"And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living." Luke 15:12

As we study into the parable of the Prodigal son, let's focus on the role of the elder son. Most people overlook a very significant part of the parable, which is – the elder son received his inheritance as well! (Luke 15:12b) According to the custom of the times, the older son's inheritance would have been twice that of the younger son. In that light, his response to his younger brother's initiative, a response of silence...speaks volumes. The elder son, even in our own culture, normally would bear a greater responsibility for mending and healing any wounded relationships in the family. Yet this older son makes no apparent attempt to talk to his brother, to mediate or plead for his Dad, even though he was surely aware of the pain his brother's request was causing his father. He does nothing! It seems the sibling rivalry had grown pretty serious, but even so, shouldn't his love for his father have overwhelmed these feelings at such a critical moment? Worst of all, is he possibly entertaining the same attitude toward the inheritance as his brother, only secretly? Brothers & Sisters, there's a time to speak up, even when it goes against personal or selfish interests or ruffles some feathers...whether it's for the gospel itself, or any other issue of righteousness, we ought not to remain silent, for God's sake, for love's sake. Let's have the courage to do it. SPEAK UP!

"A man has joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good it is!" Proverbs 15:23

A modern parable has been written about the tools of the enemy that I believe we can really learn from. "Some time ago, an advertisement appeared in which the devil was putting all his tools up for sale. On the day of public inspection, each one of his tools was marked with its selling price: Hatred, Envy, Jealousy, Doubt, Lying, Pride, and so on, were each on the block. Set apart, however, from all the rest of the pile, was a harmless-looking tool, well-worn, but priced very high -- it was discouragement!" Someone asked the devil, 'why is that one priced so high?' He replied, 'Ah, that one is more useful to me than all the rest. With it I can pry open a man's heart and enter, when I cannot get near him with any other tools. Once inside, I can lead him any way I choose. The tool is very worn because I use it on almost everyone, since few people know it belongs to me.'" The enemy loves to sow discouragement -- but believers have a tool much more powerful -- encouragement! We can speak a word into the lives of those who desperately need to hear it: to the college student adjusting to his new environment; to the missionary who may feel alone in the harvest field; to the disillusioned newlywed young couple; to the forgotten servants of God who labor in an obscure and difficult ministry; to the orphans and the widows; to all those who need to hear a word in due season! Brothers & Sisters, we have the power in our lips to rekindle a discouraged soul. Let's inspire one another with words of encouragement! It costs nothing, and reaps an eternal reward...encourage one another daily, as you see the Day draw near. [Hebrews 10:25] DISARM DISCOURAGEMENT!

"But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers." Psalms 1:2-3

One of my favorite passages in the Scriptures is Psalm 1, and clearly this psalm holds an important key for our lives as believers to be fruitful and prosperous. That key is meditation. The psalmist describes the one who prospers as one who meditates "day and night"; a continual meditation developing the Godly habit of disciplining one's mind in divine truth. I love what Charles Spurgeon said about meditation, "He is not the best student who reads the most books, but he who meditates the most upon them; he shall not learn most of divinity who hears the greatest number of sermons, but he who meditates the most devoutly upon what he does hear; nor shall he be so profound a scholar who takes down ponderous volumes one after the other, as he who, reading little by little, precept upon precept, and line upon line, digests what he learns, and assimilates each sentiment to his heart by meditation." Brothers & Sisters, meditation on the word of God brings its truth and light to bear powerfully upon your mind and soul. Since you are made in the image of God you are not a shallow creature, but a very profound one. You have the opportunity to be deeply affected and beautifully transformed by the living words of God. Don't miss out on it. As you contemplate and reflect on His Word, allowing it to expose, redefine, and transform every area of your life, you will flourish like a tree planted by a river, and whatever you do will prosper! Only remember, it begins with meditation. PROSPERITY BEGINS WITH MEDITATION!

"Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you." Hosea 10:12

Over the years, I've often gotten emails asking, "When do you think revival will come?" Well.... first, what is "revival," exactly? One of Merriam-Webster's definitions is "a renewed attention to or interest in something." Here are some important questions for us to answer today: How interested are we in knowing Him more intimately today than yesterday? How interested are we in gaining a greater knowledge and understanding of His Word? And just how interested are we in sharing those precious things with the dying world around us? A true revival must begin with us -- it must be intimately personal. And it's not just a one-time thing, either. Once, a lady asked Billy Sunday, "Why do you keep having revival meetings?" He quickly retorted, "Why do you always take a bath?" Revival is something that needs to happen daily. It's an ongoing transformation of our hearts to move by the Spirit of God constantly. We need to break up our fallow ground daily, those places in our hearts that we've allowed to grow hard. We have to ask the Lord to reveal those hard places, pray that He would forgive us, and ask Him to heal all our rough edges so that we might be soft before Him and sensitive to His leading. As we open ourselves to the moving of the Spirit of God ... then we will usher in a new move of God within us. Brothers & Sisters, let's get serious as we enter a new year! It's a new season -- so let's begin this year the right way -- in revival! REVIVAL IS HERE!

"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at these heaven, change your world!" 2 Corinthians 4:17, 18

As believers, we are all called to transform the little world around us. C.S. Lewis offered a thoughtful perspective on remaining heavenly minded while continuing to make an impact in this present world. In Mere Christianity, he said. "Hope...means...a continual looking forward to the eternal world...it does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next...It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth 'thrown in': aim at earth and you will get neither." Brothers & Sisters, being heavenly minded is not natural. It happens when we focus and meditate on the reality and wonderful hope of the world to come. When we do, we can bring a taste of heaven to the little world around us. So let's not become complacent -- but stay focused there, so we can be effective here... and soon enough we will hear the Lord saying, "Well, done thou good and faithful servant!" e things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. SEE HEAVEN, CHANGE YOUR WORLD!

"Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:19

The Hebrew word for a dried up river bed is "Nachal". Israel has many of these. In Israel it rains in winter, but not in summer. In the summer, these places stand as a testament of the rains that once fell and of the rains yet to come. Then, when they do come, the Nechalim (nachal plural) almost instantly fill with water. This is what the Scripture means when it says, "I will give you rivers in the desert." There is a promise in that for us. We, like the Nachal, were made to flow with the water and the life of the Spirit of God. When we are not connected to God, to His flowing waters, we feel dry and empty -- without purpose. But we were meant to be overflowing! Maybe you are feeling dry and empty in your life and walk? Praise the Lord! What an opportunity to allow God to fill you with His rivers of living water! Brothers & Sisters, if you’re dry and thirsty, turn to the Lord today and the waters will flood in again! ARE YOU THIRSTY?

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." Psalms 90:12

There were thousands of people bundled up the whole night in Zimbabwe Churches praying to witness a few short seconds during which a descending ball of light announces the arrival of a New Year. These hardy people endured the cool breeze to mark the passage of time, but even more, because they were anticipating a "new beginning!" Saying goodbye to a tumultuous 2023, they were looking forward to making a fresh start in 2024! One thing given equally to every person, rich or poor -- is time. In 2023, each of us lived 365 days, 8,760 hours and 525,600 minutes. How did you spend it? Reflecting over 2023, I am astounded how quickly the year seemed to pass -- almost like the proverbial blink of an eye. And looking back over it has caused me to ask, am I really carefully managing my time...the one commodity I "spend", that I can never buy back? Brothers & Sisters, the psalmist expresses a timely request on our behalf..."Teach us to number our days", so that every one of them truly counts for the Lord! We can't change the past, but we can always improve our time management in the year to come. With so much work to be done, let's apply our hearts to wisdom, and use our time wisely! AS THE BALL DROPS!