Use It - And End Up With More

Our Promise today comes at the close of the Parable of The Three Servants. To the first servant the master gave the most money. To the second somewhat less, and to the third he gave the least. It wasn’t that he favored one servant over another – he simply was familiar with their abilities and so gave each one the amount he knew they could make good use of. Then he went on a long trip. When he returned he required that his servants give him an account of how they put the money to use. You can read the entire story to refresh your memory.(a) Basically the parable deals with our responsibility for what God has given us and the consequences which follow depending on how we use His gifts.

All of us are the recipients of all sorts of God-given gifts. Where, when and to whom we were born, are all part of our endowment, as are our abilities, opportunities, relationships and privileges, etc. His greatest gift is the privilege of receiving Christ as our savior. Receiving Christ as savior or not receiving Him has eternal consequences.

All of these things are gifts from the hands of our Master, and He is expecting us to put them to good use. There is coming a day when we will individually stand before Him and give an account of how we used what He has entrusted to us. Whether those gifts were great and numerous or whether they were average or even minuscule – it really doesn’t matter. What matters, is did we put them to good use.

The day of accounting can be a day when we happily report, “Lord, I invested what you gave me, and here is the increase it made.” And we can expect to hear the good news, “You did well, you were faithful over a few things, I will put you in charge of many things – let’s rejoice together.” ”To those who use well what they were given, even more will be given.”

The servant who got the bad news was the one who totally copped out. Afraid to take the risk of investing the money, he buried it, and then blamed his master for being unfair. His master became furious, “You could at least have put it in the bank and gotten interest on it.” He took the money from him and gave it to the one who had the most and said, “To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This kind of language is only used of people who refuse to put their trust in Jesus.



Lets Pray –
Father, thank you for all the gifts you have so graciously given us, and for your promise to give us even more as we use well what we have. Father, fear sometimes keeps us from using your gifts. Please forgive us, and help us to overcome the fear. We long to hear your “Well done.”
Amen


Footnotes:
(a) Matthew 25:14-30


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Sowing Good Seed - With The Harvest In Mind

Donna and I grew up on farms, and from childhood on we have been familiar with planting seed and harvesting. Ever since we have been married we’ve had a vegetable garden and flowers virtually every year, and I know as long as the Lord gives me strength I will want to be gardening. I love it! It’s a partnership with God - I plant the seed, water it and pull weeds - He makes it grow and we get to share the harvest with our neighbors!!

There is a basic spiritual principle here, which applies to all areas of life. If we sow radish seed we get radishes. If we plant Bell Pepper plants we get Bell Peppers, etc. We will always reap what we sow,(a) whether it’s something good or bad. It’s not too difficult to figure out that it is always the best idea to plant good stuff. Everyone benefits when we do that.

As parents we are blessed with the fertile ground of our young children’s hearts and minds - ready to receive the seeds of our good example, and the seed of God’s Word. We have the opportunity to water the seeds, and pull weeds. They were born with weed seeds. We also have the opportunity to pray for the harvest, (the giving of their hearts to Christ and pattern their lives after Him). I believe children are the most important garden that parents will ever work in!

No matter where we find ourselves in life whether deliberately or unintentionally; wherever we go, we are always sowing seeds, hopefully it is mostly good seed. At home – at work – at the store – across the back fence – on the phone, we are continuously sowing the seeds of our character. Sometimes, led by the Holy Spirit, we deliberately bear witness of our faith in Christ. Other times we share God’s Word with people going through difficult times. We are sowing good seed!

A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!(b)

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.(c)



Let’s Pray-
Father, thank you for the caring people, who sowed good seed into our lives and for the harvest that it has yielded. Help us not to grow weary in sowing good seed into lives all around us, and may we, by your grace, see the fruit it will produce.
Amen



Footnote:
(a) Galatians 6:7, (b) Luke 8:5-8, (c) Galatians 6:9


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SELF-DENIAL - IS THE WAY TO LIVE!

Selfishness is a basic characteristic of fallen human nature. Part of a child’s early vocabulary are the words, “my” and “mine.” Sharing and giving up our desires does not come naturally. It is a process which we need to work at throughout our lifetime.

