Day 274: The One He Left the 99 to Find

Luke 15:3-7

So he told them this parable: “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’  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.

This is one of my favorite stories in the bible. This story is followed up by a lost coin and the prodigal son. I love these stories so much because I can relate. I don’t like losing things, even if I have a thousand more, I will tear my room apart looking for that one, because it’s just as important to me as the other thousand, and when one is lost, I have to find it. There’s no other choice. I think that’s what Jesus was getting at here, when He told this story. When He talked about leaving the hundred sheep to find the one that had strayed away. Now many would ask, why would you do that seeing you have ninety-nine more. Count the one as loss and move on. I mean it seems to make logical sense to look at the ninety-nine and be satisfied even if one is missing. I mean you still have ninety-nine sheep, but not to Jesus, ninety-nine wasn’t the same as one hundred. Jesus had a different understanding of this story. Jesus didn’t come to leave any man behind, we see that in verse 7 when He says, “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.”

Jesus came to save those who are sinners, not those who were already saved. He could have spent His time with those who were already saved and living a righteous life, but what would that have done? Jesus was willing to come down and search for the lost hearts, the lost souls and bring them back. Jesus loves us all the same, but when He came He came seeking those who needed salvation, healing, freedom. That meant He has to leave the sheep that never left Him in order to go after the ones that strayed, because He loves us that much. He came for His lost children, and rejoiced when they repented. It’s almost as if Jesus came and said, ‘I need to go find my lost children. I need to go find the one that has strayed away and tried to go on without me. I cannot let them die, knowing they need me.’ He came with the intention of finding those who were lost. Jesus says even though we willingly turn away from Him, He’s still gonna come find us to bring us back. Even though we walk away, He’s always there to bring us back. Jesus knows that we cannot survive without Him, if we could He would have stayed on that throne in heaven.

When we put it in perspective we must come to the realization that we are that one. We are the one He left the ninety-nine to find. At one point in our lives we were the sheep that strayed, and Jesus came and found us. I don’t know if this is true for you but God never left me get too far when I strayed away from Him. He came and found me. He didn’t let me walk away and count it lost, because He loves me. He cares enough to come and find us even when people think we can be replaced. See the thing about God is, we cannot be replaced in His heart. If we could, do you think Jesus would leave the ninety-nine to find us. We are so special to Him that He had to come and find us. We have to understand that we as God’s people as His children, when we come into this life we complete the body of Christ. We cannot have parts of the body leaving and walking away and never being found. He will come and find us. Sometimes He will wait for us to return like the father of the prodigal son. He’s waiting with open arms to bring us back into His house, and throws a party when we return.

All this to say, we are so important to God. He loves us so much. He loves us so much that instead of replacing us, which He can do if He wanted, He leaves the ninety-nine to find us. To God we are worth it, to God we were worth sending His son.

Response/Prayer Time

Take the  time to respond to what what we discussed today in whatever way you feel led. Allow that to guide your prayer today. Take the time to thank God that He is so loving, caring, and gracious. Thank Him for salvation and repentance. If you are someone who needs to repent now is the time to do it. If you have not accepted Christ into your life and you want to, now is the time to do it.  

If that’s you, if you want to make that decision today, pray this prayer with me.

“Jesus I declare that you are my Lord and Saviour who died for my sins and was raised three days later. I repent of my sins and I give my life to you. I believe in my heart that you are the true living God. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name, Amen.”

If you made the choice to follow Christ, rededicate, or to submit your life to Him fully, Go to Romans 10:9-10, If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! If you made the decision to follow Christ today, congratulations! Please do not hesitate to reach out (to me or anyone else) and get plugged into a church. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 275!

Day 47: Smoke and Mirrors

Things are never as they seem to be, and that can be good or bad, depending on the situation and how we look at it. . We as young adults are constantly finding out what is real and what is not. We are constantly trying to sort through what is real, and what seems to be real. We are at a point in our life, where we are starting to realize, “my parents were right”. But more importantly we are growing in Christ and gaining discernment so we can see through the smoke and mirrors and see the truth. Many people use the term Smoke and mirrors as a bad thing, but I’m going to bend that definition a bit and say that things are not always as they seem.

Matthew 7:15

“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.

