DECEMBER 03 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#31-19 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?” (Matthew 24:45)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

DECEMBER  03  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#31-19 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?”  (Matthew 24:45) 

365 Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, guide me in Thy Way, keep me filled with Thy Holy Spirit, that I may truly serve others as You Served the world, even unto the Sacrifice of Your Perfect Life that was Spotless before the Father, the Lamb of God, whom it pleased Almighty God to be offered up on the Cross at Calvary — one death to cover all sin — Lord, You took nothing for Yourself and all that You had You gave freely that others would be served by Your Suffering for our sakes. Thank You Lord Jesus. It is nothing short of a miracle that God Himself became flesh, lived a perfect life in this “valley of the shadow of death”, be tempted in all things as we are tempted, yet remained without sin, and allowed Himself to be nailed to a cross, Divine Innocence hanging in agony for the guilty, shedding His last drop of Divine Blood and cried out in VICTORY — IT IS FINISHED!!! Praise God for the Gift of His Son that we may be FORGIVEN — Teach me O Holy Spirit to live my life in honor of the ONE WHO DIED FOR ME!!!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

DECEMBER  03  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#31-19 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?”  (Matthew 24:45)  Jesus taught us a multitude of lessons within the Parable of the Ten Virgins but probably the main lesson was for all who seek to know God that they look upon Him as  “Our Heavenly Father” for even though the parable is about “Ten Virgins” (which I admit was a bit distracting from a worldly viewpoint which is in my opinion a plague of the “flesh”) the parable teaches us first about the “wisdom of preparedness” — for Jesus immediately showed us via the preparedness or the lack thereof of these ten virgins what will ultimately be considered as “wise” or “foolish” behavior. Jesus continued His parable: “…heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.” (Matthew 25:1-4) Aside from the historical setting in which Jesus taught this lesson, surely one can see the universal Truth of the necessity of having fuel for the lamp for the single purpose that if a lamp is to produce light, it must have fuel! Also on the surface we can make the assumption that a lamp that does not have fuel will not burn therefore the ones with the lamps with no “oil” will be in “darkness”! Let us stop and mull on this Truth for there is no Truth of God that is not worthy of us meditating on the Truth itself and what does God intend for us to learn about living our day-to-day lives if we will but apply His Truth to our lives. The obvious advantage to having “oil” for our “lamps” is that when “darkness” comes into our lives that we will be able to dispel the darkness with the “light” from our lamp. However the major Truth of God can be found “in the beginning” of the world as we read the first words of creation — “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” but the earth and heaven were under construction for we read, “The earth was without form and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” So what did the Spirit of God do to correct the earth not having “form” or purpose and to address the problem of “darkness” that covered the formless earth? “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 1:1-4) The fact that the five virgins that were considered “foolish” was because even though they had a lamp and were going out to meet the bridegroom, they were called foolish because they were not prepared to produce any “light” with their lamps, therefore the “foolish” are those that do not know that a lamp without oil cannot produce “light” and the “foolish” will remain in darkness. This Truth about “light” was also taught by King David himself and all Israel had read King David’s writings in the Book of Psalms therefore it is appropriate that Jesus is the Son of David and is writing about “light” as King David had written these words inspired by the same “Spirit of God” that called forth the first “light” as we read, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) The Parable of the Ten Virgins then is more about having “oil” for our lamps than about remaining pure before the world. “Lamps” without “oil” will not produce “light” so the question for all of us simply is, what are you using for “oil” for your lamp? Without “oil” to give you “light” for your “path” you will stumble or even lose your way in the  “darkness”  of life. 

DECEMBER 02 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#31-18 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?” (Matthew 24:45)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

DECEMBER  02  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#31-18 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?”  (Matthew 24:45) 

365 Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, I come with a thankful heart for Your Faithfulness for Your Promises are ALWAYS kept, Your Love is ALWAYS pure! There is no Name like the Name of Jesus, my God who became flesh and dwelt among us, my Savior who died a cruel death to set me free from my sin! There is no other God but Thee, nor any other Joy but Thine, no Peace but Yours. O LORD, my God, I am not worthy, but us being “worthy” is not what Your Love is about — You Loved the unlovable and the unworthy, yea even the sinner and even those that had You Crucified on the Cross! Teach me Lord, to Love as You Love, may Your Grace fill this bodily temple that I may worship You in Spirit and in Truth!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

