Parables of the Kingdom - 8/14/21

14 We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”)

16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.

17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

John 1:14-18

Questions for Reflection:

Have you thanked Jesus lately for the extravagant, crazy, unfathomable, amazing Grace He has given you? Have you thanked Him for all the inheritance He has given away to run and search for you - and how He still chases after you?

Think about this common phrase, “Like Father, Like Son!” If you want to understand God – look at His son! Jesus “looks like” and “acts like” His father! Spend some time now with today’s scripture from John 1, and this beautiful parable. Look at God as the Father character, and Jesus as the older son, (or how he SHOULD have responded). Let your understanding of God as your Father, and of Jesus giving up everything to chase after you deepen and find a special place in your heart today.

Prayer of the Week:

My dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now to be restored in You, to be renewed in You to receive Your love and Your life and all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honor and trust You as my Lord and as my Savior and I surrender every aspect of my life totally and completely to You. I ask You, Holy Spirit, to fill me afresh with Your light and with Your life that I might pray well now as You lead me.

Heavenly Father, I thank You and praise You, worship You and adore You for Your incomprehensible LOVE towards me, Your amazing GRACE towards me, Your bountiful MERCY towards me. Help me now dwell in Your love – the love of my Father in Heaven.

I am a dearly loved child of God!

I have a Father in Heaven who loves me very, very much.

I receive Your Love in this moment with these words to help me.

Your Love is better than life.

Your Grace is sufficient for me.

Your unmerited favor towards me is so undeserved but oh so needed. Thank You!

I confess Father that I am so very prone to self-rule (doing my own thing – being in charge doing my life) and prone to self-righteousness (thinking and acting like my performance in life deserves or has earned a good life). What I now realize is that these are my attempts to replace You, to leave You, to control You. It breaks my heart to think I have treated You this way. I repent of all my attempts at self-rule. I also repent of my motivation for the wrong things I do. I also repent of my attempts at self-righteousness and self-centered motivations I sometimes have for the good things I do. (Spend a couple moments just processing with the Father the What? and the Why? of your self-rule and self-righteousness.)

Jesus, the only place I can truly work through the realities of my life and heart is a place of “grace”. Your heart is that place. I receive Your complete and total forgiveness for all my “self” issues. I rest once again in Your heart - the place of unimaginable love and grace and I surrender to Your transformational leading in my life. I love You and thank You so very much for coming after me, giving your life for me and loving me so very well this day.

Amen

Parables of the Kingdom - 8/13/21

3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,[b] and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

9 For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it is I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

1 Corinthians 15:3-11

Questions for Reflection:

Passing down the teachings was and is key to the advancement of the Gospel message. Can you trace 10, 25, 50 years back or even more on the Gospel arriving to you? And then can you see where you are passing it on to others?

Feelings of unworthiness can be subtle. Where do you find yourself doubting God’s over-the-top graciousness in your life?

Prayer of the Week:

My dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now to be restored in You, to be renewed in You to receive Your love and Your life and all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honor and trust You as my Lord and as my Savior and I surrender every aspect of my life totally and completely to You. I ask You, Holy Spirit, to fill me afresh with Your light and with Your life that I might pray well now as You lead me.

Heavenly Father, I thank You and praise You, worship You and adore You for Your incomprehensible LOVE towards me, Your amazing GRACE towards me, Your bountiful MERCY towards me. Help me now dwell in Your love – the love of my Father in Heaven.

I am a dearly loved child of God!

I have a Father in Heaven who loves me very, very much.

I receive Your Love in this moment with these words to help me.

Your Love is better than life.

Your Grace is sufficient for me.

Your unmerited favor towards me is so undeserved but oh so needed. Thank You!

I confess Father that I am so very prone to self-rule (doing my own thing – being in charge doing my life) and prone to self-righteousness (thinking and acting like my performance in life deserves or has earned a good life). What I now realize is that these are my attempts to replace You, to leave You, to control You. It breaks my heart to think I have treated You this way. I repent of all my attempts at self-rule. I also repent of my motivation for the wrong things I do. I also repent of my attempts at self-righteousness and self-centered motivations I sometimes have for the good things I do. (Spend a couple moments just processing with the Father the What? and the Why? of your self-rule and self-righteousness.)

