Spondulicks (Matthew 27.1-5)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “spondulicks.”  One of the most famous people in the Bible is Judas Iscariot.  He sold Jesus to those who wanted him dead for a measly handful of money.  And now and again, when it gets close to Easter and I begin to read these last days of Jesus a bit more, I am reminded that I am not to much better than Judas much of the time.  I have fallen short and have sin in my life that should disqualify me from sitting with Jesus one day in Heaven.

“Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." ~Matt 27:3-4

My question is: what are the things in your life that you need to get rid of to follow Jesus with a whole heart?  The other day when it was Ash Wednesday I saw a bunch of peeps around town with ash on their foreheads.  It made me remember that I have stuff in my life that I put in front of my relationship with God, and that I need to make changes daily, in hopes that I will be a better witness for my Lord.  No spondulicks or any other mount of money is going to get in the way of my love for God. I pray that you leave behind all that hinders you from living completely for Jesus.

Praying for you,

MO

Fritter (Luke 15.11-32)

Good morning ladies,

The word of the day is “fritter.”  One of the more prominent stories in the Bible is that of the prodigal son.  This tale of two brothers gives us perspective on how they respond to a relationship with their father.  There are quite a few things that we can learn from this story, depending on where we stand in our relationship with God the father at any given moment in our lives.  I remember reading it for the first time when I was pretty young, and related to the younger brother.  And now, because I have moved along in my faith over these years I sometimes relate also with the older brother.

“So the father divided the property between them. It wasn’t long before the younger son packed his bags and left for a distant country. There, undisciplined and dissipated, he wasted everything he had. After he had gone through all his money, there was a bad famine all through that country and he began to hurt. He signed on with a citizen there who assigned him to his fields to slop the pigs. He was so hungry he would have eaten the corncobs in the pig slop, but no one would give him any.” ~Luk 15.12-16

My question is: where is your standing with God in the beginning of this New Year?  As we see in the above passage, the younger son caused quite the fiasco for this father. Later on in the story is when the older brother gives his thoughts on the matter, not understanding why the father would eventually take the younger son back in, after he had just frittered away his portion of the inheritance.  There is so much going on in this parable that I have continued to study it over the years. My prayer is that you take some time to gain perspective on where you are in relationship to God.  Whether you are doing awesome, horrible, or somewhere in between, it’s always good to know so that God might be able to guide you through each season of life.

Praying for you,

MO