Flipped Devotional
review weekly readings from Flipped Devotional the Book with the author and her husband
Flipped Devotional
May 5 - 11
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Here are the scriptures for this week's podcast:
May 5 - John 4: 15-26
May 6 - Exodus 14: 10-14
May 7 - Jeremiah 29: 10-14
May 8 - Isaiah 62: 1-5
May 9 - Matthew 8: 1-4
May 10 - 2 Timothy 2: 1-13
May 11 - Luke 15: 11-20
Welcome to Flip Devotional the Podcast, where each week Martha Shannon, the author of Flip Devotional The Book, and Steve Shannon discuss the readings from the week. If you haven't gotten Flip Devotional the Book, it's available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, available as an ebook on Barnes and Noble. Or you can check the scripture references in the podcast notes each week and read along with us. All right. Did a checking of how many states are in our downloading? Oh, thanks. Well, only 12 states downloaded our podcast.
SPEAKER_02Wow.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm just thinking we could up that.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, that's obviously.
SPEAKER_00So, yeah, if you all could share this with people who live in other states and say, hey, could you do a little download for my friend, my whatever, um, and get this it just like make it make her happy the Dakotas. Okay.
SPEAKER_01I want both a download from both North and South Dakota.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01That's the challenge.
SPEAKER_00You like the Dakotas?
SPEAKER_01I don't know.
SPEAKER_00It's where Mount Rushmore is.
SPEAKER_01Is it? I think so.
SPEAKER_00It's in South Dakota, right? Yeah. We should know that. I'm embarrassed. Okay. We are doing May 5th through May 11th. May 5th. Happy birthday, Katie.
SPEAKER_01Correct. Our oldest daughters.
SPEAKER_00The one that was on the third episode, um, doing a shout out to the fiery furnace. Yes. Um, so today is her birthday. And the rest of the story of the woman at the well.
SPEAKER_01Correct.
SPEAKER_00So those of you who have been, oh my gosh, what's gonna happen? What's gonna happen?
SPEAKER_01Mount Rushmore is in South Dakota.
SPEAKER_00Thank you. Go, Martha.
SPEAKER_01Southwestern South Dakota. Okay.
SPEAKER_00All right. So the woman at the well. Um, when we ended last week, they were still Jesus and her were just talking.
SPEAKER_01Um talk about living water.
SPEAKER_00And how she would love that because then she wouldn't have to come up to the well.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, she doesn't quite get it yet, does she?
SPEAKER_00No, but bless her heart.
SPEAKER_01But again, we don't get it all anyway.
SPEAKER_00Right. And then Jesus says, go call your husband and come back.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00He could have done this so many different ways. He could have been accusing to say, okay, so first of all, are you even living with your husband right now? How many husbands have you had? But no, he puts it out there, and she could have responded any way she wanted.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. He's busy.
SPEAKER_00And she said, I have no husband. And then Jesus says, You're right. Fact is, you've had five. And you know, I I think I was gonna say I don't know what the point of it was, but the point was it made her go, whoa.
SPEAKER_01Whoa, how do you know that?
SPEAKER_00It must be a prophet.
SPEAKER_01The man you're currently with is not your husband. So that's not even number six.
SPEAKER_00Right, right.
SPEAKER_01Whoa, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Now, see, see, this is kind of interesting because she says, um, our ancestors worshiped on this mountain. So again, she's pulling, you know, twice now. She talks about Jacob. Jacob was our father, Jacob did this, and now she's like, our ancestors worshiped here. I I don't know what to do with that. She's I don't I don't know if it's because she's um I don't know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. I I I it's it's always been, and I don't have an answer, but obviously she is to some degree proud of being a Samarian, Samaritan. Because that's that's right, yes. We worshiped here, you worship in Jerusalem, right? You like you had to go to Jerusalem, right? You know, uh for the Passover, have to go to Jerusalem, right? Jesus stayed and couldn't find him for a few days. He was at the temple, my father's house. So that was the expectation. There said, we worship here, and maybe it's just again, you're not one of us, right? You're a Jew, we're a Samaritan. I don't know, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And then he says, woman.
