“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.”
2 SAMUEL 13-14
13The woman said, “Why then have you devised a thing like this against the people of God? When the king says this, does he not convict himself, for the king has not brought back his banished son? 14Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, he devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him.(14:13-14)
LUKE 20:1-26
9He went on to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it to some farmers and went away for a long time. 10At harvest time he sent a servant to the tenants so they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11He sent another servant, but that one also they beat and treated shamefully and sent away empty-handed. 12He sent still a third, and they wounded him and threw him out.
13“Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my son, whom I love; perhaps they will respect him.’
14“But when the tenants saw him, they talked the matter over. ‘This is the heir,’ they said. ‘Let’s kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 15So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
“What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!”
17Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:
“ ‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’a ?
18Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.”
19The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people.
JOURNAL
David is dealing with the banishment of Absalom after he kills his brother Amnon. There is such heartache and backstabbing within the kingdom. To see it all fall apart is discouraging however it can be traced back to David and his affair with Bathsheba. David errs in his leadership...and as a result he brings a spirit of selfishness into his family and kingdom. God does forgive him yet now this cancerous spirit is going to bring consequences.
Jesus addresses this same spirit with the pharisees in the parable. Because of their own pride and arrogance they fail to see that Jesus actually is the answer they have been waiting and searching for. He is the messiah...he is their path to redemption and joy and peace yet they fail to see it.
I think it all goes back to motive...what is the underlying motive and is it for good or evil. As a believer our motive must be for good...it must drive us to serve and be our best for the collective good, for the kingdom of God. It must drive us to be assertive...not for the sake of gaining glory or honor for ourselves but rather for our team. Everyone belongs to a team, whether that is a sports team, a family, a community, a country, a world. We all are a part of something and as a result we are part of everything.
We are important and we have a role to play. In playing that role, we are called to give our very best every day, every moment. That is our greatest challenge...to give our best and to fight the temptation to procrastinate, avoid, lie, hate, deceive etc. The present moment is our battle ground, it is where the war is fought for our souls and the allegiance of our hearts. If we successfully fight our daily battles and give our best selves for our team then God promises that we will experience true joy, which ultimately is peace and hope and contentment.
However our enemy of shame and fear will tempt us, and when we surrender to them...we will begin to question the present, wishing it were different, longing for more or less or different. We risk losing our joy, our hope, our gratitude and all will turn dark as we seek to consume something, anything to quench our despair. We will long to change the past, fear the future and completely lose the one thing that we can control...the present. This was the temptation that drove Adam and Eve to disobey God. This was the enemy that drove David to seek Bathsheeba and kill Uriah. This was the evil that captured Judas in his betrayal of Jesus and the same spirit that caused Peter to deny.
Jesus plowed this path...he lived a life that perfectly paved a path to the kingdom. In doing so he bought us for his team, he gave us a purpose and a role and he sent his spirit to comfort and guide us along the way.
David is dealing with the banishment of Absalom after he kills his brother Amnon. There is such heartache and backstabbing within the kingdom. To see it all fall apart is discouraging however it can be traced back to David and his affair with Bathsheba. David errs in his leadership...and as a result he brings a spirit of selfishness into his family and kingdom. God does forgive him yet now this cancerous spirit is going to bring consequences.
Jesus addresses this same spirit with the pharisees in the parable. Because of their own pride and arrogance they fail to see that Jesus actually is the answer they have been waiting and searching for. He is the messiah...he is their path to redemption and joy and peace yet they fail to see it.
I think it all goes back to motive...what is the underlying motive and is it for good or evil. As a believer our motive must be for good...it must drive us to serve and be our best for the collective good, for the kingdom of God. It must drive us to be assertive...not for the sake of gaining glory or honor for ourselves but rather for our team. Everyone belongs to a team, whether that is a sports team, a family, a community, a country, a world. We all are a part of something and as a result we are part of everything.
We are important and we have a role to play. In playing that role, we are called to give our very best every day, every moment. That is our greatest challenge...to give our best and to fight the temptation to procrastinate, avoid, lie, hate, deceive etc. The present moment is our battle ground, it is where the war is fought for our souls and the allegiance of our hearts. If we successfully fight our daily battles and give our best selves for our team then God promises that we will experience true joy, which ultimately is peace and hope and contentment.
However our enemy of shame and fear will tempt us, and when we surrender to them...we will begin to question the present, wishing it were different, longing for more or less or different. We risk losing our joy, our hope, our gratitude and all will turn dark as we seek to consume something, anything to quench our despair. We will long to change the past, fear the future and completely lose the one thing that we can control...the present. This was the temptation that drove Adam and Eve to disobey God. This was the enemy that drove David to seek Bathsheeba and kill Uriah. This was the evil that captured Judas in his betrayal of Jesus and the same spirit that caused Peter to deny.
Jesus addresses this same spirit with the pharisees in the parable. Because of their own pride and arrogance they fail to see that Jesus actually is the answer they have been waiting and searching for. He is the messiah...he is their path to redemption and joy and peace yet they fail to see it.
I think it all goes back to motive...what is the underlying motive and is it for good or evil. As a believer our motive must be for good...it must drive us to serve and be our best for the collective good, for the kingdom of God. It must drive us to be assertive...not for the sake of gaining glory or honor for ourselves but rather for our team. Everyone belongs to a team, whether that is a sports team, a family, a community, a country, a world. We all are a part of something and as a result we are part of everything.
We are important and we have a role to play. In playing that role, we are called to give our very best every day, every moment. That is our greatest challenge...to give our best and to fight the temptation to procrastinate, avoid, lie, hate, deceive etc. The present moment is our battle ground, it is where the war is fought for our souls and the allegiance of our hearts. If we successfully fight our daily battles and give our best selves for our team then God promises that we will experience true joy, which ultimately is peace and hope and contentment.
However our enemy of shame and fear will tempt us, and when we surrender to them...we will begin to question the present, wishing it were different, longing for more or less or different. We risk losing our joy, our hope, our gratitude and all will turn dark as we seek to consume something, anything to quench our despair. We will long to change the past, fear the future and completely lose the one thing that we can control...the present. This was the temptation that drove Adam and Eve to disobey God. This was the enemy that drove David to seek Bathsheeba and kill Uriah. This was the evil that captured Judas in his betrayal of Jesus and the same spirit that caused Peter to deny.
Jesus plowed this path...he lived a life that perfectly paved a path to the kingdom. In doing so he bought us for his team, he gave us a purpose and a role and he sent his spirit to comfort and guide us along the way.
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