Divine Appointment, Prodigal Son, Purgatory, God’s Grace, and Justification by Faith

This afternoon, I met a fine Christian lady who was later joined by her lovely daughter and grand-daughter. I was blessed to have met them. The following is an excerpt of what I wrote to her daughter after our meeting (I’ve not revealed her name to avoid embarrassing her):

“Hi xxxxxx,

It was my pleasure meeting you and your mother and daughter at xxxxxxxx this afternoon. Fancy meeting like that; I was positioned such that we could talk. I had no intention to speak. But as it turned out, we did. I believe it was not coincidental, but by divine appointment that we met, just as your mum said at least a couple of times that it was God who arranged it, for a purpose.

You surely have a tremendously cute daughter, always willing to serve mum and always cheerful at doing so. How blessed you are! Oh, what a sight to see daughter helping mother like that. Also, how blessed too is your daughter, to have such a caring mum like you! No doubt you are a very sacrificially loving mum, wanting the VERY best for her daughter. And how marvelous the expression of that love through your own mouth! You would rather spare her suffering by having her go first (I meant die first here) , than for her to be left an orphan, i.e., without you to help her (correct me if I'm wrong). Your love for your daughter is beyond description, and that’s commendable. And no doubt through your daily actions too, you are showering that agape love upon your daughter, Lotus. That, in a small way, reminds me of the love of God our Heavenly Father for us all.

How wonderful when we know FOR CERTAIN (100%, with no doubt whatsoever!) His amazing love and grace towards us (His undying, unsolicited, unmerited, undeserved, and unearned grace!), as seen in the parable of the Prodigal Son, where the father did not condemn his son but instead RAN towards him upon first sight of him. The father KISSED his undeserving, sinful son’s face upon first contact with him when he returned in repentance. And not only did the father kiss his son: he even HUGGED, with gladness, his child’s undoubtedly filthy and smelly sewer-soaked body (from living among the pigs and eating pig’s food); he did all that he did without the slightest thought of any undesirable consequences.¹ Such was daddy’s love for his own lost child (considered dead) who was found (and alive again)!

With those unexpected welcoming gestures, the father in the parable received his prodigal son back to his home. It was NOT because of the son’s work or merit that He accepted him. In the same way, our gracious Heavenly Father will do to his lost children who repent and return in faith to Him just what the father in the parable did.

Eternal life is a FREE, unmerited, undeserved and unachieved gift from the Father through the Son of God, Jesus, BECAUSE of His great MERCY towards us sinners. Hence, NO ONE will ever be able to boast in heaven (Ephesians 2:8, 9; Titus 3:5---notice the sure word, “saved,” is in past tense. That means you can be assured (or made sure) of heaven NOW, not in the future, it is that blessed assurance in our hearts that eternal life WAS/ HAS BEEN RECEIVED, not EARNED/ ACHIEVED/ WORKED FOR). Our righteous deeds are like filthy rags; they will amount to nothing as far as salvation is concerned! ² YOU (and I) can NEVER be GOOD enough or DONE enough to get your (or mine) salvation! What a God we have!

If you haven’t done so already, I would encourage and challenge you to RECEIVE that unspeakably wonderful present TODAY. And having done that, do thank God daily for salvation. Thanking God expresses your faith in Him. That’s faith in action. And this faith will without doubt lead you home to Heaven, where you belong (and ONLY by faith, and faith alone, will that happen to you. Do NOT depend on your feelings, because they are just emotions, never always reliable.). May the verse that convicted Martin Luther of the truth that set his soul free, “The just (or righteous) shall LIVE ³ by faith” ⁴ also convict you, and make you free from that same burden which Luther bore for so many years.

This brings to mind a song I love, “Blessed Assurance, Jesus is Mine!” which I have listed below. How true the wordings! I was blessed even as I meditated on the first verse again:

1. Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.
Refrain:
This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long.

2. Perfect submission, perfect delight,
visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
angels descending bring from above
echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
(Refrain)

3. Perfect submission, all is at rest;
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
watching and waiting, looking above,
filled with his goodness, lost in his love.
(Refrain)

I hope you like the lyrics too, as I did.

I hope and trust that you have read the 4 Spiritual Laws I gave you, and that it has blessed you. If not, please do yourself and your daughter a favour: take your bed time to read it to your daughter. You will be truly blessed.

Please feel free to call me if you want to discuss the above further.

Trust we can meet again some time in the near future. Do keep in touch. We can have a cuppa together sometime, if you like.



¹ On top of all his unusual, uncalled-for welcoming gestures, the father ORDERED the ARRANGEMENT of a BIG BANQUET to CELEBRATE his SON'S RETURN home, much to the deep chagrin, and even the wrath, of the hardworking older son of his! The older son may have envied all the lavish love/blessings showered upon his undeserving brother, who has squandered his father's property with prostitutes. Moreover, the older brother must have thought that his younger brother did not deserve such kind treatment; rather, he deserved the worst---even severe punishment from the father---for all his misdeeds.

² “No one is righteous because of the fact that we are all sinners, and therefore stand condemned according to the Law; hence, even our works of righteousness are not, and will never be, enough to justify us before the holy God (Romans. 3:10-12, 20-25, 28-30). Only the just God can make us sinners justified or righteous before Him; He did this through Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, who was without any sin, guilt or blemish (2 Corinthians 5:21)! We are justified and made new (born again) in Christ (2 Cor 5:17-20; John 3:3).

An interesting Read here:


You might want to read more:
http://unknowntomost.blogspot.com/2006_09_01_archive.html

http://unknowntomost.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html
, especially the 3rd blog.


³ ‘live’ means not just living while we are on earth, but also for all eternity in heaven with Jesus.


⁴ Habbakuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38.
More:



Forgive me for such a long email. I admire you for having read this far. Glory be to God!

Wishing you all the very best in your biz and future endeavours.


--
Kind Regards,
Raymond Chee

Email : info@FocusOnTotalHealth.net
Website: http://www.FocusOnTotalHealth.net