Read the Bible in a Year (10OCT19)

DAILY REMINDER – Today, October 10’s Bible reading is Matthew 20-21.

NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, October 11’s Bible reading is Matthew 22-23. May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.

MATTHEW MOMENT – (10OCT19) “’Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ ‘So the last will be first, and the first will be last’” (Matthew 20:14-16). Jesus tells the parable of the landowner who hired some workers to work his fields. Some were hired in the morning, others in the afternoon, and then some an hour before quitting time. He had told all of them upon hire what their pay would be and they agreed to it. When it came time to pay the workers, the landowner paid the last ones to be hired first and gave them the same pay as the ones who were hired in the morning. The workers who were hired first were discontent that they had not received more than the others, but the landowner let them know that they had agreed to a certain amount upon hire, and it was his money to pay as he saw fit. Jesus used this parable to say that the first would be last, and the last would be first in the kingdom of God.

There are many people who have served the Lord for 20, 30, 40, and over 50 years. Nevertheless, they will have no more standing in Heaven than the one who have only a year invested. God does not judge things on the same scale as humans do. For example, some pastors may have thousands in their congregation whereas others may only have a hundred. The one with the thousands is no closer or important to God than the one with the hundred. Many Christians judge a pastor’s success based on the amount of people in his church, size of the building, and square footage of the parking lot. Although this is nice, how many people in the church are actually saved? How many people who come inside the building leave out changed? How many people who park on the lot have a reservation in Heaven? The Bible says: “…The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7). God looks a quality and not quantity. It is important for believers to understand that no matter where God has you in ministry, there are no big “I’s” and little “you’s.” We are all equals in God’s eyes and those who set themselves up above others will be the least in the kingdom of God. Something to ponder….

QUESTION OF THE DAY - (10OCT19) “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it ‘a den of robbers’” (Matthew 21:12). How many churches would Jesus turn over today if He were here? The majority of churches would probably be in danger of being turned over today. After Jesus had ridden on the donkey into Jerusalem, He went to the temple and was upset because the people were not reverencing His Father’s house. They were buying, selling, cheating, and scamming others out of money, but Jesus drove them out and brought order to the House of God once again.

In many of today’s seeker-friendly otherwise known as “attractional” churches, they place appeasing the people over the reverence of God. With all the rock bands, lights, cameras, coffee cafes, bookstores, and other things that are offered at these houses of worship, one may wonder as to how genuine worship is able to take place. The church is often run more like a business than a place for sick souls to come.  A visitor is more likely to get multiple calls to give money than multiple calls to give their heart to Jesus. Is it no wonder that church attendance is on the decline? And yes, it is definitely on the decline in the west. The Bible says: “Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say, ‘Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us’” (Micah 3:11). The church is not to be run like it is being featured in Forbes. The church is to be the body of Christ and as such, we are to be hungry for souls and not money. Something to ponder….

MATTHEW MOMENT – (10OCT19) “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. Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed” (Matthew 21:43-44).  Jesus had given the parable about the tenants whom a landowner had hired to work his vineyard. When harvest time arrived, he sent some of his servants to collect his portion of the crops, but when they arrived, the tenants beat one, killed and stoned another one. Then, the landowner sent some more servants, but the tenants treated them the same way. The landowner figured that he would send his son and surely, they would have respect for him. The wicked tenants had no more respect for the son than they had for the servants and killed him too. Jesus posed the question as to what the landowner would do next. The landowner would deal with the tenants himself and would rent to other tenants to share in his crop during the next harvest. Jesus was letting the people know that the kingdom of God would be taken away from those who failed to appreciate it and given to others who would work the field and reap from its harvest the fruit that it would bear.

God has given many people platforms and open opportunities to speak His truth. Some have done well and led souls to Christ, while others have abused and misused the platform and opportunities granted to them. They took advantage of the ones they were supposed to help and helped themselves to the luxuries of life. The Bible says: “Israel’s watchmen are blind; they lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep. They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, they seek their own gain” (Isaiah 56:10-11). Just as the Lord was tired of how His watchmen acted during Israel’s time, He is just as fed up with the way many Christians, both leaders and non-leaders, act regarding the things of Him. We are ALL called to sow and reap. The Bible says that the harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few (Matthew 9:37); so, we have an obligation to sow into the lives of the lost. Everyone does not need a pulpit to preach in order to do the things of God. Whatever gifts, talents, platforms, or open doors God gives to you, they are to be used for the edification of His kingdom. We must be intentional in witnessing for the Lord. Something to ponder….