Jump Start # 1997

Luke 15:17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!’”

I taught a class this week about the prodigal. Love that story. So powerful, true and so much like us. Our class focused upon how to get prodigals to come back. That’s tough. It’s one thing to show someone Jesus but how do you reach someone who once walked with the Lord, but since has chosen to walk away?

The far country has a pull on so many. All they see is the glitter of fun and excitement. Satan has them only thinking about today. The consequences, the eternal results, what the far country does to body, soul and mind are never thought about. It’s the thirst for alcohol. It’s the appeal of drugs. It’s the lust of immorality. It’s the thrill of power and possessions. All of that seems so much more exciting than sitting in a church pew on Sunday morning. Fun, wrapped around sinful choices, can be so appealing that one takes those steps to join others in the far country.

There’s hardly a church and hardly a family that does not have a prodigal someone. When the prodigal is not part of our immediate family, we can forget about them. We can forget to think about them. We can forget to pray for them. We can forget to “throw out the life line,” as the old hymn went.

There are reasons why people leave the Lord. It may be that they were never fully engaged, taught and grounded in what the Lord expects. Maybe they just always kept one foot in the far country and never fully left. It may well be that they have too many friends who are in the far country and their influence is too great for them. Some may have had a bad experience with brethren. It’s easier to just quit than to face those who seem rude, pushy and offensive. The reasons are many why some leave.

But getting one to come to his senses is what is most difficult. The far country seems like a blast. As long as the money lasts and the friends hang around, the good times, as they believe, are lasting. With the prodigal, a series of things happened.

First, he ran out of money. Dad wasn’t sending any more to him.

Second, a famine took place. He didn’t figure that into the equation. Famines always come.

Third, he became desperate. He was hungry.

Fourth, he had no one to help him.

It was at that moment that he realized the far country lied to him. He wasn’t happy. He wasn’t better off. He wasn’t on top of the world. He was miserable. He was alone. He was helpless. The only place he thought he could turn to was home. Broken and changed, the prodigal came home.

There is something about this that connects with us. It’s hard to talk to prodigals while things are going well with them. Money is good. Fun is happening. Friends are plentiful. They think, “I don’t need God.” I have all that I want. But when the rug is pulled out from them, then is the opportunity to be there as a friend to talk with them. When they are sitting alone in a hospital surgery waiting room, or, when they are at the funeral home, it is then that the famine has begun to hit.

Don’t go with both guns blazing. Don’t go with the attitude, “I told you so.” Go, as a friend. Comfort. Help. Sit with them. Let them talk. Don’t preach. Don’t say stuff like, “This wouldn’t have happened had you been in church.” You don’t know that. Don’t push the church. It’s Jesus that they need to connect with again. Sympathize. Encourage. Share your story. Don’t white wash it or sanitize it. Let them know that you love them and they are always welcome back. Buy their lunch. Offer to help. Just be there.

You are trying to get them to come to their senses. You want them to see what’s missing in their life. Sometimes they sit in fear. Sometimes they hold on to the idea that God will not take them back. Sometimes they see themselves as much worse than everyone else. Often, they fear the church. What will people say? Will they just stare? Will there be talk? You can help with that. You can build bridges with them.

Across this land, if every congregation and every family kept everyone from going to the far country, our church buildings would be bursting with enormous crowds. Too many have walked away. Too many have walked away and nothing was done to try to bring them back. Too many walked away and too few noticed or cared. God does.

The father in Luke 15 never gave up on his son. He never stopped loving him. He never wrote him off. He was always hoping and longing for the son to return. We ought to pray for those who no longer walk with the Lord. We ought to put some energy into reaching out to those who have given up the journey with the Lord. Each one has their own story and their own reason. Sometimes it’s nothing more than they needed some attention. Little ones are like that. We have a bunch of young grandchildren and I see that in them. Give them a book and tell them to go sit and read doesn’t work on these little ones. They want PJ (that’s me) right beside them. Where I go, they are right behind me. They want to hold my hand. They want to sit on my lap. They want to pull on my pant leg. They want me to make a big deal about them. And, some folks are like that spiritually. They need TLC and a bunch of attention. Don’t give them a passage to read. Don’t send them off with a booklet to study. They need you to be with them. They want to talk. They want to have lunch with you. They want to be around you. They need that. And, when that is lacking, they’ll find it with friends who are worthless and godless. They will be accepted, loved and wanted by those friends. Fellowship is more than a name in a directory. It’s warmth. It’s love. It’s togetherness. It’s PJ spending time with the grandkids. I had one the other day out back picking up leaves with me. It was a slow process because she was picking one leaf up at a time and running to the woods to drop it. We did that for a long time. It didn’t even seem like work, because we were together. That’s what fellowship is like.

