“I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.” Revelation 3:18

‘We’re going fishin’, I told Katie. Grandson Cash was with us for the weekend, and after finding out what HE wanted to do, MY goal IMMEDIATELY became ‘Catch Fish!’ But to do that, a lot of other things had to happen. Not having fished in a long time, I had to search and find all my fishing gear. That done, we then had to stop off at the bait store to buy gear and bait.

Riding in the truck, Cash began asking me questions about fishing. “Where’s a good place to go? Is this a good time to go. What kind of bait do certain fish like?” His questions had answers, but none that I had. Not having really fished in years, my experience and expertise were no longer valid. So I answered as best I could. “I don’t really know Cash. Let’s see.”

When we got to the water, old memories began coming to mind. Trying to tie hooks on lines, then having them snag and tangle, reminded me WHY I hadn’t fished in a long time. When fish started biting, they weren’t the big dreamy kind on the end of the hook. But mostly unwanted catfish! We saw many BIG Snook in the water. But they didn’t really want our crummy bait!

Starting to get discouraged, I looked at Cash and asked, “Are we having fun yet?” His smile was all I needed to remind me of my original goal… which was to go  fishing and catch fish with my grandson. My old gear, plus $17 at the bait store, was all it took to see joy on my grandson’s face! Not a bad trade!  We caught over 25 fish! SUCCESS?  Kinda.

Reflecting back to today’s verse, I can see that Jesus wants to take me fishin’! He wants me to come to Him and do what is necessary to acquire from Him, not just ANY kind of life, but a vastly rich and rewarding one. He wants me to exchange ALL MY meager hopes, for a REAL life in HIM! Cuz Jesus doesn’t just want me fishin!’ He wants me CATCHIN’!    Am I?  Are you?

This article NAILS it!  What is IT?  Read on and you will know.

Article by Greg Morse, Staff writer, desiringGod.org

What is the difference between those welcomed into heaven and those thrown into hell? Can we imagine a more relevant or urgent question? While depicting the final judgment in parable form, Jesus gives us a surprising answer: their thoughts.

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us,” wrote A.W. Tozer (Knowledge of the Holy, 1). Jesus shows this true for the evil servant in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14–30). In the parable, Jesus gives us a glimpse into one difference between those welcomed into heaven and those thrown into judgment: their beliefs about God’s goodness. We get beneath actions into the psychology of the lost man, a window showing what squirmed beneath his disobedient life.

As we consider him, be asking yourself questions such as: What comes to mind when I think about God? Who do I assume he is? What does he love? What does he hate? What kind of Person governs the world? Is he good? Is he happy, blessed, disposed to give freely, or not? Beliefs about his goodness can lead to a useful life with heaven to follow or a worthless life with hell close behind.

At Journey’s End

The master finally returns from his long journey to meet with his three servants “and [settle] accounts with them” (Matthew 25:19). Before he left, he had entrusted them with his property, each according to his ability. He gave the ablest man five talents; the next, two talents; and to the last, he gave one. Jesus focuses the parable on their report of their stewardship in his absence. Had they been watchful for his return and about their master’s business (verse 13)?

The first two report, rejoicing with their lord that, by their trading, they had each doubled what their master left them. Eyes then turn to the third servant. “He also who had received the one talent came forward” (verse 24).

Had he set off to the happy work like the first two servants? No. He buried the treasure in the backyard. But why? For the same reason as many today: he did not know the goodness of his master.

The God He Thought He Knew

Note the first words out of the servant’s mouth: “Master, I knew you to be a hard man.” What a different assessment from the first two, and what a strange conclusion given the facts we know. Do many masters entrust such valuable property to their servants’ keeping? Pharaoh withholds straw to make bricks, but this master hands over precious jewels from the vault. A talent is not a single coin; it is a treasure chest of precious wealth, twenty years of wages. The master hands him up to one million dollars in today’s wages — and simply leaves. Who is the servant to steward such wealth?

