“Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.”
Matthew 21:33

God’s Investment

Notice all that the landowner did before the renters came in. He invested sweat equity in planting the vineyard. He took the time to build a wall around it. He dug the winepress—all by himself—before the days of heavy-duty farm equipment and machinery. He built the watchtower. He did all those things to produce a vineyard.

Just as the landowner in Jesus’ story made investments in his vineyard, God has made investments in our lives.

He pieced together 37.2 trillion cells and organized them into what you see when you look in the mirror each morning—cells that work together in such a way that the average person can get out of bed and not have to tell their brain to think, their heart to beat, their lungs to inflate, or their blood to flow in order for all those things to happen.

Additionally, he commands his angels to guard us. He actively watches over our lives, making sure all things work together for our good.

Most importantly, he invested the perfect life of his Son, Jesus, to redeem us from sin, death, and the devil.

Our God loves us. He cares for our lives and has invested so much in us already. He will never stop investing in us!

Prayer:
Lord, you are generous in what you invest in my life. Lead me to live a life of generous gratitude to you. Amen.

I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard: My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. “Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad?” . . . The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress.
Isaiah 5:1-4,7

The Harvest

It was back-breaking work to plant and care for a vineyard—the plowing, the clearing of stones, the planting. You had to wait two years to see any fruit. Yet, this farmer did everything possible to make his vineyard fruitful. But when he went to find good fruit, all he found was rot.

God told this story to describe the people of Israel. He had given them everything they could possibly need to succeed: a homeland, a guide to live by, a place to worship, leaders to help them, prophets to lead them. Nothing more could have been done. Yet, when the harvest came, God found no fruit. His people had rejected him.

Friends, this isn’t a picture of Israel alone. This is a picture of every single person on earth. Even though God has done everything for us, by nature, we hated God. We were God’s enemies. We produced only rotten fruit.

But God was determined not to give up on us. He sent his one and only Son, Jesus, to live in our place, to produce the good fruit that God desired. And Jesus not only lived for us, but also died for us to take away all of our sin and establish peace between us and God again. This good news creates a desire in us to do what God desires to produce the good fruit he’s looking for. Because of Jesus, we can once again be the garden of God’s delight!

Prayer:
Lord, have mercy on me for the times when I take your care for granted. Let me never receive that love in vain, but help me to produce the good fruit that you desire and deserve. Amen.

And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:8-11

Humility Comes Before Glory

In the life of Jesus, humility came before glory. This is especially evident when we see what happened before and after he died. A few days before his death, he voluntarily rode into Jerusalem knowing full well what would happen to him there.

He did not stop Judas from betraying him, his disciples from abandoning him, and his enemies from putting him on trial. “He was obedient to death” (2:8). So he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He did it all for the disciples who abandoned him, the soldiers who beat him, and sinners like you and me.

And because he humbled himself in that way, “God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name” (2:9). If you exalt something, it means you lift it up. God lifted Jesus way up. First, God lifted Jesus up from the dead. Forty days later, he exalted Jesus to his right hand when Christ ascended into heaven.

The message is clear: Jesus Christ is Lord. And on the Last Day everyone will confess that truth. That glory will come for Jesus, but humility came first.

Our lives will be the same. Being a Christian doesn’t stop heartache, sickness, or sadness. It doesn’t give you lots of money. You might not be any healthier or richer than someone else, who couldn’t care less about Jesus. But not even the Son of God himself had an easy life when he became a man. In the life of the Christian, humility also comes before glory.

But there is glory for the Christian! The glory is heaven, eternal perfection, and your own resurrection. For now, Jesus has you right where he wants you—in the nail-scared palm of his hand.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, let the promised glory you won for me sustain me through difficult times. Amen.

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
Philippians 2:1-4

United With Christ

Wouldn’t it be great to live a life filled with the virtues in today’s Bible passage? Then you could effortlessly display patience with your coworkers, selflessness in your marriage, and compassion in your parenting. It would make all those sorts of interpersonal relationships better if you had this kind of mindset.

This attitude, however, is hard to come by. The temptation toward selfish ambition and vain conceit is constant. Human nature is selfish by default. We are all born with the sinful tendency to serve ourselves rather than others and to view our way as the only right way. That, coupled with a culture that encourages you to focus exclusively on yourself, makes the virtues in this passage seem unattainable.

So the question of the day is this: Can you really live a life filled with those virtues, or is that wishful thinking? The answer is yes when you are united to Christ. When you become a Christian, Jesus changes you from dead in sin to alive in faith. Because Jesus lived for you, died for you, and rose from the dead for you, God sees you as a child he loves—a child with the amazing ability to love like Jesus loves you.

God does not see you as some hopeless, lost cause of a sinner. You are forgiven, and that totally changes the way you look at others. You don’t have to be selfish, angry, or lose control anymore. Be united with Christ.

