14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
16 Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents.
17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
20And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

How many of us have read the parable in Matthew 25 and thought "Ok, I need to do something for God?" Well, Today's My Utmost for His Highest has a thought provoking view of this parable: 

The servant justified himself in everything he did and condemned his lord on every point…. Have we been slandering God by daring to worry when He has said: "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you"? Worrying means exactly what this servant implied – "I know You mean to leave me in the lurch." The person who is lazy naturally is always captious – "I haven't had a decent chance," and the one who is lazy spiritually is captious with God. Lazy people always strike out on an independent line.

Never forget that our capacity in spiritual matters is measured by the promises of God. Is God able to fulfil His promises?

I have never thought about this parable in this way, but it makes you think. Yes, we say we need to work for God, blah blah blah; however, do we really seek God? Everything points back to the fact that God wants a relationship with us. He doesn't care about rituals, He doesn't care about going to church, He doesn't care about any of the "standard" stuff. What He wants is for us to Love him, follow Him, and seek after Him.

Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. 

1 Kings 2:28

Joab stood the big test, he remained absolutely loyal and true to David and did not turn after the fascinating and ambitious Absalom, but yet to wards the end of his life he turned after the craven Adonijah. Always remain alert to the fact that where one man has gone back is exactly where any one may go back (see 1 Cor. 10:13). You have gone through the big crisis, now be alert over the least things; take into calculation the "retired sphere of the leasts."

"Kept by the power of God" – that is the only safety.

How often do we hear of "men of God" who are tempted and fall? How many of these men make the same mistakes over and over (or make the same mistakes others have made)? Why don't we learn from the mistakes of others? If someone has fell "over" some sin in the past, what makes us–me–any different?

In aviation, crashes are studied to the nth degree. They study the accidents to learn from them. That way, the knowlegde learned can be passed along to everyone else. They can take that information and learn from it. If Flight XYZ crashed because situation 1, situation 2, and action 5 caused it, current pilots will learn and not so action 5 when faced with similar situations. Why should we do nothing less in our Christian lives?

I heard a man speak about what Josh McDowel requires people to setup for him when he is in town. He has a male stay in the hotel room next to his. Any phone calls, any delivereis, anything that comes for Josh goes to the guy in the next room first. Think about this for a second. If he always does this, no one could stick an accusation on Josh of receiving inappropriate material on the road. He cannot do anything with the delivery person who comes because he never sees them.

Just like everyone else in this world, we are only human. We can fall. ""Kept by the power of God" – that is the only safety."

I got behind and I had several My Utmost for His Highest devotionals to read today.

Never allow a feeling which was stirred in you in the high hour to evaporate. Don't put your mental feet on the mantelpiece and say – "What a marvellous state of mind to be in!" Act immediately, do something, if only because you would rather not do it. If in a prayer meeting God has shown you something to do, don't say – "I'll do it"; do it! Take yourself by the scruff of the neck and shake off your incarnate laziness. Laziness is always seen in cravings for the high hour; we talk about working up to a time on the mount. We have to learn to live in the grey day according to what we saw on the mount.

How many times do we tell God "I'll do it" only to put it off or get caught up in our day-to-day lives of "just doing everything" that God and what he wants falls by the wayside. Life isn't easy. We need to work at it.

When God speaks, many of us are like men in a fog, we give no answer. Moses' reply revealed that he was somewhere. Readiness means a right relationship to God and a knowledge of where we are at present. We are so busy telling God where we would like to go. The man or woman who is ready for God and His work is the one who carries off the prize when the summons comes. We wait with the idea of some great opportunity, something sensational, and when it comes we are quick to cry – "Here am I." Whenever Jesus Christ is in the ascendant, we are there, but we are not ready for an obscure duty.