Luke 15:24 (KJV) Sheep, Silver, and Souls

Luke 15:24 (KJV)

For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

I’m thinking of how little value we sometimes place on things of great value.

The shepherd loses a sheep but rejoices when it is found.

I have raised animals for the better part of my life:

• Horses
• Sheep
• Pigs
• Chickens
• Quail
• Cattle
• Cats
• Dogs

A fact of farming and ranching is that animals are lost. If a person doesn’t have the fortitude to keep them healthy and the heart to expect some losses, animals aren’t for them.

But no cattleman wants to lose an animal. They are valuable for food, for income, and, frankly, they are just plum enjoyable to be around.

The woman loses her coin but rejoices when it is found.

We live in such a wealthy society in the United States that this can be challenging for us to comprehend. Frankly, there are very few coins we can imagine having much worth.

But remember the woman who cast in two pence, and it was all her living? This coin could easily have constituted a year or more’s income. It could have been a tenth of all she expected to possess for the remainder of her life. It could have been, in her world, irreplaceable.

And that brings us to the prodigal.

Having little value for animals or income, it is hardly surprising that there would be some who place little value on people and relationships.

We’re living today in a time when whether a baby’s life has value is considered a legitimate debate. People who think of themselves as bright, educated, moral, and honest are willing openly to demand that abortion should not only be legal but is, in many cases, the most moral thing to do. After all, if the baby’s life is an inconvenience, wouldn’t it be unfair to force that child to live in surroundings where he is considered so?

Of course, we Christians are appalled at such thinking.

But are we not guilty of the same kind of heart when we take such a casual view of the eternal soul as to debate whether Christians ought to witness or not? Haven’t we become callous to the value of the soul when we refuse to participate in missions giving or outreach events in our church?

Value! Rejoice whenever it is restored!

#ValueOfASoul #LostAndFound #Luke15v24 #ReachTheLost #DailyVisitwithGod

Sheep, Silver, and Souls: The Way We See Value

What do you value enough to seek, protect, and rejoice over when it is restored? Share your thoughts in the comments.

For more Bible studies, daily devotions, and practical lessons from the Word of God, visit marvinmckenzie.org.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7200 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Luke 15:24 (KJV) Sheep, Silver, and Souls

Here's a comic version of the lesson.

http://youtube.com/post/UgkxcY4thP15Wt0DrqvtDUtVw3v83iXOijWj?si=8L94DAqWG5gbyn78

Luke 13:10 (KJV)Going to Church Is About More Than Attending

Luke 13:10 (KJV)

And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.

A couple of things come to mind.

Firstly that Jesus was doing what it seems only natural that he would do.

Gill writes, “which was his work, he being a teacher sent from God, and who took all opportunities of instructing men in the truths of the Gospel.”

He is Jesus. Of course He would teach.

But should not the same be said of you and me? Are we not called to teach these same truths of the Gospel? Should we not then take every opportunity to instruct men in them?

Secondly it comes to mind that this was one of the synagogues. We do not know the town or which one. Gill says that some writers claim there were upwards of 500 synagogues in Jerusalem alone. Worship was important to them.

Should it not be to us?

But Jesus was not a ruler in any synagogue. He was not a licensed or ordained teacher—at least not in their system. His was a calling from God.

I do not take that to mean that he usurped or interrupted normal proceedings in their synagogue system. We’ve got to be careful not to read into the text our own culture. This is not permission for some lunatic to walk into a church, interrupt the services and begin teaching his ideas.

No sir!

But this does remind us that in every church, there are opportunities to serve, to minister, to be involved in some way in getting the Gospel to men, women, boys and girls.

And it reminds me that we ought to be at our church regularly and we ought to avail ourselves of those opportunities to serve.

#FaithfulToServe #EveryOpportunity #ServeInYourChurch #TeachingTheGospel #DailyVisitWithGod

Going to Church Is About More Than Attending: Be Present and Serve!

What place has God given you to serve in your local church? Whether teaching, encouraging, helping, welcoming, or sharing the Gospel, every Christian should be available for the work of God.

Leave a comment: What opportunities to serve have you found in your church?

For more KJV Bible studies, Christian living lessons, and practical Bible teaching, visit MarvinMcKenzie.org and continue growing in the Word of God.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7200 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Luke 13:10 (KJV)Going to Church Is About More Than Attending

Here's a comic version of the lesson.

http://youtube.com/post/UgkxpRQgnVljhFnwmLH1Y7oEJg7BFs3LhJ-H?si=8VENgehHtOt3q9Ha

Luke 12:37 (KJV) Are You Ready for the Return of Christ?

Luke 12:37 (KJV)

Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

Just before this, Jesus had said:

Luke 12:35 (KJV)

Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;

This reminded me of the parable of the ten virgins. The idea is to be ready. Be dressed. Have your lamp filled and lit. Watch. Do not be distracted by the things of the world—and the things of the world are surely a distraction.

