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Before your head hits the pillow

I’m just a trucker.

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

I’m just a trucker.

Have you ever been asked to do something either in church or in the community that you thought was just too much for you? You may have said, “I’m just a trucker, just a housewife, just a mechanic, just a carpenter, or just a daycare worker!” You could decide to make an excuse and tell them that you are just too busy or that you don’t believe you are up for the task.

Some 2000 years ago there was a guy who was just a fisherman. His name was Peter. Jesus asked him and his brother to follow Him and He would make them fishers of men. Peter could have made excuses. He could have said that he was not equipped. He could have said, “I am just a fisherman!” But that is not what Peter did. Peter quickly decided to follow Jesus. And Peter followed with reckless abandonment! I guess we could say that Peter was ALL IN for Jesus!

In Matthew 14, we read that it was Peter who trusted Jesus enough to get out of the boat and walk on water. Now that faith was limited and He soon began to sink, but Jesus was right there to pick Him up.

It was Peter who on the Mountain of Transfiguration when Elijah and Moses appeared with Jesus suggested that he could build three shelters. One for Jesus, one for Elijah, and one for Moses. Peter, James and John saw Jesus transfigured. They saw His face shine and His garments become dazzling white. Then out of nowhere appeared Elijah and Moses. The disciples were treated to seeing men from the past alive. This was a testimony to the fact of the afterlife. Jesus didn’t even respond to Peter’s zeal, his desire to build lasting shelters. I think He might have thought, “Oh Peter!”

It was Peter in Matthew 16:15 stated of Christ, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” And it was to Peter that Jesus said, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, by my Father who is in heaven.”

It was Peter who lopped off the ear of the guard who was involved in arresting Jesus and it was Jesus who rebuked him and touched the man’s ear and healed him.

And it was Peter who three times denied knowing Jesus as Jesus was on trial for His very life. I can only imagine what Peter must have felt after that third denial when his eyes and they eyes of Jesus met. Luke 22: 61 says, “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”

Peter was impulsive and at times reckless but He was chosen and He was loved. Peter was not anymore physically equipped to serve Jesus than you or I. He was chosen to serve Jesus and Jesus equipped him for that service.

Peter, even after seeing the many miracles of Christ and professing that he would never deny Christ, did so three times. Peter was far from perfect, but he was chosen to serve. Peter got out of the boat and walked on water. He faltered, just as we might, but Jesus was there to rescue him, just as He is there to provide and care for us.

So when we are called to take part in the kingdom of God will we be like Peter, who in all his imperfections, readily said yes? Or will we make excuses? Will we have enough faith to walk on water, to do those things that seem humanly impossible, knowing that Jesus will be there to help us, or will we just stay in the boat?

Jesus knows that we are imperfect. He knows that we will fall, even as He knew that Peter would deny Him. But Jesus still chose him. Jesus still wanted Peter as one of His disciples and He still wants us as one of His followers. So the next time you are called to serve, say yes. The next time you are asked to lead, don’t think of your weakness, think of God’s strength. You are NOT just a trucker…You are a child of the KING!

Before your head hits the pillow

Are you using them or burying them?

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

Are you using them or burying them?

What a blessing it is to know that our earthly death is not final! But what is our response to the amazing love that Christ demonstrated through His ultimate sacrifice? Our response MUST be action. Our response must be – Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. Colossians 3:23-24.

Christ told us what is expected of us in Matthew 25:14-30. This parable about the talents lets us know what we must be doing. A master was about to leave on a journey. Before He left, he gave each of three servants talents. One was given five talents, one was given two and yet another was given one. What exactly a “talent” was in the New Testament is debatable; however it was a large sum of money. Some scholars value one talent at $1,000-$30,000 in our American dollars; others equate five talents to the equivalent of what an ordinary person might make in 20 years of wages. But there is no dispute over the fact that a New Testament talent was a large sum of money.

The person who was given five talents doubled his master’s resources as did the person who was given two talents. But the person who was given one talent became fearful and buried his so as not to lose it.

But this parable is not really about money, this parable is about what our master has given us. The master in the parable entrusted his servants with his possessions, just as our Lord entrusts us with His possessions. Nothing that we have here on earth is ours; rather everything that we have belongs to the Giver, to our Lord.

The Lord entrusts his possessions to us in according to the ability He has given us, just as the master in the parable did. Matthew 25:15 states that each was given according to his own ability. God expects us to use the gifts and talents He has given us. He expects us to use them with boldness. He expects us to discover HOW to use them and then go about doing so.

Some time ago a woman in our church and I were talking about the wonderful service we had and how thankful we were for our pastor. Then she proceeded to tell me that she sat right down and wrote the pastor a note to thank him for his leadership. That woman was using the gifts and talents she has been given. She was using her gift of encouragement to bless our pastor. And I am sure that she will be rewarded for doing so.

Sometimes I think that we look at people who have BIG talents. People who have beautiful singing voices, people who can speak eloquently, people who have an amazing gift to write, people who know how to lead thousands and then think, what in the world do I have? Well, let me assure you, you do have gifts and talents! You may have the gift of encouragement, you may be a wonderful hostess, you may be fantastic with kids, or you may be a wiz on the computer. Whatever gift or talent the Lord has given you, you MUST use it!

What kept the third servant from trying to multiply the talent he had been given? What stopped him was fear! I believe that fear is the devils best tool. Fear can paralyze us and keep us from using the gifts and talents that God has given us. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, or fear of ridicule may keep us from serving faithfully. Fear and Faith cannot co-exist. Fear not only keeps you from doing what needs to be done, you not only fail to increase, but you actually lose what you had in the first place, just as the third servant did.

Mark Dunagan of the Beaverton Church of Christ gives five practical steps to excavate long buried talents: 1) Define your passions; what do you love to do? Ask yourself what are the dreams and goals you had years ago that you may have buried? 2) Don’t get discouraged. Start out small. Talents need to be developed and trained. Talents often take practice. No excellent pianist becomes excellent without practice. 3) Seek advice from others to help you discover and fine tune your talents. 4) Don’t focus on immediate results. Start immediately but don’t think that everything will happen overnight. 5) You cannot use your gift merely for your own personal benefit; find a way to use it to benefit others.

So are you using or burying your talents? I think that we must all acknowledge that we can always do better, we can always serve better. The important thing is to not bury what it is that God has given us to multiply. And remember the words of Ecclesiastes 9:10 – Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

This world, the world we live in, is the world of service, the place to use the talents we have been given. When we die, it will be too late to use them, so use them wisely and use them boldly in His service today!