He was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and entreated him.

— Luke 15:28

Jesus knows the heart. The parable of the Prodigal Son shows us that very frequently prodigals are not welcome even today. We are quite willing to have the respectable folks come into the church, those who are well-clothed and come from good families and upbringings, but bring the drunk in off skid row, bring in the person who has destroyed his body with vice, drugs, and sinful living, and some people will raise their eyebrows. Sinners are told to come into the warm harbor of God’s love, and they run smack-dab into the iceberg of the elder brother.

“What are you doing here in our nice church?” Some people do not really believe in conversion. You talk to them about the thief on the cross and they become very upset, even as some of the early Christians did not believe Saul had been converted.

For 24 years, I lived without the slightest shadow ever crossing my mind that I was separated from God and on my way to perdition. Not until I came to that realization did the door of God’s mercy open to me. Let us always be open and welcoming to those who seek after God. He always welcomes a repentant sinner.

Question to ponder:
If someone came to church from a life of sin, would you welcome them as a God-seeker?

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life … shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

— Romans 8:38-39

If Christ had not come, there would be no sure hope of eternal life. For Christ has brought life and immortality to light. Only He can give the blessed assurance of everlasting life. I have never met a person who knows what is going to happen to him beyond this life who was not a believer in Jesus Christ who said, “I am He who lives, though I was dead. Look! I am alive forevermore” (Revelation 1:18).

If Christ had not come, then the dark and dank tomb would be the end of each and all. There would be no hope beyond the grave. If Christ had not come, you could look down into that six-foot hole and see your future; beyond that there would be but speculations and vague hopes. Jesus brought us an absolute certainty: “I am the resurrection and the life … Because I live, you shall also live.” Only in Christ is there the assurance and certainty of everlasting life. What a magnificent promise that is.

Amazing to say, because of His grace in Jesus Christ, God is willing to wash me whiter than snow, to forgive me, to cleanse me, and to accept me as His child, now and forevermore. When the stars have burnt into cinders, and this universe has collapsed, I will still be with God and will have only just begun to live.

Question to ponder:
In light of the promises of Christ and His resurrection, what does death mean?

The heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment.

— Isaiah 51:6 (NIV)

In this world, the Second Law of Thermodynamics constantly works and everything is running down, wearing out, growing old, and perishing. There is no escape from the law of entropy. In this contest, you can never win; you cannot even break even.

With the fall and the curse came the current order of things. We go from order to chaos, from clean to dirty, from new to old, from fresh to rotten, from living to dead. Everything breaks down, even heaven and earth itself will wear out.

Thankfully, this is not all there is. For we have a Savior who declares, “Look! I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). This means the reversal of entropy. Paul says, “… the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:21).

In heaven, we will experience freedom from entropy. In heaven, all things will be continuously new—a new heaven and a new earth—without entropy.

Question to ponder:
When you think of all that breaks down, from the earth to our bodies, what does freedom from entropy mean?

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

— Romans 12:21

A man who was having great trouble with a neighbor who was doing him dirt came to me one time. I told him of the principle of returning good for evil and he said, “I just couldn’t to that.” He was right. The natural man can’t. It is spiritual. It is the greatest evidence of a truly regenerate heart to respond positively or kindly to enemies, to love our enemies, to bless them that curse us, to do good to them that hate us and despitefully use us. This is, however, what Christ tells us to do.

It is a defensive shield, so that no matter what anybody does to us, we can turn that into a blessing. We can transform that person by going the second mile, by turning the other cheek, by returning good for evil.

When we do good to those who hurt us, we are a part of the greatest triumph in the world. When Christ triumphed on the Cross over all evil powers and the devil himself, He proved that good is stronger than evil. Every time we do a kindness instead of “getting even,” we are triumphing over evil.

Question to ponder:
Can you think of something good you can do today or in the near future for someone—maybe even for someone who has hurt you?

The heavens declare the glory of God … and night unto night declares knowledge.

— Psalm 19:1-2

We all look at the moon, admire the moon, sing about the moon—the moon in June. It brings out tunes and all of that, but what does the moon really mean to us?  Let me say this: If there were no moon, there would be no you. For example, the moon is God’s cleaning-maid for the earth. It cleans up the oceans with its tides. Without those tides and without the moon, all of our shores and all of our bays would be filled with billions of tons of garbage, stench, and debris. The highest priced landscape would be as far from the seashore as you could get, especially on the leeward side.

Furthermore, the moon’s gravitational pull mixes the atmosphere. Just as it works on the sea, it works on the atmosphere and mixes oxygen with the water in the waves breaking on the shore. When you watch waves breaking on the shore, you are watching the ocean’s lifeline in progress. Oxygenated water is required by plankton, which is the foundation of the whole marine food chain without which all marine creatures would die. The moon, which just “accidentally” happens to be there, just “accidentally” happens to be the right size in the right place and the right distance away from the earth to exert the proper gravitational force on tides and the atmosphere.