To account for this unbelievable opportunity, the servant twists the interpretation to excuse his thanklessness. “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed” (Matthew 25:24). He thought he knew an exacting master, a groping master, a severe man about the bottom line.

His lord — seemingly generous beyond any master earth has ever seen — was really grasping, not giving; extracting, not investing; extorting, not enriching. We even hear an accusation of laziness against the master — he was one who didn’t get his own hands dirty. Don’t we sometimes project our own sins upon God, as this “slothful” servant did (verse 26)?

So, he saw his master as a giant fly, rubbing his greedy hands in anticipation of profit. Faceless were the slaves who built his house. Should this servant stoop to be ridden as a donkey? Was he an ox to tread grain? This master’s yoke was not easy, nor his burden light.

Finally, his wickedness curls up in the fetal position. “I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground” (verse 25). Thus, he knew a God to be feared, but not obeyed. This man knew his master’s will and thought to lazily hide from the failure of trying in the failure of disobedience. He committed his talent to nature’s vault. Better for his master to lose benefit than go bankrupt. “Here, you have what is yours” (verse 25).

The God He Did Not Know

That was the God he thought he knew: a hard and severe master whose generosity was pretense for profit, a master who fed his cattle well. He did not know the master that animated the service of the other two servants.

1. He did not know the master eager to commend.

The passage stresses that the two faithful servants left “at once” to do their master’s work (verses 16–17). I imagine them going forward with excitement. Really, me? I get to serve my Lord in this way? And that same excitement brought them to show their master the fruit of faith-filled trading, as children with a Father: “Here are your five talents, master, and five more!”

And how does the master respond? With that fatherly twinkle of satisfaction in his eyes, he will not let them do one thing more without warming them with his pleasure: “Well done, my good and faithful servants!” (verses 21, 23).

2. He did not know the God who gives for keeps.

In the end, how false and foolish this servant’s meditations of the miserly God. Wonder with me: the master didn’t give the talents for his own profit, but for theirs. He gave for keeps. This Lord designed for loyal stewards to keep their talents and the increase.

The worthless servant learned this lesson the hard way: “Take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents” (Matthew 25:28). He doesn’t say, “Give to the servant who made me five talents.” The talents now belong to the servant, as confirmed in the next line: “For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance” (verse 29). From before the journey, this master gave intending to make them rich. His joy — “Well done, good and faithful servant!” — was not in what he gained, but in what they gained. Is this your hard and stingy God?

3. He did not know the master who gives in order to give more.

“You have been faithful over a little,” he tells the good servants. “I will set you over much” (Matthew 25:21, 23). Do not let that humble word little pass by unnoticed. The five-talent servant gained another lifetime of value by his trading. Jesus calls this stewardship little compared to the much on its way.

Have you placed your life and all that you own upon the altar before God? Have you left family or fortune for the gospel? Have you despised your life in this world, looking to that country to come? Little your trading, great your promotion. Remain constant, as Joseph governing in prison: soon, you shall stand second-in-command in the new heavens and new earth; he will set you over much. Our greatest labor for Christ in this world is but the small beginnings to our real labor for Christ in the next.

4. He did not know the God of spacious joy.

What did the wicked servant think as he overheard the master’s final remark to the truehearted? “Enter into the joy of your Master” (verses 21, 23). The evil servant did not know that this Master’s joy was a country of happiness. He thought him a hard man, an unhappy man, but he is the happiest of all men. “Leave your joys behind and enter mine!” Or, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11). Here is a God to labor under. Here is a God to trust. Here is a God who can happify his servants forever.

He Hides a Smiling Face

If he only believed in the blessedness of this master’s heart, that the master really meant to reward and welcome him into his own joy upon his return, how things might have changed. The problem was not his master; the problem was his heart. The problem was not his abilities; the problem was his sloth. The master’s assessment proved him an evil, lazy, unreasonable servant (Matthew 25:26–27). In the end, he is cast into outer darkness. Sinners who spin lies get caught in webs.

