Welcome Archives - Pastor Terry Lema's Daily Devotions

I love reading the Apostle Peter’s letters to the church. That big stubborn fisherman turned out pretty good once the Holy Spirit got hold of him.

I was reading his second letter to the church recently in the NIV. That is my version for this year. (When I read my Bible through each year I use a different version, that way I don’t get stuck in the “ruts” I tend to make in my Bibles.)

“For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” [2 Peter 1:10b-11 NIV]

Those words “rich welcome” caught my attention. So I checked out a couple other versions of that passage. The NKJV says, “For if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

The Holman Christian Standard Version translates it as, “Because if you do these things you will never stumble. For in this way, entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly supplied to you.”

The “these things” Peter was referring to are outlined in verses 5-7. They are character traits and attitudes that we should be adding to our faith, things like virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Still, it was those two little words, “rich welcome” that claimed my thoughts.

Our California family visited us recently. We waited all day on the day they were to arrive. We had not seen our one grandson for over a year as he went off to college. To see them drive up and get out of the car, holing their arms wide for a giant hug, I experienced a hint of the “rich welcome” our Savior has waiting for us when we enter into His Presence. Wow!

One of the most precious chapters in all the Gospels is Luke 15, the chapter of the lost and found. All the sinners and tax collectors were flocking to Jesus, which angered the religious leaders. So, Jesus reminded them of how it is to be lost. He gave three stories, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son, which we know as the “Prodigal Son.”

I do not know if you have ever been a prodigal, lost, alone, desperate, hungry. I do not know if you have stood outside the Presence of God and wondered if you would be welcomed in the Father’s House. Would He accept you as you come to Him in sorrow and repentance? Would He welcome you with open arms as the Prodigal Son’s Father did in the story Jesus told? Would there be a feast in your honor?

Or would He reject you, spurn you, disregard you as the Prodigal’s older brother did to Him?

We know that God so loved us that He sent His very own Son to save us. When we come to the door of the Father’s House through Christ Jesus in sorrow and repentance, we are welcomed and treasured by Him. God Himself, in human flesh, paid the ultimate price for us, He will not reject us when we come to Him.

Unfortunately, too often, the church behaves more like the Prodigal’s older brother than she does the Father. Too often we reject our wounded, drive them from our presence with our attitudes and arrogance. But God expects the church to be as loving, compassionate, and welcoming to prodigals as He is. We would do well to remember our own acceptance despite our sinful pasts.

One of my favorite videos is the one of Michael English (read his story in “The Prodigal Comes Home: My Story of Failure and God’s Story of Redemption”) returning to sing with Christians who could have rejected him but did not. He was welcomed back.

What a great time this Christmas to reach out to prodigals and remind them they are missed and loved.

(773) Michael English - Lord, Feed Your Children [Live] - YouTube

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A Rich Welcome

If you have ever been a prodigal …