Thought For Today

And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed Him. (Jesus) Matthew 20:29

Lord there were always great crowds that gathered to see and hear what would take place when You were on this earth. Many that gathered were curious. Many came for healing. AND there were many that came to try and destroy You.

Thank You Lord for coming and completing Your mission…..which was to die for us.

Thank You for Your promise to come again.

Thank You for the assurance we have that we will live with You forever and ever.

Oh how blessed we are Lord. Thank You.

Thank You Lord.

Filed under: Thought for Today | No Comments »

And when the ten heard it they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you; but whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave; even as the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:24 -28

Thank You Lord for giving Your life as a ransom for us. Oh how we love You and thank You.

Thank You Lord.

Filed under: Thought for Today | No Comments »

But Jesus answered, (mother of sons of Zebedee) “You do not know what you are asking. (For her two sons to sit on each side of Jesus in the kingdom.) Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to Him, “We are able.” He said to them, “You will drink My cup, but to sit at My right hand and My left is not Mine to grant, but it is for those whom it has been prepared by My Father.” Matthew 20:22, 23

Lord, just like this mother and these two sons there is so much we don’t totally understand. What this mother was asking seemed so innocent and yet it really wasn’t. There was much she didn’t understand just as there is much we don’t understand.

Thank You for those things that are not a mystery and that we do understand.

We know Lord that You came to earth and died for our sin and we thank You.

We know that You rose again for the grave and are seated at the right hand of the Father waiting for us to join You.

We know that You have asked us to come to You and bring our burdens for Your yoke is easy and Your burdens are light. Oh how we praise and thank You Lord.

Thank You for all we know. Thank You for loving us unconditionally. Thank You for eternal life. Thank You!!!!!

Thank You Lord.

Filed under: Thought for Today | No Comments »

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to Him (Jesus) with her sons, and kneeling before Him she asked Him for something. And He said to her, “What do you want?” She said to Him, “Command that these two sons of mine may sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left, in Your kingdom.” Matthew 20:20, 21

Lord we might say, ‘What a gutsy lady. Who did she think she was wanting these privileges for her sons. After all who were they that they should be given such a special privilege.’ To that I would say,…..’It’s a mom thing. We mothers want the best for our children. We have been given a very special gift from You Lord to want the very best for our children. I might have asked the very same thing for my son had I been there with You. Even today I continually pray for Your protection and blessing upon his life. Am I any different than this mother…. I really don’t think so.”

Thank You for the gift of motherhood.

Thank You for the love that You place within us to share.

Thank You for helping us have compassion for others as we pray for their children and their desires.

And …..thank You for fathers that love their children as much as mothers and are often the mothers that many children do not have.

Thank You that You are always with us in all our walks of life to bring comfort and cheer. Oh how we thank You.

Thank You Lord.

Filed under: Thought for Today | No Comments »

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way He said to them, “Behold we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and He will be raised on the third day” Matthew 20:17 – 19

Lord You knew why You came. You were trying to prepare Your disciples. They still didn’t understand or have a clue we know from reading Your scripture.

Thank You for coming.

Thank You for dying.

Thank You for eternal life.

Thank You Lord. Thank You.

Filed under: Thought for Today | No Comments »

But he (householder) replied to one of them, (laborers) “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity? So the last will be first, and the first last.” Matthew 20:13 – 16

What can I say Lord? Yes, it is Your choice. I can say it isn’t fair. I can express my dislike. But ultimately everything in our lives is up to Your choosing. I must accept that You know best and that You love me unconditionally and be grateful for those major facts. It matters not where I stand in line at the front or the back but it does matter that I am in that line. Am I listening to You. Am I obeying. Are You first in my life. Those issues matter.

Oh how I thank You Lord that You love me and that love is unconditional. You know my heart and You can see that I have a long way to go to let go of some of the things that bother me such as this one. I thank You for your compassion and Your willingness to continue to work with me every day to bring me closer to You. Thank You.

Thank You Lord.

Filed under: Thought for Today | No Comments »

(Jesus continued) “And on receiving it (one denarius) they (those that had been hired to work first) grumbled at the householder saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’” Matthew 20:11, 12

Lord I’m afraid I would have been right in there with these other workers complaining. There is only black and white with me in this instance. I know I would have been complaining big time.

So what are You trying to teach me in all of this? Why does it bother me so much. Why does it seems so unfair?

Lord I guess what I am meant to learn is that You will be who You are and do what You want when You want to do it. I am to keep my eyes upon You and keep walking forward never doubting that You are there.

Oh how grateful I am to know You are always with me. What a gift! Thank You.

Thank You Lord.

Filed under: Thought for Today | No Comments »

(Jesus continued) “For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’” They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came each of them received a denarius. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. Matthew 20:1 – 10

Lord I will certainly be the first to admit that I do not do well with this portion of the scripture. The first shall be last and the last shall be first. All I can do is thank and praise You that no matter where I am in line I know that You are with me. You paid the price for me to enter in and that is my focus and my joy. I have to thank and praise You that I can be called Your child. Oh how I love You Lord. Thank You for allowing me to enter in.

Thank You Lord.

Filed under: Thought for Today | No Comments »

(Jesus continued) “But many that are first will be last, and the last first.” Matthew 19:30

Lord there are so many of us that love to be first no matter what we do. It can be a good thing because much is achieved with that goal. We strive harder and often accomplish much more than others. For example those getting the ‘gold’ in the Olympics are in the limelight and well they should be because of their hard work to achieve what most of us can only watch with admiration.

But here You are saying that there are those that think they will be first in Your kingdom but they will actually be last. What they thought was important wasn’t what You knew to be important. Perhaps they sought the praise from others more than they were following what You were calling them to do.

The ‘good news’ is Lord that You have a perfect plan for our lives and You help us live out that plan as we trust and obey You moment by moment. We are grateful Lord for Your guidance and direction.

Thank You. Thank You Lord.

Filed under: Thought for Today | No Comments »

(Jesus continued) “And every one who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for My name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.” Matthew 19:29

Thank You Lord for the great reward of eternal life for those that follow You.

Thank You for helping us to remain faithful to You to the end of our lives.

Thank You for all the gifts and blessings that are given to us along the way.

Oh how we praise and thank You.

Thank You Lord.

Filed under: Thought for Today | No Comments »