Burunche’s Blog

Matthew 13:31-32 The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Mark 4:30-34; Luke 13:18-19)

“He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field. Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

Examining seeds, mustard seeds don’t seem very impressive. A mustard seed measures scarcely one millimeter in diameter. If we base our expectations on the size of a seed, we won’t expect much from a mustard seed. But look what Jesus says about this tiny seed. Jesus tells us that growth is assured and that this tiny seed will become the largest of garden plants, a tree big enough for the birds of the air to nest in its branches.

In the same way, most of the time when the kingdom of heaven shows up, its beginnings are anything but impressive. Look at Jesus and his disciples. Here is a carpenter’s son leading a group of twelve men, including fishermen, a tax collector, and a ragtag collection of other men from villages around the Sea of Galilee. Jesus spends most of his time out in the villages teaching people the religious professionals disdain. Then to cap it off, Jesus dies by crucifixion-what a waste! And yet, within a few decades, Christians are being accused as “these men who have turned the whole world upside down!”

Throughout the history of the Christian Church, this pattern continues. Barefoot saints preach to the poor and found religious orders of priests and nuns that spread education and healing among millions of people. A solitary priest nails 95 theses to the door of a church and sparks a reformation that brings revival across Europe. A group meeting on the grounds of a nobleman’s home begin to pray around the clock sparking the sending of Moravian missionaries and leading to the salvation of John and Charles Wesley, who then found the Methodist Church. The Methodist movement is credited with preserving England from the horrors that convulse France when the poor of France rise up and send nobles to the scaffold.

A little shoemaker in England posts a map of the world on the wall over his bench and begins to pray over it. Eventually, this man goes to India, despite discouraging words from church officials and is later described as a Baptist minister, translator, social reformer, and cultural anthropologist who founds the Serampore College and the Serampore University, the first degree-awarding university in India. A British parliamentarian risks his life and fortune to push for the abolition of slavery. A Scottish weaver prays over his loom and eventually goes to Africa, where he becomes a great explorer and evangelist. A young man rides his horse alone through the dark forests of colonial America to evangelize Native Americans. When this man dies from TB at age 31, his father-in-law writes a small biography that inspires countless others to enter the mission field, including that English shoemaker.

 Matthew 17:20 “So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” When I was young, someone gave me a necklace that had a mustard seed encased in glass as its decoration. This gift was to encourage me to have “mustard seed type” faith. Jesus was trying to teach his disciples that even small faith can accomplish much. William Carey, the English shoemaker/missionary to India was fond of saying, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission repeatedly urged his workers that “God’s work done God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”

Zechariah 4:10 asks, “For who has despised the day of small things?”  Jesus assuredly praises small things, knowing they might have great potential. We are the ones who demand the showy, the forceful, the loud and demonstrative, whether or not these things have substance. When God sent the prophet Samuel to Jesse to select one of his sons to be the next king, Jesse proudly presented the big strong handsome sons, neglecting David, the youngest who was out herding sheep; yet, it was David whom God had chosen. Samuel told Jesse that God saw the heart and not simply the outside appearance.

As we continue in our walks of faith, may we learn the lesson of the mustard seed-let us realize that
“little is much when God is in it.”

LITTLE IS MUCH WHEN GOD IS IN IT Kittie L. Suffield

1 In the harvest field now ripened
There’s a work for all to do;
Hark! the voice of God is calling
To the harvest calling you.

Refrain:
Little is much when God is in it,
Labor not for wealth or fame;
There’s a crown, and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ name.

2 Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem too small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own. [Refrain]

3 When the conflict here is ended
And our race on earth is run,
He will say, if we are faithful,
“Welcome home, My child, well done!” [Refrain]

PRAYER: Our Father and our God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to have mustard seed faith, faith that will allow us to help grow the Kingdom of God. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 13:24-30 The Parable of the Weeds (Ezekiel 17:1-10)

“Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and slipped away. When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.

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?’

‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

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

‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them. 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 into my barn.’”

