The Gathering Place Where Family Matters

When was the last time you read the twenty-third Psalm? In one of my old preaching Bibles, I wrote the following outline in the margin. Peek over my shoulder and let me share these with you today. POSSESSION. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (23:1). PROVISION. “He maketh me to lie down […]

I’ve been reading through the Gospel of Luke in my quiet time Bible reading. Recently I read from Luke 15 where the Lord Jesus shared a parable. He told a story to speak to people about their situation in life.

We have the rebellious/repentant son.
“I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee. And am no more worthy to be call thy son: make me as one of the hired servants. And he arose and came to his father” (Luke 15:18-20a).

We have the brokenhearted/watching Father.
”But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion and ran, and fell on his neck and kissed him” (Luke 15:20b).

We have the angry/resentful older brother.
“And he was angry, and would not go in” (Luke 15:28).

Does that sound like a family scenario that might be rather familiar today? Homes and families are being ripped apart over money, jealousy, suspicion, and downright hostility. You might be or you might know the role of prodigal who has lived estranged from family and the Lord. You might be or you might know of the anguished parent praying and watching for their child to come home. Or you might be or you might know an angry, resentful child who is not ready to welcome home the prodigal.

May the Lord help you and bless you with what ever family dynamics you are facing today. I can tell you that it starts with coming into a right relationship and fellowship with the Lord. That is the starting point.

Sixty years ago as a young teenager, I added to my lawn mowing service and on the weekends I worked at Boulder Amusement Park in Indian Falls, New York. I was available all day Saturday and thankfully, I didn’t have to check in until 1:00 on Sunday so I was able to attend church, grab a bite of lunch and my mom or dad took me on the ten-minute drive.

The ride I ran was called “The Kiddie Whip!” It was a noisy little ride where two or three children could be seated in the car. A little strap held them in and a little bar came down for them to hang on for dear life. The bumpy little ride flew around the corner and pushed those children back in their seats. There was no middle ground of reaction.

Some screamed in sheer terror and wailed so hard I had to stop it on the first time around.
Others screamed in exuberance and couldn’t wait for the next corner to be whipped back in their seats. It was the same ride, the same aged children and in some cases even the same siblings and yet the reaction was totally different.

What a life application. Life’s experiences, as hard as they may be, are similarly shared with others. Paul reminds us that our experiences are “common to man” (1 Corinthians 10:13). The same trials. The same temptations. The same circumstances are shared with others. The difference is how we react to it.

I have seen people respond to hardships with anger, bitterness, and rejection.
I have seen people respond to hardship with trust, quietness, and submission.

Think of these wonderful verses.

“I will bless the LORD at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 34:1).
“And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. At midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them”

Funny how all these years later I can still hear the merry-go-round music as it played to my left as well as the train whistle across the bridge of the park. Little did I know that those early days would begin me on my start to being with people with two different reactions to life happenings. How is it with you dear friend?

“He’s so moody” the boss said to his immediate supervisor. “He’s knowledgeable. He’s experienced. And when he’s in a good mood, he is a great worker. But on those days that he comes to work in a sour, bad and gloomy mood, he’s practically worthless. I’ve talked with him, warned him, and once I sent him home because he was so miserable. I just don’t know what to do with him. I just don’t have time to constantly deal with his changing moods” the boss said with rather sad resignation.

Aren’t you glad that the Lord Jesus is not like that? Wouldn’t it be awful, I mean really awful, if the Lord Jesus was moody? I cannot begin to imagine the terror of wondering what kind of mood is the Lord in Whom all power belongs today. Here’s the good news.

He is never moody.
He is always dependable.
He is truly wonderful.

Think of this verse often in your day today. “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and for ever” (Hebrews 13:8).

You can count on Him.

You really can.

There are many ways to come back home from the Baptist Church Planters offices in Sheffield Village. There are several different ways to come home from my favorite diner in LaGrange. There are several ways to come home from my local church in Rochester. I like this because I like variety. But I can tell you something I like even more. In fact, I love it and that is there is only ONE way for us to be forgiven and to come into a living, precious relationship with Him. Trusting in Christ ALONE is the only way to Heaven.

“Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). There are NOT many ways to get to Heaven. There is one and only way. This comes by recognizing several things in our personal lives.

I will never forget that day when as a young boy I knelt by my bedside and confessed to the Lord Jesus that I was indeed a sinner. I believed that the Lord Jesus died on the cross, shedding His blood for me as the perfect sacrifice for my sin. I believed in my young heart that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead and I asked Him to be my Savior. Has there ever been a time that you have put your trust in Christ and His work ALONE to be the source of your salvation? If you have, aren’t you thrilled that you are one of His own children, born into His family and adopted with full blessings and opportunities? If you have not, would you take a moment to click the banner “Heaven” on my website. It will share with you exactly how to make this great decision.