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It's time to go back to our Father's house

The Father is watching the road for His children: what His welcome looks like, how His house lives, and the way home through Yeshua.

In the parable of the prodigal son, a young man wastes everything in a far country and finally says, "I will arise and go to my father" Luke 15:18. The rest of the story is about what happens when he gets there.

The prophets told the same story about the scattered house of Israel. God promised to seek His lost sheep Ezekiel 34:11-12, to call "Not My people" His people again Hosea 2:23, and to bring His children home from the ends of the earth Jeremiah 31:8-10. That promise also includes everyone from the nations who joins them Isaiah 56:6-8.

This module walks through that homecoming:

  • The welcome: how the Father receives a child who comes back.
  • His house and its ways: the Father did not change His house while His son was gone, and His instructions, the Torah, are still the way His family lives.
  • His will is written down: what the Father wants from each of us is already in His Word.
  • The way home: Yeshua, who opened the door by His death and resurrection.
  • Who may come: the lost tribes of Israel, and anyone from the nations who comes with them.
  • Life in the house, one step at a time, and the older brother who is invited to the same table.
  • A word for every reader before you go on: what you can expect from us, and why Yeshua asked for disciples.

Before you read on, notice the order in the parable. The welcome comes first. The son is home before he does anything right. Everything else in this module grows out of that.

Lessons

  • Welcomed home: The son came home with a speech asking to be a hired servant. The father ran to him, cut the speech short and gave him back his place as a son.
  • The house still has its ways: The father did not remodel his house for the far country. The son came home by grace, and the Father's instructions are how he lives there.
  • Show me Your will: He already has: We often ask God to show us what He has already shown us. Much of His will for our lives is already written, and it starts with the next thing He has said that we have not yet done.
  • The way home: Yeshua: No one finds the way back by himself. Yeshua opened the door by His death and resurrection, and He is gathering the scattered children of Elohim into one.
  • Who may come home: The door is open to the lost tribes of Israel and to anyone from the nations who joins them. There is one house, one Torah and one family.
  • Life in the Father's house: Every family has its rhythm. In the Father's house it is set by Shabbat, His appointed times and the food He calls food: an invitation, not a checklist.
  • Coming home one step at a time: The apostles did not hand new believers the whole Torah on the first day. They started with the essentials and trusted them to keep learning.
  • The older brother: The father went out to the older son too. The prophets promised a day when Judah and Ephraim welcome each other, with no pride on either side.
  • Before you go on: a word for every reader: Wherever you are coming from, you are welcome here. Why this site exists, why you shouldn't trust any man (including us), what you can expect from us, and why Yeshua asked for disciples, not spectators.

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