So, my reader, what do you think of God? Does he give us serpents when we ask for bread? Is he watching with an eagle’s eye to strike you when you stumble? Is he stingy, heartless, selfish? Does he tax at high rates and offer mere rations to strengthen for tomorrow’s slavery? How does your life answer?

If we think high of him, he is higher. If we think well of him, he is better. If we think base of him, he shall not always correct us. Unjust beliefs that lead to unjust lives provoke his justice. “With the merciful you show yourself merciful; with the blameless man you show yourself blameless; with the purified you show yourself pure; and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous” (Psalm 18:25–26).

Some of you do not serve him because you do not know him. Others have let hard and bitter circumstances deceive you into thinking he is hard and embittering. Business is not going as planned. You just received news that you lost the baby, again. Life should have been so different by now.

And the perfectly aimed question comes: Is this your good Master? O saints, Satan is asking God about some of you just now — “Does this ‘faithful servant’ really keep his integrity? Does he fear God for no reason? Touch his health, touch her fertility, touch his money, and they will curse you to your face.”

O saints, the Master is so good — above our deserts or imaginings — and he proved it for all time. How? By handing us his property, taking the long, faraway journey to Golgotha, and dying on the cross to pay our debts that we might keep his blessings. The Master not only gives his property to us — he offers himself for us. On the cross, Jesus lifted God’s goodness high above any of our earthly circumstances. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

So,

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take;
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy and shall break
In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face. (William Cowper, “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”)

Greg Morse is a staff writer for desiringGod.org and graduate of Bethlehem College & Seminary. He and his wife, Abigail, live in St. Paul with their son and two daughters.

“One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” Acts 18:9-10

I held 3 items in a box on the way to the checkout line. The last man had a cart FULL. Seeing my few items he said, “go ahead of me!” Blessed by his kindness, I blurted out, “Oh, God Bless you!” His response was, “Oh… I wouldn’t go THAT far!” And I IMMEDIATELY detected a divine appointment! “Oh… I go that far all the time!” I said. And then started sharing Jesus!

I’ve been doing it that way for decades. That doesn’t mean it always came naturally and without fear. In fact, I’d been pressed by Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, for a LONG time before I actually started DOING it. When I did, it took time and perceived failures before I learned to rely on HIM instead of my own speaking skills. I’m His witness cuz He SAID to be!

The power of words is powerful. But I’ve learned that the power of His NAME is even more-so! Anyone can mention ‘Buddha’ or ‘spirituality’ and never offend a soul. But just say the name ‘Jesus,’ and watch people cringe. But that’s true because Jesus IS Power! I have learned that opening up my mouth for Jesus is the greatest honor and adventure on the planet.

Acts 18 gives today’s verse as kind of a comfort to Paul. I don’t know if Paul was having second thoughts or was worried, but for whatever reason, Jesus personally came to him with the nudge to flap his gums! Then Jesus gave him the task, ability and the power to do so. I find it interesting Jesus said the last line. Because He didn’t really HAVE them until Paul spoke!

If you are a saved Believer in Jesus Christ, this Bible verse is meant for you too! We didn’t come to salvation until someone SPOKE the Good News to us. And your family, friends or associates won’t either. Leaving the job of witnessing to someone you care about, to someone else, is just cruel and dangerous. Paying attention and saying ‘Jesus’ will get you in.

I can attest to the truth of this verse, at least so far, in that I have never, EVER been threatened, hit or abused by ANYONE I’ve shared the Gospel with. True, they may have never wanted to have anything to do with me after that! But hey! If they don’t want my Jesus, why would I want to hang with them? So… are YOU boldly learning and proclaiming the Gospel?

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Colossians 3:23

Most every week I get a local grocery store flier in the mail. I like to look and see if there are any savings on products I use regularly. After seeing several items on sale, I headed to the store to purchase them… 1 item being some cooked ham. Growing up, Isaly’s in Pittsburgh was known for ‘Klondikes’ and ‘chipped ham.’ At $1.99/lb… I suddenly wanted some!