DECEMBER  02  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#31-18 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?”  (Matthew 24:45)  Jesus has taught on several occasions that He must suffer at the hands of men in order to “fulfill prophecy” and each lesson contained the single truth that God is the “FATHER” and that all “prophecy” is about the “SON OF GOD” doing the “Will of the Father”. God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are ONE, it is a “Mystery of God” but then if we could understand God then we would be smarter than God Himself and would therefore God would not be God because there was someone else that had Supreme Knowledge (and ‘knowledge is power”)!?!?!  BEFORE the Creation, there was The Plan of God and the Holy Bible is that Plan laid out from “the beginning” to the “end of the age” when the Son of God returns to get His Bride and “old things will pass away and all things will be made new” in honor of the Great Wedding of the Son of God! Therefore, it makes perfect sense that during the Passover Week that sees the fulfillment of prophecy about the Messiah, God’s Chosen One, the Root of David, God’s Only Begotten Son in Obedience to the Will of the Father will accept His Role as the Passover Lamb to provide the world Deliverance from our bondage to sin! Once the prophecy of the Passover Lamb is fulfilled, “THEN” the next Divine Event on God’s Prophetic Calendar is the “end of the age” which John wrote about in his vision of the end of the age when John in the Spirit saw the great battles and then the great victory of God (see Revelation 19:1-6) that was celebrated with the “Marriage Feast of the Lamb” — “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:7) The Parable of the Ten Virgins then makes more sense when we realize that the “Ten Virgins” are actually “bridesmaids” that are helping the “bride” prepare for her betrothal to the “Bridegroom” — this is all summarized very well in a commentary in the Scofield Study Bible (pg. 1741) titled, “Bride of Christ, Summary” which reads: “The Marriage of the Lamb (literally “the marriage supper of the Lamb”) is the consummation of the marriage of Christ and the Church as His bride. The figure is according to the oriental pattern of marriage, covering three stages: (1) the betrothal, legally binding when the individual members of the body of Christ are saved; (2) the coming of the Bridegroom for His bride at the rapture of the Church; and (3) the marriage supper of the Lamb, occurring in connection with the second coming of Christ to establish His millennial kingdom. The Lamb’s wife is to be contrasted with the harlot of 17:1; and she is also to be distinguished from Israel, the unfaithful wife of the LORD (Jehovah) in historic times, who is to be restored in the millennium (Is. 54:1-10; Hos. 2:1-17)” Therefore we must view the Ten Virgins as “servants” of the “Bride” to get her ready for the “marriage” which is to be consummated at the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” — the Holy Bible is the story of “a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son” (Matthew 22:2) and how all the “wedding guests” are to prepare for the Great Marriage Feast in Heaven when Christ brings His Bride “Home”!!! Have you checked to make sure you have plenty of oil in your lamp??? 

DECEMBER 01 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#31-17 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?” (Matthew 24:45)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

DECEMBER  01  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#31-17 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?”  (Matthew 24:45) 

365 Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, Lord You have proven Yourself Faithful in leading me when I am not sure exactly which direction to take and through the Holy Spirit You “correct” my course if I start to stray from the “Way”. Lord Your watchfulness is a testimony to the Great Sacrifice You made on the cross for me over 2000 years ago and now You are still watching and caring for me as I live my day-to-day life. I must praise You for awaking me this morning with a solution to a major problem for the “work task” you have given me and it just made me remember King David writing “Your rod and your staff they comfort me” and I do take comfort in knowing that Your Presence is with me for David had just wrote “I will fear no evil for You are with me”!!! Thank You Lord that I, a sinner born over 2000 years after You died on the “Cross”, can still in this day and age get “comfort” from the “Cross” on which You, the Son of God paid the penalty for my sin!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

