Matthew 20:1-16 ~ Generosity

Shine - Collective Soul

Matthew 20:1-16 

¹ “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ² After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius^{[a day's wages for a laborer}} a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³ And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴ and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ ⁵ So they went.

Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. ⁶ And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ ⁷ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ 

He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’

⁸ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ ⁹ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. ¹⁰ Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius.

¹¹ And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, ¹² saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ 

¹³ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. ¹⁵ Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 

¹⁶ So the last will be first, and the first last.”



So the last will be first, and the first last.

Jesus told us the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. 

He didn't mean just for that moment. Jesus was telling us when we confess with our mouths and believe with our hearts - we have eternal life. Beginning ..... stop watch click...... at believing. 

All of God's promises are for us - now.

Life isn't Perfect.
Jacob having the full weight of God's blessings behind him 

- Yet a lot of Jacob's life looked pretty similar to Job. It was within Jacob's soul that God's blessings lived, multiplied and were given out. Jacob lived His promises.

Hiring people to make Mother's home up to selling is not just cleaning, sorting, memories, sorrow, joy, it's meeting with the people who bid and keeping them going and doing the job

well, on time, on budget, completely and caring for my entire family.

Who else would be first and last in God's blessings? 

Jesus' own brothers.

Jesus knew they would shine. 

Just as God knew Gideon would shine as well. It is fairly, understatement, important to treat people like they have it within them to Shine. 

Pray hard - with hope. God is still at work today. An uncle of mine found the Lord at age 78. Dancing in Heaven, yes, my grandmother would.

John 7:1-5      Jesus' brothers, act like people, want Him to see some trouble.

After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

Matthew 12:46-50 

After Jesus declared the ruling people of the temple to be vile and evil, His brothers want the trouble to die down. In reality, they didn't want that much trouble for any of them.

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.

"He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

Mark 6:3

Jesus records how his brothers think of Him; Jesus' family is seen by others as a very loving, all of a kind, family.

His family didn't whitewash all the aspects. They lived who they really were. Even when they were last in Jesus' daily life, they were part of His Plan, Hope and Future.

"Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor."

This is Jesus loving His brother in clear light. He understands the situation, not whitewashing it. So, 1 Corinthians 13 tells us love conquers all.

1 Corinthians 9:5

Paul tells us of Jesus' brothers.

Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas [Peter]?

The Books of the Bible, James and Jude are Jesus' brothers that their Nazareth hometown saw them as a seamless family. They have Jesus dwell with them. As we can do this today.

Acts 1:14
They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Hebrews 2:10-12, Jesus speaks of us as His brothers, but also His own brothers.

In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. He says,
"I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises."

I pray the Psalms. Fly into the Hands of God.  I'm placing the one I love in His Hands.

Psalm 87

¹ On the holy mount stands the city He founded;

² The LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
³ Glorious things of you are spoken,
O city of God.
Selah

⁴ Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;
behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush—
“This one was born there,” they say.
⁵ And of Zion it shall be said,
“This one and that one were born in her”;
for the Most High himself will establish her.
⁶ The LORD records as he registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.”
Selah

⁷ Singers and dancers alike say,
“All my springs are in you.”

1 Corinthians 13:13

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. 

And the greatest of these is love.

Jesus is God's Delight.

 Jesus has Joy. 

In His Blessings, Jesus wants to give Blessings. 

In studying prayer, people who have had a blessing, are very capable of praying this received blessing on to others.  We are fully capable of blessing each other with Prayer.

Abba, Father God,

Our Abba, as we open our hands to You in Prayer. 

We consider by grace we have been saved through faith. 

And this is not our own doing; it is the gift of God.

Help us always to seek Your First, Jesus Christ.

In this comfort and Love, help us be able to know

You will love and dwell with those we Love.

Having gifts, let us use them: in proportion to our faith. 

Even the Disciples had fear. 

The huge change is going on in my family. It's just a very emotional time,

please pray for peace with our family.  Edward has done an awful lot to be very supportive.

 Please pray for peace during this time.

My dear friend told me, there isn't really a great emotion in this. We go on being transparent, asking for help, being in Father God and ask His Help. Peace within the family.

We thank You for hearing our Prayers, Abba. 

We will ask for each day, each opportunity, each decision, every day - Father God who gives generously to all without reproach, we will ask for Wisdom and to see Your Willingness and it will be given to Your Beloved.

We pray this for our concerns, our lives, our hopes. We pray this over the people we love. The People You have given us. Healing, life, hearing, eyes, provision, opportunities. Hope, Joy, Love. Protection. And for this Nation to love You more. 

And for the Beloved of God - everywhere to have this of You, their Father.

Always we want to Listen to Jesus.

Bless this Nation with mercy and tolerance, remembering the historic anger and ill-logic

following Pandemics. The sweep of History shows Pandemics have recovery.

