The last will be first, and the first last.

 

1Corinthians 9:24--10:5  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 

25  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 

26  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 

27  But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified. 

                                                   Laborers in the Vineyard

Matthew 20:1-16  “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. 

2  After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 

3  And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 

4  and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ 

5  So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. 

6  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?’ 

7  They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ 

8  And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ 

9  And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. 

10  Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. 

11  And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, 

12  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.’ 

13  But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 

14  Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 

15  Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 

16  So the last will be first, and the first last.” 

And the TRUTH is ---

                                              Words of TRUTH

John 19:35  He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 

John 17:17  Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

John 4:23  But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 

John 4:24  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 

Romans 1:18  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 

1John 1:8  If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

1John 2:4  Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 

1John 5:6  This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 

Give thanks to God in ALL things

                               HAPPY THANKSGIVING

              Heed the Word of God and pray as He says 

   Matthew 12:36, 37  I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 

37  for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”                  
 1Thessalonians 5:16-18  Rejoice always, 

17  pray without ceasing, 

18  give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 

Where are you going?

                                                 
                                              WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

John 16:5-15  But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 
6  But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 
7  Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 
8  And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 
9  concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 
10  concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 
11  concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 
12  “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 
13  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare  to you the things that are to come. 
14  He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 
15  All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 

You must be born again

                           You Must Be Born Again

John 3:1-17  Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 
2  This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” 
3  Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 
4  Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? .....
5  Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 
6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 
7  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 
8  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 
9  Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” ..... 
10 Jesus answered him,........
11  Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. 
12  If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 
13  No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 
15  that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 
16  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 
17  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 

Planting seeds/Word of the Lord

                                                   The Parable of the Sower
Luke 8:4-15  And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable,
5  “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 
6  And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 
7  And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.
8  And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 
                                                       The Purpose of the Parables
9  And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant,
10  he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 
12  The ones along the pat Now the parable is thish are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 
13  And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 
14  And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 
15  As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. 

Look HE is coming

                                                             The Triumphal Entry

Matthew 21:1-9  Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
2  saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 
3  If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 
4  This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying,
5  “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
6  The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them.
7  They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them.
8  Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9  And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

It would be wise to bear good fruit

                                               THE PARABLE OF THE TENANTS

Matthew 21:33-44 “Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 
34  When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 
35  And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 
36  Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 
37  Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 
38  But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 
39  And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 
40  When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” 
41  They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
42  Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 
43  Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 
44  And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.” 

When the lost are found - REJOICE!

                               PARABLE of the lost sheep and the lost coin

Luke 15:1-10  Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. ...
3  So he told them this parable:
4  “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 
5  And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 
6  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 
7  Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. 

8  “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 
9  And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 
10  Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” 

Constant Thanksgiving

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.  1Thessalonians 5:16-18 
A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.   Psalm 100:1-5

 

All of God's Creation Is a Gift To Mankind Genesis 1:28

And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food." And it was so.

And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Gen 1:28-31