DECEMBER  01  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#31-17 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?”  (Matthew 24:45)  Jesus is teaching the Parable of the Ten Virgins so that we might be encouraged to be prepared when He Returns at the “end of the age” for “At that time” (Matthew 25:1) of His Return as the “bridegroom” He will call us to join in the celebration of this “marriage made in heaven”. Jesus has used the analogy of the bride and the bridegroom several times as well as previously describing “heaven” as being “like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son” (Matthew 22:2) and all along Jesus has been referring to God Almighty as His Heavenly Father and repeatedly demonstrated that Jesus Himself IS the Son of God. When Jesus, whom John the Baptist called “the Lamb of God”, was baptized and the Holy Spirit was observed as coming down on Jesus, that eyewitnesses recorded hearing God speak from heaven saying, “This is My Son in whom I AM well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) therefore it is easy to see that at the end of the age that JESUS IS RETURNING to get His “Bride” and there is going to be a great wedding feast. The fact that Jesus is teaching the Parable of the Ten Virgins at the Passover Feast in Jerusalem and is teaching that He will be killed by men but will be raised the 3rd Day by God Himself, we can easily surmise that Jesus is the “Passover Lamb”! Then in John’s vision of heaven at the end of the age we read of “The Marriage Supper of the Lamb” in Revelation 19:6-9 which ties “marriage” and the “Passover Lamb” to the “Son of God” who the “mighty angel” revealed that the “Lamb” is Jesus the “Son of David”  when the angel asked John in his vision of heaven “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals(?)” and we read that John “wept for no one was worthy” but then an elder approached John and exclaimed “Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to loose its seven seals” and then John looked and there “stood a Lamb as though it had been slain…and the [Lamb] came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne.” (Revelation 5:2-7) Jesus also has declared God His Father as the “King” in the Parable of the Wedding Feast in Matthew 22 (Key verse: Matthew 22:2) and then the first miracle that Jesus performed was at the Wedding Feast at Cana where Jesus started His earthly Ministry as He turned water into wine and His mother declared to the “servants” at the wedding feast, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (John 2:5) There is many other instances that tie “weddings”, the “bridegroom”, the “bride”, “servants”, the “king of heaven” and the “Lamb” to Jesus and His Return at the end of the age!!! Once again Jesus is giving us some very important details as He paints the picture of the Parable of the Ten Virgins “who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” Let us listen to the words of wisdom spoken by Mary, the mother of Jesus as she proclaims to all that would be “faithful and wise servants” — [this is my Son Jesus] “Whatever He says to you, do it.” (John 2:5) Taking Mary’s advice would certainly help us to be prepared when the “Jesus the Bridegroom” comes back for “His Bride”!!!

NOVEMBER 30 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#31-16 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?” (Matthew 24:45)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

NOVEMBER  30  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#31-16 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?”  (Matthew 24:45) 

365 Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, this day is just another day until my thoughts turn to You. Only by putting my every HOPE on You can I begin my days, Lord take my Praise as an offering, grant it be acceptable to Your ears and may my soul forever wake each morning with the Name of Jesus ever before me. Lord, hedge me from the evil one that I may grow strong and learn to use Your Armor to protect me until the Glorious Day of the LORD when we will be caught up to Your Side! Lord forgive me when I fail to be a good witness to Your Glory in my life and I pray that my life will be lived as a True and Good Witness to my Redeemer. May all my words be from Your Holy Spirit and that when people see me they will see only Your Grace and Your Love!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