Getting one to come to their senses is a hard process. It can take a while for that to happen. But never give up. Never stop trying. Never stop the prayers.

God has placed us in the lives of others to help them. May we do it well!

Roger

Jump Start # 1166

Luke 15:17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger.’”

  There are several moments in life when we realize this is it. A young man dating a girl realizes this is the one that I want to marry. He has that moment. A couple is out house hunting. House after house. Nothing seems right. The price isn’t right. The yard isn’t right. The neighborhood isn’t right. Then they find that one house. It hits them. This is it. Sometimes that moment is painful and hard. A person has been sticking it out at work. The conditions are terrible. The stress is off the charts. He hangs on. Finally it hits him, he must leave. The search begins for another job.

Our verse today surrounds that reality moment. It finally all came together in the mind. He finally got it. Our passage is from our Lord’s great parable, the prodigal son. The young man has been away from home. He left with a pocket full of money and a head full of ideas and dreams. He was finally going to be free and do what he wanted to do. It didn’t take long for his dreams to turn into nightmares. He spent through the money. A serve famine came. Now broke, hopeless and alone, he finds work feeding pigs. Not the work for a Jewish young man. Not a picture of success. How embarrassed his father would be to see him now. Back home, there were servants to feed the animals. Back home the servants had food. He was so hungry that he thought about eating the pig food. Empty. Crashed. Physically wrecked. The prodigal started thinking. That was a major problem earlier, he just didn’t think. Now he does. He remembers. He wants what the servants back home have. Life as a servant back home was better than what he had now. What a failure. What a loser. It was those thoughts, that driving moment that made him come to his senses. It was then that the process of returning home began.

Coming to our senses is the key. It didn’t happen when he was walking away from home with money in his pocket. It didn’t happen when he was free living and spending as if there was no tomorrow. He crashed physically and that opened his eyes spiritually.

There are many prodigals who never come to their senses. They never sink to the depth that our prodigal in this story did. Parents, government and others keep a safety net about him so that he never gets too bad off. We do things like this because we care. But sometimes those safety nets keep a person from their senses. Always having an answer, always ready with a check, always ready to step in, may be the very thing that keeps some from ever coming back home.

This prodigal would never have changed had he not came to his senses. He saw what a mistake he made. He realized that his plans and dreams were selfish, dumb and not thought out. He never planned for a famine. He never thought beyond the moment. Impulsive, indifferent and careless, he now sees what a big mistake he made. The money was gone. The reputation ruined. His only avenue was home. He knew he could go home.

His emptiness made him see his father for the first time as he really was. His father was a good man. His father took care of the servants. His father would take him back, even if it meant earning his way as a servant. His father was industrious. His father provided and shared. His father was a better man than he was. He saw his father for the first time.

I fear that some don’t have that picture. They’ve lived without God for so long that they have no home to return to. The emptiness and hopelessness of their choices leads them to giving up all together. Drugs and alcohol are chosen to numb the feeling and forget what a failure they are. Deeper and deeper they plunge. It takes more drugs and more alcohol to lessen the pain. In time, even the drugs and booze won’t work. Disconnected from family and God, suicide becomes the only option. Just end the sorrow and pain. They just want rest. Not fearing God, because they have given up on Him years ago, death seems the only way out of this miserable life.

The death of Robin Williams is opening the world’s eyes to topics such as mental illness, suicide and depression. There are hundreds of Robin Williams every day who look into the barrel of a gun or fondle a bottle of sleeping pills and wonder. Their minds are toiling with the idea. This is the only option that they see.

It hurts to think that the pain some have caused have led families and churches to close their doors and backs to them. They do not feel that they can go back home. And living without God, they do not even consider the Almighty any longer.

