Tuesday 18 Feb 2020

February 18: Luke 15:1-7

Key Verse: Luke 15:2
But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Devotion:
Jesus always had a way of using the current circumstance or conditions to His advantage in teaching the gospel. Here He was surrounded by all manner of people many of which were considered sinners or bad people by the Jews. This did not stop Jesus from giving them the gospel and encouraging them; something we often neglect because we consider some people as being not good enough or our enemies!

Jesus went on to tell them a few parables; the first of which was the Lost Sheep. He talked to them in a way they would be able to understand things – they knew the work of shepherds. If one of the sheep has gone for a wander, lost itself or got trapped in a ditch with no way out – the shepherd will notice one is missing and will go looking for it. We were born as part of the fold, belonging to Christ and being looked after by Him, our shepherd.

When we go off and get ourselves into trouble or get lost, God is going to come looking for us. He does not wait until we have to shout out for help and until the end of the day – He takes time out there and then to look for us in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in. It does not matter that we may have wandered off by ourselves, or that we have got ourselves into terrible trouble because of how we acted – He still comes to look for us.

Now, this is where we differ from the sheep. God will find us and will hold out His hand for us to grab hold of, but we are given a choice as to whether we grab that offered hand, or ignore it! And yes, many times we do ignore that offered hand and try to dig ourselves out of the mire. Sometimes we feel too embarrassed and hide a bit more (as if we could ever hide from God!) But if we admit to getting ourselves in our tight spot and accept the hand God is offering, we will be saved from our troubles and He will direct us back to the way we should be… if we listen!

Points to Ponder:
How often have you got yourself in a tight spot?

How often have you fully accepted God’s helping hand?