Tuesday, October 22, 2024:
Joy in the Gospels (morning)
Matthew 25:14-30
The Parable of the Bags of Gold
His lord said to him, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a few things, I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”
14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Pondering Point
This parable from Jesus includes a master’s validation of his servants efforts – and leads to mutual joy for the master and servant. That joy is equated to God’s desire to share joy with us! But validation is not limited to our service. Validation of our emotions is another powerful experience. Today’s material reminds us of the power of validation.
Validation requires accuracy about the size of our reaction
and not agreement about the cause. We must always
validate the actual size of our reactions and not try to resize
our emotions into what we wish they were. Validation gets
the size right. Now the executive control center can take
over and handle this event relationally in the way that
rhymes with how God sees me.
~ Wilder, Kang, Loppnow, Loppnow, Joyful Journey, pages 40-41.
Pray aloud
Lord Jesus, I want to be a good and faithful servant of Yours, whether over a few things or many. May Your Holy Spirit empower me to be faithful today and lead me into “the joy of the Lord” – now and in the future.
Five Minutes
Use your GO TO JOYS and ANTICIPATED JOYS to fill a 5-minute window. Remember: use an alarm. If necessary, review the explanation.
Read the identity in Christ
statement aloud
We are the kind of people who are good and faithful servants of the Lord, whether over a few things or many. His Holy Spirit empowers us to be faithful and leads us into the joy of the Lord, now and in the future.
Closing Prayer
Close with thanks to God for these moments together.
Ask Him to bless the upcoming day, then…
GO – in JOY, with JOY anticipating JOY
Tuesday, October 22, 2024:
Sometime During Your Day
Level 3: Savoring joys of the past.
Ecclesiastes 8:15
So I commend the enjoyment of life because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad. Then joy will accompany them in their toil all the days of the life God has given them under the sun.
Pondering Point
Today we kick off another FAQ from Joyful Journey:
Can people abuse Immanuel journaling by claiming their thoughts and feelings are from God? The basic purpose of Immanuel journaling focuses on developing a mind that mirrors how God thinks about the daily business of our lives. To want to elevate anything from Immanuel journaling to the status of “God said” is already an abuse. A better phrase might be, “I am feeling more peaceful now since I am able to see the situation (or person) the way God sees than before I journaled.”
~ Wilder, Kang, Loppnow, Loppnow, Joyful Journey, page 67..
See pages 67-68 for further potential abuses.
Practice seeing God in the present and past joys
We continue revisiting joyful memories recorded on your Golden Moments list. Look for God’s presence in the joys. Invite Him to share thoughts about joys you’re recalling. Again, notice body sensations, attitudes, heart rate, etc.
Journal Prompt:
Joy memory related to childhood friends.
Key Words:
Listening to Jesus...
I, the Son of God, author your days “under the sun,” including your daily bread, drink, and work. It makes Me glad when you enjoy life, eating and drinking with a glad heart.
Joy in the Gospels (evening)
Tuesday, October 22, 2024
Matthew 25:21
His lord said to him, “Well done, good and
faithful servant. You have been faithful over
a few things, I will set you over many things.
Enter into the joy of your lord.”
Pondering Point
This parable often gets applied to end of life, assessing if believers have been faithful to God. That is okay, but Jesus did not share this parable with listeners merely for end of life application (though He was very near His own death!). It can be applied to seasons of life (jobs, positions, roles) or even small slices of life like a month, week, or even a day. If it was a not a good day in your estimation, then address that with God seek to return to faithfulness. If it was a good day, then rejoice with God over your faithfulness. We will plan on both in prayer (and it may be both for you. So, (we pray)…
Pray aloud
Father God, forgive me where I have been unfaithful to You and Your way of doing things. (Pause and share with God).
What can we rejoice over from today? (Now dwell on the faithful and good for awhile).
Review
Look back for previously ANTICIPATED or SURPRISE JOYS. You are training your brain to look for joy. This builds the habit. Recall body sensations and emotions. This solidifies the habit. Remember: use an alarm.
Read the identity in Jesus
statement aloud
We are the kind of people who are good and faithful servants of the Lord, whether over a few things or many. His Holy Spirit empowers us to be faithful and leads us into the joy of the Lord, now and in the future.
Evening Prayer
Thank God for blessing the day, ask for peaceful rest, then GO to sleep – in grateful JOY, anticipating new JOY tomorrow under His grace.
Benevolent Detachment
Remember Wild at Heart’s daily pause activity defined as Benevolent Detachment.
Click here if you need a reminder about this activity.
Benevolent Detachment Prayer
I give everyone and everything to You God;
I give everyone and everything to You.