Christ

Parable of Minas

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

 The early church father Jerome said of parables “The marrow of a parable is different from the promise of its surface, and like as gold is sought for in the earth, the kernel in a nut and the hidden fruit in the prickly covering of chestnuts, so in parables we must search more deeply after the divine meaning.” 

I am not sure about you but I have a tendency to not always read the Bible properly.  I usually have a very good memory regarding things I have watched, read, or heard.  I can generally remember the details or at the very least the gist of something.  At least well enough that upon seeing or hearing it again I remember much of it from before.  This is a gift but also a disadvantage at times because as I read through the Scriptures I can easily gloss over things.  So I did with the parable of the Minas in Luke 19.  If three weeks ago you would have asked I would have told you the parable of the Minas and the parable of the Talents were the same parable.  I would have however been wrong.  They are different and convey slightly different main messages, as well as different subtle messages.

A few quick points separating the two as I think it important.  The parable of the Minas is being told to a crowd before Jesus triumphant entry to Jerusalem, while the Talent parable is being told to the 12 in Jerusalem.  This is important because the audience of a parable can help shed light on it’s meaning.  Another quick difference is the characters in the parable.  In the Minas there are 10 servants and multiple citizens, while in the parable of the Talents there are only the man’s servants.  This again helps us understand the meaning.  Also the amount is vastly different.  A mina is about 1/60th of a talent.  This is a huge difference.

The first thing we need to do is decide whether or not Jesus is the master in the parable.  This will dictate the rest of the parable.  Most commentators say that yes Jesus is the master in the parable.  The parable does resemble the story of Herod the Great’s son Archelaus and would have been familiar to them.  On a side note isn’t great how God talks to us in a language we understand.  The parables of Jesus always tie into something that should/could be understand.

Understanding that Jesus is the nobleman in the parable I want to turn the remaining attention to the three servants. 

The servants are all given the same amount of money to stewart.

In this parable we notice that all the servants are given the same amount namely 10 Minas.  They also clearly understood the task “do business until I return.”  They had been given a job, and they were expected to do that job.  If my boss gives me a task I am expected to complete it.  If I ask my daughter to do something I expect she will do it.  This was not a gift but part of their job.  They were told to do business with their Masters money.  They were stewards of the Masters property

In my last position I was among other things in charge of the buildings phone, and HVAC systems.  We went through two upgrades in the systems I managed.  I was tasked with using the owners money and resources with the expectation of improvement.  If I mismanaged that I would be a bad stewart.  The money was not mine but I was given control of it for a purpose.  The resources (staff in this case) were not mine but they were subject to me for this task.  I had to carefully weigh the options and come up with a plan to bring increase.  In the case of the HVAC system we needed to reduce cost, and with the phone system we needed to improve quality.  I had a job to do, and I was allocated resources to do that job.  I could not take those funds and buy a car.  I could not take staff and have them clean my house.  The funds and people had a purpose. 

The returns ROI is different, but return is present.

Of the ten stewarts three responses are recorded, two of which are positive but different.

The first one was able to produce a 100% increase in his master’s money.  He was some how able to double the money.  Maybe he opened a business or invested in a start-up.  I don’t know what he did but he doubled that money.  Lets say a mina is three months wages and the average monthly wage is $3,000.  That means he took $90k and turned it into $180k.  That is a big return, and typically a big return is found at the end of a big risk.  You do not typically get a return like that without taking chances.  A really good stock return is 20% while the average is like 10%.  That would be like a $18k to $9k return.  Still good but not 100% return.  This guy was probably a risk taker.  I would imagine he either was a daring as it gets, knew he was that good, or (and I like this one) knew that people knew this was his bosses money so they knew not to mess him over.  Either way he did something.

The one who returned less increase is not punished but rewarded.

