Gollihuefamilydiscipleship

The source of Wisdom (Parable of the 10 virgins Matthew 25:1-13) Sometimes the difference between wise and foolish is simply the person who is judging the actions taking place. In the Parable of the Ten Virgins, the difference between the wise and foolish virgins was that some were ready for the bridegrooms return with preparation and anticipation and some were not. The foolishness was tied to their readiness, but this got me to think what truly divides the wise from the foolish in this world. When I mention the word wise do certain individuals come to your mind like Einstein, Hawkins, Gates, etc. Wisdom is often confused with intelligence (knowledge of certain things) but to find the true source of wisdom you have only one option, God. In the Holy Bible, God is clear as to what makes one wise and what makes one foolish in this world. His definition doesn’t line up with your college professors, the national media, or even popular culture but if you truly want to be wise, it is the only definition that matters. Proverbs 1:7 says that the fear of God is the beginning of knowledge and that fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Echoed in Psalm 111:10, Job 28:28 and Proverbs 9:10) Psalm 14:1 says, that only a fool would say that there is no God. James 3:17 says that wisdom from God is always pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. Proverbs 2:6 says that it is God who grants wisdom. Proverbs 16:16 says that true wisdom is something to be valued over wealth and treasure in this world. Proverbs 14:8 says wise people see themselves for who they really are, and foolish people deceive themselves. As you can see from scripture, there is no wisdom separate from God. God is the beginning and ending point for all wisdom in this world and to seek it anywhere else is foolish. The wise virgins of this story were only wise because of their faith that the bridegroom was returning, and they were prepared to meet him. Modern day wisdom is the same, we must believe that Jesus is returning and make sure that we are prepared to meet him. God is the source of true wisdom and acceptance of His Son Jesus is the cornerstone that holds it all together. (Ephesians 2:20)

Everyone is invited (The Marriage feast of the King’s Son Matthew 22:1-14) In this parable, a king invites guests to his son’s wedding only to have them reject the invitation but to ensure that the wedding is well attended he sent his servants out to invite others to wedding. Jesus is speaking this parable to the religious elite of his time and is letting him know what is going to happen soon because of their rejection of Him as the Messiah. Jesus was letting them know that God’s chosen people, the Jews, through their rebellion and unacceptance of Him was going to open the door for the gentiles to come into the kingdom of God. God’s plan was never to work only through the Jewish people, His plan was to start with these chosen vessels and have it spread throughout the entire world. In Genesis 22:18, God tells Abraham that all nations will be blessed because of his act of obedience. God’s intention from the beginning was to have fellowship with all His creation. In this parable we see something great about our God, everyone ends up getting an invitation to the wedding party. Some may have been invited first but ultimately the King extends the invitation so that everyone has to a chance to attend the party. 2 Peter 3:9 says that God’s will is for no one to perish but for all of us to come to repentance. He wants everyone to come and know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and loves all His creation equally (Romans 2:11). We are all invited to have a relationship with Jesus, but the question is do we accept it like the second bunch of invitees in our parable or do we reject it like the first group. We have already established that God wants all of us involved in His Kingdom but are you willing to do what it takes to be involved.

Your choice (The Marriage feast of the King’s Son Matthew 22:1-14) The parable of the Marriage of the Kings son, ends in at verse 14 by simply saying, “Many are called, but few are chosen.” In the context of this parable, we see that many received invitations to the wedding feast, but they chose to reject the invitation. By closing the parable this way Jesus is letting everyone know that the invitation is given to all, but most people chose not to accept it. The word, “chosen” here is the Greek word “eklektos” which technically means to be selected or chosen but the Strong’s Concordance goes on to say that it is often used to describe people who choose to follow the Lord, i.e., become God’s choice by freely receiving faith from Him. So simply put, you become God’s choice when you choose to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Free will is something that God has given mankind from the very beginning, and it still holds true today. Men and women are given the opportunity to choose whether they will serve the Lord or follow their own selfish ambitions in life. So many people ask the question, why would a loving God send anyone to Hell? The answer is simple, He doesn’t. He allows you to choose where you spend eternity. He gives you all the facts and allows you to make your own decision. He lets you know that your sin brings about death and even gives us a way to escape that death if we choose to, in the form of His Son Jesus. But ultimately, we choose where we spend eternity, we choose to accept grace and mercy or to rebel, we choose whether to believe the lies of this world or the truth of God, we choose to chase our passion and dreams or to yield to the plan God has for our life. Simply put, WE CHOOSE. Many are called but few are chosen, because most have refused to accept the invitation of the King (God).

Dress for the occasion (The Marriage feast of the King’s Son Matthew 22:1-14) Have you ever showed up to an event to discover that you are horribly underdressed for the occasion? Everyone else is dressed to kill and you roll in wearing a pair of flip flops, some wore out jeans, and a comfortable t-shirt. If you have not been the one to do it, then I am sure that you have been at an event and seen someone else stumble into this situation. Our parable tells us in verses 11 and 12 that a guest showed up to the wedding party and they noticeably stood out for being under dressed, so much so that the King went over and asked how this person even got through the doors wearing the outfit they were wearing. It seems this person had duped everyone else at the party and got in, but He could not fool the King. In Revelations 3:17 Jesus is speaking to the Laodicean church; He tells them that they say they are rich and in need of nothing but, they are poor, blind, and naked. Everything seemed to be going great in the natural world, but they weren’t wearing what they thought they were in the spiritual world and Jesus saw right through it. We can fool our friends, family, communities, co-workers, and fellow church goers with our outward appearance and actions but when you stand before the King (God) everything comes into light. The last thing you want to do is be in the presence of God and think everything is okay and you are dressed properly only to be exposed for what you truly are, a fraud. The best piece of advice I can leave you with today comes from the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 13:5; “Examine yourself, whether you be in the faith.”

