Luke 15...
Luke 15...is what many refer to as "the lost chapter". They call this "the lost chapter", not because it was missing or was added later or anything like that. The reason this chapter is called "lost" is because there are three parables and in it three things are lost and then are found. In the first parable there is a shepherd who has one hundred sheep. He loses one and leaves the ninety nine to search for that one until he finds it. Then it's party time! He calls his friends over and they rejoice because he has found that one that was missing! In the next few verses we find a lady who has lost a coin. She turns her house upside down looking for that coin until she finds it! After finding her coin she calls her friends and throws a party! In the last parable we find the story of the "prodigal son". Here we have a man who has two sons. The older one decides to take his inheritance early and goes off and squanders it. When he comes back home after he has spent all he had and ate with pigs from the same trough, his father welcomes him home with open arms. These three parables are awesome. They end the way they should. I love this chapter so much that my very first sermon I preached came from this chapter.
Well my friends, it doesn't always end the way it should. Please allow me to tell you my story. I decided on Sunday that I needed to go baptize some minnows that had made a decision earlier in the week. What's a fishing trip without a camera? I asked my wife for the camera and...wait for it...wait for it...the search began! We dropped the ninety nine things we were doing to go and search for that one that was missing...no rejoicing. We turned our house upside down searching...no rejoicing. I went ahead and went fishing...a little rejoicing. The prodigal son returned from fishing...and still no payoff! There is no picture to go with this devotion because there is no camera. We have no idea where it is. One minute it was here and the next it was gone.
The camera can be replaced. Prayers are still being sent as I write this. The camera is probably somewhere really obvious. As I searched for this camera it made me realize how much you miss something you had once it's gone! Perhaps some of us had a relationship with Jesus at some point, but we have wandered off the path. He is still there. Maybe we want that relationship but we think we're too busy, or not good enough, or too far gone in life! Good news, God is still there seeking for us to come back. My prayer for this week is for those who once had a close relationship with God, that they come back, so we can have a party together someday! God Bless
Tony
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