God Speaks
Jesus Teaches by Parables and by Examples of His Divine Authority
Verse of the Day: Jesus spoke all these thiings to the crowd in parables; [but later He explained these parables to His disciples.] he did not say anything to them [the crowd] without using a parable. (Matthew 13:34 NIV 2011)
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Watch TBR Day 287
We Respond
Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding each chapter of Matthew 13:
1. What does this chapter tell me about God?
2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?
Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.
1. God knows the hearts of people and how they will respond to the principles of the Kingdom of God.
2. People’s hearts and minds are the soil in which the seed of God’s word is sown. There it will either be snatched away, wither and die, be choked out, or produce an abundant crop.
Prayer:
3. How might I pray regarding Matthew 13?
Thank You, Jesus, for using parables to inform those to whom You have given understanding hearts. You told these short story-lessons to the crowds, but later explained them to Your disciples. As I read the Bible, may my ears really hear so that I truly understand what You said. May I accurately see and perceive the truth. May my mind and heart be sharp (not dull). Don’t let me stick my fingers in my ears or scrunch my eyes closed. Instead, let my ears, eyes, mind, and heart be clear and open, for then, I will repent (return to the Lord), and You will heal all that is wrong in my life. Then I will experience what the prophets and righteous people of the past longed to experience. Help me, please, to understand and apply the parables in this chapter to my life and/or explain them to others. I want the soil of my life to bear a good crop, touching thirty, sixty, or a hundred lives for Your kingdom. Help me to distinguish between the wheat (good) and the weeds (bad), whether that is people, activities, or ideologies, and then look to You to deal with them properly. Use me to help Your kingdom to grow from a tiny beginning to a helpful maturity. Please work Your kingdom principles into every area of my life. Even now, may I shine like the child and heir of the kingdom that I am. Thank You that all Your other children and I are valuable to You like the hidden treasure and the precious pearl. Father God, You gave Your most beloved Son, Jesus, to redeem us. Because of Your mercy and grace expressed at the cross, I won’t be discarded to a place where there is a fiery furnace and weeping and gnashing of teeth. May I be a good servant of Your kingdom, bringing out treasure, new and old each at the proper time. Lord, keep me faithful, even when, as with Jesus, my family and community don’t understand. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Matthew 13?
- I will retell and explain at least one of these parables to _______ (a specific person or group) in the next week.
- I will pray that _______’s (a specific person or group) ears, eyes, mind, and heart will be open to the good news of Jesus Christ and His kingdom rule in their lives.
- I will ask the Lord if and how I am sticking my fingers in my ears or scrunching my eyes closed to something He is trying to teach me or expose in my life. Then I will make a plan to change with His help.
- I will list at least 10 things that the Lord has done that show He values me. Then, I will turn it around and list 10 things I’ve done that show I value Him.
Luke 8
Reflection: Several women, who had been healed of evil spirits and various infirmities, traveled with Jesus and the twelve and provided for them. Jesus spoke to the crowd using the Parable of the Sower and the soils. Later, He explained the meaning of this parable to His disciples privately. His point was that there are different kinds of responses to His teaching. We should want to be the kind of soil that produces a good crop. Just as a lighted lamp is not to be hidden, so the truth about Jesus Christ is to shine forth. If people will hear the word of God and do it, they will be family members with Jesus. The disciples were amazed that the wind and waves actually obeyed Jesus when He spoke to them. Across the lake, Jesus healed a man with a legion of demons tormenting him. Once he was healed and in his right mind, Jesus instructed him to go back home and tell others what had happened to him. On the way to Jairus’s house to heal his 12-year-old daughter, Jesus healed a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. Then He went on to bring Jairus’s daughter back to life.
Prayer: Dear Gracious God, thank You for healing me of various problems, then using me to serve the needs of others. Thank You that You know what kind of soil each person is. I want to be good soil producing a plentiful crop of faith. I want to be a lamp that shines forth for You. I want to be a productive member of Your family by putting into practice everything You’re teaching me. May I obey You like the wind and waves did on the lake so that all who see it are amazed and drawn to You in faith. May I not be shy (or rebellious) about bringing my problems to You and then sharing with other people what You have done for me and for them. There truly is no problem, no matter how big (the death of a child) or how small (a lost coin), that I cannot bring it to You. Thank You, Lord. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, which one of these He wants you to work on or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will ask the Lord to show me how He wants me to help in meeting the needs of His servants, then carry it out.
- I will examine my own life to see which kind of “soil” I am, then cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He applies some “Miracle Grow.”
- I will let the love of Christ “shine” through me.
- I will keep a list of big and little ways that God has dealt with in my life.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.