Monday, February 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.

“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.’”

I am an older brother. I grew up in a home with two younger brothers; one just less than three years my junior – and a little brother who was born when I was almost 12. As an older brother, when I read this story, I tend to focus my attention on the sins of the rebellious younger brother! After all, it is the younger brother who demands his share of the inheritance early – thus effectively treating his father as though he were dead. It is the younger brother who then throws his money – and life – away on wild and scandalous living. It is the younger brother who winds up fighting with pigs over the husks in the feeding trough – and deservedly so! After all, isn’t that why this story is traditionally referred to as “The parable of the prodigal son”? The “prodigal” is obviously the younger brother – who wastes his life and resources on “prodigious” sin! Or is it?

Let’s go back and read the first line of Jesus’ timeless story again.

“There was a man who had two sons.”

“Two sons.” That’s how Jesus begins. And he begins that way because there are actually two prodigal sons in the story – as well as a prodigal father! In fact, I think if Jesus had a name for this story, he would probably have called it, “The parable of the father and his two lost sons.” As we learned last week, the word “prodigal” carries the meaning of “lavish, or extravagant, or even wastefully extravagant.” And as we dig into what Jesus is teaching us, we come to see that all three characters in the story are “wastefully extravagant” in their own way. The younger son is extravagant in his rebelliousness. The father is extravagant in his love for both of his sons. And what about the older brother? How is he “prodigal”?

The older brother is also prodigal because he is extravagant in his pride and self-righteousness. He is what Mark Twain once called “a good man in the worst sense of the word.” And there’s a good chance that if you read “10 Minutes With God” every week; and if you worship in a church most every weekend – that you have more in common with the older brother than you do with the younger brother – just like me! If you do have a little “older brother” in you – you tend to “keep score” – that is you tend to compare yourself with others and you secretly hope God is noticing how well you are “performing” for him! And, in the end, you trust that being “good” will pay off in the end.

Jesus tells this story because he wants both younger brothers and older brothers to know that he loves them – and that both of them need his grace and forgiveness in equal measure!

Ask God to help you hear what Jesus has to say to you through this story this week.

Brian Coffey

Thursday, February 17

Thursday

Then he said, There was once a man who had two sons. The younger said to his father, “Father, I want right now what's coming to me.” Luke 15:12-12 (The Message)

"Give me."  Throughout life, our human nature seems to scream out, "give me!" Our hyperspeed technological society wants everything "right now." We crave the instant gratification of our desires. Our entire culture is set up this way; drive thru windows, ATMs, one hour photos, same day shipping, quick loans, with the click of a button (or a touch screen) we can have access to just about anything and everything.  But have you noticed the more quickly you are satisfied, the faster you lose that joy?  Instant gratification is almost like a drug. "Quick - give me another fix!"

This condition of the human heart is not new, it goes back all the way to the beginning.  In Genesis 3:1-6 we read about how this selfish impatience first appeared; 

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman,  “Did God really say,  ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”  The woman said to the serpent,  “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say,  ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”

 “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

The serpent said to the woman (in effect) “Why wait, why follow such restrictive rules?  You can have all that you want right now.”  The sad irony is that God does want us to become like Him (Eph. 4:24), but not by demanding it or taking it for ourselves.  There are no shortcuts to God’s blessings!

In know a man who is a real estate appraiser, he has the unique opportunity to go into people's homes and meet a wide cross section of people in his community.  From the seemingly wealthy to struggling laborers, he has seen the consequences of the "quick fix" attitude of instant gratification in some of these homes. (Of course, not all home loan situations are bad.)  He has told me of how he witnessed the damage done to families by the "give it to me now" attitude; the abuse of credit cards and easy loans can be devastating.  My friend told me that the hardest part of his job is doing an appraisal on a repossessed home where children's toys are still lying around the house.  He told me that he can see the despair in some people's eyes as he enters their homes.   He listens as they tell him that their home has to appraise for "this much" so that they can pay off their five or six credit cards that are up to the limits.  More often than not, the home loan is not enough to cover the credit card and finance company debt.