Jesus, the only place I can truly work through the realities of my life and heart is a place of “grace”. Your heart is that place. I receive Your complete and total forgiveness for all my “self” issues. I rest once again in Your heart - the place of unimaginable love and grace and I surrender to Your transformational leading in my life. I love You and thank You so very much for coming after me, giving your life for me and loving me so very well this day.

Amen

Parables of the Kingdom - 8/12/21

7 Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Questions for Reflection:

When is a time when you earnestly and persistently ask God for something and it didn't seem to be granted? How do you deal with that kind of disappointment?

Reread Jesus' words to Paul. What assurance and support do you find in Jesus reply as Paul deals with unanswered prayer?

Prayer of the Week:

My dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now to be restored in You, to be renewed in You to receive Your love and Your life and all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honor and trust You as my Lord and as my Savior and I surrender every aspect of my life totally and completely to You. I ask You, Holy Spirit, to fill me afresh with Your light and with Your life that I might pray well now as You lead me.

Heavenly Father, I thank You and praise You, worship You and adore You for Your incomprehensible LOVE towards me, Your amazing GRACE towards me, Your bountiful MERCY towards me. Help me now dwell in Your love – the love of my Father in Heaven.

I am a dearly loved child of God!

I have a Father in Heaven who loves me very, very much.

I receive Your Love in this moment with these words to help me.

Your Love is better than life.

Your Grace is sufficient for me.

Your unmerited favor towards me is so undeserved but oh so needed. Thank You!

I confess Father that I am so very prone to self-rule (doing my own thing – being in charge doing my life) and prone to self-righteousness (thinking and acting like my performance in life deserves or has earned a good life). What I now realize is that these are my attempts to replace You, to leave You, to control You. It breaks my heart to think I have treated You this way. I repent of all my attempts at self-rule. I also repent of my motivation for the wrong things I do. I also repent of my attempts at self-righteousness and self-centered motivations I sometimes have for the good things I do. (Spend a couple moments just processing with the Father the What? and the Why? of your self-rule and self-righteousness.)

Jesus, the only place I can truly work through the realities of my life and heart is a place of “grace”. Your heart is that place. I receive Your complete and total forgiveness for all my “self” issues. I rest once again in Your heart - the place of unimaginable love and grace and I surrender to Your transformational leading in my life. I love You and thank You so very much for coming after me, giving your life for me and loving me so very well this day.

Amen

Parables of the Kingdom - 8/11/21

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 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. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’

31 “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Luke 15:25-32

Questions for Reflection:

When is it hard for you to join in the party when the celebration is about someone else receiving restoration or undeserved grace and favor? What are the circumstances this is an issue for you?

What is revealed about the Father's character from this part of the parable is particularly uplifting for you?

Prayer of the Week:

My dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now to be restored in You, to be renewed in You to receive Your love and Your life and all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honor and trust You as my Lord and as my Savior and I surrender every aspect of my life totally and completely to You. I ask You, Holy Spirit, to fill me afresh with Your light and with Your life that I might pray well now as You lead me.

Heavenly Father, I thank You and praise You, worship You and adore You for Your incomprehensible LOVE towards me, Your amazing GRACE towards me, Your bountiful MERCY towards me. Help me now dwell in Your love – the love of my Father in Heaven.

I am a dearly loved child of God!

I have a Father in Heaven who loves me very, very much.

I receive Your Love in this moment with these words to help me.

Your Love is better than life.

Your Grace is sufficient for me.

Your unmerited favor towards me is so undeserved but oh so needed. Thank You!

I confess Father that I am so very prone to self-rule (doing my own thing – being in charge doing my life) and prone to self-righteousness (thinking and acting like my performance in life deserves or has earned a good life). What I now realize is that these are my attempts to replace You, to leave You, to control You. It breaks my heart to think I have treated You this way. I repent of all my attempts at self-rule. I also repent of my motivation for the wrong things I do. I also repent of my attempts at self-righteousness and self-centered motivations I sometimes have for the good things I do. (Spend a couple moments just processing with the Father the What? and the Why? of your self-rule and self-righteousness.)

Jesus, the only place I can truly work through the realities of my life and heart is a place of “grace”. Your heart is that place. I receive Your complete and total forgiveness for all my “self” issues. I rest once again in Your heart - the place of unimaginable love and grace and I surrender to Your transformational leading in my life. I love You and thank You so very much for coming after me, giving your life for me and loving me so very well this day.

