Tag Archives: master

The hated Master (Luke 19:12-27) December 24, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Acts 25-26

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Luke 19:12-27
Jesus: A ruler once planned a journey to a distant country to take the throne of that country and then return home. Before his departure, he called 10 of his servants and gave them each about three months of wages. “Use this money to buy and sell until I return.” After he departed, the people under his rule despised him and sent messengers with a clear message: “We do not want this man to rule over us.”
He successfully assumed kingship of the distant country and returned home. He called his 10 servants together and told them to give an account of their success in doing business with the money he had entrusted to them.
The first came before him and said, “Lord, I have made 10 times the amount you entrusted to me.” The ruler replied, “Well done! You’re a good servant indeed! Since you have been faithful in handling a small amount of money, I’ll entrust you with authority over 10 cities in my new kingdom.”
The second came and said, “Lord, I’ve made five times the original amount.” The ruler replied, “I’ll entrust you with authority over five cities.”
A third came and said, “Lord, I have successfully preserved the money you gave me. I wrapped it up in a napkin and hid it away because I was afraid of you. After all, you’re a tough man. You have a way of taking a profit without making an investment and harvesting when you didn’t plant any seed.”
The ruler replied, “I will condemn you using your very own words, you worthless servant! So I’m a severe man, am I? So I take a profit without making an investment and harvest without planting seed? Then why didn’t you invest my money in the bank so I could have at least gained some interest on it?” The ruler told the onlookers, “Take the money I gave him, and give it to the one who multiplied my investment by 10.”
Then the onlookers replied, “Lord, he already has 10 times the original amount!”
The ruler responded, “Listen, whoever has some will be given more, and whoever doesn’t have anything will lose what he thinks he has. And these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to rule over them—bring them here and execute them in my presence.”

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Here’s another one of those stories I’ve read a lot, but overlooked a part until today. But that one sentence stuck out for me like a sore thumb and I couldn’t get past it. So let’s look at it today. The sentence I’ve ignored? “After he departed, the people under his rule despised him and sent messengers with a clear message: ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’”

So why would that sentence pop out at me today? I’m not real sure, except I think our whole society fits that description pretty well. Jesus left physically a couple thousand years ago when ascended into heaven and told us He would return. We don’t know exactly what He’s been doing since then. We know He’s preparing a place for us to spend eternity, but it’s a big universe out there. Maybe He’s visiting some of those other planets He created. Maybe UFOs are real and there are some other sentient beings He is offering His salvation? We just don’t have a clue what God is doing other than intervening for us with the Father and preparing a place for us. But He’s God and that doesn’t take much time when you’re God and can do anything and everything without being concerned about time, a meaningless concept for Him.

Since He left, however, we have not gotten better in our sensibilities toward solving the social problems of the planet. We still build thick walls between us. Whether nationally, racially, economically, just pick any trait and if there is a difference between any group of people, we’ll use it to build a wall so we don’t have to associate with “those” people. That’s not what God planned for us when He created us. That has been our doing.

And in the process, as God has tried to teach us with His word and His example, our selfish desires have so gotten in the way, that the world has learned to despise Him. Even those who follow His example are despised. Just take a look at the increase in martyrdom since He left. More and more Christians are killed because of following Him every year. It wasn’t just ISIS when they came on the scene. Christians have died at the hand of evil men since Jesus departed 2000 years ago for claiming Him as Lord.

Society despised Jesus so much, they even try to blot out His name. We can’t even celebrate Christmas in public anymore. Now it’s the holiday season instead of Christmas. Strange how we lose the name of the very person for whom the holiday came to be in the first place, isn’t it? How does it happen? Because we want our way. We don’t want anyone, even God, telling us how to live. We can choose to follow Him or not, though. We don’t get to choose the consequences of that decision, but we can choose to follow Him or not. Be forewarned, if you follow God, the rest of the world will despise you, just like the Master that left on a long journey 2,000 years ago. He’s coming back, though, and will ask for a reckoning of what He has entrusted to us. Choose well.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Living with the Master should be enough (Matthew 24:45-47) June 10, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Ezekiel 1-6

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 24:45-47
Jesus: The trustworthy servant is the one whom the master puts in charge of all the servants of his household; it is the trustworthy servant who not only oversees all the work, but also ensures the servants are properly fed and cared for. And it is, of course, crucial that a servant who is given such responsibility performs his responsibility to his master’s standards—so when the master returns he finds his trust has been rewarded. For then the master will put that good servant in charge of all his possessions.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

In our culture we don’t relate well to Jesus’ metaphor of the trustworthy servant. We do so much to forget about that chapter in our history when men owned other men and for good reason. Slavery has so many bad things about it. But in Jesus’ day and throughout most of man’s history, slaves have been a part of life. The wealthy had slaves and the poor were slaves. The concept of hourly wages for a regular job in not a very old concept.

