew we were all in the principal’s office waiting for our parents to arrive.  I remember the principle telling my parents that “this kind of behavior was out of character for Jeffrey.”  My mother of course agreed and said that I would never do such a thing, my father however, wasn’t quite so sure.  The truth is that while this was the first (and the last) time I ever got into trouble for having explosives in my locker, at a much deeper level, this was exactly “in character” for me.  I was increasingly concerned about my friend’s opinion of me and less concerned with what was right and good and true.  I was developing the kind of character that would do something as stupid as keep bombs in my locker and even lie about it when first confronted.  While this is a relatively mild (even humorous) example, the capacity for foolish, dumb, hurtful, dishonest, selfish, wicked, and vicious behavior is already inside every one of us.

The Biblical view of sin goes much deeper that mere wrongdoing.  Sin is much more than making bad choices, or breaking the rules.  In fact, it is entirely possible to keep the external rules and yet still be sinful in your heart. In Matthew 15:18, Jesus says about the Pharisees, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”  Sin, from the Bible’s point of view, is in our spiritual DNA, it is a virus in human nature that cannot be cured or even controlled apart from the saving grace of Christ.  David wrote about his in Psalm 51:5 when he said, “surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

Jeremiah tells us that (we) God’s people have exchanged our Glory for worthless idols.  What is our Glory?  God, God is our Glory!  He is to be the apple of our eye, the object of our ultimate allegiance and affection.  We have exchanged Him for a thousand worthless and false gods.  We exchange Him for the gods of work and career.  We exchange Him for the gods of wealth and status. We exchange His Glory for the lesser glory of human approval. We exchange Him for the gods of romance and relationship.  We exchange Him for the idols of our children’s success.  We exchange God, our Glory, for the false gods of self-esteem and body image.  Whatever we put in the place of God in our lives, will eventually become our god! 

God is your glory!  Do not trade Him for anything or anyone else; you will always lose in the exchange!


Jeff Frazier

Monday, March 14

Monday

Jesus continued:  “There was a man who had two sons.  The younger one said to his father,  ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.  “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.     – Luke 15:11-13

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him.  But he answered his father,  ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends.  But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’     - Luke 15:28-30

For several weeks now we have been examining this parable and the lives of these two brothers.  On the outside, they look quite different; one is really, really bad and the other is really, really good (on the outside).  However, on the inside, these two are really not all that different, they are actually quite similar.  They both reject the love of their father because they both are more interested in their father’s wealth than in having a relationship with him.  They both want what the father can give them more than they want him!

The younger brother thinks he can get what he wants by demanding his rights and doing things his way.  The older brother thinks he can get his way by obeying and following all the rules.  Both want what they want and they really don’t want the father.  If we were to strip away all of the external differences between these two sons and get right down to the central issue, what would it be?  What was really behind their rejection of their father? 

In a word – SIN.

This is not a word we use or hear much in our contemporary society.  It is not even a word we hear much in many churches these days.  We would rather use other words like mistakes, struggles, burdens, issues, or flaws.  “Sin” sounds so negative and outdated.  Who wants to hear about sin?  We would rather hear about love and grace and joy and peace, and about how God wants us to live happy, healthy, wealthy and victorious lives.  Let’s be honest, the Bible’s teaching on sin is an offensive and highly unpopular concept in our culture today.  However, I cannot think of a more relevant topic for our culture than a biblical understanding of the nature of sin. 

In 1910, The London Times Literary Supplement sent out a letter to several famous authors asking them to answer this question, “what is wrong with the world today?”  G.K. Chesterton famously responded to this question with his own letter, which read, “Dear Sirs, I am.  Yours, G.K. Chesterton”  Chesterton understood the basic Biblical doctrine that the primary problem in the world is not out there, but is right inside each one of us.

Romans 3:12- All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.

Romans 3:23 - for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Psalm 14:3 - All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

Psalm 53:3 - Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

1 John 1:18 - If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

These verses don’t exactly leave us much room to justify or rationalize do they?  We might not like it, and we might not want to admit it, but the Bible is clear, we are all sinners.  In fact, one of the chief characteristics of sin in our lives is our inability to see it and to acknowledge it in ourselves.  Oh, we can see it in others clear enough, but we tend to have spiritual blinders on when it comes to our own sinfulness.

Ah, but here is the beautiful irony of the Gospel…once we are willing to admit our sinfulness and face the depth of our wickedness, then (and only then) we are able to truly grasp the depth of God’s love for us.  In this sense, facing our sin is the gateway to getting God’s grace!


Jeff Frazier

Friday, March 11

Luke 15:31-32

“ ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Most children love to play “Hide and Seek.” But two things are true about young children when they play “Hide and Seek”; first, most of them aren’t very good at hiding; and second, they really want to be found!

I can remember playing hide and seek with one of my boys when he was very young – and when it was his turn to hide he ran to the family room of our house, curled up into a ball in the middle of the floor and pulled a blanket over himself. So when I came looking for him, I saw this big, lumpy blanket in the middle of the floor that was the shape of my little boy! It was as if, in his hiding, he was shouting, “Find me Daddy, please find me!”