The second one produced a 50% yield.  This means he turned $90k into $145k.  Still no small feat.  That is still unheard of.  If someone did that in the stock market there would be an investigation launched for insider trading.  I would imagine he was a little more reserved than the first guy or struck out but he still had to have a very good idea of what he was doing.

I noticed that the second man was not chastised for only a 50% increase.  He was rewarded the same way.  The first servant got to rule 10 cities and the second 5 cities.  Each to their ability.  That teaches us something very important about God.  He gives us more based on our ability to take care of that.  If you cannot handle something God does not give you more to rule over. 

God expects us to take care of His property It says in in Psalms 24:1 “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”  That is pretty clear but just in case: 

1 Corinthians 10:261 for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

Genesis 1:9 And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so.

Deuteronomy 10:14 To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. 

Job 41:11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay? Everything under heaven belongs to me

Psalm 50:12 If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

 

I think you get the point.  God owns all this.  It is His and He can do as He pleases with.  What does He please to do with it?  Well partly to have you and I work it.  He placed Adam in the garden and told him to work it.  He expects you and I to do His work.  Eph says that there are good works prepared for us.  We have a job to do.  We have a work to put our hands too.  We are to love, and help, and serve. To teach, and reach those who need it.  We are called to a work.  James says faith without works is dead.  What does that mean?  It means you have faith so you can do the work of God.  We are not called to faith to be observers but active.  Faith in Christ should lead to action.

 

The last guy missed the point entirely.  He was so wrapped up in his own ideas and thoughts that he never did his masters bidding.  He was so caught up in the fact that the master collects where he did not work that he just wanted to keep the money safe.  I think his problem was having as master in the first place.  From the text it does not even appear he tried.  He decided who the master was and how he acted.  Notice that the master says “out of your own mouth.”  How many times have we decided who God is?  How many times have we rejected God’s provision or blessing in our life before He even got a chance?  I have a tendency to look more at God’s standards more than the standard giver.  I have a tendency to say “God this is your standard, and your expectation and I cannot live up to that, I am taking myself out of the running.”  I can tell you from first hand experience that is not good and there is no reward in that.  I am working on living a life that says “God I know I might fail, but I am going to try, I am going to embrace your life, and love.”  I am trying to keep reminding myself of Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God wins victory after victory and is always with you. He celebrates and sings because of you, and he will refresh your life with his love.”  God is not asking me, He is not asking you to do something He will not provide for.  The master in this story gave them the money and said do business.  He did not say go find some money and then do business.  He provided the thing needed.  How much more does God provide for His work.

 

So what is the point?  How do we take this and use it in our own lives?  Well I don’t know. I cannot presume to know where you are, or how you need/can use this.  Here is what I do know is a young body we have an awesome and great possibility before us.  We are a ragtag group if I have ever seen one.  We come from broken homes, loving homes, faithless families, faithful families, lots of children, no children, and so on.  We each have a past that enables us to reach people, but more importantly we have each other, and we have God.  We have God calling us to a work, and we must now decide whether we will do His work and look for ways to invest ourselves our whole selves for His work.  If we do this then we will have a great ROI that we can present to our Master.  Or we can sheepishly hid ourselves and await His return.

The choice is ours.

Just a thought,

Mike

Free to do what?

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Galatians 5:1 says “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”  But what are we supposed to do with this freedom?  It is one thing to be free but now what?

I recently read a study that says that about 52% of prisoners released from jail return to prison.  Even worse is that 67% were arrested for a crime.  Forget for a second that we are talking about jail what is your rate of recidivism?  We can look at those numbers and pass judgment (and there are things we should judge about that) but can we look at our own life and judge?

Paul says here that Christ set us free to be free and that we should not return to slavery, so why do we?  Why do we return to sin, or our own new white-labeled version of the Law, or another Gospel?  Why do we not walk in the Freedom Christ has given us?  Why do we forsake the Freedom given us?

