Another case of being taught not to assume things. The first workers assumed they would get more. They began to think that because they had worked longer and harder they were entitled to more. They forgot that if it had not been for the master inviting them in then they would have had nothing. They forgot that He was good and just. It was only through the master's will that they received anything, not theirs. Their focus had turned from the master, his promises and his work to themselves.
God look into my heart and where you see jealousy, selfishness and pride show me how wrong I am and bring my focus back to you. For you are good and you are just. Don't let me forget it.
Saturday, 24 March 2012
Friday, 23 March 2012
God is Good
What interests me in this passage is that when the man comes to Jesus calling Him good teacher, he probably only meant it as a mark of respect. And yet Jesus uses it to make the man look at his preconceptions and focus on who Jesus was/ is. Jesus says - why do you call me good? Only God is good. It is like he is saying - you have called me God, do you understand what you have actually said, do you understand that is who I really am?
And only then once he has been confronted by the reality of God and who Jesus is, is he given the truth. And that is if you want to be alive, spiritually alive, then you need to obey God, give up the earthly/ physical things that hold you back and follow Jesus. All 3 are necessary.
And when the disciples heard this they realised their own fragility. Could anyone be saved, could we be saved they thought? But Jesus explains that we can. Not through our own endeavours but through God because for Him all things are possible. How great is this!
God knows, we are going to stumble and fall, but as long as we keep trying to do those 3 things, He will make it possible for us to be part of the Kingdom.
God thank you for understanding that we can never reach your level of Good. And yet you loved us so much that you made sure we could be saved anyway. God thank you for showing us in such an intimate and loving way how nothing is impossible for you. For even though you abhor the wrong things in us, the times when we don't measure up to your good, you still wanted to be with us, so you made the impossible possible. You asked Jesus to stand in our place, to cover the wrong things up so that we are only good, so that we can still be with you and be part of your Kingdom. Thank you.
Laura
And only then once he has been confronted by the reality of God and who Jesus is, is he given the truth. And that is if you want to be alive, spiritually alive, then you need to obey God, give up the earthly/ physical things that hold you back and follow Jesus. All 3 are necessary.
And when the disciples heard this they realised their own fragility. Could anyone be saved, could we be saved they thought? But Jesus explains that we can. Not through our own endeavours but through God because for Him all things are possible. How great is this!
God knows, we are going to stumble and fall, but as long as we keep trying to do those 3 things, He will make it possible for us to be part of the Kingdom.
God thank you for understanding that we can never reach your level of Good. And yet you loved us so much that you made sure we could be saved anyway. God thank you for showing us in such an intimate and loving way how nothing is impossible for you. For even though you abhor the wrong things in us, the times when we don't measure up to your good, you still wanted to be with us, so you made the impossible possible. You asked Jesus to stand in our place, to cover the wrong things up so that we are only good, so that we can still be with you and be part of your Kingdom. Thank you.
Laura
Thursday, 22 March 2012
We are the Kingdom - we can bring it to the world
Here we see the inclusiveness of Christ, no group is left out, no person is forbidden from coming to Him. Do we sometimes exclude others from Christ because it doesn't fit with our notion of what is important/ right? Or do we exclude other Kingdom residents because it doesn't suit us or we don't see the point of including them?
If we do then we need to be aware by rejecting Kingdom People we are actually rejecting the Kingdom. Because Jesus says in this passage that the kingdom of heaven IS this sort of people. Not that the Kingdom is made up of this sort of people but that THE PEOPLE ARE THE KINGDOM. I wonder if I sometimes forget this.
Jesus shows us here that if we want to be in the Kingdom then all we need to do is be in the right frame of mind, the Kingdom mind, and be with others with the same frame of mind, Kingdom people.
It is just another reminder of - where two or three are gathered in Jesus name then there He is also. Because if together we ARE the Kingdom, and that is where Jesus is, then He will be with us. And that can only lead to great things!
So God here my prayer for the church. This month as we meet with one another, help us to meet together in your Spirit with the right frame of mind, with no other agenda. Then we can bring your Kingdom to earth, just as you and we have fervently prayed for so many times in the Lord's Prayer.
If we do then we need to be aware by rejecting Kingdom People we are actually rejecting the Kingdom. Because Jesus says in this passage that the kingdom of heaven IS this sort of people. Not that the Kingdom is made up of this sort of people but that THE PEOPLE ARE THE KINGDOM. I wonder if I sometimes forget this.
Jesus shows us here that if we want to be in the Kingdom then all we need to do is be in the right frame of mind, the Kingdom mind, and be with others with the same frame of mind, Kingdom people.
It is just another reminder of - where two or three are gathered in Jesus name then there He is also. Because if together we ARE the Kingdom, and that is where Jesus is, then He will be with us. And that can only lead to great things!
So God here my prayer for the church. This month as we meet with one another, help us to meet together in your Spirit with the right frame of mind, with no other agenda. Then we can bring your Kingdom to earth, just as you and we have fervently prayed for so many times in the Lord's Prayer.
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
Sex Education - Biblical Style
I think this passage is always a hard one, especially for those who are married to a divorced person, which I am.
But when my husband and I discuss what marriage means to us it is just as Jesus said, the union of two, to create one, the beginning of the family unit. Something that cannot be broken. It is easy to focus on what people do wrong in their life but nobody is perfect. More importantly we need to focus on making it right.
But what is interesting is that although God made us to be male and female, married, Jesus says this doesn't mean that if you are celibate by nature or choose to stay celibate for God that this is an issue.