Lord Jesus we ask Your Love and Help.

Amen in His Highest Name

Ephesians 3:14-21

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 

from whom 

every family 

in heaven and on earth is named, 

That according to the riches of His glory 

He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit 

in your inner being, 

17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith

—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 

18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints 

what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 

19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, 

that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 

20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all 

that we ask or think, 

according to the power at work within us,

 21 to Him be glory in the church 

and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. 

Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †  

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Matthew 13:47-58 ~ Gathered

Matthew 13:47-58

47 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea 

and gathered fish of every kind.

48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 

49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51 “Have you understood all these things?” 

They said to him, “Yes.”

52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”

57 And they took offense at him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.



Joel 3:
14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness

What shall shine?

Daniel 12
3 And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.



Romans 14
11 For it is written, "AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD." 12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

Isaiah 45
22 "Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. 23"I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. 

24 "They will say of Me, 'Only in the LORD are righteousness and strength.' Men will come to Him, And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.

Philippians 2:10

At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth 

Hebrews 6:13

When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for Him to swear by, He swore by Himself 

Abba, Father God,

In seeking You first, help us not to grow weary in doing good.

Now may You, Lord of peace, Himself give us peace at all times in every way.

Give Your Love and Joy to those we Love.

Strengthen family and friends in Your Love.

The Lord be with us all.

Let love be genuine

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all.

May the Blessing of God be upon our Nation,

for those who seek His Love and Presence

and may the world recognize

the fullness of God's own Good Creation

is the Lord God.

In the Highest Name of Jesus we lift our cares to Him, He cares for us so.

God Bless us all.

Amen.

Let all of Creation sing with me now

Fill up the Heavens, let His Glory Resound

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †  

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Joshua 10:28-43 ~ the Lord God of Israel fought

 

Joshua 10:28-43

28 As for Makkedah, Joshua captured it on that day and struck it, and its king, with the edge of the sword. He devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. And he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.

29 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against Libnah. 30 And the Lord gave it also and its king into the hand of Israel. And he struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it; he left none remaining in it. And he did to its king as he had done to the king of Jericho.

31 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Libnah to Lachish and laid siege to it and fought against it. 32 And the Lord gave Lachish into the hand of Israel, and he captured it on the second day and struck it with the edge of the sword, and every person in it, as he had done to Libnah.

33 Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish. And Joshua struck him and his people, until he left none remaining.

34 Then Joshua and all Israel with him passed on from Lachish to Eglon. And they laid siege to it and fought against it. 35 And they captured it on that day, and struck it with the edge of the sword. And he devoted every person in it to destruction that day, as he had done to Lachish.

36 Then Joshua and all Israel with him went up from Eglon to Hebron. And they fought against it 37 and captured it and struck it with the edge of the sword, and its king and its towns, and every person in it. He left none remaining, as he had done to Eglon, and devoted it to destruction and every person in it.

38 Then Joshua and all Israel with him turned back to Debir and fought against it 39 and he captured it with its king and all its towns. And they struck them with the edge of the sword and devoted to destruction every person in it; he left none remaining. Just as he had done to Hebron and to Libnah and its king, so he did to Debir and to its king.

40 So Joshua struck the whole land, the hill country and the Negeb and the lowland and the slopes, and all their kings. He left none remaining, but devoted to destruction all that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel commanded. 41 And Joshua struck them from Kadesh-barnea as far as Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, as far as Gibeon. 42 And Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. 43 Then Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to the camp at Gilgal.

This is a season for moving. My mother has moved and we are moving her household. My older son is changing from his Law School State to Colorado. My younger son is moving closer to work and to our house. The housing market is more than warm, it's hot. And we see few houses for sale, but selling quickly and moving happening around our neighborhoods.

And this brings together several of our discussions by Post recently.  

The killing of a puppy Beagle for experimentation and the display of the poor puppy's death. Happiness. God's Plan for us.  And new neighborhoods and expectations.

David is so factually known, now, even Goliath's hometown records King David

Richard Gere did a very graphic movie in 1985

This movie is called King David and the critics disliked seeing the type of violence Joshua 10 tells us about. However, no one really delved into the reason God called for war to make peace. That was merely brushed aside.

We might compare this to the 1987 movie Lost Boys.

Joshua 10 begins like the Eagles song, "New Kid in Town." The Exodus was quite a few New Kids in Towns and the fear of overpopulation.  The Exodus Children of Israel were filled with Hope.

The Children of Israel had seen some fuss ups, dust ups, lean years, but basically good kids.

However, the Kids they were about to meet in the New Neighborhood had some particularly bad habits.

If they decided their new child was going to make an increase in the amount of crops, cash, available, the neighbors were all invited to come over to see the child strung up by the heels and throat cut to pour and then dribble over the soil to boost fertility of the crops.  Not what a Good Father hopes His Young Children will engage in.