I think a large part of it has to do with not understanding the Freedom we have.  Jesus says in John 8:32 & 36 that when you know the Truth that the Son has set you free you will be free (ever read it like that?).  We need to understand our freedom, we need to try and comprehend it.  But first you need to understand your captivity.  You cannot ever understand what Freedom is until you understand what captivity is.  If you think that salvation is just some prayer, some event you attended, some one time thank you Jesus moment then you don’t understand it.

It took the most innocent and perfect man receiving punishment to give you freedom.  It took innocent blood to clean dirty sins.  It took the perfect Son laying down His life for you to have Freedom.  You were sentenced to an eternal separation from God.  You would spend not a life time or a thousand lifetimes away from Him but forever.  I know in polite society we are not supposed to talk about Hell, but anyone who knows me knows I am not a part of polite society.  I do not talk about Hell lightly, and I do not mention it in passing.  I love you, because God loves you.  The Father gave His Son so you could live.  I believe that and have no problem telling you that without Jesus you go to Hell.

I don’t like that, and I am not OK with that.  I won’t force it on it you but I also won’t ignore it.  If you were about to crash I would tell you, if you were about to fall off a cliff I would tell you.  I would not be all “it’s their life, not my business.”  There is a great quote from Penn Jillette that I won’t get into but here is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owZc3Xq8obk.  He is an atheist and says the same thing.  So there is that.

Anyway that was not the point.  If you understand your captivity then when you are free you rejoice and understand the Freedom.  I think some inmates return because they don’t think jail was that bad, some just thought they were smart enough to not get caught now.  Both are wrong.

When you understand your captivity you better understand your Freedom.  You better understand what it is to be free and you want to do everything you can to stay away from ever being a slave again.

I am by no means perfect but I am going to do everything I can to stay away from being a slave again.  So what am I to do when I sin, or create a new Law?  I am to remember it is for Freedom I was set free, and I walk in that Freedom.  I say what have I done, RUN!!!  Never again will I be captive!

 

Just a thought,

Mike

Get to work

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Eph 2:10 says that God created a work for us to do. More specifically it says “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (NLT).

That is pretty awesome. First God says we are a masterpiece, something special, something more than just worthwhile, but great because of Him. That is something that takes a long time to really understand. The God of the universe, the Creator of heaven and earth. The thinker of stars and galaxies says “I have made you a masterpiece” then He goes so far as to say “I also made something for you to do.” Not only does He take great delight in the work of His hand but He says now go and do likewise.

The main point I want to get across is that while we all have a calling from God, we also have smaller works too. I think everyone will look back at their life and see an overarching work you did. Something you will be remembered for. It might be compassion, or mercy, or love, or gentleness, or passion, but whatever it is there is something you will be known for. But there are smaller works for you to do sometimes within that scope and sometimes outside of it. For example, when you leave the house today to go grocery shopping God could have it in place for you to pay for someone’s food. Maybe He will have you in place to encourage someone who is grieving. It could be as simple as just being an amazing presence in your home to show God’s goodness. Whatever it is God has a plan/work for you today and we can easily miss it.

We can miss it if we think that today is just another day. If we decide that today has no real or lasting importance we can miss our job for the day. I think that we should all take a minute (30 seconds maybe) to ask God a pointed question that can change the whole day. I think we should take just a moment to ask God if He has something He wants us to do today. After all, we call Jesus Lord and Savior. We do not just get a Savior but a Lord as well.

The lawnmower didn’t change

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Phil 1:6
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

A while back I had not cut the grass for 3 or 4 weeks. It was due to a mix of it raining every time I did have a chance and being lazy (not sure which played a bigger part). The result was the same; the lawn was out of control. I mean it was probably 8-12 inches high in some spots. Also, I should mention I had 50% grass 50% weeds. Not to mention my front yard had a pretty decent slope. All this together created a nightmare of a time. My little walk behind had a terrible time keeping up and didn’t at times. What usually took me 30-35 minutes to cut took over an hour and then it still took me about 45-50 minutes each time after that. It drove me crazy because it was always hard to cut. I had complained a lot about my stupid mower. I could not understand why that stupid thing would not cut the grass… Then I had an epiphany. It was not the mower.