Don’t shoot the messenger (The Marriage feast of the King’s Son Matthew 22:1-14) We have all heard the old saying, “Don’t shoot the messenger!” This saying is used when individuals are angered and take it out on the person delivering the message instead of the one who sent the message. The messenger had nothing to do with the content of what is being delivered, they simply are carrying a message sent by someone with higher authority. In our parable this week, we see that the King sends out his servants with a message of invitation to subjects in his kingdom only to have the recipients reject the invitation and take it out on the messenger. Verse 6 says that they treated them spitefully and even killed the messengers. Sadly, this type of behavior of “shooting the King’s messenger” continues today. I would say there has never been a time in America where the recipients of God’s message have treated the messengers more spitefully than current day. America was founded on Christian principles and ideas but in recent years popular culture and progressive liberal agendas have made delivering a message from the King (God) highly unpopular. Today it is not just enough to simply ignore the message of God in America, you must speak harshly of and demean the messenger sent from God. I Peter 4:4 warns us that this would occur and says that the world thinks it is strange that we don’t want to partake in their sinful activities and that they will speak evil of us for not partaking with them. Today if you speak against the sin of this world, you are immediately spoken harshly of and labeled as an intolerant, bigot, who is full of hate and anger. This attack occurs simply because they are delivering the message of salvation and repentance to a lost and dying world. Their anger towards the Creator’s Message (Gospel) ultimately gets directed towards the messenger or one delivering of it. We still live in a great nation, and we have great freedom, but you would have to be completely blind to notice that this country is come less and less tolerant of God’s message and His messengers

An invitation you can’t refuse (The Marriage feast of the King’s Son Matthew 22:1-14) There are some events in life that when you receive an invitation to it, you clear your calendar and make sure that you are there. Say someone invites you to go the Super Bowl, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity and even if you are not a football fan you are probably going to do what it takes to get there. Maybe your favorite band is coming to town on a farewell tour, this could be your last chance to ever see them perform again live; you clear your calendar and make it happen. All of us have different likes, hobbies, and affections yet we can all relate to the fact that there are somethings in life we will just refuse to miss, and we will do everything in our power to make sure we are there. In the Parable of the Marriage of the Kings Son we see that obviously attending the King’s son’s wedding was not high on the list for the first set of invitees. Verse 5 said that they made light of the invitation and decided that they had better things to do; things that were more important to them at the time. When you are invited to the marriage of the King’s Son, your heart should implore you to drop everything and make sure you are there; especially when the King’s Son is Jesus. The invitations are still being sent today and sadly most people still are making light of it. They have better things to do than to accept an invitation from the God of this world to have a relationship with His Son, Jesus. It would inconvenience them to have to possibly put their careers on hold to accept. It would anger their children if they had to cut back on hobbies and extracurricular activities to accept the invitation. There would be a chance they wouldn’t fit in any longer at family events, social gatherings, and with the status quo if they accept the invitation. It would be better for them if the event was pushed off and after they have sowed their wild oats the invitation be resent. Matthew 7:13-14 says that they road to destruction is always crowded and easy to travel but the road to eternal life may be lonely and harder to traverse. If you are reading this blog/devotion today, then know that the King has sent you an invitation; the question is will you accept it or make light of it. Jesus is the only way to God, and this is an invitation that should not be taken lightly.

There is a Hell to avoid (The fishing net Matthew 13:47-50) Throughout history there has been legendary locations that individuals have sought to find and prove their existence. The city of Atlantis has been sought after for years for the great wealth and keys to knowledge that it was proclaimed to have. The Vikings sought after Valhalla which was an enormous Hall in Asgard where the Norse God Odin reigned supreme. South Americans have long sought to find the lost city of El Dorado as it was known as the lost city of Gold. I mention these mythical cities because I believe that in the minds of many Hell gets lumped into the same category as these cities when they hear it mentioned. It is just a mythical place of folklore and legend that was made up from the imagination of an individual and has found its way into popular culture. This couldn’t be further from the truth, as in Matthew 13:50 Jesus makes perfectly clear that those who are separated out of the Kingdom of God will end up in a place of burning and torment. Hell has become an unpopular topic for the church to address in recent years because it is much easier and much more comfortable for everyone to believe or act as if it does not exist. The truth of the matter is that Hell is real, and many are walking straight into it gates unaware that it will be their eternal place of torture and torment. As Christians, we be believe the teachings of Jesus Christ is the very foundation of our faith, and it should be noted that Jesus taught more on the topic of Hell than He did Heaven. He taught us that Hell was a place of judgment (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, 47-50, Matthew 22:1-14, Matthew 25:14-46), that Hell was eternal (Matthew 25:41,46), and that Hell was worse than we could imagine (Matthew 8:12;22, Matthew 22:13, Matthew 25:30, Luke 13:28). You cannot believe in Heaven and Jesus is Lord and ignore the reality of Hell because it was a focal point of Jesus’s earthly teachings. It is so real that he wanted to make sure everyone knew of its reality and had a way to avoid it completely. This is why Jesus came to give hope and provide a way of escape from the eternal punishment of Hell that we all deserve for our rebellion. The word Hell is used so loosely in our culture today that it no longer strikes fear in the hearer’s heart, it had reach mythical location status in the hearts of our culture. Do not be fooled by the deceptions and lies of Satan, Hell was created for Satan and his fallen angels, all He is trying to do it take as many people with him as he possible can. Hell is real and Jesus is the only way to escape it.

