A Deeper Healing

Bible Reading: John 5:1-18

“Do you wish to get well?”  What kind of question is that to ask of a paralyzed man?   But that’s exactly what Jesus asked the man lying beside the pool (John 5:6).

The man had been an invalid for 38 years.  He was paralyzed and all alone and completely helpless.  He was gathered there with a multitude of other desperate souls—blind, lame, and paralyzed.  Some manuscripts, insert the following after verse 3 explaining what was happening: “waiting for the moving of the water for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred the water: whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had.” 

We are not given further information regarding this matter, but it seems likely that some kind of superstition developed regarding the healing powers of that particular pool.  There were community pools in Jerusalem in that day.  Some were spring fed, which could account for the movement of the waters.  There were a lot of sick people in need of healing.  Desperation can give rise to various superstitions—not too many years ago bloodletting was a common practice!

So, in the Bethesda pool “lottery” the first one into the water won.  The prize was to the swift or the strongest or those invalids having friends who would help them get there first.  But this man had no one to help him get into the water.  When the water was stirred up, and while he was going, another stepped down before him (John 5:7).  The man had been an invalid for 38 years.  For nearly four decades, he had suffered.  Jesus saw the man and “that he had already been there a long time” (John 5:6).  And Jesus said to him, “Do you want to be healed” (John 5:6)?

Not every sickness or malady directly results from sin, but all human maladies are rooted in original sin.  Adam and Eve sinned against God and unleashed a contagion of ills that have infected us all.  No descendant of Adam is untouched in life by the grievous consequences of the curse.  And in response man is prone to look to all kinds of supposed solutions for deliverance. 

“Do you wish to get well?”  There is a sense in which God asks us each that question.  In response to our sin problem, we look around to all kinds of crazy solutions or rationalize or excuse our sin-sourced infirmities with an array of explanations.  A multitude of the spiritually paralyzed gather at the “pool” of superstitious and humanistic solutions to man’s besetting ills.  But if we wish to get well—regarding being cured from sin—there is but one alternative.

Jesus did for the invalid what no one else would have been able to do.  Jesus healed him—compassionately, instantly, and perfectly—and without an angel’s help.  He required no “stirred up” waters.  He told the man to “get up, take up, and walk,” and that’s what the man immediately did (John 5:8-9).  Jesus can do the same with any sin-paralyzed person (Ephesians 2:1).  He is willing and well able to forgive, cleanse, and re-birth them to walk “in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).  It matters not if they’ve been a spiritual invalid for many years or few.  The presence of no external means of support is no hindrance to His ability to heal.  Jesus is more than able to heal us “from all our soul’s diseases.” 

Joni Eareckson Tada suffered a paralyzing injury as a teenager.  She desperately wanted to be healed.  When friends would visit her hospital room, she would ask for them to read from John chapter 5 about the man lying by the pool.  Her sister later took her to a healing conference in Washington D.C., but no genuine healings took place there.  Discouraged and distraught, she harbored a bitter spirit.  But then she cried out to Jesus for help.  She experienced in Him a deeper healing, a healing from sin.  For decades since she has testified to Jesus’ ability to grant such healing to those who look to Him.  She has said, “Don’t be thinking that for me in heaven, the big thing will be to get my new body… I want a glorified heart.  On a visit to Jerusalem not too many years ago, she visited the pool at Bethesda.  She leaned there on the guardrail of the old ruins.  While seated there alone, speaking to Jesus, she said, “Oh Jesus, thank you for a no request for physical healing, because the no answer to a request for physical healing has worked to purge my heart from sin.”  She wanted to get well, but Jesus blessed her instead with a deeper healing!

“Let the water and the blood, from Thy riven side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, Cleanse me from its guilt and pow’r.”

Rock of Ages

JESUS, I AM RESTING, RESTING

Jesus, I am resting, resting in the joy of what thou art;
I am finding out the greatness of thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon thee, as thy beauty fills my soul,
For by thy transforming power, thou hast made me whole.

Refrain:
Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what thou art;
I am finding out the greatness of thy loving heart.

O how great thy lovingkindness, vaster, broader than the sea!
O how marvelous thy goodness lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in thee, Beloved, know what wealth of grace is thine,
Know thy certainty of promise and have made it mine. [Refrain]

Simply trusting thee, Lord Jesus, I behold thee as thou art,
And thy love, so pure, so changeless, satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings, meets, supplies its ev’ry need,
Compasseth me round with blessings: thine is love indeed. [Refrain]

Ever lift thy face upon me as I work and wait for thee;
Resting ‘neath thy smile, Lord Jesus, earth’s dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father’s glory, sunshine of my Father’s face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting, fill me with thy grace. [Refrain]

Living Water

Bible Reading: John 4

They couldn’t have differed more. Nicodemus was a self-righteous Pharisee. The woman at the well was an immoral woman (John 4:18). He was a religious leader; she was a despised Samaritan (John 4:9). He came to Jesus, Jesus went to her. But they held one thing in common: both needed Jesus.

“Give me a drink,” He asked (John 4:7). That innocuous request worked to initiate a discussion between them of lofty spiritual matters. It should not escape our notice that Jesus, “who came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10), was not averse to conversing with a woman like her. The woman, being a woman and a Samaritan, was surprised that He did (John 4:9). The disciples were likewise surprised (“They marveled that he was talking with a woman;” John 4:27). Nicodemus and his Pharisee friends certainly would not have been seen with her (Luke 15:1-2). But Jesus was not bound by cultural expectations or phony social distinctions. He “came into the world to save sinners” and found in that woman one well qualified that way (1 Timothy 1:15). His ministry and message were equally applicable and available to persons of every station in life.