Once more, Jesus is telling stories to village people, many of whom are farmers. God has sown the good seed of His Word into people’s hearts; however, Satan has been equally busy attempting to deceive. There are those who have believed God’s Word and those who have not. But God is merciful, giving people every chance to turn to Him. 2 Peter 3:9 says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Quite honestly, from a human standpoint, God is sloppy! Given the chance to have divine insight into people’s hearts, many of us would zap people out of existence the first time they did something reprehensible. God, on the other hand, gives people years and years filled with opportunities to turn to Him. In this parable, part of the reason the land owner orders his servants to wait until the plants are fully grown is that wheat and weeds can closely resemble each other for much of the time they are growing. Only when the wheat is fully mature will the farmer be able to tell the wheat from the weeds.

Many times we wonder why good people sometimes die at a young age while nasty ones seem to linger forever. We fail to realize that God is giving the evil people every possible chance to change. Sometimes it’s only as people are aging and facing the possibility of death that they finally become serious about turning to God.

Notice something else: The land owner warns his servants that if they attempt to pull out the weeds before the wheat is ripe, they may also uproot the wheat. Only God knows the proper time for harvesting souls. Disrupt things too soon and someone who has yet to decide to follow God may be destroyed.

One difference between people and wheat is that a wheat crop will ripen all at the same time while people ripen spiritually on an individual basis. Only God knows the potential of a person for good or evil. Years ago, I heard the testimony of a man who had been heavily involved in the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang in California. This man had helped supervise drug sales and prostitution; meanwhile, his godly mother was continuing to pray for his salvation. Eventually, the man came under conviction and decided to leave the gang, only to realize that gang members would rather kill him than allow him to quit. This man holed up in a telephone booth and called his mother in South Carolina, who then advised him to call the closest minister. Gang members surrounded the phone booth, waiting for the man to come out so they could kill him.

Miraculously, there was a phone book in the booth and the man called the first minister whose name he found. When the minister arrived, he proved to be a huge man who was probably an ex-marine. The minister escorted this man out of the booth and into his car, speeding away and leaving the gang members behind. That man gave his life to God that day and served Him for the rest of his life. Later, when I worked in Charleston, South Carolina, I met the man’s mother and she confirmed the entire story.

The point is clear: Had we seen this man during his days as a Hell’s Angel, we would have assumed that he would follow an increasingly evil path for the rest of his life. But God knew better. Only God knows human hearts and only God knows those who will turn away from their sin and serve Him.

The question for us personally is this: Are we weeds or are we good wheat? Are our lives bearing fruit for God or are we wasting our time pursuing things that don’t matter in the light of eternity? Weeds can’t help being weeds, but we have free will and can make choices. We can choose to serve God. Today, ask God to show you whether you are living for yourself or living for Him. If you need to change, God will gladly help you if you will only ask.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives. Help us to live for You so that our lives will bear Your fruit. We confess that we are sinners who cannot free ourselves from our sins. Forgive us our sins and help us to live for You from now on. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 13:1-23 The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-8)

“That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore. And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings. Still other seed fell on good soil and produced a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold. He who has ears, let him hear.”

The Purpose of Jesus’ Parables (Mark 4:10-12; Luke 8:9,10)

”Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?”He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’ In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, 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 tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained (Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8:11-15)

Consider, then, the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.”

Jesus has come to the seaside and has gotten into a boat floating just off land enough to protect him from the crowds. Sound travels far over water so when Jesus speaks, people can hear very well. Once more the village boy is telling villagers stories with which they can all identify. Many of these people have grown up on farms and have sown crops, scattering the seed as they walk. Jesus speaks about four kinds of soil-compacted soil on a path, rocky soil, soil full of thorns, and good soil. Jesus also admonishes his audience, “He who has ears, let him hear.”

The disciples are frustrated. Why doesn’t Jesus just explain everything to the entire group at once? Why does Jesus speak in parables? Jesus says that the truths of the kingdom will be made clear to those who are prepared to receive them. In any group, there are those actively searching for the Kingdom of God, and they are likely to grasp the meaning of the parables without any further explanation. There are those who may not understand the parables immediately but who will go away, think about them, and realize what Jesus is teaching. There are those whose hearts have been hardened by religion who reject the parables as being simple-minded, childish, and unsophisticated. This group includes religious leaders who spend much of their time debating in the temple over tiny details. Some of these men comprise the most dangerous group of all, namely, those who would report Jesus to the religious hierarchy and to the Romans to curry political favor. The more this last group withdraws from Jesus, the less they will understand.