The Prodigal Son story is just as relevant to the condition of the human heart today as it was over two thousand years ago.  The son is saying to his father, "give it to me now!  Give me right now, what is going to be mine later."  His impatience and demand for instant gratification eventually leads him to a place of utter brokenness and despair (sin always does).  Our sinful human natures drive us like that.  It's the "when and then" attitude.  When I get that promotion, then we will be set. When we get into that new house, then we will have made it.  As Christians, we know the only thing humans really need is a gift that is free.  Our problem is accepting the gift and using the power of the gift.  A relationship with Christ is the craving we really seek; it is a desire that will never be filled by anything or anyone else.

The Prodigal had the same attitude. "Father, give me what is mine now, and leave me alone to live my own life!" 

Lord help us to get out of the "give me" mode and into the "take me" mode with You!


Jeff Frazier

Wednesday, February 16

Wednesday

Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says,  ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’  I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.  - Luke 15:6-7

And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says,  ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’  In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.  - Luke 15:9-10

What gives you great joy?  What events or moments cause you to celebrate?  When was the last time you called a friend or a family member because you were so excited about something that had happened to you? 

I remember when my wife became pregnant with our first child.  I was so excited and I couldn’t wait to tell people the news.  I wanted to celebrate.  I was especially eager to tell my mom & dad that they were going to be first-time grandparents.  Any parent can tell you that raising children gives you lots of moments when you want to celebrate (as well as some moments when you want to weep & wail).  Not too long ago I ran into a woman from our church that I hadn’t seen in quite awhile.  When I saw her I immediately recalled that her son had been in and out of drug rehab and had at one time run away from home.  In that instant I thought of all of the pain and agony that mother had experienced over her sons decisions.  I hesitated for a moment, and then before I could ask about her son, she said with a gleam in her eye, “have I told you about how ---- is doing?”  She proceeded to tell me with barely containable joy, about how God had brought her wayward son back from the brink and restored him to faith in Christ and to his family.

Have you ever wondered what causes a stir in heaven?  Jesus tells us that this same joy that a parent feels over their child is a glimpse of the great joy that exists in heaven.  There is a marked contrast in the verses above between the grumbling of the Pharisees Luke 15:1-2) and the great joy in heaven when the lost are found.  Heaven is already filled with joy, but when a soul surrenders to God, they throw a party!  The angels rejoice before God (by the way, someday we will join them - how cool is that?). 

There is a celebration in heaven when one of those who are lost opens up his or her heart and finds the living Lord.  You may have heard expressions about a party in heaven before, but Jesus tells us in no uncertain terms that this is precisely what happens.  They shoot off fireworks, they ring bells, they swing from the chandeliers (I don’t know if they actually have chandeliers in heaven but it is a good image).  It is a great celebration of unrestrained joy before God over a lost one that is returned.  What an amazing revelation of the heart of God!  God longs to see those who are lost recovered, whether they have wandered away, or whether they are lost right in their own home.

Peter tells us that the angels long to look into the matters of our salvation (1 Pet. 1:12).  The angels know the joys of God’s glorious presence in heaven, where those rescued by the Good Shepherd will spend eternity.  The things that make us happy and cause us to rejoice reflect our values or what is most important to us. Do we rejoice when our stocks go up and we make a huge profit?  Do we rejoice when we make a new purchase?   Do we rejoice when we see our name in print?  Do we rejoice when we hear of someone who turns their heart to God, or do we say, “Oh, that’s nice.”  God greatly rejoices when a sinner repents; so should we. 

It is easier for us to think of God rejoicing over somebody else who turns to Him, but God greatly rejoices when we turn to Him too!  Do you realize that?  God greatly rejoices over you!  If you have surrendered your life to Christ, then angels in heaven have celebrated in the presence of God because of you!  If you have wandered away from God and have returned, the Scripture says that is reason for a party in heaven!


