Matthew__20

ScriptureMatthew 20:15-16 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.” Observation-What does it say?Jesus tells another parable to His disciples about workers in a vineyard that were hired at different times, yet promised the same wage. Those hired first were grumbling because of all the work they put in from the beginning, yet the owner (parallel to the Lord, our Master), paid them the same wage as the workers who started work later. He says to stop being envious of His generosity and ends that parable by saying, “The last will be first and the first will be last.” Understanding-What does it mean?In Jesus’ parable, He was saying that it doesn’t matter when or how we started in terms of our faith. It’s how we finish.  For example, those who were hired first can be parallel to those who’ve been living their lives for Jesus all their lives.  The ones hired last can be parallel to someone like the thief on the cross, who never lived a day for Jesus, except for his acceptance of Him seconds before he took his last breath. In both scenarios, both were promised and given the same reward.Jesus said these same words in our Soul Journal reading yesterday of Matthew 19. “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” He did it to describe the Kingdom of Heaven and having a humble heart towards acceptance of Jesus. (The unwillingness of the Pharisees and Religious Leaders of the day to have a humble heart like a child is why they couldn’t accept Jesus.) I am also reminded of the Parable of the Prodigal son in Luke 15, where the other son was envious because the rebellious one who came back got a big party, but he didn’t. Life ApplicationWe must stop judging God’s generosity and grace. At the foot of the cross, we are all the same. Have you ever been so prideful that you thought you were better than others or deserved more than others because you’ve been a faithful servant of Christ all your life? True confessions-I have, 18 years ago, and you know what happened??? God humbled me, broke me and brought me to a place where I was no longer the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14, but the tax collector, in need of His mercy and grace and no longer reliant on my works for Him.A lot of inspirational speakers, ministers and Pastors say this, so I don’t know where it originated from, but it’s true! “It doesn’t matter when or how you start, it’s how you finish.” That’s the mindset we must have when reaching out to others. May we never forget where we came from or judge the generosity of Jesus towards others. That same generosity is why many of us are who/where we are today!-Michelle Gaddi

Matthew____19

Scripture

Matthew 19:13-14

13Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. 14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

Observation-What does it say?

When the little children were brought to Jesus, His disciples rebuked them. They rebuked the people who brought the kids to Jesus. The Oxford American dictionary defines rebuke as, “express sharp disapproval or criticism of (someone) because of their behavior or actions.” The disciples were critical of the fact that little children were brought to Jesus, but Jesus told His disciples to let them come. Jesus welcomed the children, blessed them and prayed for them. 

Understanding-What does it mean?

It doesn’t matter what age, race, gender we are, or past we have. We can all come to Jesus and He will accept us with open arms.

Children were just like women back in those times in Jewish culture. They were not highly regarded. However, Jesus continued to break those social barriers. When doing research on gotquestions.com, it said that, “It is likely that their (the disciples') move to hinder the parents from bringing their children to Jesus was motivated not by unkindness, but by a desire to respect Jesus’ position as a teacher.”

To the disciples, Jesus’ position as a teacher gave Him no time to pray over children because He had more important matters to attend to. However, Jesus continued to show His disciples that He was there to serve people no matter what gender or age they were. He came to serve everyone, to die for ALL and to resurrect from the grave so that we could have life in Him. The Kingdom of Heaven did not only belong to the religious leaders or to men, but to the sinners, the poor, the women, the children and everyone else who weren’t socially accepted in those days.

Life Application

“So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:26-28 NIV

Think of people today who are not socially accepted or people we write off because they are unlike us. Poor/homeless, mentally/physically ill, sick, broken, needy, hurt, dependent....you fill in the blank. 

Those are the people that Jesus went out of His way to minister to and who we should to as well. There are no cultural, social, age, gender, or political gaps with Jesus. Everyone has an opportunity to be part of the Kingdom of Christ because in His Kingdom, those barriers do not exist.

Dear Jesus, thank You that You loved and love the “least of these” and as we were adopted into your family, we inherited more than the world has to offer, life with You. I pray against any cultural or social filter/barrier that prevents us from reaching out to those You desire in Your Kingdom. As Your Word says, "the last shall be first and the first shall be last (Matt. 19:30)." May we have a humble servant’s view towards people just like You had towards us. We love You Jesus and thank You for choosing us despite who we were. May we extend that same love and grace towards others when reaching out. Amen. 

Source:

gotquestions.org/let-the-little-children-come-to-me.html

-Michelle Gaddi

Hosea 4

Scripture   Hosea 4:1-2   

Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land.  There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Observation-What does it say?   The book of hosea paints a detailed and graphic picture of Israel’s and our relationship with God.  The first three chapters outline the life of Hosea’s family and his calling to love a woman who acts outside of God’s law.  This is the perspective from which we are to understand chapters 4-14, which present God’s case against Israel and how they have walked away from His law.  In addition to walking away from God’s word, Israel became involved with the Canaanite religion and their worship of idols.  The words Hosea uses to describe Israel’s behavior goes from bad to worse.  The faith of God’s people often waxes and wanes over time.  But, to act so blatantly outside of God’s law, through lying, stealing and killing, shows how far from His will they have gone.  Understanding-What does it mean?   Baseball is a lazy man's sport, according to my father-in-law and I have a tendency to agree.  There is a lot of standing around, a few short bursts of energy, and then some more standing around.  While it definitely takes skill and some practice, what a player does in the offseason is not as critical as other sports, like swimming, cycling and running (though some people call these activities, they are in fact sports, unlike golf, which is a game (but, I digress)).  I spent a long time involved in long distance running, both as an athlete and as an assistant coach.   In distance running, you can always tell the difference between athletes who used their time in the offseason to prepare for the upcoming season of racing and those who saw the lack of structure as a time to venture into other things.   I remember one year when a new kid transferred into our school from a high school in Taft, we’ll call him Matt.  He had a lot of talent and was a great asset to our cross-country team, which was having trouble recruiting.  During the school year and with the structure provided by the races and training schedule, Matt showed a lot of promise for the track season.  But, when the cross-country racing ended, so did the structure.  Matt became interested in the other extracurricular activities that many high school kids enjoyed, which were not involved with long distance running.  He began smoking and drinking a lot of alcohol, both of which seemed counter productive to a long distance running lifestyle.  Needless to say, he struggled during the track season, got injured, and ultimately stopped running altogether. Our relationship with God can be like this.  We have seasons where we can easily engage in what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives and seasons where the Holy Spirit is a little more quiet.  If we take the seasons of quiet as an opportunity to “explore” other religions or ways of life, like the Israelites did, then we risk becoming out of shape for the seasons when God is speaking to us.  We also risk, as Israel did, becoming subject to God’s anger.  To the Ephesians, Paul wrote, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (4:30).  We grieve the Holy Spirit when we walk away from the commandments of God, much like an athlete grieves his coach by smoking in the offseason.  Part of the process of steering clear from following the religions of the world involves us holding each other accountable and encouraging one another.  The author of Hebrews encouraged us by writing, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.  And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching” (10:23-25).
Life Application  

 

Today, it has become increasingly easy to dive into the “religions” and belief systems of this present world.  These beliefs even creep their way into the doors of the church, dividing the unity based on the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Holy Spirit, help my message to be of Christ and Him crucified.  Help me to neither add nor take away from your perfect message of hope.  Help me to trust not in the markets and seasons of this world, but in your perfect timing and perfect grace.  May my words be seasoned with the grace only you can provide.    

 

-Tyler Galloway