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OUR DAILY BREAD : AGENTS OF GRACE
by cimi » Tue Mar 11, 2008 1:50 pm
March 11
Tuesday
AGENTS
OF GRACE
READ:
Luke 15:11-24
___________________________________
When he was still a
great way off, his father
saw him and had
compassion, and ran
and fell on his neck
and kissed him.
__Luke 15:20
____________________________________
Jesus' most memorable story, The Prodigal Son, ends with a banquet scene, featuring as its hero a good-for-nothing who has soiled the family reputation. Those judged undesirable by everyone else-like the prodigal son-are infinitely desirable to God. When one of them turns to God, a party breaks out (Luke 15:22-24).
In the Old Testament, levitical laws guarded against contagion. Among the things that would contaminate a person were contact with certain animals, carcasses, or the sick. But Jesus reversed the process. Rather than becoming contaminated by what was unclean, He made the unclean whole.
I sense in Jesus a fulfillment, not an abolition, of the Old Testament laws. God had hallowed creation by separating the sacred from the profane, the clean from the unclean. Jesus did not cancel out this hallowing principle; rather He changed its source.
Because of God's great grace, we can be agents of His holiness, for He now dwells within us. We can seek, as Jesus did, for ways to be a source of holiness. The sick and the maimed are not hot spots of contamination but potential reservoirs of god's mercy. We are called to extend that mercy, to be conveyers of grace, not avoiders of contagion. Like Jesus, we can help make the "unclean" clean. __Philip Yancey
_____________________________________________________________
`````````````````````FOR FURTHER STUDY``````````````````````
```````ACCORDING TO PHILIPPIANS 2:14, HOW SHOULD WE`````````
``````"DO ALL THINGS"? WHAT IS THE RESULT FOR US, AND`````````
`````````WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR OUR WORLD? (V.15).``````````
_____________________________________________________________
No one is beyond the reach of God's grace.
****************Today's Bible Reading __ Luke 15:11-24************
11 A certain man had two
sons. 12 and the younger of
them said to his father,
"Father, give me the portion
of goods that falls to me."
So he divided to them his
livelihood.
13 and not many days
after, the younger son
gathered all together,
journeyed to a far country,
and there wasted his
possessions with prodigal
living. 14 But when he had
spent all, there arose a
severe famine in that land,
and he began to be in want.
15 Then he went and joined
himself to a citizen of that
country, and he sent him
into his fields to feed swine,
16 And he would gladly
have filled his stomach with
the pods that the swine 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 bread enough
and to spare, and I perish
with hunger! 18 I will arise
and go to my father, and
will say to him, 'Father, I
have sinned against heaven
and before you, 19 and I am
no longer worthy to be
called your son. Make me
like one of your hired
servants.' " 20 and he arose
and came to his father.
But when he was still a
great way off, his father
saw him and had
compassion, and ran and
fell on his neck and kissed
him.
21 and the son said to him,
"Father, I have sinned
against heaven and in your
sight, and am no longer
worthy to be called your
son."
22 But the father said to his
servants, "Bring out the
best robe and put it on him,
and put a ring on his hand
and sandals on his feet.
23 and bring the fatted calf
here and kill it, and let us
eat and be merry; 24 for this
my son was dead and is
alive again; he was lost and
is found."
Tuesday
AGENTS
OF GRACE
READ:
Luke 15:11-24
___________________________________
When he was still a
great way off, his father
saw him and had
compassion, and ran
and fell on his neck
and kissed him.
__Luke 15:20
____________________________________
Jesus' most memorable story, The Prodigal Son, ends with a banquet scene, featuring as its hero a good-for-nothing who has soiled the family reputation. Those judged undesirable by everyone else-like the prodigal son-are infinitely desirable to God. When one of them turns to God, a party breaks out (Luke 15:22-24).
In the Old Testament, levitical laws guarded against contagion. Among the things that would contaminate a person were contact with certain animals, carcasses, or the sick. But Jesus reversed the process. Rather than becoming contaminated by what was unclean, He made the unclean whole.
I sense in Jesus a fulfillment, not an abolition, of the Old Testament laws. God had hallowed creation by separating the sacred from the profane, the clean from the unclean. Jesus did not cancel out this hallowing principle; rather He changed its source.
Because of God's great grace, we can be agents of His holiness, for He now dwells within us. We can seek, as Jesus did, for ways to be a source of holiness. The sick and the maimed are not hot spots of contamination but potential reservoirs of god's mercy. We are called to extend that mercy, to be conveyers of grace, not avoiders of contagion. Like Jesus, we can help make the "unclean" clean. __Philip Yancey
_____________________________________________________________
`````````````````````FOR FURTHER STUDY``````````````````````
```````ACCORDING TO PHILIPPIANS 2:14, HOW SHOULD WE`````````
``````"DO ALL THINGS"? WHAT IS THE RESULT FOR US, AND`````````
`````````WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR OUR WORLD? (V.15).``````````
_____________________________________________________________
No one is beyond the reach of God's grace.
****************Today's Bible Reading __ Luke 15:11-24************
11 A certain man had two
sons. 12 and the younger of
them said to his father,
"Father, give me the portion
of goods that falls to me."
So he divided to them his
livelihood.
13 and not many days
after, the younger son
gathered all together,
journeyed to a far country,
and there wasted his
possessions with prodigal
living. 14 But when he had
spent all, there arose a
severe famine in that land,
and he began to be in want.
15 Then he went and joined
himself to a citizen of that
country, and he sent him
into his fields to feed swine,
16 And he would gladly
have filled his stomach with
the pods that the swine 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 bread enough
and to spare, and I perish
with hunger! 18 I will arise
and go to my father, and
will say to him, 'Father, I
have sinned against heaven
and before you, 19 and I am
no longer worthy to be
called your son. Make me
like one of your hired
servants.' " 20 and he arose
and came to his father.
But when he was still a
great way off, his father
saw him and had
compassion, and ran and
fell on his neck and kissed
him.
21 and the son said to him,
"Father, I have sinned
against heaven and in your
sight, and am no longer
worthy to be called your
son."
22 But the father said to his
servants, "Bring out the
best robe and put it on him,
and put a ring on his hand
and sandals on his feet.
23 and bring the fatted calf
here and kill it, and let us
eat and be merry; 24 for this
my son was dead and is
alive again; he was lost and
is found."
-
cimi 
- Posts: 2622
- Location: Washington
by Mackenaw » Sun Mar 30, 2008 1:35 pm
Oh this is just too good!!! Wooooooohooooooo!
Holy Spirit is all over this message. I heard You, Lord, I heard You.
Yeah!!! Thank You.
Besides the incredible revelation The Holy Spirit gave me on a personal matter -- He also pointed out to me that I never knew what the word "prodigal" really meant. I had always associated the word "prodigal" to the outcome of the story, being made humble -- as opposed to the "riotous" nature of the flesh before being humbled. Too cool.
Wow! He will, He will ...rock you. Least He does me.
God bless,
Mack
Holy Spirit is all over this message. I heard You, Lord, I heard You.
Yeah!!! Thank You.
Besides the incredible revelation The Holy Spirit gave me on a personal matter -- He also pointed out to me that I never knew what the word "prodigal" really meant. I had always associated the word "prodigal" to the outcome of the story, being made humble -- as opposed to the "riotous" nature of the flesh before being humbled. Too cool.
Wow! He will, He will ...rock you. Least He does me.
God bless,
Mack
-
Mackenaw - Posts: 2414
- Location: NY
- Marital Status: Married
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