I had always cut it down to the lowest or second lowest setting. Now I was on the highest or second highest setting. Because I let it get out of control I could barely manage to keep it under control. It is a lot like our spiritual life. If we walk away from Bible Study, Prayer, Fellowship, etc. then things start to grow out of control. When we come back to it we are expecting our normal effort to produce an extraordinary result. The lawnmower did not change the request, however, did. My Bible Study, Prayer, and Fellowship has not changed after not attending to these things but the lawn I expect them to take care of has overgrown. What is then required is either a bigger tool or repetitive use of the tools.

In order to deal with the overgrowth, I would have to go back and mow the lawn a few times or I needed someone with a more powerful (and hopefully riding) mower to intercede on my behalf. If I walk too far away from Bible Study, Prayer, and Fellowship then when I come back I need either a drastic move from God or more Bible Study, Prayer, and Fellowship to help cut down the overgrowth. The same thing applies. I sometimes think that the rules of life do not apply to spiritual things but sometimes they do. We need to be diligent in dealing with our relationship to God. He has promised to not quit on us but we have a part to play in the relationship with Him. That is why it is called a relationship.

ooh Mr Kotter, Mr Kotter

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. 2 Tim 3:16

Most believers know this verse and we know that it means the Bible is the Word of God and we can and should trust Scripture, but let me drop this thought on you. If Scripture is from God then it is Holy, and if it is Holy then we must treat it as Holy, that means to set it apart. We do not drop parts of Scripture here and there pasting bits and pieces like decoupage. No we must care for it and use it in it’s proper and rightful places. Some non-believers run around throwing out Scripture bombs because they do not understand it but we have an understanding and are called to treat it properly.

I have been given the privilege to share the word with some middle school boys today and I give it as much thought and prayer as I did when I spoke in the prisons, to congregations, or in weekly Bible studies because the avenue is not of importance, but the Word is of utmost importance. It does not matter if you speak to hundreds, thousands, or 1 the Word of God is mighty and the fact that you get the privilege to read it and share it is a gift from God. Do not take it lightly.

Just a thought,
Mike

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
James 3:1

Think about that

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Philippians 4:8: And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Oh have I got a word for you today my friends.  It is a Greek word that has many meanings that are and can be used in a variety of ways.  The word is logizomai.  In the verse above it is the word behind think.  Think as used above means to reckon inward, count up or weigh the reason, to deliberate.   That might not seem like much at first but if you look at Romans 4:8 “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”  Impute here is the same word think in Philippians 4:8 logizomai.  In both these cases it is translated differently but the meaning behind it is the same count up and deliberate.

What is the point of all this?  Well I have two points.  First is think about the good things, and I mean really think about them.  Count them up and spend time thinking about them, just like you might be inclined to about the bad things.  You can’t help but think about the bad things when something is going on so you must force yourself to think about the good things.  Remember how God loves you, Jesus died and rose for you, you wife or husband loves you, your children, or what have you.  You have good things you can think about.  It doesn’t mean you ignore the bad things that need to be addressed but you do not give them the power to control the rest of your thoughts.  

Second is God does not count or weigh your sin against you.  He does not logizomai them.  Instead He sees you in Christ.  Sure there might be things that He wants to and will refine in you, but it is done from the position of love for His child.  That is pretty awesome if you ask me.  

Just a logizomai,

Mike  

Kinda like Gatorade but different

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

What does it mean to quench the Holy Spirit?  Is He something that can be put out?  I mean Gatorade quenches thirst and then thirst is gone.  Can you get rid of the third person of the Trinity?  Loaded question, and if I was smart I would have started this entry off a little different so I did not have to answer it.  Oh well here we go.

