Scripture
As soon as you set your foot on the Way, I’ll show you My salvation.
~Psalm 50:23, MSG
Quote
Be killing sin or it will be killing you.
~John Owen
I just finished the Psalms in the TLB a couple of weeks ago and it was fantastic. Peterson and the MESSAGE are not as inspiring to me as the TLB but the last verse of Psalm 50 and Peterson’s unique perspective did get my attention. God is waiting and longing to bless. What is He waiting on? He is waiting for us to repent. The moment we set our foot on the right path which is Jesus, He will begin to show us His great and wonderful salvation which is laden with grace. Now for a confession. There is no way I could have understood this thought or principle apart from my experience as a prodigals father. Trust me, I want to bless, I want to share my wealth which is by no means unlimited. By the worlds standards I am not a rich man but I would gladly share what I have if I could. One of the first things you learn as a parent of a prodigal is that money will not solve the problem. Let’s look to Luke 15 for an example.
The prodigal in Luke 15 ran out of money and literally became a beggar. The worse thing the father could have done was send him more money. The father’s only hope was that the boy would come to his senses and the pig sty did play a part. He didn’t send more money because money will not fix the problem, it only enables the rebellion. Thus, because the father truly loved his son, he did not enable him; he simply waited and prayed. The father gave the boy some of his wealth before the boy departed but the kid wasted all of it on bad habits. Let’s just say the father gave him one third of the estate; keeping the two-thirds for the elder brother. Could the prodigal, in his state of rebellion and wastefulness, have squandered all the estate? As Luther would say, “You better believe it.” So bottom line: The father could not share his remaining wealth with the son until he repented. As soon as he repented, the father showered him with gifts.
I may be speaking Greek to most of you but for the first time in my life, I think I know how God feels about Israel. He is longing to bless them if they will just set foot on the right path but He cannot share His salvation until they repent.
Patrick {Fuzz} Dobbins passed away last night at his home. Fuzz and Rosemary have been good neighbors and our prayers go out to Rosemary and the children. Fuzz was an avid supporter of his grand children. I doubt that he ever missed one of Sidney’s or Preston’s games. He was also a great crappie fisherman, one of the very best. He would catch them and clean them and I would fry them.
LORD willing, we will be going to CRMC this morning: June is having a experimental procedure on her back. It is not a nerve block but it has something to do with the nerves and they want to see if it will help with the pain. If this works, they will do an implant in a couple of weeks. I guess I will be doing everything the next few days: washing, ironing, cooking, cleaning, etc. I am a workaholic around the house.
I’ve been looking for a disc and my good friend Ronnie Lewis has given me one and I am headed there first today. LORD willing, Little Johnny and I will be getting the land ready to show some fescue this evening.