It’s likely that those who understand Jesus’ parables best are the common people closest to the events Jesus is describing. Although Jesus doesn’t give the explanation of the parable to the entire group, he does explain it to his disciples. 

“When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.”

Where do we fit into this parable? Are our hearts and minds prepared for the message of the kingdom of God, or are we rejecting it because it is too simple? Are we enthused when we first hear the message but then refuse to discipline ourselves further to live out the message? How deep are our spiritual roots? What happens if we face trouble or persecution or worry? What if we are depending on money or social position? Can we describe our spiritual condition as that of good soil?

The thing about Jesus’ parables is that they are deceptively simple but working on multiple levels simultaneously. May God help us so that our hearts and minds will be prepared to receive everything God wants to impart to us!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, please calm our hearts and help us to leave everything that distracts us behind so that we can receive Your Word and act on it. Lord, let our hearts be good soil that will produce a hundredfold crop! In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 9:16-17 The Patches and the Wineskins  

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.

Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Although everyone probably understands what Jesus is saying, here he is speaking particularly to housewives whose job it is to mend clothing. When mending a garment, there are two choices: use old material from another garment or use brand new material. The problem with new material is that it will shrink as soon as it is washed for the first time while old material has already been washed several times and has already shrunk as much as it can. Without any old material, a canny housewife must wash the new material two or three times and hang it in the sun before using it to patch a garment. Without pre-shrinking the material, the housewife will be embarrassed when her repair falls apart.

The phenomenon of shrinking material continues to be a challenge. As a 4-H member sewing for competition, I learned to always wash my material before attempting to tailor it into a garment. After washing the material, I would also iron it before beginning to sew. Here in Ghana, we must also soak material in salt water to fix the dyes; otherwise, the dye will run, staining other clothing.

Old leather wineskins have stretched as much as they are going to. As long as the wine in the old wineskins is old, it has already reached its maximum point of fermentation. But new wine is still in the process of fermenting and must be stored in fresh wineskins that are still pliable and stretch.

What’s Jesus trying to illustrate with this parable? Jesus is trying to say that the good news of the Kingdom of God is like new material or new wine. The messages of Jesus will not fit neatly into the current religious structure because God wants to do a new thing and Jesus is His messenger. The old material and old wineskins represent that pre-existing religious structure with all the minute rules and regulations that have been developed over centuries.

There surely must have been Pharisees and religious teachers in the crowd who are fuming over this message. After all, these men have dedicated their lives to observing all these rules; now Jesus is saying that those rules are not important? Some of these men might be fearing for their jobs and positions while those who truly hunger for more of God are waiting to hear what else Jesus is going to say. Jesus has already told listeners that he has not come to set aside the Mosaic Law but to fulfill it. The problem is not with the Mosaic Law but with all the other practices that have been developed during centuries of attempts to interpret it. The professional religious men in Jesus’ day have a large number of dietary rules, rules about what constitutes work on the Sabbath, rules about clothing, and rules about every aspect of daily life. The average person can’t possibly follow all these rules because observing them requires time and money beyond their reach.  

Although we might like to feel superior to the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, we must continue to check our own attitudes. Without meaning to, we may have adopted sets of rules and regulations about approaching God, worshiping God, etc. We might be judging others based on our rules; meanwhile, Jesus has totally different ideas. Some Christian denominations have stringent dress codes, particularly for women. While people should be free to follow their convictions, judging others by these standards can inflict wounds. Several years ago, my husband and I had just returned from a two-year mission term in Ghana and were helping at a Christian camp. One group that came for a week did not approve of trousers, short sleeves, or short hair for women. Unfortunately, I was emptying trash barrels and doing other janitorial work in my jeans and tee-shirts. Because I had been working in a tropical country, I had cut my hair short. The ladies in this group did not welcome me as a Christian sister but glared at me. What they would have done had I had tattoos and dreadlocks, I can only imagine.

Sometimes Christians have been guilty of employing special language in trying to sound more spiritual. There are all kinds of Christian catch-phrases, and there are also all kinds of teachings that bear no relationship to those of Jesus. Such pseudo-religious jargon leaves many people convinced that Christians are supercilious know-it-alls who simply want to appear superior.

What about modes of dress? When we first came to our little village, it was quite common for women working on farms to be naked to the waist or possibly to simply wear a bra. These same ladies would wear tee-shirts and skirts to church along with rubber flip-flops. These days, nobody dresses like that, and only the very poorest wear rubber sandals to church. Now we have a new problem; some young women dress nicely but so immodestly that they shock our Muslim friends.