SPEAKER_01Woman again.
SPEAKER_00And this is the same word, Greek word as in last week's with Mary, his mom. Yes. When he said, woman, it's not my time. Same same word. I don't think he said it that way.
SPEAKER_03Then sorry. I didn't play well on a podcast. My apologies. It was finger snapping. I I apologize. Uh but yeah, but yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um and and then Jesus says that there's gonna come a time when we're all gonna worship together.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, neither on this mountain or in Jerusalem. We're gonna worship, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So that's that's kind of interesting as well.
SPEAKER_01A time is coming and has come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the spirit and in truth.
SPEAKER_00Right? For they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. So when you worship, you should worship in spirit and in truth.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And the woman says, so she's somewhat informed. I know that Messiah, not the Messiah, I know that Messiah is coming. And when he comes, he will explain everything to us.
SPEAKER_00And then Jesus says, I, the one speaking to you, I am he.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And we we don't have the rest of the rest of the story.
SPEAKER_01He stayed there for like two weeks or some period of time, right?
SPEAKER_00But she ran down and told everyone. It's like, I think this is the guy.
SPEAKER_01This is And they went with her, even though she was embarrassed to be seen by them, right? They followed her for some reason. Yeah. So I think, yeah, true worshipers. Yeah. And it's also I am he. Remember, I said challenge the three most important words, you know, in the Bible a couple weeks ago, he is risen. Oh, three big, you know, that sequence of letter words. Um in the beginning, I said as one, maybe I am he could be in there as well. Meaning he right here. He and he tells a Samaritan woman, I am he. Not I am the Messiah, but I am he. But clearly, you know, following the conversation, he acknowledges, right?
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01That I'm the Messiah. Right here on May 5th. So big deal, right? And again, not to a religious leader. You know, he was very candid and open with the Samaritan woman. When we did the Easter story, he never answered any questions from the religious leaders or Pilate. Right? But he was okay telling the Samaritan woman.
SPEAKER_00All right. So May 6th, we leave the water theme now.
SPEAKER_01Correct. Well, kind of a little bit of water in this one. We'll be um not this particular reading, but the outcome.
SPEAKER_00Right, right. But it it wasn't chosen for that reason. I know. I can't tell you why it was chosen.
SPEAKER_01It's a good story.
SPEAKER_00There you go. Um so it's from Exodus 14, 10 through 14. Uh it's kind of in the middle of well, no, I guess towards the end of the you know, pharaoh, pharaoh, let my people go. Yeah. Um thing.
SPEAKER_01So I mean, we've had the plagues, had blood on the door, firstborn, all dying. And now so they've they are on their way to leaving Egypt. They got all sorts of gold and silver from the Egyptians, right?
SPEAKER_00Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_01And Pharaoh said go, go.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, one thing we don't really think about is in this in that story when Pharaoh finally says go, and they go, and we go straight to um they're they're at the Red Sea. And I don't know, I th I think we go so quickly there, it's like ta-da, they're there.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Um But it had to take some time.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And a lot of people.
SPEAKER_00They weren't just like down the street from the Red Sea.
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_00So this part takes place before they cross the Red Sea. And it says they they see the Egyptians marching after them, says they were terrified.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And they said to Moses, basically, why didn't you just leave us in Egypt?
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00Why'd you bring us out here to die? We like we didn't even want to go. We we were fined there, which isn't true.
SPEAKER_01Um no, they were slaves.
SPEAKER_00They said, didn't we say to you, leave us alone, let us serve the Egyptians?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00They didn't say that.
SPEAKER_01Um early on, they were unhappy with them, with Moses. The Israelites were were they okay. Yeah, yeah. I mean, because when Moses first went to Pharaoh with Aaron and talked about this, uh, Pharaoh's response was you have to gather your own straw. It became harsher on the Israelites to make the bricks. Well, that was in response to Moses. So some are saying, why you're you're making this worse. You're making this worse, right?
