[Faith-talk] FW: [tbcf] bill keller devotional july 10

[Eric Calhoun]

Original Message: 
From: Andrew Edgcumbe <andrewjedg at gmail.com>
To: tbcfamilyroom <tbcfamilyroom at yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [tbcf] bill keller devotional july 10
Date: 
Sun, 10 Jul 2011 08:21:36 -0400

One of the great passages of scripture is the "Parable of the Prodigal
Son." It is such a powerful picture of those who know Christ as their
Savior, have
a relationship with Him, and decide one day they want to live life
apart from the Lord. They no longer have a desire to follow Jesus and
simply want to
live their life in rebellion to God and His Word. I share with you,
often, the fact that our way never works, God's way always works. When
we choose to
live life our way, there is nothing but pain and heartache. When we
choose to live life God's way, there is peace and joy and the
abundance that Christ
promised.

TODAY, GOD IS SPEAKING TO YOU THROUGH THESE WORDS AS LOUD AND AS CLEAR
AS IF HE WAS SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO YOU. HE IS SAYING, "COME HOME!"

The parable starts out with the younger of two sons asking his father
for his portion of the estate. He basically went to his dad and said
let's figure
out what part of the estate is mine, and let me have my share now. The
father did as his son requested and the Bible tells us, "That very
soon after he
got his share of the estate, the young man took off for a 'far
country.'" He had obviously been planning his rebellion, since it was
immediately after
he cashed out his portion of the estate that he left.

My friend, when we rebel against God, it starts in our heart. Our
actions are simply the manifestation of the rebellion that started in
our heart. When
we sin, before we ever commit the act, it starts in our heart, moves
to our head, and ultimately is manifested in the action itself. That
is why we have
to guard our hearts. It is critical that we keep our hearts pure
before the Lord. David cried, "Create in me a clean heart." We keep
our hearts clean through
our time each day with the Lord in prayer and in God's Word.

The Bible tells us that once this young man was in the "far country,"
he wasted all of his money on "riotous living." Now we don't have a
detailed account
of what this young man did, or what "riotous living" involved, but we
probably have a good idea. If it was the year 2006, he would be out
every night drinking,
doing drugs, frequenting the strip clubs, the casinos, and having sex
with many different people. He would wake up the next day and do it
all over again.
For anyone who has lived this type of lifestyle, you know that it is
only a matter of time before your money, no matter how much you have,
runs out.

That is exactly what happened to this young man. He ran out of money
and about that same time the Bible tells us there came a great famine
in the land he
was in. I am sure you have heard the expression, "when it rains, it
pours." When you are living your life in rebellion to God, NOTHING
GOES RIGHT! It is
simply one problem after another, and eventually they mount up and
just living from day to day becomes a nightmare. You don't even want
to get out of bed,
and eventually, you don't even have a bed! As I tell you often, SIN
COSTS AND COSTS MORE THAN YOU EVER EXPECTED TO PAY!

This young man was now faced with being in a foreign land, broke, and
simply trying to survive day to day. The Bible tells us that he went
to work for one
of the citizens of the country he was in. His job; FEEDING THE PIGS!
Here was a young man, who just months earlier, was an executive in his
father's business.
No doubt he worked hard, but he was in an executive position,
overseeing the day-to-day operations, people working for him, making
the important decisions
that have to be made each day in any business. All of a sudden he is
no longer an executive but the lowest of the low, literally feeding
the pigs!

REBELLION TO GOD COSTS, MY FRIEND! When you choose to live your life
in rebellion to God, do it your way and you will pay the price in so
many different
ways. One day you are a big time businessman, running companies,
hundreds of people working for you, spending your time making deals,
eating out in nice
restaurants, driving nice cars, wearing nice clothes. The next, all of
that is gone and you are simply trying to survive from day to day. You
have gone
from enjoying your life to just existing. You will always pay a huge
price when you choose to live in rebellion to God.

It was at his lowest point that this young man began to hear God
speaking to him. Let me make sure you understand something very
important. The Bible proclaims
that God will never leave you nor forsake you. That is a promise from
God to you, and it is true. God is there with you every step of the
way whether you
acknowledge Him or not. What happens is we quit listening to God, we
tune Him out. When we are living in rebellion to God, He is the last
person we want
to hear from since we know deep down inside we are sinning. However,
God is always there, always trying to get our attention, waiting
patiently for us
to listen to His voice and respond.

In 1989, near the end of my 10 years of running from God, I was
driving down the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago heading downtown where
I lived. It was 3
a.m., I had been out drinking that night, my legal problems were
starting to mount, and I was looking to escape in every way
imaginable. As I was driving
home, I flipped through the radio stations and stopped when I heard
booming from the radio, "FOR WHAT SHALL IT PROFIT A MAN, IF HE SHALL
GAIN THE WHOLE
WORLD, AND LOSE HIS OWN SOUL!" The voice was that of Dr. Joseph
Stowell, Chancellor of the great Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, but
it was clearly God
speaking to me trying to get my attention. Sadly, I was in full
rebellion to God and He was the last person I wanted to hear from. It
would be many months
before I was ready to listen.

The Bible tells us that this young man began to hear God's voice that
was clearly calling him home. He began to reason that he was sleeping
with the very
pigs he fed and eating the same food they were eating. The servants in
his father's house at least had a nice place to sleep and plenty of
food to eat.
He realized that he would be better off going home, asking his
father's forgiveness, and becoming one of the servants. That was GOD
speaking to this young
man telling him to go home.

Many of you reading this today are "sleeping with the pigs." You are
eating the same food the pigs eat.You are tired of living like this,
tired of waking
up each day with no hope, tired of running from God. My friend, God
loves you, He cares about you so much, and He is waiting for you
today. The fact is,
God is NOT going to force you to come home. That has to be your
decision. No doubt, this young man's father could have tracked him
down and brought him
home, but he didn't. It was not because he didn't love his son, but
because it was a choice his son had to make on his own. God is not
going to force you
to come home, it is a choice YOU have to make yourself.

I love you and care about you so much. The wonderful end to the
"Parable of the Prodigal Son" is that the son did go home. When he
arrived, he was not made
a servant in his father's house as he was hoping, but he remained a
SON! My friend, just because you have left the Lord, you never stopped
being His son
or daughter. You may have denied Him, you may have chosen to reject
Him, but He never denied you and He never rejected you. YOU NEVER
STOPPED BEING HIS
SON OR DAUGHTER!

I will be praying for you today, praying that God will speak to your
heart about going home. You don't need to be miserable any longer. You
don't need to
dread waking up each morning. God can take the pain and the hurts in
your life and replace them with a peace that passes all human
understanding and His
joy. God is speaking to you today. God is waiting for you to come
home. He is waiting to rejoice, "For this my son was dead, and is
alive again; he was
lost, and is found."

Let me leave you today with the words to the great hymn "Softly and
Tenderly Jesus is Calling." Read the words, they are from God for YOU
today!

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, Calling for you and for me; See,
on the portals He's waiting and watching, Watching for you and for me.
Why should
we tarry when Jesus is pleading, Pleading for you and for me? Why
should we linger and heed not His mercies, Mercies for you and for me?
Time is now fleeting,
the moments are passing, Passing from you and from me; Shadows are
gathering, deathbeds are coming, Coming for you and for me. O for the
wonderful love
He has promised, Promised for you and for me! Though we have sinned,
He has mercy and pardon, Pardon for you and for me. Refrain: Come
home, come home,
You who are weary, come home; Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

In His love and service, Your friend and brother in Christ, Bill Keller