First is no you cannot “get rid” of the Holy Spirit.  He is always there giving gifts, showing correction, leading to the Savior, and restraining evil.  You cannot make Him go away by ignoring Him, and choosing not to listen.  It just won’t happen.  He will be there gently, and lovingly  nudging you.  So there is that you cannot make Him leave or disappear.  There is a day when He will be removed but that has to the end times and not you not wanting to listen.

So what is it you can do?  What is the quenching then?  Think of like a relationship.  You have at least one relationship in your life I assume.  With that relationship if you do not nurture it, foster it, take care of it, or work on it then it starts to fade.  After a while you don’t talk much anymore, and if you do it feels a little awkward because you are really not sure what to say.  You end up talking about things of no real importance or significance because the closeness is gone.  You no longer have that deep connection.  The connection where you are starting to think the same thing as the other person.  It’s just not there.

That is what it means to quench or do with stifle the Holy Spirit.  You don’t listen anymore, you don’t talk, and on those rare occasions when you do it is awkward and you only talk about the weather.  Time with the Holy Spirit can be so much more.  The Holy Spirit is the one teaching and guiding you to Jesus who then leads you to the Father.  It all starts with Him.  Spend time with Him, let Him reveal things to you.  Let Him instruct and teach you about the Savior.  Then when He gives you are hard direction you can take it because you trust him and have developed that relationship.

Just a thought,

Mike

Biscuits and Gravy

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

Peacefulness and thankfulness go together like biscuits and gravy.  Sure you can have them separately but when you put them together you have a dynamite combination.  

In Colossians 3:15 Paul says “Let the peace of Christ be in control in your heart (for you were in fact called as one body to this peace), and be thankful.” (NET Bible)  If you let the peace that comes from Christ control or rule in your heart you will have peace.  You will have a true peace that passes understanding in the midst of everything.  In turn you can be thankful.

Now before you start in on the “if you only knew what I was going through you would understand” speech let me tell you something, I am not at peace right now. I have not been at peace for awhile either.  My wife and I are trying to find a place to live and are not having much luck finding anything we can afford (and would want to live in).  We are trying to figure out how to pay off most of our debt, and a few other issues.  Because of these things I have not been at peace.  I mean as long as nothing else happens I can keep it together but as soon as the dog barks or the little one cries I start to feel like I am going to lose it.  That is not peace, but holding on.  I do not want to just hold on, I want peace.  

So how do I get this peace?  How do I get to a place of thankfulness and ultimately rest?  Simple answer is I let the peace of Christ control my heart.  Mind you that is the easy answer.  The hard part like all things is walking it out.  So here are some simple things I think will help you and me let His peace reign over our hearts.

First, stop looking at the check book so much.  You’re broke and need to pay bills, but if you check the account in the morning it will more than likely be the same way in the evening.  So here is what we can do.  Check your account in the morning and then pray.  Ask God to help you get what you need to get through the day.  Notice I did not say ask God for the money (not that it is wrong to do so, I am praying for 50k), but instead ask Him to provide.  I have had groceries show up on my porch, toy for Christmas, and a ride when I was walking.  You need a new job, house, etc.  Same solution.  Take a look in the morning and again in the evening.  Other than that just ask Him to provide.  He knows your needs and will meet them.

Second, is be thankful for what you do have.  Maybe you are flat broke but you still have something to be thankful for.  Time with your kids, time with your dog, time with your pillow….  Whatever it is, enjoy the things you do have.

Third, feel free to cry.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with crying out to God.  Read the book of Psalms; a good portion of that was David crying out to God for help.  Look at Elijah he cried out to God, Jesus in the Garden cried out to Father to let the cup pass.  Nothing wrong at all with crying out to God and saying please help me I cannot do this and I am so tired.

Again remember I am writing this to me as well as you.  I need to remember and do these things.  My hope is I can take my own advice and let the peace of Christ control my heart.

