Humble Servant

AUDIO Some have called the principle detailed by Jesus in this verse the "kingdom rule." He has described it once before in Matthew when the disciples asked Jesus why He was teaching the crowds in parables instead of explaining the truth in detail, as He did with them. That is found in Matthew 13:11–12, where it reads very much like this verse: "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." Within the context of this parable, the principle makes even more sense. The one with ten talents has been the most productive with what he has been given by the master (Matthew 25:16). The one with one talent did absolutely nothing with it. If the master wants the most gain from his investment, he should take that one talent and give it to the one who has the most. The principle ...

Luke 12:10 AUDIO   God's Word—the Bible—is truth. Every verse is truth. But we must read and understand each verse in context. Scripture is true in what it intends to teach—not everything we might prefer it be taken to mean.   Those who acknowledge that Jesus is God and the Son of God and rely on Him for the forgiveness of their sins—details that we now know but were not yet revealed at the time of this passage—Jesus will claim as His own and keep safe. He will even forgive thos e who publicly deny Him if they confess that sin ( 1 John 1:9 ). But He will not forgive those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will give them the words to say ( Luke 12:12 ). If their accusers reject the power of the Holy Spirit in the disciples' affirmation, they will not be forgiven. The affirmation is that Jesus is the Messiah who has come to save them. So, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is continual rejection of the gospel message as witnessed by the Holy Spirit. Certainly, peopl...

5 Ways to Fight Off a Cynical Attitude AUDIO Cynicism can creep into your heart easily in this fallen world. Maybe you’ve been hurt by people who let you down, or you’ve witnessed so much corruption and dishonesty that it’s hard to believe in anything good anymore. You may think that a cynical attitude helps you because assuming the worst in situations can protect you from getting disappointed. But cynicism is dangerous because it hardens your heart, distances you from others, and makes it hard to see God’s goodness. God doesn’t want you to live in constant distrust and negativity. For your well-being and relationship with God, resisting cynicism and expecting the best every day is vital. Here are five ways to fight off a cynical attitude. Cynicism begins in your feelings and thoughts. If you constantly focus on the negative, it will shape the way you see the world. Proverbs 4:23 reminds you: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” What you allow into y...

AUDIO What does 2 Peter 3:17 mean? Christians must sense our responsibility to continually check the content of what our teachers tell us ( Acts 17:11 ). We must compare what others say, or proclaim, against the truth of God's Word. We are responsible not to be carried away or misled by false teaching, no matter how good and reasonable it sounds on the surface ( Colossians 2:8 ).  Otherwise, Peter writes, we will "lose your own stability." This phrase is also translated as "fall from your secure position," or "fall from your own steadfastness." The Greek phrase uses the word ekpesēte, which literally means, "to fall," but this phrase is not indicative of salvation. The potential loss Peter has in mind is not that of eternal damnation, if we allow ourselves to be misled by false teachers. Peter, however, has written in 1 Peter 1:4–5 that a Christian's place in eternity is shielded by God's power and cannot be lost. Others suggest that...

AUDIO What does 2 Peter 3:16 mean? This leaves us in a tough spot: how should we handle difficult-to-understand passages? Peter doesn't answer that question directly. However, the implication is that we should not use an obscure or difficult passage to contradict the clear teaching of other Scriptures. Reasonable and honest Christians may disagree quite strongly over the meaning of some things in the Bible. However, we cross a dangerous line when we distort the meaning of any passage to try to support our position on some theological argument. The bottom line is that all of us must handle God's Word with respect, honesty, and a healthy dose of fear about getting it wrong—even when it's hard to understand.     https://www.bibleref.com/2-Peter/3/2-Peter-3-16.html  

What does Matthew 18:20 mean?   This is another one of Scripture's more famous and often-quoted statements. This simple promise from Jesus to His disciples follows a teaching about what God the Father would do for them when two or three of them agreed in prayer about a specific subject ( Matthew 18:15–19 ).     Now Jesus adds the reason the Father will do what these two or three disciples of Jesus ask. The key is not their personal power or merit. It is because when two or three of them gather in the name of Jesus, Jesus is there with them. This is a promis e for the days to come after Jesus returns to heaven. It is an assurance that He will, in some way, be present among them. It also explains why God the Father will grant these requests made by the disciples. It will be because Jesus is omnipresent—existing in all places—and therefore with them.     This must have been comforting to Jesus' disciples as they thought about carrying out these heavy responsibi...