SPEAKER_00Okay, okay. And this says But let us serve the Egyptians.
SPEAKER_01They were not serving, they were slaves. No, yeah, I agree. They were not, right.
SPEAKER_00I I think they're twisting it a little bit.
SPEAKER_01Sure, sure, sure. This says it's 120, the coastal route could be 120 kilometers.
SPEAKER_00English?
SPEAKER_01It's about 70 miles, 72 miles.
SPEAKER_00Wow.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01And that's that's the shortest distance they list. Um so and it is, I mean, it wasn't.
SPEAKER_00Well, and we know they didn't go the shortest distance because remember the other one we had where it said God took them around a different route because they knew he knew if he took them through the one part of it.
SPEAKER_01That happened after the Red Sea.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01That triggered the 40 years in the wilderness that initiated the left. They've had Passover. Uh, they've gotten gold and silver from the Egyptians. And Pharaoh said, Go, go. You know, his firstborn son died, go, go. And then he says, No, we're gonna go get them. So they chased the Israelites. And I think it was a large, I mean, like 600,000 people or some large number of people that were leaving, right? So imagine getting all that through the process and 600,000 people across a lifespan.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01When they were kids, they were old people, right? Kind of slow you down, maybe. So they're being chased, right? And they look back and they see the Egyptians coming. So and what does Moses say to them? Do not be afraid.
SPEAKER_00Stand firm, which we had, I think, when we were talking about the armor.
SPEAKER_01Uh-huh. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00God says, stand firm.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today.
SPEAKER_00And at the end it says, the Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still. Right. So who's doing the fighting?
SPEAKER_01The Lord.
SPEAKER_00God, God does the fighting for us. We we act like we gotta do all this stuff. And and and what are we supposed to do? Stand firm, be still. Yeah, we we don't have to do anything, right?
SPEAKER_01God wants us to join him, he doesn't need us to join him. But this case, stand firm, be still. Right now, if the army's coming towards you, you probably have are thinking, that's a great message. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Okay, I just have to correct you. Sorry.
SPEAKER_01Oh, sorry.
SPEAKER_00So it was going towards the Red Sea. Um, back Exodus 13. God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country. Oh, yeah. Okay. But that was shorter. Um, if they face war, they might return to Egypt.
SPEAKER_01Okay.
SPEAKER_00God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea.
SPEAKER_01All right. I stand correct.
SPEAKER_00Just, you know, I'm not, I don't always get that opportunity. So I.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. But anyway, they go towards the Red Sea, which again, probably you could see people saying, Yeah, he's taken us to the Red Sea. Most of us Red Sea. What's the plan at the Red Sea? I mean, how many boats do we have?
SPEAKER_00Except the people that are, you know.
SPEAKER_01In the back.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, even the middle to the back, they they have no idea. We're just, I'm just following Bob in front of me. I have no idea where we're going.
SPEAKER_01This road goes there. You know, other so they don't have to see the Red Sea, but they have known this is is this the Red Sea road? I don't know. But still, but those same people see the Egyptians, right? Because they're in the back.
SPEAKER_00Right. Yeah. So they're the ones that are really afraid and saying to the people in front, can you could you all hurry up? You see who's behind us? Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Get this message to Moses.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So it yeah.
SPEAKER_00But the the biggest thing from this story is that I think we can take with us is if you're in the middle of something, and this is why I wrote up at the top, when you're in the middle of a mess, it seems hopeless, think of the story.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00These these people were in the middle between the Red Sea and the Egyptians coming after them.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And you know they feel hopeless because they're like, why didn't you just leave us in Egypt?
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_00Yes, we were being slaves, yes, we were being um treated cruelly, you know, but it was better than this.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And and yeah, it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert.
