Category Archives: Parables

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Obeying God, Parables, Satan, Seeking God, Spiritual Warfare, Submitted / Servant, Wickedness / Evil

The Tares Among the Wheat – Spiritual Warfare is Real

The parable of the wheat and the tares is very interesting. This is another example of a parable that Yeshua explains directly to His disciples. It can give us some good perspective to understand those around us that seem so completely lost and far from God. It is because they are far from God. In fact they are not even “wheat”, but “tares”.

Matthew 13:24-30 and 36-43

Tares among Wheat

      24Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25“But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 26“But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27“The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28“And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29“But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Tares Explained

      36Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40“So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41“The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43“Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

The wheat and the tares serve different masters. We should not expect them to align, but to be at odds with one another. The tares look like wheat at first, but as they mature and bear fruit one can tell the difference.  They can not simply “get along” side by side. The tares, like weeds, will not be satisfied until they crowd out the wheat and inhibit its growth or choke it out all together.

Additionally, do not neglect the reality that we have an enemy in Satan and that spiritual warfare is real. (For more on spiritual warfare consider our teaching, Spiritual Warfare.)

There is an excellent study on this topic from Shoreshim Ministries by Bill Cloud from 2018. It comes as podcast in 4 parts at Returning to our Roots with Bill Cloud. Scroll down to see part 1 of the Wheat and the Tares and then go in order from 1 to 4.

Additionally, the Barnes Notes Commentary, on BibleHub.com, draws out some additional thoughts around the wheat and the tares.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Am I on the path?, Jesus (hearing from God), Parables, Seeking God, Share the Good News, Study the Word

The Sower and the Four Soils… and What Does it Mean for Me?

We will focus today on the parable of the sower, or as it is sometimes called the parable of the four soils. I plan to come back to the section on why Yeshua taught in parables as it deserves some depth of discussion on its own.

Matthew 13:1-23

Jesus Teaches in Parables

      1That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

      3And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5“Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6“But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7“Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8“And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9“He who has ears, let him hear.”

An Explanation

      10And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12“For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13“Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

14“In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;
YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;

      15FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,
WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,
AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES,
OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES,
HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,
AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,
AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’

16“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17“For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Sower Explained

      18“Hear then the parable of the sower. 19“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20“The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Reflect on this teaching from Yeshua from two perspectives:

  • You as the soil
  • You as the sower

I strive to be the fertile soil and to a large degree I believe I fit that category more than the others. There are, however, times when I let the worries of the world come and choke out the joy of the LORD in my walk with Him. I need to keep working on this to be sure, and I need His help. Which type of soil are you?

Notice that the sower and the seed are consistent throughout all four scenarios. It is not the word of God that is in question in any of these outcomes, but rather the people receiving the message. Thus, if we are obeying our mandate in the great commission to go and make disciples of all the world, we must not judge our effectiveness by the outcome with specific individuals. There is more going on than just us as sowers and God’s word as the seed.

This is also why we are instructed not to simply dwell on one person in trying to “force” the gospel on them. If they reject it, we are to move on, or “shake the dust from our feet” (What does it mean to shake the dust off your feet_ _ GotQuestions.org). What good would it do for the sower to simply keep throwing seed on the path or the rocky soil? What if there is more fertile soil just “down the road” that he could find if he would shift his focus?

What changes should you make specific to your life in light of today’s scripture?

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Faith / Trusting God, Father / Yahweh, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Parables, Righteousness / Serving God, Sin, Worldliness

Yeshua Is The Vine And We Are The Branches

John 15 documents a great visual that Yeshua provided to help us as His followers. Read the scripture and then we can review some key points afterwards.

John 15:1-11

Jesus Is the Vine—Followers Are Branches

     1“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. 3“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. 5“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. 6“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. 7“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11“These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.

Let’s review a few key points that jump out to me. You may find others as well.

