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Luke 18:1-15

20 Sep

8 Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him, 2 along with some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; 3 Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.

4 One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: 5 “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. 6 Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. 8 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!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:

‘When they look, they won’t really see.
    When they hear, they won’t understand.’

11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. 12 The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. 13 The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. 14 The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. 15 And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

Luke 18:1-15

Dear God, even though I’m trying very hard it is difficult for me to keep these stories within Luke’s narrative. I’m so used to reading them in isolation, and I’m even journaling them in isolation, but they are part of a story arc. They are showing us character development. In this case, we’ve been seeing that in chapter 4, Jesus met Peter in Capernaum, healed his mother-in-law, got on Peter’s boat, impressed him and then called him, James and John. He calls some more disciples like Matthew, but they aren’t part of the 12 yet. He heals some people. He verbally spars with the Pharisees on healing and the Sabbath. He goes up onto the mountain alone to pray through picking the 12 and then comes back and does so. He gives his mini sermon on the mount. We get some healing and resurrection stories, John the Baptist questioning Jesus’s identity, and then the woman who poured the perfume on Jesus at Simon the Pharisee’s house. Luke is building. And now Jesus is out on the road, touring the neighboring towns and villages (presumably near Nain). Luke is careful to tell us who is funding this, and it’s a few women. I’ve never seen The Chosen, but I’ll bet they do a better job of representing these women as part of the entourage than our normal storytelling does.

So now Jesus is walking town-to-town and he drops a great parable on the people (and us). And there is great truth in this parable. I’ve preached a sermon and taught Bible studies using it. But as I sit here this morning, I wonder why Jesus gave us this sermon. Why did Jesus describe four types of people and only one of them would follow him through the narrow gate? Holy Spirit, as I pray this question in real time with no answers of my own, I ask that you would speak to me and reveal to me what it is you want me to understand this morning about Jesus’s message beneath the message.

As I sit here, I wonder if Jesus wasn’t cryptically saying to the masses and explicitly saying to the 12 that a lot of the people simply aren’t going to buy in and there’s not much we can do about it except continue planting seeds to see if they are ready at another time. I know someone who is really searching right now. I tried to meet one-on-one with him last week, but it didn’t work out like I had hoped. We visited, but there were distractions. I tried to plant some seeds, but the soil was hard as the path. But things have changed in the last six days. He has suffered some setbacks, and I’ll see him again later today. It’s time to plant some seeds again. Maybe the plow has broken up the path and exposed some soil underneath. Then again, maybe it hasn’t I don’t know. But my job isn’t to prepare the soil for planting. The more I type here, the more I see that is your job. My job is to just keep spreading seed and praying for the soil in the hearts of others.

Of course, I need to keep my own soil weeded. I talked with a friend yesterday who had a customer come into her office and tell her it was the first time he had been out of his home all week because he was so disturbed about the Charlie Kirk assassination. That alarmed her. Then he said, “This has upset me more than when I lost my mother.” She said she did a double take and asked him to repeat that. While Kirk’s assassination was tragic, this person has allowed the cares of this world to warp his perspective to the point where his mother’s death was less impactful on him. And I’m sure he spent the week watching the news and getting worked up. The weeds grew and he kept watering them. But don’t I do the same thing sometimes? I have to keep my soil weeded and my eyes on you.

Father, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Prepare my heart for the encounters I will have today. Teach me what you want me to know. Plant more seeds in my life through others. And use me to plant seeds in the hearts of others. Prepare their hearts to receive them. That’s your job. My job is just to plant the seeds you give me to spread.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on September 20, 2025 in Luke

 

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Luke 8:4-15

22 May

4 One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: 5 “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. 6 Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. 8 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!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:

‘When they look, they won’t really see.
    When they hear, they won’t understand.’

11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. 12 The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. 13 The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. 14 The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. 15 And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.

Luke 8:4-15

Dear God, I’m preaching at a local church this Sunday, and I’ve had this sermon idea running around my head for at least a month leading up to this. So I thought I would take time away from my Saul series and spend a moment preparing for this sermon.

So here’s my idea. A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to the Voxology podcast. I don’t think I could find the exact episode or moment again, but I remember he was talking about hearing a woman say, “If I take hell out of the equation, I don’t see a compelling reason to follow Jesus.” That broke my heart–mainly because there was a time in my life that I could relate to that statement. As a child growing up in a Baptist church and going to revivals and Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) conferences, I heard the question more than once, “If you were to die tonight, do you know where you would go?” Most of the times I was walking the aisle, I feel like I was doing it to buy my “fire insurance.” I am so thankful that I actually went to an FCA Leadership Conference in 1987 that taught me there is a Christian life to be lived and how to live it.

