Your Talents

Yesterday my conversation with the Lord was about the wise and unwise virgins, today it was all about the talents. Read the parable of the talents in Matt 25. What is the message? We are to do something with what the Lord has given us. You don't have to take over the world, just do something. Remember what happened to the servant who buried his talents...

What are you supposed to do? That is between yourself and the Lord. Each of us has different talents and only we and those close to us have any idea of what those talents might be.

Why might this be important? Well, if the destructive earth changes continue unabated into the future, then this world can expect more events like what happened to Japan. Colorado is flooding now, there are fires in Oklahoma now in addition to Arizona, Texas and New Mexico. The entire Mississippi river basin running all the way up to almost our northern border has been flooded. Tornadoes have shredded the south, hurricane season is just getting warmed up, and what's the point? There is no guarantee we will be on this earth to see tomorrow. We might be raptured out tonight, we might die out tonight, who knows? Should this make you fearful? No.

This should be encouragement for you to be ready to meet our Lord Jesus each and every day. What does the parable of the virgins tell us? Those who were ready went in to the wedding....so be watching. The two key words in that parable and all over the place in the gospels is 1. ready and 2. watching.

So how do the talents fit in here? You and I want to be found doing something with the talents we have been given. The Lord expects a return on His investment in us. Each of us has a different gift from the Lord. Find out what it is and put it to work, somehow..some way. The Lord didn't hammer the lazy servant for a small return, He hammered the lazy servant for NO return. The guy buried his talent which means no return on what the Lord had given him. We do not want to be found to be lazy wicked unprofitable servants.

We need to be watching and ready. The parable talents has to do with our readiness. Are we doing something with what we have been given? If we find ourselves standing before the Lord very soon, how will we give an account for ourselves. Do not put this off. It would be wise to think about this now, and do something about this now. We have no idea how many days we have left here. We need to make the most of the time we have remaining. The counsel you are reading from this writer today is good counsel regardless when the Lord comes for us. If He shows up for us sooner rather than later you will be very glad that you did what the Lord told us to do in Matt 25.

What do we see in Matt 25? The virgins (and wedding), the talents, then the judgement. We are the virgins, preparing for a wedding, by using our talents in the Lords service so we fare well in the judgement. See the 1,2,3 there? That is exactly how the Lord laid out Matt 25 for us.

A bride preparing for a wedding is full of joy and happiness with overflowing expectation for good things. A bride preparing for a wedding has no thoughts of being married so she can endure hell on earth (the tribulation) in order to enjoy life with her husband. This is not deep thinking folks, this is common sense on a level that a child could figure it out. This is childlike thinking, and if any of us has hopes of entering the gates of heaven we better get rid of all our so called "christian" education and learning and hear and receive the pure milk that is the Word of God. Where do I get this idea?

Mark 10:15

... I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it."

What are the other parts of our readiness? Obviously faith, obviously obedience. If you love me you will obey my commands...who said that?

John 14:15

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. .

What does the Lord say about faith? Lots of things but here is one of them:

Hebrews 11:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Its time to get ready. If the tribulation begins this fall its a good time to be watching and ready today. If the rapture occurs this fall its a good time to be watching and ready today. If neither the rapture nor the tribulation occur this year, its a good time to be watching and ready today because nobody ever guaranteed us another living breathing day here.

These are the things this writer hears the Lord saying today.

grace and peace

What is the Spirit Saying Today?

As I read the Word of God today I asked the Lord, "Lord, what are you saying to us/me today?" I read in various places until again I came upon Matt 25...that's when the flame inside me went from low burn to full flame. I believe the Spirit of God has testified with my spirit in agreement that the content of Matt 25 has some real treasure for us today.

Before we get to a reminder of what's in Matt 25, another lingering voice within me keeps pointing at "patient endurance:"

Rev 1:9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

2 Peter 1:5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

Rev 3:10Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

One of the key foundational aspects of us as servants of our God is our
patience. We must endure, we must be patient, we must persevere....

And this patient perseverance works hand in hand with the glow I see all over Matt 25. If you recall, Matt 25 gives us the parable of the virgins and the parable of the talents before giving us a picture of the Lord judging all mankind. Matt 25 is a grand panorama taking us from where we stand today, all the way through to the very end of "life as we know it" on this earth.

