The landowner said, “Are you jealous because I am generous?”   Matthew 20:15

Since I was a young child, I’ve been a Christian — and I fully intend to serve God until the day I die. Because of this, the people I’ve always identified with most in the parable of the vineyard workers are those who were hired early in the day. They were the ones who started the job early and did their best to get the job done. They were hard-working, diligent, and responsible, and after doing a full day of work they deserved their pay. I can understand why they would get upset if someone else started work as the day ended and got paid the same wage as for a full day of work. If I were in their position, I too would be jealous when the boss was generous.  That we find it so easy to identify with these workers is a main point of the parable, really. Nothing that we can do will earn us the right to spend eternity in heaven. It does not matter if we follow God for our entire lives or just in our last days; the only way we can enter heaven is through accepting the gift of salvation won for us on the cross by Christ Jesus. The God we serve is generous, no matter when we come to repentance.

God of all the world, we praise you for your boundless, generous love. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Give heed to the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I will pray. (Psalm 5:2)

Before I became a Christian, I thought I already was one. Whenever I was in trouble, I cried out to Jesus. I thought I must surely be a Christian because I was praying. But I didn’t really understand what being a Christian was all about.

When the chips are down, most people do pray. It has been said, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” If your life is on the line, you will pray. I think back on my own life and recognize that whenever trouble hit, I would call on God. I would pray, “God, if You get me out of this crisis, I promise I will serve You. I will do whatever You ask me to do.” He would get me out of that one and I would say, “Thanks, God. See You the next time I’m in a jam.” So in a sense, you could say that I “prayed.” But my prayer life consisted of moments of crisis when I called out to God out of fear.

In the Book of Jonah, we find the story of a great storm that arose on the sea. We read that all the sailors on the ship with Jonah began to call on their gods. That’s what people do in dreadful storms. They will call upon their gods or higher powers. But that doesn’t mean necessarily mean they have a relationship with the true and living God. It’s possible to pray and not even know the God you are praying to.

Christians pray, but praying doesn’t necessarily mean you are a Christian. You need to have a personal relationship with God. You need to believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him.

“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on Earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Have you ever been afraid of the future? Maybe you feel as though you’re in a rut, or maybe you are discouraged. Perhaps you feel that you will have to face the problems and challenges of life all alone.  If any of these things are true of you, then take heart, because you certainly aren’t the first child of God to feel that way (nor will you be the last!).  Jesus had a message for His disciples to give them hope as they faced an uncertain future, so they would not be afraid, but would be courageous. During the last week of His life on Earth, Jesus knew His departure was at hand. So before He left His disciples, He wanted to encourage them. First, He warned them that they would face hardship and difficulty. But then He told them, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, NKJV).

“Be of good cheer.” Take heart! It was Christ’s call to courage in the lives of His frightened disciples. Jesus wasn’t simply saying, “Cheer up. Come on, put a smile on your face!” He was saying more than that. He was saying, “Be brave. Be courageous.”

If you are courageous, cheerfulness will follow. Yes we will face trouble and heartaches in this broken world of ours. It’s part of life on this side of heaven. But we also have the assurance that He has already overcome the world.

And that makes us overcomers, too.

“For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’” (Isaiah 41:13)

A man who fell over the side of a cliff was hanging on to a branch that was starting to give way. Recognizing it was only a matter of time before he would fall to his death, he shouted, “Is anybody up there? Somebody help me!”  Suddenly Jesus appeared, leaned over the edge, and said, “Young man, reach out and take my hand, and I will save you. But first, you must let go of that branch you’re holding on to.”

The man didn’t want to let go of the branch.

Jesus told him, “You must take hold of My hand and let go of the branch, or I can’t pull you up.”

The man paused for a minute and said, “Is anybody else up there?”

A lot of us don’t want to let go. We still want to hold on to a part of our old lives. But there has to be a moment in each of our lives in which we have recognized we are sinners and have asked for God’s forgiveness. Then Jesus Christ comes in. But we have to let go. Some changes must take place.

The Bible says there is a spiritual blindness in all those who have not yet turned their lives over to Jesus Christ. So we must have our spiritual eyes opened, turning from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God (see Acts 26:18). As we yield to God and His will for our lives, we will receive the forgiveness of sins. Then we will see the incredible benefits of making those changes.

But we have to let go of our branch and take hold of His hand.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.   I Peter 3:15

Recently I was challenged to write down all the times God has intervened in my life, including answers to prayers or help that came undeniably from God. I spent days mulling over my past and God’s involvement in my life, but I struggled to recall specific examples. Stunned by my spiritual amnesia, I realized I was no better than the Israelites who forgot all that the Lord had done for them. Nevertheless, the number of entries I eventually recorded created awareness of God’s activity throughout my life.

When we ask for help in remembering, God helps us recall the interventions we have witnessed. God wants us not only to remember but to tell others how we have seen God work. When we are alert, we can see opportunities to tell others about God’s help, healing, and peace and how loving and powerful God is. We encourage others and glorify God when we make known what God has done for us. We also become more mindful of and thankful for our own blessings.  So what has God done for you? What can you do to remember these acts today?

O God, help us to encourage others by sharing our stories of your love and power in our lives. Amen.

Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. (Matthew 14:25)

In Matthew 14, we read about the disciples being tossed by the wind and waves in their boat on the Sea of Galilee. Then Jesus came, walking on the water, at the fourth watch of the night. The fourth watch was the last part of the night, just before dawn. This means the disciples had been at sea for at least nine hours in this fierce storm. So we see that Jesus came to them at the last conceivable moment.

This reminds us that God’s delays aren’t necessarily His denials. Jesus knew what He was doing all along. Why did He wait so long before He intervened? Probably because it took a long time for them to exhaust their resources and completely trust in Him.

Lifeguards will tell you that often the hardest person to save is the one who is panicking. But when an individual is exhausted, when he or she has no energy left, the lifeguard can pull that person back in to safety. In the same way, sometimes God will allow us to get to the end of our rope, to the end of our resources, so we will finally cling to Him.

The disciples were exhausted and afraid. “[Jesus] said to them, ‘It is I; do not be afraid.’ Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going” (John 6:20-21). For many of us, that is what Jesus is waiting for. He is waiting for us to say, “Come on board.” He will step into your storm-tossed boat and take control, if you will invite Him. He will be there for you…even in the darkest night, just before dawn.