FINDING OUR WAY BACK HOME!!!

August 17, 2013

FINDING OUR WAY BACK HOME!!!

A Shepherd will search for a lamb even in inclement weather that has strayed from the flock. If the lamb constantly strays, the Shephard will search for that lamb, and then upon finding him will break its foreleg. He will then carry the lamb over his shoulder and carry it to safety and there nurture it back to health as He continues to love and protect it from outside evil elements that wants to harm him until its leg heals.

And when the lamb’s foreleg has healed it will stay close to the Shepherd realizing that the Shepherd is his provider and protector. It’s harsh, but the Shepherd’s correction of the lamb is out of His love and protection for his well being. In our own lives God allows situations and circumstances to break us. So that we may draw near to Him as the transforming power of His touch guides us on the right path back HOME to Him.

So what does going back home involve Authors Dallas Willard says it gives us “a means to reconsider and reconfigure your strategy for living.” It is the element that calls for each of us to change directions. like the Prodigal Son who “When he came to his senses, said, I will go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants. So he got up and went back HOME to his father. Luke 15:17-20

The common element we have with sheep is the propensity to get lost and stray away from the path once we leave HOME. the Devil then by circumstances that he created begins to steal away our joy and happiness thus, causing you to lose your balance and focus, which then causes you to wonder aimlessly into self destruction until Satan has us believing we can’t go back. He tells us, Christ will not accept you, you have gone to far to go back HOME. Then your hope fades with each day you stay away.

But we must remember what Paul says in Rom 6:1-2 As it is written, “What shall we say? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be!” It will be a difficult journey going back home. But set your mark on the prize which is eternal life in God’s pure and holy kingdom. And then on that day we make it back HOME, He will repeat His words of love to us “He who was lost is now found and there is celebration in my household!”

That’s God. That’s the image of God that Jesus Christ gave us. As our lives become transformed as God calls us back HOME to His protection and love. To most of us HOME is a wonderful place. Home was a place where we felt accepted and loved. But now, only a distance memory when life was simple and good. But the good news is that when we cannot find our way back HOME, God will find a way to lead us back HOME to him.

Take for instance. Jacob running from his brother and his predicament. One that He created from his own self interest and not God’s. He leaves HOME and sets out on a Journey upon finding out that his brother wants to kill him. As he sleeps one night on his journey, using a rock for a pillow, God reveals himself to Jacob. In his dream there is what appears to be a staircase of light, which reaches to heaven where God reveals himself, and assures Jacob the same blessings that was promised to his ancestry before him. He would receive.

“I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth… All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you” (Genesis 28:13-15).

“Bethel,” meaning the ‘House of God, Jacob called this place where he has met God. In spite of what he has done God has extended him grace and mercy. Oh what a God we serve “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here am I, here am I'” Isaiah 65:1. One day many years later Jacob did go back home.

And his journey back HOME eventually brought him face to face with God himself. Meaning it was just Jacob and God. And he wrestled with God all night. in Jacob’s fight with God, It says that God was not able to prevail against Jacob (Genesis 32:25). You mean someone is more powerful then God. Heaven forbid. How is it possible then? No it is not possible.

But God has his limitation that He set’s. If you are fighting God, he will not overpower you. He will not take away your will or force you to come HOME to Him. This must be your choice, and what is important for your Salvation. Either Life through Christ, or destruction by allowing the things of this world and the forces of evil to control your life.

And at daybreak, God asks Jacob to let him go, and Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me. This was Jacob’s choice asking for salvation, and it must also be ours. But we must, like Jacob, hold on, focus, and  endure. And God did bless Jacob “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Matt 7:7

And You will be called by a new name  that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord’s hand,a royal diadem in the hand of your God. And Jacob says, “I saw God face to face and my life was spared.” That my friends is the way to struggle with God. Oh what a wonderful God we serve.

 Only after Jacob wrestles with God is he ready to meet his brother and return HOME.  And when he was reunited with his brother, he was reunited with God. Now he is ready to complete his journey home as he heads back to Bethel, the place where he  first encountered God. So my friends today Wake up and say with Jacob: “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it… How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven” (Genesis 28:16,17)  THIS IS HOME SWEET HOME .

So my friends today. Stay focused, remain faithful, love one another and endure till the end and never forget to STUDY&PRAY