365 Reflections

The Parable of the Vineyard workers comes on the heels of Jesus' interaction with the Rich Young Man.  Jesus ends both sections with this phrase: "many who are first will be last and the last first." The dynamic reordering of the kingdom declares the laborers hired first who bore the burden in the heat of the day received what was promised.  The laborers found last and hired received the same. When the first-hired laborers got their due, they grumbled.  To me, it's a simple case of bad assumptions.  They assumed they deserved better. We do the same. We should notice, the master of the house made the first move with each set of laborers.  None of them would have a job without His initiation. But the real story is this - after just one day of working , the first-hired laborers already have in mind what the master should be doing.  Isn't that like us?  We get saved by grace, and then we unconsciously leave grace for works, thinking we have ar...

Some of us are looking for the inimal requiresment to get into heaven without it upsetting the plans we have for our lives. One such example is the Rich Ruler in Matthew 19. Matthew 19:16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" 17 And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." 18 He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." "Which ones?" - now that is a funny question. When Jesus says keep the commandments, isn't it clear to keep all of them?  Yet he wanted to know what can I do minimally and still be good with God? Of course Jesus lists the commandments he's confident to have kep...

Matthew 18:23–27 (ESV) “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. Jesus was a master story teller.  Here He famously employs humor to teach a valuable lesson on forgiveness.   10,000 talents was more money than the Roman government had at the time.   The man asks for more time to pay everything back! Matthew, the tax collector would of course remembered this particular story above all. The humor is in thinking you could pay God back for what you owe.  There is no othe...

Who doesn't long to be great? We all want to be great in some way... Well, the greatest one ever said the path to greatness is this: Matthew 18:4 Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. What is it about a child that makes them a perfect illustration for greatness?  Children can be temperamental  impatient, unkind, and selfish.  But there is something all children have... Teachability. I think teachability is the key to greatness.  Right now there are lessons you need to learn to be great.  There are changes you need to make to get to the next level of living.  Right now something in your life is out of whack with God and you need to let someone instruct you in the right way you should go. Without teachability, you're finished. With teachability you're constantly improving.  To be great is to have a great sense that you are unfinished.  To be great is to take advice not get offended... t...

Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” Peter, fresh off being rebuked by Jesus because He sought to spare Him from the cross, is once again caught speaking when the time wasn't right. Sometimes I'm guilty as Peter. Instead of soaking in Christ for who He really is. Instead of understanding Him as the Lord of Glory. Instead of remembering the old saints of the Bible are still alive and we will see them again. Instead of thinking about the glories of hereafter... I'm too eager to go to work, keep busy, build things, do things, accomplish things.  I'm too busy making the moment about me... What did Peter say? "Lord, it is good for us to be here." He should have stopped there.  But for some reason, Peter goes right into worker bee mode.  Let me do something in response to this revelation. While there is absol...

Matthew 16:22–23 (ESV) And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” 23 But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” One thing is for sure, a lot of people in the book of Matthew disagree with God's plan along the way. In chapter two it's Joseph, in the third chapter it's John the Baptist and now in chapter 16 you half-year disagreeing with the way God is doing things. The interesting thing is that these were all three very good men in human history. No doubt that they were righteous, that they serve God with all their heart, that they had a love for Christ. Yet they vastly misunderstood the dynamic and details of God's eternal plan from the foundations of the world. The lesson is simple: even the best of us usually don't get it right concerning God's ways. I know...

Matthew 16:1 (ESV) And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. I was thinking about this today: what could God do that would actually satisfy the unconvinced? We all have doubts... questions... We all struggle with the big "whys?" of life. So many demand God "prove" Himself. What "sign" could or should God do so that doubters might believe? I don't think there is one. People are far too fussy and fickle. The atheist has decided to believe there is no God.  They do this because of their perceived "lack" of evidence.  Or some disbelieve due to the enormous amount of evidence to the contrary: Starving children in Somalia, innocence lost in America, women tortured and enslaved all over.  Where is God?  Why won't He step in?  He must not exist. What does He have to do? - Stop the murder from happening in the next town tomorrow? - Cease all killings in Sudan by Sunday? -...