Matthew 21 - 8.21.24

Scripture

..‘The Lord has need of them,’.. (Matthew 21:3) 

Observation

The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem riding on a young donkey which we celebrate as Palm Sunday today, is recorded in all the four gospels. It is very interesting that only Matthew has recorded an additional bit of detail which is missing in the other three gospels. All the four gospel writers record that Jesus rode on a young donkey also known as a colt. Only Matthew records that Jesus asked his disciples to go and find a mother-donkey which was tied along with her colt. “Loose them, and bring them to me”. If anyone asks the disciples about what they were doing, they were instructed to answer “the Lord has need of them”. I remember hearing a Pastor in India narrate his personal experience regarding this story, when I was in high school, which greatly influenced me. This Pastor was intrigued that the Lord asked for the old mother-donkey to be brought along with the colt. He asked the Lord why He needed the mother-donkey. It didn’t make any sense. Jesus only needed the colt on which He would ultimately ride. Why did the Lord ask for the mother-donkey to be brought along as well? As he pressed in prayer, he felt the Lord impressing the following answer on his heart. “It is not your business to know what I needed the mother-donkey for. Just know that just as I had a purpose for the young donkey, I had a purpose for the mother-donkey!”

Application

The Lord needs you. Whichever season of life you are in, the Lord has a purpose for you. He has called you according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). You are not meant to drift aimlessly through life, but to accomplish His plan for you, a plan that was conceived even before you were in your mother’s womb (Jer 1:1). All the days ordained for you were written in His book, before you were born (Psalms 139:16). When I heard this story I was a young teenager similar to the young colt, ready to change the world! Now, with one kid having left for college and the other one leaving for college in a year, my husband and I are getting ready for an empty-nest, and I can relate better to the mother-donkey! I am grateful to know that the Lord has a purpose for me in this season of my life as well as the future seasons of my life as I pass from middle-age to old-age, just as He had a purpose for me in my youth. 

Prayer

Father, I want to thank you because you need me. Thank you for knowing me. Thank you because you created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalms 139:13-14). Lead me into the good works you have prepared for me to do (Eph 2:10). Please fulfil the purpose for which you created me, as I can do nothing without you (John 15:5). Let your will be done in my life as it is in heaven (Matt 6:10). Help me to be obedient to your commandments and live a life that is pleasing in your sight. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight (Psalms 19:14). Make my life a living sacrifice holy and acceptable to you (Romans 12:1). In Jesus’s name I pray. Amen.

- Asha Chacko George

Matthew 20 - 8.20.24

SCRIPTURE:  Matthew 20:1-16  "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.  He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.  About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.  He told them, "You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right."  So they went.  He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing.  About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around.  He asked them, "Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?"  "Because no one has hired us", they answered.  He said to them, "You also go and work in my vineyard.  When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, "Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.  The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius.  So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more.  But each of them also received a denarius.  When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. " These who were hired worked only one hour", they said, "and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day".  But he answered one of them, "I am not being unfair to you, friend.  Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?  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."

OBSERVATION:  In this parable, God is the landowner, and the workers represent believers.  This parable is about salvation, and God's kingdom of grace.

Naturally the workers who were hired at the beginning of the day expected to receive more wages than the workers who were hired at the end of the day.  That makes sense to us, but God rewards and blesses everyone according to His will and good pleasure, not according to what we deserve!   The landowner did what he had promised each of them; they were all to receive a denarius for a days work.  Even though it didn't seem right to the workers, the landowner explained that he had been completely fair to all he had promised to pay.  

APPLICATION:  God rewards us according to Who He is, not according to who we are.  We are all given the same reward regarding heaven.  Jesus paid the full price for all of us to receive God's mercy and grace, and for us to have our sins forgiven, and to receive eternal life.  No matter if we've been a Christ follower for decades or only seconds; everyone who has put their faith in Jesus is able to receive God's gift of eternal life.  All believers who faithfully serve the Lord will receive an equal inheritance regardless of when we were "hired". 

Once we enter heaven we will be rewarded crowns according to the time we spent allowing God to work through us to achieve the good works of our life.  We will acknowledge God's sovereignty by casting crowns at His feet while we worship Him in heaven.  These crowns are:

THE CROWN OF VICTORY, (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

THE CROWN OF REJOICING (Phil 4:1)

THE CROWN OF LIFE,  (James 1:12, Revelation 2:10)

THE CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS:  (2 Timothy 4:8)

THE CROWN OF GLORY (1 Peter 5:4) 

PRAYER:  

I thank God for the gift of salvation, and for the rewards that He will hand to His faithful servants as our eternal inheritance in Christ.  I pray I will not store up for myself treasures on earth where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but my heart will be centered around God's eternal kingdom.  (Matthew 6:19-21).

- Robin Orefice

Psalm 28 - 8.19.24

Scripture

‭‭Psalm‬ ‭28‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT

“The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.”

‬‬

Observation

In the beginning of this psalm, David is crying out to God for help. David pleads to God to not punish him unfairly with the wicked. David yearns for God to rescue him from his troubles. Then starting in verse 6, David gives thanks to God for answering his prayers. David’s response is to trust in God wholeheartedly. He no longer experiences fear. Instead, David has peace because of God’s faithfulness. These are all reasons why David wrote this psalm, along with many others. He wanted to give God ALL his praise and worship!

Application

God turns our trials into triumph.

David, the man that we all know as “the man after God’s own heart”, was no stranger to trials in his life. From fighting a literal GIANT, to being on the run because many people wanted him dead, to the heartache of losing a baby, David had experienced it all. But through all of his life’s ups and downs, one thing remained constant…David’s relationships and love for God. David didn’t allow life’s tough moments to break him. Instead, David trusted God. He cried out to him regularly and David found out firsthand of God’s faithfulness. God turned David’s trials into triumph, which caused David to write so many beautiful psalms/songs about God’s goodness.

So I want to encourage anyone out there that may be going through a rough patch right now. DO NOT GIVE UP! Look up! Seek God wholeheartedly the way David did. Tell Him your troubles and ask Him for help. God’s Will may not be to remove us from the situation, but rather give us the strength and endurance to sustain us through it. At the end of the day, if we don’t give up, and we stand strong in our faith, it will build our faith and make us even stronger for it. Try it and see. Allow God to turn your trial into a triumph. Allow Him to turn those tests into testimonies. See what David saw and KNOWS. And that is God is good and faithful. ❤️😊

“For the Lord is good. His unfailing love continues forever, and his faithfulness continues to each generation.” -Psalms‬ ‭100‬:‭5‬ ‭

Prayer

Father God, You are so good and faithful. I pray that others who do not yet know You may see just how good and faithful You really are. I pray that You may draw them to You. I pray You may soften their hearts, and open their ears, so they may hear Your calm, still voice calling them into a relationship with You. I pray they accept that invitation. I pray that they may put their faith and trust in You. May they experience Your goodness and faithfulness the way that David had, and the way that I have. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽

-Moses Gaddi