Prayer:
Holy Spirit, unite me to Christ and give me humility so that I value others above myself. Amen.

[Jesus said] “There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ “‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. “Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did what his father wanted?”
Matthew 21:28-31

Which Son Are You?

Jesus told this story to confront his listeners with the ugly truth that they were not as obedient to God as they thought they were. A father asked his sons to work in the vineyard. The first son said no but later changed his mind and went to work. The second son said yes but then never went to work.

Which of them did what his father wanted? The obvious answer is the first son because he eventually did what his father asked. The other son gave the right answer but did not do what he promised.

So, which son are you? Jesus’ story forces you to examine yourself. Do you ever say no to what God tells you to do? Have you ever been quick to say yes to God’s commands, only to continue in your sins as usual?

Jesus wants you to admit that you are like both sons. Neither of them really did what their father wanted them to do. Ideally, both sons would say and do the right thing right away.

That kind of son isn’t in the story. He is telling the story. Jesus is the eternal Son of God who became one of us. This Son always said yes to his Father and always did his will. He lived perfectly as the substitute for all the other sons and daughters. He gave his perfect life on the cross for them as a gift. He did all the work in his Father’s vineyard, and you received all the credit.

Whenever you are confronted with the ugly truth that you are not as obedient to God as you think you are and see the disobedience of both sons in your life, thank God for his perfect Son, Jesus, who takes away all your sin.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, thank you for being obedient in my place and punished for my sins. Amen.

What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.
Romans 9:14-16

Responsibilities

Those of us who are parents have the awesome task of preparing our children for their future. That future is the fusion of two parts—training for the short time they will be here on earth and training for their future in eternity. That can be a daunting undertaking, involving two totally different approaches to achieving a successful outcome.

For their time here on earth, we teach our children to be self-sufficient and responsible for their actions. We teach them to stand on their own two feet. The goal is to prepare them for life on their own, establishing their own families.

Then there is the training we give them to prepare for eternity. Suddenly we tell them that they can’t be self-sufficient. There is no way that they can prepare themselves to live eternally with God. Not since our first parents—Adam and Eve—sinned. From that time on, none of us could keep God’s commands and earn our way to heaven.

Instead, we totally rely on God and his plan for our salvation. We were unable to find our way to be with him eternally. As much as we may have wanted heaven for our future, we had a fatal flaw; we were sinners and separated from God. So God sent his Son. Jesus’ perfect life, his death in our place, and his resurrection brought us back so that we will be with God eternally in heaven. There is nothing we can do because Jesus has done it all by the mercy of God. Jesus was self-sufficient for us.

Prayer:
Lord Jesus, I take comfort in knowing that my hope of heaven is completely dependent on you and your mercy. Thank you! Amen.

‘Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Matthew 20:15,16

Enviable Generosity

Fairness is instilled in us very early on in our lives. Observe small children dividing candy or the last piece of cake, and you will see them exercise precision in a way they never do unless fairness is involved. Emotions run high on the playground when someone cheats, and a group of children walk away crying, “That’s not fair!” Even as adults, the problems that really raise our blood pressure are almost always related to issues of fairness.

So, it would be easy to understand why someone might become frustrated with God’s way of dealing with people. We naturally think he ought to love people as a reward for good behavior. And those who do things like obey his commands and listen to his word ought to be treated better by God. Certainly, those who have done more deserve more—right?

But then we see God forgiving the sins of people who spent most of their lives ignoring him and disobeying what he commands. We can feel it’s unfair, especially after we have spent our lives following him and striving to obey what he commands.

Instead of being envious of God’s generosity to others, we do well to rejoice in it, to celebrate that this is the kind of God we have! One who is this generous to sinners, even sinners like us. When we see God generously forgiving others, we can be thankful he shows that same generosity and goodness to us.

God grant that we celebrate, not envy, his generosity.

Prayer:
Saving Lord, you are merciful to all. Give to me a spirit that is thankful that you have forgiven all sins and promise salvation to all. Amen.

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened. But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry.
Jonah 3:10–4:1

Justice or Something More?

God is supposed to be a God of justice—right?

It’s no wonder Jonah called God out on the carpet like he did. The people of Nineveh were truly evil. They had made a name for themselves in violence and bloodshed so that much of the ancient world was disturbed and anxious. Even women and children were not spared from their violence.

Wasn’t Jonah right that they deserved to receive at least a portion of the violence from God that they so freely meted out to those less fortunate? That would be justice, after all.

So Jonah was angry when Nineveh repented and was not destroyed.

