Good morning. It’s Saturday, May 16th, aka National Wear Purple for Peace Day.

🥳 Congratulations on starting today with God, and thank you for letting us be a part of it.

— Luke 15:4

So in Luke 15, Jesus is surrounded by a crowd that includes sinners and tax collectors, while religious leaders are criticizing Him for spending time with them. They’re basically questioning why He would associate with people like that.

So in response, Jesus tells a story about a son who decides to leave his father, take his inheritance early, and go off on his own.

And here’s a summary of it:

The younger son asks his father for his share of the inheritance early, then leaves home and goes to a distant place where he wastes everything he has on reckless living. After he spends it all, a famine hits, and he ends up broke, hungry, and taking care of pigs, so desperate that he wants to eat what they’re eating.

Eventually he comes to his senses and realizes even his father’s servants live better than this, so he decides to go back home and admit he was wrong, expecting to just be treated like a servant.

But before he even gets there, his father sees him from far away, runs to him, embraces him, and welcomes him back. Instead of punishing him, he restores him, giving him a robe, a ring, and throwing a celebration because his son who was lost has come back.

What this means is this. The story isn’t really about the son, it’s about the father.

Because the son messed up. Bad. But the moment he turned back, the father was already running to him.

And the picture Jesus is painting is that we’re like the son. We’re the ones who wander, mess up, and try to do life on our own.

And God is like the father.

He’s not waiting to punish you when you come back. He’s the one running toward you.

He didn’t make him earn it or work his way back. He didn’t treat him like a servant. He fully restored him.

That’s the part you’re supposed to notice.

So the point of today’s newsletter is this: no matter how far you go, God is ready to welcome you back..

When you’re not sure how to pray, A.C.T.S. gives you a simple path to follow: Adore, Confess, Thank, and Ask.

Adoration: Father, thank You for Your love and mercy.

Confession: Forgive me for the times I wander from You.

Thanksgiving: Thank You for always welcoming me back.

Supplication: Help me stay close to You and trust You more each day.

In Jesus name, Amen

“ROOFTOP” by Hulvey & nobigdyl

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Thanks for letting us be a part of how you start your day with God.

See you tomorrow,

Zach | Start With God