What should we do with this parable? We must examine ourselves to see if we are dragging around any old wineskins. Are we cherishing practices and beliefs contrary to Jesus’ teachings? Are we demanding that others must fit into molds we have designed while Jesus wants them to come to Him as they are? One fallacy frequently promoted by Christians is that we should clean ourselves up before we come to Jesus. Jesus throws “Come as you are” parties. Come to Jesus and he will clean you up. My husband had smoked two packs of cigarettes a day for twenty years, but when he became a Christian, God convicted him that he stopped smoking. The same thing happened with his drinking alcohol. Nobody at church put a guilt trip on my husband; the Holy Spirit caused him to realize that he did not need cigarettes or alcohol anymore.

If you are not a Christian and someone has been putting guilt trips on you over your appearance, ignore them! Jesus loves you just as you are and if you will trust him, he can tell you what you need to change. My husband has a tattoo on one arm that he has used many times to tell people about Jesus. Jesus can change your spirit and then you will know if there is anything else he wants you to change.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, many of us have been wounded by religious jargon jugglers. Please make Yourself so real to these precious people that they understand that Your love goes far beyond anything they have ever experienced previously. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.      

The House on the Rock (Luke 6:46-49)

Matthew 7:24-29 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.

But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!”

The Authority of Jesus

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.“

There are very few flat places in Israel; the geography is mostly up and down with lots of rock. And in many areas, there are wadis-dry stream beds that can suddenly fill with flash floods from water from the mountains. Villagers know better than to build in these stream beds or in other places where sand is plentiful. But there’s always somebody who thinks he’s too smart to listen to reason. It’s possible that just a few days before Jesus begins this teaching, a local man chose to build in a foolish location. While neighbors tried to warn this man, he continued to lay foundation stones, claiming that there hadn’t been a flood there in hundreds of years, so why worry? Well, this builder should have worried, for a torrential rain storm in the mountains sent walls of water cascading down that wadi, tumbling those big stone building blocks as if they were so many child’s wooden blocks.

This story was far too juicy not to share with any strangers, including Jesus. And Jesus would never ignore such a great teaching opportunity. Now Jesus is using that story, and his audience is laughing and then realizing the force of this message. What is the rock that Jesus is talking about? Jesus is urging his listeners to learn the will of their Heavenly Father and then to passionately pursue it. As long as people rely on anything less than God, they are bound to be disappointed.

We read these words and smile at the illustration, but what does this message mean for us? What are the foundations of your life? Are you depending on your profession, on your wealth, on family connections, on political influence? During the recent COVID epidemic, a 43-year-old computer expert received vaccinations, only to suffer neurologic damage from the vaccinations and losing his job. COVID does not discriminate but kills people of every social class and profession. Recent news articles from Moline, Illinois are warning that the John Deere Company is about to lay off 600 workers. This company has been one of the main-stays of the local economy for more than 150 years, and workers at Deere have enjoyed good salaries and great benefits. Now these families are about to lose that financial security. In some countries, political appointees from one party may lose their positions as soon as elections bring in a new party.

Later, Simon Peter will warn that, “And there is no salvation in any other man, for there is no other name under Heaven given to the children of men by which it is necessary to receive life.” (Acts 4:12) Nothing has changed since Peter’s day; we still must trust in Jesus Christ to have a firm foundation for our lives. When we base our lives on anything else or anything less, we are as foolish as the man who built his house in the wadi. The words of an old hymn express this very well.

How firm a foundation, O saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!
What more can he say than to you he has said
Who unto the Savior for refuge have fled?

In ev’ry condition, in sickness, in health,
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth,
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea —
The Lord, the Almighty, your strength e’er shall be.

Fear not, I am with you. Oh, be not dismayed,
For I am your God and will still give you aid;
I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause you to stand,
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call you to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow,
For I will be with you your troubles to bless
And sanctify to you your deepest distress.