SPEAKER_00And yet, we know the rest of the story. We know it turned out okay for them. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um But the Lord will fight for you.
SPEAKER_00The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still. That would be a good verse to just memorize. And the next time you're in the middle of something and it feels hopeless, just say, the Lord will fight for me.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I only need to be still. I just have to be still.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I don't have to do anything. The Lord's gonna fight. Whew. That's good. That is good.
SPEAKER_01That is good. Yeah, yeah.
unknownAll right.
SPEAKER_01Do you wish you had written it?
SPEAKER_00The scripture?
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Sure, yeah. Yeah. All right. May 7th is Jeremiah 29, 10 through 14. This has in it a verse that people pull out a lot.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00And use it. Um graduation time, it's it's on graduation cards. People will give you little plaques and stuff with this on it.
SPEAKER_01Um probably paperweights at one time.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, frames. We have a frame at home that has this on it.
SPEAKER_01Really?
SPEAKER_00Yep. Has our girls' pictures in it.
SPEAKER_01Oh, yeah, look at that every day.
SPEAKER_00The scripture is for I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Now, I'm not I'm not saying the scripture is used incorrectly. It's very encouraging. It's good to know that God has a plan. But if you go back, because this is like right in the middle of a paragraph.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00If you go back up to the beginning, it says, this is what the Lord says. When 70 years are completed, yeah, I will come to you. For I know the plans I have for you, blah, blah, blah. Okay. So he great. He has a plan. It doesn't mean it's happening tomorrow.
SPEAKER_01No, no, it's what I've said before, probably here. God doesn't have a calendar and he doesn't have a watch.
SPEAKER_00Yes. Yeah. So I really have uh uh something about graduation cards where it says things like this, and people write notes on it, like, oh, I can't wait to see what you do. You're gonna make such a difference. Oh, the world's gonna be a better place because of you, blah, blah, blah. I personally feel like it puts a lot of pressure on the graduate, yeah, on the person. It's like, oh my gosh, I'm they're expecting me to do great things. What are those great things I'm gonna do? Well, you know what? It may be 70 years before they do it. Yeah, and that's okay.
SPEAKER_01You're gonna wander the desert for 40 years, right? Again, but 70 years, right? And when 70 years are completed for Babylon, right? So again, some of these folks are gone to Babylon, right? I mean, they were taken, right? It they're not fun people, right? The Babylonians. But uh, yeah, can I mean we get frustrated if heating food in the microwave takes too long? But imagine if someone today, today is is the year is 2026. If you were told today, in 2096, this will be resolved.
SPEAKER_00Right. Right. Well, some of us would be like, yeah, probably won't be here to see that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, thanks for the update.
SPEAKER_00But good to know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um now the the rest of the scripture says then you will call on me, I will listen to you, you will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you. That's that's a good scripture.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And maybe this goes back to if you seek me and find me with all your heart, it may not be 70 years. Right? I mean, it doesn't say that, but you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. So could it be if you do it now, it could be now. Right?
SPEAKER_00It says the the rest of that says, and I'll bring you back from captivity.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So once again, we we say this often being a Christian, following God does not mean things are rosy all the time.
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_00So they're they're in captivity 70 years. He knows the plan, he knows what's going on, so you can trust him. But again, it doesn't mean it's happening immediately.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And in your part is to seek him. So yeah. All right, May 8th, Isaiah 62, 1 through 5. Um, my note up at the top of this, if you don't have the book, says in this passage, look how highly favored you are. So this is the the main reason I included this passage. Um it says in kind of in the middle, you will be a crown of splendor.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00A royal diadem. You will be called Hefzibah.
SPEAKER_01Hefzibah, I would think.
SPEAKER_00Which is my delight is in her. The Lord will take delight in you, and your God will rejoice over you. I think sometimes I need to remember. Remember that, kind of soak that in and re remember who I am because of God, who I am in God's eyes.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I mean, those are pretty, pretty high stuff, pretty amazing. The crown of splendor.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And it says the vindication shines, right? The Lord will take delight in you, right? And so will your God rejoice over you. So God's gonna rejoice over us. We don't want that to happen.