Before I go any further, Holy Spirit, I know I’ve prayed about this over the last month, but as I sit here and type these words this morning, please reveal yourself through my fingers and this keyboard. Take my mind and heart to the places you need them to go for the good of the people, or maybe just that one person, who will need to hear what you have for them through me on Sunday. Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart bring glory to you and be pleasing to you, oh Lord.

So here’s the rough overview of my plan. Holy Spirit, correct me if I’m doing anything wrong:

  • Start with Voxology story: If I take hell off of the table, I don’t see a compelling reason to follow Jesus.
  • If we were having lunch with a friend, and they asked us this question, how would we answer them?
  • Happiness study by Sam Peltzman that reveals married people are likely to be happier than unmarried people.
    • But we don’t take that knowledge and get married so we can be 30 points happier than we would be if we were unmarried. We marry for love.
  • We should not enter into our relationship with God with anything other than him in mind.
  • We enter into this relationship because we carry around sin, insecurity, and this hole in our heart that we are constantly trying to fill. When we find God and a relationship with him, we turn loose of that and experience a life that produces fruit.
    • Fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23: Love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
  • How do we provide the Holy Spirit space to grow good fruit in our hearts?
    • Parable of the Sower
    • Odds are that the hearts in this room are not represented by the path or the rocks.
    • Most in this room are either fertile soil or soil that chokes out the Spirit with weeds and thorns.
  • Every gardener knows you have to weed your garden and tend your soil with water and fertilizer.
    • How do you tend your soil?
  • What is your floor
    • My floor:
      • Daily prayer journal
      • Faithful and consistent giving as well as extra giving
      • Intentional time in conversation with Megan
      • Hearing at least one Bible lesson/sermon from someone else each week
      • Communication with at least two male friends each week
      • Avoiding sexual temptation/lust.
      • Exercising at least four times a week.
      • Serve my wife by doing chores, favors she asks, and even using headphones
    • Things I add to the floor:
      • Extra writing projects
      • Volunteer work and praying for our community and country
      • Listening to Christian music and Christian podcasts
  • Use the bulletin insert to make up your own floor

Father, I pray that this is the message people need to hear from me this weekend. I pray that there might just be one person for whom this is a blessing. I pray that out of this time people would be drawn into deeper relationship with the God who loves them and only wants to grow great fruit in them for their sake. Make this all about loving you and not about any selfish gain on our part. You are worthy of my worship and my praise. I pray that you will share that with others through me.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on May 22, 2025 in Luke

 

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Emails to God – Being Found Unfaithful (Matthew 25)

21 Apr

1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’

12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’

13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Dear God, I must confess that I have not felt very motivated to pray this week. I decided to do all of chapter 25 here (even though it is 46 verses) because the three stories here (bridegroom and virgins, the three servants, and the sheep and the goats) are all linked by the theme of your return. They talk about faithfulness, and, for whatever reason, I haven’t felt very faithful to you this week.

I wonder why there are times when I just can’t bring myself to stop and spend time in prayer. It’s almost like I am avoiding you, but I don’t understand it. I can’t think of anything about which I was feeling guilty or ashamed. Maybe I was just tired. Frankly, I had a hard time motivating myself to do much of anything this week. I wasn’t excited about work. I didn’t really exercise. I didn’t eat particularly well and lost a little ground on my efforts to get back in better shape. It was just a week where I kind of went off the rails a little.

I mention this in relation to these passages because they all seem to talk about you finding us faithful, and, while I normally think of myself as being faithful and working as unto you, I can say that if you had come back this week you would not have found me faithful. I think (and hope) I would have still made the sheep group, but it was certainly not a week where I lived in your victory or joy.

Father, it’s early on a Saturday morning and I pledge myself to you today. I pledge myself to your glory. I pledge myself to your plan and purposes. I pledge myself to praying for my friends who I neglected this week. I pledge myself to praying for and serving my wife and children. I pledge myself to denying myself for your glory’s sake. Find me faithful.

 
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Posted by on April 21, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Dressed for a Wedding (Matthew 22:1-14)

07 Apr

1 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

4 “Then he sent some more servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

5 “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

8 “Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.’ 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.

13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

Dear God, this is such a peculiar parable. Frankly, it is clicking along nicely, lining up with the previous parable about the tenants pretty well, until we get to verse 11. Every time I have ever read this parable I have wondered where the man in verse 11 would have gotten wedding clothes. If you invite everyone, then the odds are that some are not going to have the right thing to wear. But you are making a point here—the New Covenant is radical, but it still has standards. One must at least make an attempt to do the right thing. I think the last words of verse 12 are the key: “The man was speechless.” He was either too scared to speak or he didn’t have an answer. Since this is a parable and not a real story, I’m going to assume Jesus was making the point that he didn’t have a good answer.