Amen

Parables of the Kingdom - 8/10/21

11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to[a] one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’[b] 22 But the father said to his servants,[c] ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

Luke 15:11-24

Questions for Reflection:

In what ways have you been the younger son?

What does the Father desire more than anything in regards to the younger son?

How is the younger son "missing" the Father?

Prayer of the Week:

My dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now to be restored in You, to be renewed in You to receive Your love and Your life and all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honor and trust You as my Lord and as my Savior and I surrender every aspect of my life totally and completely to You. I ask You, Holy Spirit, to fill me afresh with Your light and with Your life that I might pray well now as You lead me.

Heavenly Father, I thank You and praise You, worship You and adore You for Your incomprehensible LOVE towards me, Your amazing GRACE towards me, Your bountiful MERCY towards me. Help me now dwell in Your love – the love of my Father in Heaven.

I am a dearly loved child of God!

I have a Father in Heaven who loves me very, very much.

I receive Your Love in this moment with these words to help me.

Your Love is better than life.

Your Grace is sufficient for me.

Your unmerited favor towards me is so undeserved but oh so needed. Thank You!

I confess Father that I am so very prone to self-rule (doing my own thing – being in charge doing my life) and prone to self-righteousness (thinking and acting like my performance in life deserves or has earned a good life). What I now realize is that these are my attempts to replace You, to leave You, to control You. It breaks my heart to think I have treated You this way. I repent of all my attempts at self-rule. I also repent of my motivation for the wrong things I do. I also repent of my attempts at self-righteousness and self-centered motivations I sometimes have for the good things I do. (Spend a couple moments just processing with the Father the What? and the Why? of your self-rule and self-righteousness.)

Jesus, the only place I can truly work through the realities of my life and heart is a place of “grace”. Your heart is that place. I receive Your complete and total forgiveness for all my “self” issues. I rest once again in Your heart - the place of unimaginable love and grace and I surrender to Your transformational leading in my life. I love You and thank You so very much for coming after me, giving your life for me and loving me so very well this day.

Amen

Parables of the Kingdom - 8/9/21

1 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15:1-10

Questions for Reflection:

What is our heart posture towards the lost? Are we eager to rejoice or eager to be right? Are we on the same page as God when it comes to the lost?

Who is the "one" on your heart?

How can you Join Jesus on His Mission today?

Prayer of the Week:

My dear Lord Jesus Christ, I come to You now to be restored in You, to be renewed in You to receive Your love and Your life and all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honor and trust You as my Lord and as my Savior and I surrender every aspect of my life totally and completely to You. I ask You, Holy Spirit, to fill me afresh with Your light and with Your life that I might pray well now as You lead me.

Heavenly Father, I thank You and praise You, worship You and adore You for Your incomprehensible LOVE towards me, Your amazing GRACE towards me, Your bountiful MERCY towards me. Help me now dwell in Your love – the love of my Father in Heaven.

I am a dearly loved child of God!

I have a Father in Heaven who loves me very, very much.

I receive Your Love in this moment with these words to help me.

Your Love is better than life.

Your Grace is sufficient for me.

Your unmerited favor towards me is so undeserved but oh so needed. Thank You!

I confess Father that I am so very prone to self-rule (doing my own thing – being in charge doing my life) and prone to self-righteousness (thinking and acting like my performance in life deserves or has earned a good life). What I now realize is that these are my attempts to replace You, to leave You, to control You. It breaks my heart to think I have treated You this way. I repent of all my attempts at self-rule. I also repent of my motivation for the wrong things I do. I also repent of my attempts at self-righteousness and self-centered motivations I sometimes have for the good things I do. (Spend a couple moments just processing with the Father the What? and the Why? of your self-rule and self-righteousness.)

Jesus, the only place I can truly work through the realities of my life and heart is a place of “grace”. Your heart is that place. I receive Your complete and total forgiveness for all my “self” issues. I rest once again in Your heart - the place of unimaginable love and grace and I surrender to Your transformational leading in my life. I love You and thank You so very much for coming after me, giving your life for me and loving me so very well this day.

Amen

Parables of the Kingdom - 8/7/21

Who believes what we’ve heard and seen?

Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?

2-6 The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field.

There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look.

He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.

One look at him and people turned away.

We looked down on him, thought he was scum.