  • Yeshua is the vine. He is essential to supply the branches.
  • The Father is the vinedresser. He is in control.
  • Disciples of Yeshua are the branches. Our purpose is to bear His fruit. We must stay connected to Him to remain healthy and effective. We can not “go it alone”.
  • The Father will remove branches that bear no fruit. They will be cast aside and burned. This should get our attention as a stern warning.  Arguably He is talking about those who claim to follow Him or did follow Him at one time follow Him. Those who never knew Him would not be branches connected on the vine to Yeshua. We must not grow complacent! Challenge ourselves to keep knowing, loving, and serving our Father… bearing His fruit rather than our own.
  • Even those branches that bear fruit, shall be pruned by the Father so that we will bear even more fruit. Pruning is sometimes a difficult process for the branch, but it helps!
  • Yeshua also, as is common in scripture, ties together our obedience to God’s commandments with our love for Him.
  • He wants us to be joyful! It is His joy in us, not joy we achieve on our own apart from Him.

Prayerfully reflect on this visualization for our relationship with our Father and ask Him to show you areas in your life where you may be able to apply the word. Reflect on whether or not you bear fruit, and if so, if it is the Father’s fruit. When you may be going through difficult situations, consider perhaps that He may be pruning you to bear even more fruit in the future. Seek to understand His commandments so that you may obey them to demonstrate your love for Him. Pray for Him to help you experience His joy in you!

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Compassionate, Faith / Trusting God, Guide, Jesus Christ / Yeshua, Joy / Happiness / Rejoicing, Loving / Kind, Obeying God, Parables, Peace / Rest, Protector / Deliverer, Scripture (e.g. Bible)

Jesus Is The Door and The Good Shepherd

The teaching of Yeshua continues to set many free from the power of sin and death while at the same time causes many more to argue that it is nonsense, or in the case of John 10, that it is from a man who is “demon-possessed”. The truth is that He is the good shepherd. He lays down His life for His sheep. Satan is real. He is the enemy. He knows He can not win, but He wants to steal, kill, and destroy… separating people from relationship with YHWH.

What a blessing to have a good shepherd to protect us. Let us seek to listen to and obey His voice. A good practice is to confirm that whatever you think He is telling you is consistent with the written word of YHWH in the Bible. Many are misled by their own feelings and perhaps even deception by demons. Yeshua’s voice will line up with scripture just as His life on earth and His teachings did.

John 10:1-21

Parable of the Good Shepherd

      1“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.2“But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep. 3“To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4“When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5“A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” 6This figure of speech Jesus spoke to them, but they did not understand what those things were which He had been saying to them.

      7So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8“All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

      11“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12“He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13“He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. 14“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, 15even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. 16“I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd. 17“For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. 18“No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

      19A division occurred again among the Jews because of these words. 20Many of them were saying, “He has a demon and is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” 21Others were saying, “These are not the sayings of one demon-possessed. A demon cannot open the eyes of the blind, can he?”

Do not be dismayed that many will reject His word. Many actually say they accept it, but it is in name only. They change the word and make up their own interpretations to live by. They change God to their image instead of changing themselves to His. However, let us rejoice in our good shepherd. He protects us. He makes a way for us to be forgiven. Ask Him for ears to hear and eyes to see the world clearly as if through His eyes and ears. Study scripture yourself. Do not rely solely on a pastor or parent or friend. True teaching lines up with the written word. Pray that He helps you to hear His voice clearly and obey. In this we will find true joy and peace regardless of circumstances that may happen around us.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Arrogance, Humility, Jesus (hearing from God), Parables, Repenting from Sin

Humility Draws Us Nearer To Our Father

“… for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” [Yeshua]

Luke 18:9-15

The Pharisee and the Publican

     9And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11“The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12‘I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13“But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14“I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Humility allows us to draw closer to our Father. Pride and self sufficiency create barriers to keep us separate from Him. We are all sinners, though not with the same sins. Let us all come before Him with humility and a repentant heart. Let us not grow complacent with where we are in our journey to Him, for if we think we have reached the destination, that is as far as we will ever go.

