NorthStar Church Blog

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6 (ESV)

THE WAY HOME TO THE FATHER

Anonymous writer, about an American tourist’s visit to the 19th-century Polish rabbi Hofetz Chaim: Astonished to see that the rabbi’s home was only a simple room filled with books, plus a table and a bench, the tourist asked, “Rabbi, where is your furniture?” “Where is yours?” replied the rabbi. “Mine?” asked the puzzled American. “But I’m a visitor here. I’m only passing through.” “So am I,” said Hofetz Chaim. (Christopher News Notes)

Jesus told the disciples that He was going to prepare a home in heaven with God the Father for all of His followers. This world is not the final destination for Christians. We are simply passing through. To “come to the Father” is to finally enter God’s heavenly kingdom.

Reflection

The Message paraphrases John 14:2 and says, “There is plenty of room for you in My Father’s home.” Is there anything that would change in your life if you treated this life as your temporary residence and heaven as your true home?

Prayer

Thank God for inviting you into His home in heaven. Ask God to show you areas of your life where you may be clinging too much to this world.

Dr. Larry Grays is the father of four and lives in the Canton area. Larry consults with churches, schools, city governments, and businesses nationwide. He’s been a member of the NorthStar family for over 20 years.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6 (ESV)

THE WAY TO LIFE

Deep inside every person, there is a yearning for something more. In Greek mythology, King Tantalus was punished in the underworld by being chained in a lake. Its waters reached to his chin but receded whenever he bent down to satisfy his burning thirst. Over his head were branches laden with choice fruit, but they immediately withdrew whenever he reached upward to satisfy his hunger. A symbol of utter frustration, his name is immortalized in the English word “tantalize.” King Tantalus is the perfect illustration of the way people feel about life apart from Christ. We all feel like happiness, satisfaction, peace, joy, and acceptance is so close, but we can never seem to reach it. (Bruce Goettsche)

Just as spiritual death leads to separation from God, so spiritual life implies connection with Him. We are spiritually dead without Jesus. We become alive when we surrender ourselves to Jesus. John 5:24 says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.”

Reflection

Jesus did not come to make bad men good. Jesus came to make dead men alive. When do you think you went from being spiritually dead to spiritually alive in Christ?

Prayer

Thank God for giving you spiritual life and eternal life in heaven through Jesus. Ask God to help you experience the abundant life Jesus promised in John 10:10.

Dr. Larry Grays is the father of four and lives in the Canton area. Larry consults with churches, schools, city governments, and businesses nationwide. He’s been a member of the NorthStar family for over 20 years.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6 (ESV)

THE WAY TO THE TRUTH

Do you remember that scene from A Few Good Men when Tom Cruise told Jack Nicholson he wanted the truth? Jack Nicholson responded to Tom Cruise by saying, “You can’t handle the truth!”

In John 14, the disciples wanted to know the truth. Jesus tells them that He is the truth. In this context, He means not only that He is dependable, but also that He Himself is the only true way of salvation (Leon Morris). Truth is a representation of things as they are. The life, the purity, and the teaching of Jesus Christ was the most complete and perfect representation of the things of the eternal world that has been or can be presented to man.

Reflection

Many people today can’t handle the truth. Mike shared four falsehoods some believe about God and Heaven:

1) Everyone goes to a better place when they die.

2) God grades on a curve.

3) As long as we are sincere, any spiritual path works.

4) A God of love wouldn’t keep anyone out of Heaven.

Which of these falsehoods have you been tempted to believe? What did Mike share that answered that falsehood?

Prayer

Thank God for opening your eyes to see the truth of God revealed in His Son Jesus. Pray for God to open the eyes of people in your life who are still believing lies about God.

Dr. Larry Grays is the father of four and lives in the Canton area. Larry consults with churches, schools, city governments, and businesses nationwide. He’s been a member of the NorthStar family for over 20 years.

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.

No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:6 (ESV)

THE WAY HOME

A missionary hired a guide to take him across a vast desert. When they arrived at the edge of the desert, the missionary saw trackless sands without a single footprint or road of any kind before him. He asked his guide with a tone of surprise, “Where is the road?” With a reproving glance, the guide replied, “I am the road.” Jesus is the way to heaven. We must trust Him to take us there.

The word “way” is emphasized by being repeated in John 14:4, 5, and 6; it refers to the way to heaven and the Father. Significantly, Jesus doesn’t say, “I know the way to heaven and can point you to it.” Rather, He says, “I am the way.” Jesus makes plain that He, and He alone, is the path to God. One must travel the road named Jesus to find their way to God. Jesus is the access to the Father, the highway to heaven.

Reflection

What were you taught growing up was the way to heaven? When did you first realize that Jesus is the only way to heaven?