At the Deli counter there was 1 man already being waited on. With at least 5 other people walking around behind the counter, I waited for 10 minutes as the man in front of me kept ordering items. I was wearing a Jesus shirt and hat, so decided I’d better put on my outer Godly-patience outfit. When the man was done, he walked away. And so did the deli gal!

It took some time but I finally called the gal and asked where the $1.99 ham was. The answer was, “we don’t carry that in this store!” Later, checking out with other items I told the cashier how often I come for sales, only to find the items not available. She told me,” they are supposed to offer you another brand at the same price!” She sent me back with a name!

The deli gal wasn’t happy to see me, & I figured it was the shirt. I gave her the name of the manger and asked her to please give me 1 pound of the $4.99 ham for $1.99. “Company policy, I was told!” She grunted. When I said, please ‘chip it,’ she said, “you’re asking a LOT!” When done, I gave her a $2 tip saying, “it’s for your helpful arm AND a righteous principle!”

OK. I know I didn’t make a fan for Jesus. But standing there the entire time, and being treated as I had been, my hat and shirt were the only explanation. Before I’d said a word, I was judged. But I get it all the time and have learned to deal with it by giving a little extra Jesus kindness. The deli gal has a job. But then, so do I. But MY boss’s policy is today’s verse.

Because I am His, I KNOW when unrighteousness comes my way. But I ALSO know when ‘I’ slip and become the AUTHOR of unrighteousness. My Master expects me to work harder, more diligently and with HIS HOLY Spirit always present. Because EVERYTHING I DO MATTERS. Are YOU obeying the unctions of the Holy Spirit through YOUR hands, heart and life?  

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” Luke 6:21

As we ended our walk around the block, Katie stopped under the house and intensely gazed upward at the rotted fascia. It must have been the intensity of her stare that got my attention, because I followed her eyes up to the corner of the house, finally seeing what she was looking at! There, sticking out like a sore thumb, was the fascia I started to fix LONG ago.

OK. I don’t know how long it’s been, but it has been quite a while. I had started the repair, when I saw that it was going to take more effort, time and material than I had anticipated. Then something else caught my attention. My lovely wife never spoke about it, and I simply removed the offensive sight so far from my memory that it never came back to my mind!

The older I get, the more I suffer from ‘selective seeing!’ This morning I saw, and walked passed, a dying palmetto bug on the floor 6 times before I finally remembered I was going to pick it up the first time! Yesterday, after I set up the ladder to fix the fascia, I remembered that I’d left my saw at my son’s place. Sadly, I felt relieved that I COULDN’T fix it! WEIRD!

I’m beginning to see that one of the greatest enemies of redemption and sanctification is simply ‘wanna!’ I have worked 10 times harder doing things for other family members and Jesus than what it would take to fix that fascia. Even now, embarrassed that I am even sharing it, is not enough for me to care. I simply do not WANNA fix it! OK… I realize now… I’m a pig!

The mystery of my NOT being able to see and make adjustments to OBVIOUS repairs to my house, gets magnified when I look at my own heart. Even Jesus is baffled because He ended His story with the ‘WHY’ question (see today’s verse)! Fishing for an answer gets me no bites because honestly (dare I say it?) I simply don’t care! I now recognize I have a serious problem!

It’s just me and Jesus alone in the room now. And I can see him tapping his fingers on his crossed arms. Which forces me to see the nail scars on the back of his hands. UGH!!! I HATE it when He does that! (just being honest). But HE asked the question… and He expects an answer! Knowing Him as I do, He’ll wait as long as it takes for an answer. So I’m thinking!

And what about YOU? Are YOU facing a confused Savior awaiting YOUR response to WHY YOU’RE not DOING what is OBVIOUS to everyone else? Uh-huh! Tick-Tock baby!  Have a nice day!

