March 4: 21 – 34
A Lamp Under a Basket
“ And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
I bet your answer is no, but everyone knows that, but do they, how many of your neighbors and people you work with have seen the light of your faith in Christ, maybe each of us needs to pay attention to what Jesus is telling us? Jesus is the lamp He is often referred to as the light of the world, such as John gospel 8:12b, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” My dad often said use what you have been given, if not you will lose it. John Elliott often said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep gaining that which he cannot lose.”
The Parable of the Seed Growing
“And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
It is a rainy day in the Texas hill country, something many of us do not take for granted but give thanks to the Father for the rain. I was a little late on planting all the seed out in my garden, so I’ve watered most days, but today is the day I have been talking to the Father about, the sky opening up with the rain that always brings the seed out of the ground. Now I still have a job to do after they are up, I need to thin them and keep the weeds out of my garden. As followers of Christ, we must plant the seeds of faith, tell people what Jesus has done and is doing in our life. Then, it is important to mentor those young followers of Christ, that we guide them in the truth, for Christ is truth.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
“And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
“ With many such parables, he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.”
My study Bible wants us to know that the mustard seed is not the smallest of seed today, but must have been in Jesus' time. I’m sure that someone tried to make a point of this, in that it is sad, many do not search the word of God for insight but hope to prove it has errors. As I look at my story and Jan’s we can only imagine what a hell this life would have been if we had not been given the faith to believe. If God had not loved us so much that He sent His only Son to a Cross to make restitution for our sins that were many. He also sent in my case, a barber who had found life in Christ.
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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