Yet we see something in Jonah that we see in all our hearts. Jonah didn’t want justice; he wanted destruction. The difference between Jonah and the Ninevites was not that the Ninevites loved violence, and Jonah loved peace. No, Jonah had his own version of violence and destruction, which is why he sat on his hilltop waiting for Nineveh to be destroyed. In fact, it seems that if Jonah had the same army and strength as Nineveh, he might have taken justice into his own hands. The only difference between Jonah and the people of Nineveh was that Jonah didn’t have a powerful army at his disposal.

God gave something better than justice to both the Ninevites and Jonah; he gave mercy. He sent the people of Nineveh a prophet to tell them to repent. God spared Nineveh from the fate they deserved. He caused the great fish to spit Jonah back up on the dry land instead of letting him drown. Even as Jonah sat on the hilltop, God sent a message instead of judgment to Jonah. While we might content ourselves with justice in this situation, God had something more for all involved.

We have a God who is more than just; he is merciful.

Prayer:
Father, help me to see beyond my own pettiness to your great mercy. Make me trust that your will is where justice and mercy meet. Amen.

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.
Jonah 3:10

The Threat of Destruction

It’s terrifying to face the threat of destruction and death from the almighty, holy, one true God. The people of Nineveh faced this. They believed God was serious about his threat against them. They grasped the fact that they had fallen under the judgment of God because of their sinfulness. Even with their great military prowess, they could not defend themselves against God. So they turned to him and sought his mercy to be spared from destruction.

And what good news we read next! “God had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened.” The heart of God overflows with compassion toward people. “As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live” (Ezekiel 33:11).

Mindful of our sinfulness, we confess that we have failed to live according to God’s holy will. For this reason, we deserve death and destruction for our offenses against God. We acknowledge that we have no ability on our own to free ourselves from God’s just punishment. Our only hope is that he would have mercy on us.

The good news is that he does! “Because of the LORD‘s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail” (Lamentations 3:22). In love and compassion for us, God laid the guilt of our sin on his Son, Jesus, and punished him in our place. He freed us from eternal death and destruction in hell. Through Jesus, we have peace with God. His favor rests on us, and by faith in our Savior, we live in the joy of the salvation that he accomplished for us.

Prayer:
We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you. Amen.

[Jesus said] “The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt, and let him go. 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. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.”
Matthew 18:27-30

Get Past the Grudge

A recent survey indicated the number one reason people stop going to church is that they hold a grudge. They disagree with something someone said or did and can’t bring themselves to resolve the problem, so they simply stay away from it.

In a parable told by Jesus, a servant who had a massive debt canceled goes out and finds a second servant who owes a much smaller debt to him. Instead of resolving it, the first servant holds it against the second servant and has the person thrown into prison, where it is difficult to resolve anything.

Can you see the relationship between the two situations?

God forgives people for every sin against him. He sent his son Jesus into the world to pay the debt for every sin. Jesus suffered hell and set people free from the guilt of sin and from the fear of death.

But those same forgiven people decide to hold everyone around them accountable for every sin and every grievance, large or small. They nurse grudges rather than forgiving people, who often don’t even realize what they have done.

Then the servants who forget their own forgiveness stay away from church, where the power of forgiveness in Word and sacrament could give them the strength to forgive the people who have grieved them. It’s not a good situation.

Get past the grudge. Forgive the other person. Rejoin the Christian assembly. Stay connected to Jesus! Live in forgiveness.

Prayer:
How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Amen.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32

Where You Get the Strength

My dad had to say it to me and my siblings so often that he ended up abbreviating it. “ABK!” he would call out to the back seats of the station wagon. “ABK!” he would yell upstairs where our bedrooms were. “ABK!” he would say in the backyard while sitting in his lawn chair near the grill and watching us play.

“ABK” stood for Always Be Kind.

We knew Christians were supposed to be kind. We had heard the Bible verse, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” But it was so hard! Siblings were so annoying and obnoxious! And whatever it was, they did it on purpose!

It’s difficult for adults to be kind and compassionate as well. Being unkind seems to come naturally. To be honest, it’s easy to prove that other people don’t deserve our kindness. Unkindness seems to come just as naturally to them as it does to me.

Where will I ever get the strength to forgive unkind people?

The strength will come from realizing that God has forgiven me even when I don’t deserve it. I will get the strength from seeing how Christ treated me even when I was a sinner. My own forgiveness from a kind and compassionate God will give me the strength to be kind and compassionate as well.

There is a hint in the Lord’s Prayer. “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” When I call on God to forgive my sins, I am called to do the same for all those unkind people around me.

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 379)
“Forgive our sins as we forgive,” you taught us, Lord, to pray, but you alone can grant us grace to live the words we say. Amen.

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
Genesis 50:20

God Intended It for Good

When something bad happens to me randomly, I can usually handle it. I figure that God is in control, and he will cause everything to work together for my good.

But when someone intends to harm me and seems to succeed, it is harder for me to handle. I am tempted to lash out, to get revenge, to hold a grudge.

