The Parables of Jesus: Mark 13:33
33He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."
Yeast is a small thing, yet when added to a batch of dough, it makes a BIG impact! A little bit of yeast can change how bread looks and tastes, and the Bible does the same thing for us. The more we're around God, the Bible, and the people in His Kingdom, the more your life starts to reflect Him. You begin to change, sometimes without making an effort and sometimes it needs to be kneaded in there a little bit, but it happens just the same. Spend sometime today with God and His people and watch how you begin to change.
-Jeff-
The Parables of Jesus: Mark 4: 30-32
30Again he said, "What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."
The very first church ever started out with Jesus and 12 other guys. When Jesus made this statement, he was looking at the group that was going to turn the world upside down one day, but right then they were 12. And that's the way God's Kingdom on Earth started. Yet now those 12 guys have multiplied themselves by a billion. The Bible says that we shouldn't despise small beginnings. I know you have certain goals and dreams that you want to accomplish, but sometimes it's easy to look around you and wonder how you are ever going to get there. Step by step, day by day and eventually you're going to grow, as long as you're doing everything you can do to get there right now.
-Jeff-
The Parables of Jesus: Mark 13:33-37
33Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
35"Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!' "
I think the faithful servant is a parable which explains that just as a servant is prepared for what ever his master expects of him we to should be prepares for the day the Lord comes. Clearly these verses say wake up believer! The time is close and we can not wait any longer. Our hearts better be in the right place, we don’t know when Christ will return, He will take all who believe, live, & followed him to be with him for eternity.
Kris McCollum
The Parables of Jesus: Mark 4:1-20
Parable of the Sower (Types of Soil)
1Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. 2He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."
9Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12so that,
" 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'[a]"
13Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14The farmer sows the word. 15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown." (NIV)
I think most of us have seen people who are like each of the types of soil in this story. We have shared with people who never accept Jesus, like the seed on the path.
We have also seen people who come to church or youth group for a month or two and seem really on fire, but then just disappear. These people are like the shallow soil. The interesting thing about the seeds in the shallow soil is what made them wither. Verse 6 says it is the sun that scorched the plants.
The very sun that is required to make a plant grow, is also what withered the plants in the shallow soil. Verse 17 compares the sun to “trouble or persecution”. Challenges in our life are like sunshine, we need them to grow, but if we are not well rooted, they will kill us spiritually. Next time you feel persecution or left out because you’re a Christian, remember that it is what is required to make you grow.
The third type of unproductive soil was the soil infested with weeds. The soil with the weeds wasn’t necessary bad for growing things. It had enough nutrients for the weeds to grow. People with potential, but not the right focus, are like those with seeds sown in the thorny soil. The soil is good, it is just infected by bad seeds. In verse 19, Jesus compares the weeds to the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for the other things. Sins in our life that we just can’t seem to let go of are like the weeds in this parable. They may not choke out our fruit completely, but they may limit the harvest.
When we share Jesus with our friends we are like the farmer sowing the seeds. Take note that the farmer did not prejudge the soil. He did not only sow on the good soil; he sowed the seed everywhere. It might seem like a waste of good seed, but it was not up to the farmer to decide where to plant. If you feel God calling you to share Him with others, it doesn’t matter if you think the person will accept Jesus or not. Our job is to obey God and share. If they don’t turn out to produce a crop, don’t take it personally. We were obedient to God and they were not. However, if you do not share Jesus with them, you were the one who was not being obedient. My prayer is that you will find somewhere to sow the love of Jesus today.
John Gesick
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