The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Part 1)

Luke 15:11–16 reads,

And [Jesus] said, “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the property that is coming to me.’ So he divided his assets between them. And after not many days, the younger son gathered everything and went on a journey to a distant country, and there he squandered his wealth by living wastefully. And after he had spent everything, there was a severe famine throughout that country, and he began to be in need. And he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to tend pigs. And he was longing to fill his stomach with the carob pods that the pigs were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.”

Imagine yourself going about your life, the life God has given you. You decide to leave your Father's house; you have a life plan of your own. You are excited. You have so much life to live, so much energy, so many resources to spend on anything you choose. You take a trip. You visit places you've never been, do things you've never done, and see things you've never seen. Maybe you get a little too excited or too absorbed in what you are doing. Before you know it, you're spent. You have nothing left. You have used up all your energy and all your resources. And, as luck would have it, now there is a widespread famine. Your environment is just as wasted and wanting as you are. So now what? Well, you do the only thing you can do. You join yourself to a citizen of this wasteland. This man sends you to do one of the dirtiest, smelliest jobs around: you become a swineherd.

Living in sin is like being far away from home, destitute in a famine. You have nothing to sustain yourself. And the places and people around you don't provide you with much either, except an offer to tend someone's pigs. And that's what you have to do in order to survive, right? Imagine your daily life, the things you see and smell and hear. Instead of seeing the faces of acquaintances, family, and friends, you see a herd of hungry pigs rummaging about for food. Instead of hearing the voices and laughter of others, you hear a herd of hungry pigs rummaging about for food. Instead of smelling savory food prepared for people, you smell a herd of hungry pigs rummaging about for food. And why can't you stop thinking about food?! Oh look, it's feeding time. Food is brought out for the pigs but none for you. You yearn for what the pigs eat as you watch them devour their food, as you hear their grunting and squealing and snorting and smacking. The food and dirt is caked onto their snouts as the flies swarm around. It makes you hungry. And you long to get down on all fours among the pigs and fill the emptiness inside you.

That is our state when we live in sin. Thank God that is not the end of the story….

The video below contains a slideshow of at least mildly charming pig pictures. However, the point of the video is not to show how cute pigs can be but to demonstrate how disturbing they sound. Listen attentively. Try to imagine yourself in the prodigal son's place: envious of and desiring to eat with pigs.

Scripture quotations from Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.

See http://lexhamenglishbible.com/license/ for license information.

Bible Verses in Song: “My Savior My God”

About 3 years ago I changed the radio station in my car to K-LOVE for the first time. One of the first songs I heard was Aaron Shust's “My Savior My God.” The words were simple yet profound. And the melody seemed to match the feeling behind the words perfectly. That song affects me every time I hear it. You can listen to a performance of the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvBG-FVbGFs.

Aaron Shust's song “My Savior My God” borrows most of its lyrics from an old hymn. This hymn, entitled “My Savior” in the 1885 song book Songs of Joy and Gladness, was composed by Wm. J. Kirkpatrick. However, the words were written by a woman named Dora Greenwell and published (sans music) in 1873 in a slim volume of poetry, Songs of Salvation. Her poem was entitled “Redemption.”

• You can view Kirkpatrick's song “My Saviour” from Songs of Joy and Gladness by clicking here. You'll notice that Aaron Shust's song contains lyrics from stanzas 1, 2, 4, and 6 and omits stanzas 3 and 5.
• You can view Greenwell's poem “Redemption” from Songs of Salvation by clicking here. Shust and Kirkpatrick both omit several stanzas from Greenwell's original poem. Only stanzas 1, 2, 4, and 10 appear in both songs.

Isn't it interesting that the thoughts of Greenwell were first set to music almost 150 years ago and then set to music again not even 10 years ago? I must not be the only one who finds great meaning in the words. And you know what? I think that may be because they express truths that are at once universal and deeply personal to everyone who believes in Jesus as their Savior. These truths come from the Bible.

Below are the lyrics from Greenwell's (public domain) poem that are used in Kirkpatrick's and Shust's songs. Accompanying them are corresponding verses from various books of the New Testament. If you come across applicable verses I did not mention, please feel free to share them in a comment. [NOTE: While preparing to write this blog, I stumbled across a post on another blog that is very similar to what I planned to write here. I'll share it in case anyone out there wants to see what other verses were paired up with the lyrics from this song/poem: https://scriptureand.blogspot.com/2012/06/i-am-not-skilled-to-understand.html.]

I am not skilled to understand
What God hath willed; what God hath planned;
I only know at His right hand¹
Stands One Who is my Saviour.

¹Acts 7:56—And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

I take God at His word and deed;
“Christ died to save me,”² this I read,
And in my heart I find a need
Of Him to be my Saviour.

²Rom 5:8–9—[B]ut God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

That He should leave His place on high,³
And come for sinful man to die,⁴
You count it strange?—so do not I,
Since I have known my Saviour.

