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But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.
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Today’s message
I have seen people with the same technique, the same voice, the same resume… and suddenly, no one listens anymore. The grace is gone. If God takes His hand away, it's over. His protection sustains us when a thousand fall at our side and ten thousand at our right. Where did God take you from? Who held you when you got into the mud on your own? Remember. Gratitude has no expiration date. If we do not learn to pay our debt of gratitude, we become greedy laborers: we use the vineyard, forget the Owner, and think the inheritance is ours.
Jesus told the parable in Mark 12. The owner planted, fenced, dug the winepress, built the tower, and leased it. At harvest time, he asked only for his share. He sent servants; they beat and killed them. He sent the Son; they said, 'This is the heir; let’s kill him.' It is the X-ray of ingratitude. God prepared the way, doors, people who taught and sustained us. And we? Many times we hold back. The Bible still warns us in Luke 12: to store up without being rich toward God is foolishness. Generosity reveals who the Owner is and who is just a steward.
Two types of things we invest in
- What takes us out of pain: health, emergencies, therapies, any price to stop the bleeding.
- What gives us pleasure: comforts, small victories, treats that tickle the soul.
Gratitude has no expiration date.
Do you see? For pain and pleasure, we do the math and open our wallets. But we almost never calculate gratitude. We pay a partnership to those who promise to enhance a business, but we forget to materialize honor to those who made our lives possible. God used simple church, faithful parents, friends who stayed up late, mentors who corrected. This has a name: debt of gratitude. And debt of gratitude is paid with action, not just with beautiful words.
Steps of gratitude
- List names of those God used in your story and define how to honor each one, within your means.
- Be rich toward God: tithes, offerings, and invest where lives are reached by the Word.
- Lend to the poor: giving to the needy is the only biblical way for God to owe you.
- Break scarcity with a courageous seed: show that money does not rule you.
- Be faithful in the little today; God trusts more to those who manage well what they have.
I speak as one who owes much. God forgave sins that I could not pay. He used simple people to shepherd me when I was a boy. He raised hands when I broke. I am just a steward. I want you to live this freedom too. Honor those who lifted you up. Honor the work of God. Help those who cannot repay you. Break the logic of envy and greed. Grace remains where gratitude becomes an act and where the Owner continues to be the Owner.
Did you know
- In the first century, vineyards were leased with contracts where the owner received part of the harvest; refusing the quota was a serious breach and a direct affront.
- Vineyards had winepresses carved in rock and watchtowers to protect the harvest from thieves and animals — an image of the Owner's complete preparation.
- Luke 12 describes the rich man who expands barns but ignores God; being 'rich toward God' means prioritizing the Kingdom above accumulation.
Key phrases
- Grace is gone.
- We calculate to escape pain, we calculate to achieve pleasure, but we do not calculate gratitude.
- The only biblical way for God to owe you something is for you to lend to the poor.
- I am just a steward.
Translated from the Portuguese original.
Seek
To seek today
Go deeper
Go deeper
SE DEUS TE CHAMOU PARA COISAS GRANDES, ASSISTA ESSE VÍDEO
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