Jesus was well aware of her situation.  He said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here,” to which she replied, “I have no husband.”  Jesus then said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband.  What you have said is true” (John 4:16-18).  Jesus knew all about these matters.  Later she would testify “He told me all that I ever did” (John 4:39).  He knew all about her sins, past and present.  But Jesus, the Friend of Sinners, was not dissuaded in the least from reaching out to her.  The religiously proud would have readily disapproved of her as one of little value or worth, but Jesus doesn’t look at people that way (Luke 19:10).

The conversation between Jesus and the woman and the well was all about water.  He asked for water.  She wondered why a person like Him would ask for that from a person like her (John 4:9).  Jesus spoke to her of the gift of God and the living water He alone could provide (John 4:10), saying, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.  The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14). 

None of us can live long without water.  Regular consumption of H2O is essential to a person’s physical health.  But there is no kind of earthly water which can work to forever quench a person’s thirst.  It is therefore necessary to drink again.  With soul thirst, however, there is a water which can fully satisfy.  We are all born with a thirst for God that cannot be fully satisfied in any man devised way (Ecclesiastes 3:11), as St. Augustine once said, ““Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee.”  The pursuit of meaning and purpose in life apart from God is compared to trying to quench one’s thirst from “broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13).  Sin promises satisfaction, but the “fleeting pleasures of sin” leave us thirsty still (Hebrews 11:25).  The woman at the well knew all about such things.  

Jesus offered living water to her, living water that would forever satisfy her deepest longings and become in her “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).  On a later date He would stand before a multitude and declare “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.  Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).  Who doesn’t thirst?  The harshness of life on this sin-cursed planet leaves us parched of soul, but Jesus invites us to come and satiate our deepest needs in Him.  The invitation is to “whoever” —religious and irreligious, men and women, Jew, Samaritan, Gentile, rich men and poor, young and old—no matter their present estate, they can have their soul needs fully met in Him.  He is a “fountain of living water” to those who trust in Him (Jeremiah 2:13; Revelation 22:1).  She went to the well to get water, she found Jesus there and in finding Him found eternal life (John 4:39-42).

“Who doesn’t thirst?  The harshness of life on this sin-cursed planet leaves us parched of soul, but Jesus invites us to come and satiate our deepest needs in Him.”

FILL MY CUP, LORD

Like the woman at the well, I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy.
And then I heard my Savior speaking—
“Draw from My well that never shall run dry.”

Refrain:
Fill my cup, Lord; I lift it up Lord;
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more.
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole.

There are millions in this world who are seeking
For pleasures earthly goods afford.
But none can match the wondrous treasure
That I find in Jesus Christ my Lord. [Refrain]

So my brother if the things that this world gives you
Leave hungers that won’t pass away,
My blessed Lord will come and save you
If you kneel to Him and humbly pray—[Refrain]

You Must Be Born Again

Bible Reading: John 3:1-14

Nicodemus was a Pharisee (John 3:1).  He “came to Jesus by night,” suggesting he was fearful of what his peers might think of his rendezvous with Jesus (John 3:2).  As a Pharisee, he lived an extremely regimented life, according to the countless Pharisaic rules which governed nearly every aspect of his daily experience.  He was a man who would have fasted, prayed, gave alms, read the Scriptures, attended synagogue, etc.  As a “ruler of the Jews” he was a leader amongst the Pharisees, making decisions and overseeing various aspects of the Pharisaic cult which governed religious life in those days (John 3:1).  He was “the teacher of Israel,” well-schooled in the Scriptures and various Pharisaic laws (John 3:10).  He was “the teacher,” suggesting a preeminent role in the instruction of the Pharisaic community.

He seemingly had it all—religious pedigree, religious position, and religious practice.  Others would have supposed him to be spiritually secure.  He likely thought the same.  John 1:13 gives three means by which a person cannot gain the right to become a child of God.  It cannot happen by being born “of blood”—religious pedigree or association is not enough.  It cannot happen through “the will of the flesh”—good works done in human self-effort, no matter how impressive, cannot work to cause a person to be born again.  “The will of man,” i.e. human decision, likewise cannot bring about a person’s salvation.  Nicodemus had all these things, yet he was not saved.

Something compelled him to go to Jesus.  He came to Jesus and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him” (John 3:2).  Jesus responded to him in a surprising way.  “Jesus answered him, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’ (John 3:3).  Nicodemus was surprised by Jesus’ message; it was not what he expected to hear.  He didn’t understand, asking, “How can a man be born when he is old?  Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born” (John 3:4)?  And even after Jesus’ explanation, Nicodemus again asked “How, can these things be” (John 3:9)?

The birth of a child is a fitting analogy to what happens in the spiritual rebirth of a person.  A newborn child is a passive participant in the process whereby he enters this world.  He can take no credit for it.  Likewise, to be born again, a person must “be born of the Spirit with life from above into God’s family divine.”  He or she must receive Jesus to be given “the right to become” a child of God (John 1:12).  It is a work only the Spirit can do (John 3:5-8). It happens as the result of believing in Jesus (John 1:12).

We cannot know for sure, but it seems likely that Nicodemus was, at some point, born again.  Later, when the officers of the chief priests were sent out to bring Jesus to them, Nicodemus defended Jesus, advising his colleagues to hear and investigate Jesus’ claims before making a final judgment (John 7:45-52).  At Jesus’ burial, Nicodemus brought a costly mixture of myrrh and aloes for the embalming of His body (John 19:39).  According to church tradition, Nicodemus became a believer and was ultimately martyred for his faith.

George Whitefield, that great evangelist who played a preeminent role in the Great Awakening of the mid-1700s, was a student at Oxford and a member of the “Holy Club” before he was saved.  He was very religious, but also very lost.  Despairing of his condition, he became increasingly dissatisfied with his life and quit school and lay bed-ridden for some weeks. The Spirit worked in his heart with such power, he was led to abandon all his religious self-efforts, to trust exclusively in Christ.  He prayed, “I thirst, I thirst for faith in pardoning love.  Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”  His prayer was heard.  He was born again and “filled with peace and joy in believing.”  Not only was he born again, but God also made him to be one of the greatest evangelists in the church’s history.  “You must be born again” was the message that he loved to share.  Religion, no matter how impressive, is not enough—you must be born again! 