If we look at the parable of the virgins, what do we see? Again we see patient perseverance and preparation. Preparation? Yes, the evidence of "prepared" virgins is in the oil filled jars. The wise virgins prepared themselves to wait for however long it took for the Lord to show up. They were ready to wait :-)

The parable of the virgins also has direct tie in with the "open door" we see in Rev 3 and 4. Someday in this worlds future, a door WILL open in heaven and wise virgins WILL go through it. We know from Rev 3 that this "open door" also has a direct connection with being kept from ALL of what's about to happen, exactly as we are promised in Luke 21:36.

In addition to our patience, readiness, perseverance in waiting for our Lord, we are given the gem that is known as the parable of the talents. The parable of the virgins tells us to be ready to wait, the parable of the talents tells us we are not sitting around staring at tents and sand while we do our waiting. We are to DO something, anything, with the "talents" that our Lord has given us. Remember, even the servant who came back with a little return on what he was given was told "well done" by the Lord:

Matt 25:22“The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
23“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

It was the servant who has nothing to show for what he had been given that reaped the wrath of our master. We are all to be growing spiritual fruit in some way. We are all different parts of the body and what our "doing" is for each of us is radically and wonderfully different.

In my case, the Lord has given me faith to believe him for very big things. We worship a big God, very big, and he delights in people (like the centurion or the woman with the issue of blood) who believe him to the fullest extent of what he said to us. For example, if Jesus raised the dead, AND Jesus told us that we shall do greater things than he did, who among us BELIEVES him and takes him at his word?

I am sure that our God is looking for people today who will take him at his word and expect to see our God move according to his word. If the Lord said it, he meant it, and we fail to believe it at a great cost to ourselves and the world around us.

Keep the faith, done for today. Grace and peace

His Servants and His Goods

Here, the Lord gives his servants his goods to go out and be profitable:

Matt 25:14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. 15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. 16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. 17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. 18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.

24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed: 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: 27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury. 28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

What occurred to me this morning:

The unprofitable servant said "I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth"

Rev 3:10 tells us that the church that will escape the tribulation will be a weak church. Even though we will be weak, we can still do something. The problem with the unprofitable servant is he hid the 'talent' in the earth. If it's in the earth, you can do nothing with it, not even a little. I'm convinced that 'a little' can be turned into alot over time. A little bit of erosion, over a long time is what formed the grand canyon. A little bit of saving, over many years can add up to a fortune. A little bit of time investment, every day, can lead to significant knowledge in a given area of study. A little, done over a long time, ADDS UP.

The parable of the talents in Matt 25 shows me that Jesus expects something......anything more than nothing. So you're weak, do the little you can in your weak state. The Lord never asks you for what you can't do, he asks you to do the little you CAN do. Put out, do, act, little things add up to big things. Little things, ADD UP. Buried, you can do nothing with your talents. What has the Lord given you? Do the little you can with it today, and do it again tomorrow. The secret to living is giving. What can you give to someone else today (besides money)? We live in a world full of hurting people, do you have any idea how much one kind word might mean to someone else today? We just don't know. Be full of the Spirit and ready for service, kind of like a firefighter. They have to be ready when they are called. We have to be ready when the Spirit tells us to act, you never know when thats going to be. The sons of God are led by the SPIRIT OF GOD, not by men. When the Spirit says to jump you need to be ready to jump.

Do the little things you can do today. What seems small and insignificant today can be huge tomorrow. Plant, sow actions, who knows what will be successful? How do we know what the Lord will cause to grow? The Lord knows how to conduct the orchestra, you just need to play your part. I don't know what that is, you do.

Don't bury your talent, whatever, and however small it is. Small to you might mean everything to someone else, who knows? Do the little things you can do today. People think about doing grand things for God in some far away land and forget about the people around them everyday. People want to change the world but refuse to change themselves. "Change you can count on" starts with you and me.

Time is short, the escape approaches quickly. Pray that you will be counted worthy of it. Remain in Him, be obedient, be faithful, love with all your heart. Soon..very soon, these things will be the only things that matter, everything else is a pipedream. Remember the little things.

grace and peace