Luke 15:1-7   Luke 15:2: And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

The enemies of Jesus thought they had found a weakness on which to build their case: He welcomed sinners and ate with them.

But what if Jesus had not cared for sinners?

There would be no hope for any, for all have sinned: "As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one... For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:10, 23).

Commenting on this text, Dr. H. A. Ironside says: "Our Lord Jesus Christ was always interested in sinners. He came down from the glory of His Father's house to save sinners. These legalists could not understand it. We are told here that a great company of publicans and sinners drew near to Jesus, but the self-righteous and haughty scribes and Pharisees looked on with contempt, for they could not comprehend why Jesus did not withdraw Himself from these wretched and wicked people, and why He did not rather seek out such respectable individuals as they thought themselves to be. They murmured among themselves, saying, 'This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.' They did not know they were declaring a wonderful truth when they said that. Jesus does receive sinners, and He takes them into fellowship and communion with Himself. Thank God, this has been true all through the centuries since. Is it not wonderful grace that He receives all who will come, and He delivers them from their sins?"

Do you think yourself too guilty to be saved?

Christ will receive you the moment you come to Him in faith.

Don't delay. Come to Christ... right now!

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Heaven’s Citizens Living in the World

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READ | Romans 12:1-2

Believers are set apart. The Greek word for “church” is ekclesia—ek meaning “out of” and clesia meaning “called ones.” While we live, work, and play in human society, our allegiance and devotion is directed correctly toward Jesus Christ instead of the ruler of this world, Satan.

It’s important to know what our separation doesn’t mean. First, the church must not isolate itself. As Christians, we are to be like light in our dark communities (Matt. 5:14). Light reveals the safe way to go; without it, we feel cut off and fearful. Second, believers cannot rely on their own efforts to overcome the world. Following a list of spiritual dos and fleshly don’ts will wear a person out—and usually results in failure anyway. We are victorious through faith in Jesus Christ. God takes the newly saved out of Satan’s realm and places them in His own kingdom.

Although God and Christ have done the hard work, their followers cannot continue to do what comes naturally. We must live in this world without conforming to it. Instead, we’re to be transformed through the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:2). If our mind is still camped in the world order, our body cannot help but follow it—then we end up dirtied by corrupt choices, and our relationships and testimony suffer.

Learn what it means to be set apart. Others should notice a difference in our character and conduct when comparing us to the rest of the world. What they ought to see are biblical principles at work. But we can look like kingdom dwellers only when we are training our minds to think like the King.

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"Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can't be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people. "-Anonymous

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Proverbs 25:25 (KJV):
25 As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

Proverbs 25:25 (AMP):
25 Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far (home) country.

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The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

I know that thou canst do every [thing].--The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.--He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and [among] the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?--[There is] none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?--Abba, Father, all things [are] possible unto thee.

Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.--Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus put forth [his] hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean.--The mighty God.--All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

Some [trust] in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.--Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed, . . . [there be] more with us than with him.

Re 19:6 Job 42:2 Lu 18:27 Da 4:35 Isa 43:13 Mr 14:36 Mt 9:28,29 8:2,3 Isa 9:6 Mt 28:18 Ps 20:7 2Ch 32:7

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Like Palm and Cedar The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. (Psalm 92:12) These trees are not trained and pruned by man: palms and cedars are "trees of the Lord," and it is by His care that they flourish. Even so it is with the saints of the Lord: they are His own care. These trees are evergreen and are beautiful objects at all seasons of the year. Believers are not sometimes holy and sometimes ungodly: they stand in the beauty of the Lord under all weathers. Everywhere these trees are noteworthy: no one can gaze upon a landscape in which there are either palms or cedars without his attention being fixed upon these royal growths. The followers of Jesus are the observed of all observers: like a city set on a hill, they cannot be hid. The child of God flourishes like a palm tree, which pushes all its strength upward in one erect column without a single branch. It is a pillar with a glorious capital. It has no growth to the right or to the left but sends all its force heavenward and bears its fruit as near the sky as possible. Lord, fulfill this type in me. The cedar braves all storms and grows near the eternal snows, the Lord Himself filling it with a sap which keeps its heart warm and its bough strong. Lord, so let it be with me, I pray Thee. Amen. /--------------------------------------------------------- Be sure to check out our other devotionals http://bible.christiansunite.com/devotionals.shtml

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Dead to Sin, Alive to Christ
--from the messages of Adrian Rogers

BIBLE MEDITATION:
Romans 6:11 - "Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord."