The homosexual who is estranged from his family. The teenager who got pregnant and left. The addict who stole from family to keep himself supplied. The habitual liar who has ruined relationships. The man who has destroyed his marriage by his affairs. The embezzler. The cheat. The gossip. The sins are deep and destructive. The heartache has been severe. The only option has been to draw a line. When it was crossed, they had to go. This is understood. This is right at the time. This is the best option for all involved. However, that way home must still be allowed. The porch light must remain on. The door to the heart cannot be locked.

Our God never gives up on us. The story of the prodigal is not about families, depression or suicide. It is about us coming home to God. We are still loved by God. We are still wanted by God. After all that we have done, He has not given up on us. Broke, ruined and messed up, God is still looking for us. We can go home. We can always go home to God. That is the Gospel message. It is affective upon those who have lost it all. It appeals to those who are without answers. It fits those who are hurting.

That’s the message we need to spread. God wants you. God loves you. God hasn’t given up. It is important for God’s people to act that way. Some can’t see God for all the closed hearts standing in front of Him. If God loves, so must we. If God welcomes back, so must we. Through us, the prodigals feel welcome. By us, the prodigals begin that journey home.

Can you share this with someone? Is there that person in your family that has spent time with pigs? Understand they are messy, dirty and mistake ridden. They have guilt. They don’t need you to give them more. They see where they went wrong. What they need is love. What they need is to be shown that they are welcome. Will you let them sit beside you in church? Will you let them come home and sit at the table? Hopeless—they need to talk. Helpless—they need support. Broken– they need assurance. Will God forgive them? They wonder that. Are they too far gone for even God to help them? Then want to know. Can they start over? How?

Coming to the senses is where all of this begins. They must know that the porch light remains on for them.

Roger

Jump Start # 878

Luke 15:17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!’”

We’ve come to the turning point of the parable of the prodigal son. He came to his senses. Without that, this is just another sad story of wasted opportunity, reckless living and lost souls. He came to his senses. The famine, the feeding the pigs, the longing to eat what the pigs were eating did all of that. Desperation, hopelessness, against a brick wall, going down a dead end street—all of these fit the younger son in this story.

He came to his senses on his own. That is remarkable. Many don’t or can’t do that. They get there, but they need someone to help them. It may be a comment in a sermon, a statement from a parent, a jab from the boss. Their eyes open and they come to their senses.

This reminds us that sin and irresponsible living is senseless. It doesn’t make sense. Sin hurts the body, mind, emotions and especially the soul. Sin ruins our relationship with God. Sin cripples us, enslaves us and makes us feel trapped. Often I will hear folks say, “I just don’t understand why that person is living like that.” Of course you don’t understand. You are trying to make sense of something that is senseless. Taking a life for a few dollars, does that make sense? Putting all kinds of illegal drugs in your body so you can feel different, does that make sense? Driving drunk? Getting drunk? Neglecting your family? Having an attitude because you don’t get your way? None of those things make sense. But when a person is in the corner, they turn to those things because that is all they know.

The prodigal’s revelation came from a contrast. He was wanting the dry, hard pods that pigs eat. That got him thinking about his father’s servants. They were eating better than he was. They were servants and he was the free one. They had to please his father. He only had to please himself. Yet, they were doing better than he was. That opened his eyes. What a fool he had been. What a mess he had gotten himself into.

What drew him home was his father. It wasn’t that he missed his friends at home. It wasn’t the older brother. It was a nice warm bed with a roof over your head. Those things are nice, but it was his father that drew him home. There is a lesson there. A person may want Heaven because of angels, gold street, pearl gates and living for ever. Those are nice, very nice. But it is being in the presence of God that makes all the difference. That is the drawing power.

Coming to his senses led him to what he needed to do. He needed to go home. He thought, “I will get up and go to my Father and will say to him…” That’s the plan. That’s what he did. That worked. May will recognize that they have made a mess of things but they never get up and go. They stay in their misery. They realize they have messed up home, work, friends, trust and their relationship with God. They know booze is killing them, yet they continue to stay with the pigs. They know lying killed the trust people once had in them, yet they continue to lie. They know anger got the best of them, yet they remain very angry. The prodigal got up and went to his father.

You’ll also notice that the father didn’t come to the pig pen. The father didn’t send money to the pig pen. The father didn’t send food to the pig pen. Those things would not have led to the changes in the prodigal. He had to come to his senses or there would never be any lasting changes in his life.

Parents, sending money to the pig pen because our kids are in need may be enabling them more than helping them. It may allow them to continue to roll in the mud with pigs. He came to his senses when he realized how low he had gotten. The prodigal didn’t play the victim. He didn’t blame others for not being there to help him. His choices led him to where he was.