“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” Proverbs 19:11

The wait time for the service procedure was going to be about 2 hours. Having anticipated it, I took an intense, historical book to read. Walking into the waiting room, 1 side had a loud TV, so I chose the other. Settling in, it didn’t take long before distractions began. A couple of girls began loudly conversing, and the gal beside me started laughing at a very long internet show.

Of all the Spiritual Fruits listed in Galatians 5, the most difficult one for me is patience. MY plan was to sit in the quiet and do some studying. A plan which was immediately scuttled when other folks in the room executed THEIR plans for the afternoon. I then tried to ignore them and go on in spite of the noise. Which didn’t really work. So I became offended!

“Wherever I go, there I am,” is a true statement. But then again, so is Jesus’ promise “I am with you always, even to the end of the world (Mt. 28:20).” I had a quiet thought to ask the gal beside me what she was listening to, but didn’t want to interrupt like I was being interrupted! So I didn’t! This morning, reliving those 2 hours in my mind, I sense Jesus saying… I SHOULD have!

Everything with Jesus is a learning opportunity. I am learning that the more I pay attention, the more ‘opportunities’ present themselves. Looking back, I can see that I ‘could have’ at least asked ‘laughing girl’ what she was listening to. At best, I may have found a resource to make ME laugh. OR, I may have had the opportunity to share Good News WITH her… WITH Jesus!

The greatest news I ever learned, besides how to be saved, is the fact that Jesus is never offended! As the old saying goes, “there is nothing I can do to make Him love me more… or less!” He already paid for all my sins, and now, every offense against Him can be turned into an opportunity FOR Him, if I just dedicate my time and plans to look.

So now, after paying attention, I have a spiritual backup plan for when my soul becomes offended! But will I remember that next time? Because there WILL be a next time! And it’s up to me. But how about you? What is Jesus trying to teach YOU in your areas of weakness? Are you working on listening and putting those lessons into practice?

“…since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” Romans 1:19

The picture says it all. And it’s not cute or funny. I ran into a reality of this picture last week, looking for a parking spot at an over crowded lot. A Cadillac was taking up 2 spots! A day later, driving behind yet another Cadillac, I noted the driver swerving from the center of their lane to the very edge of the middle line, blocking traffic. It was rude and selfish.

Now I’m not saying that all Cadillac drivers are rude. But I’ve noticed a pattern among certain types of drivers. When someone slides all over their lane and ‘rides the line,’ they are showing no concern for fellow drivers on the road. Whether blocking someone from passing them, or parking beside blocking them, love and courtesy toward others seems NOT a priority.

Florida just passed a law prohibiting driving slow in the left lane. It doesn’t seem to have had much impact. The roads seem to reflect what has happened in our society. The ‘Me’ generation has arrived onto the highways of life, displaying a lack of care for law, respect, God and others. And as a T-shirt of mine says… ‘Normal isn’t coming back, Jesus is!’

Now I know I can be as selfish and arrogant as the next guy! Sometimes, sadly, even more! But being a jerk or disrespectful on purpose is something my Master has a STRONG opinion about. Romans 1 and 2 plainly lay out God’s view. God had laid rules and boundaries into the hearts of people. And people KNOW what decency is. There’s NO excuse for disrespect.

The saying, “God said it. I believe it. That settles it!” is really only 2/3rds true. “God said it.. That settles it!” is the intention of God. Unfortunately, KNOWING Truth cannot guarantee obedience to Him. It takes a willful desire to WANT to please Him, to please Him. Receiving and following Christ replaces ‘being good!’ HIS intentions should determine my actions.

I backed off of a very rude driver the other day when I moved over and got behind a slower driver in the right lane, allowing the rude, and possibly violent driver, to get WAY ahead of me. I just felt God moving me over there, and obeyed… which is typically NOT my usual method of handling rudeness. But I swear I heard Him say, “Good Boy” to my heart!

It seems clear to me that ‘non-God’ followers can easily overwhelm God’s followers. When I was young, it didn’t SEEM to be that way. Now, as society pushes it’s own agenda beyond boundaries, I am trying to pay closer attention to The Master and follow HIS lead. It seems to be a whole new education. Are YOU TOO trying to pay more attention to Him as you drive through life?