Day by day, night by night, God’s creation itself brings Him glory for those who will but listen.

Question to ponder:
What aspects of creation fill you with awe about God?

I can do all things because of Christ who strengthens me.

— Philippians 4:13

We were created by God to do great things, to soar high and to make an impact upon our world for Him. In fact, most of the great men and women who have accomplished impressive things in this world have been men and women who have dreamed dreams of what God, by His grace, could do in their lives.

I suppose everybody has dreamed dreams. The problem is that we all as children had great visions, but alas, as we grew up, most of those dreams faded away. They are destroyed by that pesky voice that whispers, “You can’t do it. You never have, you never could, and you never will.”

So like acid rain that falls upon our dreams, they slowly disappear. Our great visions fade and our ambitions corrode because we believe the negative words of the devil: “You can’t, you can’t, you can’t.” And so, we invent all kinds of reasons why we can’t.

The apostle Paul had no such limitations. He said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13).  Paul is not talking about PMA—a “Positive Mental Attitude.” He did not say, “I can do all things through PMA”—but through Jesus.

May God help us to realize that we can do all things through Christ. He is the creator of dreams and the source of our strength.

Question to ponder:
Is there something great or small that God has put on your heart to accomplish for Him?

Now the Lord is the Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

— 2 Corinthians 3:17

Memorial Day is a time to remember those brave men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedom. Tragically, hundreds of millions of people do not live in liberty. Ironically, freedom is something that is easily taken for granted. It is like the air we breathe. It is not until it is gone that we even think about it.

John Adams, our second president, made a declaration to future years, saying this: “Posterity: You will never know how much it has cost my generation to procure your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”

One great truth that Americans have forgotten, I believe, is that the source of liberty comes from only one place: it comes from God; it has come from Christ, who alone can make people free. Wherever the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ with its emphasis upon grace and the Cross has been preached, it has been followed by civil and political liberty.

Would that the flame of freedom and liberty that burned so brightly in the hearts of our founders be fanned into a flame again in America. This Memorial Day is a good time to begin.

Question to ponder:
Are you thankful for your freedom? Is there any survivor of a fallen soldier that you can thank today?

…strengthening the minds of the disciples and exhorting them to continue in the faith, to go through many afflictions and thus enter the kingdom of God.

— Acts 14:22

Probably few of you would know who the New Testament character Joseph of Cyprus was. But you probably would recognize him if I used the other name given to him: Barnabas, meaning the “Son of Consolation,” or the “Son of Encouragement”. That was his name and he was famous for comforting other people. Does anyone like that come to your mind?

I know a Christian who is always encouraging others. I cannot think of this individual without thinking of the fact that this man is an overflowing reservoir of comfort. He is always concerned about other people and about their difficulties and trials. You would never find out about his trials because he was so concerned about others. He is a blessing and benediction to all who know him. He is truly a Barnabas, a son of consolation.

Go out and be a blessing as you encourage someone this day.

Question to ponder:
Can you think of a person to imitate who is an encourager of others?

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

— Psalm 23:4

Human beings are often in need, in trouble, in pain. People need comfort. We try to find it in various places, from a mother’s hug to a bottle of wine.

We can certainly get comfort from each other. But Christ is the only source of real comfort for us. What is the purpose of His comfort in our lives? Of course, it is to assuage our heart’s needs, to ease our aching spirits, to uplift us, to reanimate us, to encourage us, to help us on the way to continue fighting the battle. Also, it is, as Paul says, “that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble.”

There is nothing more painful than suffering that seems to be without purpose. Let me tell you, however, there is no such thing. Paul says that we are comforted in all of our tribulation so that we may be able to comfort others in their trouble with the same comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted by God.

God’s comfort works because God can handle our pain and trouble. When it is past, we can look back and see His hand and then reach out and comfort others.

Question to ponder:
Can you think of some difficult time in your life that later enabled you to help someone going through the same thing?

…If the LORD is God, follow Him, but if Baal, then follow him…

— 1 Kings 18:21

Examine all history, sacred and profane, and you will find few, if any, contests comparable to the one described in 1 Kings 18 when Elijah confronted the prophets of Baal. It was a matter of life and death for the people involved, for the nation itself, and through them for the whole world, as Satan made this grand attempt to destroy the faith of Israel.

Elijah asked the Israelites a classic question: “How long will you stay between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him, but if Baal, then follow him” (1 Kings 18:21). With that, the contest was on.

Baal was the god of the sun, the “giver of life,” the god of fire. So the religion of Baal worship was threatening to crush out the religion of Jehovah, the worship of the true God. Elijah, one of the few prophets of Jehovah left in the world, was the only one who was willing to stand up and confront the overwhelming odds against him—the power of the throne, the power of the false temple of Baal, and all the people who were against him. But God was with Elijah, and God gave him the victory.

Question to ponder:
How can we stand for Christ in an increasingly hostile world?