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THE TWO PRODIGALS

The term “prodigal” has been applied to the story that Jesus told about the son who asked his father for his share of the inheritance and then left and spent it all recklessly on “riotous living” .   Although the word “prodigal” doesn’t appear in the Bible text, but was added in the heading of the story by the translators of the KJV, it aptly describes the actions of the son.   This word means “wastefully extravagant” or “to spend money, time or resources recklessly” .   Interestingly, this word is also used to describe something that is “given or yielded in a lavish, abundant, or bountiful way” .   So, the word prodigal can correctly be applied, not just to the son who recklessly spent his inheritance on fleshly pleasures, but also on his father who lavished his grace, mercy and resources to welcome his son back home!   “A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me.  A...
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WHEN YOU WERE SMALL IN YOUR OWN EYES

Toward the end of the Prophet Samuel's life, the Israelites grew weary of being under judges and desired to have a king to rule over them so that they could be like the other nations of the world.   Though God was displeased with their desire, He permitted them to have their king, saying to Samuel, "Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them ." (1 Samuel 8:7).   Consequently, Saul, the son of Kish, became the first king of Israel.   After Saul had reigned for some years, God said to him, "Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass." (1 Samuel 15:3).  Rather than utterly destroying everything of Amalek as God had directed, Saul chose to keep Agag the Amalekite king alive, along with the very best of their cattle and other...
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WILD FIRE

There are few things that are as frightening or as formidable as a forest or prairie fire.   It can spread very rapidly, doubling its size every minute, or much faster depending on the circumstances such as intensity, wind speed, and fuel source.   Once it starts to spread, it can be very difficult to contain without adequate equipment and manpower.   The fires raging in the Palisades region of Los Angeles recently are a good example of a wild fire.   Santa Ana winds blowing in from the US’s western deserts have hit speeds of 80, and even 100 miles an hour.   These winds are driving the fires on, and making it impossible for the fire crews to contain them.   When I was quite young, I had a firsthand encounter with a large fire.   Two friends and I started a small campfire on a slope in a small forest in our town.   The slope was covered with dry leaves which we used to start the fire.   Before long, we had quite a blaze going, and wer...
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