2 Corinthians 4:18

So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

There are a couple of points to make today. We will start with the obvious. Many of us have grown up hearing the scripture, beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing. Meaning don’t be fooled by people pretending to be something they are not. In the scripture Jesus is speaking these words, He is telling the people to beware of the false prophets, they look good and they sound good but that doesn’t always mean it’s good for us. Growing up my mom would always tell us, “Everything that glitters ain’t gold.” Just because something looks good doesn’t mean it is. Looks can be deceiving as we all know. Jesus goes on to tell the people that we will recognize them by their fruits. A healthy tree does not produce bad fruit, and an unhealthy tree cannot produce good fruit. Sometimes we are in the presence of a bad tree but are so caught up in it’s beauty that we don’t realize the toxic fruit it's bearing. We must pay attention to the things and people around us, the people we look up to and the people we let in our lives. People are great at talking but when the actions and words of a person collide, we have a problem.

I am not saying that everyone we meet is out to get us, we just have to wise to see through the deception. God gives us vision to see beyond the foolishness. We look past the moving lips, and the distractions to see the truth. God also gave us parents with wisdom, as hard as it may be, most of the time they are right in these situations.

I know for a fact my mom was right about fake friends. I didn’t listen and had to come back and apologize. Because mom was right all along. I realized that God didn’t give me parents just so they could tell me what to do, they are wiser than me, and I had to learn to listen to the words they were speaking to me, even when they were hard to swallow.

-Dyamond

The hard thing about this is that sometimes we get attached to the things that we know are no good for us. The most common things are relationships, when our hearts and feelings are invested, it’s hard to let go. I’m pretty sure many of us know this from experience, I know I do. We can know that the person we are with is only their to drain us, and not to do good by us; they look good, they feel good, they make us feel good, what they say is good, but there’s something off and we try to act like we don’t know what it is. We don’t even have to look that deep to know they are sheep dressed in wolves clothing, it’s right in front of our face. Everything pleasurable isn’t ethical.

God gives us vision sometimes we just choose not to see. Smoke and mirrors look good to us, we’d rather not know the truth because it’s too deep, it will hurt too bad. We have to look pass our own pain sometimes to see the bigger picture. It hurts right now but I promise it’s better now than later, and it won’t last forever, I can promise you that. It will work together for our good, because God has our back. Which brings me to my next point. In life, everything isn’t what it seems.

Romans 8:28 says, And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Sometimes we look at all the things going on in our life and cannot understand how it can ever get any  better. But their is a bigger picture, a large mural actually. God sees that bigger picture, He painted it. Right now we only see a small portion of it, and we can’t quite make out what it is yet. But the more we grow, the more we lean into God, and trust that there is more to what the physical eye can see that image will start to grow. Eventually we will see the big picture and we will understand that we had to go through some valleys, and some dark places to get to where we are. Nothing is as it seems. It may look like we are being punished, it may look like nothing is getting better, but trust me God is behind it all. He’s directing us, and strengthening us, we are growing with Him. So when He does that big reveal we will understand that He was there the whole way, we will discover a path or a pattern. We had to go through that rough time to get to where we are, we had to reach that stumbling block, to know that God won’t let us fall. We had to reach that dead end to know that God can make a way out of no way. It’s all working out, it’s all coming together, we just have to trust Him. We must know that even though it’s not as it seems, or life isn’t going the way it should go, it’s going the way God planned. It will work out, it will be okay.

Reflection

1. Is there anyone wolves in your life dressed in sheep's clothing?
2. Based on your previous answer, are you willing to let them go?
3. Is there something or someone in your life that you know is not good for you, but you are choosing to overlook because you are too attached, or letting them or it go will hurt too bad? These are the things or people that you probably did not mention in question one. Think about it before you answer, once you have that answer, refer to question two.
4. Repeat these four words, “God really loves me.”
   
   

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer. If there are people in your life or things in your life holding you back give it to God. Talk to Him about the things you want to hide from Him or shy away from today. Talk to Him about the bigger picture and what that is, allow God into your heart, listen for what He is saying to you. Be honest with God, remember that prayer is just a conversation with God. Some conversations are harder than others and this might be one of those, but have it anyway. He’s listening not judging, just talk to Him, listen for a response, and obey His words.

I hope you have an amazing day or evening, rest in His presence today. I love you so much. Make sure you come back tomorrow for day 48! And share this with a friend!