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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Tuesday, August 23, 2022
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :The Parable of the Talents [2] Bible Verse:Matthew 25:24-30 (ESV) "He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ " Message:
1) In this long parable, Christ indicates that something which God has given us will be taken away from those who do not use it and increase it. He does not tell us exactly what He is talking about; this is a parable and He leaves it for us to hear the meaning. So we have to interpret, which is often a red flag for reading something into the Bible that isn’t there, indulging our preconceptions and bias. With a parable, however, the rules are different. Interpretation is invited, even required.
The servant is cast into the outer darkness, a consistent symbol of alienation from God. Christ is “the Light of men.” (John 1:4) So, it appears that the servant is removed from Christ’s grace.
The controversy over whether a person who has been “saved” can forfeit his salvation is a heated topic of discussion among Christian theologians and is a major doctrinal issue in many denominations. There is no black-and-white answer. Many passages, especially in the epistles (e.g. Romans 11:28-29), can fairly be read to imply that there is one, permanent, and irrevocable forgiveness for our sins. But other passages (e.g. Revelation 3:16) can be fairly read to imply that salvation is a living relationship with Christ that can be lost; and this is one of them.
Burning heart christian
2) The discussion about the Master being “hard” and “reaping where he did not sow” is difficult to understand. One might conclude that the servant has the wrong idea and completely misunderstands his kind and honest Master. But the Master does not definitively state such; perhaps the characterization has a tiny bit of truth, for Christ did instruct his apostles to reap what they had not sown. (John 4:37-38)
But the servant’s attitude is not the critical point of the parable. He is not punished for saying or believing that the Master is hard. The Master rather says, “That is no excuse. If that is what you think, it is just more reason why you should have invested my money.”
We cannot be timid in our witness of Christ. We cannot say, “I do not know what to do” or “I am afraid I might say the wrong thing.” The clearest message of the parable is that Christ is telling us, without any doubt, that He expects us to do something with our various resources to increase his kingdom.
3) The final lesson of the parable sounds harsh and foreign to us, but Christ repeats it in other contexts and we must take it as a firm teaching: those with much will gain even more, while those with little will lose what little they have. The servant with one talent must give it to the servant who already has ten talents. He is speaking about spiritual riches, of course. It does not matter how modest our talents are; whatever contribution we can make is valuable to Christ.
Meditation : Prayer : Almighty God, by your Holy Spirit you have made me one with your saints in heaven and on earth. Grant that in my earthly pilgrimage I may always be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and know myself to be surrounded by their witness to your power and mercy. I ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns for ever and ever........Amen |
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