The Parables of Jesus: Matthew 13: 24-30
24Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When 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 root up the wheat with them. 30Let 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.' "
Our life is a garden. We have to work hard to make sure we're sowing good seeds in our lives. A funny thing happens though, as we move through life. At times, we tend to let our guard down a little, and at that point the enemy can sneak in and plant some bad thoughts or ideas in our heads. When that happens we have a choice to make, we can give up and quit, or we can push through. At some point God will have to deal with the bad things in our lives, and that can hurt, but in the long run we're better off.
-Jeff-
The Parables of Jesus: Matthew 9:16-17
16"No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. 17Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
God has created us with a purpose. Jeremiah 29:11 talks about the plans that God has for us. But what happens when we let that purpose slip away? How do we get back to the things God has called us to do? In this passage, we are the wineskin and the wine is the anointing of God. If we allow God to re-create us, to turn us into something different, then He will pour out His power on us. But if we refuse to do things God's way, He will find another wineskin to fill.
-Jeff-
The Parables of Jesus: Matt 6:28-30
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Often times I wonder if God thinks it's funny that we worry so much. I look at my kids and I see some of the stuff that they freak out over, and I think about how petty it is. Earlier today they were fighting over A PENNY!!! And yet to Olivia it was a huge deal (and Kadin too, 'cause otherwise he would have just let her have it). Our God owns everything, and WANTS to take care of us. So let's not sweat the small stuff today, and by the way, it's all small stuff!
-Jeff-
The Parables of Jesus: Matthew 20:1-15
1"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. 2He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3"About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' 5So they went.
"He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. 6About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'
7" 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.
"He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'
8"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'
9"The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. 10So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'
13"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'
The parable of the workers in the vineyard, basically the workers that worked all day were angry because the land owner paid the one’s who came to work for him at the end of the day the same. Relating this to Christ, God isn’t going to treat you any better in heaven if you’ve been a Christian for 30 years or 1 week. All who truly believe will go to heaven, One’s good works will not get you there. We must all the live the way Christ has called you to live young or old.
Kris McCollum
The Parables of Jesus: Matthew 13: 45-46
45"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
Would you give up everything for the greatest treasure imaginable? Christ gave up everything for you so that you may inherit his kingdom, it wasn’t enough that he saved you from going to hell and died for every sin you have committed or ever will. He also loves you so much that he decided that you would inherit the greatest kingdom there ever was. In this parable a man sells everything he owns for a valuable pearl. It is amazing that Christ doesn’t ask this of us , cause he could, but instead chooses to bless you beyond compare not only with earthly possessions but treasures in heaven. If that isn’t enough to convince you to live every day for him I don’t know what will no one else I know has ever promised me a kingdom.
Michelle McCollum
The Parables of Jesus: Matthew 7:24-27
24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."
This is my absolute favorite parable that Jesus taught, that really teaches us there is no easy way to get to him. How many times do we know we are doing the wrong thing, taking the easy road, or just not obeying God’s word? God made it very clear that the way to get to know him is be immersing your self in the word, “but not merely listening to the word, but do what it says.” James 1:22 If you have that strong foundation when hard times come you will be standing firm in the knowledge of the Lord.
Michelle McCollum
The Parables of Jesus: Matthew 7: 1-5
Matthew 7:1-5
1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. (NIV)
When I used to babysit my cousins, fights would often break out. In most cases, both of the brothers had similar stories. They were the innocent victim and the other was the guilty instigator who should carry all of the blame, and punishment, for the fight. We often find justification in our own actions, but see other’s explanations as a “lame excuse”. We often say things like, “I only did it once” or “what I did was not half as bad as what they did”, or “I had no other choice” when we have faults. When it is someone else’s struggle, we view similar sins as inexcusable.
In this scripture, Jesus reminds us that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It is God’s laws that we are violating, as such, only God has the right to judge our actions in light of these laws. Only someone perfect can judge the intent and the heart of someone. We, with the planks in our eye, do not fit the description of perfect.
It should be understood that God does not want us to ignore or accept other’s sins. He wants us to correct in love, but not judge or punish. 2 Timothy 4-1:2 says “1In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” (NIV)
John Gesick
Matthew 17: 14-20
14When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15"Lord, have mercy on my son," he said. "He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him."