 

Just a thought,

Mike  

Well then…

/ Mike Farley / Leave a comment

I do not know your background, history, family, upbringing, relationship status, income, race, etc.  It would be impossible for me to know this about you.  These are not things I can know.  What I do know is all of these things determine how you view Jesus.  The sum total of your life leaves you with a few things and a view of Jesus is one of these things you come up with.  So I am not going to waste time telling you the way you view God is wrong because it may very well be right.  What I am going to do however is tell you what God thinks about you.

I am not going to talk about religion, or being “spiritual”, or whatever funny term some use when they want to talk about knowing Jesus.  No we’re going to talk about a love affair.  A love affair so scandalous that none other in history can compare to it.  A love affair so beyond what you have ever heard that is shakes the core of many people myself included.

Romans 5:8 says “Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God’s love for us.”  (God’s Word Translation).  This is the love I am talking about.  A love that gave all, that spared nothing, held nothing in reserve.  You may or may not understand that so again “Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God’s love for us.”  God sent His Son to die in your place.  OH MY WORD!  I cannot express how amazing that is.  Maybe it is just because of how much pain I had in my life, maybe it is because of the pain I caused others.  To know that the God of the universe loves me and gave everything so I can live is astounding, and scandalous.  You need to understand I was not raised Christian, I caused pain, cheated and wrong people, I hurt myself regularly to let out the pain I felt, I took pills and smoked pot to lessen the pain.  I used to hurt every day.  I was in agony.  Then I find that God the one true God loves me, and He loves me so much He died so I can live.  This is love, this is real love.

I say these things because I cannot know what your view of Jesus is.  What I do know is God’s view of you.  God sees you in pain, He sees you cause pain, He sees that you need help.  You are in a hole that you cannot escape from.  So to prove He loves you He comes to you.  I dare you to prove me wrong.  I dare you to honestly and wholeheartedly call out to God and ask Him to make Himself real to you.  If you do, He will show up and shake the foundations of your world.  He wants you to, He has given everything so you can.

So here is the question some are asking, if God loves why is the world so screwed up?  Easy answer because we screw it up.  You can’t blame God because you are a jerk, sorry it does not work that way.  Lets all stop asking about the innocent victim of this crime or that crime for just a second and focus on you.  You cause people pain, you cheat and lie to people, you try really hard but you are not perfect.  I still do these things so lets not pretend OK.  Let’s follow that question all the way through for a minute.

You say if God is love then He should stop the hurting and punish the wicked.  OK we will obviously start with the murders, and rapist, and drug cartels.  But wait where is the line?  Where do we stop and say OK only these offenses need to be punished.  The pain you caused your spouse with the affair you had makes them hurt real bad so you are out.  You lie to get ahead at work causing someone who should have gotten the promotion to get passed over, now they cannot make the money needed to get their child the treatment needed.  You’re out.  So on and so on.  Injustice is injustice and takes many forms.  Trust me you do not want God to give you what you deserve.  You want mercy.  The good news is it is yours for the asking.

Check this out if you do not think this is scandalous enough yet.  This one may blow you away.  God sees everything, but not just everything that is going on right now, He sees everything that happened and everything that will happen.  He is outside of time and a clock or calendar mean nothing.  So here is the thing; God created the world and was speaking it all into existence and said It is Good.  He could still see you, He could see your need for love and a Savior.  At no point was it a shock to Him that you were in pain.  He sees your yesterday today and tomorrow and He saw it before He created anything.  Revelation 13:8 says the Lamb (Jesus) was slain before the foundation of the world.  That means God foresaw your need and was ready for it.  He saw your pain and made a way before you could even call to Him.   He has done everything.  The work, the timing, the planning it was all Him.  He loves you that much.

I don’t know if I can really say anything else about.  I’ll finish with this.  God loves you, and He wants you to love Him.  He will not make you, He will not force Himself on you.  But He has done everything possible to make the relationship work.  All you have to do is accept the invite.

Just a thought,

Mike