07/30/21 Parables of Jesus #6 — The Mustard Seed (Mat.13:31-32; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-19)

Matthew 13:31-32 (ESV) 31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

13:32 “a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches”: Palestinian mustard plants are large shrubs, sometimes up to 15 ft. high—certainly large enough for birds to lodge in. This is undoubtedly a reference to several OT passages, including Eze 17:23; 31:6; Da 4:21—passages which prophesied the inclusion of Gentiles in the kingdom… The tree represents the sphere of salvation, which would grow so large that it would provide shelter, protection, and benefit to people. Even unbelievers have been blessed by association with the gospel and the power of God in salvation. Christians have been a benediction to the world. [The MacArthur Study Bible]

God has always intended that His kingdom, His influence would expand as believers model godly living and tell their acquaintances the Good News of Jesus. Let’s make sure we believers are doing our part!

07/26/21 Parables of Jesus #5 — New Wine in Old Wineskins (Mat.9:17; Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37-38)

Luke 5:37-39 (ESV) 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’”

Mat.9:17 “new wine into old wineskins”: Animal skins were used for fermentation of wine because of their elasticity. As the wine fermented, pressure built up, stretching the wineskin. A previously stretched skin lacked elasticity and would rupture, ruining both wine and wineskin. Jesus used this as an illustration to teach that THE FORMS OF OLD RITUALS, SUCH AS THE CEREMONIAL FASTINGS PRACTICED BY THE PHARISEES AND JOHN'S DISCIPLES, WERE NOT FIT FOR THE NEW WINE OF THE NEW COVENANT ERA (cf. Col 2:17). In both analogies, the Lord was saying that what the Pharisees did in fasting or any other ritual had no part with the gospel.

Luk.5:39 “The old is good”: Those who had acquired a taste for Old Covenant ceremonies and Pharisaic traditions were loath to give them up for the new wine of Jesus' teaching. Luke alone adds this saying. [The MacArthur Study Bible]

It IS true that old wine is better than new wine, I’m told. BUT this is NOT true of old, stale, sterile religious rituals compared to the Abundant Life that Jesus offers!

07/23/21 Parables of Jesus #4 — New Patch on Old Garment (Mat:9:16; Mark 2:21; Luke 5:36)

Luke 5:36 (ESV) He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old…”

Mat.9:16 “new garment… on an old garment”: That NEW CLOTH DOES NOT WORK ON OLD MATERIAL is ANALOGOUS to trying to PATCH NEW COVENANT TRUTH ONTO OLD MOSAIC CEREMONIAL FORMS. [The MacArthur Study Bible]

Growing up, my two brothers and I went through jeans “like they were going out of style.” By the time our brand-new jeans were a day or two old, they already had holes in one or both knees. And we learned the hard way that if Mom tried to put a brand-new stick-on patch over one of the holes, it wouldn’t be long before the hole was much larger and we had to throw those jeans away.

When God saves a person, He performs a divine miraculous Extreme Makeover. There is NO patching up or cleaning up that person. The hell-bound sinner is replaced with a brand-new creature (2Co.5:17)—a heaven-bound saint, a faithful believer and diligent, committed disciple of Jesus Christ. Is that what has happened to YOU? I pray it is!

07/16/21 Parables of Jesus #2 — Lamp Under a Basket (Mat.5:14-16; Mark 4:21-22; Luke 8:16-17; 11:33-36)

Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV) 14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

A godly life gives convincing testimony of the saving power of God. That brings Him glory [The MacArthur Study Bible]. And 1 Peter 2:12 says “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”

As the children’s song says, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine!” What about YOU?!

07/12/21 Parables of Jesus #1 — Salt of the Earth (Mat.5:13)

Matthew 5:13 (ESV) “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”

Salt is both a preservative and a flavor enhancer. Pure salt cannot lose its flavor or effectiveness, but the salt that is common in the Dead Sea area is contaminated with gypsum and other minerals and may have a flat taste or be ineffective as a preservative. Such mineral salts were useful for little more than keeping footpaths free of vegetation. [The MacArthur Study Bible]

Like salt, Jesus expects us, His disciples to be pure, both in our beliefs and our behavior. When we are faithful, our words and our actions are more effective in demonstrating the power of the Gospel to a lost and dying world… not to mention our crumbling culture.

07/09/21 MY TESTIMONY #4: FRIDAY MORNING! — Almost immediately after breakfast I got into a tussle with one of my younger brothers. Mom sent me to my room. About 50 minutes later I glanced at the clock. I prayed, “Hey, God! I haven’t sinned in almost 1 whole hour!”

Then it occurred to me that if either of my little brothers dared to enter my room I would attack them again. I asked God to remind me of all the Bible verses I had memorized over the years. All of a sudden, they began to make sense to me—they actually applied to ME!

I realized that I was a hopeless sinner. There was NO WAY FOR ME TO BE GOOD ENOUGH to satisfy God’s high standards. I cried out to Him, “I know I’m a hell-bound sinner and there’s nothing I can do about it. But, God, somehow You allowed the death of Your Son Jesus to pay for my sins if I would just surrender my life to Him. He’s my Only Hope! Please take away my guilt and make me a brand-new person; save me right now!”

Instantly it felt as if there had been a dump-truck load of guilt on my chest, but Someone had removed it. I shouted, “Thank You, Lord!” and ran to tell my Mom. She seemed to believe me and cried tears of joy.

That very next Sunday, at the end of his sermon, my pastor challenged us. He said he was certain there were folks there who needed to do business with God. He urged us not to wait even for the first chorus of the invitation hymn, but to RUN down to the front on the very first note and grab his hand. So I took him at his word and nearly knocked him down! As I blabbered away trying to explain what had happened to me, he told the rest of the people that he was pretty sure I had been saved! And he was right! Praise the Lord!

07/05/21 MY TESTIMONY #3: Trying Hard to Eliminate Sin — After a fitful Sunday night of almost no sleep, I asked my mom for one of her little “Blue Horse” spiral-bound notebooks. I told her my plan was to write down the day, time an a description of every sin I committed. I figured that by later on that week, the entries would be fewer and fewer and less and less serious until Thursday or Friday, when I would have successfully eliminated sin from my life entirely.

Fast forward…  By Wednesday afternoon I was thoroughly defeated—the notebook was FULL! And I still had more sins to write down, but there was no more room in it. STAY TUNED…

07/02/21 MY TESTIMONY #2: “Amazing Grace” Verse 6 (I think) — “When we’ve been there ten thousand years, Bright shining as the sun, We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise, Than when we first began.”

That week, on Sunday through Thursday nights, as I lay awake, trying desperately NOT to fall asleep, the words of that verse haunted me. I was precocious in math at an early age. Back then our average lifetime was said to be 70-72 years. I figured that 10,000 divided by 70 was about 140. So 10,000 years is about 140 lifetimes, an unimaginably long time to me! The lyrics said to me that after I died I would be spending an EXTREMELY LONG time SOMEWHERE. Plus, even if I didn’t like it, I was NOT done—I could NOT leave; I had NOT used up ANY of the days of my “sentence.” And I knew the Bible said there were only two possibilities: I would either be in HEAVEN, an indescribably wonderful place, or HELL, an indescribably awful place.

I was frantic to find out if there was some way I could be sure I would spend those years in HEAVEN. I figured that my many SINS were what would be keeping me out of heaven and imprisoned in hell. In my youthful immaturity I determined to eliminate ALL sins from my life! STAY TUNED…