LOST AND FOUND

Today’s Reading: Luke 19

Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion on the right-hand side).

This is a model of the Temple from the time of Jesus, where it was situated on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans. Today, a Muslim mosque, known as the Dome of the Rock (seen in the background), is located on that same Temple Mount.

GOOGLE MAPS – To see where Reynold took the photo, click HERE.

Key Verse: Luke 19:10

…for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Why did Jesus come to earth? To teach? To heal? To set a fine example? Yes, to all these things. But His top priority is to seek and to save all who are lost! He seeks for us by His Holy Spirit and by the power of His Word which is proclaimed in the Gospels and which we share every day (check out 100 Huntley Street – click here). His God-sized death on the cross is big enough to save all of us from eternal death. Jesus was seeking the lost from the beginning of His public ministry. He found some mending their nets, another at the tax collector’s desk, others going about their business in Galilee, Zacchaeus up a tree in Jericho, and now, He has found you and me. Jesus has not changed. The difference is that He seeks the lost through us. We cannot save anyone, but we can bring precious lost people to Jesus, pray with them, give them Jesus’ Word, and He will save them.

PRAYER FOR TODAY:

Jesus, my Lord and Saviour, I thank You for those who found me and introduced me to You. Thank You for Your Words of acceptance to me, “The one who comes to Me, I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37). I believe Your Words and I know You cannot lie. You do not cast me out. Therefore, You receive me. Help me today, and every day, to do for others what was done for me. Amen!

100 PERSONAL WORDS:

As a boy, the game known as “hide and seek” was a favourite. Can you remember the excitement of the search and the joy of discovering the hiding place of a friend. My first effort at serious seeking lost people involved creating a hockey team in the village of Haley’s Station in the Ottawa Valley, where my Dad was a minister. I was 17 then. The men created an outdoor rink every winter. I pulled together several boys and offered to buy hockey sweaters with the name “Haley’s Comets” splashed across them. We formed a league with three other small villages and played several games. My main motivation was not to win at hockey, but rather to win my friends to Christ. I arranged to take the team to the nearby city of Ottawa to hear Evangelist Hyman Appleman. That night they went forward and Jesus saved them as they believed His Words. The next Sunday, my Dad’s church had a row of teens sitting at the front, worshipping God. Since that time, my greatest thrill is in finding creative ways to bring the lost to Jesus.

Yours for sparking initiatives to help find the lost and introducing them to Jesus!

David

P.S. In this space for a few days, we’ve considered the historical accuracy of the Holy Bible. Here’s a story from an Israeli tour bus. Norma-Jean and I were leading 100 pilgrims for two weeks, walking and riding through the pages of the Bible. Our well-educated Jewish tour guide said that the story in Luke about the Roman census and taxation under the Governor of Syria could not be historically correct because Quirinius did not become Governor until eight years after the birth of Jesus. I immediately called from the bus on my cell phone Dr. Paul Maier, a PhD professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University. Dr. Maier is recognized by many news organizations as the world’s foremost expert on the first century. I put the tour guide on the phone and here’s what Dr. Maier said, “We know for a fact the Roman census of Gaul (France) took twenty years to complete. The census in the province of Syria, which included Palestine, probably took a similar amount of time, and indeed Quirinius was Governor of Syria when the census results were delivered to Caesar in Rome. The Romans dated their census taking from the time of completion. Therefore, Luke’s record is correct. The Jewish guide ate a little humble pie and admitted that Dr. Maier was right. There is no bad history in the Bible! Check out Dr. Maier on 100 Huntley Street from a few years back…here’s part one of a two part interview.