DAILY PRAYER (BY SPURGEON)
Lord, we ask you to help us all look to Jesus Christ alone. If any backsliders here are questioning whether they ever did believe in Jesus, may they leave that question alone and believe in him now. May they be content to let the past go by the wall, and once for all come, if they never did come, and embrace the Savior whom you, great God, have set forth as all-sufficient to save.
Let Peter weep bitterly, but let him come to his Master again. Oh, let the most wandering, cry to you; and may they look to your holy temple; and as they look, let the eternal life stream into them again, by the energy of the Eternal Spirit; and may they feel that whatever may have been the past, they are restored like prodigal children to a feast of love, restored forever to the Father’s house.
Amen.
VERSE OF THE DAY (COMMENTARY BY SPURGEON)
“Now his older son was in the field; as he came near the house, he heard music and dancing…. Then he became angry and didn’t want to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him.” (Luke 15:25, 28)
I never know which to admire more—the love of the father in going to meet the returning prodigal or in going out to talk with this coldhearted elder brother. He was a son, but he had not the true spirit of his father. He had fallen into a wrong state of mind—just like certain Christians I know who have little sympathy with those who have been great sinners. They seem not to want to see such people as these brought to the Savior. Yet they themselves were no better than others by nature, though grace has done much in restraining them from the sin into which others have fallen, and it was wrong for them to talk as if they were sheer legalists, as this Pharisaic elder brother did.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
Teach your children the truth (or the world will teach them lies)
Parents, our most important task is teaching our children the truth about who God is and what he has done.
God has called you and equipped you to disciple your children, to train them in the fear and instruction of the Lord.
The God-given solution to keep your children from falling prey to the sinful influences around them is simple: daily exposure to God’s Word.
I’ve created a new resource to help you do that — to open the Bible with your kids in a fruitful, fun, engaging way — every day.
GodCenteredFamily.org is a daily interactive Bible reading plan for parents and kids of any age. I hope it will be a blessing to your family.
You can learn more and download a free sample at GodCenteredFamily.org.