​September 20, 2026
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’
7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered.
“He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’
8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’
9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’
13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
 
There is the temptation to eye the freedom of those who are not connected to a church and be jealous of what they keep for themselves. I know God’s call for me to give 10% back to him, read the Bible, go to church regularly, love my enemies, etc. These are not burdens--but we are all tempted to see them as such.  The problem is one of perspective.
 
Jesus addressed this in the story above. The men he hired early in the morning felt blessed to have been chosen. In an age of day laborers, they had a job. They could feed their families that night. They agreed to a wage with the vineyard owner. All were happy—until the end of the day when their boss handed out wages to everyone.  That was when things soured.
 
The master chose to pay those who had worked one hour first and to pay them the same wage he had agreed to pay those who had worked for 12. It was not fair—but they had agreed to the wage given them. It wasn’t fair—they had worked the longest and got paid last. Those who were given a job later in the day rejoiced as they had a full day’s salary to help them provide for their families.
 
And therein lies the beauty of the story—the vineyard owner had provided for all of his workers and their families. He had not needed all of them, but he had compassion for each of them. Each had been blessed to have been chosen to serve and  be blessed by him. I am blessed to have known the love of God my whole life. My worship, giving and service are blessings, not burdens. We are blessed to know the depth of God’s love for us. May we rejoice whenever another sinner is blessed to come to faith and share in this joy. Whatever we may do for God pales in comparison to what he did for us at the cross. Let us live to bring others to the cross. Amen.
 
Holy Father, thank you for choosing me. I am blessed to be loved by you and honored to serve you. May others see your love through my life. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

​September 13, 2026
Grace vs. Vengeance
 
Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[h] was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.
26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.
28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. Matthew 18:21-28
 
I do not like it when people hurt me. My first reaction is payback, but I know I am supposed to forgive. I have read the “love your enemies” and “turn the other cheek” passages just as you have. Peter knew them as well, but isn’t there a point when we can dole out righteous retribution? In Peter’s mind forgiving someone seven times seemed sufficient—then he should be able to hurt the other back. The problem is that vengeance always creates more division. It will never restore anyone or anything.
 
When I take retribution upon myself, I destroy any chance to restore a relationship broken by sin. My condemnation cuts off any hope of re-connection. Another sad result of retribution is that this approach to justice does not take away my hurt. The murderer brought to justice does not take away the sorrow of one who mourns. There is another sad reality to our avenging a wrong—it builds a wall between us and God. 
 
God’s heart is always about restoration. Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save it. (John 3:17) He pours out his grace on me so I might be changed to be like him—to love as he loves. The goal is that my heart becomes shaped by his. The king forgave a debt of millions of dollars because he had compassion, but then the one forgiven was ready to throw his friend into jail over a few dollars. No one will ever sin against you as much as you have sinned against God.  You can never forgive another as much as God has forgiven you.
 
We are so blessed. God loves us so much. He has restored our broken hearts by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Where he could have condemned, Jesus chose to suffer our punishment himself that he might forgive us. Now we have the opportunity to offer grace to those who hurt us. In so doing perhaps we can both fall to our knees before God, reunited forever by grace.
 
Holy Father, may I find such peace and joy in your grace that I might seek restoration through forgiveness rather than vengeance. May I trust the power of the gospel to heal all hurts. I ask this in the name of Jesus. AMEN.
 
 
 
 

​August 30, 2026
What is a Disciple?
 
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. Matthew 16:24-25
 
“Christian” was not the normal name for us in the first century. “Disciples” and “people of the Way” were the common names used. These point to following Jesus and following his way of life to describe us. Jesus certainly speaks this way when he said that those who want to be disciples “must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow (him).”  This kind of language leads us to think of worship life, sacrifice and obedience as the barometers of our “discipleship.” If our being disciples of Jesus (Christians) depends on what we do, we are in BIG trouble.
 
What draws us to Jesus is our brokenness only he can heal, our emptiness only he can fill and our fears that only he can calm. He gives us all of that. In his death and resurrection Jesus redeemed us. He set us free from the power of sin and death. He gives strength and purpose to all who look to him. And yet, we did not choose Jesus—He chose us.  We are followers of Jesus because God “has called us by the gospel and enlightened us with his gifts.” (explanation of 3rd Article of the Apostles’ Creed). We are Christians because God, his in rich mercy, “has called us out of darkness into his wonderful light.”  (I Pet.2:9)
 
Christians follow Jesus—at his invitation, but where will one find Jesus? We still find him standing up to those who seek to change the gospel message, sitting with those who are hurting and embracing those who are rejected by the world. To follow Jesus is to embrace the consequences of doing these same things. Why? Because as Jesus has changed our hearts he has enabled us to love those whom he loves. He moves us to sacrifice for the sake of bringing blessing to another. He empowers us to suffer in the hope that by our actions others might come to know his love as we know it.
 
The disciples were all martyred for the gospel of Jesus except for John. I do not think that any of them looked back with regret at leaving their old lives behind when Jesus called them to follow him. The privilege of having Jesus walk with me, carry me, through life is worth giving up any plans I had for myself. The joy of knowing love as HE pours it out so much greater than anything I might ever give up. I can never brag of my faith life—all I have is a precious gift from HIM. May we thank God for the privilege of carrying his name by virtue of baptism. It is pure joy to follow him wherever he leads.
 
Holy Father, I thank you for calling me to be your child. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit, to fill my heart with your love, that I might joyfully follow Jesus in the way I think and act in love. I ask this in the precious name of Jesus. AMEN.