17"O unbelieving and perverse generation," Jesus replied, "how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me." 18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.
19Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"
20He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."Once upon a time, we see Jesus talking with his disciples about their "lack of faith." We're told that with the right amount of faith we can do anything, even move a mountain. When talking with a man whose son was possessed by a demon, Jesus told him to just believe. With faith we can do anything, and yet we see very little getting done. Why!?!
I like to compare faith to a receipt that you get when you pray. It's our assurance that the thing that we bought with our prayers will be coming to us. And really, with a receipt, it doesn't matter at all what size it is. The Bible talks in Galatians 6 about how we should not despise small beginnings, and that's what Jesus is saying here. If you have faith, it doesn't matter the size, because Jesus will help you with the rest.
More faith isn't better than less faith, it just means it's been exercised more. Think about it like a muscle, if you work it out (through using it) and nourish it (through prayer and Bible study) it will grow. If you don't it won't.
What will you use your faith to do today?
-Jeff-
The Parables of Jesus: Matthew 12: 46-50
46While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."
48He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 50For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
At first glance this seems a little harsh, doesn't it? Jesus was talking in church and his mom showed up to talk with him, but he didn't want anything to do with her (on second thought, we're all like that sometimes!). Jesus taught us to obey our parents, and to love our brothers and sisters, so I don't think this verse is meant to put them down, but rather to show that we're all part of God's family! God has called us to be, not his servant, but his child! He loves us and wants to be with us like a father teaching his son t-ball or how to ride a bike. And if you didn't have that experience with your Dad, don't worry, because God wants to be that kind of Dad to you!
Spend some time with Him today,
-Jeff-
The Parables of Jesus: Matthew 5: 25-26
25"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.
When you're fighting with someone, don't wait for a third person to get into the mix. Instead, do what you can to make things right before it even gets that far, because if you don't you may discover that you are in the wrong and then you will have to pay for everything you've done.
Sometimes even when we're right, we can be wrong by the way we do things. And there are always two sides to any story. Here are a couple steps you might try next time you're in a fight with someone:
- Search your heart. Try and find something that you did that was wrong. Even if it was a misunderstanding, try and figure it out.
- Apologize. Say you're sorry for whatever you did wrong. I one time had a guy scream at me and stick his finger an inch from my face. I went back and said sorry for my bad attitude!
- Take the high road. Don't get involved in bashing that person behind their back. Once you've said sorry, you need to move on.
-Jeff-
The Parables of Jesus: Luke 12:21-25
Luke 12:21-25 Also Matthew 6:26
Do Not Worry
21. Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not
worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you
will wear. 23. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
24. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom
or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than
birds! 25. Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
A University in Texas one time wanted to know how much it would cost to
feed the birds in the whole State of Texas....They found out it was to
big to measure! So they decided just doing the city of Dallas.....again
they found out the city of Dallas was still to big to measure! So they
decided again to see what the cost would be to feed the all bird at a
local City park in Dallas for a day.....you know what still to
big...they couldn't measure it.
One of names used for God in the Bible is "Jehovah-jireh" means
"God my Provider." I can't tell you how many times God has provided for
me! Jobs, food, clothing, etc. We serve an Awesome God who takes care
of us. So don't worry just trust in God!
Later,
DJ Jackson
Matthew 5:14-15 The Beatitudes
14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Have you ever hidden under your covers at night to read a book? I know I'm weird, and I may be the only one, but I can distinctly remember trying to convince my parents that I was sleeping, all the while slipping under my blankets with a flashlight. I was hiding because I didn't want my parents to know that I wasn't sleeping. Why do we hide as Christians? God has placed His light inside of us! God has allowed us to shine His light, and yet we try to cover it up.
Peak your head out from your bed and let your light shine a little today.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:13 The Beatitudes
13"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
In the French fry of life, are you the potato or the salt? I'm afraid that too many of us try too hard to fit in, and therefore lose all effectiveness. God has called us to stand out from the world, and to provide flavor for it. If you've ever had a french fry without salt you know exactly what I'm talking about! But there's another thing that I hate even more than a bland french fry, and that's when you go to McDonalds and get the cold fries from the bottom of the tray, when every employee has walked by and thrown salt on it! I can feel it in the back of my throat right now! Ugh.
