NO BIBLE NO BREAKFAST DAILY BIBLE REFLECTIONS AND MORE

SCRIPTURE READING

JOSHUA 5:9-12
2 CORINTHIANS 5:16-21
LUKE 15:1-3, 11b-32

REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is “Reconciliation” Reconciliation means the restoration of a broken relationship. Sin or disobedience is the cause of our broken relationship with God. Anytime we fracture our relationship with God we must seek reconciliation with Him. We shall reflect on the fact that

1. We experience liberation from bondage when we reconcile with God.
2. We acquire a new identity and nature when we reconcile with God.
3. We experience unconditional love and compassion when we reconcile with Him.

Firstly, no one reconciles with God and remains in bondage. It is for this reason when the Israelites believed in God and reconciled with Him they experienced liberation from the captivity or the bondage of the Egyptians. Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. 10 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. (Joshua 5:9-10) In other Israel’s restored relationship with God has taken away the shame and disgrace when Egypt subjected them to slavery. Dear friend, sin and all forms of addiction may also hold us in bondage and bring in our lives shame, disgrace and loss of reputation. God desires to reconcile us back to a relationship of joy, freedom and dignity. It is for this reason when the Father of the prodigal son saw him returning home we were told, ” …while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.“(Luke 15:20) One of the key lesson of the parable to the prodigal son is that God is eager to see us reconcile with him so that He can liberate us from the bondage and burden of sin and its consequences. We saw the importance of our reconciliation with God when He said, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) Dear friend, are you still under the bondage of sin? Are ready to be set free from the addiction of masturbation, pornography, fornication, deceit, hypocrisy, drunkenness, adultery and all manner of destructive habits. Like the Israelites and the prodigal son who saw reason to allow God into their lives and to reconcile with Him for their liberation, peace and prosperity, we are also called to reconcile with God.

Secondly, have to be set free of bondage, we are given a new nature and identity through Christ when we reconcile with God. Paul assured us that “…if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19) When God reconciles us to Himself, we experience regeneration through the Holy Spirit and are transformed. We offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God and are no longer influenced by the patterns of the world according to Romans 12:1-2. The new nature and identity we acquire through reconciliation with God affect our communication, walk, relationships, preferences and priorities in life. We now live purpose-driven and heaven-conscious lives to the glory of God as a result of our new nature and identity. Reconciliation with God will not make churchgoers but genuine Christians and disciples of our Lord Jesus.

Thirdly, we experience liberation and a new nature through reconciliation with God, we are assured of God’s unconditional love or compassion in accepting us back when we go astray, repent and return to reconcile with Him. This is the main lesson in the parable of the prodigal son. In the parable of the prodigal son, we are told “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. (Luke 15:17-24) Dear friend in the Lord, no matter how far away we are from the Lord because of sins or disobedience, we are assured of God’s conditional love and compassion for repentant sinners. It is for this reason Paul wrote, We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21) Again, we are told in John 3:16-17 that “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Beloved in the Lord, for us to reconcile with God, we are greatly reminded in 1 John 1:9 that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) My dear friend, this reflection calls for self-examination and confession. Jesus admonished us “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21) Let us repent, confess our sins and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. It is important to note that a believer who has truly reconciled with God will live by the Word of God and follow the perfect examples of our Lord Jesus Christ in every aspect of their lives.

In summary, we have discovered that we experience liberation from bondage when we reconcile with God, we acquire a new identity and nature when we reconcile with God and last but not least we experience God’s unconditional love and compassion when we reconcile with Him. May the Holy Spirit grant the humility and conviction to repent and be reconciled to God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.