Have you ever had someone throw something away that they thought it was junk, but it had great value? There are individuals known as professional scavengers and essentially what they do is go through people’s trash and find items that they can resale or have value to them. They find antiques, old trading cards, art works, rare books, precious metals, and at times cold hard cash that was disposed of by people who either had no idea what they were trashing and or they did not realize the value of what they were throwing out. In the parable of the wheat and tares we see that the owner of the field is unwilling to allow the servants to pluck up the weeds that the enemy had planted in his field because he is concerned that they may also pluck up some wheat with them. The owner of the field wants to make sure that what he values is not accidently plucked up and thrown out with the things that have no value to him. In other words, in order to preserve what I value we will put up with what we know has no value until the time of the harvest. I have seen this over and over in my life as a Christian within the church, an individual will raise up who thinks it is their responsibility to separate the wheat from the tares in the church. They want to separate the true believers from the pretenders, and I have to say that when this happens there is always a spirit of religion and arrogance that is behind it, not God. If you noticed from the parable the servants were told to not to try and separate the wheat from the tares and to wait until the time of the harvest so they could be properly separated by the harvesters. We do not have the authority to eliminate people from the kingdom of heaven because they do not look like us, worship like us, read the same translation of the Bible we do, or because they go to a different denomination than we do. We do not have that authority, only God does and only God is qualified to make the judgments of who enter His kingdom and who does not. There are times in the church where loving correction is needed to be rightly administered by church leadership but in modern times, we are seeing more and more individuals and groups who simply have an elitist attitude of it is our way or the highway. They feel they have it all figured out and if you are not doing it their way then you are out. This type of attitude is what drove the Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’s time and caused them to look down upon those around them instead of showing them the love of God. It is never our job to determine who qualifies and does not for God’s grace and mercy, leave that to the one who is qualified, GOD.

Weeds in the church (The wheat and tares Matthew 13:24-30) Most years we plant a vegetable garden on the hill behind our house and things always start out good for us. We keep the garden looking nice and neat but inevitably every year we begin to slip in our maintenance of the garden and slowly the weeds will start to take over. The garden will still produce some fruit but a lot of the nutrients that should go to the producing plants is gobbled up by the weeds. When this happens, the fruit producing plants must compete for the nutrients and ultimately it makes the garden less productive than it should be. In the parable of the wheat and tares, I can totally relate to the frustration of having what you worked for overtaken by weeds. It is frustrating, slows down the production, and the crop never reaches its full potential because of it. As we look at this parable, I want to make sure that everyone understands that this is not necessarily the church versus the world being explained but is more likely the true church versus the church goers being explained by Jesus. Both the wheat and tares are growing in the master’s field, and they must be separated from each other at the harvest, if it was the church versus the world there would be in separate fields. Our gathering places, buildings that we refer to as churches are field with both wheat (true children of God) and tares (those playing religion). It can be hard to tell the difference in who is serious and who is playing and that is why the master said to let them grow together until the harvest then they would be separated. The weeds in the church do the same thing as the weeds in the garden, they still nutrients from where it was intended to go, and they slow the production of fruit. Many of the parables of Jesus spoke clearly of this same issue, the fish, and the eels where in the same net and the sheep and the goats in the same field to be separated later. For some reason our modern culture has equated showing up to a building with a steeple on it as being part of the church but that is far from the truth. Jesus said those who truly love Him are those who keep His commandments (John 14:15) not those who simply play religion and attend gatherings. I do not want to sound harsh or condemning at all, because the best place one can be if they do not know Jesus on a personal level is in church. I just want to everyone to know that there is a possibility that you could have a false sense of security that everything is right between you and God because you attend church but on the day of judgment when the separation occurs you find yourself in the weed pile. Our relationship with God should be the most important thing in our life and every one of us should daily examine to ensure that we are walking in true fellowship with God. (2 Corinthians 13:5, 2 Peter 10-11)