So marriage is important, it is how we were originally made, but it is not what needs to drive you, that should be God.
But when my husband and I discuss what marriage means to us it is just as Jesus said, the union of two, to create one, the beginning of the family unit. Something that cannot be broken. It is easy to focus on what people do wrong in their life but nobody is perfect. More importantly we need to focus on making it right.
But what is interesting is that although God made us to be male and female, married, Jesus says this doesn't mean that if you are celibate by nature or choose to stay celibate for God that this is an issue.
So marriage is important, it is how we were originally made, but it is not what needs to drive you, that should be God.
Pharisees V. Jesus
These Pharisees where a persistent lot here they go again, testing Jesus with there well studied questions
they thought they could get the better of Him. BUT how did he answer; have you lot not read, do you not
understand.I think they made up there own rules, skipped through the scriptures took out, what suited there
way of living, and even made up the rest. And seeing how GOOD Jesus was they did not like this at all.
Every time I've been study Matthew and not skipping though the verses. More and more lesson I am learning.
And reminding me how I also can be like the pharisees so full of my own understandings,even if I am not sure.
they thought they could get the better of Him. BUT how did he answer; have you lot not read, do you not
understand.I think they made up there own rules, skipped through the scriptures took out, what suited there
way of living, and even made up the rest. And seeing how GOOD Jesus was they did not like this at all.
Every time I've been study Matthew and not skipping though the verses. More and more lesson I am learning.
And reminding me how I also can be like the pharisees so full of my own understandings,even if I am not sure.
Dear Heavenly Father help me to read your word prayerfully and if I am not sure what the teaching is about, can
you humble me to ask my Paster to make things clear to me. So that can live by your word.
Kenny
Lost Sheep
I love this paragraph because it is about the sheep that wandered away from the group. This wasn't the sheep that was already lost but rather the one that got lost. But God loves that sheep just as much and asks us to love them too.
Just like the elder brother, who questions the father when the prodigal son returns, it can be so easy for us to judge others. But Jesus asks us to have a passionate and forgiving heart. If a fellow Christian does something to hurt us, Jesus asks us to speak with them. Not to ignore them and wash our hands of them but to work it out. Didn't work well try again and bring some support. That didn't work? Then ask the church to join behind you to show compassion and forgiveness to them. Not condemnation but love - to win them back to God. Not to accuse them but to include them and throw them a welcome back party.
Sometimes it is hard to talk to someone about how they might have hurt you, and we think it is best not to say anything. But talking is important and builds fellowship. As long as you put the other person first, not your feelings, and that your aim is that both of you will be closer to God. There should be no told you so's in church!
God give me the courage to talk to others, in a deeper and more meaningful way, with tolerance, humility, forgiveness and the love of God.
Just like the elder brother, who questions the father when the prodigal son returns, it can be so easy for us to judge others. But Jesus asks us to have a passionate and forgiving heart. If a fellow Christian does something to hurt us, Jesus asks us to speak with them. Not to ignore them and wash our hands of them but to work it out. Didn't work well try again and bring some support. That didn't work? Then ask the church to join behind you to show compassion and forgiveness to them. Not condemnation but love - to win them back to God. Not to accuse them but to include them and throw them a welcome back party.
Sometimes it is hard to talk to someone about how they might have hurt you, and we think it is best not to say anything. But talking is important and builds fellowship. As long as you put the other person first, not your feelings, and that your aim is that both of you will be closer to God. There should be no told you so's in church!
God give me the courage to talk to others, in a deeper and more meaningful way, with tolerance, humility, forgiveness and the love of God.
Meek in Spirit
"Wouldn't it be better if...?". It is such a little, seemingly harmless, phrase. And yet it is the beginning of what the disciples were arguing about. Sometimes we have such pride in what we have done and what we can achieve that we begin to think we are better than others. Jesus reminds us that it is only when we give all that up, become like a child and depend on our God, see that we are only part of a much larger plan, that our true greatness will shine through. But he doesn't stop there he shows us how having true faith in God and humbling ourselves sets us apart. And warns us that if we don't then we run the risk of not following God and being like a false prophet, causing someone who is pure of heart to stumble.
God show me when I am proud and teach me to be humble. As only then will I be following your path.
God show me when I am proud and teach me to be humble. As only then will I be following your path.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Disciples don't...disciples do!
Disciples don’t push to the front…they do humble themselves, as little children, finding their all, with child like trust, in God.
Disciples don’t hinder access to God…they do war against stumbling blocks.
Disciples don’t shrug off the lapsed...they do leave the 99 for the one that’s gone astray.
Disciples don’t sweep it under the carpet…they do hold one another to account.
Disciples don’t hold someone’s sin against them…they do forgive and forgive and forgive and forgive and forgive.
Disciples do what Jesus would do.
Brian
God's way!
I know this was Friday’s reading but didn’t you love that wee story about Peter fishing for the coin to pay his and Jesus’ temple tax?
See God here!
He could have magically produced the coin for His Son…but He didn’t…He used natural means to supernatural ends.
So He knows His Son will have need at just this time…and seeing all things: seeing someone on a boat losing a coin, watching a fish drawn to something shiny swallowing the coin, watching Peter bait his fishing rod, compelling that fish to swim to that side of the lake, to bite on that hook at just that moment…and so it goes on…our Lord using natural means to perform the supernatural…even in our own lives.
Glory, glory, glory to God in the Highest…who provides for His disciples…as they have need.
(So much more interesting and God-glorifying then taking out a loan!)
Brian
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