³John 6:38—For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

⁴Rom 5:6—For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Yea, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring,⁵
That He who lives to be my King,⁶
Once died to be my Saviour!⁷

⁵John 4:13–14—Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

⁶Rev 1:5–6—…Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

⁷1 Thess 5:9–10—For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV* Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version*), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

In the acknowledgment above, fair use constitutes permission. See https://www.crossway.org/support/esv-bible-permissions/ for information on copyright and permissions.

Reading About Jesus (as Recorded by Mark)

Right now I am reading the gospel account of Mark, one chapter a day. I have only read the first half of the book so far, but I've noticed a couple trends.

I noticed that Jesus faced opposition often. It wasn't just something that all of a sudden happened right before His crucifixion. I picture Jesus's opponents sort of like schoolyard bullies bent on harassing, making fun of, and criticizing Jesus who is just going about His work. It seems that they were always hanging around, publicly questioning and doubting Him, His authority, or His motives.

The other thing I noticed, because honestly it's hard not to, is how much Jesus did in such a short time here on earth. Mark mostly limits his account to Jesus's ministry years, death, and resurrection. And yet, even though Mark's scope is limited compared to that of Matthew's and Luke's, he doesn't pause long on any one event. The book of Mark, divided into only 16 chapters, reads at a fast clip and is packed with accounts of Jesus healing various diseases and handicaps.

Two miraculous healings popped out to me in the first few books of Mark.

Mark 2:1–12 tells of the paralyzed man whose four friends carried his bed to the house where Jesus was teaching. Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “[R]ise, pick up your bed, and go home.” The paralyzed man did as Jesus said: “he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all” (vs. 11–12).

Mark 3:3–5 tells of a man with a withered hand in the synagogue. Jesus arrived at the synagogue, spotted this man, and said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” The man did as Jesus said and “his hand was restored” (vs. 5).

What if these men, the paralyzed man and the man with the withered hand, had the same attitude toward Jesus as His opponents? What if they doubted His power and authority? What if they labeled Him presumptuous?

What if the paralyzed man hadn't tried to stand up when Jesus told him to? What if he said, either out loud or in his heart, “Jesus, I can't do it. I have never been able to sit up, let alone stand! Why are you asking me to do something I obviously can't do? Who do you think you are?”

What if the man with the withered hand hadn't attempted to stretch out his arm when Jesus told him to? What if he admitted, “Jesus, I just don't believe that I can. My hand is what it is and that is how it will stay. Please don't taunt me; it offends me.”

I have said “I can't” plenty of times recently. In fact, just the other day, I texted a friend this message: “I don't think I can get better.” What if Jesus said to me, “Believe in Me, and I will heal your hurt”? And what if I believed?

Scripture quotations are from the ESV* Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version*), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

In the acknowledgment above, fair use constitutes permission. See https://www.crossway.org/support/esv-bible-permissions/ for information on copyright and permissions.

Untitled 2

Help! I am fallen down where
Emotions press me sore.
Loosen these chains. “Oh,
Please!” I cry out softly.

Mend my brokenness, and
End my hopeless thoughts.

Overcome this vile and sinful
Heart, for it hurts itself and others.

Lord, help me be yours,
Only and faithfully yours.
Remove from me fears and
Doubts that pull me from you.

To the extent possible under law, J has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work. This work is published from: United States.

Psalm 56:3

Sometimes I get stuck…. OK, a lot of times I get stuck. Especially when it comes to emotions. I get stuck feeling anxious, sad, scared, or numb. Right now I'm picturing myself in a large(ish) automobile, traveling down a dusty road somewhere in the Outback. Not sure why I'm in Australia, but I am. My tires are whipping up dust clouds and kicking up clods of dry mud and chunks of gravel. It's not a smooth ride, but I'm moving along fine enough. Then, in the amount of time it takes for me to blink, KERTHUNK! My tires have gotten themselves stuck in a giant rut. About 2 minutes later, it's dark outside and I am all alone with my stuck little self in this stuck large(ish) car, and I have no idea how to get out of this predicament.

This current rut is a fear rut. A few weeks ago, I had a casual conversation with a friend that triggered a whole lot of fear. I panicked. I made some poor and frantic decisions. And I ratted myself out to my therapist. She suggested we use the experience as a target for EMDR. (Feel free to Google “EMDR.” It is actually pretty cool.) Even though I have made some pretty substantial progress with EMDR before, I am scared. I am scared because the target is a scary thing for me, and I am scared because I have experienced overwhelming emotions during EMDR in the past.

About 6 months ago, my therapist responded to a rambling email from me. The subject line of that email was “Stuck.” She said,

Just keep moving. The scary won't hurt you, as much as it seems it can. You are OK even when you don't feel that way.

Psalm 56:3 “When I am afraid, I will trust you.”

Keep your mind focused on our God who is faithful, good, and ever present in times of trouble.

Half a year later, I find myself in a similar emotional state. Stuck in scared mode, anticipating tomorrow when we begin another course of EMDR. This time, I am making the words of Psalm 56:3 my own: On my scared days, I will trust God. He is able to help me through.

Scripture quoted in the image above taken from the World English Bible. The World English Bible is in the Public Domain. That means that it is not copyrighted. See copyright information here: https://www.biblegateway.com/versions/World-English-Bible-WEB/#copy.