Daily Devotionals

Trouble Maker Week 6: Tuesday

In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” Luke 15:10

I am convinced that nothing is more captivating than a good story. Stories entertain us, and stories bring us together, and, even more, stories teach us. In fact, storytelling is one of the greatest teaching methods because stories stick with us. Stories also can take abstract concepts and make them understandable. Jesus, being the master teacher, knew the power of telling stories and often used this powerful teaching device during His ministry on earth to teach many lessons about God, Heaven, faith, and so much more.

Some of Jesus’ most well-known stories that He told can be found in Luke 15. These stories are known as parables which are, as I have heard them described, “earthly stories with heavenly meanings.” Parables in Scripture were designed to reveal something about God and His kingdom or evoke an emotional response from readers. They also helped listeners remember what was being taught because stories are often easy for people to remember later after the story was being told.

 One of Jesus’ parables in Luke 15 was about a lost coin. He said in His story, “suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it?” (verse 8). My study Bible told me that a silver coin was about a day’s wage, so it was not a small amount of money that she had lost. People in the crowd could relate to this story because they would be very concerned if they had lost an entire day’s worth of wages and would search the entire house until it was found. Jesus explained that this woman’s joy when she finally found her coin did not compare to the joy in heaven when one person turns to God (verse 10).

In this parable of the lost coin, Jesus showed us how much God cares about those who are lost and far from Him. He also explained the celebration that occurs when just one person places their faith in Christ. Our question today is, do we have this same heart for those who are lost? Are we constantly seeking to share our faith with the people around us?

Moving toward action

Think of three people in your life who are far from Christ. Pray for them right now. Pray that God would work in their lives and bring them to Him. If no one comes to mind for you, pray that God would specifically bring people into your life who are far from Him so that you can introduce them to Jesus.

Going Deeper

Luke 15:1-33 (NLT)

"Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

3 So Jesus told them this story: 4 “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. 6 When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

11 To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. 12 The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

13 “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14 About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15 He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16 The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

17 “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’

22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

28 “The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, 29 but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. 30 Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. 32 We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”