A modern prodigal!

When my wife and I are asked about any specific situation, my wife will usually reply before I do.  "If you want the facts," she will say, "ask me.  If you want a story, ask Brian!"

I cannot complain!  She is absolutely correct.  I am a storyteller.  However, one of the greatest - if not the greatest! - storytellers was Jesus of Nazareth.  For many of the lessons He taught, He used stories.  For the next few posts, I would like to share some of them, and try to discover their relevance for we who live in the 21^st century.

Perhaps the best-known of Jesus' stories, or parables, is that commonly referred to as the Parable of the Prodigal Son (if you are not familiar with it, then I recommend looking it up – Luke 15).  The word 'prodigal' means 'wasteful', so the title isn't altogether inaccurate.  However, I would suggest that a better title is the parable the Parable of the Loving Father!

If we were to place the story in a 21^st century setting, the younger son might leave home - a very comfortable home in which he even had servants to look after him - and, complete with his future inheritance, set off to be a whizz-kid in the City, working the financial markets. He would purchase a really nice "bachelor flat"; a fast car; trendy clothing; and dine in the finest restaurants. He would throw parties for his new-found friends, and would be the "guy to be seen with" for a lot of physically attractive young women. Then would come a financial disaster, similar to that of 2008!   After that crash, he would find that his credit card was declined; that his bank balance had dropped to nothing; and that his friends no longer wanted to know him.  He might be able to get no more than a zero-hours contract, at less than the minimum wage, doing a job that he hated, and that he felt was below him!  It would be then that he might come to his senses, realise that even the servants in his father's household were better off than he, and decide to go back, apologise to his father, and seek employment in his father's service.

The wonderful thing in the story is, of course, that the father, whom he has treated in such a shabby fashion, should not only accept him back, but give him a place of honour as his son. Indeed, many would claim that the usual title given to the parable - that of the Prodigal (i.e. wasteful) Son, should be replaced by the title of the Loving Father.

That's why the parable is still relevant today.  A parable is simply a lesson in story form.  And the main lesson in this parable is that Almighty God welcomes back men and women, and boys and girls, who recognise that they are not even able to maintain the standards they set themselves, let alone the standards that He has set.  Let's face it, how many of your New Year resolutions are you still keeping?! However, if we genuinely seek God, and accept the salvation that, according to the New Testament teaching, He offers through Jesus and His sacrificial death at Calvary, then we are welcomed back and made right in His sight.

You want to be right with God, the heavenly Father?  Come to Calvary!

The tongue.

One of the little shop-bought desserts that my wife and I enjoy, currently comes with an amusing, or interesting, piece of information printed on the underside of the foil lid. For example, a recent lid provided the information that (translated from the French!): "The hummingbird cannot walk, but it is the only bird that can fly backwards. However, it has never been seen to back away from a Danette."!!  Another one that caught my attention during the past week informed me that: "Antarctica is the only continent that does not have spiders. Sadly, it also doesn't have Danette". A final example (I hope that aficionadas of "Trivial Pursuits" are taking careful notes!) assured me that: "A tongue measures on average 9cm. That's long enough to reach the bottom of your Danette jar." You will already have worked out the tradename of the product involved!

It was that last piece of information that started the train of thought for this post. I suspect that, like me, you would cringe at the thought of having a mouth full of, not a pleasant-tasting Danette dessert, but stones! Yet there iare circumstances in which a stone in the mouth can be beneficial! I am assured (but have not confirmed) that a stone (preferably clean!) in the mouth can stimulate the production of saliva - helpful if one is thirsty but there is no water supply/source nearby. 

I have also read that the cranes that inhabit the Taurus mountains of southern Turkey have found this to be particularly beneficial. These large birds cackle a lot, especially when they are flying. All of the noise attracts eagles who swoop down and seize the cranes for their next meal. Experienced cranes apparently avoid this threat by picking up stones large enough to fill their mouths. This, in turn, stops them from cackling - and from becoming lunch for the eagles!

Of course, the Bible has a lot to say about the tongue and the mouth! James writes: "... the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is an unrighteous world among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the cycle of nature, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by humankind, but no human being can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brethren, this ought not to be so." (3:5-10). 