Jeff Frazier

Tuesday, February 15

Tuesday

Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him.  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered,  “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Then Jesus told them this parable:  “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?  And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says,  ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’  I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.  “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says,  ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’  In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”     -       Luke 15:1-10

It is easy to overlook the fact that before Jesus tells the famous parable of the Prodigal Son, He tells these two other shorter parables about lost things that become found; the lost sheep and the lost coin.  It is very interesting that of all of the animals that Jesus could have chosen for His parable, He chose sheep; not a dog, or a pig, or a monkey, or a peacock, it was a lost sheep.

There is something unusual about sheep. Unlike other animals they do not often deliberately run away.  A dog who wants to be free, given a chance, will bolt out of the yard at the first opportunity.  A horse or cow will do the same.  But sheep do not.  They only wander away, they do not mean to.  They just drift away without realizing it.  Thus Jesus has deliberately chosen an animal which represents people who are lost, but who never intended to be lost.  They never meant to be, and they don't know how it happened.  Without ever meaning to they wander off and suddenly find themselves lost, and they do not know how it happened.

Phillip Keller in his little book, A Shepherd looks At Psalm 23, says that you can watch a sheep get himself lost.  He is with the flock at first.  Then he sees some grass a few paces away that looks good to him so he goes over and begins to nibble.  Then he sees some more grass a few steps away and he moves a little further and then a little further.  He is concerned only about the immediate, and, little by little, he is drawn away without realizing it.  Suddenly he looks around for the flock, and finds they are nowhere in sight.  He begins to bleat and run around, but he does not know in which direction to go, nor how to hide - so he panics, he runs in circles.  Every shepherd knows that a sheep in that condition is utterly helpless.

This is the picture that Jesus gives us of what it means to be spiritually lost.  There are millions of people living for the moment, moving from one experience to another, without considering where they are really headed or why.  Eventually, they look around at their life and think to themselves, “Where am I?  How did I get here?”

Now one of the keys to grasping Jesus’ meaning in this parable is to reflect on how the shepherd responds to his lost sheep.  He left the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and went after the one.  That is most significant. It pictures the activity of God, as expressed in the person of the Lord Jesus himself. He left something to come and find us.  As Paul states it so beautifully in the letter to the Philippians, he did not count the fact that he was equal with God a thing to be held on to, but instead emptied himself, took upon himself the form of a servant, and was found in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:6-7). He left, and he came. You can see how beautifully this is fulfilled in our Lord's own ministry.

A wonderful example of this is how Jesus dealt with his Disciple named Matthew. Remember that Matthew was a tax collector. He belonged to this crowd of extortionists who made their living by overcharging taxpayers (see yesterday’s devotion).  He was one of the outsiders of society.  He had full pockets, but an empty heart.  But one day there stood before him a man whom he had seen and heard speaking, this man from Galilee, this stranger from Nazareth.  Suddenly the man turned and looked at him, sitting there behind his table, with all his money around him.  Those eyes looked into his eyes, and Matthew heard him speaking to him.  He could not believe it - that this man, who was obviously a prophet, should speak to him, an untouchable tax collector!  To his astonishment he heard Jesus say, "Follow me," (Matthew 9:9). And Matthew just left all the money, stood up, and followed him.  What he did next has always fascinated me. He came to Jesus and said, "Master, I have made a feast in my house for all my friends. Would you come?"  And Jesus went.  He went because there were gathered all the tax collectors that Matthew knew, ready to listen to him as he reached out to find these outsiders who were lost in the midst of their own wealth.

The final key to this parable is how the shepherd reacts once the lost sheep is recovered – he celebrates!  This reveals the value that God sets on lost men and women.  They are not worthless in his sight.  They are not written off, nor neglected.  They are made in his image. Therefore they are of unspeakable value to God.  They bear his own mark, marred, defiled, and ruined as that image may be, and he longs to find them and reach them and restore them!

So Jesus, in effect, turns the objection of the Pharisees around on them.  The question is not why does Jesus eat with Tax-Collectors and sinners?  The question is why don’t you?

Jeff Frazier

Monday, February 14

Monday

Now the tax collectors and “sinners” were all gathering around to hear him.  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered,  “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”    - Luke 15:1-2

For the next several weeks our online devotionals (and sermons) will be centered on Luke 15 and the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  In order for us to get beyond our general familiarity with the basic story and grasp the depth of Jesus’ meaning in it, we must understand something about the culture in which it was told and the people to whom it was first addressed.

