Is God harsh? This is what the third servant in the Parable of the Three Servants accused the gift-giver of being. Matthew 25: 24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was …
Each of us must account for how we were faithful with God’s gifts. In the parable of the talents, the master gave each person gifts in proportion to their abilities and then left on his trip. One servant received five bags of silver, another two, and the final servant received one. The servants did not …
God gives proportionate gifts to fulfill His plans for us, as Jesus illustrated in the parable of the three servants. Matthew 25:14 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. …
The Parable of the Three Servants is also called the Parable of the Talents. It all depends on which English translation you read from. Compare the difference in Matthew 25:14-15. ESV: 14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he …
The disciples assumed that Jesus’ timing for His kingdom was during their lifetimes. James and John had requested to have places of honor when Jesus came into His kingdom. Mark 10: 35 Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a …
God’s timing is something that affects all of us. We are often impatient and want God to move quickly or answer our prayers as we desire. Like a sailor in the crow’s nest, the Lord sees the big picture and makes the best decisions even if we don’t understand. Several years ago, we prayed for …
The Jews had a problem with engraved coins. We don’t think anything of the image of George Washington on our quarters or Lincoln on our pennies. As a result, we may miss some of the depth of Jesus’ teaching on taxes. Luke 20: 22 Now tell us—is it right for us to pay taxes to Caesar …
Wolves in sheep’s clothing symbolize a person pretending to be someone they are not, usually with evil intent. Wolf and sheep are very different animals. Jesus uses a wolf in sheep’s clothing phrase to distinguish false prophets. Matthew 7:15Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. 16 You can …
Nothing can be more tragic in life than missing the Savior. I remember the Lord gave me a vision during a Saturday evening worship service while serving communion. As I looked at the congregation, each believer appeared to have a light inside them, while those who did not were dark. As I looked out, about …
As we reflect on our choices in life, we often ask ourselves: “What could have been?” Sometimes, we are thankful that we did not make a particular decision; other times, we wish we would have heeded the Lord’s nudging. I am grateful that when the Lord called me to be a pastor, I responded to …