Luke 15:3-7
3 Then Jesus told them this story: 4 "Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep but loses one of them. Then he will leave the other ninety-nine sheep in the open field and go out and look for the lost sheep until he finds it.5 And when he finds it, he happily puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. He calls to his friends and neighbors and says, 'Be happy with me because I found my lost sheep.' 7 In the same way, I tell you there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who changes his heart and life, than over ninety-nine good people who don't need to change.
When Jesus told the story of the missing sheep, some of the people who were listening wiped away a tear because they knew how it feels to be lost among the crowd. Jesus wanted us to understand that we have a Father who see and cares for each one of his children--that we are all equally valuable to him.
No one is useless to God. No one, at any point in his life, is useless to
God---not a little child, not the unattractive, not the clumsy, not the tired, not the discouraged. God uses his children.
Our value is inherent---it's not based on the Ph.D. after our name or the amount of money in our bank account. We have value simply because we are. In the eyes of God, every human has value simply because he is the creation of the almighty God.
You belong to God's eternal dream. Now you may not feel motivated, you may not feel like you have a reason for living, but you must renew your mind with the immovable fact that you are part of a commissioned people---you have a reason to be alive.
There is an eternal purpose. There is a great river of God's purpose that is moving toward an eternal home with him. You can't stop God's purpose. God's purpose is greater than you are, and if you are God's child, nothing is going to slow down God's purpose for your life.
FRIENDS:
Father, we know that someday you're going to take all your followers into eternal happiness. And it is to that day, Father, that we look. And it is upon our hope and confidence that you will return, that we stand. In Jesus' name, Amen.
DAILY BIBLE CHALLENGE
February 17
Matthew 17:14-27; Acts 24; Psalms 39; Leviticus 5-7
February 18
Matthew 18:1-14; Acts 25:1-12; Psalms 40; Leviticus 8-10
More about the books of the Bible
Leviticus
Suppose your father grants you a piece of land. Free. You can farm it and make a living.
There is only one condition. You first have to get the rocks out. And so you work. For hours and days you work. With time, you see the task is too great. There's just no way you can do it.
You give up.
Then your father says you've done enough. "I have another plot of land for you," he explains. "This time the stones are gone."
"Who removed them?"
"I did."
You go to the acreage and find his promise to be true. the stones are gone, and you are left to farm. And so you sow in gratitude..
Nice story......but what does this have to do with Leviticus?
The book of Leviticus is the deed to the farm. A rocky farm given by God to his children.....laden with stones. Heavied with tasks. Loaded with rocky rules and regulations.
Three months after their deliverance, the children of Israel spent a year at the base of Mt. Sinai. they were nomadic people in a barren land. suddenly forced to live together, suddenly forced to travel together, they needed guidelines for hygiene and health. They needed rules for worship and community. For that reason, God gave them Leviticus. a practical guide for community and worship. But for us, it serves a still higher purpose. Leviticus reminds us that God takes holiness seriously.
Any person who tries to be holy is soon convinced he can't. There are too many rules. Too many rocks to remove. We need help. We need a Savior. "In other words, the law was our guardian, leading us to Christ so that we could be made right with God through faith" (Galatians 3:24)
Holiness is what God desires. But holiness is what we cannot achieve. Just like the son couldn't remove the rocks, so we can't remove our sins. But just like the father surprised the son, so our Father surprises us. He removed the rocks for us.
Both the devotional and the Introduction to Leviticus were by Max Lucado
FOOD:
Magic Dust Spice Mix Recipe
Champion BBQ pitmaster and restauranteur Mike Mills came up with this spice mix that he calls Magic Dust. It can be used on any type of food, barbecued or not. The heat level can be adjust up if you like it extra spicy.
1/2 cup paprika
1/4 cup kosher salt, finely ground
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons mustard powder
1/4 cup chili powder
1/4 cup ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1/4 cup granulated garlic
2 tablespoons cayenne
Mix all together and store in a tightly covered container.
FUN:
A woman was terribly overweight, so her doctor put her on a diet. "I want you to eat regularly for 2 days, then skip a day, and repeat this procedure for 2 weeks. The next time I see you, you'll have lost at least 5 pounds." When the woman returned, she shocked the doctor by losing nearly 20 pounds. "Why, that's amazing!" the doctor said, "Did you follow my instructions?" The woman nodded. "I'll tell you though, I thought I was going to drop dead that third day." "From hunger, you mean?" "No, from skipping."
