9/9/09

Good morning to everyone,
Today's passage led me to Matthew 25:1-30. I still encourage everyone to read along.
Matthew 25:1-30 (New International Version)

Matthew 25
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
1"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5The 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. 8The 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. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'

12"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'

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

The Parable of the Talents
14"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents[a] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent 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. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. 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 the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; 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 the one talent 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. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent 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? 27Well 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" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

In the parable of the ten bridesmaids, the bridesmaids represent us and the bridegroom represents Jesus. Not all bridesmaids were ready and they missed their opportunity to be with Jesus. Jesus told us parables to clarify further what it means to be ready for his return. Every person is responsible for his or her own spiritual condition.No parable istself comepletely describes our preparation.God will only reveal as much as we can handle. So we must walk with him daily for our entire picture. When Jesus returns for us we must be ready. We cannot borrow our spiritual preparation at the last minute. Our relationship with God must be our own.

The parable of the loaned money is about a man that gives three servants money (talents) according to their abilities. The money represents any kind of resource we are given and no one receives more that they can handle.An excuse of being overwhelmed is not tolerated.God gives us these gifts and expects us to invest them wisely until his return. You see, the issue is not what we have, but how well we use what we have. We should ay close attention to what God is asking us to do. Does it mean we have to quit our jobs and change professions? Not necessarily. For most of us it means doing our daily work out of love for God. Two of the three men abounded with the gift they were given by their master. The third man was self-centered and lazy and was admonished by his master. He was left outside the door and missed the celebration. We must not make excuses for what God wants us to do. We must obey willingly. Our time, abilities, and money aren't ours in the first place. When we ignore or squander what we are given by God, we deserve to be punished. Use the resources he gave you fully and wisely.

Another little scriptural talking to that I received yesterday was very obvious. Especially as to how it ties into this lesson. A friend of mine was telling me about some scripture in 1st Peter yesterday. It talked about how for us to truly understand God, that we must suffer as he did. I turned to that place in Keri's bible and would you believe the girl had left me another message. She had written "Find your purpose and fulfill it!". I'm still amazed how she seemed to know something big was on the horizon years before. I firmly believe these little nuggets left behind were meant for me to find at exactly the right time.

Our heavenly Father, I pray that you will sustain me through this wonderful day that you have made. I thank you for the many blessings that you have bestowed upon us. I pray that my children are protected by your grace today. I pray that you give mne the strength to do what I need to do today. I thank you for the opportunity to meet in the middle of the week and I pray that you draw us closer to you in the process. Lord help me to wait on your plan as you see fit to unravel it for my life so that I do not get in your way. I pray all those unspoken prayers. I thank you for such wonderful friends and family and I pray that you give me the thoughts and words to say so that I don't offend them. Reveal to me your purpose for my life. I continue to look but I'm afraid my simple mind cannot comprehend your messages so I ask you to make it totally clear what it is that you need me to do. Let me be your witness. Thank you for giving me exactly what I need when I need it. I want to run to you and I ask that you hold me in your loving arms. Forgive me where I fail you, in your name I pray .... Amen