It’s All About the Crumbs

 Every so often we run into a passage that seems to be contrary to the Jesus we have been taught is the presence of God’s love. Just such a passage is Mark 7:24-30, the request by a Gentile woman to deliver her daughter from a demon. The way Jesus responds to her request seems harsh at first glance. But therein lies the teaching. Our immediate reaction, that first glance, may not be an…

Who Rules Our Every-Next-Moment?

 How we think about Scripture depends on how we think into it. Let me say that again in another way. What occupies our thinking just before we pick up the Bible? What is our mindset as we open its pages? What is our thinking condition at the moment, our concentration at the moment, the influences of our emotional, physical and spiritual issues…

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that birds of the air come and perch in its branches (13:31-32).”…

The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

 These two parables appear to be similar in idea but are told separately for a purpose. First of all, these parables are about spirituality, relationship and God’s heart, all of which are ‘hidden’ from our eyes. They’re invisible. Secondly, they depend on revelation from outside of us, an awakening that causes an insight. It is our aloneness that calls for a…

The Parable of the Weeds

 On the heels of the Parable of the Sower comes the Parable of the Weeds and Jesus’ explanation of its meaning (Mt.13:24-30, 37-43). Like the article about the Sower we’ll assume you know that a man sows good seed in his field, but an enemy comes and sows weeds among the good seeds. When asked if the weeds should be pulled up, the sower says not to…

The Parable of the Sower (Mt.13:3-9, 18-23))

 The first thing we want to remember is that the parables are meant to touch the heart. What the heart is willing to receive and trust is what will motivate the spirit to put it into action. This is why the first parable of note in Matthew is the Parable of the Sower. It is a parable about the Word of God. It contains the seeds, its…