The older bother in the story did not get lost in the far country or wind up groveling for corn husks with the pigs – but he was hiding. He was hiding from his father and he was hiding from himself. He was hiding a heart that had become proud and bitter. He was hiding a heart that had become filled with resentment and a judgmental spirit. He was hiding his longing to be important to his father; he was hiding is longing to be loved. So he threw a blanket of self-righteousness and pride over himself, and stood in the back yard almost crying out, “Find me Daddy, please find me!”

And his father did find him. His father assured him of his love; his father reminded him of his rich inheritance; and his father invited him to join the celebration.

Jesus doesn’t tell us whether or not the older brother allowed himself to be found. We don’t know if he responded to the father’s love. We don’t know if he eventually joined the party. We can only hope he did.

The question for each one of us is – have we?

Thursday, March 10

Luke 15:20-24

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

On the fourth finger of my left hand I wear a ring. Of course, this is my wedding ring – which I received on the day of my marriage to my wife, Lorene. This thin band of gold has little monetary value, but for over 25 years it has been perhaps my most valuable symbolic possession. My wedding band means that I live in a covenant relationship that is “holy” – set apart for a special purpose and is never to be violated. It means I have a place where I belong and where I am loved for who I am – and that place is found in a person, my wife!

The father in Jesus’ story gives three things to the younger son upon his return. First he gives him a robe, not only to replace his tattered clothes, but as a gift that was often given to an honored guest. Next comes the ring, which would have been a signet ring, symbolizing the authority that came with being an heir of the father. Finally come sandals, which were worn only by family members and not by servants.

The father is making a statement that is symbolic but unmistakably clear.

He is NOT saying:  “I am taking you back as a hired man.”

He is NOT saying: “I am taking you back because I need another servant who knows how to feed pigs.”

Rather, he is saying, “I am taking you back because you always have been, and always will be, my son. I am taking you back because nothing you have ever done can change my love for you. I am taking you back because you have come home.”

To “repent” means to turn around, to make a change in direction. The younger son repents when he comes to his senses, turns around, and heads for home. IS there any way in which you need to “repent” today? You may not be eating with the pigs – yet perhaps you have strayed from home in some way. Remember that the father is waiting and watching for you to turn around; and he longs to put the ring on your finger and the sandals on your feet once again – because you are his!

Brian Coffey

Wednesday, March 9

Luke 15:25-30

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look, all these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours, who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!”

In his book, “The Prodigal God”, author Tim Keller tells the following story.

“Once upon a time there was a gardener who grew an enormous carrot. So he took it to his king and said, “My lord, this is the greatest carrot I have ever grown or ever will grow. Therefore I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you.” The king was touched and discerned the man’s heart, so as he turned to go the king said, “Wait! You are clearly a good steward of the earth. I own a plot of land right next to yours. I want to give it to you freely as a gift so you can garden it all.” And the gardener was amazed and delighted and went home rejoicing. But there was a nobleman at the king’s court who heard all of this. And he said, “My! If that’s what you get for a carrot – what if you gave the king something better?” So the next day the nobleman came before the king and he was leading a handsome black stallion. He bowed low and said, “My lord, I breed horses and this is the greatest horse I’ve ever bred or ever will. Therefore I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you.” But the king discerned his heart and said thank you, and took the horse and merely dismissed him. The nobleman was perplexed. So the king said, “Let me explain. That gardener was giving me the carrot, but you were giving yourself the horse.”

Like the nobleman in Keller’s story, the older brother in Jesus’ parable does the right things for the wrong reasons. He serves his father because he assumes that the father’s love for him is conditional upon his obedience. Therefore he also assumes that if he serves and obeys his father – he will be rewarded accordingly. He has fundamentally misunderstood the love of his father.

Earlier in Luke 15, Jesus tells the story of a shepherd who leaves 99 sheep “in the open field” to search for one lost sheep. When the shepherd finds the single lost sheep, Jesus says he “calls his friends and neighbors together” to have a celebration. To me this is one of Jesus’ most clever and surprising stories. I think Jesus is catching his listeners off guard here – and here’s why. I think Jesus is saying, “What shepherd in his right mind would leave 99 sheep in the open field – where wild animals and thieves are abundant – just to go look for one lost lamb?” Think about it. Wouldn’t the prudent thing be to simply to realize that one got away and was probably already dinner for a pack of hungry wolves – to simply cut your losses and go home with 99% of your inventory intact? Why risk anything else? And furthermore, why would any self-respecting shepherd throw a party when he finds ONE sheep?

I think Jesus is using a kind of irony to make his point. I think he’s telling us that while none of us would be foolish enough to leave 99 sheep to look for just one – that God is exactly that “foolish.” He’s saying that every single one of God’s sheep is of inestimable and irreplaceable value to him – not because of what they do for him, not for their service to him, but just because they are HIS.

This is what the older brother struggles to accept. He thinks his value to his father is based on his obedience and service – this is why he thinks he deserves more than his younger brother – who has failed to obey and serve their father. But he is wrong. His value to his father is not based on how well he performs! His value is based on the father’s love for him simply because he is his son.

For those of us with “older brother tendencies” – this is hard to accept. We want to be valued based on how well we perform! We want to deserve what we get! And yet, all the while, we fear that we aren’t performing well enough and that therefore we are not worthy of love. To us older brothers I think Jesus would say something like this, “There’s nothing you can do to make me love you any more than I do right now – and there’s nothing you can do to make me love you any less than I do right now. So relax! Stop trying so hard and just let me love you as my child!”

Brian Coffey