The irony of this story told by Jesus this particular week is that none of us have wedding clothes for this feast. We are all dressed in clothes provided by Jesus’ actions the very week he told this story. I am sitting and typing this on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. When I woke up this morning I thought about the darkness of this day. I am about to go on a bike ride with my dad down one of the prettiest county roads in Texas, fully alive in wildflowers. But the thought still haunts me that this is a dark day because of the wedding clothes that I now wear.

Father, thank you for providing for my participation in the banquet. Thank you for letting me join the feast. I knew I wasn’t dressed and accepted your gift of fine clothes. I pray that you will help me to help others do the same. I don’t know how far your grace extends (who on this planet could possibly understand your grace?), but I know that there is a peace that comes with your clothes that everyone needs. Use me how you will to invite more people in.

 
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Posted by on April 7, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Ramping up to the Crucifixion (Matthew 27:33-46)

06 Apr

33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place. 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

35 “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.

38 “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40 “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?”

41 “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.”

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:

“‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

43 “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Dear God, the more I read these stories the more I think Jesus was intentionally pushing them too far. And, frankly, I think there’s one part of this parable that might not fit. Verse 37 implies that you thought that Jesus would be respected by the chief priests when he came, but you knew this is how it would turn out. You knew that they would feel threatened by him, reject him, and kill him.

I happen to be writing this on Good Friday. Good Friday is an interesting day because a lot of Christians (including me) treat it almost like we do Memorial Day—for a lot of us it is a day off from work, but we often fail to stop and ponder the significance of this day. Jesus’ earthly mission culminated on this day around 1,980 years ago. Even the parables like this one. He didn’t tell them so that they would repent and change their ways. He knew that wouldn’t happen. I am convinced that he told them so that they would hit their breaking point and kill him. He needed it to happen. Why? Because he knew that I needed it to happen. He knew that all of us needed it to happen.

As a father, I wish there was a magic button I could push to make everything alright for my children. I wish there was some way I knew to sacrifice myself for them to know that they would turn out as people who love you and are submitted to you. As I sit here now, if I knew that there was something I could do, up to and including death, that would be a guarantee for them I know I would do it. But my path isn’t quite as clear. My road is murkier as I try to navigate being a husband, father, son, brother, friend, and employee.

Father, I can’t see the road in front of me, but you don’t want me to see it. You want to keep me in the present. So please help me to be in the present. Love my children through me. Love my wife through me. Even love my enemies through me. Don’t let me do anything that might take away from your glory. Instead, bring glory to yourself through me. Help me to decrease as you increase. And thank you for what you did in this story. You knew where it would lead and you did it for me. Thank you.

 
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Posted by on April 6, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Jesus Goes from Defense to Offense (Matthew 21:28-31)

04 Apr

28 “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’

29 “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

30 “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go.

31 “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”

“The first,” they answered.

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdomof Godahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Dear God, you have to keep in mind that verse 28 follows on the heels of is conversation with the chief priests where he won’t answer their question regarding his authority. So I like how Jesus goes from playing defense with them and turns it to offense.

I wonder if Jesus would have been this provocative with them if he hadn’t known that he was on the road to the cross. If it had been the previous year’s Passover, would he have been this challenging? Were his disciples surprised at his confrontational attitude? Were the secret Pharisee disciples like Nicodemus and Joseph wishing he would be quiet and not make their colleagues any angrier?

It can be hard to know when to be loving and let things pass, and when to be confrontational and call a wrong a wrong. I do think there is a time and a place for confrontation, but it is certainly not my default position. Jesus, after all, called the Pharisees a brood of vipers (Matthew 12 and Matthew 23). John the Baptist even used the phrase for them. So he wasn’t above being in their face and even calling them a name. But I am sure he used this strategy judiciously. In this case, I think we was almost intentionally laying the groundwork for them to decide to crucify him.

Father, frankly, I’m not sure what there is for me here. I guess the biggest thing is to figure out when to be confrontational with someone I think needs it, and when to use more gentle tactics. When do I let it go and when to I force the issue? And how do I force the issue in a way that will be productive and produce the desired results? Those are questions that are hard for me to answer, but I am going to trust that, as each situation presents itself, you will help me to find the answers.

 
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Posted by on April 4, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – God’s Wonderful Injustice (Matthew 20:1-16)

24 Mar

1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.

3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went.

“He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon 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 five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These 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, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’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.”

Dear God, I just saw something in this that I’ve never seen before. The workers who worked all day did, indeed, get something that the others didn’t get. They got an extra measure of peace in knowing that they had a job that day and money coming in. The others, while they sat around without work for at least part of the day, had those moments of wondering how they would earn money.

