Parables from the Master's Mouth part seven

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls who when he found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and he bought it.  Mathew 13:45-46

This parable is very similar to yesterday's parable about the hidden treasure. As we know, pearls are hidden way down in oysters in the ocean. They are hard to find as not every oyster will have a pearl hidden within them. In fact, many do not.

Likewise, what we can take away from both of these parables, among the things already mentioned, is that the kingdom of heaven holds for us many mysteries. The treasures within, are hidden and very precious. But not everyone will find them. They cannot be had because we are intelligent or have great influence or by any way other than what God gives us. 1 Corthianians 2:7-8 says that very thing, and that is that if the rulers of this age had known the secret and hidden knowledge from God, they would not have crucified him. No king or any other power on earth had that hidden treasure due to anything that had to do with themselves. Those that had it, received it only through God.

So many people miss it. They refuse and even deny the need for a Savior in their lives all because they want to think that their own brains and intelligence is all they need when it isn't. Because of this, the kingdom of heaven and all its hidden treasures are off limits to them unless and until they find that hidden pearl of great price, which is the redemptive work of the shed blood of Jesus Christ who wishes that none perish but that all would come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9. 

When we find it, that pearl is worth everything to us. When it gets right down to it, we truly have no need for anything else. And while some of heaven's mysteries still elude us, they do so only for a season because one day, we will see them in all their glorious beauty,  in all that awaits us in heaven. 

Our lives are too fleeting on earth. We have no greater need then the salvation that Jesus wants to give us. But it is up to us. Do we consider God a crutch, like so many do? Or do we look and find that precious gift that we can have only through Christ? God is longsuffering and he doesn't want us to perish, but  He will only wait on each of us for so long and then it may be too late.

February 9, 2019 Promise: I will go before you and make the crooked paths straight. Isaiah 45:2

Thanks for your visit Friends. May I ask a favor of some of you. If you know of any of your family or friends that may benefit from this blog, will you please pass it on to them? I would indeed appreciate it. God bless!

Up tomorrow: Parable of Drawing in the Net

Parables of the Master's Mouth part five

 

Jesus told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened." Mathew 13:3

In the parable of the leaven (yeast), Jesus had several things he wanted his disciples (as all Christians going forward) to know and understand about his Kingdom.

We know that a small amount of leaven added to the dough will spread until it becomes large enough to bake a loaf of bread.

Likewise, the gospel of Jesus Christ started out with 12 people. His disciples. In Mathew 28:16-20 he commissioned them ( later becoming known as the Great Commission) to go out in to 'all the world',baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey all that he commanded and that he would be with them until the end of the age.

But as leaven starts out small, the disciples took the gospel out and it spread through all Jerusalem and ultimately it has worked its way through all the world.

And just as the leaven in dough works in secret to expand the dough, God's kingdom works in the hearts of those that believe. It is not something that can be observed, Jesus told the Pharisees in Luke 17:20-21, because it was in their midst. Likewise, it is not something we can see either because it is in our hearts.

It changes us from the inside out, not the other way around It came that way, through the ministry of our Lord Jesus, his ministry on this earth along with his death and resurrection which was needed for us to not only to spread his message but to reign with him in paradise one day.

Leaven takes something small and makes it into something wonderful to not only eat but to smell as well.

Our lives which have begun small spiritually should do likewise as we grow in the grace of God. Learning his word and spreading it to everyone we know so that his Kingdom will continue to grow until he comes to take his church home to live with him forever. Are we living that way today? If not, it should be first and foremost in the desire of our hearts. He didn't just leave the Great Commission up to those disciples. He gave it to all of us. And we need to embrace it. Do you?

February 7, 2019 Promise: Let us not grow weary for doing good. For in due season we will reap if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Thanks for your visit again today Friends. I pray that you will come back tomorrow for the parable of the Hidden Treasure. Now, what could the hidden treasure be? Do you know? Maybe it is diamonds, rubies, gold? Come back tomorrow for the answer. Til then, be blessed of our Lord!

Parables from the Master's Mouth part four

The Parable of the Weeds

24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First, collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn."

Have you ever had a garden where you have planted fruits and vegetables only having to deal with the weeds that pop up and if not properly taken care of, would choke out the things you wanted in the first place? Maybe you have encountered them while mowing the grass or having to use a weed eater to destroy them.

In this teaching, Jesus is talking about the world and the field represents unsaved people. Heaven is the good seed which is those that have come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, and the place we want to be when our life ends. 

The tares, (weeds) in this account, is Satan. He pops up among Christians to destroy their faith, and lead them astray. And sometimes we don't really know who they are because they hide it so well. Others, we can see as the work of the devil as Jim Jones that drove many people to suicide, or some of the televangelists that have preached the message of the Cross but have themselves committed the sin that they preached against. 

