The Sword of the LORD

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...

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...

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...

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. " (Romans 12:1, 2).   The word "conformed" is translated from the Greek word "suschematizo" which means to fashion oneself according to another's pattern.  Notice the root "schemat" or "schema" is contained in this word and is the same root that we find in our English words “scheme” and "schematic."  So, literally, Paul is saying that we must not mold or fashion ourselves after another's worldly scheme or pattern.  And just whose worldly pattern is it that the Apostle Paul is warning us against?  It's none other than Satan, the god of this world, as he is referred to in 2 Corin...

"I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants.  And he arose, and came to his father.  But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him" (Luke 15:18-20).   During my daily quiet time with the Lord this week, I was struck by the enormous love of our Father God for us His children.   While the prodigal son in this parable was still a considerable distance from home, the father spotted him as he was making his way back to his father's house.   It was not by coincidence that his father saw him; his father had watched for him since the time that he had left, waiting hopefully for his son's return.   Then, when the father saw his son, there was no hesitancy and no second guessing of what his response should be: he ran to his son, embraced h...

Considering the seemingly super-human effort of the athletes at the upcoming 2026 Summer Olympics, I have to think about the preparation and training that these men and women go through for such accomplishments to be possible.  They all start their training at an early age, and all commit their lives to becoming the best at his/her sport.  The hours and years that they each spend perfecting their technique and strengthening their body, as well as the personal sacrifices that each has made, have paid off in making them the best athletes in the world.    Thinking about the dedication and sacrifice of all the great athletes that compete this year, I’m reminded of Saint Paul’s words in his letter to the Philippians where he writes, “ Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for Whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” (Philippians 3:8).  Fu...

Just before Jesus ascended to His Father, He told His disciples to tarry in the city of Jerusalem until they were filled with power by the Holy Ghost.  The purpose of this outpouring of the Spirit, among other things, was that they might have power to become His witnesses.    On the day of Pentecost, the Jewish feast that marked the completion of the wheat harvest, as the Apostles and other disciples were gathered together in one place, there was suddenly the sound of a rushing, mighty wind.   It filled the place where they were assembled.  What appeared like tongues of fire settled on each of them and they all spoke in languages that they did not previously know as the Spirit filled and inspired them.  Jews from every nation were in Jerusalem that day, and every one heard the Gospel preached in their own language as the Spirit gave the disciples utterance.  So the words of Jesus that they would take His Message to the world began to be fulfil...

On April 23, 1910, President Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech entitled “Citizenship in a Republic” at the Sorbonne in Paris, France.   The speech became popularly known as “The Man In the Arena” because of the following section of the speech which struck a note in the hearts and minds of those who heard his words and were inspired by them.   He said:   “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at...