“You must be born again!”

HEAVEN CAME DOWN

O what a wonderful, wonderful day
Day I will never forget
After I’d wandered in darkness away
Jesus my Saviour I met
O what a tender, compassionate friend
He met the need of my heart
Shadows dispelling, with joy I am telling
He made all the darkness depart

Heaven came down and glory filled my soul (filled my soul)
When at the cross my Saviour made me whole (made me whole)
My sins were washed away
And my night was turned to day
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul

Born of the Spirit with life from above
Into God’s fam’ly divine
Justified fully thru Calvary’s love
O what a standing is mine
And the transaction so quickly was made
When as a sinner I came
Took of the offer of grace He did proffer
He saved me, O praise His dear name

Heaven came down and glory filled my soul (filled my soul)
When at the cross my Saviour made me whole (made me whole)
My sins were washed away
And my night was turned to day
Heaven came down and glory filled my soul

© 1961, renewed 1989 by John W. Peterson Music Company.

Hope for the Hopeless

Bible Reading: Luke 23:32-43

The sign said, “Jesus the Nazarene, the King of the Jews.”  It was posted on the cross above Jesus’ head and was written in three languages—Hebrew, Latin and Greek.  “Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city” (John 19:20).  The religious leaders had argued that Pilate should write instead, “This man said, I am King of the Jews,” but Pilate refused to alter what he had written (John 19:21-22).  The sign thus bore testimony to the truth of Jesus’ identity.

The two thieves saw the sign.  They were crucified with Jesus, “one on his right and one on his left” (Luke 22:33).  It was not by accident they shared in His plight.  It was prophesied of Jesus that “he was numbered with the transgressors” (Luke 22:37).  Jesus, the Divine and sinless Son of God, was crucified “between” two common criminals (John 19:18).  They would both serve, by their varied responses, to illustrate the two disparaged destinies of the believing and unbelieving.

They were both mocking Jesus.  They enjoined themselves to the religious leaders, soldiers and ‘passersby’ in their blasphemous choir of insults (Matthew 27:29, 39).  The religious leaders mocked Him, “He saved others; he cannot save himself.  He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him.  He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him.  For he said, ‘I am the Son of God’.  And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way” (Matthew 27:42-44).

Both robbers saw the same things.  They both beheld the bitter abuse directed at Jesus.  Both heard Him utter those surprising words, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 22:34).  Both read the sign above His head which testified to the truth of Jesus’ identity.  Both were privileged to behold the Savior fulfilling the redemptive work that He had come to do.

Both saw the same things, yet the heart of one criminal was changed.  “One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ?  Save yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him, saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?  And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong” (Luke 23:39-41).  The robber came to understand the truth about Jesus and himself.  He knew himself to be a sinner.  He saw something different in Jesus and perceived Him to be an innocent man.  How precious the Spirit of God’s conviction whereby he opens eyes to truth!  He works to both reveal our need and the God-provided remedy in Jesus whereby we can be delivered from it (John 16:8-11).

With believing eyes, the one robber said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42).  Simply put, the thief believed the truth declared by the sign above Jesus’ head.  He is the King of the Jews.  He is the Son of God.  Skeptics see no beauty in the cross.  They fail to comprehend the wondrous truth of which it speaks.  The Son of God purposed to die for lost sinners.  The King stepped down from heaven’s glory to mediate our salvation!  The cross is “a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,” but to those who are called it speaks to “the power of God and wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:23; Galatians 6:14).

Salvation was promised to the believing thief (Luke 23:43). He was granted mercy and forgiveness through no meritorious act of his own. He trusted in Jesus and was saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). The crosses and the sign at Calvary have long since rotted away, yet the truth revealed on that day still stands. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). He alone can save (John 14:6; Acts 4:12).

“All men have no choice but to fall in behind one thief or the other.  ‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him’ (John 3:36).  The sign cries out ‘BELIEVE!’ Some do and some don’t.  On which side of the cross do YOU stand (1 John 5:11-12; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10)?”

WHEN I SURVEY THE WONDROUS CROSS

When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of glory died,
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
save in the death of Christ, my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them through his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.

A Sight to Behold

Bible Reading: Luke 19:1-10

Remember the kid’s chorus? “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.  He climbed up on a Sycamore tree, the Lord he wanted to see.”  Zacchaeus “was seeking to see who Jesus was,” but since he was “small of stature” he sought to gain a better vantage point and “climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him” (Luke 19:3-4).

Zacchaeus was engaged in a noble pursuit.  He had no doubt heard the news about Jesus, how He spoke as no man ever spoke and did things no man had ever done before.  Yet secondhand information was not enough for him.  That little fellow had to see Jesus for himself.  He was a chief tax-collector, despised by the Pharisees (Luke 18:11; 19:7) and feared and avoided by everybody else.  He had riches and power, but they came at a cost.  His prosperity was ill-gained (Luke 19:8).  He was likely a lonely man and was most certainly lost.

Jesus, the “friend of sinners” came to save people like Zacchaeus (Luke 19:10) –lost and lonely sinners weighed down by heavy burdens; people dissatisfied in the vanity which is life without God.  Jesus came looking for sinners–Zacchaeus climbed a tree looking for the sinner’s friend.  It was a divinely orchestrated meeting which ended in a joyous result (Luke 19:6-10).

Zacchaeus’ endeavor was met with obstacles.  He was small in stature.  Jesus was surrounded by a crowd.  Yet faith finds a way when there isn’t any apparent.  He climbed a tree.  Certainly out-of-character for a chief tax collector.  One can imagine what others must have thought!  But by faith, he was undeterred. Don’t suppose Jesus can be seen apart from effort.  There is the need to gain a better vantage point if we are to behold Him.  In sin, we are all small in stature (Romans 3:23).  The Spirit alone can raise us up to a higher plane from which we can behold the glory of the Savior (John 16:14; 2 Corinthians 4:6).