We need to be different enough to provide flavor for the world, but not so different that we're just obnoxious!
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:10-12 The Beatitudes
10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Recently I was driving around town and happened to see a guy dressed as the statue of liberty selling something, auto insurance I think. What possesses someone to do that? First off, why do companies think this is a good idea? I think the reasoning is that if they humiliate one of their employees long enough, people will take pity on that person and go buy something from their store. And let's be serious now, don't you feel a little bad for them? I mean, I spent so much time feeling bad that I can't even remember what he was selling!
Obviously this person is doing this because he lost a bet of some sort. Or maybe for a paycheck, but if that's true it better be a good one.
My point is, what does the reward need to be in order for you to humiliate yourself? If I gave you a million dollars, would you tell people about Jesus? What about $10,000? $1,000? What about if I gave you Heaven? Would that be enough to endure persecution? Something to think about.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:9 The Beatitudes
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
You want to be a child of God? Jesus said that everyone would know that we are His disciples because of our love for each other. James says that we can't even know God unless we love our brother. I can imagine that seeing Christians fight is a HUGE turnoff to non-believers. One of the ways we shine God's love is by loving others, even at the expense of ourselves. In order to be a peacemaker, we need to be willing to compromise and let others be right, that's what God has called us to do.
Let your light shine, find someone you've been fighting with and forgive them.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:8 The Beatitudes
8Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Oh man, I want to see Him. I think this is one of the greatest promises in the whole Bible, because I can't think of anything better than to be able to stand before God one day. It gives me hope that all of that time that I've spent taking my thoughts captive will eventually pay off. It encourages me that everytime I've turned off a movie or skipped through a sex scene is going to lead me a little closer to the day when I'll be able to look upon Him face to face. And how glorious will that day be!!!
Keep your eyes on the prize, and don't let yourself get distracted by the world.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:7 The Beatitudes
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
One of the sayings of Jesus day went like this: "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." That meant that if someone did something bad to you, you had the right to get even. Interestingly, the reason that was put in place was to limit the amount of payback you could get. So if someone stole your cow, you couldn't go kill them, you just took a cow back. But that's not the point of this verse. Mercy is defined as compassionate treatment of those under your power. According to the law, you have the right to take revenge, you have the power over them. But according to mercy, you're going to give them a pass. If you do that, the Bible says that you will be shown mercy. And let's be honest, before God all of us have messed up waaaayyyyy more than we'd like to admit.
Find someone who's wronged you today, and give them a little of the mercy that you've received.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:6 The Beatitudes
6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Taste and see. The next time you open a Snickers bar, take a good long look at it.
Really, what is there that's appealing about that right there? I mean, if you didn't know what chocolate tasted like, and you saw one of those laying on the ground... I mean, it's brown, it's long, it's bumpy... Do I really need to spell it out for you? And yet even now I'm trying to resist the urge to go buy one, because I've tasted Snickers and they are GOOD!The Bible says it's the same way with righteousness. If we hunger for it, we will be filled. But how can you hunger for something you've never tried? Righteousness is simply our right standing before God. So spend the rest of today trying to do what God wants you to do, and see how it feels. I bet you develop a taste for it.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:5 The Beatitudes
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
I think that we get this verse a little backwards sometimes. We assume that as Christians we need to be weak and allow people to step all over us. Meek does not equal weak! If we're going to inherit the Earth someday, we're going to need to know how to lead! Meekness is not the absence of power, in fact, to be truly meek, you need to have power and be willing to lay it down. If you have nothing, or are powerless and you let people push you around you've accomplished nothing. But if you're strong, and allow people to get there way anyway, then you are truly meek.
Allow someone else to be right today. Don't fight for your own way, but let them win. In doing that, we get a little closer to God.
-Jeff-
Matthew 5:4 The Beatitudes
4Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Grief isn't a bad thing. Especially for us guys out there, we've been taught to cover up our emotions and act tough around people, because that's how men are! However, the Bible teaches us that we're blessed when we mourn. Why? Because God wants to comfort us! He wants us to pour out our hearts to Him, to experience His love and the way that only He can take care of us.
If you choose to bottle things up, eventually it's going to come out. But if you allow God to walk with you through your grief, you will come out stronger on the other side.
-Jeff-
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