NOVEMBER  30  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#31-16  “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?”  (Matthew 24:45)  Jesus again tells us what “heaven shall be likened to” as He teaches this Parable of the Ten Virgins — maybe some of you asked the same question I did about the connection between “heaven” and “ten virgins”??? Jesus always introduces each lesson with a statement that really focuses our attention on a particular gem and that statement is always a clue to point us into the direction of God’s Truth and in this case it also points us in the direction of God’s Truth about getting into God’s Kingdom of Heaven! Let us look at the phrases Jesus uses to introduce this parable: “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” (Matthew 25:1) It is significant that Jesus started the parable with the word “Then” which many translations use the phrase “At that time” because Jesus has been teaching His disciples what to look for at the “end of the age” and the sign of His “coming”  (see Matthew 24:3) therefore to establish a proper time frame for the Parable of the Ten Virgins we could paraphrase Matthew 25:1 as “At the time of the Return of Jesus at the end of the age the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to…” which will add more meaning to the parable. When we consider also the “ACTION” words/phrases we understand that Jesus is teaching us to be “doers” of the word and not just “hearers” because of “ACTIONS” like “who took” and “went out to meet”. At the time that Jesus gave these instructions there was “significance” to what “actions” were being done especially when we consider that it was “ten virgins” and they “took their lamps” and they we going “out to meet the bridegroom”. A quick study of the marriage traditions in Israel at the time Jesus gave this parable is both very interesting and very informative! On the web site: GotQuestions.org a search for the “Parable of the Ten Virgins Matthew 25:1-13” produced a most informative commentary on “The historical setting…describing a first-century Jewish wedding” as the article quoted D. A. Carson from the Expositor’s Bible Commentary as he describes the setting this way: “Normally the bridegroom with some close friends left his home to go to the bride’s home, where there were various ceremonies, followed by a procession through the streets — after nightfall — to his home. The ten virgins may be bridesmaids who have been assisting the bride; and they expect to meet the groom as he comes from the bride’s house…Everyone in the procession was expected to carry his or her own torch. Those without a torch would be assumed to be party crashers or even brigands. The festivities, which might last several days, would formally get under way at the groom’s house.” and the article adds: “The torch was either a lamp with a small oil tank and wick or a stick with a rag soaked in oil on the end of it which would require occasional re-soaking to maintain the flame.” When one reads a description of a “first-century Jewish wedding” and then considers Jesus is teaching this Parable of the Ten Virgins to His disciples who were Jewish and compares the “wedding” to “heaven” then there are many things that come to light as is always the case when the MASTER teaches us anything. Jesus has used action words to describe what I feel is a “required” response to His “coming” and the obvious is that if we do not “expect him” and are prepared with our “lamps” then we will be left in the darkness and will not enter into the “festivities” of the “wedding” that is about to take place! Any time you see a wedding in our modern culture that has “ten” bridesmaids attending the bride then there is going to be a big celebration and none of the wedding “festivities” will occur without a lot of “ACTION and PREPARATION” and all those that are not “prepared” to be part of the wedding will have to suffer the “Consequence” of not “expectantly watching” for the “bridegroom”. This is not the first “wedding” Jesus has used to reveal God to us as earlier Jesus taught: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son.” (Matthew 22:2) and Jesus concluded that lesson with: “So [the king] said to [the unprepared guest at the wedding feast], ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment? And [the unprepared guest] was speechless. Then the king said to [His] servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast [the unprepared guest] into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’” (Matthew 22:12-13)  If Jesus says it once that should be enough, but if Jesus says it more than once we should really pay attention and “be ready” — He certainly has given us plenty of warnings!!!

NOVEMBER 29 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#31-15 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?” (Matthew 24:45)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

NOVEMBER  29  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#31-15 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?”  (Matthew 24:45) 

365 Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, Lord You bestow blessings on us everyday but yesterday Lord You made extra special for me as I was able to spend the day in honest labor out in Your creation and as I exclaimed yesterday “Wow, look at my office!” Lord Jesus, I thank you for the health You have restored to me so that I can do the tasks that You have laid before me and You have allowed me to work outside with no walls and nothing to obstruct my view of Your heaven or prevent me from breathing in Your fresh outdoor air! Lord I Thank You for the work You have granted and trust me to do for the kingdom so I am doing my work “heartily for the Lord and not for men”!    AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

NOVEMBER  29  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#31-15  “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?”  (Matthew 24:45)  Jesus is now teaching another detail of “being prepared” for His Return and the end of the age and illustrating a critical detail in that although His “coming” is at the “end” of the age that no one knows “when” that time will be except God Himself therefore Jesus being the Master Teacher is telling us that it is best to “always” to be prepared and “watchful” for His Return. In His initial question Jesus asked “Who then is a faithful and wise servant…” (Matthew 24:45) and now Jesus starts His Parable of the Ten Virgins by saying, “THEN the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to…” (Matthew 25:1) The use of the word “then” has a message and lesson in itself for “then” can be any time and is dependent not on a day or an hour but by an event and when we think of the word “then” our mind draws a picture of a future event or describes a marker in history when an event occurred — but either way, “then” describes an event that “will” happened or already “has” happened so the lesson we should draw from Jesus using the word “then” is that in this case Jesus is saying to “be prepared” BECAUSE His Return “WILL” happen, and it does not matter “When” the event occurs but what matters is that whenever the event  does occur that we are prepared “THEN” — Jesus is teaching that we should prepare for the event “NOW” so that we are ready “THEN”!!! The obvious Truth that Jesus is teaching about being prepared BEFORE the event occurs is that “when” the event does occur that “then” it will BE TOO LATE TO PREPARE! The fact that Jesus uses the word “THEN” and follows it with the phrase “…the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to…” is that if we are not prepared for the “kingdom of heaven” that “when” God says the end of the age has come and sends His Only Begotten Son BACK to get all those “prepared” for His Return, that “THEN” it will be TOO LATE and the “unprepared” will be left behind!!! Jesus begins His lesson on “preparedness” with this very important word “THEN” and immediately ties it to the “the kingdom of heaven”, therefore we would be “wise” indeed to be prepared for Jesus is the One that is our “GUIDE” and Jesus is the “LIGHT” that will illuminate our path to the “Narrow Gate” through which we must “Enter” into the “Kingdom of Heaven”!  The fact that Jesus is making it clear that at the “end of the age” that HE WILL RETURN and “THEN” there will be either “rewards” for the “wise ones that are prepared” or “penalties” for the “foolish ones that are unprepared” ——— the “reward” is “heaven” and the “penalty” is the “unprepared” have condemned themselves to eternity separated from God. Jesus starts His lesson with “THEN” because “when” He Returns it will be TOO LATE TO PREPARE and Jesus is reminding us that “NOW” is the ONLY TIME we have to PREPARE — but as always, “being prepared” is a “Choice” each individual MUST make but as always, the “Consequence” has already been “Divinely Determined” —your “Choice” will determine your “Consequence” so “CHOOSE WISELY” 

