40 Days of GRACE - 23
Dr Jim Brown's TruNorth Devotional
40 Days of GRACE
Day 23 | RETURNING TO HIM
40 Days of GRACE
Day 23 | RETURNING TO HIM
RETURNING TO HIM
2 Chronicles 30:9
“For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.”
When you read the Bible, do you sometimes wonder WHY specific stories are in it? I mean, our Bibles, with sixty-six “books” (some VERY long and others just one chapter long) have some stories that sometimes seem odd to our natural point of view.
Take the story in Luke 15, which we call the Prodigal Son. Here is a young man, one of two sons, who is so desirous for half of his father’s wealth that he pesters his father until the father gives him, sadly, his inheritance – his half – even before he (the father) dies. That son rejoices and leaves home to live it up on his newly aquired wealth.
Know anyone who’s so fixated on money and STUFF that they will try to obtain it in any way they can? Our prisons are FULL of people like that and, sadly, even some families have members who are more in love with money and things and their pleasure, than in living or doing what’s right. They will often lie, pester, persuade, or use various nefarious means to get wealth… even from their own family.
Back to the Prodigal Son… he goes out and parties and eventually blows through ALL his inheritance. He gets so low that he even envies the livestock and their regular feedings. Finally, embarrassed, ashamed, and destitute, he wanders back home in hopes that maybe his father will allow him to be a hired hand. You know the ending: the father is overjoyed to see his son again and they celebrate his coming home! Now that is GRACE.
In today’s verse, God tells us that even if we, like the Prodigal Son, drift away from Him, “the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.”
If you’ve drifted away, remember that this verse applies to YOU, too. Return to Him, for He is gracious and merciful.
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for drifting away. I confess my sin, and I turn around and am returning to You. Thank You for your grace and mercy for me. Amen.
2 Chronicles 30:9
“For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.”
When you read the Bible, do you sometimes wonder WHY specific stories are in it? I mean, our Bibles, with sixty-six “books” (some VERY long and others just one chapter long) have some stories that sometimes seem odd to our natural point of view.
Take the story in Luke 15, which we call the Prodigal Son. Here is a young man, one of two sons, who is so desirous for half of his father’s wealth that he pesters his father until the father gives him, sadly, his inheritance – his half – even before he (the father) dies. That son rejoices and leaves home to live it up on his newly aquired wealth.
Know anyone who’s so fixated on money and STUFF that they will try to obtain it in any way they can? Our prisons are FULL of people like that and, sadly, even some families have members who are more in love with money and things and their pleasure, than in living or doing what’s right. They will often lie, pester, persuade, or use various nefarious means to get wealth… even from their own family.
Back to the Prodigal Son… he goes out and parties and eventually blows through ALL his inheritance. He gets so low that he even envies the livestock and their regular feedings. Finally, embarrassed, ashamed, and destitute, he wanders back home in hopes that maybe his father will allow him to be a hired hand. You know the ending: the father is overjoyed to see his son again and they celebrate his coming home! Now that is GRACE.
In today’s verse, God tells us that even if we, like the Prodigal Son, drift away from Him, “the Lord your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.”
If you’ve drifted away, remember that this verse applies to YOU, too. Return to Him, for He is gracious and merciful.
Prayer: Lord, forgive me for drifting away. I confess my sin, and I turn around and am returning to You. Thank You for your grace and mercy for me. Amen.
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