In the Book of Proverbs, king Solomon states that: "From the fruit of his mouth a good man eats good, … He who guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin." (13:2-3); and: "The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a gushing stream. … … A fool’s lips bring strife, and his mouth invites a flogging. A fool’s mouth is his ruin,  and his lips are a snare to himself." (18: 4, 6-7).

How many of our troubles could be prevented if we would learn to control our tongues! How much of the heartache that we cause others could be avoided if we would only guard our speech! The problem is that a word spoken cannot be recalled - even if, so often, we may wish that we could do so!

Do you, as I do, sometimes have a problem with your tongue? May I suggest that we try this: Ask the Lord for His help; think before opening our mouths; speak no more than is necessary. Following such a formula can be as effective as a stone in the mouth!

And a little prayer-verse that I came across, composed by that prolific author "A.N.Onymous"!.

"Lord, help me watch the words I say
And keep them few and sweet.
For I don't know, from day to day,
Which ones I'll have to eat!"

The King's Highway.

It is late afternoon, and I am typing this post at a campsite, in the area of Lagos, in the Algarve, Portugal. Yes, my wife and I are having a wee break before returning to Gardonne, then to Scotland, and back to Gardonne to prepare to put our house there "on the market", in preparation for a permanent return to Scotland.

Portugal is a beautiful country, and we are sorry that this will be, almost certainly, our final visit. This time we made much more use of the toll roads and were amazed at the number of miles/kilometres of road that are built well above 'ground level'. One particular stretch went on for many miles/kms and, as we drove along, I remarked that: "This really is a "highway"!"

That throwaway comment caused me to think of a song, from my early life, that was entitled "The King's Highway". It is, I believe, an Afro-American song - and the YouTube search would support that belief! The words are:

Refrain:

It’s a highway to heaven.  None can walk up there, but the pure in heart.

It’s a highway to heaven. I am walking up the king’s highway.

1. If you’re not walking, start while I’m talking. Walking up the King’s highway.
There’s joy in knowing with Him I’m going. Walking up the King’s highway.

2. My way gets brighter; my load gets lighter. Walking up the King’s highway.
If you be confessing, there is a blessing. Walking up the King’s highway.

(Christ walks beside me; His love to guide me. Walking up the King’s highway.)

Music and Lyrics by Mary Gardner and Dr. Thomas A. Dorsey

So what is "the King's Highway"? Well, in the U.K. it is the public highway, on which anyone may walk because it is under the control, and in the ownership, of the king! I found myself thinking: "Is my life showing that I am walking up the King’s highway - that of the King of kings? Am I living under His control? Is it clear to others that I belong to Him?" That should certainly be my constant aim! Paul doesn't mince his words when, writing to the believers in Rome, he states that: "Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him." (Rom 8:9; emphasis added). If God the Holy Spirit is not seen working in my life, evidencing that He inhabits my life, then I do not belong to the Saviour!

I would respectfully suggest, therefore, that walking up the king’s highway means living my life in accordance with His Word, and His will, and doing so by the power of God the Holy Spirit Who dwells within me. 

But, of course, any highway will lead to somewhere! We drove along those Portuguese highways in order to arrive at Lagos. When we return, DV, next week, we will follow highways through Portugal, Spain, and France - in order to arrive at the destination of our current home. So what about "the King's highway"? Well, the ultimate destination for the disciple of Jesus, the Christ, is the eternal home that has been prepared for us. But, just as, on the way back to Gardonne, we will pass through multiple places so, on the journey of life, we pass through many situations and circumstances. This is why seeking the Lord's guidance is so important. Mind you, I know from my own experience, that it is not always easy to receive, and understand, that guidance. When we travel to somewhere that we haven't previously visited, we make use of our SatNav (GPS). Regretfully, I have been known to miss the turning, or the roundabout exit, that I should have taken. Sometimes, it takes quite a detour to get me "back on track"!

All too often, in the past, I have taken a wrong turning; made a wrong decision; taken the wrong road! Yet, in His amazing mercy, and love, and grace, my heavenly Father has brought me back to His pathway - His highway - for my life. 

As we are still at the beginning of this year, it seems not inappropriate to quote those words used by George VI, the father of the late Queen Elizabeth, in his Christmas broadcast of 1939:

"I said to the man who stood at the Gate of the Year, ‘Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown.’ And he replied, ‘Go out into the darkness, and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light, and safer than a known way.’" (Minnie Haskins).