People who are serious about their fruit and vegetable gardens are serious about their seed selection, because they know that a quality seed produces a quality harvest. Many of them prefer heirloom seeds that have been passed down from generation to generation within their family or community because they know they have been proven to produce good crops. When you are counting on something to be productive to feed your family or as a part of your livelihood, you do not want to take chance on planting something that may or may not grow. In the parable of the wheat and tares Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven was like a man who sowed good seed in his field but while sleep and enemy came and sowed weeds among the good seed. As the field began to grow it was obvious there was a problem and one of the man’s servants asked if the master wanted him to pull out all the weeds. The man told the servants to leave them alone and let them grow together until the harvest because he did not want to risk pulling up the wheat with the weeds. He said at harvest time they would separate the weeds from the wheat and put the wheat in the barn while burning the weeds. God has always planted good seed, and God always will plant good seed but there is an enemy who is constantly trying to corrupt and destroy what God has planted. God created our earth in perfection, with everything functioning and preforming in unison but that was corrupted and destroyed when the seed of sin and temptation entered though Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. What was perfect became broken, what was functioned smoothly no had to struggle, and fellowship with the Creator was forever damaged. God also planted the perfect seed of His Son Jesus on this earth to redeem mankind from their sins as His body was planted in the earth for three days before resurrecting and acceding to heaven. Now those who are reborn of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ live and move upon the earth with those who still want to walk in rebellion. The wheat (church) and the tares (the world) are growing together in God’s massive garden (the earth) to be separated on the day of judgment to come. Those who have accepted the good seed of Jesus will be placed in God’s barn (Heaven) and those who have not will be burnt as the weeds in eternal fire (Hell). The great news is that we can choose whether we are stored in the barn or burnt with the weeds, God gave us all free will to choose whether to live in rebellion or accept the sacrifice made for our sins. We choose Jesus and we sincerely hope that you do as well.

Have you ever seen the “momma bear” come out of someone who is normally sweet, kind, and caring towards everyone around them? In the animal kingdom mother bears are notorious for aggressively protecting their cubs from anyone that they deem as a threat, and you never come between them and their cub or it is on. The kindest and gentlest human mommy can turn ruthless in a heartbeat if you mess with their babies, they can go from “How you are doing honey” to “What did you say about my baby” in no time flat. The two personas do not seem like they can come from the same person because they are so contrasting but they do and can manifest minutes apart from each other. As we wrap up our study of the faithful and wicked servant, I think it is very important that we all realize that when the master returns judgment is coming with him. Jesus lets everyone know that when the master of the house comes back from his journey he will judge whether the servant was faithful to tasks he was responsible for or if he was unfaithful and negligent. The master will judge according to the works of the servant while he is away and either reward or punish their actions. I talked in the beginning about the different personas that can exist within an individual, but did you know that the same is true of God. Jesus is referred to in scripture as the sacrificial lamb and as a roaring lion. Jesus came to this earth to be the lamb that paid the price for the sins of this world, but scripture says that he will return as a lion that brings judgment upon the earth. Just as the master in the parable returned to judge his servant, Jesus is returning to cast judgment upon all His creation. The righteous will be judged for their faithfulness at the bema judgment set of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10, Romans 14:10) while the unrighteous will be judged at the great white judgment (Revelations 20:12). The disciples of Christ will be rewarded according to their faithfulness to their calling after accepting Jesus as their savior, while those who do not know Christ will stand at a judgment of punishment for their rebellion and sins. The very one who laid down His own life so the world will be saved will return as a roaring lion that judges the nations. This is why we must be ready for His return; this is why we must be continually watching for His return, and this why we diligently work for His Kingdom while He is away.

You better be working when the boss shows up (The faithful vs wicked servant Matthew 24:45-51, Mark 13:34-37) I have co-worker/friend who is a super hard-working individual that gets a lot of work done in a little bit of time, but it seems like every time he comes into my office to order a part, get a drink, or just cool off a minute the boss walks in. The boss never says anything to the individual because he knows that he is a hard worker but the minute the boss leave he says, “man he always catches me when I set down and take a break.” He has the old schoolwork ethic where it is embarrassing for someone to catch you on the job doing nothing and super embarrassing if the boss catches you sitting down on the job. He takes pride in his work and wants everyone to know that he is doing his best and never wants to be seen in a negative light. In the parable of the of the faithful and wicked servant we see that an old school work-ethic is exactly what Jesus is looking for when He returns for His church. The scripture says tells us that when he returns, he expects to find his church working and those who are not will be punished for their spiritual laziness. No one likes to look bad in front of the boss, I mean who wants to be looked at as the lazy person who never gets anything done because the boss always catches you setting around doing nothing. It would not be good for your career if you had this type of reputation, but it would not be good for your eternal future if God comes back and finds you not working. This parable is not a story set forth to make you a good employee and have a productive career, it is meant to be a stark warning that this is the reality of what Jesus expects to find when he returns. The true disciples of Jesus Christ are not idle and are excellent stewards of the gifts, talents, time, and finances that God has given them authority over on this earth. The idle ones are not disciples but instead the ones who are playing religion to cool their conscience and make them feel better about themselves. The bottom line is that our love for our Lord and Savior will drive us to be productive workers in His Kingdom no matter what assignment or mission He sends our way.

Are you a worker with integrity? (The faithful vs wicked servant Matthew 24:45-51, Mark 13:34-37) C. S. Lewis once said that “integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” I firmly believe that the current American work force has completely lost touch with what it means to have integrity as an employee. Pretty much the generation that is currently entering the work force cannot be trusted to get the job done unless you are standing over them 100% of the time ensuring that they stay on task. As soon as you leave them alone, they stray from the task at hand and their work ethic and integrity goes out the window. Today we begin to look at a parable that is found in both the book of Matthew and Mark that relates to how individuals behave when no one is watching them. The master goes away for a while and leaves his servants with responsibilities while he is gone, Jesus poses the hypothetical question of how the master will respond if he finds the servants doing what he wants when he returns and if he finds them not doing what he wants when he returns. The answer seems quite clear that he will reward the servant with integrity that worked hard while the master was away, and he will punish the service who slacked off and did nothing while he was away. Everyone has probably dealt with a co-worker who has no integrity and only tries to look busy when the boss is around, it can be frustrating and aggravating to say the least. Do you realize that the Master is away and that He has left you with a job to do? Jesus will one day return to this earth and when He does return, He is expecting to find His disciples doing what He has asked them to do. We do not know when He is coming or what time of day, he will show up, but we know that when he returns, we better be working on His behalf. Spiritual integrity means that while the master is away, we are working just as hard for His Kingdom as we would be if he was standing before us continually. The most important thing that an individual can do after giving this heart to the Lord is seek passionately after God’s purpose for your life and after you discover it pursue it continually with spiritual integrity and passion. We work hard for the things that are important to us and as a child of God nothing should be more important than the Kingdom of God.