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Do you know for sure if you will go to heaven or hell when you die? Are you experiencing in your life the peace and joy of a personal relationship with our Creator and Father? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Doubt / Lacking Faith, Faith / Trusting God, Grace / Forgiveness, Heaven and Hell, Justice / Judgment, Loving / Kind, Obeying God, Parables, Purposeful / Intentional, Repenting from Sin, Worldliness

This Offer Expires When You Do

YHWH graciously and with lovingkindness allows us our entire lifetime to repent and turn to Him… to make Him lord over our lives… to ask forgiveness. But the offer of forgiveness does expire… it expires when we do. Once we die and move on to either heaven or hell, it is too late. There is no amount of prayer or regret that can influence where we spend our eternity after we die. We were given the chance and chose to go our own way.

Luke 16:19-31

The Rich Man and Lazarus

      19“Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20“And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22“Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23“In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24“And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ 25“But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ 27“And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— 28for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29“But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30“But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ 31“But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Consider verse 31, YHWH has indeed raised Yeshua from the dead and documented it well. Yet many refuse to believe even with someone raised from the dead.

Reflect on your life and the lives of those you know and love now, while you have time. If there are some you want to reach, if you need to repent and seek forgiveness… do so without delay. None of our tomorrow’s are promised to us, no matter how young and healthy we may be. Eternity is at stake.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Diligent / Hard Worker, Greed, Parables, Purposeful / Intentional, Righteousness / Serving God, Seeking God, Wise, Worldliness

A Lesson We Can Learn From The Worldy

Luke 16 documents a teaching from Yeshua which on the surface may be confusing to some… appearing as if Yeshua Praising The Unrighteousness Of A Servant To His Master. This is certainly not the case. It becomes obvious when studied in the broader context of scripture, however let’s look at the specific passage in Luke. However, there is a lesson for us as believers to pay attention to in this passage of scripture. Let’s be careful not to miss it.

Luke 16:1-9

The Unrighteous Steward

     1Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. 2“And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4‘I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ 5“And he summoned each one of his master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6“And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7“Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8“And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. 9“And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

 The master praised the unrighteous steward only in his cleverness, not in his dishonest actions. Often the worldly, hungry for selfish gain, demonstrate great cleverness in their selfish pursuits.  They have a passion and are driven to accomplish their goals no matter what the barrier or setback. Followers of Christ, on the other hand, may often be susceptible to complacency and fail to pursue their relationship with Him as passionately and with as much drive as the unrighteous pursue their goals.

Further, we all have temporary access to resources in this life. We have different amounts we steward, but none of it is ours. It all belongs to our master, the Lord. Will we use it wisely and store up treasure in heaven for when we no longer have the opportunity to use it? or will we squander the opportunity just wasting it on ourselves and have nothing to show for it at the end of our lives? There is no one but God in whom we can invest that can help us in eternity.

Let us focus on the right object to pursue, the Father through Yeshua, but then also pursue Him with passion, drive, cleverness, even desperation greater than the unrighteous pursue their selfish gain. Settle not into complacency and “comfort zone”, but ambitiously pursue God and our relationship with Him. In this way we will live a fulfilling life pleasing to Him and store up treasure in heaven.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Faith / Trusting God, Faithful, Guide, Obeying God, Parables, Purposeful / Intentional, Seeking God, Study the Word, Teachable, Worldliness

He Who Is Faithful In Little Things, Is Faithful In Much

Yeshua is teaching at several levels in Luke 16. The parable highlights the cleverness that those of the world often demonstrate in their pursuit of selfish gain and reminds us as believers that we should act with similar enthusiasm and desperation to seek and honor the Lord… though clearly we act with different motivations and goals.

At a broader level, the Lord is also reminding us of another lesson we each should take to heart…

Luke 16:10 “He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much.

We should take heart. Every day we are alive we have an opportunity to honor and glorify YHWH through our actions and attitudes. The more we demonstrate we are worthy to be trusted as His servants, the more He trusts us with. This is not necessarily financial gain, but rather even richer treasure than money and gold… the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 16:1-16

      1Now He was also saying to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and this manager was reported to him as squandering his possessions. 2“And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an accounting of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ 3“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg. 4‘I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the management people will welcome me into their homes.’ 5“And he summoned each one of his master’s debtors, and he began saying to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6“And he said, ‘A hundred measures of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’ 7“Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred measures of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’ 8“And his master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the sons of this age are more shrewd in relation to their own kind than the sons of light. 9“And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings.