Zacchaeus’ faith was richly rewarded.  Jesus saw him in the tree and called on him to come down.  Jesus was to be Zacchaeus’ guest!  The Pharisees saw what happened and grumbled, “He has gone in to be a guest of a man who is a sinner” (Luke 19:7).  Oh, happy day when a sinner receives Jesus (John 1:12)!  There can be no more loving friend than He!  He is a forever and faithful companion to those who trust in Him (Hebrews 13:5). 

Zacchaeus “was seeking to see who Jesus was” and we should joyfully follow in his steps.  Men labor through incredible obstacles and severe hardships to behold lesser things.  Over the course of history, we’ve crisscrossed the earth, delved into the depths of the sea, and ventured forth into the far reaches of our solar system.  Yet no sight in God’s creation can compare with beholding the glory of the Creator Himself!  By a work of the Spirit, believing eyes are opened to the glory of Jesus, but only by way of introduction (2 Corinthians 4:6).  By an ongoing work of the Spirit, greater clarity of vision is attained (2 Corinthians 3:18).  The time is coming when His own will “see him as he is” (1 John 3:2), “when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed” (2 Thessalonians 1:10).  What a glorious day that will be!

“The beholding of the glory of Christ is one of the greatest privileges and advancements that believers are capable of in this world, or in that which is to come.  By this they are first gradually conformed to it and then fixed in eternal enjoyment of it…this is the life and reward of our souls.”

John Owen

O THAT WILL BE GLORY

When all my labors and trials are o’er,
And I am safe on that beautiful shore,
Just to be near the dear Lord I adore
Will through the ages be glory for me.

Refrain:
O that will be glory for me,
Glory for me, glory for me;
When by His grace I shall look at His face,
That will be glory, be glory for me.

When by the gift of His infinite grace,
I am accorded in heaven a place,
Just to be there and to look on His face
Will through the ages be glory for me. [Refrain]

Friends will be there I have loved long ago;
Joy like a river around me will flow;
Yet just a smile from my Savior, I know,
Will through the ages be glory for me. [Refrain]

The Problem with Pride

Bible Reading: Luke 18:9-14

Luke 18:9, “And He told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves…”

Jesus’ parable speaks of two very different men offering two very different kinds of prayers, having two distinctly different results.  The Pharisee was self-righteous, the tax-gatherer was not.  The Pharisee prayed to himself and asked for nothing because he supposed there was nothing he needed.  The tax-gatherer prayed to God and cried out for mercy because he was well aware of his shortcomings.  The Pharisee’s prayer was unacceptable to God.  The tax-gatherer’s prayer met with God’s approval: “this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other” (Luke 18:14).

God hates pride.  Pride was at the heart of the Devil’s sinful rebellion (Isaiah 14:12-14).  It was to pride that Adam and Eve were tempted and then fell (Genesis 3:5, “You will be like God.”).  It was with pride they foolishly presumed to compensate for their loss by sewing “fig leaves together” to cover their nakedness (Genesis 3:7).  False religions, like Pharisaic Judaism, operate according to that foolhardy scheme.  Religions wrongly assume there is something man himself can do in his own wisdom and strength, to make up for that which was lost in the fall. The truth is pride is an abomination to God (Proverbs 6:16).  God is opposed to the proud (Proverbs 3:34, 1 Peter 5:5, James 4:6).  Indeed, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength” (Jeremiah 17:5).  Pride is at the root of all that ails man and works to cloud a person’s vision regarding his need for mercy and forgiveness.

The Pharisee measured spirituality on a horizontal plane and deemed himself better than others.  Religion works according to the false premise that a person is doing well as long as they can find some poor fool that’s worse off than they are (Luke 18:11). It is easy for any of us to get caught up in this system of thinking about things.  The church in Corinth, beset with pride-related issues, was likewise misled: “For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding” (2 Corinthians 10:12).

Humility can be defined as rightly esteeming oneself, before God and others, in view of God’s holiness and one’s own sinfulness.  Humility is a Spirit-imparted virtue.  J. C. Ryle, “The true cure for self-righteousness is self-knowledge. Once let the eyes of our understanding be opened by the Spirit, and we shall talk no more of our own goodness.”  The Spirit alone can work to open our eyes to the glory of the Lord (John 16:14) and gravity and depth of our need (John 16:8).  Stripped of ill-founded and deceptive notions regarding human merit, the humble person cries out to God for mercy, as the hymn puts it: “Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling; Naked, come to Thee for dress; Helpless, look to Thee for grace; Foul, I to the fountain fly; Wash me, Savior, or I die!”  In humility the tax-collector cried out to God for mercy. God was well-pleased to grant it (Luke 18:13-14).

Humility is not deemed virtuous by the worldly (Romans 1:30; 2 Timothy 3:2).  It is possible for professing Christians to be so deceived (Revelation 3:17).  The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector serves to instruct and remind us of the importance of seeing things from God’s perspective.  Preoccupation with self is the spirit of our day.  Self-esteem, self-confidence, self-assertion, etc. are all attitudes deemed to be both noble and essential.  But salvation comes to the “bankruptcy of spirit” (Matthew 5:3).  The Apostle Paul was a proud and self-righteous Pharisee when he first met Jesus (Philippians 3:4-6).  Jesus saved him, changing both his perspective and his heart.  His testimony speaks to the problem with pride: “But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ…For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7-8).  Pride esteems religious self-righteousness as virtuous, but humility rightly deems it as rubbish.  

“God is well-pleased to grant mercy to those with humility enough to ask!”