Throughout all their lifetime my people shall prove
My sov’reign, eternal, unchangeable love,
And then, when gray hair shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still on my shoulders be borne.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to base our lives on faith in You, nothing else and nothing less. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 7:13-23 “The Narrow Gate (Luke 13:22-30)

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Let’s talk about gates and doorways. Here in Ghana, as in ancient Israel, one enters a traditional compound through a narrow doorway into one room. These doorways are narrow enough that visitors can’t rush through them with weapons but must enter carefully. The door on the opposite side of the room is equally narrow, making it possible for those in the compound to defend themselves from attack. Even when there are gateways to walled compounds, there are pedestrian gates that are quite narrow while there are larger gates to allow entry to vehicles. Sometimes, those defending cities in Jesus’ day might open the city gates as a ploy to lure attackers into a narrow area just inside the gates where they might be annihilated. Those willing to enter by a narrow gate are demonstrating that they come in peace and may be safely welcomed.  

Here Jesus is advising that those desiring heaven must be careful to do the will of the Heavenly Father. Behaving heedlessly will not get us into heaven.

A Tree and its Fruit (Matthew 12:33-37; Luke 6:43-45)

“Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’”

Many of those listening to Jesus’ are farmers or shepherds and many more have gardens. When Jesus describes unscrupulous teachers who prey on their followers, he can see the crowd nodding in agreement. There have always been false prophets willing to predict wonderful futures for the gullible, particularly if they are paid enough money. There are many such men circulating through the villages draining extorting sums from those who can least afford it. It’s even possible that those listening to Jesus have fallen victim to one of these charlatans. When Jesus is talking about grapes from thornbushes and figs from thistles, everyone remembers the names of those scoundrels.

These next pronouncements are troublesome. Most people would like to prophesy or drive out demons or do miracles. Surely, anyone doing such wonders must be close to God, right?
“WRONG!” says Jesus. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”  Remember that God knows our hearts and God knows our motives. While God might bless our efforts out of compassion for those who need help, our actions alone will not get us into heaven. God forced Balaam, the pagan prophet who was employed to curse the Israelites, to bless them; yet, Balaam was eventually destroyed along with the Moabites. Simply speaking the words God gave did not save Balaam. The pagan priests and magicians in Pharaoh’s court were also able to imitate some of the miracles Moses did; however, there came a point where they realized that a Power greater than theirs was at work.

Looking at the list of deeds that will not get us into heaven, we might wonder how anyone can make it. Each of us is born with a sin problem; no matter what we do, we cannot earn our way into heaven. Sin must be paid for by a blood sacrifice. Jesus Christ came as a sinless man to die as a one-time sacrifice for our sins. We must trust in what Jesus has done for us and seek to do God’s will; only then will we qualify for heaven.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, we confess that we are sinners and that we are unable to help ourselves. Thank You for sending Jesus to die for our sins. We accept what Jesus has done for us. Please help us to turn away from our sins and live only for You from now on. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.      

Matthew 7:7-12 Ask, Seek, Knock (Luke 11:5-13)

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.”

Asking-you can’t receive anything if you haven’t already asked. Assuming people are mind readers and can discern your needs without your making them known is patently ridiculous. Even though God knows our hearts, we still need to tell Him our needs and our problems; that way, when God answers our prayers, our faith will increase and multiply.

Seeking-years ago, a friend had a poster that expressed the sentiment “If you don’t know where you are going, you’re likely to wind up somewhere else.” If we truly want the Kingdom of God to come in our lives, we must be seekers. We must pray and study God’s Word, hiding it in our hearts. If we want God’s perfect will for our lives, we must ask God for guidance. My husband served nearly four years in the U.S. Navy. When a ship is moving, it is said to be “under way.” When a ship stops, it has lost “way,” or momentum; it’s dead in the water and cannot be steered. In the same fashion, we need to keep moving toward God. As long as we are in motion, God can guide us. But if we sit down, demanding that God move us when we are stationary, we are keeping God from working in our lives.

Knocking-old-time door to door salesmen knew that if they knocked and the home owner opened the door, they had the opportunity to make a sale. The more doors these people knocked on, the more sales they made and the more income they had to support themselves and their families. Many salesmen testified that the hardest part was knocking on that door, for once they had knocked, they had committed themselves and then had to follow through. In the same way, if we want things from God, we must persist in our requests, trusting that if we are not asking for the right things, God will change our hearts and help us to make requests that honor Him.

