Wellington Church of Christ

In the month of December, we’re going to take a short break from our ongoing study of Matthew.  For the four Sundays of December, we will have a four-part series called, “Prepare for 2022.”

Each week we’re going to look at teachings from the Old Testament that will prepare us to live as God intends His people to live.  The lessons are some of my favorites.

This holiday season, we will all face a multitude of opportunities.  Opportunities to do good to others, opportunities to be selfish, opportunities to do good things for those that we love and those that we don’t necessarily like.

One of the best things that I learned when I worked in Recovery Ministry was to ask myself the question, “What is the best thing you can do in this situation?”  The situations always varied, but the question applied the same.

Have you ever allowed someone to win a game you were playing?  How about hide and seek?  Would you be surprised to know that God allows us to win at hide and seek?

Of course, they have good reason to feel this way if they have never obeyed the gospel, but if they have obeyed the gospel, why do so many live with uncertainty?

Did you know that God expects more from some than others?  It’s true.  Just listen to Jesus’ words from this week’s text in Matthew 25:15-

¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability…

If there is only one thing that you remember about the Parable of the Talents, remember this: When Jesus says “talent,” He is not referring to a person’s natural aptitude or skill.  He’s referring to a measurement of weight.  And in the parable, it’s a weight of money.

One of the top religious rumors in our world today is that following Jesus doesn’t require you to change anything about yourself.

The truth of the matter is that following Jesus means losing yourself.

Here’s what that does not mean.  It does not mean that you have no personality.  It does not mean that you are not unique.  It does not mean that God didn’t create you with a special design and for special purposes.

Studying the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew has affected me in ways that I had not anticipated.  Aside from some of the details of the chapter that are prone to easily confuse, the principles of the chapter are clear and convicting.

For instance, since studying this chapter, I find myself throughout the day often thinking about the return of Jesus.

When I was growing up, people in my life would often make references to historical events that I didn’t really understand.

I remember my grandparents talking about what it was like living in Southeast Oklahoma during the Great Depression, the setting for Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath,” before the Joad family began their journey west to California.

There are two main points of the prophecy that we read in the New Testament: Repentance and Encouragement.

 As we continue to study the prophecies in Matthew, these two points are what I would have you to keep in the forefront of your mind, especially when you have moments of uncertainty or confusion.