JUST AS I AM

Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me,
and that thou bidd’st me come to thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, and waiting not
to rid my soul of one dark blot,
to thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, though tossed about
with many a conflict, many a doubt,
fightings and fears within, without,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Just as I am, thou wilt receive,
wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
because thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.

Don’t Look Back

Bible Reading: Luke 17

Luke 17:32, “Remember Lot’s wife.”

The context of this abrupt reminder is Jesus’ response to a question by the Pharisees regarding the coming of the kingdom of God.  He responded to them and then spoke to His disciples of what would be the nature of things at the time of His second coming.  Using two examples, the days of Noah and the days of Lot, he warned of the apathetic disregard of pending judgment which would characterize the last days.  In Noah’s day, “they were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:27).  In Lot’s day — “they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building,” but then, “fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all” (Luke 17:28-29).  His counsel then was the need to act with urgency, without hesitating or looking back, as one is fleeing the wrath to come (Luke 17:31).  Lot’s wife’s example illustrates the importance of this truth.

The sin of Sodom was exceedingly great.  God had purposed to destroy the city.  He sent two angels to rescue Lot and his family.  Lot warned his soon-to-be sons-in-law of the coming destruction, but they thought him to be jesting (Genesis 19:14).  Lot himself lingered when the angels urged him to flee, so the angels seized him and his wife and his two daughters and brought them outside of the city (Genesis 19:15).  “And as they brought them out, one of the angels said, ‘Escape for your life.  Do not look back, or stop anywhere in the valley.  Escape to the hills lest you be swept away’” (Genesis 19:17).  Given that warning, one might assume Lot would urgently do as he was told, but instead he argued to be allowed to flee to Zoar, a small city not far away (Genesis 19:18-22).

Lot came to Zoar and destruction came to Sodom and Gomorrah.  The Lord rained sulfur and fire down from heaven and overthrew the cities, the valley, all the inhabitants, and what grew on the ground.  “But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt” (Genesis 19:26).  She looked back and then looked no more.  God’s judgment on her was swift and sure.

She was set forth by Jesus as an example to consider regarding the attitude we should endeavor to maintain in view of God’s pending judgment.  What can we learn from her example?  She suffered judgment, though she had benefited from certain religious privileges.  Her husband was a righteous man (2 Peter 2:7).  Her uncle, Abraham, was a godly man to whom God had made an incredible promise.  God intervened on her family’s behalf that she might be warned of the judgment to come.  Others received no such warning.  Remember Lot’s wife.  The mere possession of religious privileges or benefits cannot save one’s soul.  She might have been religious, yet she was not a woman of faith.

She suffered judgment because of her disobedience.  The instruction of the angel was straightforward, “Do not look back,” yet she had no heart to obey and suffered for it.  She looked back, longingly.  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).  Her heart was back in Sodom. She had no capacity to contemplate a future home.  She loved Sodom and was no friend to God (James 4:4).

She didn’t take God’s warning seriously.  In that respect, she has served as an example to every generation since.  In John Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress,” Christian, having been warned of his city’s pending destruction, shared the news with his family.  They supposed him to be ill and did everything they could to drive away his gloomy outlook.  Burdened by his sins and the warning, he wept and prayed and paced the countryside.  Then one day he asked, “What must I do to be saved?”  Evangelist pointed into the distance and handed him a parchment containing the words, “Flee from the wrath to come.”  After receiving specific directions which way to go, Christian ran, as the pleas of his wife, and children, and neighbors faded into the background.  “Come back!  Come back to us!” they cried.  “Life! Eternal Life,” he replied, in a spirit quite unlike that of Lot’s wife.

“I pray God that all professing Christians in these days may lay these things to heart. May we never forget that privileges alone cannot save us. Light and knowledge, and faithful preaching, and abundant means of grace, and the company of holy people are all great blessings and advantages. Happy are they that have them! But after all, there is one thing without which privileges are useless: that one thing is the grace of the Holy Ghost. Lot’s wife had many privileges; but Lot’s wife had not grace.”

J. C. Ryle

I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS

I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
no turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me, I still will follow;
though none go with me, I still will follow;
though none go with me, I still will follow;
no turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross before me;
the world behind me, the cross before me,
the world behind me, the cross before me;
no turning back, no turning back.

February 2018

When I arrived at Lewis and Clark Bible Church yesterday morning (July 17, 2022) to preach the morning sermon, I couldn’t help but notice the tree that stands adjacent to the parking lot. And I thought again of how I planted that tree some 30 years ago, and of how much it had grown. And I remembered how I’d written about that tree in my final newsletter article some 4 and 1/2 years ago. Perhaps this article will prove helpful and work to encourage someone, so I’m posting it here on my blog…

This is likely my last article for this monthly newsletter, so I want to thank Harvey for his hard work and faithfulness in putting together these monthly newsletters and thank all of you who have taken the time to read what has been written. I trust that the articles have been helpful to you. 

The time is drawing near for Laura and me to move on from this sphere of ministry and away from all the folks here that have become so incredibly dear to us. In a week, I am to make a two-week trip to Uganda for the graduation service for the pastors at Faith Bible School on February 10th (the school in which we have been privileged to be a part of). After my return, there will be a farewell service at 11 AM on my birthday (February 25th). Everyone is invited to that. After that, for however long we remain in the area, until our move to Heppner, Oregon, I will serve as an advisor to the new pastor, Caleb Hilbert. It is hard to know what to say at the end of 27 and ½ years of ministry in a place. But first, thank you, both in the church family and beyond, who have faithfully prayed for Laura and cared for us by way of notes, cards, letters, calls, emails, meals, gifts, etc. during this past year of her cancer journey. 

Your loving concern and prayers are precious to us. By God’s grace, we are doing okay, though it has been a tough year for sure. I’m encouraged by the truth of 2 Corinthians 4:16, “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.”