For those on that hillside, Jesus’ stories need no explanation. But we, on the other hand, might wonder at their meaning. How can any parent mistake a stone for bread or a snake for a fish? The key is light, or the lack of it. Homes in Jesus’ day are lit by small lamps burning olive oil, and the amount of light they give is limited. Bread is baked in round loaves, so it is possible for someone to accidentally pick up a stone rather than a loaf of bread. In the same way, snakes might enter a house and even crawl up into dishes on the table. If there is a dish with some fish, a snake might curl up in that same dish, allowing the potential for a mistake to be made.

Caring parents will make sure to give their children bread and fish, not stones and snakes. Jesus’ point is simple: If we as sinful people care so much for our children that we give them only good things, how much more does our perfect Heavenly Father want to give us good things?

 “In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.”  Repeatedly, throughout the Mosaic Law, God warns His people to care for others as they would like to be cared for, to remember strangers because they too were strangers in Egypt for 400 years and to care for the poor, for widows, and for orphans. Later, a religious leader will ask Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. Jesus will answer “You will love the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27)

In the same way that God gives good gifts to His children, we also are to care for one another. We should be as passionate about helping others as we are about begging for help for ourselves. In an earlier age, missionaries sometimes were the recipients of ridiculous things such as used tea bags or rags in place of useable clothing. Long-awaited missionary barrels were opened, only to prove to be bitter disappointments. At times, our hospital has received “donations” that have included discarded pumps for orthopedic foam, spoiled surgical instruments, hospital beds in pieces, and other junk. It’s mind-boggling to realize that people have paid good money to ship this rubbish while giving themselves credit for their generosity. Talk about fish and stones! Such donations amply demonstrate a superior attitude on the part of the donor toward the intended recipients, the inverse of Jesus’ teachings.

One of the fundamental laws of the Kingdom of God is that the measure you give out is the measure you will receive. Computer programmers have a saying “GIGO,” meaning “Garbage In, Garbage Out.” When we act in love, we might make mistakes, but God can correct our mistakes and turn situations around. When we act out of any other motive, the results will be disastrous.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to keep asking, seeking, and knocking so that Your Kingdom will fully come and Your perfect will will be accomplished in our lives. Help us to care for others as we wish to be cared for. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 7:1-6 Do Not Judge (Luke 6:37-42; Romans 14:1-12)

“Do not judge, or you will be judged. For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

It was the talk of Capernaum! A local carpenter was carrying a large beam of wood down the street to a construction site when one of the bright young men of the town rushed out of his house and into the street without paying attention. Before realizing it, this fellow literally ran into his neighbor the carpenter, or rather into the beam. Beam met eye, and the young man wound up wearing an eye patch for the next two months. The accident victim would have garnered far more sympathy had it not been for the fact that he was a Pharisee noted for having a very high opinion of himself while freely criticizing others for the slightest infractions of minute religious legalities.

When Jesus came to town, someone told him this story and he employed it in his teaching. Jesus is not saying that we cannot help correct someone else, but he wants us to make sure that we don’t have anything in our lives with which we should deal first. Many times, we want to minimize our shortcomings while maximizing those of others; Jesus says that to behave that way is as bad as someone with a huge piece of wood in his/her eye criticizing someone else for having a speck of wood in their eye.

It’s really easy to judge others and we do it many times a day without even thinking about it. Someone does something foolish and we call him/her an idiot. If someone cuts us off in traffic, we may curse them, little realizing that they might be in a desperate run to the hospital. When I was in surgery residency, an acquaintance at a Bible study sadly misjudged me, assuming that since I was a doctor, I must have an enormous salary. (Wrong! Doctors in training didn’t make big bucks then!) At the time, I was supporting two children through World Vision and paying travel expenses to interview for pediatric surgery residency. Most of the time, I rode my bicycle to the hospital rather than driving my car. I had so little money that when pranksters lifted the rear end of my small car into the street and the police were ready to tow it, my boss had to appeal to the mayor of Charleston, SC, that I was an innocent victim. Although the towing charge was minimal, I lacked even that much money. My Bible study acquaintance attempted to smear me, claiming that I was a cheat who manipulated people for money; fortunately, others refused to agree.

“Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.”  Here Jesus is mentioning dogs and swine, two animals that are both considered unclean by the Jews at this time. Mosaic Law forbids Jews from eating pork, so pigs have been considered unclean for centuries. The Jews are fighting a cultural battle against a rising tide of Greek and Roman influence to the point that some young Jewish men are undergoing reversal of their circumcisions so that when they exercise in the nude in the gymnasiums, they will look like Greeks and Romans. Observant Jews may refer to Gentiles as pigs or dogs because they refuse to worship Yaweh but worship pagan deities instead and have lax morals. Greeks and Romans think nothing of eating pork and if a Roman really wants to insult the local Jews, he might bring a pig into the synagogue.

Most Jews will consider teaching Gentiles-or anyone else who is hard-hearted-anything holy because they will not understand or appreciate it. To attempt to teach Torah to someone who does not appreciate it is just as useless as throwing pearls before pigs. Pigs will trample precious things under foot and then attack the one who has made this attempt. Hard-hearted listeners will be as unreceptive as the pigs and may verbally or even physically attack.

While most of Jesus’ listeners will not eat pork themselves, they still are familiar with the behavior of pigs. Even domesticated pigs may behave viciously at any moment, particularly mother pigs with litters of baby pigs. (True story-my family raised pigs. I once watched as my grandfather was trying to maneuver a mother pig with babies into a farrowing crate. Suddenly the mother pig went “Whoof!” and shredded my grandfather’s pant leg into ribbons. Grandpa quickly jumped over the lower half of the barn door, leaving the sow in possession of the whole room. Blessedly, Grandpa’s leg was fine; however, I gained a new appreciation for just how vicious pigs could be.)

There is nothing wrong with being kind to people or attempting to share the Gospel with them. But sometimes we must use discernment in our approach. When we realize that our audience is not receptive, it may be time to withdraw and regroup. Many people are won more by acts of kindness than by teaching; however, sometimes we can even be taken advantage of in our attempts to be kind. May God give us grace and discernment to know when to speak and when to withdraw.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to leave judgement to You. Help us also to have discernment in sharing Your truth. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.

Matthew 6:25-34 Do Not Worry (Luke 12:22-34)

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.”

No matter  how insightful all of Jesus’ teachings have been up to this point, they have been merely prologue. Now Jesus is getting to the heart of things. Jesus is pointing to the birds flying overhead, to the grass and flowers on which his listeners might be sitting, and reminding them that God cares for birds and grass and flowers, so why won’t He also care much more for His children? No matter the problems Jesus is addressing during his teaching, the underlying theme is God’s love and care for His children. This message has been lost for hundreds of years. Repeatedly, God has sent prophets such as Isaiah and Jeremiah to plead and warn the Jews that God loves them and that they should do those things that please Him. But few people have listened.

For centuries, the psalms have been chanted in synagogues. Psalm 103:11-13 says, ”For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great are His mercy and loving-kindness toward those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him. As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. As a father loves and pities his children, so the Lord loves and pities those who fear Him.” But the love driving those words has been lost in the haze of religiosity.

Religious leaders have concentrated on developing ever-increasing numbers of regulations to be observed if one is to be truly faithful. God has been portrayed as a stern Taskmaster, ready to pounce on anyone committing the slightest infraction of these rules. Things have become so complicated that the poor and those who toil for a living lack time and resources to fulfill the demands of these laws. For many, attending synagogue is something they do out of habit but not because it gives them any joy. Another synagogue meeting, another reminder of how much these people are failing God. Worshiping God has become a weekly burden. Suddenly, Jesus is preaching a message of love and joy and portraying God as a loving Father rather than a forbidding deity ready to strike down those who flout religious regulations. Little wonder that the crowd is murmuring in excitement; their hearts have been longing for this message even though they haven’t realized it.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.” Jesus knows those in his audience are worried about many things. Will the farming season be successful this year? Will the weather cooperate or will there be a drought along with hordes of insect pests infesting the area? Small-town merchants worry that the camel caravans won’t arrive, leaving them without anything to sell. Housewives always struggle to care for husbands, children, elderly parents, etc. And everybody worries about taxes. Now Jesus’ message is simple: leave the worries to God; He’s the only One who can really handle them. Worship God and desire His will and righteousness; these are the only things worth concern.