There were day laborers in Jesus’ day as indicated by the story of the workers in the vineyard, but not many businesses hired people full time on regular salaries. You were part of a family and the family ran the business and you enjoyed the profits of that business, or you were hired on a very temporary basis for a specific task such as harvesting a crop or cutting lumber. Few people had full time jobs unless as slaves. In which case, you became part of the family, and the families profit and loss determined how well you were kept.

Slavery, good or bad, was part of His culture and He understood it the way all of His listeners understood it. Good servants, good slaves took care of his masters’ property. The master didn’t worry about his things when in the hands of his servants because the good servant knew the welfare of not just the master and his family, but his own welfare depended on taking good care of the family business. So the good servant took great pains to help the master prosper. And the good servant didn’t despair or feel bad about giving the profits to the master any more than we should feel bad about giving the profits we make for our employer over to her. It’s her money as risk. She is the one who provides all the necessary up front funds, equipment, business design, and so forth to all us to earn our salary and make a living.

The good servant did what the master wanted done whether or not the master was present. The servant’s outcome didn’t depend on the master’s presence, but on how well he didn his job caring for the master’s business affairs. We sometimes get that so mixed up and messed up in our current culture that thinks the government or our business or God owes us something. When you really stop and think it through, none of those owe us anything. It is by their design there is a job available in the first place. We should give thanks if we have one.

In cultures in which there is no such thing as social welfare or retirement funds or government assistance, people have a much better handle on what Jesus talked about in this short metaphor about the role of the servant in taking care of the master’s household. In those cultures, the only thing you can rely on is the work you perform. If you do well, the owner of the property will take good care of you. If you don’t perform well, you are put off the property and get to figure out how to make it on your own in a world where there are only masters and slaves and you just lost your only reference.

But when you are a trustworthy servant, it’s like being that employee the boss can count on for anything. The promotions come fast because the boss knows you will do what you say and will get the job done efficiently and effectively every time. You’ll take care of all the other employees in the process. You’ll satisfy the customers, you’ll make sure profits come in and the boss can go on vacation knowing everything will run smoothly when he puts you in charge.

That’s kind of what God has done with those who believe in Him. I’m not sure why He would entrust sinful man with the story of redemption but He did. Now He expects us to carry out His work until He returns. He’s like that master that went away and left his faithful servant in charge. He trusts us to do the work He left us to do. He expects us to do it to His standard without expecting anything in return, just knowing we are doing His work. Just like the faithful servant of the master in the story He told.

When we do, we will reap the benefits in the end. There is the reward of a job well done and the benefits of living in the master’s home with Him forever. That should be enough.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Let Him in! (Matthew 12:43-45) March 20, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – 1 Corinthians 7-8

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 12:43-45
Jesus: Let Me tell you what will happen to this wicked generation: When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it rattles around through deserts and other dry places looking for a place to rest—but it does not find anywhere to rest. So the spirit says, “I will return to the house I left.” And it returns to find that house unoccupied, tidy, swept, and sparkling clean. Well, then not only does one spirit set up shop in that sparkling house, but it brings seven even more wicked spirits along. And the poor man—the house—is worse off than he was before. This evil generation will suffer a similar fate.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

We listen to these words and think how terrible it must be to let evil spirits get hold of you. But of course we would never do that. After all, we live in an enlightened age in which we just don’t think about such things. We don’t believe in evil spirits and the supernatural. We don’t believe spirits can inhabit people and control them. We don’t believe evil spirits have power over people and can poison their minds, do we?

Jesus’ words must have been for a group of people not so enlightened as we are. They must have been for the uneducated and those who still believed in magic and superstition and the supernatural. They must have been for those who believed in the spirit world and a cosmic battle between good and evil. They must have been for those who believe in God and Satan, heaven and hell. Oops, I got a little carried away. I think that dips into our generation.

Don’t we believe in God and Satan? Don’t we believe in heaven and hell? Don’t we believe in good and evil and the spiritual battle that takes place around us unseen by powers and principals and authorities we do not know? Don’t we believe God’s Spirit can inhabit us and help us through life? And if His Spirit can inhabit us, doesn’t it stand to reason that Satan’s spirit, his demons can do the same? God’s word says he goes about the earth like a roaring lion looking for those he can devour. But he doesn’t do it physically at first. He does it spiritually, from the inside out.

Satan comes into a clean house and starts filling it with trash. He loads up our life with filth. Name the vice and he tries to introduce it until our life internally looks like a pig sty. It fills with lies, deceit, lust, corruption of every sort. Then Jesus comes along and we learn of Him. We let Him peek into our heart and we let Him turn the lights on. We see just how corrupt we are and ask Him to clean us up. We ask His forgiveness for the sins we committed and He comes in to do some house cleaning.

