OCTOBER 22, 2021 READINGS... Matthew 20:1-16 & Mark 10:32-34 & Matthew 20:17-19 &
Luke 18:31-34 & Mark 10:35-45 & Matthew 20:20-34 & Mark 10:4-52 & Luke 18:35-19:27
Are you thrilled when people come to faith in Jesus? Does it matter to you that some come to Him later in life and get the same thing from God as you have, even though you have spent most of your life following the Lord? Jesus shares a story where a vineyard owner was looking for workers…all day long he hired works, some were hired early and some later in the day. He paid them all the same. This made the ones hired early in the day angry. He told them that he paid them what was agreed, and that he had not cheated them. It was his money, he could do what he wanted with it. None of us deserve the salvation of God. If God chose to save you early in life, and save others in their later life this should not be a reason for being angry or feeling cheated. Salvation belongs to the Lord, and that any of us are saved is an incredible miracle of God. We should rejoice when anyone is saved…whenever in their life they are saved.
Jesus is now heading for Jerusalem…He has an eternal appointment with the cross. Along the way He continues to teach His disciples, perform miracles, and share the Gospel of salvation. The disciples were concerned about their status in the kingdom Jesus came to establish. They did not understand what they were asking, or the cost. Jesus reminded them that it is the servant of others that will lead…like Jesus they were called to servant leadership. Coming to Jericho Jesus has two appointments to fulfill. First, He heals blind Bartimaeus…even though the people told him to be quiet as he called out to Jesus, he just called out louder. Then Jesus has an encounter with a tax collector named Zacchaeus. The incredible thing about this encounter was not Zacchaeus’ short stature, or that he climbed up a sycamore tree…but the incredible change in this man when he met Jesus. Here is what is true…anyone who has truly met Jesus and trusted in Him, is incredibly and radically changed. Jesus never leaves us the way He found us.
Please share your thoughts from today’s reading.
TOMORROW’S READINGS… Mark 14:3-9 & Matthew 26:6-13 & John 12:1-11 &
Mark 11:1-11 & Matthew 21:1-11 & Luke 19:28-40 & John 12:12-19 & Luke 19:41-44 &
John 12:20-36
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