Resource Details

Passage: Luke 15:11-24 (NLT)

Humans party to either celebrate life or to avoid life.

While Jesus was having dinner at Levi's house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with him and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked his disciples: "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" Mark 2:15–16 (NIV)

To experience God's party, I must:

1. Reconsider my understanding of God.

My view of God is determining my approach to God.

ACTION PLAN: All of us have some misconceptions and misunderstandings about who God is and who we are in relation to Him. 2 Corinthians 10:5 talks about taking every thought captive and making it obedient to Jesus. Pray for clarity, then draw a line down the middle of a paper. On the left side, list out the ways you view God or yourself that, when you really think about it, you know are not true. On the right side, list the truth. Where possible, list the Scripture reference to back up the truth.

2. Reevaluate my source of fulfillment.

Recognizing my emptiness can be the beginning of my hopefulness.

ACTION PLAN: Spend time journaling this week about where you seek to find fulfillment. Where do these things offer some fulfillment, and yet, where do these things bring emptiness? What would it look like to bring these things under Jesus' rule and direction?

3. Return to my heavenly Father.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (NIV)

• Admit that I have sinned and need a Savior.
  
  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NLT)
  
  
• Believe that Jesus is the solution.
  
  But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
  John 1:12 (NLT)
  
  
• Confess my surrender to his leadership. 

If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Romans 10:9–10 (NIV)

ACTION PLAN: Make a coffee or a cup of tea and read Luke 15:11-32. Close your eyes and envision what it is like to be in the shoes of the prodigal son. What things do you hold far from your Father with shame, thinking that they make you unworthy? What expression do you see on His face when you look at Him? Do you have a hard time remembering that He is welcoming you with open arms? Be encouraged, knowing that God looks at you with long-lasting love, no matter what you have done or how far you have run before. God is waiting with open arms to welcome you home. Talk with Him about this.