This passage also reminds me of John 13 and Jesus washing the disciples’ feet. Later, during that same evening, He told them that He would not eat the Passover again until it was fulfilled in the kingdom of God. Here we have this promise, humbling and hopeful at the same time.

He is coming again.

He is coming at an hour when we think not.

Even then, He is coming to serve.

We always think of Him as the Lamb in His first coming and as the Lion in His next. There is truth in all of that. But there is also this—a promise to those He finds ready and watchful—

To them He will come forth and serve.

#WatchingForJesus #ReadyForHisReturn #ChristTheServant #BlessedAreThoseServants #DailyVisitWithGod

Are You Ready for the Return of Christ? Keep Your Lamp Burning

When Jesus Christ returns, will He find you ready, faithful, and watching? Share your thoughts in the comments: What most often distracts Christians from watching for the Lord? 

For more King James Bible studies, daily devotions, and practical Christian encouragement, visit marvinmckenzie.org.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7200 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Luke 12:37 (KJV) Are You Ready for the Return of Christ?

Here's a comic version of the lesson.

http://youtube.com/post/UgkxMa8P8Eks8JXhJia107Q2wF_OT97UKlI4?si=n9fc9qyLKro30q5g

Luke 11:3 (KJV) A Pattern to Follow

Luke 11:3 (KJV)

Give us day by day our daily bread.

People commonly call Luke 11:2–4 “The Lord’s Prayer.” I think it is better understood as the Lord’s model for prayer. The disciples did not ask Jesus for a prayer to recite. One of them said, “Lord, teach us to pray.”

This appears to be a different occasion from the Sermon on the Mount. There Jesus had said, “After this manner therefore pray ye.” Here, after Jesus had finished praying, a disciple asks Him for instruction. Jesus gives essentially the same pattern again.

The point was not the recitation of certain words. The point was learning to pray.

Jesus begins with relationship: “Our Father.” Prayer is the child of God speaking to his Father. He then gives us the matters about which we should pray. His name is to be hallowed. His kingdom is to be desired. His will is to be preferred. Our daily needs are to be brought before Him. Our sins, our relationships with others, and our temptations belong in prayer too.

“Give us day by day our daily bread” is not merely about bread. It teaches us that nothing concerning the child of God is too ordinary to bring before his Father. He is our Father, and the things that concern His children concern Him.

Jesus then continues the lesson beyond the words of the model prayer. He tells of the man who persistently asks his friend for bread. He says, “Ask… seek… knock.” Finally, He reminds us that even an earthly father knows how to give good gifts to his children.

The passage begins with “Our Father” and ends with “your heavenly Father.”

That is the lesson.

Prayer is not an empty, mechanical recitation of religious words. It is a child of God approaching his Father. We worship Him, submit ourselves to Him, bring our needs before Him, confess our failures to Him, seek His protection, and persistently ask Him for those things that honor Him.

Natural laws do not limit our Father. Circumstances do not overwhelm Him. Nothing we face is beyond His control. Nothing is too big for God. Nothing is too small to bring to God.

Jesus did not just teach His disciples a prayer.

He taught them to pray.

#DailyVisitWithGod #LordTeachUsToPray #DailyBread #TrustYourFather #BiblicalPrayer

A Pattern to Follow: Not A Prayer to Repeat

Luke 11 shows us that biblical prayer is more than repeating familiar words. Jesus taught His disciples to approach God as their Father, seek His will, bring Him their needs, and persistently ask, seek, and knock.

What do you believe Jesus meant when He said, “When ye pray, say…”? Share your thoughts in the comments.

For more KJV Bible studies, Daily Visits with God, and practical biblical teaching, visit MarvinMcKenzie.org.

To my readers:

Thank you! It is a great joy to me to know you read the thoughts and lessons God has given me in His word. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave comments.

For this and, more than 7200 earlier Daily Visits with God, visit https://mckenzie-visit-with-god.blogspot.com. There you will find daily visits going back to 2005.

If you have been blessed by this blog, please subscribe to my feed and share it with others.

My books, and other resources, are available at:
https://marvinmckenzie.org

Join me at Daily Visits with God Podcast
https://marvinmckenzie.substack.com/

Merch at my Teespring store https://macz.creator-spring.com/
Be a witness with hats, mugs, t-shirts, sweat shirts, and more

Let’s have coffee?
The link to Ko-fi  is an opportunity to support this effort to reach a world of souls with the Word of God. I would appreciate any gift you can give. 

Luke 11:3 (KJV) A Pattern to Follow

Here's a comic version of the lesson.

http://youtube.com/post/UgkxVep25SNk2i18tm677OMnCeMIn9lFGuvf?si=O_LLlHIP3yQG2I9n