T is for Talents

Luke 19:11-27

Talents. Aaahh, yes. Used to be that talents meant a measure of money. One talent was equal to $1000 in today’s money. Pretty impressive when you stop to think about it! I wonder if I can talk my boss into giving me a $1000 to take care of next time he goes away?! Anyway, today we will look at talents as abilities. Everyone has some sort of talent. Some people can cook, some can clean, some can organize, some can sing, some are great listeners, others mechanical geniuses and still others have fiscal abilities. The list is extensive. Our talents are as different as our DNA. Sadly, I was away from the church for awhile and had turned my back on Jesus. My talents were not being used to even the most remote portion of their abilities. So I was the last servant in this parable. However, as the tap on my shoulder grew more persistent, I finally looked to my Saviour again to deliver me from myself. The more conscientious an effort I make to surrender to Him and be in His will, the more talents I discover I have! If Christ were to return today, I am confident that I would be closer to “a good and faithful servant” than I have ever been before. So many people I can in contact with say “I don’t know what the Lord wants me to do.” Yet, they don’t try to do anything. It’s almost as if they are waiting for a bolt of lighting to come down or a pillar of smoke to lead the way. The disciples certainly didn’t sit and wait in a dark room for direction. They went out and told people about Christ and if the Holy Spirit directed them in a different direction while they were ministering, they followed that leading. He can’t lead you somewhere if you aren’t walking anywhere. So start trying the doors and see which one opens for you.
Are you burying your talents or are you allowing the Holy Spirit to develop them for the betterment of the Body of Christ?

Many times He speaks softly so we need to be quiet to hear.

By Your Fruits...

Let's take a walk in my garden. I love that the Scriptures reference the growing and nurturing of things. It gives me so much joy when I garden and have much to enjoy from my efforts. I pick flowers to bring into the house or work, pick fruit and vegetables for my own nourishment as well as friends and family. Also, I enjoy watching the life that lives in my garden. There are insects, birds, spiders, moles and mice, rabbits - just all kinds of things! So as I tend this portion of land which has been made my responsibility, I want to be sure that I am a good steward of the land. I want to have the items in my garden thrive and live a healthy life. When they don't, I feel there is something that I have missed or not done very well. It can certainly be frustrating. One such plant is an Apricot tree. It's been in the ground now for 5 years and looks just beautiful for a dwarf fruit tree. However, it produces nothing! So I ask myself, how long should I wait on this tree to bear fruit? What is the limit of it occupying valuable space in lieu of something I am sure will be more productive? I have fertilized and pruned and watched for disease and insect infestation religiously and still...as if in complete disregard for my love and efforts, this tree relinquishes not even one fruit!
This tree puts me in mind of Luke 13:1-9. Jesus is trying to show the crowd that our heavenly Father will not be patient with us forever. He walks through the garden watching the performance of each plant and evaluating the harvest. Our heavenly Father, also evaluates the performance of the plants (us). They review together the performance of the material and Jesus Christ mediates for us. We must recognize the restraint that it takes for us to be given a second, third or more chance rather than just being cut down for a lack of performance. Some plants perform so slowly it takes more than a lifetime for them to bloom - like the Century Plant. How many of us are on the edge of being a beautiful fruit tree with no fruit? Are you content with staying in one place and at one stage of growth or are you ready to grow and produce fruit? Our Lord wants for you to be fruitful. Ask Him to show you what He wants for you to do. He has a plan for your life and all you need to do is ask Him to show you what the plan is. He will gladly show you and provide the necessary nourishment for you to continue to grow. What a wonderful gift that is.

" All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty." Proverbs 14:23

Eye On the Sparrow

“His Eye is On the Sparrow” Don’t you ever wonder why Christ used some of the acronyms that He did? I love this song. What a wonderful interpretation of the verses in Matthew and Luke! The bird itself is a bit of a nuisance! They steal nests, hog the bird feeders, even kill the other birds babies! Maybe that’s the whole point. As I watch my feeder this morning, full of birds I don’t want to see, on of which is the Sparrow and the other the Grackle, I wonder.
That little English Sparrow. How many others fall into that same detestable and undesirable category and yet Christ loves us all just the same. Man and beast. The Sparrow, the woman at the well, Mary Magdalene, Zaccheus and even Paul! Paul and what and who he was before he was awakened by the Holy Spirit! Amazing that God knew and cared about every hair on Paul’s head even while he was slaughtering believers! God was working a plan to take that passion that Paul had for killing Christians and turn it into a passion for spreading the word to further points of the region. In my own life, I am not any more worthy of Christs’ love and compassion and saving grace than Paul and yet I feel His arms supporting me when I am weak, His love empowering me, and His light shining through me to reach people I would never consider reaching out to. If His eye is on the Sparrow, how much more does He care about you and I whom He created for the solitary purpose of worshipping and glorifying Him?
Read Matthew 10:27-31 and Luke 12:3-7. Consider that these verses are referring to the reverent fear of god that we should develop if we don’t already have it. The blink of an eye…if He were a vengeful God He might snuff us out one by one for a mean thought or snide look let alone the entourage of despicable behavior we display daily. How hurtful it must be to such a perfect and loving God to see His creation turn their back on Him after all He has done for us. Remember, though, the wonderful and restoratative truth that He loves us unconditionally. No regrets. Rather He takes rpide in knowing everything about you. Your thoughts, your dreams, your heartaches and even when a hair falls from your head! Return the favor to someone today.

“Be kinder than necessary to everyone because everyone is fighting some kind of battle.” (unknown)