SPEAKER_00You know, yeah, I I want that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, and the New Testament has a reference to a bridegroom. So again, linkages between the two. No need to ignore the Old Testament. That's right.
SPEAKER_00We are pro-Old Testament in case you haven't noticed. All right, May 9th is Matthew 8, um, verses 1 through 4. Uh, I think. No, never mind. Um, so this is Jesus interaction with a leper.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I think your notes at the top always should be highlighted. The leper says, Lord, if you are willing.
SPEAKER_00And it says, think how he felt when Jesus says, I'm willing. I mean, that's that's the the whole thing.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You know, if there's this leper, and we know lepers were unclean, you weren't supposed to be around them, you weren't supposed to touch them. If they were walking towards a people or a city, they were supposed to yell out unclean, unclean, so people would know and they would get away.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Social distancing.
SPEAKER_00And he he says to Jesus, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean. And Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. That was huge. When was the last time someone had touched him?
SPEAKER_01Right. Treated him like a person. Not treat him as himself, not as a disease.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And he said, I am willing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Be clean. And immediately he was cleansed.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So also said this isn't the only time we see this, but don't tell anyone. Well, clearly he told people. Because it made it to Matthew.
SPEAKER_00True.
SPEAKER_01I mean, right? True. I mean, it doesn't give the impression he was coming down from the mountainside, a large crowd followed him. So maybe they heard and they told.
SPEAKER_00But I don't know. That's true.
SPEAKER_01And Moses had a list of things you're supposed to do. You know, leprosy is cleared up, he sacrificed, you know, whatever it was. But I also like at the end, as a testimony to them. That was show yourself to the priest. As a testimony to them, you would think the priest wouldn't need a testimony.
SPEAKER_00But is it a testimony, even though the the leper isn't saying Jesus healed him? Is it a testimony that God does heal?
SPEAKER_01Yeah. But you know, it says, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift of Moses as a testimony to them. You know, that was that honoring the priests and the you know what Moses commanded, you know, but it's still, you know, there's there's the healing, and then go ahead and do this as well. So I still want to know who's the them.
SPEAKER_00Yep. Okay, May 10th, 2 Timothy 2, 1 through 13. My note up at the top says, this is Paul writing to Timothy. I find this thought-provoking. I had to read it several times. It still, and I read it a couple of times before um while preparing for the podcast. It's yeah, it just is it's thought-provoking to me. Um he starts out, you then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Um then he says, join with me in suffering like a good soldier. Um no one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs. Like he's he's even talking to him using terminology that would be of a soldier. Right.
SPEAKER_01Um and then he says But yes, tries to please the commanding officer.
SPEAKER_00Yes.
SPEAKER_01Could be Jesus, right? Yeah, this analogy, and again, I think, and there's a the next one is another analogy, right?
SPEAKER_02Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_01Talks about the athlete, right? The athlete does not receive the victor's crown except by competing according to the rules. You know, uh and it really is it doesn't talk about training, it doesn't talk about what all those other things you associate is you will not get the crown if you do not compete according to the rules, right?
SPEAKER_00And then he goes to an analogy of a farmer, yeah. So kind of repeating the same idea, three different ways. Um, the hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. And then to to even prove that this is thought-provoking, he says, Um, reflect on this, and the Lord will give you insight into all of this. One time I was reading, it's like, uh yeah, I need insight into this too.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, help me understand it myself. But I would think again, I suspect people were familiar with soldiers. They obviously had athletes of some sort of competition, right? And farmers, you know. So are these three things that would relate to people, right? Uh of what's taking place now, you know, but it's it's still, you know, don't get tangled up in civilian affairs kind of means stay in your lane, right? Modern language. And you know, don't take a shortcut to be the victor, right? Follow the rules. Um, and you should be rewarded for your hard work, right? Uh, but it's still focusing on what you're called to do. Don't take any shortcuts, and and you should be rewarded for what you've accomplished, right? But also remember Jesus Christ. You know. Remember. And he you assume he says that because there was a possibility people were forgetting. I would think today you could say people don't really remember Jesus Christ. They know the story, but they don't necessarily remember him, right?