Coming to your senses is very painful. It is seeing yourself as you really are. It is realizing that you have a problem, a real problem. It is seeing that you and no one else is responsible for the mess that you are in. It is seeing that people don’t trust you because you are dishonest. It is realizing that your drinking is making the kids scared of you. It is coming to understand that your selfish and negative attitude are turning family members away from you. It is seeing that you cannot get through the day without a drink, a pill, a lie, a lustful look at porn, an obsession with money. Coming to your senses means you need help. Where you are is not good. What you have done has ruined things. Coming to your senses leads you to God. He can forgive. He can help. He can turn you around. A servant in the house was better off than he was. The servant had food, he had none. The servant had a roof and a bed, he had none. A servant was treated with respect, he had none. A servant knew what the day would bring, he didn’t. His generous father was treating the servants well. He desired to just go home and be a servant.

He left making demands, “give me.” He returned with a request, “make me.” Make me as your hired men. Let me be a servant. You eat first, I’ll pour the drink in your cup, I will put the food on your plate and I will stand behind you and watch you eat. After you are finished, I will clean the kitchen, then at the end of the day, I will eat out in the barn. I will eat after you. I will not sit at the table with you and brother. I will serve you. That is better than pigs.

The problem many folks are in is that they don’t realize that they are with the pigs. Life isn’t so bad for them. They have grown accustomed to the smell of pigs. I knew a pig farmer years ago. Ate at his house. It took days for me to get the smell of pigs out of me. I was there for only one evening. My clothes smelled like pigs. I smelled like pigs. It was awful. He didn’t mind. He was used to pigs. Some are like that. Why improve, when they like things the way they are. So sad. They don’t see or realize how much better things could be.

He came to his senses. This brought anger at himself, shame, guilt and sorrow. What a fool he had been. What a wasted opportunity. Gone. All gone. It was never coming back. Home is where he had to be. Home is where his heart was. The far country had lied to him. He wasn’t better off. He wasn’t happy. He wasn’t having a good time. Miserable. Lonely. Desperate. Afraid. That’s the way the far county leaves a person. When he saw that, there was really only one thing to do, go home.

Roger

Jump Start # 455 

Luke 15:17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!’”

  We return to the beloved story of the prodigal son. I’ve written several times about this, but keep finding new insights to this powerful story of forgiveness and second chance. You know the story, most of us have lived it ourselves and have our own personal version of it. The younger son, rebellious in heart, wanted away from his father’s rule. He asked for his inheritance and took off. He wasted the money living recklessly. This is where the expression, “prodigal” comes from. Broke, friendless, and without help, he begins working for a gentile pig farmer. He is so low that he longs to eat what the pigs are eating. This is where our verse comes in.

  He came to his senses. Sin is senseless. Sin doesn’t make sense. He woke up from this spiritual fog and came to reality. What a mess he was in. He didn’t blame dad, society or the pig farmer. He knew why he was there—it was his choices, dumb as they were.

  Once the fog cleared, he started thinking about home. He took an honest look at his father. He realized the servants at home were living better than he was, a son, on the road. His thoughts were not about his brother, his things, but how his father treated the lowest of people—the hired men. The King James Version words this passage in a wonderful way. It says, “how many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare…” It’s not that the hired servants have food, they have enough and even enough to share. His thoughts are,
“make me like a hired servant.” That is the speech he practices. If I was only a hired servant, I’d have food. The servants would share, they have plenty.

  He saw his father as a generous, benevolent and kind man. A master didn’t have to feed his servants that much. A master wasn’t required to pay the servants so well that they would afford to eat so well. But his father did. His father was abundant in blessings.

  Jesus uses this story to tell of a sinner coming back to God. The father in the story is a reflection of our true Father in Heaven. He is generous, benevolent and abundant in blessings. He treats us better than we deserve.

  Consider the abundant blessings of God:

• Forgiveness—that’s what this story is all about. God receives back. God blesses. The son wasn’t made a servant, but restored as a son. God never runs out of forgiveness. It seems He never becomes weary of forgiving us. For that, I am thankful.

