Matthew 20
The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard
1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5So they went.
"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'
7" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.
"He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'
8"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'
9"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'
13"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'
16"So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
Jesus Again Predicts His Death
17Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, 18"We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!"
A Mother's Request
20Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
21"What is it you want?" he asked.
She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom."
22"You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said to them. "Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?"
"We can," they answered.
23Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father."
24When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Two Blind Men Receive Sight
29As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. 30Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
31The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
32Jesus stopped and called them. "What do you want me to do for you?" he asked.
33"Lord," they answered, "we want our sight."
34Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
Our Daily Bread reading and devotion
John 15:9-15
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
February 29, 2008
The Best Friend
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READ: John 15:9-15
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. —John 15:13
It’s an honor I cherish, and one I seek to live up to—but I don’t always do it. It’s the privilege of hearing my wife say, “You’re my best friend,” which she does often. As much as I love her, though, I occasionally do something that is not so “best friend-ish.”
In reality, no matter how hard we try, we cannot live up to the high standard of being a friend who never lets others down. We all fail from time to time—forgetting to do what we should or simply allowing selfishness to build a barrier between us.
As believers, we take comfort in knowing that we are called a friend of God, and He is a true friend who will never falter. Michael Gungor’s joyous song “Friend of God” captures the wonder of this relationship when it asks, “Who am I that You are mindful of me?”
Abraham was called “the friend of God,” and that friendship was related to his faith (2 Chron. 20:7; James 2:23). Jesus explained how we can receive that designation as well. He said to His disciples, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:14). There is no better friend, for we know that He will never leave us nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5).
Looking for the best friend ever? You can’t do better than the Lord Himself. — Dave Branon
I’ve found a Friend, O such a Friend!
He loved me ere I knew Him;
He drew me with the cords of love,
And thus He bound me to Him. —Small
Jesus is the only faultless Friend you’ll ever find.
My Utmost for His Hightest, by Oswald Chambers:
February 29, 2008
What Do You Want The Lord to Do for You?
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READ:
’What do you want Me to do for you?’ He said, ’Lord, that I may receive my sight’ —Luke 18:41
Is there something in your life that not only disturbs you, but makes you a disturbance to others? If so, it is always something you cannot handle yourself. "Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more . . ." ( Luke 18:39 ). Be persistent with your disturbance until you get face to face with the Lord Himself. Don’t deify common sense. To sit calmly by, instead of creating a disturbance, serves only to deify our common sense. When Jesus asks what we want Him to do for us about the incredible problem that is confronting us, remember that He doesn’t work in commonsense ways, but only in supernatural ways.
Look at how we limit the Lord by only remembering what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past. We say, "I always failed there, and I always will." Consequently, we don’t ask for what we want. Instead, we think, "It is ridiculous to ask God to do this." If it is an impossibility, it is the very thing for which we have to ask. If it is not an impossible thing, it is not a real disturbance. And God will do what is absolutely impossible.
This man received his sight. But the most impossible thing for you is to be so closely identified with the Lord that there is literally nothing of your old life remaining. God will do it if you will ask Him. But you have to come to the point of believing Him to be almighty. We find faith by not only believing what Jesus says, but, even more, by trusting Jesus Himself. If we only look at what He says, we will never believe. Once we see Jesus, the impossible things He does in our lives become as natural as breathing. The agony we suffer is only the result of the deliberate shallowness of our own heart. We won’t believe; we won’ t let go by severing the line that secures the boat to the shore— we prefer to worry.
A Word with You, by Ron Hutchcraft:
Big Head, Small Heart - #5515
Friday, February 29, 2008
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Big Head, Small Heart."
If God were to draw a picture of some of us church folks, He might just draw us much the same way - a big, overdeveloped head and brain, but an underdeveloped heart. Because some of us have a head full of Jesus but not much in our heart. And there's nothing funny about that picture. There's something frightening about it. Because in Romans 10:10, our word for today from the Word of God, He says, "It is with your heart that you believe and are justified."
"Justified" means made right with God, which is the only way you can ever have a relationship with God. The only way you can be with Him forever in heaven. And that miracle of having your sins all erased from His book and having your name entered in His Book of Life happens only when you put your trust in Jesus with all your heart. It may be you've done all your believing in Jesus with your head. That's agreement with Jesus, but it's not commitment to Jesus. And it still leaves you lost, unforgiven, and unprepared for eternity.
You may be saying all the right words about Jesus, but He described people who "honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me" (Mark 7:6). In your mouth, but not in your heart. It's easy to think that because you know the words, you know the Lord. Not necessarily. Matthew 7 describes a Judgment Day scene where people will say all the right words but hear these words from Him, "I never knew you." Other Christians may not even question whether or not you really know Christ, but they can only see what's on the outside. 1 Samuel 16:7 reminds us that "man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." Again, what God cares about is what, or who, is in your heart; not just in your head, or your mouth, or the impression you give.
Not long ago, a lady was training to be a counselor at a youth outreach where I was speaking. Our training video explained what Jesus did, and what we need to do, in non-religious words. She told me, "I thought I was a Christian my whole life, but that night I suddenly realized all these years I had missed a step. I had never really pinned all my hopes on Jesus. I had never really opened my heart to Him as my personal Rescuer from my personal sin."
Maybe you've missed that step, too. It's hard to admit that, but it's deadly not to. What a horrific tragedy to have known the way to heaven and spend all eternity in hell, thinking about what might have been. But God in His mercy has kept you alive at least this long so you can finally move Jesus from your head to your heart, that eighteen inches that make all the difference between heaven and hell. Why don't you tell Him, "Jesus, with all my Christianity, I've missed you, and I want to know you for real. I believe what you did on that cross was for me. Some of those sins you were paying for were mine. You are my only hope of being forgiven, my only hope of heaven, and I turn today from running my own life. And beginning right here and right now Jesus, I'm yours."
I would love to do anything I can to help you be sure you belong to Jesus. And that's what our website yoursforlife.net is for. I want to invite you to go there as soon as you can today to follow a journey there that will lead you to the assurance that you really belong to Him. It's yoursforlife.net. Or I'd be glad to send you my little booklet Yours For Life. It has similar information in it, if you'll just call toll free at 877-741-1200.
You woke up this morning with Jesus in your head. You can go to sleep tonight with Jesus finally in your heart!
To find out how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please visit: yoursforlife.net or call 1-888-966-7325.