Luke 15:8-10
8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
I cannot stand to misplace anything. If something is missing, whether it is mine or not, I continue to look, long after others give up as lost. There are those who search eagerly until something is found, while others concede it is gone.
I have been known to text, call or post on social media, requesting people to join in prayer to find something, knowing God sees it and asking Him to reveal where it is.
There are times I recover what is missing. I suppose it is determination that won’t ever allow me to admit that something is truly gone. When I do find it, in five minutes or five years after I started my quest, I am so thankful. Typically I do find myself so pleased, like the parable woman, calling and rejoicing!
The world’s reason for hiding someone within itself is simply to boast its collection of souls. Without the intervention of the Holy Spirit, the lost do not realize their condition any more than the coin being sought, nor do they comprehend their true value. No matter how tightly the world tries to hold on to someone, the Father knows precisely where they are. Oh the celebration in the Heavens when a sinner is scooped up from the world’s floor, plunged in the blood of Christ, and grasped firmly in the hand of The Smiling Father!
If something so simple as a missing coin inspires prayer, need we take a second thought to pause, lifting up the priceless souls of those who live daily without the Lord? So many do not recognize or realize their desperate condition. The world appraises a soul as a worthless trinket, disposable. The enemy doesn’t want a sinner because he cares for him and satan is incapable of love. He is headed for peril and intends to gather as many as he can to perish along side him, that’s it! If he can distract someone for a lifetime away from the Lord, he is done with you! You’re merely collateral in his sick game. In ignorance an unbeliever conceals himself, surrounded by the grime of sin, unaware of his own value in Christ. What a tragedy to face eternal awareness of earthly delusion.
Prayer
Father
Thank You for seeking us out
Establishing that we were worth Your effort to find
To save
You moved chairs and looked under furniture
You swept the house
And there we were
Filthy but found!
You wiped us off
Washed us in the Blood of Your Son
Then You and the Heavens rejoiced over us.. over me!
O Merciful God
We pray that for those who are out in the dark corners of the world today
Those who are crusty with debris from a lifetime of sin
You know where they are, O God
Please sweep them up into Your arms
The true value of an individual is disguised by the crustiness embedded in a lifetime of sin
But O God, You recognize worth
You DETERMINE IT
When we are washed by the Blood of the Lamb
We see how contaminating the world is
You transform us into something beautiful
Only our Lord and Savior can transform us from what we were into a priceless treasure
Thank You for seeing potential in us
That we cannot see in ourselves
Even when those we love give up on us, God
You haven’t
Because with You, nothing is without hope
In the Name of Jesus,
Amen
Songs
“Amazing Grace” (Who didn’t see this coming!) -Ray Charles
“Jesus Found Me”
“He Came Looking For Me”
“How Great Is Our God”
“10,000 Reasons”
