WELCOME HOME!
“He, who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things” (Romans 8:32).
When you drive onto the property of America's Keswick, you will quickly see a sign that says, "Welcome Home!" Speaker and author, Dr. John Ankerberg talks today about the real WELCOME HOME!
In Jesus’ story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), He told how the fathe r was in the habit of looking in the direction his rebellion boy had gone, hoping to see him return. He was willing to restore his son, no matter when he returned.
In the same way, your heavenly Fathe r waits patiently for you when you leave Him for sin. He watches for you. He desires to have unbroken fellowship with you. He wants you to return to Him so that He can love you. He wants you to take advantage of the relationship He has made possible through Christ.
One of the things that thrills me most about this story is the fact that Jesus shows how eager our heavenly Fathe r is to express His love to us. He said, “But while he (talking about the rebellious, sinful boy) was still a long way off, his fathe r saw him and felt compassion for him and ran and embraced him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20). Today God will run to meet you if you will just begin to turn toward Him.
The Pharisees thought Jesus was wrong in portraying the God of the universe as someone who would run to a sinner and throw His arms around him. They pictured God as One who delighted in chastising and punishing sinners. But according to Jesus, the y were wrong. After you have sinned, God is more eager to reestablish fellowship with you than you are. He can’t wait for you to turn back to Him. He’s eagerly waiting for you to return so He can restore you and clean you up. He will fully forgive every one of your sins and start to guide and empower you to face your problems and circumstances.
The Apostle Paul writes about God, “He, who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things” (Romans 8:32).
Dr. John Ankerberg is the founder and president of the John Ankerberg Show and is a regular speaker at America’s Keswick
Dig This Quote: The Bible is like a telescope. If a man looks through his telescope, then he sees worlds beyond; but if he looks at his telescope, then he does not see anything but that. The Bible is a thing to be looked through, to see that which is beyond. Phillips Brooks
Determined Digging: Level 1: John 14:27; Level 2: Matthew 6:25-29
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