Prayer

Thank God for showing you the way to heaven through Jesus. Pray for your friends and family members who have yet to accept Jesus as the way to heaven to be saved.

Dr. Larry Grays is the father of four and lives in the Canton area. Larry consults with churches, schools, city governments, and businesses nationwide. He’s been a member of the NorthStar family for over 20 years.

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

John 14:5 (ESV)

THE WAY HOME: A GOOD QUESTION

Billy Graham once told about a time in a small town when he asked a boy how to get to the post office. After getting directions, Mr. Graham invited him to come to his Crusade that evening. “You can hear me telling everyone how to get to heaven,” he told the boy. The boy’s response? “I don’t think I’ll be there. You don’t even know your way to the post office.” (The Leadership Secrets of Billy Graham by Harold Myra)

In John 14, Jesus has just told the disciples that He was going home to heaven to prepare a place for them. The disciple Thomas asks a good question. Thomas asked how they could know the way home to heaven. It’s a question that most of us have asked at one time or another. In a very short time, life for the disciples would fall in. Their world was going to collapse in chaos around them. Jesus knew the answer to that question was going to be a vital source of hope for them in the near future.

Reflection

If someone were to ask you how can you know you are going to heaven when you die, how would you respond?

Prayer

Thank God that Christmas is about Jesus answering the question of how we can get home to heaven. Ask God to help you share the hope of Christmas with someone who needs to hear.

Dr. Larry Grays is the father of four and lives in the Canton area. Larry consults with churches, schools, city governments, and businesses nationwide. He’s been a member of the NorthStar family for over 20 years.

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!’”

Luke 15:25-32 (NLT)

THE PERFECT OLDER BROTHER

The older brother in the gospel of Luke is far from perfect. As mentioned earlier this week, we see that he, too, is blinded by the desire for wealth and standing through commitment to extreme morality. But when we look at the whole gospel, we realize the reason our Heavenly Father is able to welcome us home is because of the Perfect Older Brother that He sent down to us. The grace God freely gives us came with a cost.

The prodigal son’s grace from his earthly father came at a cost to his older brother as well. It cost him much of the wealth he would have received had his younger brother waited, as was tradition, until the father passed. Now the older brother in the story would receive even less than the younger son had squandered upon his return and welcoming back into the family and back into the blessing of his inheritance. This older brother was unwilling to join in his father’s celebration.

Our true older brother in Christ not only shares in the celebration of our return, but is the reason we are able to be welcomed home with grace freely given. He paid the cost of this return with His life. We cannot return to the Father by ourselves. The Son of God was born into this world to die for us that we may be given this free grace.

I think it’s important to remember that both the younger brother and the older brother in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son needed this same grace. The younger brother comes home and must repent of his past. But the older brother must realize that his moral goodness does not make him righteous for his father’s blessing. We see the full picture in this parable of why a Savior is necessary. As we come into the season of Christmas where we celebrate the birth of our Savior, I challenge you to dig into which brother you might relate more to. Begin challenging your thinking as it relates to this story. May you remember not only the grace you are FREELY given, but also the price that was paid for it. Let us rejoice in this holiday season for a Heavenly Father who RUNS to us through the gift of His Son. 

Courtney Miller is the Special Needs ministry Director at NorthStar Church. She was born a Texas girl, but has lived in Georgia the majority of her life (Go Dawgs!). She married her husband, Chris, in 2012. They have two children with a third on the way. 

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.

Luke 15:20-24 (NLT)

THE GOD WHO WELCOMES US HOME

Arguably the most powerful moment in the parable of the Prodigal Son is the moment when the father runs to his son. The younger son has not only disgraced himself, but through his actions has essentially deemed his father worthless to him (except for his money). Rich Villodas, an author and pastor posted, “In the gospel of Luke, the prodigal son doesn’t return home because of a renewed love for his father. He comes back home simply to survive because he ran out of money and is starving. And his father is perfectly fine with that! Just come home. God just wants you home.” He is longing for us to return. He is actively running after us just like the father in the parable.

              The younger son realized he had nothing left, and unless he returned home, he would not find sustenance. But we find that God’s grace is free for us no matter what we have done. Our relationship with the Lord is not transactional. I have nothing to give the Lord, but He has everything to give me. His love for us restores our position (that never disappeared) in the Home He has for us. Not only are we welcomed home, but our homecoming is celebrated.

We see in this story that even when our return home is simply to survive, before our lives are even cleaned up or our hearts are even changed, our Heavenly Father is ready for us. He wants us to find our way Home. It is where we find our purpose, our meaning, and our value. May you see the great, amazing, unbelievable love the Father has for you and rest in that today! Remember that no matter what your journey has looked like, the Father welcomes you with open arms.