• Today—today is a gift from God. Each day is a gift. Some days are better than others, but there they are. How many days has God given you in your life? There are so many that we count them by YEARS. Each special. Each a blessing. Each a gift. Today is one of them. Did you think about that? My day is stuffed and packed, but I have been given this day. I am thankful.

• Heaven—we are one day closer today to Heaven. How beautiful Heaven must be. This is the end of the journey for us—Heaven. Not a visit, not a quick tour, but His home becomes our home. For this I am thankful.

• Jesus—God gave Him to us. He is our Savior, our Lord, and our friend. He cares, He loves and He illustrates what we ought to be doing.

  Bread and enough to spare…that’s amazing! That’s God. Gloomy days, stressful times, and hardships can make us feel like all there is in life is pig food. So many settle for that. God has bread, and more than enough to spare. You’ll remember in the story, there wasn’t any bread where the pigs were. The prodigal had to get up and come home. That’s where the bread is. Don’t wait outside by the pig pen for bread, you’ll never find it. You must come home to where God is. Sure it’s hard coming home. Sure others, like older brothers, may whisper unkind things. But do you want to spend the rest of your life eating pig food when your Father has better for you?

  No one cares as much as God does. No one comforts the way God can. No one will be there for you as much as God will. He’s looking, even today for you to make up your mind, to come to your senses, to get with it and to get home.

  Today, we are one day closer to Heaven.

(P.S. How about sharing this with someone who needs to come home).

Roger

Jump Start # 178 

Luke 15:17 “But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!”

  Our passage today is taken from the parable of the Prodigal Son—one the greatest, if not the greatest, lessons Jesus ever taught. The parable shows the grace, love and forgiveness of God. It is a photograph in words of God. This is what God looks like. I love this story. I see my self in this. I long to be like the father but generally act like one of the sons.

  Two lessons today from this incredible parable. First, the father let the son go. That is amazing. The son came with demands, ‘Father, give me my share…’ That was bold, offensive and way out of line. In essence his demand said, ‘I know I’m going to get it some day, but I can’t wait for you to die, so let me have it now.’ The father had ever reason and right to say ‘No.’ The father had ever reason to ask ‘what do you plan to do with the money?’ But he gave it. And then he watched his son take off for the far country. The prodigal’s heart was in the far country long before he took that first step out of his house. I believe the father knew that. He didn’t stand in the way. He let him go. I expect the son was nearly running down the road with a big smile on his face, as the father had tears running down his cheeks. This is hard for parents. I don’t know if I could have done this without at least trying to talk him out of it one more time. Remember, this parable isn’t about parenting…it’s about salvation. Beyond parenting, remember, God lets us go as well. He sees us reaching for wrong, choosing wrong, thinking wrong, desiring wrong and He lets us go. Often we do these things with a smile on our face as tears race down the cheeks of God. Why doesn’t God stop us? He tries. His word is powerful. It tells of the promises and blessings of God. It warns of the dangers and consequences of sin. But our Father lets us go. We can be stubborn!

  The second lesson is that the prodigal knew his father. Broke, friendless, desperate he remembers home. He realizes that the servants were living better than he was, and he was a son. He remembered how generous his father was. His father was a good man. Thoughts of his father pulled him back home. I wonder if this is where we fall and fail sometimes. The prodigal understood his father. He didn’t know for sure what the reaction would be nor what his status would be, but he knew he could go home. Often we don’t. We fear going home. God won’t like me anymore we think. God won’t forgive me, we think. Not really knowing God keeps us out in the far country—hopeless and helpless. We want to go home, but we are afraid. And what we fear the most is our Father.

  If we had a relationship with our Father, like the prodigal did, things would be different. If we only knew how much he longs for us to return to Him, how forgiving He is and how generous He is, we would race home. We’ve made a mess, that’s for sure. We’ve trashed relationships and dwelt among the pigs so long that we understand the nature of pigs more than we do our own Father. God wants you back. God wants you worshipping this Sunday in His house among His people. God wants you to open your heart and read His word. He wants you to walk in righteousness and holiness. He made you for better things than what you are doing now. You aren’t a servant, you’re His son. He doesn’t expect you to live in the barn, but to sit at the table with Him.

  Once you’ve come back home and realize how good things are, you really don’t want to leave again. Do you know your Father? He knows you. And even after that, He still loves you. Even when we smell like the pigs, He loves us. He never gives up and He never quits. Even today, He is looking for you.

  You belong home…why not start today!

Roger