The servants of the owner of the field wanted to know if they should get rid of those people who are not really from God, and Jesus told them "no" because sometimes we don't know who the true believers are and who isn't.  Those that are not true believers are to stay until Christ returns and then he will weed them out from those that are, at that time. 

For more teaching on this subject please go to: What is the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares?

Up tomorrow: The Parable of the Leaven or Yeast.

February 6, 2019 Promise: For his anger lasts only for a moment, but his favor lasts for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning.

Hi Friends. I am sorry I couldn't get this posted this morning. I am got to feeling better and am glad I could get it done. I hope and pray you are having a wonderful day. God bless!

Parables from the Master's Mouth part three

In starting this study on the Parables of Jesus, I got ahead of myself and left out the very first one which is 'The Parable of the Sower.' I apologize for that, and will proceed with this that one today.

The Parable of the Sower

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still, other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

(This is where the disciples then wanted to know why Jesus was speaking to them in parables. And his answer to that question was in yesterdays blog if you would like to refer back to it. After he answered their question about that, he went on to explain the parable of the sower.)

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

The seed Jesus is referring to represents God's Kingdom. The seeds that fall along the path refers to someone that has been hardened to sin. He has heard the gospel but does not understand it, perhaps doesn't even believe it and turns away from it. Satan has then stolen it from his heart. The rocky ground is someone who hears the gospel and is joyful but it doesn't take root in his heart and therefore does not grow. So as soon as someone persecutes him for believing it, he backs away from it and doesn't want to admit they even believed it in the first place. The seed falling on thorns represent someone who hears the gospel, but his interest of it is choked out because it is in worldly possessions instead and he is not concerned with the things of God. And lastly, the seed falling on the good ground is someone that receives God's word in his heart and produces good fruit for his Kingdom. 

And so the question he is conveying to his disciples and to us in that passage is, where are we in this analogy of seed? Have our seeds fallen on the hard ground and our hearts become harden to our sin so that rather we have turned away from God? Has it fallen on the rocky ground so that as soon as someone knows we are even the least bit interested in God, will laugh at us for our stupidity and therefore we turn away so they will stop making fun of us? Has our seed fallen on the thorny ground so that our cares are of this world instead of what will come in the next? Or has our seed fallen on good ground whereby we have accepted Christ, and it has taken root as we grow in his grace and go on to win others to him and work for him in this world so that others might know him too. 

We are one of these kinds of seeds or person as Jesus described hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years ago. They are still viable for today. Which are you? Which am I? It is a question we need to ask ourselves. Our eternal life depends on it.

Reference for todays blog: Mathew 13:1-9, 18-23 and What is the meaning of the Parable of the Sower?

Up tomorrow: The Parable of the Tares (Weeds)

February 5, 2019 Promise: Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures.

Thanks for coming by today Friends. God bless you on this day and every day!

Parables from the Mouth of the Master part two

From yesterdays blog, the question came up in their minds about the reason that Jesus taught the disciples and other people in parables Mathew 13:10, and his answer is given below found in verses 11:17. But then after reading that passage, what do those verses mean?  Here are those verses once again, before I get into what I found.

Jesus replied, " The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you but not to them. Whoever has will be given more and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have even what they have will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables; Through seeing they do not see; hearing they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah. You will be hearing but not understanding; you will be seeing but not perceiving. For this peoples heart has become calloused, they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear. For truly I say, many righteous people longed to see what you see and did not see and hear what you hear and did not hear."

So according to questions.org when Jesus spoke in parables, he only explained their meanings to his disciples because they were who wanted something deeper from God. Those that did not want more from God on a deeper level were left to their own spiritual blindness trying to figure out what he might be saying. 

Because the disciples accepted Jesus as the truth, they were given discernment by which things of the Holy Spirit were made clear to them. And they were given more and more of the truth. Maybe for those that perhaps had some of the truth, as in people that followed Jesus for a time watching his miracles because that was probably what some of them were following him for and not really his total message-well they will end up losing what truth they did have.. How sad is that?

And in today's world, it continues to make sense. People that reject the message of Christ and the Cross, are going to be spiritually blind, unless and until they do accept him. I have a good Christian friend, that is being persecuted for her stance on Christ. And it is going on all over the world and even here in the USA, where our religious freedom was founded on, we are losing them every day due to those that object to and do not believe we have the right to them. 

The good news though is found in many scriptures of the bible. But I particularly like the one found in 2 Chronicles 20:15. The battle is not ours but God's.

One day those people that have rejected God, will no longer be able to persecute us for our belief in Christ Jesus. They will find that they will not have the last word because our hope is in him and not in them. Amen!

For more explanation on the above verses visit:Why did Jesus teach in parables?

