PRODIGAL SUN
OCTOBER 2024
Let your light so shine before men that they
may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.(Matthew 5:16)
The rains mentioned in last month’s Prodigal have continued, although
sporadically, and not in the abundance our area needs. Such is the spiritual
rain that we desperately need, but are not wholeheartedly pursuing. We are
letting the cares of this world delay our pursuit of the one Who has all the
answers, directions, and provisions for our lives.
An old hymn from 1913 bears out this truth;
There is a guide that never falters, and when He leads I cannot stray. For
step by step He goes before me, and marks my path. He knows the way.
Oft times the path grows dim and dreary, the darkness hides the cheering
ray, Still I will trust though worn and weary, my Savior leads. He knows the
way.
He knows the evils that surround me, the turnings that would lead astray, No
foes of night can confound me, for Jesus leads. He knows the way.
O heart weighed down with nameless anguish, O guilty soul torn with dismay,
Thine every foe, His power will vanquish, Let Jesus lead. He knows the way.
He is the only one that can and will guide your every step. Our DNA never
had ‘self-governing’ programmed into it, and it cannot be added now.
Jeremiah 10:23 bears out this truth as it reads, “Oh Lord I know the way of
man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.”
Then in Hosea 5:11 we find consequences for this disobedience. This passage
reads, “Ephraim is oppressed and broken in judgment, Because he willingly
walked by human precept.”We are totally incapable within ourselves to direct
our life’s steps. As God’s Word says, “There is a way that seems right to
man, but the end thereof is death.” Without God’s road being followed we
will find ourselves at the mercy of the evil one who knows no mercy, only
death and destruction. Eternal damnation is the reward of all who follow his
deceptions.
A definition of human precept can be rule of moral conduct. So where does
the ‘moral’ come from, and the only correct answer must be from the One who
defines what morality is. Each one of us, in his or her own way, tries to
redefine the parameters of morality set by God. Unless your definition comes
direct from the Word of God your final conclusion will be perverted, and you
will be judged accordingly.
America has a time of great affliction ahead of her, one in which she will
not be able to escape. In the days ahead there will also be a time in which
God will not hear your prayers, unless you are truly Christ’s. A false
relationship with Christ reinforced by church membership, baby baptism, man
made baptism without true identification with the death and resurrection of
Jesus, good deeds, and any type of ‘divine favor’ that has a monetary value
attached is totally corrupt, and unacceptable to God. You will hear from God
what Simon the sorcerer heard from Philip, then Peter.
Simon (Act 8:9-21) was a believer in Christ, was baptized, but when seeing
the power of the Holy Spirit given through the laying of the apostle’s hands
also wanted the power and offered money for it. Peter’s response in verse 20
was,”Your money perish with you, because you thought the gift of God could
be purchased with money.” Anything that is a God given gift cannot be
purchased with money, but was purchased at the cross with the Blood of
Christ. Those that use these tactics to extract finances from anyone are
charlatans. No gift of God can have a price tag on it, or ever will.
There are many faithful followers of Christ, and others that are cold or
lukewarm. We, at this present hour, have been given a period of grace to be
re-ignited or ignited for Jesus. This fire needs to be for life, not a
single service, not an emotional moment, not because some great need or
disaster, but simply because of His dying for our sin so that we would not
have to. He created us because He loves people and wants us with Him for all
of eternity. Time without end in a land so beautiful that it cannot be
described in any human dialect. We’ll have to see it to believe it!!
Here is another prize winning hymn;
Are you coming home, ye wanderers, Whom Jesus died to win,
All foot-sore, lame, and weary, Your garments stained with sin;
Will you seek the Blood of Jesus, To wash your garments white;
Will you trust His precious promise, Are you coming home tonight?
Are you coming home, you lost ones? Behold your Lord doth wait;
Come, then no longer linger, Come ere it be too late;
Will you come and let him save you? O trust His love and might;
Will you come while He is calling, Are you coming home tonight?
Are you coming home you guilty, Who bear the load of sin?
Outside you’ve long been standing, Come now and venture in;
Will you heed the Savior’s promise, And dare to trust Him quite?
“Come unto Me,” said Jesus, Are you coming home tonight?
Are you coming home tonight, Are you coming home tonight,
Are you coming home to Jesus, Out of darkness in to light?
To your loving, heavenly Father, Are you coming home tonight?
2 Corinthians 6:2…...”Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the
day of salvation.”We must decide NOW who to serve, before the day of the
Gentiles comes to a close. All of the warning signs point to the closing of
the Book of Life. Is it worth taking a chance for missing the eternal life
offered in Christ for another day of doing it your way in a lost world?
kenhayesfleming9@gmail.com
Kenneth H. Fleming
www.wbcis.com
502 Market Street
(814) 687-3707
Fallentimber, Pa. 16639