Daily Bible Reading (Friday, Feb. 3rd)

11

Matthew 25 (ESV)

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

The Parable of the Talents

14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The Final Judgment

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

11 Comments

In the parable of the talents, the master entrusts three slaves with different amounts of money. The master expected his investment to grow. What kind of "return" on Christ's investment is He expecting from us? Two slaves worked to make an increase for their master, the other did no work. Compare this parable to the one in Luke 12:42-48. Us slaves of Christ need to be following His instructions, and He will cause the investment to grow.

Have mercy on me Lord! Lord I want to know You. Thank You for Your Word. He is opening my eyes now. I've read these scriptures before and they meant nothing. It was just acquiring knowledge. My eyes are opened and they are life. Oh how sweet it is to share the Gospel. I don't want to waste the time. Jesus is coming back. Amen.

40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’

In this account of the judgment, Jesus judges each based on how they loved and served "his brothers", or the members of His church. I take that as a reminder to love my brothers and sisters. I wish to serve God through the love given to me, to give to the other sheep of His fold.

Be them found and present, or lost in need of retrieving. I pray that the Lord help me use whatever portion of talents He has given to this end.

And in an effective manner.

Challenge accepted Pastor Blakey.....JB and I checking in to say we have THOROUGHLY enjoyed the readings together every morning over coffee and the stimulating conversations/lessons that have been a result of them. I agree with you completely......so want to hear the words "Well done, good and faithful servant" instead of "depart from me, I never knew you". And Michael, yes revival is alive and well in the prisons. I have a student, just released from the pen a year and a half ago, and he is absolutely, positively ON FIRE for the Lord this side of being incarcerated. We spend lots of time in my office talking of the transformation God had made in his (Patrick's) life and it brings unspekable joy to my heart to hear this transformed inmate sing God's praises and rejoice in ALL things. No doubt....."God is on the move" in the prisons today!!!!

I was a stranger in SA and Believers Fellowship welcomed me!

I want to hear the Lord say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." I don't know how many talents the Lord has given me but I want to be faithful and multiply what He has given for His honor. I want my life to count for the Lord and I want to leave a spiritual legacy that carries on long after I am gone. Knowing that the time is short motivates me all the more to make the most of the time and opportunity that the Lord has given me.

I noticed in the Parable of the Talents that hid his talent had such a negative and inaccurate view of God. I wonder how many times my lack of joyful, eager service for Him is connected with a false view of Him, not seeing Him for all that He is, not fully appreciating His majesty, wisdom, holiness, love, power, goodness, or sovereignty. Oh, that I may know Him more and more, and bring truth about Him to bear in my daily life.

I second that "amen". Compared to the "woe's" as in chapter 23, woe on me if I become slothful with poor excuses. Christ is clear and continues to be clear on the gospel message. Have mercy on me, a sinner Lord.

My dear brother, amen

The chapter ends with the horrifying truth of the judgment of God. Men will be banished into eternal punishment, others will be ushered into eternal life. In the beginning of the Chapter, Jesus tell the story of 10 virgins, 5 of whom were ready for the bridegroom and 5 who were foolish and were not prepared. I pray that we will not be foolish. I'm sure there are some in the church who think they can wait...follow Jesus later while they enjoy the pleasures of today. We all need to be ready with the Gospel of Christ to warn them and the lost around us that the judgment is sooner than they think. Moreover, we should live our lives as if Jesus was coming back TODAY! We must all heed Jesus' warning.

V. 39
I was in prison and you came to me.
It's hard to imagine the impact people have when they invest into a prisoner while he is still locked up and when he is in the free, it seems to never end. Today's inmate is tomorrow's neighbor. America's home of the free, land of the incarcerated. But in jail's & prisons there is a great revival taking place. Where real transformation is undergoing. Hearts are being transformed from stone to flesh. The great leopards of society are being made new and its all to the Glory of God. He's breaking men's will and putting them in such a tough an awkward situation that they have no other alternative and nowhere\no one else to reach but up, Save Me from myself Lord. Isn't that the state of man. We will choose everything before choosing God. If God doesn't Quicken a man or remove the veil from his mind, he stands no chance. So very comforting are the scriptures to an inmate when he has nothing else besides the word of God to sustain him, and finds Christ to be sufficient.

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