In February 1994, our area was convulsed by a small ethnic conflict. Our tiny clinic suddenly became the only source of medical care for roughly 100,000 people who had nowhere else to go. My husband and I were the only clinic workers who could safely travel out to buy medicine and medical supplies. Sometimes we brought back hand-cranked sewing machines and bread flour in addition to the drugs and consumables. Once when bread was unavailable in town, we brought back 22 packages of tea bread for the 22 workers in the clinic. We had to trust God for everything-fuel for the vehicle, funds to buy supplies for the hospital, and funds for our own support. Our village was under military occupation. Many mornings we awoke to the sound of gunfire and had to listen for screaming to determine if we were being attacked. As a surgeon, I had to learn how to do many procedures under local anesthetic or ketamine training nurses to give the ketamine. Throughout this ordeal, God faithfully provided for us, keeping us safe. To comfort ourselves, we repeated these verses from Matthew regularly.

Times change but worries don’t. If you are struggling, print these verses from Matthew out and post them where you can read them regularly and memorize them. The more you study them, the more you will find yourself concentrating on God instead of your problems.

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Thank You, that You can supply all our needs and that we are worth far more than the grass and birds on which You lavish Your genius of creation.  In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.  

Matthew 6:16-18 Proper Fasting

“When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Well, this morning the citizens of Capernaum are being treated to the spectacle of Zachariah, the Pharisee, engaging in his biweekly ritual fasting. Every Tuesday and Thursday, Zachariah fasts for 36 hours and makes certain that everybody knows HE IS FASTING! Zachariah smears ashes on his face, dresses in his oldest clothes and spends the entire day looking as doleful as possible and speaking . Needless to say, Zachariah’s family and neighbors find this performance depressing; in fact, some of his children are so revolted that they are practically ready to avoid the temple entirely. Unfortunately, avoiding the temple will only anger Zachariah, so his children trudge along to services dragging their feet like those going to be hanged.

Jesus makes many revolutionary assertions about the Kingdom of God, and this is one of them. To the listeners on the hillside, the idea of secret fasting is incredible. All these people have ever known is the dolorous performances by Pharisees, who have turned keeping the Mosaic Law into an intolerable burden. The idea that the Heavenly Father might delight in His children and might even reward them is mind-blowing. And if that idea seems revolutionary, there’s more to come.

Treasures in Heaven (Matthew 13:44-46)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Many of Jesus’ listeners are farmers or small shop owners or craftsmen and women. Most of these people have very few possessions; however, everyone has some small box or other container for keeping their most precious possessions. But moths seem to penetrate locked chests, and thieves are everywhere. Petty thievery is rife, particularly theft from market stalls. Everybody in town has ideas about the wealth of the local tax collectors and merchants trading in imported goods. And everyone hopes that their sons and daughters will marry into wealthy families and be set for life. Now Jesus is smiling as he advises his audience to change their focus from an earthly one to a heavenly one.

The Lamp of the Body (Luke 11:33-36)

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your vision is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your vision is poor, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

Oh dear! As long as Jesus is talking about eyes being the lamps of the body, everybody is nodding in agreement. Of course, poor vision leads to being in darkness; however, Jesus is not simply speaking about physical vision but also about spiritual vision as well. That concept puzzles a few people. Then Jesus begins verbally stepping on toes as he warns that his audience must choose between serving God or serving money. You can imagine many poor people in the audience gasping and thinking, “But what’s wrong with being rich? I think I’d like to try having the problems of a rich person for awhile.”  

If we take these teachings singly without looking at their flow, we are missing the main point. Jesus is telling us that the Kingdom of God is a kingdom of truth and righteousness, not merely a kingdom of people going through religious rituals. Jesus wants us to know that his Heavenly Father sees our hearts and knows our intentions and that He knows our priorities. When Jesus says that “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also,” he is leading up to his statement that we can serve God or money but not both.

There’s a book entitled Money Talks; It Says Good-bye!  For retirees who have lost their life savings in Ponzi schemes or in the collapse of savings and loans, that fact is obvious. Banking systems can collapse, leaving depositors with no recourse. So many couples have spent long years working and saving in hopes of a comfortable retirement, only to find themselves working at fast food restaurants. The bottom line is that earthly treasures can evaporate without notice. The more we serve money, the more we focus inward. Serving God allows us to worship Him and to focus on others rather than on ourselves. May God help us to listen to Jesus and to serve Him!

PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to serve You and not money. Help us to trust You, that You can and will reward us in ways we cannot even imagine. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.