In just a few verses here, Luke gives us quite a bit of information about the setting in which Jesus told this parable.  There was a growing controversy surrounding Jesus wherever he went.  Jesus was becoming an irritation and a threat to the religious establishment of His day.  His teaching was a challenge to their understanding of God’s law and His miracles were a challenge to their moral authority in that society.  This would not really be such a big deal if it were not for the fact that Jesus was drawing a crowd wherever he went, people were listening to Him and gathering around Him.  Worse still was the kind of people that were gathering around Jesus, Luke says they were “Tax Collectors and Sinners”.  This was one of the major objections that the religious establishment had against Jesus.

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples.  When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples,  “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”  - Matthew 9:10-11

But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples,  “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”  - Luke 5:30

Who were the Tax Collectors and Sinners?  Many of us Sunday School types think of the “wee little man” Zacchaeus when we hear the term Tax Collector.   However, Tax Collectors were really a hated lot by the Jews.  At this point in history, the world is ruled by Rome, from India to England.  Rome was not all the togas and marble that you see in the movies. They were a ruthless empire. In fact, there are historical accounts of Rome conquering a city and then taking thousands of men, women and children, stripping them naked and crucifying them on the road leading up to that city for miles. So that anyone going into the city would get the horrific message, “Don’t mess with Rome!” They were a brutal regime.  Now if you rule from India to England and you don’t have an air force or you don’t have the ability to press a button and launch weapons, the only way you can govern a landmass that size is with a massive army.  How do you fund, supply, feed and train a massive army? Taxes. Heavy taxes on the conquered people, to pay for the army that was killing so many of their own people!

The second group that Luke mentions are the “Sinners”.  For us to understand “sinners,” we have to get out of the Western mindset.  Because we tend to think, you’re a sinner, I’m a sinner, everyone is a sinner. That’s not the case here. To the Jews of Jesus’ day, not everyone was a sinner, for them, “sinner” is marked as a specific class of people in society.  People that are deformed, diseased or whose profession is one that the Jews would have considered wicked.  So they were prostitutes, strippers, slave traders, thieves, or they had some kind of physical ailment that the Jews viewed as a curse being from God.

These people would have had the very clear understanding that they were not welcome in the religious circles.  They were not allowed to go to the Temple, they were not allowed to hear the Torah read aloud in the Synagogue, they were totally cut off from the religious life of the community.

I met with a man several years ago that had been in and out of prison and had led a very troubled life.  Over a cup of coffee, he said to me, “I am just not the kind of guy that God is interested in, and I have accepted that.”  This statement closely resembles the basic view of many of those who were gathered around Jesus.

Now stop and think about this for a moment…

In Jesus day, the moral and religious outsiders were attracted to Him and gathered around to hear His message, while the moral and religious insiders were irritated, annoyed and confused by Him.

I fear that for too many Christians, and too many churches the dynamic is exactly the opposite.  We attract the insiders to our religious club, and those on the outside continue to stay away.

The question is this – Is the church (our church) a place where outsiders and outcasts are made to feel welcome?  Are you the kind of Christ-follower that attracts those who might feel as though they are beyond the reach of God’s love?  If we claim to be followers of Christ then we should examine our lives by His standard.

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.”  - Mark 2:17


Jeff Frazier

Friday, February 11

But you, O Sovereign Lord, deal with me for your name’s sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.

For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.

I fade away like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.

My knees give way from fasting; my body is thin and gaunt…

Help me, O Lord my God; save me in accordance with your love…

They may curse, but you will bless; when they attack they will be put to shame, but your servant will rejoice…

With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord; in the great throng I will praise him. For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save their lives from those who condemn them.                                                                Psalm 109:21- 31

My brother, Joe, and I grew up in the same family and shared many of the same interests and passions. We both gave our hearts to Jesus at an early age – and sensed God’s call to ministry in our early 20’s. But when it comes to emotions – particularly the experience and expression of anger – we are polar opposites. Joe is more likely to express his emotions outwardly; I am more likely to hide my feelings somewhere inside myself. So as we were growing up I was often identified as the “patient one” while he was sometimes seen as the one with a “temper problem.”

