Let the Party Begin!

Daily Reading:  Luke 15

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. (Luke 15.7)

Devotional Thought:  In Luke 15, Jesus relates three parables that remind us we are not to think of ourselves as the center of the universe.  Yes, Jesus loves us, and yes, God sent his Son to die for us.  We are indeed the objects of God’s infinite love.  But, Jesus taught us that we must be like him, willing to lay aside our “rights” and lay down our lives for the sake of others. 

There is a lot of talk in the corporate world about defining the core values of your organization.  One way to identify the true core values, vs. the stated core values, is to see what is celebrated.  In Luke 15, Jesus celebrated the return of what was lost.  The question that is answered in Luke 15 is: “What is valued in heaven, and what, therefore, should be valued on earth?”  Jesus wants our values in the church to be focused outward – toward the salvation of the lost.  He said, “There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent” (Luke 15.7).

What do you think should be celebrated in your local church?  The kind of music we sing?  The style of worship?  The beautiful and clean and functional building?  The absence of debt?  The great fellowship?  Those are all admirable things, but Jesus said, that the true cause for celebration in the church should be sinners who have come home.  That fact has a negative side, too.  When sinners are not being saved, when lost sheep do not come home, then there should be soul-searching and repentance in the church.  We should humble ourselves before God and implore heaven to give us souls!

Let the party begin!

Prayer: Lord, let the party begin!  May sinners repent and souls be converted and great rejoicing erupt in heaven!  I want to be a part of that great celebration, so Lord, do your work through me; do your work in my church.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: Psalm 140.1-6

1 Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; preserve me from violent men,

2 who plan evil things in their heart and stir up wars continually.

3 They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's, and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

4 Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have planned to trip up my feet.

5 The arrogant have hidden a trap for me, and with cords they have spread a net; beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

6 I say to the LORD, You are my God; give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!