September 22
How do we master our responsibilities?
Ecclesiastes 7-9/Matthew 25-26
OT
7:27-29 “This is my conclusion,” says the Teacher. “I came to this result after looking into the matter from every possible angle. Just one out of every thousand men I interviewed can be said to be upright, but not one woman! I discovered that God created people to be upright, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.”
8:11 When a crime is not punished, people feel it is safe to do wrong.
9:4 There is hope only for the living. For as they say, “It is better to be a live dog than a dead lion!”
NT
25:44-46 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ And he will answer, ‘I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
26:21 While they were eating, he said, “The truth is, one of you will betray me.”
:56 “But this is all happening to fulfill the words of the prophets as recorded in the Scriptures.” At that point, all the disciples deserted him and fled.
OT Flash Points
A wise person thinks about death
Better to go to funerals than festivals
Think about death while there’s time
NT Flash Points
Foolish/Wise
Individuals, groups, nations
Perspective
To have a master and to be mastered are not the same thing
Jesus never enforces obedience or makes me do what He wants
But He never leaves me alone, either
In the Bible, obedience is based on the relationship of equals – son and father
Jesus is not His Father’s servant, He is His Son
He wants to easily be my Master
He is mine to obey
Halleluyah! I love You, Jesus, for the years of Your patience with me