Jesus don’t even know (The budding fig tree Mark 13:28-33) Working in the mining industry I have known several individuals who have found themselves on a lung transplant list due to the damage mining caused on their lungs. The thing about being on the transplant list is that once you are on the list you have no idea when it is going to occur. You must be ready to go at any time, but you have no idea when you are going to be called by the hospital because you are waiting for an organ donor to pass is a match for your body. If you are out of range or unable to be contacted when the time is right, then there is a possibility that you will completely miss your opportunity and be passed up for someone else who is ready to go. In the parable of budding fig tree Jesus closes by telling the crowd to be alert and on guard because no one knows when the end will come. Jesus says that He does not know the day or hour, the angels in heaven does know, no man on earth knows, only the Father in heaven knows the day and hour that judgment will come to this earth. If you are on a transplant list, you better be ready when you are called to get to the hospital quickly but more importantly when God says it is time for this age to end you better be in good fellowship with the Triune God who spoke creation into existence. Jesus does not give a very specific list of things to look for in Mark 13 to make individual paranoid or scared, He gives the list so that everyone will be prepared and not caught off guard. The god of this world (satan) is a master of distracting individuals from what is important and placing their focus on things that are truly meaningly. The world looks at those who are waiting and watching for the return of their savior as fools just as described in 2 Peter 3:4, “where is the coming he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning.” They want you to give up hope, they want you to be distracted, and they want you to be caught with your pants down because the plan of satan is to deceive as many as he possibly can. He knows his eternal fate is sealed in the lake of fire and his goal is to take as many with him as he possibly can. Jesus did not want us to be caught off guard by His return, so the question is, “Are you Ready?”

God’s word is living and eternal (The budding fig tree Mark 13:28-33) In the 1980’s there was a hit movie called “Short Circuit.” The movie was about an experimental military robot that escapes and makes some human friends who try and protect it from the individuals who are now seeking it. During the movie, they begin to discover this is no ordinary robot as it has a thought process, feelings, and emotions like a human and even begins to say, “Number 5 Alive.” It was the number 5 experimental robot, so its default name was “Number 5”, and it wanted everyone to know that it was more than just a bunch of random parts thrown together, it was a living creature. In the parable of the budding fig tree Jesus makes sure that everyone knows that the words he was speaking was not idle words but instead living words that are eternally alive. Verse 31 says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” The words of the living God will never pass away and are where breathed of God for eternal purposes. Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) says that the word of God is alive and active, sharper than a two-edged sword, it penetrates even to diving soul and spirit, joints and marrow, it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. We cannot view the spoken words of God like we do a normal literary works because they were not written by a human hand and the Bible was breathed (inspired) by the Creator of the Heavens and the Earth that dwells outside of the realm of time. God existed before time and will exist after time stops, God is omnipresent (everywhere at once), God is omniscient (all knowing), and God is omnipotent (all powerful). When God speaks, we should listen, we should seek to understand, we should know it is true, and we should know it is never changing. The word of God should be esteemed in our hearts so much so that we value it over our own opinion, the word of God should reign supreme over the opinions of all else because it is alive and will remain alive. Jesus was wanting the world to be ready for what was about to come, the warning is still alive today and should still resonate in our hearts and minds

Don’t be caught off guard (The budding fig tree Mark 13:28-33) I hate it when people are caught off guard by what they knew was coming, yet they are completely unprepared when it happens. It is understandable if something pops up completely out of nowhere and it catches you by surprise but things that have been on the schedule for months or is a reoccurring event should not ever throw you through a loop. When a professor hands you a syllabus on the first day of the class that says the midterm exam will be on October 5th at 10:00am and you show up unprepared then you get what you deserve. You were warned and given plenty of notice as to what was coming so if you are unprepared, it is completely on you. In the parable of the budding fig tree Jesus tells everyone that there is no way they should be caught off guard when summer shows up because the fig tree lets everyone know when it is near. And no one should be caught off guard when the end draws near because throughout chapter 13 of the book of Mark, Jesus tells us what this world is going to look like so we will be prepared. If God himself tells us exactly what to be looking for and we get caught off guard or by surprise, we have no one to blame but ourselves on the day of judgement. Matthew 24:42 tells us all to be on the lookout and to be ready for the coming of the Lord, those who are unprepared and not on watch will be the ones shocked and caught off guard. Our Bibles are full of warnings to be ready for this life to end and for eternity to begin, yet many still slumbers and miss the signs. God does not warn us to scare everyone, God warns us because He wants us to all be prepared and ready to go. 2 Peter 3:9 says that God does not want any of us to perish but all of us to come to repentance. If individuals are caught off guard and miss the signs it is not because God has not warned them and it is not because the Creator of all does not love them, it is because they neglected the warns and refused the love. If you knew a thief was coming to your home in the middle of the night you would not just go to bed like normal and hope everything ends up ok, you would stay awake watching and waiting for their arrival, so you are not robbed. Several scriptures in the New Testament describe the return of the Lord to a thief coming in the night (Revelation16:15, Matthew 24:43, 1 Thessalonians 5:4, etc.), we should be equally diligent protecting our souls as we are over our home.