When the Children of God are told not to boil a mother with her young kid in blood and milk... you have to realize gore has its own following. And God is not just pulling ideas out of His Hat to share. God Himself launches into rules of basic human rights over slavery.  Odd isn't it Former Egyptian Slaves are suddenly instructed about slavery and human rights. God knew a thing or two about the New Neighborhood. Rodney Dangerfield would say, "It's Rough Out There."

Remember Goliath.

Canaan has so much history found about the height of the people, the 'giant's' graveyard has been sought for millenniums. God was counseling His People not to be fortified just in war, but to understand the pressures the land had. 

Hear, Oh Israel, The Lord Thy God is One. 

The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament.

Romans 14:19

So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification.

Hebrews 12:14

Pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

1 Peter 3:11

He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

3 John 1:11

Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The one who does good is of God; the one who does evil has not seen God.

Psalm 37:27

Turn away from evil and do good, so that you will abide forever.

Psalm 97:10

Hate evil, O you who love the LORD! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

God is not God of war. God has never called for child sacrifice. Our Father God calls for the Honest Peace.  God of Love, God of Encouragement. God, like Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, set up a tent for Himself during the Exodus. The Framework God is building upon is the place, of framework, where Love is fought for and Love can abide, prosper and thrive. God is the God of Pray with Hope. God of a Hope and a Future.

The Old Testament is not a vengeful God. 

It wasn't a Tupperware Neighborhood. Our God calls the Heavenly Host by Name and asks His Children to seek what is Good. Baal, Aztecs, Druids, Tyr, Montu all the different names of so-called gods, were not going to hand out welcome coupons. And the dinner invitation could be very terrible.

Samson fought with those who had survived Joshua 10

Straining all his nerves, he bowed:
As with the force of winds and waters pent,
When mountains tremble, those two mossy pillars
With horrible convulsion to and fro
He tugged, he shook, till down they came, and drew
The whole roof after them, with a burst of thunder
Upon the heads of all who sat beneath,
Lords, ladies, captains, counselors, or priests,
Their choice nobility and flower.” ~
Written by Milton, Samson Agonistes


A major turning point in Israel's war against the Philistines was Samson's death. Two Philistine temples have been uncovered by archaeologists. One at Tel Qasile, in northern Tel Aviv, and one in Tel Miqne, ancient Ekron, 21 miles south of Tel Aviv. Both temples share a unique design -- the roof was supported by two central pillars! The pillars were made of wood and rested on stone support bases. With the pillars being about six feet apart, a strong man could dislodge them from their stone bases and bring the entire roof crashing down. The archaeological findings match the Biblical story perfectly and attest to the plausibility of the account.

The war wasn't frivolous or for obtuse reasons. The war was fought simply to bring the opportunity for peace.

We want to be in step with our Father God.

We want to please Abba.

To Love Abba and be loved.

Joshua 10 is the Mercy of God for the Children Unborn,

 they won't have to face what Joshua and His People would have to face.

Zechariah 7:8-10

Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, 

“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: 

‘Administer TRUE justice. 

Show loving devotion and compassion to one another. 

Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. 

And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’

Abba, Father,

Help us to seek You first.

Dwell inside my soul, help me to be a Church to You.

Be with us

and help our Family

and all those in a New Neighborhood,

we ask in the Name of Jesus Christ.

Please, Lord Father God encourage, strengthen, enable, embolden and enjoy the hearts 

who Welcome You. We ask alllllllll His Blessings, You, our Father God delight to give. 

And those who have Joy in Jesus Christ The Lord.

Help us to take the High Road of Father God's, 

with Joy, Love, Peace, Diligence and have His Blessings and Protection 

inside and out to let our footsteps be Mercy and Love.

We ask these blessings for those we Love. 

Strength and Wisdom in Pandemic.

We ask the Encouragement of the Holy Spirit to the People 

He has delighted  to give each other. 

We ask for the up building of the Church of Jesus Christ. 

The strengthening of this Nation in Jesus. 

And those who bring this forth. His Beloved Believers.

The up building of all people around the World for Jesus 

and the nations supporting them. 

We pray health and peace on Your Good Creation.

Peace within families to be built up.

We pray the end of the Pandemic will be held to You closely

in Prayer and Your overflowing Mercy.

Healing for Elliott from Cancer

and for Cindy's family.

Mercy to my Mother and our family.

Behold our God,

in whom we hope and rejoice in our Salvation,

grant rest to this Home.

Let the Amen be of His Will being the Exact Nature of 

Jesus Christ. 

Blessings for the Goodness of Your Will and Plan. Amen!

The Words of Jesus bless us.

Lamb of God. 

Thank You. Alleluia. Amen.

♔ Lord Jesus Saves! †  

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