NOVEMBER 28 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#31-14 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?” (Matthew 24:45)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

NOVEMBER  28  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#31-14 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?”  (Matthew 24:45) 

365 Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, who is worthy but You, we are lost sheep in need of a Good Shepherd, we stray from the Way and find ourself lost in darkness and You are the LIGHT. We continually take all our blessings and contemptuously pour them out while crying selfishly for more — truly we are guilty of taking all the Good that You Provide and defile Your Mercy with our disobedience, but You Lord were Obedient unto even death as You took every circumstance in Your Life and Lived a Perfect Life that Glorified the Father, You alone Lord are worthy of our praise, You are worthy  to be followed, Your Way is the Only Way to Truth and Light, and You are Worthy for Your Faithfulness to Forgive us our iniquities and Provide us with the Abundant Life that is only possible because of Your Abundant Grace! Forgive me of all my unworthiness and lead me to know how to  serve others as You have served us!     AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

NOVEMBER  28  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#31-14  “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?”  (Matthew 24:45)  Jesus uses parables as only the Master Teacher can and we must not read His Parables lightly because Jesus never wastes His Precious Time on earth with frivolous lessons. The section which contains this Parable of the Ten Virgins contains a wealth of God’s Truth and for us to grow rich in the knowledge of the kingdom we must take possession of the kingdom gems that Jesus is laying before us. This is such an important lesson that we should take it line-by-line and it would not be a waste of time to take it word-by-word because these Words spoken by Jesus and documented in Holy Scriptures in the Gospel according to Matthew are the God-breathed Words intended to reveal God Himself to us!!! Jesus starts this lesson/parable by announcing “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” (Matthew 25:1) The first word to consider is “Then” for Jesus has just been teaching about His “coming” and the “end of the age”. Jesus had pronounced a “blessing” on the “servant whom the master, when he comes, finds [the servant doing the will of the master]!” (Matthew 24:46)  and immediately pronounced a “curse” on the “evil servant” that rejected the Master’s rule and was unprepared for the Master’s Return. (Matthew 24:50-51). Jesus immediately went from the “Blessing” and the “Curse” (for the servants being ready for the “Master’s Return”) to this Parable of the Ten Virgins and says “Then” which takes our attention to a detail of “heaven” for Jesus has us now thinking very specifically about His Return and what will be our level of “preparedness” — will we be ready for the Master’s Return and the “melodious joy and rewards” of “heaven” or will we be caught “unprepared” and find ourselves in darkness and left to our own selfishness which will result in our “weeping” and moans of regret for not being ready?!?!?!!? If we are not ready for His Return “Then” we will not hear the music of celebration for those that are prepared, but the unprepared will hear the discordant symphony of despair played by the “gnashing of teeth”!!! Jesus, by using the word “Then” makes it clear that He IS “Coming Again” and we should ask ourselves "NOW" are we going to be ready “Then”!?!?!?!? Jesus is indeed the Master Teacher and He is teaching us to be “ready” for His Return for He will be bringing the blessings of heaven for those who are watching and waiting and for those that are not ready, they will be left to their own selfish desires and will not enter into the “Master’s Celebration” — again, all the “Blessings” and “Curses” of God have been laid out plainly for each individual to make an “informed decision” and we must learn to make our decisions based on what will please the “Master” and not on what we think we can selfishly get away with and “choose” to gratify self instead of “choosing” to stay prepared for the Master’s Return — we know it “Will Happen” we just don’t know “When” — the best “choice” “Then” is to stay prepared for the “rewards” of preparedness are truly “Heavenly”!!! 