The perfect and ultimate example of self-denial of course is Jesus. We can’t imagine what self-denial it took to give up the glories of heaven and come to this sinful world. Or think of the painful self-denial in the garden of Gethsemane when he prayed, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”(a) There is no greater self-denial! Jesus said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. (b)

Human nature is to do what we want to do, when we want to do it. A person may unconsciously think he is saving his life by living selfishly, but in reality he is losing it. On the other hand if we “turn from our selfish ways” and do what God requires, we will experience joy and an awareness of His pleasure.

The other day I had a lot to get done and another unexpected task came up, and selfishly not considering that Donna had her own hands full, I asked her to take care of it. And the Lord brought today’s scripture to my mind - “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.” I knew immediately I needed to take care of the unexpected task myself. As I did, there was this warm sense of God’s pleasure filling my heart.

This principle works on every level of life - whether it’s denying our self and spending time, energy and resources to help a neighbor, or whether it is denying our self and setting aside our anger and hurt feelings to forgive someone who has hurt us. Whatever the issue may be, the results will always be the same. Self-denial “for Christ’s sake” always results in experiencing God’s pleasure.

In places where Christians are severely persecuted, self-denial may mean making the choice between denying Christ and living or denying one’s self and ending up dead. To deny Christ would mean eternal death, but to die “for Christ’s sake” results in eternal life.

When Jesus faced the choice of saving His life, or giving it up for us, He chose to deny Himself and die because He knew dying in our behalf would make life possible for us, so “for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.”(c)


Lets Pray-
Thank You Jesus, for showing us how to really live by denying ourselves, like you did. But Lord, it is one thing to see your example, and quite something different to follow it. Please help us.
Amen


Footnotes:
(a) Matthew 26:39 NLT, (b) Matthew 16:24-25 NLT, (c) Hebrews 12:2 KJV


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God Is With Us In Every Stage Of LIfe

Today’s promise is directed to all of us as God’s people, no matter at what stage of life we find ourselves in. The God who created heaven and earth – who gave us physical life and sacrificed His only Son that we might have eternal life – says, “I will take care of you.” “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”(a)

If you are in your youth, you are on the very threshold of your journey. At times you may feel invincible - like nothing could ever stop you. At other times you are insecure and fearful to make choices that confront you. God has given you His Word, “I will care for you.” You can count on Him. He keeps His promises!

You may be in the prime of life. You are married, and have a family, a nice home in a pleasant neighborhood. Financially, you have become quite comfortable with both of you bringing home pay-checks, but it has left it’s mark on your family relationships. The loving God who made all those temporal blessings possible, invites you to refocus on Him, so He can heal what is broken. His promise is, “I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.”

Empty Nester? Retired? You have had a good life, and you planned to travel - see the world – enjoy the grandchildren and all the benefits of retirement, but serious health problems have become an issue. Some of those plans will have to be put aside, and you wonder what is going to happen. Hear God’s tender whisper, “I will be your God throughout your lifetime.” Let His promise bring peace and comfort to your heart.

Are you single, never married, divorced, widowed? In this stage of your life you may be struggling with negative thoughts - “Nobody wants me,” “Where did I fail?” - “If only I had . . .” There are times you feel out of place because you are by yourself and everyone else seems to have a mate. Your singleness has been allowed or planned by your loving Heavenly Father who created you and promises to take care of you. He has given His Holy Spirit to assure you that “His grace is sufficient for you.”(b)

Then there is the stage when most people’s “hair is white with age.” We have had our joyful seasons, but also gone through painful burdensome times. There have been times when we asked, “Lord, where are you?” and He replied, “The time you have seen only one set of footprints is when I carried you.”(c) Indeed He has always been with us and His promise still is “I will be your God throughout your lifetime—until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.”



Let’s Pray –
Father, you are so faithful. From our mother’s womb – through this earthly life - to our eternal home with you – at every stage we are in your care! Please plant the reality of this truth deep within our souls and let it comfort and encourage us.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

Footnotes:
(a) Romans 8:32, (b) 2 Corinthians 12:9, (c) Footprints in the Sand

Please take advantage of the Poll “How often do you read the Blog?” - which appears on the upper right side of this page.

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