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Our Inheritance
Andrea Lende • February 24, 2021
Luke 15:29-31
Our Inheritance
You can also listen to the devotion and prayer at: https://anchor.fm/andrea-lende/episodes/Our-Inheritance-equvs5
Luke 15:29-31
“But he answered his father, Look! These many years I have served you, and I have never disobeyed your command. Yet you never gave me [so much as] a [little] kid, that I might revel and feast and be happy and make merry with my friends;”
“But when this son of yours arrived, who has devoured your estate with immoral women, you have killed for him that fattened calf!”
“And the father said to him, Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.”
I have read the story of the prodigal son many times.
Sometimes when I read it, I am grateful we serve such a merciful God.
There is nothing we can do that will shun us from His love.
I am so very grateful for the depth of His love.
Other times I relate to the prodigal son and see myself as the drifter.
Drifting away from the Lord because I want my way.
But today I focused more on the brother.
The brother of the prodigal son.
He was upset at the celebration for his brother.
A person whom he thought was so undeserving.
Obviously jealous of the celebration, he told his father about how loyal and faithful he had been to him.
He felt he deserved the celebration not his brother.
However, his father saw it very differently.
He saw him as joint owner of all that he had.
He told him “all that is mine is yours”.
The son hadn’t seen the glory of what he had.
He had felt he was more of a servant.
In fact, he told his father he hadn’t been disobedient to him.
And to be disobedient one would have to have a master.
As he served his father, he didn’t know he was actually working with his father as joint owners.
What if we looked at our service to the Lord the same way?
What is we really knew we had access to everything God is.
His Holy Spirit resides within us.
So we truly do have access.
And we have an inheritance waiting for us.
Eternity with the Lord, His Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Today I am enormously grateful that the Lord has called me to be His own and I will rise to meet His desires for me.
May you find the Lord has a great plan for you and He gives you an eternal inheritance with Himself.
Daily Prayer:
O Lord, my God, thank You for showing me that I am Yours. Thank You for showing me that my inheritance is eternity with You, Your Son, and Your Holy Spirit. Thank You, Father, for choosing me to know You and worship You. Thank You for making me holy through the blood of Your Son. Help me be obedient to You in all ways. Help me do Your will and serve as You ask of me. Help me give up my will for Yours. Fill me with Your desires so I seek that which You plan for me. Bring me closer to You, Lord, and help me be more like You. Forgive me for falling short of Your best for me. Help me rise up time and time again and reach higher when I fall. Strengthen me where I am weak, Father, and guide my steps today. Help me bless someone this day. Thank You for hearing my prayer.
Answer: I AM leading and guiding you My child and will show you the way you should go.
Response: Thank You, most merciful and gracious God.
We start a New Year! How exciting! Paul had just finished telling the Ephesians to put off their old nature. They had been run around by their feelings and desires. He told them to be renewed in their spirit. The Amplified Bible defines this to be “having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude.” As we say goodbye to this year, let us put on the new and leave the old behind. We have an opportunity to reflect on what to bring forward into this New Year.
This is a great message for the New Year. We can be in control of our own words. As a mother, I used to tell my children to use their words to explain what was happening in their minds. I tried to help them find the right words. Words that would help the situation and not make it worse. I must do the same thing when talking to them. It’s important to use words that do not damage their spirits. Words that lift up instead of tear down. Even though my children have grown, I still want to be careful how I speak to them because my worlds will impact them for the rest of their lives.
As we approach the New Year, it is a perfect time to take inventory of what part of our lives, our hearts, and our souls are not bearing fruit. What can we give up as this year comes to a close? What do we need to give to the Lord for His cleansing and pruning? The answers to these questions take time. Time with the Lord. We are creatures of routines and habits which serve us well. But we can also change our routines and habits to serve us and the Lord better. So, we can ask God to show us what He wants us to give up so that He can have more of us.
I cannot think of a better verse to meditate on as we approach the New Year. Jesus said, "the kingdom of God is within you [in your hearts] and among you [surrounding you]." For so many years I believed I had to wait to go to heaven to experience the kingdom of God. I have longed to step into heaven and meet the Lord and His Son. However, as we read the Gospels and study Jesus and all that He said, we begin to understand the kingdom of God is all around us. The kingdom of God is within.
Paul wrote to the Colossians and told them he was praying for them. He prayed they would be refreshed, renewed, and invigorated. He also prayed they would be strengthened. May his prayer be heard by the Lord God Almighty on our behalf today just as it was received two thousand years ago. God is the Source of all things beautiful and wonderful. There is no shortage of renewal, refreshment, or inspiration in His kingdom. And as the Creator of this universe, He continues to pour all good things into His people. Paul wrote that refreshment and strength are needed so we may have endurance.
This verse is the perfect verse to reflect on as Christmas comes to a close. The Lord sent His Son to us. He sent Him to this world as a babe. Jesus was given the task of growing up. A difficult one for all of us. He endured the awkward stages we all go through as we grow past them. I look back at old picture and cringe, yes, I cringe. This life provides plenty of opportunities to feel awkward and just plain weird, but our Father loves us as though we are perfect every day of our lives. This is why Jesus came. He came to make us perfect in God’s sight.
God made Himself flesh so He could take away the sins of the world. The story of the very first Christmas was humble, yet the most powerful and loving birth ever recorded in history. All humanity changed in an instant. When Jesus was born, love filled the earth. Love came down and lifted us up. The angels came to tell the shepherds of this beautiful birth. The stars in the heavens also told the story. As we do all tasks that we do to ensure a beautiful Christmas day, may we remember the miracle that God sent long ago. The miracle of all miracles.
The first Christmas was going to be documented, so that it could be read many times over for all Christmas’ to come. It was also documented so the prophecy of the Messiah’s birth would be known to be fulfilled. Prophets of old foretold Jesus would come from the house of David. They also prophesied that He would be born in Bethlehem. And all this came to pass. Even though Jesus would be known as a Nazarene, His beginning began in Bethlehem. God’s divine plan was set in motion with the first census while Mary was at the end of her pregnancy.
What a wonderful passage to read during Christmas week. Our passage touched my heart as I read it through the lens of Jesus’ birth. “It was God [personally present] in Christ, reconciling and restoring the world to favor with Himself.” We have so much to be thankful for in these few short words, “restoring the world to favor with Himself.” So undeserved and yet so graciously given. We are offered favor with the Lord. Imagine having favor with the almighty God, the Creator of the universe. Jesus chose to leave heaven’s door where all was perfect. He chose to be born into this dusty messy world.
Jesus had just spoken to a fig tree and deemed it unworthy to live because it had no fruit on it. His disciples were amazed when they saw the fig tree wither and die. Then the Lord talked to them about prayer and belief. He told them that whatever they asked for, if they had the faith and belief, they would receive it. I remember the day I started hearing music and lyrics. I had just bowed my head at the piano and asked if the Lord would bless praise and worship music. As soon as I prayed that prayer, the Lord bestowed the gift of song writing upon me.