Those Lost Sheep

 

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near Jesus to listen to Him. And both the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

And so He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the other ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he puts it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my sheep that was lost!’ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance." 

Luke 15:1-7

The lesson here is that we should never underestimate the power of God.

When we look at people we only see the exterior; we do not see the heart.  We may think some people are so far from God that there is no hope for them and what's more we may think, "Well, they are not the people we want in our church."

But Jesus does not see what we see.  He sees people who are hungry for the love of God and who are ready for a life change.  And, then He pours His love on them and welcomes them into the family of God.  

We are a part of this when we extend the hand of Christian fellowship to others.  Some may show up at our church, others may be at the supermarket or park or where we work.  Everyone is the same with God, He loves and cares for everyone. 

So, look for lost sheep and tell them about the love of God. 

Be At Peace

 

When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Proverbs 16:7

Wow!  This sounds impossible, but here it is.  We are called to make peace with our enemies.  

I am thinking we do this by ignoring much of what our enemies try to do to us.  And, we can try peace offerings like treats or offering to help them out with some project they are working on.  

We may not be friends, but we can work on a peaceful co-existence. 

God Is Not Partial

 

Opening his mouth Peter said, “I most certainly understand that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.” 

Acts 10:34-35

There you go.  How is it that Christians are labelled as intolerant, when the Bible clearly states that everyone is welcomed by God?  God is not partial; He does not favor anyone group of people over another.  He loves all humanity. 

I think where the conflict comes is that some people read the Bible and do not like what it says and decide that God is against them.  The truth is God is for all of us, what He is against is life destroying sin and evil.  Christians who embrace the teachings of the Bible should not be labelled as intolerant any more than Hindus or Buddhist who embrace those teachings. 

So, it is a case of “don’t blame the messenger.”  We come carrying the love of God for all humanity and our beliefs that are based upon the Bible.  If people do not like what the Bible says then they do not have to join us.

But, because we embrace and believe the teachings of the Bible, we will continue to share the message of one way to God, through His Son, Jesus, and we will continue to love and pray for all people.

Minister Yes Mingle No

 

Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership has righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?  Or what harmony has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?  Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?  For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said,

        “I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”

        “Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.  “And do not touch what is unclean; and I will welcome you.  And I will be a father to you.  And you shall be sons and daughters to Me,” says the Lord Almighty.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18

The people of God face the question of what relationships they should have with unbelievers.  When the Apostle Paul spoke to the Corinthians about this he quoted the message to “be separate” which God gave to the Old Testament Prophets Isaiah and Hosea.

This is good advice for Christians.  There are those who want to stop us from speaking about Jesus, those who want to lure us into sin, those who would like us to fall from grace and even some who would like to kill us. 

We know that the best defense is a good offense.  A good offense is to keep our distance.  We can be friendly, but not necessarily friends.

 

We can share the Gospel with unbelievers and invite them to church and see what happens.  And, perhaps they will become believers because God’s arms are wide open and waiting to receive them.

Inspired By God

 

All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness so that the man (and woman) of God may be adequately equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16

One thing I suggested my children do to help them make better decisions was to ask themselves, “Do I want people to see this on the news?”

Once when my daughter made an error in judgement I asked her if she asked herself the question. She replied, “Yes, but I didn’t answer it.”

That is the way we can sometimes be with God’s word. We might not particularly like what it says, but that does not detract from the fact that it is the truth and it is in our best interest to do that which God has commanded us to do.

God’s Word, the Bible, provides us with advice to equip us for good works and a good life.

Nothing Is Too Difficult For God

"Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?"

Jeremiah 32:27

When we face big challenges, we can count on God to help us. 

No matter where we go or what we do, God is with us.  

So, be brave.  Do what you need to do and know that the Lord, God of all flesh, is working for you.

God said it, believe it: Nothing is too difficult for God.  

Nobody Is Perfect

Do not judge so that you will not be judged. “For the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?”

“You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye."

Matthew 7:1-5

Jesus wanted us to know that we cannot win people to the Gospel by pointing out their character flaws. And, that the truth is that we all have plenty of flaws which need fixing because people are not perfect.

Jesus wants us to love others unconditionally. And, generously share the Gospel message with everyone. 

It is when people receive Jesus as their Lord, Master and Savior that the life transforming work of God begins. And, our part in it is to be there as their cheerleaders.