NOVEMBER 27 THE JESUS QUESTIONS JQ#31-13 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?” (Matthew 24:45)

LIVING FOR JESUS --- Daily Devotional

NOVEMBER  27  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#31-13 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?”  (Matthew 24:45) 

365 Prayers to JESUS    

Jesus, let us this day but Praise the One that is the Giver of Life and the One that created the day and then gives us both daily life and daily bread. Lord Jesus, we know that of our own we can only plant but You Lord make the seed grow, we can only pray for the rain but You can produce living waters to sustain our existence — and if we have no water we perish so let us see the TRUTH that without You there is no life and no hope and without hope, we perish, for our souls which You water daily cannot exist without hope and Hope only comes from the Giver of Hope. Lord Jesus, therefore let this life that You have given me and blessed me so abundantly with Hope always have this prayer of Thanksgiving on my lips and in my heart for my Savior and Redeemer from whom all blessings and life itself flows—Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God.      AMEN

THE JESUS QUESTIONS

NOVEMBER  27  THE JESUS QUESTIONS   JQ#31-13  “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?”  (Matthew 24:45)  Jesus after giving signs of the “end of the age” and His “coming” to pronounce the verdict of the “Final Judgement” of the world and take His Rightful Place as King of His Creation. Jesus has laid out plainly for all who will open their “spiritual eyes” what is expected of each individual. Jesus announces both the “rewards” for those who are “faithful and wise” in their “service” to the MASTER and the “penalty” that awaits those that insist that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are “fairy tales”. The Truth is that God has been rejected by seekers of self and they therefore follow the selfish “doctrines of men” that have defiled the Commands of God and promote “self gratification” over “serving others”! Jesus goes into detail of the reward of “the kingdom of heaven” when He again uses a parable to describe what “heaven shall be likened to” and this time Jesus uses “ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.” (Matthew 25:1) My first thought when I read this verse was to ask, what does being a virgin have to do with heaven — this “question” on my part was “of the world” and my spiritual understanding was blinded to the Truth of God that Jesus  reveals to us through the “Parable of the Ten Virgins”. Jesus had just been discussing being a “faithful and wise servant” and my secular mind related more to being “made ruler of [my] household” and missed the fact that the True Master of all households places whom He chooses to be “rulers” over each household and once a “ruler” is placed in a ruling position by the “master”, then the “master” places additional responsibilities on the “ruler” to provide for those under his “rule” — when being a “ruler” is viewed as having “responsibility to provide for others” then it is understood that even “rulers” are “servants” therefore we learn a Truth of God that there is only ONE MASTER and everyone else either falls into one of two types of servants: Servant Type 1 - a servant that is “faithful and wise” and does that which is required by the Master and is “ready” at all times for the Master’s Return or Servant Type 2 - is an “evil servant” that takes advantage of the Master being gone and the “evil servant” does not do that which the Master requires of their position, regardless if the Master is present or not, and the Master makes it clear that He will Return and hold everyone accountable for their “reasonable service”. Thinking like an “evil servant” therefore would make one “unfaithful and unwise”. Jesus is using the Parable of the Ten Virgins (also known as the Parable of the Wise and Unwise Virgins) to confirm an earlier Truth when He said about Servant Type 1: “Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find [the “faithful and wise servant” providing for others]” (Matthew 24:46) and then about Servant Type 2: “the master of that [“evil  servant”] will come on a day when [the “evil servant”] is not looking for [the master] at an hour that [the “evil servant”] is not aware of, and [the master] will cut [the “evil servant”] in two and appoint [the “evil servant”] his portion with the hypocrites. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 24:50-51) Jesus is using the Parable of the Ten Virgins then to tie together all the Truths of God that Jesus has been demonstrating His whole earthly life and now is Masterfully Teaching with His Last Week before becoming the “Lamb of God” as the culmination of the Passover Week. Jesus cleansed the temple, cursed a fig tree and pronounced seven times, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” and now Jesus is describing to His disciples what the sign of the end times and His “coming” again will be like as Jesus warns that “the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” and that we should “watch therefore” ——— the Parable of the Ten Virgins ties all this together making it obvious that the main point of this Parable is not about being a “virgin” but about being “wise” and being “ready and prepared” for the Master’s Return!!!