Yes, if we are walking in the King's highway, we are on the safest road for life - and the only road that leads to the destination of eternity* in His sweet presence. May you be walking that highway - for your good, and to His glory.

* This is one of the "Great Words of the Faith" with which I deal in my first book - link above!

Before my recent absence, I was able to add YouTube clips to my blog posts! There appear to be some changes that now deny me that opportunity. However, if you wish to hear a lively performance of "The Highway to Heaven", by the late, irrepressible, Jessy Dixon, and the Gaither Homecoming Friends, then this is the URL - 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Xi6oQyJ_ik

Change!

After five months of silence, here I am with a new blog post for a new year.

It was while I was back in Scotland, at the end of November - collecting my dear wife! - that we visited the Riverside Museum in Glasgow. This is what used to be named the Transport Museum, but in a new venue! What an amazing experience! Things that we both remembered from even before our marriage were there in front of us, testifying to the changes that have been made in even that (mere!) half-century (+).

Before that, we had visited the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, at the University of Glasgow. I was speaking with one of the staff about the changes that had been made on campus, and of the many changes that have been made to the city of Glasgow itself, since my own days as a student at the University (before the member of staff with whom I was speaking had been born!).

Everywhere I go, I seem to discover changes, whether physical with regard to road layouts and buildings, etc.; or to social attitudes; or to fashion (seeing two young ladies who had just graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University and who, along with many others, were parading through the bus terminal in academic gowns and hoods - and tattooed legs! - was quite a shock to my conservative system); or to any of the other issues that seem to come under the general heading of "woke". You may wish to add your own "change" subjects/topics to my short list. However, change there is, and change there will undoubtedly be!

However, there is one important exception. In the letter written to Hebrew disciples of Jesus by an unnamed human author, is this amazing statement: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever." (Heb.13:8). Now, if someone is the same at all times, then there can be no change in, or by, that individual! By the way, this is also a reminder that Jesus is Almighty God. Speaking through the prophet Malachi, YHWH states: "...  I YHWH do not change;" (Mal.3:6). One hymnwriter wrote: "Change and decay in all around I see; O Thou who changest not, abide with me".

But what is the practical outworking of this fact? Well, I would suggest that it is simply that we may depend on God. I am a lover of Gilbert & Sullivan light opera. In one of their productions, "The Mikado", (who, in the show, is the ruler of Japan) one of the characters who is in danger of being put to death, makes this statement to the Mikado: "When your Majesty says, ‘Let a thing be done,’ it’s as good as done – practically, it is done – because your Majesty’s will is law." In other words, the Mikado's will could be depended upon - and he is just a fictional character!

How, then, may I depend on God? His written Word, the Bible, is actually full of promises that He has made to His people. However, having spent almost five months with very limited physical human contact, the one that means most to me is the promise made by the Lord Jesus, to His disciples: "I am with you always, to the close of the age." (Matt. 28:20). Another hymnwriter penned these words: "No, never alone, No, never alone; He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone:" I actually prefer the French translation of that chorus which, in a reverse translation, (!) reads; "No, never completely alone; no, never completely alone. Jesus, my Saviour guards me, never leaves me alone. No, never completely alone; no, never completely alone. Jesus, my Saviour guards me, I am never completely alone."

As we move into this new year, that is a promise that I shall continue to hold - even with my dear wife back with me! It's a promise that you, too, may claim. However, you need to be in that saving relationship with Him that is made possible by His atoning* death on the cross at Calvary. That, in turn is, at its very simplest, accepting that none of us can ever, by our good deeds, achieve, or deserve, or purchase, eternal life in the presence of the Lord. We may only come to Him, in repentance* and faith*, and accept what He has already done for us. It is then that we become truly His, and begin to know eternal life, even now. But we must be walking with Him now! As someone has said: "If we do not have Him with us in this life, He will not have us with Him in the next."!

I wish each and all who read these words, a good new year, and pray that it will be in His presence.

* These words are explained in my book: Great Words of the Faith: - link at the top of the page. Remember that I receive no financial benefit - ALL royalties are sent, directly, to the bank account of Release International in support of the persecuted church.