The Prodigal Father

This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture that reject fear and champion faith in God. The birth of Jesus is celebrated as good news that brings great joy and restores our relationship with God. It took thousands of years for mankind to believe and have faith in God's plan of redemption. The father's love for us is abundant and he wants us to choose to be with him for eternity. We are encouraged to spread this good news and remember that God loves us just as we are. Welcome to Fear No Fear. Grace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit embrace you today. This is a series of devotions and meditations on scripture. We reject fear in any and all forms. Fear is a spiritual force, the currency of darkness and ignorance. It's what we inherited when Adam gave up his faith and Satan uses it to keep people down. His only weapon is words. If he can get you believing or looking at words of fear, he's got you. Instead, we champion faith as an allegiance to God, as a belief and trust and loyalty to the Lord God Almighty. We accept the evidence of His word as unvarnished truth, as is, just as it's written. We get close to His perfect love through the word, and perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4.18 All scripture is taken from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Visit eBible.org Luke 2 9-11 Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. The angel said to them, Don't be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which will be to all the people. For there is born to you today in David's city a Savior, who is the Anointed One of the Lord. If there is anything in the world to not be fearful of, it is this message. The Anointed One of the Lord is born. The individual who eliminated the price of sin. Sin is gone. God and humankind can once again commune without barrier. No more punishment looming over the heads of the people. Our relationship with God restored 100%. That is good news. You don't have to die from sin. You don't have to be separate from God. That is a cause for great joy. Four thousand years of genealogy and instruction led up to the birth of Jesus. That's a long time that the world was looking for him. From when God promised Abraham his heir would inherit the land, Genesis 15, 1-4. To here, where an angel announces his birth. Even before that, right from the beginning when the Lord promised the devil that he would not keep power forever, Genesis 3-15. Through Isaiah prophesying Jesus' victory on the cross, Isaiah 53. To Malachi prophesying the herald of the Messiah, Malachi 4, which was John the Baptizer. Four thousand years of the Lord saying again and again and again that he had a plan. That he had a redeemer and that his salvation would be for everyone. The entire old covenant was a shadow pointing toward a hope. Having it finally arrive, that was not only good news, but the best news. And it goes to show you how thick we are as human beings. Because of the law of dominion, Genesis 1, 26-28. Nothing spiritual moves in relation to humanity without the permission of humanity. We need to let God work in our lives. We need to let God do what God does. Now, if it doesn't have to do with our free will, then God does as he pleases. But when it comes to humans and free will, God in his sovereignty chose to limit himself. To give us true free will. We get to decide if we'll take what he has to offer. We get to decide if he is going to move. We need to believe and then decide to let him do what he wants to do. Of course, that does not mean we get to choose what he does. We cannot make him do anything. It isn't holding him over a barrel or bending him to our will. Or making our desires and wishes come to life. It's about finding out his will from the word. And deciding whether that is for us or not. So when it came to our redemption, God needed people who would believe and let him move in their lives. And it took a long time. He started looking before the fall. And it took us 4000 years to get the idea. It took that much talking about it. That much listening about it. That much teaching about it. That many words about it. And those years of mankind hearing it in different ways before mankind had enough belief to have some faith about it. Even then there were some speed bumps. Zachariah, for example. But there were those like Elizabeth, Simeon, Anna, Joseph, and Mary. Especially Mary. Who were willing, eager, and able to believe the Lord enough to let him work for our salvation. Luke chapter 1 and 2. It's easy to imagine the joy of the angels when Jesus was finally born and the good news had arrived. Remember they had been taking messages about this back and forth since the beginning. I can imagine the shouts in heaven every time Jesus set someone free. Every time Jesus healed someone. And he never didn't heal them. Every time Jesus praised his father and honored him. I can imagine the pride the father must have had for his son. And I can imagine the party in heaven when the work was finished and the son was raised again to life after dying for sin. The prodigal had nothing on our father in heaven. Does that not make sense? Well, let's look at some words. Prodigal, as defined by modern dictionaries, means such things as one who spends foolishly, one who has returned home after an absence, wasteful expenditure, and recklessly spendthrift. But there is another meaning. About, I don't know, about a hundred years ago, there was a different, more prominent meaning. Giving or yielding profusely, lavish, given in abundance or profuse. The first definition is a very accurate one of the son. But the second is just as accurate one of the father. The father was lavish. He showered his son with everything that it was his right to request, everything that was his. Even though the father wasn't recommending it, even though it was foolish, he let his son exercise his free will. And when the son returned, he lavished on him what he did not deserve. He didn't punish him. He welcomed him. He didn't require him to work off debt or to teach him a lesson. He celebrated. How much more did the father welcome Jesus back? Instead of back from wasting his birthright, Jesus was back from a life of obedience, blessing, and praise of his father. It's a wonder that the earth didn't shake off its access with the glory that must have run riot when Jesus set foot back in his kingdom. When he was given the name above all names, Philippians 2.9. When he sat at his father's side in all his glory, Hebrews 1.3-4. Unlike a mortal father, who would have had nothing else to give as an inheritance when he died, our father in heaven will both never die and also has an unlimited inheritance for us in and through Jesus, his anointed one. The endless love and victory Jesus enjoys, we too can enjoy. By faith, through grace, we too can have the righteousness of Jesus. It's ours by birthright if we believe. Wield the authority of his name according to the will of the father is also our right of inheritance. To enjoy a perfect spirit and a victorious life, protected under the wings of the almighty God because we acknowledge his name and seek his face. The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord's work. Because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15, 56-58. Now this isn't good news. This is the best news. The only news. Are you spreading it today? It's so good it can't be held back. It can't be hidden. Jesus said, you are the light of the world. A city located on a hill can't be hidden. Neither do you light a lamp and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand, and it shines to all who are in the house. Even so, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5, 14-16. The good news arrived 2,000 years ago and it's still going strong today. It's one and only purpose is to spread, grow, and get into as many hearts and minds as it possibly can. The Father doesn't want even one soul to choose hell. 2 Peter 3, 9. The Father wants every single human being that has or ever will live to be with Him the way He planned from the beginning. 1 Timothy 2, 3-6. He loves us so much. Give the message a hand. Sow some good news today. Our daily affirmation of God's love is Luke 15. The Father loves each and every one of us. Whether we are toiling loyally for His kingdom or whether we are trying to bury our conscience in sin. Whether we are faithful or unfaithful, present or lost, believers or rejecters of the truth. The Father in heaven loves each and every one of us, from the most evil and vicious to the most gentle and saintly. Each and every one of us has worth. He sent His Son to die for us. He resurrected His Son to enable us to live free from sin. He did and does everything possible to get each of us with Him for eternity. He created us to live forever and He wants us to live with Him. He dearly wants you to make that choice. He loves you so. He values you so. No matter what, He wants to welcome you into His embrace. Don't wait. Hug the Lord today. As we close, remember that you have birth. You are precious and valuable. Declare this. Today, God loves that I, now you, fill in the blank. Was it a meal you made? A smile you gave? Did you get out of bed? Read? Put on socks? There's no wrong answers here. There is no end to God's love and no end to the things about you that He loves each and every day. Pick one. And remember, the Lord loves you just because you're you. 1 John 4, 9-10 tells us, By this, God's love was revealed in us, that God has sent His only born Son into the world, that we might live through Him. And this is love. Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. His perfect love turned away God's wrath because of sin. And it casts out our fear too. See verses 18 and 19. We love because He first loved us. He just loves us. Can't get enough of us. And that is wonderful. See you next time.