Luke 19:11-28
While people were listening to Jesus speak, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem and they thought that the Kingdom of God would appear there immediately. So he said, "A nobleman went off to a distant country to obtain the kingship for himself and then to return. He called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, 'Engage in trade with these until I return.' His fellow citizens, however, despised him and sent a delegation after him to announce, 'We do not want this man to be our king.' But when he returned after obtaining the kingship, he had the servants called, to whom he had given the money, to learn what they had gained by trading.
The first came forward and said, 'Sir, your gold coin has earned ten additional ones.' He replied, 'Well done, good servant! You have been faithful in this very small matter; take charge of ten cities.' Then the second came and reported, 'Your gold coin, sir, has earned five more.' And to this servant too he said, 'You, take charge of five cities.' Then the other servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding man; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.' He said to him, 'With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding man, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.' And to those standing by he said, 'Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.' But they said to him, 'Sir, he has ten gold coins.' He replied, 'I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.'"
After he had said this, he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.
Dawg's thought:
Today's prayer intention is for the repose of the soul of Mariamma Joseph.
Have you ever noticed how hard it is to get back into the gym after you've been away for a while?
This past Sunday, I went for a bike ride and, I'm embarrassed to say, I crashed my bike when I was trying to put a little more power into my pedal. I came away with a scraped and sore knee along with some strange pain in my ribs.
What does this have to do with the gym? Well, I figured that this may be a good week to take off from the gym. Unfortunately, from history I know that when I take a break from something that's good for me, it's hard to get back into it. Exercise. Healthy eating. Driving the speed limit.
It made me think about the gift of faith that we have been given, and it helped me wrap my mind around what it meant when the master took the gold coin away. While I am comfortable talking about prayer, it's a lot more difficult for me to actually enter into it and use it as a gift.
Lord, thank You for the gift of faith and prayer. Help me to use these gifts to glorify You, Lord.
Take care and God Bless.
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