Up tomorrow: The parable of the Tares

February 4, 2019 Promise: Lord you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power. There is nothing too difficult for you. Jeremiah 32:17

May you day and new week be full of God's richest blessings! Hope you will be back tomorrow!

  

Parables from the Master's Mouth

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Mathew 13. Parables from the Master's mouth.

When Jesus was here on earth, he taught his disciples and others through his use of parables, or simple stories that they could understand. I think it would be interesting to delve into some of these (listed below) parables starting Tuesday to get a better understanding of each one.

1.  The parable of the Tares
2. The parade parable of the Mustard Seed
3. The parable of the Leaven
4. The parable of the Hidden Treasure
5. The parable of the Pearl
6. The parable of Drawing in the Net

However, before we get to them and for today, down in verse 10 of that chapter, his disciples wanted to know why it was he taught them in in parables.

His answer is found in verses 11-15. 

Jesus replied, " The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you but not to them. Whoever has will be given more and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have even what they have will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables; Through seeing they do not see; hearing they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah. You will be hearing but not understanding; you will be seeing but not perceiving. For this peoples heart has become calloused, they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear. For truly I say, many righteous people longed to see what you see and did not see and hear what you hear and did not hear."

So if you are like me, you may want to know about what these verses mean before we go on to the parables. I will hopefully explain more on that in tomorrows blog. I hope you will come back because like the people that Jesus taught that day so many many years ago, we too need his teachings today and we need to understand them to the best of our ability.

February 3, 2019 Promise: For there are one God and one mediator between God and man. The man is Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2:5

Have a blessed day, Friends!

Huh? What did you say?

A grandfather had gone to his grandaughters home for dinner one day. When he was done eating, he told her that he was going for a walk around the neighborhood and would be back in twenty minutes. But two hours passed before he got back. "Sorry I am late," he said. "But I stopped to talk to an old friend and he wouldn't stop listening."

Listening.  It is an age-old problem for women that complain that their partner or husband is not listening to them. Depending on what website you look at, statistics are different about how many words women speak a day as compared to men. I am not sure about that statics because it is not true in my household that I speak more words then my husband. He is like the grandfather in the joke above. When he sees someone in a store, they have to actually stop listening to him so they can move on to why they were there. In comparison, we have friends where the husband is quieter, his wife is the one that likes to talk and may, in fact, use the 20,000 words a day that one study found.

I am not an expert in those kinds of things but my own conclusion is that it depends on the individual and how they were made by their Creator. After all, he makes us all different. And even though listening can be a problem between husbands and wives or whoever else, the one we should be most listening to is our Creator.

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice. Proverbs 12:15

Back when the debate was going on between two of the presidential hopefuls, a few years ago, I was talking to someone in my family about who we thought would make the better president. In times past, we had always been on the same page so far as our political views. But that time, she was coming up with some crazy stuff about the man that would have gotten our vote. My question that day was, "Who have you been listening to?"  You can't make an informed decision if you don't listen to both sides, which she obviously had not been doing. She had been listening mostly to people she worked with at that time, and that was all the information she had. And it just was not true because if it had been, it would have definitely come out through the media. And it had not. Someone had made it up that she had been listening to.

In all of life, we need to be listening to the people in our lives. To our children that need our attention, right up to the partner we are sharing our lives with, so long as what that person is not leading us down the wrong path. Not to mention others that we may need to be listening to. But first and foremost, we need to listen to God, because he will lead us down the path that leads to him.

We must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. Hebrews 2:1.

God has given us his word and if we pay close attention to it and obey what he is telling us, we will not drift away from it.  God's word is our substance for life. We only need to listen and obey what he is saying to us.


Answers to yesterdays quiz:

1. Which sister sat at the feet of Jesus while he was teaching, while the other sister prepared dinner for him.  Mary.Luke 10:39 

2.True or false: Angels know the day and hour of Christ's return to earth. False Mathew 24:36

3 Who were the sisters of Lazarus? Mary and Martha Mark 11:1

4.True or false: We can become angry as long as we don't sin True. There are reasons we can become angry but never to the point that we do sin. Ephesians 4:26

5, True or false: There is more than one way to heaven False. "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by Me." John 14:6

6.True or false: Able killed Cain False. Genesis 4:8

7. True or False Cain built a city and named it after his son Enoch  True Genesis 4:17

8.True or false: Saul was also called Paul. True. Acts 13:9

9, True or false: Paul was converted to Christianity on the road to Damascus. True. Acts 9

10.True or false: God tempts us to sin. False James 1:13

How many did you get right? I did not know the answer to number 7. There is always something in the bible or in life itself that we can learn.

February 1, 2019 Promise: You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed upon you because he trusts in you. Isaiah  26:3.


Well Friends, here we are at the start of a new month in a new year. I pray that blessings are coming your way and continue throughout the year. Thanks for spending this time with me. I hope you will be back tomorrow. God Bless!