SPEAKER_02Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER_01Good point.
SPEAKER_00I think the end of this scripture, um, some people may have heard before. He says, here's a trustworthy saying. If we died with him, we'll also live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him. If he we disown him, he will also disown us. All three of those are are things we could probably predict what he was gonna say. But then he says, if we are faithless, he remains faithful, or he cannot disown himself. Right. So I was like, yeah. Yeah. You can be that way, but God.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, he can't do that. Yeah, yeah. But if we died with him, we will also live with him. If we endure, we will reign, right? Those two are positive, right? Right. But if we disown him, he will also disown us. And disowning is worse than being faithless. Right? He he remains faithful, right? But disowning must be denouncing almost, right? I'm I'm not a follower. I am no longer, right? You know, so I think that's part of, but if so, if if we show little faith, right, he will remain faithful. But so I don't know if that's correct. For when I read it, I get the two, you know, obviously, you know, he if we died with him, you know, other places you hear about yourself, you know, die to your, you know, live with him, and then if we endure, and if you endure, it means it's not gonna be wonderful.
SPEAKER_00Right. Well, right before this is when Paul talks about, he says, you know, I'm suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. I mean, he's yeah, he was in jail multiple times, shipwrecks, all sorts of stuff you know, happened to Paul. Bless his heart.
SPEAKER_01But we endure, meaning we get through that, right? You know, we disown him, he will. He could turn his back on us as well, right?
SPEAKER_00Yep.
SPEAKER_01But he'll he'll be faithful. And if he's faithful, it means if we've disowned him and then not right, return to him, he will be faithful in that. Sounds like there's a second chance through that for us if we make that decision. But it sure seems like, you know, I also like Paul. Here's a trustworthy say.
SPEAKER_00Oh right. The last day for this week is May 11th, and um, it's the prodigal son, which is a parable, which means it didn't really happen, but it was a story that Jesus told to uh teach. To teach, thank you. Yes, yeah. Uh I kind of feel like a lot of people know the story of the prodigal son.
SPEAKER_01And previously we talked about the shepherd who lost a sheep.
SPEAKER_00Uh-huh. He left the 99 to go get.
SPEAKER_01Then we talked to the lady had 10 coins, gold coins, I guess. Lost one, search for that. You know, I can let you. I have a boatload of pens at my office. I searched vehemently for the one I missed that I lost, and then I found it. I was happy about that.
SPEAKER_00Did you call everyone in to have uh I did.
SPEAKER_01I called everyone in from my office in to tell. So we all gather and they're very excited. Um and then um this is the third one in that sequence.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yeah. So they are all together um in the Bible. Um the things that that maybe people don't know. Um the the father had two sons. At that time, the older son would typically inherit the the I was gonna say kingdom, but the farm, whatever it is, the whatever from the father. Um but the younger son went to his father and asked for his share of the estate. So maybe there was already the um assumption that he would get something.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So maybe instead of just the older son.
SPEAKER_01Maybe the older son got anything happened later. But it's still there's there's another son.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. But in doing this, um it's it's kind of a dig to the father because typically you wouldn't get this till the father is dead.
SPEAKER_01Right. It's not very flattering for the son. I want it now.
SPEAKER_00Or to the the father. Yeah. Because it's like, you know, I wish you were dead so I could have mine, so can I just have it now?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I'm gonna get it anyway.
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01Why make me white?
SPEAKER_00And the father gives it to him, and then the the younger son leaves and squanders.
SPEAKER_02Yep.
SPEAKER_00Probably the only time I've ever used that word. Um his inheritance. Uh prodigal means that he was wasteful.