There is a tree that stands in the front of our church building. Technically, it is a “pinus contorta”, which is generally referred to as a coast pine or surf pine. It is common up and down the coast in the Northwest and all the way to Alaska. It is of the same species as the lodgepole pine, which is found on the east side of the state. The species gets its name contorta (sounds like “contorted”) because of its twisted, bent appearance and the tree’s twisted needles. The branches of the tree are very elastic and difficult to break.

There is a history to that tree. Shortly after our arrival here at LCBC, some 27+ years ago, Laura and I were visiting some friends in Seaside. They were clearing a flower bed and a little sprout of a tree was in the way of things. So I said that I would take it and brought it back to the church and planted it in that spot. And now we can see what has happened in 27 years. It has grown. It has increased in size from a small fragile thing with but a few branches, to a rather large tree about 30 feet high and has added many branches that reach out in all directions. Little trees have sprouted up around its base. That tree has done well in that spot. It has grown in the summer and has withstood many winters—including the great coastal gale of 2007.

Now how is it that the tree has grown? And where did all those branches come from? It has grown as trees grow. Scientifically, we understand how plants and trees grow—sunshine,water, nutrients in the soil, etc. But ultimately, we should understand that they grow according to God’s design, and as He provisions life and growth in all. That tree has many branches, but they’ve all one thing in common—they are connected to one main trunk. And it is from the trunk that all the limbs derive life and are enabled to grow. Jesus used such an analogy when He spoke of the vine and the branches, illustrating the church in its relationship to Him. He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). And we have experienced a “tree-like” unity, being bound together in Christ. Praise God for the unity in Christ we have experienced in our church over these many years. We have grown together through the ministry of the Word.

Someone has said that a hungry people make for a happy pastor. Thanks for being that kind of hungry people who privileged me over all these years to be a happy pastor in the preaching and teaching of God’s Word. It is through the ministry of the Word—the whole counsel of God’s word—that any church is made healthy and strong. Those surf pine trees are found in the coastal regions where they are buffeted by storms and variant weather. These same regions tend towards a difficult spiritual climate as well, especially in founding and maintaining a ministry that is thoroughly Biblical. But by God’s grace, and through the ministry of the Word, He has allowed for us to overcome enormous obstacles and persevere through many trials (Psalm 1:2-3). Through the ministry of the Word, we’ve grown “in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18; Cf. 1 Peter2:2). Praise God for it! That tree has grown and so have we. 

God is the One who has done that, even as Paul said, “neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:7). Per God’s design, the church grows as the saints are equipped, through the ministry of the Word, “for the work of service” (Ephesians 4:12). Per God’s design, growth in Christ is the result when we all are “speaking the truth in love,” and when we are “being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part” (Ephesians 4:15-16). And that has been our experience. How beautiful you are in Christ, in your love for one another and aptness to serve (Galatians 5:13).

In recent months and years, God has provided many opportunities for us to serve Jesus by serving others in various ways. The church has responded so well. In recent months, in this transition period, I have worked to pass on many of my tasks to others. You have made that job much easier in your readiness and willingness to serve. Whether it be the preparing of the Sunday School breakfast, hosting a funeral service, unpacking a moving truck, or countless other opportunities—we’ve never had to beg for help; there has been more than enough.

That tree has been ever-expanding in its growth, branching out in all directions. So, it is with the church. From the beginning, the church has been called to bear witness of Jesus And His-powerful-to-save gospel (Acts 1:8; Romans 1:16). From its early days, LCBC has maintained its focus on missionary endeavor. Even now, we’ve folks who are glad to serve in such a manner, whether it be in the Rescue Mission, Care Centers, or the Memory Care Unit or other local missionary endeavors. I know how thankful Ellen Cook (CEF) is that we have provided her a place for her office for these many years. And many from the church have involved themselves in that important ministry to children. Others lead Bible studies and still others are always looking for, and rejoicing in, God-given opportunities to share the gospel with others. In recent years, God privileged us to have a role in serving our brethren in Christ in Uganda. We have made ten trips there. You’ve encouraged, prayed for, funded, and helped in this endeavor; some of you have gone there. God has abundantly blessed those efforts. I remember how I wondered about asking for funds for that second trip to the region, and how God ultimately worked to abundantly supply all that was needed. We have never lacked funds for those trips. And our church budget never suffered, though the ministry to Uganda costs many tens of thousands of dollars. Praise God for it! We have had a role, through the ministry of the Word, in what God has done in transforming a region. There are many pastors who are better equipped to teach God’s Word and lead their churches because of the work of Hope and Mercy Mission. You have had a role in the founding and provision of Faith Bible School. How Exciting it will be to witness the graduation of those first 19 pastors on February 10th! The “Days for Girls” ministry has grown and now enlists over 20 women, young and old, in preparing kits for girls. I am confident that these efforts will lead to even more opportunities to speak to girls of the love of Jesus, bound up in His gospel. Through this ministry to our less-privileged brothers and sisters in Christ, God has worked a wonderful change in us. To God be the glory—He has done great things!

In this transition, we have been incredibly blessed by God in His leading and provision. Before we even knew of the depth of our need, we had begun to pray for God’s provision of a pastor intern to assist in the ministry. We were aware of the challenges associated with bringing someone here who was like-minded in our emphasis on the sufficiency of Christ, the importance of sound doctrine, and a philosophy of ministry that is thoroughly Biblical and rejects the “cultural relevance” approach that is so common in our day. Knowing the challenges associated with finding such a man, we simply trusted God in prayer, believing Him to be the best “match-maker.” I am so very thankful to God for His answer to our prayers. Pastor Caleb’s heart for the Word is obvious and we have already been blessed by his teaching of the Word. Caleb and Krista are glad to be here, and we are so glad to have them. As hard as this transition has been for me, it would be doubly so apart from God’s working to bring them here. You have been wonderful in this transition; from the unanimous vote to call Caleb to this day, you have demonstrated a God-given sensitivity in all and flexibility amidst change.

