A
WASTED LIFE CAN BE REDEEMED
BREAD
11 Jesus continued: “There was a
man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father,
give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. 13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had,
set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in
that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country,
who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were
eating, but no one gave him anything.” 17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father's
hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him:
Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one
of your hired men.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.” “But
while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with
compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed
him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven
and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best
robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and
celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead
and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to
celebrate.” Luke 15:11-24 (NIV)
39 One
of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ?
Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don't you fear
God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We
are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man
has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then
he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” 43 Jesus answered him, “I tell
you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:39-43 (NIV)
9 What
shall we conclude then? Are we any better ? Not at all! We have already made
the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10 As it is written: “There is no
one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one
who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together
become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throats are open graves; their
tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and
bitterness.” 15 “Their
feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their ways, 17 and
the way of peace they do not know.” 18 “There
is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19 Now we know that whatever the law
says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be
silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared
righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become
conscious of sin. 21 But
now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the
Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This
righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
There is no difference. Romans 3:9-22
(NIV)
36 Now
one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the
Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 When
a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating
at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and
as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her
tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on
them. 39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he
said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him
and what kind of woman she is--that she is a sinner.” 40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I
have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. 41 “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him
five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled
the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger
debt canceled.” “You
have judged correctly,” Jesus said. 44 Then
he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you
see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my
feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I
entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on
my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have
been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves
little.” 48 Then
Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Luke 7:36-48 (NIV)
9 Do
you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male
prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor
slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And
that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you
were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our
God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NIV)
20 When
you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What
benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those
things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have
become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is
eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:20-23 (NIV)
21 God
made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians
5:21 (NIV)
BUTTER
“No one wants to waste his life — but what if you fear that
you have? The thief who died next to Jesus on the cross, and lived a most
ravaged and pitiful life two thousand years ago, stands out like a flower grown
between cracks in the pavement, showing how, even on life’s final page, even in
its final lines, a wasted life can be redeemed.”
Greg Morse
“The worst of
sluggards only ask for a little slumber; they would be indignant if they were
accused of complete laziness. A little folding of the hands to rest is all they
desire, and they have a host of reasons to show that this indulgence is
entirely legitimate. Yet by these ‘littles’ the day runs out, and the time for
work is all gone, and the field is overgrown with thorns. It is by little
procrastinations that men ruin their souls. They do not intend to delay for
years—a few months, they say, will bring the more convenient season—tomorrow
they will attend to serious things; but the present hour is so occupied and so
unsuitable that they beg to be excused.
Like sands from an hourglass, time passes; life is wasted by driblets,
and seasons of grace lost by little slumbers. Oh, to be wise, to catch the
fleeting hour, to use the passing moments! May the Lord teach us this sacred
wisdom.” Charles H. Surgeon
“He who makes a small matter of small sins is in danger of
falling into the greater. Even the godly
are subject to a fall. Yet a truly
regenerate soul rooted in Christ can never fall away totally or finally…How can
we keep from falling so we do not crucify afresh the Son of God and tread on
His blood? Watch and pray that you do
not enter into temptation. Keep your
conscience tender and flee the first motion and occasion of sin. Don’t think of sin as a little thing and
don’t take mercy for granted. Don’t
trust in your own strength. Don’t trust
in light repentance. True repentance
flees further stumblings. Remember that
yielding to sin increases its power to rise higher. Every time the bone is broken, the mending is
more difficult and the limp more pronounced.” John Sheffield
“Nothing
is ever too far gone for hope to come find you. Grace would have it no
other way — but to make a way.” Ann
Voskamp
“If you are really the chosen of God, and
beloved by Him, do not allow all this lavish treasure of grace to be wasted on
you. Pursue holiness; it is the Christian’s crown and glory. An unholy church
is useless to the world and of no esteem among men. It is an abomination, hell’s
laughter, heaven’s abhorrence.” C. H.
Spurgeon
“If you have wasted your life, know that another life exists.
There are more pages. He is Life itself, and only those can die well who, like
this penitent thief, perish in peace in the shadow of his cross.” Greg Morse
HEART
SAVOR
·
A wasted
life can be redeemed. Run to Him Who
offers us peace and life in abundance both in the here and now and eternally. He is the living water whose love surpasses
knowledge and who fills us to the measure of the fullness of God - able to do immeasurably more than all we ask
or imagine according to His power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:19-20)
– to Him be glory!
·
A life is
wasted by “littles” giving way to “littles” giving way to “littles”. A small pinhole in a bucket can drain it
dry. Be wise in the way you live your
life.
·
Life’s
essence and meaning is only found in the Creator – all other things are vanity,
and a chasing after the wind (Ecclesiastes 1:14).