He does a good job and our hearts, our house is sparkling clean. But our problem is, we don’t invite Him to stay. We don’t let Him be the Master of the house. We’re glad He cleaned us up, but we don’t let Him take charge. Instead we decide we want to take charge of our life again. We want to decide what is right for our life. We want to decide what will make us happy and we push Him out the door.

Remember the words of Revelation 3:20 that you hear so much in evangelistic campaigns, “I am standing at the door and knocking. If any of you hear My voice and open the door, then I will come in to visit with you and to share a meal at your table, and you will be with Me.” We use it to try to win the lost. But the verse wasn’t written to the outcasts. John wrote this revelation to the churches. Jesus had John pen these seven letters to the seven churches in Asia, remember?

Jesus says if we don’t let Him in, if we don’t let His Spirit come inside, if we leave Him standing outside the door knocking, a pretty dreadful thing can happen. That spirit that He drives out and cleans up. You know, the filth and corruption and evil He took care of when He forgave your sins, it comes back. But it comes back with a vengeance. It comes back bringing seven friends with him. The plight of the sinner who doesn’t let Christ come in and take charge is worse than the sinner who never lets Him clean up his house in the first place it seems. Now that’s a scary thought. I can get seven times worse than before I let Christ forgive me?

He kind of hints at that in these verses, doesn’t He? The solution is to let Him in. Let Jesus live in your life. Let Him be more than a house keeper. Let Him be the Master of your life. That means saying yes to Him always. It means listening to His voice and following His commands. It means letting Him take charge of your life and letting go of your authority. Don’t forget Revelation 3:20. It’s for believers. Let Him in!

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.

Commitment, what happened to it? (Matthew 6:24) January 25, 2016

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Today’s Podcast

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Today’s Bible reading plan:

Read it in a year – Genesis 12-15

see the whole year’s plan [here](http://www.bible-reading.com/bible-plan.pdf)

Today’s Devotional

Matthew 6:24
Jesus: No one can serve two masters. If you try, you will wind up loving the first master and hating the second, or vice versa. People try to serve both God and money—but you can’t. You must choose one or the other.

What do Jesus’ words mean for us today?

Commitment:1. the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc. 2. an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action. Commitment, a word that disappeared from our vocabulary somewhere along the line except when it comes to commitment to ourselves. We want what we want and that’s it. But seldom will we use the word to dedicate or obligate ourselves to anything else. But that’s exactly what God demands of us.

People flit from one job to another, from one relationship to another, from one spouse to another, and think nothing of it. Loyalty and commitment are just meaningless words in our society, today. But God doesn’t work that way. He gave us His all and that’s the only thing He accepts in return. When we come to Him, it’s all or nothing. He knows we cannot serve two masters, just as Jesus articulated to the crowd on the hillside that day in Galilee.

No one can ride the fence in spiritual matters. God is either on the throne of your life or He is not. I either let Him have control of my decisions and actions or I don’t. It’s that simple. If I let Christ have control of my decisions and I consistently, say “yes” to His commands and demands on my time, talents, and treasures, He is Lord of my life and I others can call me a Christian, His follower. If I don’t say “yes” to His commands, if I say “no” to Him, He is not Lord. I might call myself a Christian, but I am not. It’s just a meaningless title.

It’s like calling myself a neurosurgeon. I used to recruit them for a time when I was in the Army. I know what they do. I know what it takes to become one. I know how long they go to school and the courses they take. I know the training they endure and the surgeries they must perform to certify as a neurosugeon. I know even know which residency programs are highly rated by the medical community and which the rest of the neurosurgeons look down on. But just because I know that much about neurosurgery doesn’t mean you want me to open your skull and take out a brain tumor.

There are a lot of people in the world today, I would even dare to say in your church, that call themselves Christian, that are as much Christian as I am a neurosurgeon. Like my illustration, they know a lot about what it means to hold the title. They know what being a Christian is about. They know it’s about believing in Jesus as the Son of God, that He was born of a virgin, He lived, and died for our sins. He rose from the grave and intercedes for us. They know He will return to take us to live with Him. They know there will be a final judgment at which Christ will separate the wicked from the redeemed and the redeemed will live with Him throughout eternity.

But just because they know all those things and believe all those things are true, Satan knows all those things are true as well. Jesus tells us even the demons believe in Him. That’s not enough to be called a Christian. To carry the authenticity of the title means to say “yes” to His commands. Always. Not letting “no” enter your vocabulary in response to His will. Carrying the name Christian means commitment, real commitment, putting that word back into your vacabulary and living it each day with Jesus as the center of your life. God as your master, Lord, director, leader, guide, your everything! Commitment, bring the word back to life in you.

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
In accordance with the requirements for FTC full disclosure, I may have affiliate relationships with some or all of the producers of the items mentioned in this post who may provide a small commission to me when purchased through this site.