But the fact is, it was our pains he carried — our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.

We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures.

But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!

He took the punishment, and that made us whole.

Through his bruises we get healed.

We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.

We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.

And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on him, on him.... The plan was that He give Himself as an offering for sin....

Isaiah 53:1-6

Questions for Reflection:

Consider the way Jesus was born - a nobody - He did not arrive, or look, or act the way we may have expected. Ponder how brilliant this "insignificant" arrival was all part of God's plan. Knowing this "way" God works - not at all like the world would expect - does it help bring peace and security to areas of your life that are not turning out the way you expect?

I am sad for those who lived when Jesus lived and did not recognize Him for Who He really was. I am also sad for all of the ways I have not recognized Him in my life, too. And, my heart breaks for people I love who don't "see" Jesus. Maybe they are disappointed that He doesn't look or act in the ways they expect. How about you? Perhaps spend some time talking with Jesus about your own life and expectations, and those who YOU love who are maybe not recognizing Jesus. Spend some time praying for them, and for yourself, that they and you will "see" Jesus for Who He really is!

Prayer of the Week:

Lord Jesus, I come to You now to be restored in You, to be renewed in You and to receive all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honor You as my Lord and God and surrender every aspect of my life totally and completely to You. Thank You for loving me so very much and I now intentionally enter that love relationship with You as I pray.

Jesus, I admit that there are times I don’t “get” You. I don’t understand how You and the Father and the Spirit are working at this moment in my life and in my world. (Take a couple of moments and candidly admit frustrations with Jesus and situations where you find it difficult and frustrating to trust and obey Him.)

Even as I admit these frustrations I am, in some way, surrendering them to You. You are God and I am not. You see a much bigger picture than I do. I surrender to You – not in a sense cynical defeat but in life giving faith. Jesus, I believe in You. Help my unbelief.

Holy Spirt, I need Your counsel, comfort, strength and guidance. I ask You to fill me afresh with Your presence and life so that I might see the many little ways Your kingdom is breaking in to this broken world. I want to see and seize the opportunities You are giving me to share love and forgiveness, grace and kindness, truth and justice, sacrifice and service, joy and compassion, words and actions all done in Your name as small but vital parts of Your kingdom breaking into our broken world.

I thank You so much for calling me to be Your child, to be Your witness in this world and contend for Your kingdom even in small and seemingly insignificant ways. It is refreshing to know that little things done in Your name do matter and matter greatly. Thank You for being the kind of God where someone as insignificant as me can matter so very much to You. I love You,

Amen

Parables of the Kingdom - 8/6/21

5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness.

8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,

10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11

Questions for Reflection:

When you think about all the small tasks of serving that you do, how does it bring you comfort knowing that those small tasks are contending for the Kingdom and are part of ushering in the Kingdom of God?

In your relationships, can you see yourself being challenged to take on the nature of a servant?

Prayer of the Week:

Lord Jesus, I come to You now to be restored in You, to be renewed in You and to receive all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. I honor You as my Lord and God and surrender every aspect of my life totally and completely to You. Thank You for loving me so very much and I now intentionally enter that love relationship with You as I pray.

Jesus, I admit that there are times I don’t “get” You. I don’t understand how You and the Father and the Spirit are working at this moment in my life and in my world. (Take a couple of moments and candidly admit frustrations with Jesus and situations where you find it difficult and frustrating to trust and obey Him.)

Even as I admit these frustrations I am, in some way, surrendering them to You. You are God and I am not. You see a much bigger picture than I do. I surrender to You – not in a sense cynical defeat but in life giving faith. Jesus, I believe in You. Help my unbelief.

Holy Spirit, I need Your counsel, comfort, strength and guidance. I ask You to fill me afresh with Your presence and life so that I might see the many little ways Your kingdom is breaking in to this broken world. I want to see and seize the opportunities You are giving me to share love and forgiveness, grace and kindness, truth and justice, sacrifice and service, joy and compassion, words and actions all done in Your name as small but vital parts of Your kingdom breaking into our broken world.

I thank You so much for calling me to be Your child, to be Your witness in this world and contend for Your kingdom even in small and seemingly insignificant ways. It is refreshing to know that little things done in Your name do matter and matter greatly. Thank You for being the kind of God where someone as insignificant as me can matter so very much to You. I love You,

Amen