Courtney Miller is the Special Needs ministry Director at NorthStar Church. She was born a Texas girl, but has lived in Georgia the majority of her life (Go Dawgs!). She married her husband, Chris, in 2012. They have two children with a third on the way. 

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!’

Luke 15:25-30 (NLT)

ELDER BROTHER LIVING

Have you ever thought about the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son? I think often we read the story and move quickly past the significance he carries in the story Jesus is telling. Timothy Keller does an excellent job of breaking down the role of the elder brother in his book The Prodigal God. 

In my early years of college, this book opened my eyes to how easy it is for me to fall into performance-based thinking. Performance-based thinking is the idea that I can do something to earn God’s love or that God’s love for me is measured by what I do. The Bible explicitly contradicts that thought. In Ephesians 2:8-9 it reads, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith- and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast.”

              In his book, Keller points out that the elder son is just as alienated from the father as is the prodigal, younger son. It is his self-righteousness (just like that of the pharisees Jesus is telling the parable to) that is keeping him from sharing in the feast. The elder brother, too, was more concerned with the father’s wealth than the father himself, and he didn’t even realize it! He was totally blind to his own sin. He was too focused on following the moral path.

              Sometimes we fall into the thinking that it’s only when I “do my daily quiet time,” “go to church,” “fill in the blank” that the Lord is delighted in me. This thinking lends me to the deeper thought that there is actually something I can do to earn the Lord’s delight in me. His delight in me has already been freely given! In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus invites us into true rest by simply walking with Him. Our obedience does not get us anything. As Keller points out, our obedience is simply to love Him, resemble Him, know Him, and delight in Him.

              Remember, before knowing Christ, we were once sinners. After receiving and trusting in Him, we are now His righteous children. His Spirit is within us. We can rest in knowing that it is not up to us. We are forever His! May you remember to find your satisfaction in God alone and know that you are welcomed into His family by His grace alone.

Courtney Miller is the Special Needs ministry Director at NorthStar Church. She was born a Texas girl, but has lived in Georgia the majority of her life (Go Dawgs!). She married her husband, Chris, in 2012. They have two children with a third on the way. 

¹² T

¹² When the younger told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now, instead of waiting until you die!’ his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

¹³ “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and took a trip to a distant land, and there wasted all his money on parties and prostitutes. ¹⁴ About the time his money was gone a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. ¹⁵ He persuaded a local farmer to hire him to feed his pigs. ¹⁶ The boy became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the swine looked good to him. And no one gave him anything.

¹⁷ “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired men have food enough and 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 am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man.”’

Luke 15:12-19 (NLT)

THE PRODIGAL SON

In a world filled with temptation and sin, the prodigal son is a character Christians can relate to. The devil can grab a foothold in our lives quite easily. It may be in a significant and visible way, as in this parable, or it may be in ways that we can hide more easily like pride or greed. Either way, we have all left home at some point in our journeys. Your temptations may cost you everything – your “stuff”-  like it did for the prodigal son – or it may cost you your joy and satisfaction.

Sometimes temptation can come when we get bored – even in the good things. The prodigal son had a good life before he left his father’s house. He had permanence and provision and a father who clearly loved him. But temptation can lead us to wonder what else is out there. We become willing to step away from the goodness the Father has given us to test the waters of what the world tells us is waiting to bring us a “better life.” But all the world offers us is emptiness and shallow relationships. The easiness the world offers is deceitful. 

How can you combat this temptation? Do you have a heart of gratitude? Are you thankful for what the Lord has given you? Are you giving Him daily thanks? The things of this world will fade. 1 John 2:17 says, “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” When you find yourself wondering about what the world has to offer, you aren’t celebrating the goodness of the Lord. You begin to find your satisfaction in the things of this world instead. When you can find gratitude in the Lord, you can begin to let go of the temptations more easily.

God provides us deep and meaningful relationship. One of my Fellowship of Christian Athletes coaches in high school used to always ask, “How’s your heart?” He wasn’t looking for the typical teenage response of “good.” I’ve never forgotten that question and the depth of thought it provoked. This is the type of relationship we find in the Lord. One that fully satisfies. It will not betray us.

The parable of the prodigal son begs the question, “When life falls apart, what is left?” The prodigal son found that it was the freely given grace and love of his father. We were made by God for relationship with Him. The stuff of this world will never satisfy. In Acts 17, Paul states that in God we find our life and our breath and everything else. Paul reminds us that the Lord is not far from any of us. In fact, he is always with us and always seeking us. Let us find satisfaction in Him and gratitude in what He has given us.

Courtney Miller is the Special Needs ministry Director at NorthStar Church. She was born a Texas girl, but has lived in Georgia the majority of her life (Go Dawgs!). She married her husband, Chris, in 2012. They have two children with a third on the way.