Sunday

Well, it is Sunday. We worshiped this morning and then the group had a few hours in the market. It is always fun to take people to different stores or to new areas. Antonio made out great in one of the stores. Lesca and a few others went to Manuel's store and got a few things to return home with. Lesca completed her Christmas shopping!

This morning we had our worship at the hotel.

Rick shared a few thoughts from the parable in Luke about the lost sheep, lost coin and lost son.
He reminded us that nothing or no one intends on being lost but it does happen.

In the case of the sheep, there were 100 sheep and one lost its way. Sheep always are eating and do not seem to pay attention to where they are. They just eat, wander and eat some more. Thus one, eventually became lost. So, when you apply this to life, this might be the person who gets so caught up in work, family or responsibilities so when they do look up, they are lost. They are alone. They did not intend for this to happen but it did. So we, as a shepherd, need to help this person return. We need to be concerned with each soul. If we do not take responsibility to help the lost, who never intended to be in this situation, they will continue to wander.

The lost coin did nothing itself to be in the lost situation. Someone misplaced it. Someone's actions placed it at this point. It was not the action of the coin itself. This may represent a child who's parents did not provide proper teaching. It could be someone who is practicing false doctrine because that is how they were taught. Again, Christians have the responsibility to teach the Bibical truth, nothing more. This person may not know that what they are doing is incorrect. It can be a difficult situation but there is still a responsibility to teach.

The last one was the parable of the lost son. He wanted his inheritance before it was due. He spent it on all. He was only concerned with the needs of each day. He squandered it, nothing left and eventually had to eat with the pigs. He did not originally set out to be lost but found himself in that situation. He knew he had to change. He knew he needed to repent. When he returned home, he was welcomed by the opened arms of his father.

The difficulty comes with application. How do I reach out to help someone? How do I help someone who is lost and does not know it? Could I be the one lost and the one that needs to change?

Rick, thank you for a good lesson.

The group traveled to Guatemala City and we are thankful for their safe travels.