I was unemployed for six months in 2003 and again in 2005. It was really hard. Frankly, you ended up providing for us almost as well as if I had had a job the whole time, but there was a stress that we experienced that I would gladly have traded away for a full day’s work.

Now, this parable is really supposed to be about those who come to faith and are loyal to you early in life versus those who come to you later. We all get the same reward and you love us all the same. While that’s true, there is a distinct advantage of coming to you earlier in my life—you help me to avoid a lot of the bad decisions that could otherwise wreck my life, and your presence fills me with peace while those who have not yet submitted to you don’t have the pleasure of your presence.

Father, I really don’t begrudge the idea that you love the deathbed confession person as much as you love me. As Rich Mullins said one time, “We all have it better than we deserve.” Your wages are too high, and your requirements are too low. You are too good and I am grateful for all that you do.

 
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Posted by on March 24, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Me Forgive Them? (Matthew 18:21-35)

17 Mar

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.[g]

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Dear God, does being resentful mean unforgiveness? There is one person in my life who hurt me a few years ago. They are the person who comes to mind whenever I ask myself if there is anyone I haven’t forgiven. This person did something that I felt betrayed me for their own selfish gain. I am publicly nice to them. I don’t trash the person to other people. But at the same time the hurt that they caused me is still there. If I see them in public I don’t want to talk with them. I don’t think I would go out of my way to help them unless it was something they really needed. But I don’t know if that means unforgiveness.

I guess I need to figure out what it means to forgive. Does it really mean to send something away from myself as far as the east is from the west? I know women who are victims of sexual abuse. What does forgiveness look like for them? How does one really turn loose of that kind of pain (for the record, what was done to me is nothing compared to something like sexual abuse)? In order to forgive us, you had to sacrifice your own son and look at us through his pure and holy death. You don’t see me alone, but me through Him. I don’t have that luxury.

Father, I don’t want to disappoint you because of my inability to adequately forgive someone. Please show me what it means to love my enemies. Please show me what it means to truly forgive. If Judas had lived, I wonder how the disciples would have dealt with their bitterness towards him. Could they have seen, in retrospect, that Jesus needed to die to fulfill the plan, or would they have seen that Jesus needed to die, but Judas didn’t have to betray him to make it happen, and therefore had a hard time forgiving him? I don’t know. But I know that I still resent this person, and if it is holding me back from receiving more of you or any of your forgiveness, then I will work on it. I will pay attention to it. I will strive to completely forgive.

 
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Posted by on March 17, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Do I Really Think the Kingdom of Heaven is a Treasure? (Matthew 13:44-46)

08 Feb

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

Dear God, I like how Jesus is trying to communicate to the people listening (and to me) that what he was offering through the kingdom of heaven is THIS special. It is worth THIS much.

I think I treat it as worth as much in my personal life, but to I communicate that it is worth as much to others around me? When I have an employee who is suffering, do I tell them about the kingdom of heaven?

In fact, I have a friend right now who is not only struggling with some personal relationship issues in her life, but she is also struggling with a health issue. How will I represent you to her? Will I remind her that the kingdom of heaven is a treasure to be valued and embraced, or will I try to be a blessing to her out of my own wisdom and power?

Father, help me to really believe that the kingdom of heaven is a pearl worth a great price. Help me to live like I believe it. Help me to remember it for myself and to embrace it wholeheartedly.

 
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Posted by on February 8, 2012 in Matthew

 

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Emails to God – Free Will and Blaming God for Suffering (Matthew 13:36-43)

07 Feb

36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Dear God, this story kind of coincides with the whole thing I have been doing lately with Job. Satan is sowing evil amidst your glory. It does make one wonder why you allow THAT to happen. Why allow him to sow in the first place?

I suppose it is another example of your respect for your creation and the fact that you allow even your angels free will. Just like the free will you offer to me.

I am sometimes amazed at how hard it is to accept the idea of free will for my children. Sometimes they get mad at me for reasons that I would consider unjust don’t like it. There’s a part of me that wants to force them to act the way I want them to act, including influencing how they think. But you’re right. If I were able to do that and pull it off, then any love they showed me would be empty and meaningless. So I suppose it is better to watch their mistakes and feel their ire than to make them love me.

Father, the thing that struck me about Job’s story is that everyone thought you were responsible for his suffering. Satan got zero blame for it. People get unjustifiably mad at you all of the time because they blame you for things that you didn’t do, or that you are working for their good. I have done it too. So please forgive me for when I have gotten angry and sinned against you. I am truly sorry.

 
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Posted by on February 7, 2012 in Matthew

 

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