During the early history of God’s people in Israel, a man named Joseph was sold into slavery by his older brothers. He was taken to a foreign country and eventually thrown into prison on false charges. Later he was released from prison and ended up with a terrific amount of political and social power. He used that power to help many people survive a famine.

Then Joseph met his brothers again. It would have been understandable if he had lashed out, gotten revenge, and held a grudge. His brothers feared that and begged him for mercy.

Joseph showed mercy to his brothers. He explained why. Joseph understood his life from God’s perspective. He told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

When people seem to harm me, it is good for me to remember what Joseph said. God is still in control, and his ultimate purpose is always to bring people to a knowledge of the truth that Jesus forgives them and is their Savior.

I may not always understand how God will make something good happen when he allows people to harm me, but it seems possible that eventually, they may be able to learn about forgiveness from Jesus through me.

Prayer:
Rescue me from my enemies, Lord, for I hide myself in you. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Amen.

[Jesus said] “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Matthew 18:19,20

A Watchful Eye

Philip Melanchthon, one of Martin Luther’s friends and fellow teachers, pointed out: “To be present everywhere, to answer prayer, and to bring help everywhere—these are properties of…God himself.” Therefore, Jesus is declaring to us in these verses that he is truly God. We can trust his promise that he is with us because as the exalted Son of God he now “fills the whole universe” (Ephesians 4:10). We are assured that as the almighty God there is nothing that is impossible for him as he always acts for our greatest good.

Jesus is with us individually. He assures us, “Where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Jesus is with his believers when they gather together as his church on earth. Yes, we are assured of his abiding presence when we meet in his name to study and learn his word, to pray and worship together, to plan and carry out his commission of making disciples, to proclaim the good news to people that their guilt of sin is washed away by the blood of Christ, to encourage each other to keep our focus on Jesus with the confidence that he will not forsake us and with the joy of knowing that he is coming back to take us to be with him in heaven.

The gospel ministry that believers do together on earth always goes on under Jesus’ watchful eye and with his powerful presence. Therefore, we will not despair, but all the more dedicate ourselves to the work he has given us as his church.

Prayer:
Jesus, keep me faithful to your word. Encouraged by your abiding presence, help me plan, and carry out your work of proclaiming the good news of salvation to the whole world. Amen.

[Jesus said] “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.”
Matthew 18:15

Win the Soul, Not the Argument

If you have the correct information and fact-checked documentation to prove it, it’s easy to win an argument. If someone is clearly wrong, it’s easy to pull out your phone, do a quick search, and show that you are right and they are wrong. Anytime you win an argument, it gives you a little sense of victory. You feel like you just came out on top.

When someone has clearly sinned and is in the wrong, it may be very easy to prove it. You have the clear words of the Bible that leave no gray area. However, when we approach a fellow Christian who is caught in a sin, we have a greater goal than winning an argument and proving we are right. The goal is not to come out on top. It’s to walk beside the person in humility and clarity and then to come out sharing the victory that Jesus gives over sin.

Always remember the goal of the mission our Savior gives us: win the soul, not the argument. That is what Jesus has done for that soul and ours. Countless times, my Savior could have simply come and proven me wrong. But he came to win our souls, to pay the price to forgive and restore us as God’s children. Our Savior comes through his Word, even words spoken through us, to declare his forgiveness and to win the soul, not the argument.

Prayer:
Lord, give me a heart to see the soul that is in peril with the same compassion you have and to confront sin only to win the soul for you. Amen.

When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.”
Galatians 2:14-16

Be Willing to Hear Hard Things

Sometimes we are in a situation where we need to be willing to say hard things. But other times, we need to be willing to hear hard things. We may need to hear that our words or actions have hurt someone. At times maybe you’ve headed down a dangerous path, and because someone had a hard and serious conversation with you, you are now walking with the Lord again.

The apostle Peter needed to hear a hard truth from his fellow apostle Paul. Peter was not acting in line with the gospel—the good news that Jesus is the Savior of everyone. His actions gave the impression that Jesus wasn’t enough. His conduct potentially misled others into thinking that they had to do works and jump through hoops to be declared right with God. Not only was Peter putting himself in danger, but he was also putting others in danger of trusting in something other than Jesus.

There are times when we read the Bible or have someone share it with us, and we need to hear hard things. The Truth of God’s Word reveals that we have not lived in line with the good news of Jesus. We have trusted in other things. We have lived in a way that has departed from God’s ways. These are hard things to hear but necessary. And when we do, we get to hear the greatest news—that Jesus is enough! God forgave you completely through the work of Jesus, and he forgives us freely, not making us jump through hoops or prove our worth. He declares us right with him through faith in Jesus Christ.

Prayer:
Lord, make me willing by your Spirit to hear hard things so that I can hear and cherish the greatest news of sins forgiven. Amen.