Tag Archives: prodigal son

Light a lamp, sweep the house, find them

So excited about the #FiveMinuteFriday word prompt today! I was up at 3:45 this morning anxious to get the thought the Lord had given me on to paper. The word is FIND and you can read other takes on it over at Kate’s place! Feel free to share this urgent message.

I was thin once. In another lifetime it seems. Pregnant with my middle riddle, I had only gained 14 pounds by the time I was full term. I actually left the hospital at the same weight I had started with. #hatersgonnahate

Unfortunately, I didn’t stay that way!

There I was just days away from delivery, rushing around the house trying to get a few things done when I realized I wasn’t wearing my wedding ring. Panic sat in quickly. I quizzed my five year old; he promised he didn’t take it. I dreaded to tell The Sweetheart but after searching the entire house I knew I had to have some help.

The ring was too big and I constantly played with it, taking it on and off as I was talking on the phone or watching television. Extremely long story short, The Sweetheart looked everywhere, even slitting the bottom of our 1986 People Lounger (remember those?!) hoping it could have lodged on one of the gears of the recliners. Being the hero, he even made his way under our house to the pipes of the bathtub to see if it could have went down the drain; all to no avail.

“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?  And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:8-10 ESV.

This story of the woman and the ten silver coins is one of three that Jesus shared with the Pharisees and scribes who were mocking Him for “eating with sinners”. He also mentioned the One Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son in his reply to their passing judgment. (Read all three here!)

Jesus came for one purpose: to seek and to save the lost. He was letting us know there is JOY in heaven when ONE, just ONE sinner gives his heart and life to God! I imagine them stopping whatever they are doing to rejoice that another has come home.

Llight a lamp, sweep the house

Unless you live under a rock in the desert you are surely aware that we are living in what the Bible termed “The Last Days”.

The Bible tells us that no one knows the day or the hour that the Lord will return for the Church, His Bride, but that we are to be ready at all times, continually reaching for those that are lost.

The enemy is very conniving with his tactics in these final hours. He has kept us so busy with LIFE that we don’t even think about those that we come into contact every day.

  • Do they know Jesus?
  • Where will they spend eternity?
  • Have we told them how much He loves them?
  • How He can change their lives here on this earth for the better?
  • That He will give them eternal life in a perfect heaven?

I never found my ring, it will soon be 29 years that I lost it. But it was something that “will pass away” as the Bible says. I couldn’t have taken it with me so it doesn’t matter for eternity. But my neighbor, my co-worker, my cousin or spouse does matter. Jesus died for them as much as He did for me and if I don’t tell them He is coming soon, that He can give them joy in this life, who will?

Light a lamp, sweep the house, find them.

Kingdom2

 

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Over the Hills and Everywhere!

“How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” (Isaiah 52:7)

What a wonderful week it has been rejoicing and celebrating the birth of our Savior! I have seen and heard so many who have been doing the same, it makes your heart sing!

Yet I know some homes are filled with sorrow this year, some have lost those that are most dear to them, maybe your employment is shaky and unsure, tension may be high in the home, maybe others even have a wayward prodigal or two.

Even so, hope springs eternal! Regardless of our circumstance, God is ever-faithful, He never forsakes us, never leaves us, always is near no matter what we are going through, and if need be, He will carry us.

I pray you have had some lighthearted moments this Christmas too. My Three Sons, Kyle, Kristopher and Korey, and my DIL Rachel, have been with me and The Sweetheart most of the week so we have enjoyed lots of laughter.

Kristopher and Korey have added a new little bundle of energy to their world, let me introduce you to Eisley Quinn! She is a full-blooded English Bulldog and oh my, have we been smitten! This little lady has a personality all her own to only have been on the planet a little over ten weeks.

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As you can see below, my boys, who are NOT boys any longer, love to have fun with her, I thought you might enjoy a laugh or two of their antics with Eisley.

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Nothing like a good card game!

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Especially if you are winning! Now on to more serious matters…

Did you know that “Go Tell It On The Mountain” has no published author, because it was passed down from plantation to plantation and never credited properly? John Wesley Work actually published it in 1907 and it has been a favorite Christmas carol for many decades.

Yesterday I asked the question, “Is Christmas over for you?” One of the verses in the beloved song says,

“He made me a watchman
Upon a city wall,
And if I am a Christian,
I am the least of all.”

The story didn’t end for the shepherds, the Wise Men, for Joseph or even Mary after the birth of Jesus. It didn’t even end 33 years later after His death burial and resurrection!

Here we are, ready to enter 2014! Did you know that He made YOU a watchman?! He made ME a watchman! And if we are Christians at all, and we are friends, we are, we are the least of all, but He has us here to do the job.

So what did He leave us here to do?

Go Tell It On The Mountain hopeinthehealing

Go tell it! Proclaim it everywhere you go!

We are to make His name glorious as we spread the Good News! Jesus Christ is born, it’s more than just a story, it’s not a fairy tale. It is for you, for your children, and their children too! (Acts 2:39)

Are we moved with compassion to share this Gospel today? Are we willing in good times or adversity to share the story and our testimony?

Let us not hide it under a bushel! Let us not be so caught up in our “plenty” that we forget that our purpose on this earth is to reach others, not just to satisfy our earthly desires and wants.

He was born for a reason. He died for a reason. For you, me and all who would believe.

Let’s take this Good News, over the hills and everywhere!

Psalm 105:1 “Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.”

Nannette Christmas

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Belong…

5-minute-friday-1 It’s Five Minute Friday! Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.

Today’s Word Prompt is Belong

 GO.

He wandered lost.

Hungry.

Cold.

His clothes were torn and tattered. He had been gone from home a long time. What if they had forgotten? What if they didn’t care?

Of course he was wrong, he shouldn’t have left. But he wanted to see the world, experience things for himself. Have his own way!

Why, they didn’t understand him, he had big plans!  He was going to be somebody and he wasn’t going to work on the farm like his brother for years and years to get there.

He wanted it now.

But his careless living had cost him all he had and now he was broke. He hadn’t eaten for days. Searching for food in trash bins where he didn’t belong.

What was he thinking?!

Hurry home Wayward One!
Hurry home Long-Lost Child!
Hurry home Prodigal Son! 

There is no need to wander any longer. No need to hurt any more.

Take off that heavy burden and lay it at His feet.

He is the Healer of all pain, the Forgiver of any wrong.

Jesus is waiting with open arms to take you back to where you do belong…safely back home.

STOP.

 

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