Look for the signs (The budding fig tree Mark 13:28-33) If you are as old as I am then you can remember the road trips where you did not have a GPS device giving you step by step oral directions as you drive along. You really couldn’t just set back and get lost in the music playing or get locked into a deep conversation with a passenger, everyone in the car had to be on alert and looking for road signs because there was no little voice that was going to say, “take exit 36 in two miles.” The only way that you knew what was coming up ahead of you was to read the road signs and pay attention to what they were telling you. Looking for and paying attention to what the signs said was the only safe way to navigate yourself on a classic road trip or vacation. In the parable of the budding fig tree Jesus tells the crowd that when the fig tree’s twigs get tender, and the leaves begin to come out that you know summer is near. Jesus had just given a long list of things to look for before the temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed and the end of the age would occur. He wanted to make sure that no one was caught off guard when it occurred. If you can look and see by the local vegetation when summer is around the corner, then you know the days that Jesus spoke of is drawing near when you see these signs. God never leaves His people in the dark and if we are willing to keep our eyes open to the signs around us, we will always know what is ahead. We will not be caught off guard and wandering aimlessly because we will be prepared having received the signs and warnings that God has left for His people. We cannot be lulled to sleep by this world and miss the signs, we must be diligent, alert, and ready to adapt when we need to. Let me encourage you to take the time to read Mark chapter 13 in its entirety and see if you recognize these signs active in the world around you. Jesus gave us signs to look for and we would be foolish to ignore or miss them while on life’s journey. If I am on a road trip to Atlanta and I start seeing signs that say Atlanta in 50 miles, then a sign that say Atlanta in 25 miles, and another that says Atlanta in 10 mines, as the signs say I am getting closer to my destination I better be getting ready to take my exit. As we view the signs around us getting closer to the end then we need to make sure that we are prepared to exit this earth and walk into eternity. This is one exit that you do not want to catch you by surprise and you want to be certain that you are prepared for it.

God is Sovereign (Day Laborers in the vineyard Matthew 20:1-16) This parable closes with two profound verses that speaks a lot to how God’s kingdom is different than our world. Verse 15 and 16 say, 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen. Verse 15 alludes to the fact that God can do whatever He wants to do with His creation, it is not up to a democratic vote, and He is not waiting around for advice from us on how to handle situations. The sovereignty of God is something foreign to us because we like to think that our opinion matters and that everyone loves to hear it; just check out our news feeds on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram if you don’t believe me. Just as the owner of the vineyard had every right to do what he wanted with his money God has every right to do what He wants with His creation. Verse 16 drives the point home by letting them know that we have things messed up in this world in the way we view success. The individuals we think should be in the front of the line will end up in the rear of the line in the Kingdom of Heaven. Our standards are not God’s standards, and our ways are not God’s ways. When it comes to His Kingdom, he is not going to promote who the world thinks should be promoted, He is going promote those He chooses to promote. I have often thought that when we enter heaven, we will be so surprised to see who is esteemed by God and who is not. Our minds place prestige and authority on individuals who are in the public eye and have voices that are heard by many. God places prestige and authority upon those who have simply been obedient to what He has asked them to do. We rank the mighty televangelist who preaches to millions high on the list, but God may have someone who was the church janitor at their local church for 30 years much higher than them because they lived in and fulfilled God’s purpose for their life 100%. God knows our hearts and he desires our obedience over sacrifice every time (1 Samuel 15:22).

Stop comparing yourself to others (Day Laborers in the vineyard Matthew 20:1-16) The parable of the labors in the vineyard opens our eyes to a problem that we have in our society; we love to compare ourselves to others. We are constantly looking around at our co-workers, neighbors, family, friends, and media to see how we stack up to everyone else. The workers in the vineyard who had worked all day was certain that they deserved more than the worker who only worked an hour because they had compared their workload. The problem with comparing ourselves to others is that we make others the standard in which we must live up to. This is a major problem in Christianity today, because we look at the world around us as the standard when we should be looking to Jesus and the Word of God as our standard. It is easy to look at the person next to you and say that I am a better person than them because you pick them apart with a fine-tooth comb until you are satisfied that you have more value and are better off than they are. The problem with this mentality is you develop an elitist attitude towards those around you and you have false sense of security in your own spiritual life. God never intended for us to ever compare ourselves to each other, His intention was always for us to compare ourselves to His standards. In fact, the very reason God gave His law was to show us our blemishes and weaknesses. This way we would see how messed up we were and how hopeless we are without the help of a savior (Jesus). James chapter one (1:23-25) compares God’s word to a mirror that shows us our blemishes, if we see our blemishes and correct them then we are wise but if we see the blemishes and ignore them then we are fools. God’s standard for us is not for us to be better than our neighbor, co-worker, or fellow church goers; His standard is for us to be Holy (1 Peter 1:16, Leviticus 11:44). This is only attainable through an active relationship with Jesus Christ and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in your life. We must stop comparing ourselves to others and begin comparing ourselves to God’s standard, His Word.