I know that there will still be challenges ahead, but I will echo what Paul said when he said farewell to a group he had loved and cared for, “And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32). I am so thankful for our church leaders. I will never forget those early days with Jim and Vic and their support and encouragement through those sparse times. They had a heart to trust God through it all and were a tremendous blessing to me. Our current elders have served so well. In their love for Jesus, commitment to His Word, and loving concern for all, they have blessed us all in their leadership. They are great friends to me—we’ve served together, prayed together, and agonized over troublesome matters together—and through it all, we have experienced a wonderful, God-given unity. Praise God for it!

Our Deacons have likewise “deaconed” well, always being ready and willing to serve. Both Mike and Bob worked so extremely hard in the renovating of the parsonage! And God led and provided so that all was done just in time! How blessed I’ve been/we have been by these men! I wish I had time to say a word to each one of you, to take the church directory and go down the list and address each of you personally. To say thanks and to say how blessed we have been by God in knowing you and serving together with you and being knitted together in God’s love for one another. But time and space will not allow. Suffice it to say—we love you dearly. The words of the hymn echo our thoughts, “Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love; the fellowship of kindred hearts, is like to that above!”

But there is one person, besides God Himself, who is most deserving of our thanks. And what can I say—the best and most gracious words would cannot measure up to what is deserved by way of gratitude and thankfulness. I brought Laura, rather God brought us and our family, so long ago. We left behind a beautiful home and I brought her to a-very-needy parsonage. We had already left a high-paying job and were instead to receive a meager income. Though she was teary-eyed in the move here, she never complained. She had once told God that she never wanted to be a pastor’s wife, but God did not listen. She came, and she served so incredibly well, and serves to this day because she loves Jesus. She did not care whether anybody knew about what she was doing, she just served. Whether it was leading or helping with the children, or potlucks, or women’s ministry—she was there to do her part. She supervised the nursery, taught Children’s Church, Sunday School, and in AWANA. She helped people who were moving on many occasions. When meals were needed for someone, she would do the calling and provide some too. Countless times, she visited hospitals with me. She was there to console someone when a loved one had died. She was better at it than me. Were there complaints, she was not deterred in her serving. Was someone unpleasant, she simply forgave. She has excelled me in her aptness to serve. Besides Jesus Himself; she has been the best example to me of what servanthood looks like. Even with her disability, she rarely complains, and still serves. By God’s grace, she has been so devoted and so faithful in serving Jesus. God’s given her a heart for that. And, I’ve been incredibly blessed, we have all been blessed by her! That she has put up with me for all these years is reason enough to thank and appreciate her!

My first message when I came to LCBC was regarding the supremacy of Christ. My text was Colossians 1:16, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones of dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.” As I recall, I nervously preached a 40-minute sermon in about 20 minutes! Since that day, we have endeavored, by God’s grace, to faithfully “preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). I recently finished a four-part series on Ephesians 3:20-21. We looked to the phrase, “to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus.” To Him be the glory! That He would use any of us, especially me, testifies to the riches of His glory and mercy. That He would choose to manifest His glory in ordinary “jars of clay” folks like us,how amazing! How beautiful is the body of Christ, but its beauty is derived from its Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ—not in its building or its pastor or its programs. The church is beautiful because Christ is beautiful. To the extent it abides in Him, and abides in Him by abiding in His Word, it is beautiful—and much fruit is borne, even fruit that remains (John 15:1-11, 16). How incredibly privileged I have been to serve as your pastor for all these years!

Pastor Jerry Conklin

Reversal of Fortune

Bible Reading: Luke 16

Luke 16:22-23, “The poor man died and was carried by angels to Abraham’s side.  The rich man also died and was buried.  In Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.”

The context of this passage is Jesus’ response to the Pharisees.  He had spoken of the impossibility of serving both God and money (Luke 16:13).  But the Pharisees, “who were lovers of money,” ridiculed Him (Luke 16:14).  Jesus replied by distinguishing between God’s and man’s perspectives on such matters.  The Pharisees were proud, rich, callous, and unreceptive to truth.  The story of the rich man and Lazarus illustrates the future implications of these contrary perspectives.

The rich man had it all.  He was clothed in royal colors and expensive materials.  He was well fed every day.  In contrast, Lazarus was destitute and homeless.  He sat at the gate of the rich man, longing to be fed, like a dog, with crumbs from the rich man’s table.  To add insult to injury, the dogs came and licked his sores.  Their situations could hardly be more contrary and as far as the world is concerned, no one would envy Lazarus’ plight.  And while many might long to sit in the rich man’s place, from God’s perspective, it was not one to be sought after (Luke 6:20-21 and 6:24-25).

An incredible reversal of fortune was experienced by both when they passed from this life.  Lazarus was carried by angels to Abraham’s side and was comforted.  The rich man descended to Hades to experience torment and anguish in its flame.  So great was the rich man’s discomfort that he called upon Abraham to have Lazarus “dip the end of his finger in water” to cool his tongue (Luke 16:24).

One thing proven by the rich man’s plight is present wealth and security are no guarantee as to a corresponding future estate.  The rich fool, of which Jesus had elsewhere spoken of in a parable (Luke 12:13-21), thought himself secure in his wealth, saying to his soul, “Soul, you have ample good laid up for many years, relax, eat, drink, be merry” (Luke 12:19).  Yet he was a fool because he laid up treasure for himself but was not rich towards God (Luke 12:21; Cf. Luke 9:25).  Wealth, power, or position do not secure refuge, or eternal advantage from God’s pending wrath and judgment (Revelation 6:15).

Abraham refused the rich man’s request.  “A great chasm has been fixed,” he said, “in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us” (Luke 16:26).  An impassable gulf separates the future destinies of the lost and the saved.  Decisions in this life determine the fixed eternal estate of a soul in the next.  Those refusing the gospel of the Lord Jesus “will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).  The believer, on the other hand, will be brought into His presence to marvel at His glory (2 Thessalonians 1:10).  There will be no purgatory and no second chances.