“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'” John 6:35

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to go with my son to help work on his cottage. One of the perks of going there is the big dock that overlooks the Gulf of Mexico. Yesterday, the water was as clear as crystal. A few other families were out there as well, and I watched a little boy catch 2 fish… to my zero! He was as giddy as a 5 year old could be with a fish on the line.

A few other folks were catching fish, and as I looked down into the water I could clearly see hundreds of different kinds of fish. The natural question of the day was, “what are you using for bait?” In every case, the answer was some kind of natural bait that fish are used to eating. I had an artificial shrimp on my line and, try as I may to make it look real. It didn’t!

After about an hour, with only a few tugs at the bait, we called it quits and headed back to work on the cottage. Our goal was to make it more appealing and comfortable for his family to want to go and visit there. It wasn’t hard to figure out what to do. All we had to do is use our own sense of comfort as a gauge for success. ‘Cool’ and ‘clean’ became the ‘bait’ target.

When it comes to bait, there really isn’t anything more powerful than using hunger and thirst as targets for catching things. People included. Jesus carefully laid out His Father’s plan in His ‘fishing for men’ task. Having carefully crafted the plan, God sent His Son to us, in the form of a man, to get to know, understand and entice us to come to Him to be satisfied in our needs.

One of the easiest gauges I use, to KNOW if I am walking with the Lord, is to check my satisfaction levels. Am I hungry? Am I thirsty? Is God supplying all my needs? Do I find myself with a desire to look for anything else? And if I am, is that desire an artificial, or a real need? There are enemy desires that can look very appealing, but prove only fake… and fatal.

What captures YOUR attention? Can you see that there are things out there that, while they may bait you into offering satisfaction, only let you down? ‘Jesus Works’ is a saying at our church… and for a reason. Because He DOES! What are YOU fishing for?

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV

I was on a mission. My son wanted a new cabinet top and I, being the one with the truck, volunteered to pick it up. These days, anyone can log onto a smartphone and look up what’s in stock at the local lumber yard. He was in Tampa, but looked up the store closest to me and saw they had 3 of what he wanted in stock. So I hopped in my truck and headed north!

When I got to the store I asked the department head where I might find the desired counter-top. Taking me to the location, I discovered that there were not 3… but 2. And both of those had been damaged in shipping. I then asked if there were any at the southern store. Looking up on his phone, he stated, “they have 7 there.” So I hopped in my truck and headed south!

When I got there, I had to ask the department head where they were, because the store layout was different. When he pointed to the back of the store, I walked back to find that, instead of 7, there were only 2. And BOTH of those had been damaged in transit. Picking the one that would display the least likelihood of offense, I unhappily loaded it into my truck.

The one thing I learned through this process, is that what the store’s app said they had, and what they ACTUALLY had, were 2 different things. AND that even though they might have them, there was no guarantee of their condition. I finally settled for a slightly damaged one, because I was not going to drive 100 miles to hopefully find another one in perfect condition.

One of the first verses in the Bible that I ever learned at my Father’s guidance was today’s verse. I deliberately picked the King James version, not because it’s the one I learned, but because it’s the one I think most closely resembles the original intent of the Author. It starts with a command! “YOU… STUDY!” The NIV version says ‘do your best!” Errr? Unacceptable!

Everyone who knows the Bible, even a little, understands the problem that comes from private interpretation! It is possible to make the Bible say anything anyone wants it to. But because Bible Study REQUIRES intense, intentional hard work WITH the Author, the work I put in can’t be just the best I can do. Study brings out the best of who He is.. into who I am to be!

So before I run off telling everyone what I THINK the Bible is trying to say, I am reminded, as I see BOTH my dad’s in my mind’s eye, to STUDY IT CORRECTLY! Truth requires the stamp of it’s Author! Are YOU studying to SHOW yourself approved by Him???