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
A woman woke up one morning. She felt like she had just gone to sleep. She said, "It can't be six o'clock in the morning!" But the radio said it was six, the clock said it was six, the sunrise said it was six. Now I submit to you, it really didn't matter how she felt, did it? The fact was, it was six. We need to get our salvation out of the realm of fickle emotions and begin to reckon and count on God's facts. Each morning you wake up, begin saying, "I am dead to sin. I am alive in Christ. I know it's a fact. He died for me. Now I reckon it!"

ACTION POINT:
Look up the word "reckon" in the dictionary. Are you reckoning yourself dead to sin and alive to Christ?

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For we have become fellows with Christ (the Messiah) and share in all He has for us, if only we hold our first newborn confidence and original assured expectation [in virtue of which we are believers] firm and unshaken to the end.
—Hebrews 3:14

Do not, therefore, fling away your fearless confidence, for it carries a great and glorious compensation of reward.
—Hebrews 10:35

But we do [strongly and earnestly] desire for each of you to show the same diligence and sincerity [all the way through] in realizing and enjoying the full assurance and development of [your] hope until the end.

All of the scriptures above should be meditated upon and taken very seriously. God is not interested in our starting things that we never finish. It is easy to begin, but it takes great courage to finish. In the beginning of a new thing we get all excited. We have a lot of emotions (ours and everyone else's) to support us. When the emotions wear off and all that is left is a lot of hard work and the need for extreme patience, we find out who really has what it takes to truly succeed.

In God's mind we are never successful if we stop somewhere along the way. He wants us to finish our course and do it with joy! If you have been tempted even recently to give up—don't! If you don't finish the thing you are currently involved in, you will face the same challenges in the next thing you start. Some people spend all their lives starting new things and never finishing anything. Let us make a decision that we will be more than people who never reached their full potential.  


From the book New Day, New You: 365 Devotions for Enjoying Everyday Life by Joyce Meyer.

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Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.--My brethren, ye . . . are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, [even] to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.--Being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ.--The sting of death [is] sin; and the strength of sin [is] the law. But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.--Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.--If the Son . . . shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Ro 6:14,15 7:4 1Co 9:21 15:56,57 Ro 8:2 Joh 8:34,36 Ga 5:1

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If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.--O God, thou [art] my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; to see thy power and thy glory, so [as] I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.--The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.--Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.--My blood is drink indeed.

Eat, O friends; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

Joh 7:37 Ps 84:2 63:1,2 Isa 55:1 Re 22:17 Joh 4:14 6:55 So 5:1

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"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God."

What is salvation? It's not a creed. You say, “Well, I believe the plan of salvation.” You can believe the plan of salvation and go straight to hell. You’re not saved by the plan of salvation; you’re saved by the Man of salvation. Salvation is not a creed. It’s not a code. You say, “Well, I believe if you live right, you’ll go to heaven.” If you could be saved by living right then Calvary was a blunder. It’s not a cause. You say, “I’m a member of a good, fundamental, Bible-believing church.” It’s not any of these things. It’s Christ. Salvation is not believing something; it is receiving Someone. The true gospel is one that centers in Jesus Christ.

Ask God to give you a divine opportunity to boldly share Jesus with someone today. Maybe it’s a co-worker; maybe it’s your child. Maybe it’s a stranger that sits next to you at a restaurant. Be strong and of good courage; God will go before you to prepare the way.

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Night of Weeping; Joyous Day For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favor is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. (Psalm 30:5) A moment under our Father's anger seems very long, and yet it is but a moment after all. If we grieve His Spirit, we cannot look for His smile; but He is a God ready to pardon, and He soon puts aside all remembrance of our faults. When we faint and are ready to die because of His frown, His favor puts new life into us. This verse has another note of the semi-quaver kind. Our weeping night soon turns into joyous day. Brevity is the mark of mercy in the hour of the chastisement of believers. The Lord loves not to use the rod on His chosen; He gives a blow or two, and all is over; yea, and the life and the joy, which follow the anger and the weeping, more than make amends for the salutary sorrow. Come, my heart, begin thy hallelujahs! Weep not all through the night, but wipe thine eyes in anticipation of the morning. These tears are dews which mean us as much good as the sunbeams of the morrow. Tears clear the eyes for the sight of God in His grace and make the vision of His favor more precious. A night of sorrow supplies those shades of the pictures by which the highlights are brought out with distinctness. All is well.

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Giving Without a Whisper But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in, secret himself shall regard thee openly. (Matthew 6:3-4) No promise is made to those who give to the poor to be seen of men. They have their reward at once and cannot expect to be paid twice. Let us hide away our charity--yes, hide it even from ourselves. Give so often and so much as a matter of course that you no more take note that you have helped the poor than that you have eaten your regular meals. Do your alms without even whispering to yourself, How generous I am! Do not thus attempt to reward yourself. Leave the matter with God, who never fails to see, to record, and to reward. Blessed is the man who is busy in secret with his kindness: he finds a special joy in his unknown benevolences. This is the bread, which eaten by stealth, is sweeter than the banquets of kings. How can I indulge myself today with this delightful luxury? Let me have a real feast of tenderness and Row of soul. Here and hereafter the Lord Himself will personally see to the rewarding of the secret giver of alms. This will be in His own way and time; and He will choose the very best. How much this promise means it will need eternity to reveal.