      10“He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. 11“Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you? 12“And if you have not been faithful in the use of that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13“No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

      14Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening to all these things and were scoffing at Him. 15And He said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.

      16“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. 17“But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.

The Pharisees are rebuked because they could not be trusted with the Law and the Prophets. They led the people astray. As such, they would not be trusted for YHWH to reveal to them the gospel of the kingdom of God. They could not see and understand who Yeshua was, because they were not trustworthy before YHWH. If they were genuine in their faith, their entire history and faith was leading them to look for Messiah to come. When He came, they missed it… because they were not trustworthy before the Lord in lesser things.

Devote yourself to prayer, worship, and Bible study. Set aside time to listen to the Lord and ask the Spirit to transform you from within to be trustworthy and loyal servant. Demonstrate your faith by obeying YHWH in small things He has already entrusted to you. He will trust you with more as time goes on and you demonstrate you are worthy of His trust. He will reveal to you the kingdom of God. Don’t miss it for want of temporary pleasures and gain of this world. There is no greater joy than walking in relationship with Him.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

 

Compassionate, Consequences of Sin, Disobeying, Rebelling Against, Ignoring God, Faithful, Father / Yahweh, Grace / Forgiveness, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Humility, Parables, Repenting from Sin, Seeking God, Slow to Anger, Thankfulness

A Parable For Those Who Reject YHWH… You Can Return. He Is Waiting Eagerly For You.

Don’t overlook this parable because you know it well. Take time to read it and really dwell on it. Pray for God to really open your eyes to its core message in a personal way.

YHWH is the forgiving Father. Many of us are or have been the prodigal son. Many openly and consciously choose to reject and leave our Father for what they think is a better life. They may leave with the utmost of disrespect to Him. This is different than simply being lost and not knowing the way. The prodigal son made a conscious choice to leave and seek something else he thought was better.

The Father lets us go. He will not chase us down and beg us to stay. We are granted freedom. However, for those who are fortunate enough to realize later how bad the choice is that they made… if they repent and come back to the Father, He will run to meet them. He is always ready to accept us back, no matter how much disrespect we showed Him by our leaving Him. But we must choose to humble ourselves, repent from our selfish and wicked ways, and return to the Father asking forgiveness and committing ourselves to obedience to Him.

Luke 15:11-32

The Prodigal Son

     11And He said, “A man had two sons. 12“The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. 13“And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. 14“Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. 15“So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. 16“And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. 17“But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! 18‘I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; 19I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.”’ 20“So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21“And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22“But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; 23and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate.

      25“Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. 26“And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. 27“And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28“But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. 29“But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; 30but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ 31“And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32‘But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”

What amazing grace and love our Father has for us! Praise Him and come with thankful heart.

Psalm 84:10

       10For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.

Compassionate, Faithful, Grace / Forgiveness, His Ways Are Not Our Ways, Loving / Kind, Merciful, Parables, Praise / Worship / Glorify God, Thankfulness

He Seeks That Which Is Lost

Rejoice that we serve a loving and kind Lord and master than loves each of us enough to pursue us. We are each important to Him. No matter how many or how few are the people who follow Him, He loves us and pursues us… even when we are not (or were not) pursuing Him.

Luke 15:1-10

The Lost Sheep

     1Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. 2Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

      3So He told them this parable, saying, 4“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5“When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6“And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7“I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Lost Coin

     8“Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9“When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ 10“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

He loved us when we were yet sinners. Let us be thankful. Let our praises ring out as we worship YHWH.

Romans 5:6-11

     6For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

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Have you submitted your life to Jesus Christ? Are you living today filled with the peace and joy of truly knowing and following Jesus Christ? Learn more about salvation through The Message of the Cross.