You have a job to do (Day Laborers in the vineyard Matthew 20:1-16) The parable of the labors in the vineyard was given by Jesus as way for the people to understand how the Kingdom of Heaven functions. The parable obviously gets the point across that God is in complete control and will do what He wants to do with what is His, but I find something else that sticks out in my mind. It is the concept that the owner of the vineyard (symbolic of God) seems to expect everyone to be working in His field. When he goes back to the marketplace at the eleventh hour, he sees individuals standing by and simple poses the question, “Why stand ye here all day idle?” Does this mean that God is expecting everyone to be working on behalf of His Kingdom? The owner of the field gave everyone he encountered an opportunity to work in His field and to me seemed a little surprised that this late in the day there was some who was still idle and not working. You don’t have to be involved in church long to realize that the 90/10 rule applies most everywhere. 90 percent of the work is completed by 10 percent or less of the people. This stands out to me because the parable seems to imply that God is expecting everyone to be working and for no one to be idle on behalf of His Kingdom. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says that we are ambassadors for Christ, implying that we are here conducting business or working on His behalf. Other parables by Jesus, such as the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), implies not only that God expects everyone to be working on His behalf but He is angry when He comes back to finds that they have not been doing so. I for one believe that God has a plan and purpose for each one of His followers and this plan does not include taking up space in pews for the entirety of your existence. He has expectations and work for all His followers and never wishes to see them standing by idle. This does not mean that everyone must be a preacher, bible teacher, or missionary but it does mean that God’s Kingdom has a purpose and work for all of us to find fulfillment in. Any time we find our self-doing nothing when it comes to the things of God then it is safe to say that we are no longer in the will of God. We don’t want to stand before God on judgement day and have him ask us, why where you not working?

I get what I do not deserve (Day Laborers in the vineyard Matthew 20:1-16) We live in a world where many people must fight to get what they deserve when it comes to their compensation and benefits. Women traditionally get paid less than men for doing do the same job, minorities often suffer the same fate, and unions fight for the benefits of their constituents. People simply want what they feel they deserve and the workers from the parable in Matthew 20:1-16 are no different. Could you imagine, working all day in the hot sun and receiving the exact same pay as someone who showed up an hour before quitting time? You would probably be irate with the boss and probably would not work for this individual any more even though they gave you exactly what you agreed to work for. You would feel that you were short changed or that the other person received way more than they deserved for the work that was completed. As I read this parable something what sticks out in my mind is the idea that we should get exactly what we deserve. I can say with all sincerity that I am glad that God is not going give me what I deserve. The scripture is clear that all have sinned and came short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) and that the wages of this sin is death or eternal separation from God (Romans 6:23). So, if God was to give me exactly what I deserved for my work here upon earth He would reward me with an eternity in Hell. That would be exactly what I would have earned and deserved for my rebellion against the Holy One. The great thing is that God has made a way for us to receive exactly what we do not deserve, and this is eternal life. This reward is made possible only through the acceptance of Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The worker in the parable who worked only one hour probably did not deserve the same pay as those who had labored all day in the hot sun, yet I am ok with that because I know that I am not going to get what I deserve either. Thank you, God, for making away to escape the just deserts of my rebellious life here upon earth, thank you Jesus.

We want what we have earned (Day Laborers in the vineyard Matthew 20:1-16) I work in an environment where men are vocal about pay discrepancies, they want to make sure they are getting paid what they expect to be paid. In the mining industry, it is common for someone who is working in one position to complain that they don’t make as much money as someone working in a different position on the same section as them. For instance, shuttle car operators traditionally get paid less then roof bolt operators who in turn are paid less then miner men who make less than the electrician. All four positions working on the same section side by side in the same conditions for the same amount of time, yet some are getting paid more than others and it never sets easy with the one making the lesser money. We inherently tie our value to the reward we receive for our work. So, a shuttle car operator feels as if he is valued less than a miner man by the company because he is paid less yet his job is just as vital to getting coal on the belt line. Any time men at the mines hear that another mining company gave a pay raise to its employees they immediately feel they are no longer receiving fair compensation for the work they were doing because others was getting paid more to do the same job. The parable of the day laborers lets us know that God does not work the same way our economy does and that He values all His creation equally. In this parable, the workers who labored all day in the hot sun got the same pay as the individuals who only worked for a single hour. God is not a respecter of persons, and the gift eternal life is a promise that is made to each one of us if we accept it. It doesn’t matter if we gave our life to God as a child or minutes before we take our last breath, Heaven is our reward. God promised eternal life to all who accept His Son Jesus as their Lord and Savior regardless of when we made the decision. The creator of the heavens and the earth standards may not fit well in our current workplaces but I for one am happy that God has not placed limitations or restrictions on eternal life based upon our performance in this life. The same reward is available to all who repent of their sins, make Jesus the Lord of their life by applying His teaching to their life.