Once when we were adults we got into a conflict about something and I said, something like, “If you wouldn’t lose your temper …” To which he immediately responded, “Don’t even pretend you don’t have an anger problem too!  You’ve punished me for years with your silence!”  In that moment we both realized that we were both right.  But, we were each focused on the other’s problem, not our own!

Whether our tendency is toward rage (expressing our hurt and anger outwardly and forcefully) or, toward bitterness (burying our hurt and anger deep in our hearts), the antidote is the same – confession.

Every step of spiritual growth begins with honest confession before God. Psalm 109 is best seen as a prayer of confession – not confession of sin – but confession of emotion, of pain and anger. David knows the only way to healing is through honest confession of his heart before God.

Notice the progression of his prayer.

He has named the wrong done to him (vs. 1-5).

He has expressed his feelings of rage and desire for retribution (vs. 6-20).

Then he moves to a cry for help.

But you, O Sovereign Lord, deal with me for your name’s sake; out of the goodness of your love, deliver me.

For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.

Help me, O Lord my God; save me in accordance with your love…

They may curse, but you will bless; when they attack they will be put to shame, but your servant will rejoice…

With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord; in the great throng I will praise him. For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save their lives from those who condemn them.                                        Psalm 109:23-31 (selected)

I am poor and needy.

Deal with me. Deliver me. Help me. Bless me. Save me.

You can almost feel the tension and anger draining from David’s heart as he pours out all his hurt and frustration to his God. The prayer he begins with - great agitation and pain – ends with worship and praise. This is the power of prayer as confession.

Anger is inevitable in human life. Sometimes that anger takes the form of rage and sometimes bitterness. But God is good enough, is big enough, and loves us enough to handle our anger – if we are honest enough to share it with him in prayer.

Ask God to use his word to help you grow in your experience and practice of prayer!

Brian Coffey

Thursday, February 10

In your anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.                                          Ephesians 4:26, 31-32

Way back in the 1930’s a Chicago newspaper carried the strange story of Harry Havens. One evening Harry was washing dishes with his wife when Mrs. Havens scolded him for not performing his task correctly. For whatever reason, that was the last straw for Harry. He responded to what he felt was unjust criticism by saying, “Well, if that’s the way you feel, I’m going to bed and I never want to see you again.” And he proceeded to blindfold himself and get into bed. And, according to the newspaper article, he stayed there for seven years.

That’s bitterness!

While rage is anger expressed outwardly, bitterness is anger turned inward. Where rage is explosive and violent and often destructive; bitterness is silent and cold and every bit as destructive. Bitterness slowly strangles all relationships – with others and with God.  Scientists used to think it was safe to bury nuclear waste deep underground only to discover that it was so toxic that it leaked into underground water sources and contaminated everything it touches. So it is with bitterness!

In my experience as a pastor I have come to believe that bitterness is one of the “occupational hazards” of many, many Christian people. We love God and want to please him – and we don’t want to be angry. We especially don’t want to hurt others by expressing anger directly in the form of rage.  So we tend to pretend we aren’t angry and we try to bury those unpleasant feelings deep inside our hearts. The result, quite often, is a growing bitterness that threatens to destroy not only our joy but our relationships with others and with God. I think this is what Paul means by giving “the Devil a foothold.” The longer we hold onto our hurt and anger the more we allow our enemy to poison our hearts with bitterness!

So, how do we get rid of the toxic waste of bitterness? We must learn to pray like David prayed in Psalm 109. We must learn to express our hurt and anger in the safety and confession of prayer. When we turn our unpleasant and ugly emotions into prayer we find that those feelings lose some of their power. When we trust God enough to be honest with him we will find that he is willing and able to absorb our bitter feelings and replace them with healing.

So which is your “preferred style of anger”? Do you tend toward rage or bitterness? Are you carrying either in your heart today? If so, take some time to lay those feelings before God in the safety of prayer.

Brian Coffey