SPEAKER_01Wasteful, maybe extravagant, but wasteful, right? And it's interesting because I I never heard that definition. Heard the story a lot. Sermons. I never got I never remember hearing the definition of prodigal. I always assumed it was the prodigal son returns, meaning like, you know, the famous son or something, but no, it's wasteful.
SPEAKER_00Um and then he realizes that he would be better off if he was just a servant, black with his father, um, and decides to go back home because he he had nothing. He had no money left, he was had no food.
SPEAKER_01Um Yeah, he was feeding pigs and he couldn't eat what he was feeding the pigs.
SPEAKER_00So he goes back home and I can kind of see him heading home going, okay, so what I'm gonna say to my dad is I'm really sorry. Um I send what I did was wrong. Could I just be a servant of yours? Like I know I do not deserve to be treated as your son, um, but I would really be happy to just be a servant.
SPEAKER_01And um he said, my father's son, my father's servants have more food than this.
SPEAKER_00Yes, yeah. And and and remember, this is a parable. So if you think about why was the story being told, who's the father? The father is God. Who's the prodigal son? Us us who waste things who say, well, I'd rather just do this on my own again. Um says the very end says, but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion and ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. So one that tells me the father had to be looking for him, looking in that direction to see him coming from a long way off.
SPEAKER_01And he may have been watching him leave when his son left.
SPEAKER_00Oh, oh, I'm sure.
SPEAKER_01So that's how he knew the direction. Uh you know.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And so if we take this and think, okay, what is the story? Well, God is always looking for us. If we wander away, God knows where we are. He's just waiting for us to come back.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And when we turn to come back, he's there. He heads towards us with open arms to embrace us, to welcome us back. And the rest of the story, which isn't here and it's not next week, is um he brings them in and he's not a servant. He takes them in as a son.
SPEAKER_01Right.
SPEAKER_00It's like you're my son.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And so that's they have a party, they have a celebration, you know. The other brother's unhappy. Right?
SPEAKER_00Right.
SPEAKER_01You know, but they have a celebration.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01So it it goes back to Because that's who God is.
SPEAKER_00God is so excited. You are so excited to find your lost pen.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00God is so excited when one of his children come back to him. Because we're all his children.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Yeah, yeah. And didn't you do a study or something on the painting?
SPEAKER_00Uh-huh.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's yeah. It's called The Return to the Prodigal Sun.
SPEAKER_01By Rembrandt.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. In Russia.
SPEAKER_01That's where it is now. Yeah. We won't go into how the Russians got it.
SPEAKER_00It's huge, I hear. Like the size of a wall. I think it would be amazing to get to see it in person. Um, I don't anticipate that happening, but um there's so many little parts in the painting that make you think about the story even more. So yeah, I don't remember who did the study. But you know, thank God for Google because I bet I can pull it up pretty fast. There it is. Oh, Henry Nowen. Gosh, I should have known that. I love Henry Nowen. So yeah, it's a book, The Return of the Prodigal Sun, has the painting on the front of it.
SPEAKER_01Um St. Petersburg Museum. The height is 103 inches. Nine and a half feet. Ceilings are eight feet, so it's higher than that typically. Our house upstairs is nine foot ceilings. And it's eighty-one inches long, which is just short of seven feet. So it's almost nine and a half feet by seven feet.
SPEAKER_00Huge.
SPEAKER_01Area rug.
SPEAKER_00Huge. Yes. All right. I think that's it for this week.
SPEAKER_01We got a little bit of culture.
SPEAKER_00Well, we had the Irish Rovers last week. So we have Rembrandt Rembrandt and Henry Nowon this week.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so we gotta keep up. Next week, who knows who?
SPEAKER_00All right. Well, thank you for listening to this week's Flip Devotional the podcast. Don't forget to rate, review, subscribe, uh, download, share with your friends, and we will see you all next week.
SPEAKER_02See y'all, I'm gonna go to the house.