Forgive or do not be forgiven (The unforgiving servant Matthew 18:23-35) Most people do not like it when you receive an ultimatum, “either you do this, or this is going to happen.” These make things completely black and white for everyone involved and there is no other options or negotiations that is going to change the outcome. Either you do exactly what you were told to do, or you will receive exactly what you where told you was going to receive, you are painted in a corner and have no escape once the ultimatum is issued. You may have experienced this at work, “miss another day and you are fired”, at school “turn your work in by this date or you fail”, or even in a relationship, “stop this behavior or I am done with you” but in our parable today we see that God issues an ultimatum to all mankind, “forgive others or you will not be forgiven.” That is exactly what He tells everyone after the parable of the unforgiving servant vividly tells the story of a man who receives forgiveness from his master but refuses to give it to someone who owed him a debt. When the master discovered his unwillingness to forgive, he revoked his mercy towards the servant and had him arrested and tortured until he paid everything he owed. Jesus simply says in verse 35, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother and sister from the heart.” Our world has grown to hate ultimatums, black and white, right and wrong. Anything that eliminates their options, freedom of choice, or says they are wrong has become public enemy number one in a so called “woke” society. They look at the Bible and all the absolutes that is reveals as an outdated ancient manuscript that has no place in a modern society that is so advanced socially. They pick and choose which pieces of scripture they like and throw the rest by the wayside placing the “Holy Word of God” on the same shelf as other literary master pieces from the past. God does not place statements like “forgive or don’t be forgiven” in scripture to make people mad or to limit and control His creation. He is giving us a “statement of truth and reality.” The reality is that if you harbor unforgiveness in your heart, when you stand before God on the day of judgment you will not be forgiven for you sins. Statements of reality like this and others in scriptures do not bind us, they set us free. They give us a glimpse of not what might happen but instead exactly what is going to happen. The most loving thing that anyone can do for us is to tell us the truth, God loves His creation so much that He does not sugar coat or try to dance around the truth, He simply lays it out be for us. If we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven.

Mercy is offered to everyone (The unforgiving servant Matthew 18:23-35) Here in America, we live in a nation where certain things are offered to everyone, like freedom. You do not have earn it, pay for it, or even apply for freedom all you must do is be born an American citizen or obtain American citizenship and you are granted certain freedoms by our constitution. Although freedom is offered to everyone there are stipulations on certain things you must do to retain freedom and certain things you can do that will cost you your freedom immediately. Freedom that is offered to everyone can be taken away if you choose to not play by the rules and we find out in the parable of the unforgiving servant that mercy works the same way. The unforgiving servant was happy to receive mercy from his master for a debt that there was no way he could pay off but his unwillingness to forgive someone that owed him enraged his master. The master who was so willing to hand out mercy to someone who did not deserve it was just as quick to take back that mercy and render judgement instead. Just like your freedom in America is dependent upon your actions and behaviors so is your ability to receive mercy from God above. In verse 35, we see that Jesus lays it out simply for everyone to understand, God’s mercy is offered to everyone but only those willing to give it to others will receive it. If I go out today and rob a bank, as soon as the police catch up to me my right to freedom will be revoked and I will be incarcerated. If I hold unforgiveness in my heart towards someone in this life, then God will revoke the mercy that is freely given to me. It does not matter how mean the person was to me, how much abuse they heaped upon me, or how much embarrassment they caused in my life; if I do not give forgiveness and mercy to them then I can not expect God to render it to me. We all look at the parable of the unforgiving servant and can plainly see the hypocrisy in his actions, but we tend to easily overlook the same hypocrisy in our lives. We love having our past mistakes wiped clean by God with no further questions asked but we just can not find it in our heart to do the same for someone who hurt us. God’s mercy is available for everyone to receive through the sacrifice and acceptance of His Son, Jesus Christ, but only those who offer mercy and grace to others will receive it.

Judgment day is coming (The unforgiving servant Matthew 18:23-35) When Shawnna and I was younger we used to like to watch some crime dramas on television. There was a common thread on all these shows, there was a guilty individual who thought for sure that they had gotten away with the perfect crime. As the show progresses, the super sleuth would slowly begin to unravel what happened and by the end of the show they would have discovered the truth and the guilty party was held accountable. It seemed that guilty characters always had a since of arrogance, they acted as though they would never be caught because they were so clever in their nefarious deeds but in the end, they all faced judgment. We begin to look at the parable of “the unforgiving servant” today and in this parable, we see a servant who owes his master a whole lot. The servant begs for mercy and the master shows him mercy by forgiving his debt but almost immediately the servant goes and finds someone who owes him some money. The servant is not gracious and kind as the master was with him and has the individual who owed him thrown in jail. When the master heard of this it enraged him that the servant did not show the same mercy that was given unto him and held the servant account for his debt. Just like a good made for tv crime drama, we must realize that judgment is coming and that we cannot escape it. Many individuals live their lives like the arrogant criminals from the Hollywood dramas thinking they have gotten away with it. The servant from Jesus’ parable completely forgot that he has just narrowly escaped punishment when he was given mercy and went straight out and made sure the man that owed him paid up. We can not live our lives void of the fact that judgment will come, we may think that we have escaped it and that it will never come our way, but the reality is, it is coming. God offers mercy to all who except Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but this parable lets us know that with such a great gift there is great responsibility. We have to offer the mercy and forgiveness we have received to everyone we encounter no matter how great a debt they owe us or how great an offense that have preformed against us. As Christian, we must realize that our forgiveness hinges on our willingness to share and show the Love of Jesus Christ to the world around us. We can not live our lives just concentrating on the fact that we got away with our mistakes and they have been forgiven while refusing to love those around us. This parable ends with a stark warning that the Heavenly Father will treat us like the master from the parable on the day of judgment if we allow compassion and love to slip away from our lives.