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That through death he might destroy him that had the power of death. Our Saviour Jesus Christ, . . . hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.-- He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken [it].--When this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where [is] thy sting? O grave, where [is] thy victory? The sting of death [is] sin; and the strength of sin [is] the law. But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.--Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Heb 2:14 2Ti 1:10 Isa 25:8 1Co 15:54-57 2Ti 1:7 Ps 23:4

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And the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach and cry out to it the preaching that I tell you.

We read in the book of Jonah how God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and preach repentance to the people there. But Jonah did not want to, so he went to Tarshish, which, is geographically opposite to Nineveh. Running from God does not help us to be at peace with Him.

What happens when we go in the opposite direction from where God has directed us? What happened to Jonah? When he boarded a ship and headed in his own direction, a storm arose. Many of the storms we face in life are the result of our own stubbornness. In many instances, we have been disobedient to the voice and leadership of God.

The violent storm that came upon Jonah frightened the men on the ship. They cast lots to see who was causing the trouble, and the lot fell on Jonah. He knew he had disobeyed God, so he told the men to throw him overboard in order to deliver them from danger.

They did as he requested, the storm stopped, and a great fish swallowed Jonah. From the fish's belly (not a pleasant place), he cried out to God for deliverance and repented of his stubborn ways. The fish vomited Jonah upon the dry land; and in Jonah 3:1, we see that the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time. It was no different from the first time: God told him to go to Nineveh and preach to the people there. No matter how long we avoid God's instruction, it is still there for us to deal with when we stop running.
 
God's will makes us uncomfortable only as long as we are not pursuing it. In other words, we always know when something is just not right in our lives. Eventually we see that being in God's will, not out of His will, is what brings peace and joy to us. We have to surrender our own wills, because walking in our self-centered ways is what keeps us unhappy.


From the book New Day, New You: 365 Devotions for Enjoying Everyday Life by Joyce Meyer

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Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (Matthew 5:4) By the valley of weeping we come to Zion. One would have thought mourning and being blessed were in opposition, but the infinitely wise Savior puts them together in this Beatitude. What He has joined together let no man put asunder. Mourning for sin--our own sins, and the sins of others--is the Lord's seal set upon His faithful ones. When the Spirit of grace is poured upon the house of David, or any other house, they shall mourn. By holy mourning we receive the best of our blessings, even as the rarest commodities come to us by water. Not only shall the mourner be blessed at some future day, but Christ pronounces him blessed even now. The Holy Spirit will surely comfort those hearts which mourn for sin. They shall be comforted by the application of the blood of Jesus and by the cleansing power of the Holy Ghost. They shall be comforted as to the abounding sin of their city and of their age by the assurance that God will glorify Himself, however much men may rebel against Him. They shall be comforted with the expectation that they shall be wholly freed from sin before long and shall soon be taken up to dwell forever in the glorious presence of their Lord.

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  Genesis 3:7-10

(7) Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. (8) And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. (9) Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" (10) So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."

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  Job 11:7

(7) "Can you search out the deep things of God?
Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?

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(5) By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. (6) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (7) By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith

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(15) Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

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(24) " Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.
(25) " Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again, and the wall,
Even in troublesome times.
(26) " And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolation are determined.
(27) Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate."

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"Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the Lord." 

 Who knows you better than the One who created you? Who cares more for you than the One Who died for you? Who leads you more carefully than the One Who knows the end from the beginning? There is no greater picture of courage than the picture of Jesus Christ – the Savior Who lays down His life. You can know security because the One Who loves you is compassionate, caring, and courageous. Jesus knows you. He cares for you. He wants to lead you into the abundant life.

 Are you willing to lay down your life for the sake of the Lord and let Him lead you?

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  Genesis 25:34

(34) And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

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   Exodus 34:12-16 (12) Take heed to yourself, lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land where you are going, lest it be a snare in your midst. (13) But you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and cut down their wooden images (14) (for you shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God), (15) lest you make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they play the harlot with their gods and make sacrifice to their gods, and one of them invites you and you eat of his sacrifice, (16) and you take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters play the harlot with their gods and make your sons play the harlot with their gods.

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  Galatians 3:19

(19) What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.

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  Matthew 12:14

(14) Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.

(6) Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.

(11) But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

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