Pastor Buddy’s Blog

Journal,

I thought it would make an interesting entry to show a collage of pictures of me and Betty and our three children, when we were all close to the same age. (Give a couple years either way.)

Then I thought, ‘Why not go back one more generation and include my mom before she married.’ (Don’t have a picture of my dad at that age.)

So, there you have it. Three generations of young people before any of us had married. Hope it is obvious who Betty and I are. By the way this is one of my favorite pictures of Betty.

Under Betty and my pictures are our three children. Beginning at the left is Andre, Nathan, and Shana.

Other than good looks, what is it that stands out with these pictures? Is it not youthfullness? 

But there is more to tell. Do not these pictures affirm what the Bible says about one generation taking the place of another. 

Even better, how about the reality of  one generation passing their faith in the Lord Jesus to the next generation.

David said,

“I will extol You, my God, O King, and I will bless Your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever.

“Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, and His greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.” (Psalm 145:1-4)

Again I thought how interesting it would have been to be able to share youthful pictures of both Betty’s and my grandparents. After all, they were all Christians. And the line keeps going back in time.  

And so you have the lesson in these pictures. The lesson is that you are only young once, and you only have one life to live, and serving the Lord is where the beauty of life lies.

Now take a deep breath. Better? OK.

The upside of the lesson is how wonderful it is to find the Lord in your youth. But if the truth be known, it is wonderful to find the Lord at any age. Or is it that the Lord finds us?

First let’s talk about the downside of life, then we’ll talk about the upside of our salvation.  

Have you ever felt sorrow over wasted years…

Almost every Christian will tell you that they went through a period of wasted years before they truly turned to the Lord, or returned as the case may be. This is a mystery in itself.

Most of us became involved in a life style that we later came to regret deeply. But I’ve also come to understand how the allurements of the world reached into our lives at an early age. Somehow in our tender years the enemy is able to paint a picture of where we were missing out on life, where good becomes bad, and bad becomes good. 

And even in the best of Christian home, there can be this tendency to wander away from a godly upbringing.

Why is this?

Regardless of the answer, here is a song that says it well enough. Please take time to listen to it. We’ll talk about the upside of life a bit afterward –

http://youtube.com/watch?v=92PYA-GbBUQ

Of course we’ve all felt sorrow over our wasted years. But have you ever considered how it is that you are now serving the Lord? How did all this come about? For many of us the story of the younger son is our own story.

Listen to the story of the wandering son (daughter)… 

“A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living.

“Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him.

“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 will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”‘ “So he got up and came to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

What was it that turned the wandering son towards his father’s house? Was it not the memories of his youth? This is what the Holy Spirit often uses to bring a straying child home.  

Do you have a child that is wandering about in darkness? Don’t be discouraged. The Lord knows where they are. Listen to what the prophet said about how we are saved.  

Let’s call this short devotional …

On a cloudy and gloomy day….

I know - The title sounds odd. But the title is Biblical. It tells us how and where the Lord found us. Listen:

“For thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.

“I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest,’ declares the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 34:11-15 nasb)

Keep in mind that most prophecy in the former testament has a dual focus, that is, to the called out ones (the ekklesia ‘church’), and to Israel’s return to the Lord in the last days.

Did you know that Jesus Christ is the Lord GOD? With regard to the church, listen to what Jesus said:

“I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.” (John 10:16)

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)

“All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” (John 6:37-39) 

There are many more Scriptures we could consider. What I want you to see is that Jesus is our Savior from eternity. He saves us. He keeps us. He presents us to the Father. Jesus is the savior of our youth and of our wanderings. 

Salvation is entirely the work of the Lord.

I can attest to this. My mother had instilled in me a love and a belief in the Lord from my youngest of days. And yet I became a wandering son. Did the Lord leave me out in the darkness? No indeed. Neither is He going to leave your children out in the darkness.

Sure, it may well happen on a cloudy and gloomy day, but that is alright. It is often in our despairing moments that we find what life is all about.

You can spell the word ‘life’ with five letters. Here goes: J  E  S  U  S.

Just something to think about.

Have you experienced the life of a wandering son or daughter? Tell me about it. Others need to hear your testimony.  

Much love coming your way,

Buddy