The rich man had another request for Abraham, “Then I beg you, father, to send him (Lazarus) to my father’s house—for I have five brothers—so that he might warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’  But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’  And he replied, ‘No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’  He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead’ (Luke 16:27-31).”  Jesus did rise from the dead.  Yet, with few exceptions, the people of that day did not repent, and most refused to do so in ours.  The problem is not a lack of evidence, but the prideful and independent spirit that is the very heart of man’s sin problem.  Riches can deceive a man as to his need, which can place a soul in danger.  Present wealth and security are no guarantee of corresponding future results.  The determined eternal destiny of every soul lies in each person’s response to the One who died for sins and rose from the dead (John 1:12; 1 John 5:11-12).  

“Take care to not allow an earthly sense-of-security to deceive regarding the more urgent concern regarding the security of your soul (Proverbs 30:8-9), lest you experience a rich-man-like reversal of fortune.”

MACEDONIA

The vision of a dying world
Is vast before our eyes;
We feel the heartbeat of its need,
We hear its feeble cries:
Lord Jesus Christ, revive Thy Church
In this, her crucial hour!
Lord Jesus Christ, awake Thy Church
With Spirit-given power.

The savage hugs his god of stone
And fears descent of night;
The city dweller cringes lone
Amid the garish light:
Lord Jesus Christ, arouse Thy Church
To see their mute distress!
Lord Jesus Christ, equip Thy Church
With love and tenderness.

Today, as understanding’s bounds
Are stretched on every hand,
Oh, clothe Thy Word in bright, new sounds,
And speed it o’er the land;
Lord Jesus Christ, empower us
To preach by every means!
Lord Jesus Christ, embolden us
In near and distant scenes.

The warning bell of judgment tolls,
Above us looms the cross;
Around are ever-dying souls—
How great, how great the loss!
O Lord, constrain and move Thy Church
The glad news to impart!
And Lord, as Thou dost stir Thy Church,
Begin within my heart.

Good News for Prodigals

Bible Reading: Luke 15

The story of the prodigal son is set in the broader context of the grumbling of the Pharisees and scribes who were saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2).  The chapter speaks to the “joy in heaven” which occurs when a sinner repents (Luke 15:7).  Several words are prominent in the chapter: find(s) and found (15:4, 6, 8, 9, 24, 32); and joy, merry, and rejoice (15:7, 10, 23, 24, 29, 32).  Set in the broader context of this gospel account, the chapter highlights its major theme: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

According to Webster’s Dictionary, a prodigal is one “who spends lavishly, or foolishly.”  That’s what the prodigal did when “he squandered his property in reckless living” (Luke 15:13).  We do the text and ourselves an injustice if we view the prodigal as an exception to the rule.  In Adam, we are all prodigals by nature (Romans 5:12).  It is in the heart of man to spend his life in vain and foolish pursuits.  Sin is so inclined and the world, the flesh and the devil all concur (Ephesians 2:1-3). 

The prodigal had both the money and freedom to do as he pleased.  He foolishly spent all his resources in these sinful pursuits (Luke 15:13-14, 30).  He spent everything he had.  A severe famine in the land left him hungry, so he found a job feeding pigs and was longing to feed himself with pig food (Luke 15:14-16).  It was only then “he came to his senses” (Luke 15:17).  Sin makes no sense.  To spend oneself in sinful and vain pursuits speaks to the insanity of sin (Romans 6:21; 1 Peter 1:18).  Yet immersed in this sin-sick world, and rebellious by nature as we are, such insanity is commonplace.

The pivotal point in the account is when the prodigal came to his senses. That happened as the direct result of his impoverishment.  To be sure, God uses such things to gain our attention.  The lost sinner cannot be truly satisfied by the mere “passing pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:25).  Thirsty souls can never find lasting refreshment in broken cisterns (Jeremiah 2:12-13).  But sin is too tenacious a foe to be subdued by mere human reason alone.  The Holy Spirit’s ministry is to bring us to our senses concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8).  We come to our senses only as He intervenes in one’s life (2 Corinthians 4:4-6).  How wonderful the day when a prodigal is made “sane” through the ministry of the Holy Spirit!

Having come to his senses, the Prodigal returned to his father and penitently hoped he could get on as one of his father’s hired men (Luke 15:17-19).  He had lost everything and embarrassed his father—to be made a servant was the best he could hope for.  As he neared home and “while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion.  He ran and embraced his son and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).  The father hastened to put a robe around him, a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet.  He even killed the fattened calf and held a banquet for his son, accompanied by music and dancing (Luke 15:23, 25).  Not only was the prodigal forgiven, but he was also reconciled and restored in an amazing fashion.

Such is the nature of God and the working of grace!  A penitent sinner cries out to God for mercy and seeks pardon for his sin.  The grace of God works in “far more abundant” fashion to bestow unanticipated blessings (Ephesians 3:20).  The new believer in Christ is not just forgiven, God’s love and grace are lavished upon him, and he is made the recipient of “unfathomable riches” (Romans 5:5; Ephesians 1:8, 3:8).  All of this is to the “praise of the glory of His grace (Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14) which is made manifest in the salvation of a prodigal!

“It is a joyful occasion when a penitent sinner comes to “his senses.”  He finds in the Savior one who was already looking for him.”

FILL MY CUP LORD

Like the woman at the well, I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy.
And then I heard my Savior speaking—
“Draw from My well that never shall run dry.”

Chorus: Fill my cup, Lord; I lift it up Lord;
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more.
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole.

There are millions in this world who are seeking
For pleasures earthly goods afford.
But none can match the wondrous treasure
That I find in Jesus Christ my Lord. (Chorus)

So my brother if the things that this world gives you
Leave hungers that won’t pass away,
My blessed Lord will come and save you
If you kneel to Him and humbly pray—(Chorus)