REJECTED!

SCRIPTURE

Mark 12:1-12 (NRSV)

The stone which the builders rejected

Then he began to speak to them in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a pit for the wine press, and built a watchtower; then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. When the season came, he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his share of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, and beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. And again he sent another slave to them; this one they beat over the head and insulted. Then he sent another, and that one they killed. And so it was with many others; some they beat, and others they killed. He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, 'They will respect my son.' But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' So they seized him, killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What then will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture:
'The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes'?"

When they realized that he had told this parable against them, they wanted to arrest him, but they feared the crowd. So they left him and went away.

MEDITATION—Today is Saturday Psalmody; the mediation is offered as a psalm from my heart! If you would like a more traditional devotion, I have included one of those as well this week!

REJECTED

I don’t want you

Don’t need you

Don’t even care about you.

Get away from me

Always trying to make me

Do things your way

I’m my own boss

Captain of my own ship

I won’t cede control to another

Not even you

I reject your love

Your gift

Your sacrifice

I didn’t ask you to do anything

For me

I didn’t expect you to hang on

That ole tree

Now be gone

I’m tired of feeling

So guilty

BE GONE!

DEVOTION

I’m going to be honest with you. When I read this parable it made me feel very angry. It hurts me to my heart to read about the treachery and greed of the tenants in this story. I can hardly believe how disobedient, sneaky, and sinful these folks were toward the one who had been so gracious toward them!

As I was stewing over their behavior, Spirit reminded me that all of us have been the disobedient and sinful tenants in one way or another. All that we have is from God and given to us in stewardship to be used for God’s kingdom.

But sometimes, we forget that everything belongs to God. We want to withhold our time, talent, or treasure from God. We want to do things our way and forsake God’s commands. We want to hoard the resources that God has given to us to share!

Have mercy upon us! I don’t know about you, but I do not want to identify with those sinful tenants, but the truth is—I must.

And do you know what the worse thing is? This parable is also a story about how people rejected God’s prophets and then ultimately rejected God’s Son—Jesus.

It is sad that Jesus was rejected—and continues to be rejected—by so many people! God’s Love gave Jesus to die on the cross to save us from our sin and gift us with eternal life. Jesus did not stay dead, but was resurrected on the third day victorious over sin, death, and the grave. When we put all of our hope in Jesus, we become heirs to the Kingdom of God and recipients of a life that will never end.

This is awesome, incredible, indescribable, good news! But, sometimes, people cast Jesus aside. They refuse to believe. Or they believe, but won’t accept the free gift. Isn’t that sad?

Mark 12 says, “'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is amazing in our eyes'?"

Today, I affirm, that God’s salvation plan is amazing in my eyes! Jesus is the cornerstone of everything that we are and hope to do. In other words, Jesus is the glue that holds everything together.

We simply cannot make it without Him! It is Jesus who gives us all the love, joy, peace, hope for the future, and attitude of gratitude that we need to live victorious lives!

If you’ve been rejecting Jesus, and refusing to hear or believe the good news, and you want to rectify that today, please pray with me:

Dear God, I am so sorry that I have rejected your son, time and time again. Today, I embrace him with my whole heart. I believe that Jesus died on the cross and was resurrected on third day, just for me! Today, I am putting all of my hope in Jesus. Please forgive me of my sin and fill me with the Holy Spirit. I want to share your good news with others. Please help me to do so, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

SPECIAL NOTE

If you just prayed that prayer for the first time, today, you are saved! Let me encourage you to tell a Christian friend that you just put all of your hope in Jesus. Ask him or her to help you find a Bible that is easy for you to understand and to find a good Bible believing church where you can be baptized and make new friends who will walk with you on your Christian journey!

I would be honored if you would let me know about your decision today by clicking "YES" in the poll located in the upper-right hand corner of the good news blog in answer to the question, "Did God save you today?"

Congratulations and Happy Re-birthday! Your salvation is our GOOD NEWS, please go and share the GOOD NEWS with others!