P.U.S.H

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification....... Thoughts on This Verse... ''Make every effort!'' That's quite a challenge. But notice where that exertion is to be focused: peace and mutual edification. Both sides of this exhortation are two way responsibilities. I must pursue and share peace if I am going to have it myself. I must edify, and be open to being edified, if mutual edification is going to happen. In other words, we live with other people in God's family. He wants us to be responsible for making relationships work in our spiritual family. He reminds us it will require strenuous effort. But, isn't that true in every family relationship? Love means sacrifice, effort, and concern for others. When we share our love willingly, however, we're much more likely to see it coming back to us!


-Romans 14:19-

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Preparation

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows....... Thoughts on This Verse... While the enemy of the righteous may flourish for a season, God will lavish his love and show his favor on the righteous. As the apostle Paul reminded his dear friends in Philippi, their prayers and the work of the Holy Spirit guaranteed his deliverance: he would either be delivered from prison and death to serve them, or he would be delivered from prison through death to go be with the Father (Phil. 3:19-23). Either way, God's righteous will get a banquet, a place of honor, and a royal welcome that will vindicate their faithfulness before those who oppose them.


-Psalm 23:5- 

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Eat humble pie

 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you....... Thoughts on This Verse... You've probably had a similar experience to this one. Someone asks you how you're doing. At first, they seem interested, but as you begin to share the burdens of your heart, you begin to realize that they aren't really listening and aren't really interested; they're just being polite. Most people have so many burdens they simply don't know what to do with more. Our Father in heaven, however, says''Cast all your anxieties on me. You can share all of them with me, because I genuinely care for you.'' 


-1 Peter 5:6-7-

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Blessings vs Violence

Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked....... Thoughts on This Verse... Righteousness brings us great blessings. Violence becomes its own vile reward, bringing to those who use it what they have done to others. So what's our choice? Blessing or violence? Encouragement or a foul mouth? So what's the real choice? Letting God define character and not someone else. 

-Proverbs 10:6-


**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

In His timing, He will answer

They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed....... Thoughts on This Verse... This Psalm of despair, referred to by Jesus from the Cross, is also a Psalm of hope and faith. The history of God's faithfulness with his people Israel is an ongoing reminder that we can trust him to deliver us. While in our human reckoning of time God's answer may be slow in coming, his track record in history reminds us that he will answer, deliver, and bless his people in his time. In our worst of nightmares, we can be reminded that God is faithful and is attentive to our cries of despair, lament, grief, agony, and fear.


-Psalm 22:5-

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Crazy Love

Luke 15:1-2: Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”


Luke 15:11-24: 

The Parable of the Lost Son

 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 servants 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 servants.’ 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.

*"My dad is person whom I disgrace the most but I'm going to go back to the one who provided me food, just to survive"
*What would we do if our children are really leading disgraceful lives?
*This is not just a gateway party when parent's are not around
*Normally, fathers who have experience this would just give his son food and shelter without wanting to see his face until he decides what to do with him.
However...
v20: 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.

*He gets a party.
*Instead of retribution, he gets a celebration
*His father was not only merciful but grace his disgusting son with a party
*He did not know when He was coming back but he ran, hug and kiss his son who wished he was dead.
*All he did was turn up and he got a new identity (sandals, robe, ring, etc)

The key of being a Christian
*To know and experience the powerful love and forgiveness of God
*NOT to be smart and all good
*God is calling us to come home with him
*We feel that we are not good enough for God (explicit or implicitly)
*The good person is the father, not the son
*We care so much about doing good but the fact is we are never going to be good enough because God is ever so good.
*So this allows God to forgive us and show his unconditional love to us
*He just wants to welcome us home when we decide to return
*Are we willing to participate with God to call others home?
*We should just remove our strict religious rules and join the party with Jesus
*He is iching to call all of us home
*Sometimes we do not give chance to our friends because we are in line with God and not others. 
*For that, we are being judgemental
*However, they are the ones we should welcome with open arms.

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**

Irony

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path....... Thoughts on This Verse... So often, those of us who have received the blessings of faith and the guidelines of the Word of God don't fully appreciate them. Can you imagine what it is like to try to define ones worth, clarify ones values, and establish ones sense of purpose without a standard of truth? Imagine what it would be like to be lost without a map and without a compass? Remember what it was like to wake up in an unfamiliar place as a child in the pitch black darkness totally disoriented? We don't have to worry about that now, do we? God's Word -- both Scripture and his Son -- light our dark paths and show us the way home! 


-Psalm 119:105-

**Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path**