the last curtain call

God’s kingdom is like a fishnet cast into the sea, catching all kinds of fish. When it is full, it is hauled onto the beach. The good fish are picked out and put in a tub; those unfit to eat are thrown away. That’s how it will be when the curtain comes down on history. [Matthew 13:47-49 MSG]

The imagery of a net being cast into water taps into something familiar to Jesus' listeners.
Like the farmers listening to parables about seeds fishermen were drawn into this story.
I love the way that Christ knows his audience and how to communicate to them.

These fishermen daily cast their nets and sorted out the fish that were edible.
Ones that did not have fins and scales were not to be eaten but thrown away.
The message here is that people will eventually be sorted out by God.

At the end of our lives we will be like those fish Jesus speaks of.
Those who have been born from above will continue to live spiritual lives.
Anyone not already spiritually alive will simply cease to exist.

Lead me Lord. Not into temptation but deliver me from evil.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
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the hidden reign of the heavens

`Again, the reign of the heavens is like to treasure hid in the field, which a man having found did hide, and from his joy goeth, and all, as much as he hath, he selleth, and buyeth that field.
`Again, the reign of the heavens is like to a man, a merchant, seeking goodly pearls, who having found one pearl of great price, having gone away, hath sold all, as much as he had, and bought it.

I love the way that Young's Literal Translation interprets these verses.
The 'reign of the heavens' is such a beautiful way to visualize the kingdom of heaven.
It reminds me that heaven is a spiritual dimension that is unseen and hidden from us.

In the beginning it seemed that God, and his kingdom, was anything but hidden.
Yet, since Adam left the garden, God has seemed to be increasingly invisible to us.
When I was a young man God seemed hidden to me - I did not even think about him.

Then a moment came in my life when I bowed my heart to Jesus.
At that moment things which seemed invisible were now visible to me.
In a sense, things that seemed hidden were found and I became aware of them.

Can you imagine going through life never knowing that you were loved by a distant relative?
What would it be like to discover one day that they had died and left you a great inheritance?
And how would you react when you found letters to you that blessed and nourished your life?

What effect would these discoveries have on your life?
Would you not be thankful for them and treasure them for the rest of your days?
Maybe this discovery would change the way that you viewed your family and your life?

When Jesus speaks about these findings he mentions a joy that caused the men to act.
I wonder if joy such as this is evidence of the presence of a spiritual awakening?
Perhaps joy is a hallmark and manifestation of the hidden reign of the heavens?

Open my heart Father to the treasure that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
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spiritual expansion

Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.” [Matthew 13:33 NLT

I can imagine bakers listening to this parable as Jesus spoke about making bread.
These had an experiential understanding of the effect that yeast has on dough.
In these words Jesus describes the Kingdom of Heaven as an agent of expansion and growth.

Here is a definition that I think describes the purpose of leaven:
"An element, influence, or agent that works subtly to lighten, enliven, or modify a whole."
When I consider the words lighten and enliven I think about something that is growing.
I once heard, and it seems to be true, that healthy organisms grow.
When the kingdom of heaven comes we often experience subtle growth and change.

When we pray "Thy kingdom come ... on earth as it is in heaven" we are asking:
  • for spiritual life to invade our world and modify it;
  • to become heavenly kingdom agents of spiritual expansion;
  • God to take a seed of faith and produce spiritual fruit.
These words remind me that a life that is spiritual is not a stagnant life.
Such life begins in an instant and expands within us for the rest of our days.
And in the end, every part of our lives is permeated by the Kingdom of Heaven.

Let your kingdom come and expand in me today Lord.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
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small seeds

Here is another illustration Jesus used: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” [Matthew 13:31-32 NLT]

Again Jesus shares a parable using an example from farming.
He speaks of how a small seed becomes something bigger than anyone could have imagined.
It reminds me of something else that Jesus said:
And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. [John 12:23-24]
The seed that was planted in the ground was Jesus himself.
And when He was resurrected from death everything changed.
No one hearing him could have imagined the impact that he would have on the world.

Who could have thought that kingdoms would be uprooted and religious thought revolutionized.
No one there saw how lives would be changed just because a seed was sown in the ground.
And, to a lesser degree, we who have had spiritual seeds implanted in us do the same.

I need resurrection today Lord. Help me to deny myself, pick up my cross and follow you.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
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human weeds

‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ they asked him. ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because as you gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them. [Matthew 13:28-29 GNT]

Jesus again speaks a farming parable comparing physical and spiritual plantings.
He teaches us about the mixture of wheat and weeds, real and phony believers, in the world.
Consider these definitions of a weed:
  • a valueless plant growing wild, especially one that grows on cultivated ground to the exclusion or injury of the desired crop.
  • any undesirable or troublesome plant, especially one that grows profusely where it is not wanted.
No one likes weeds because they are valueless, undesirable and troublesome.
When we see one our first inclination is to pull it out.
We can do this because we can recognize it.

Not necessarily so with the weeds that Jesus speaks of.
By inference He tells us that it is not always so easy to identify the human kind of weed.
And he says that we should leave the sorting of believers and unbelievers to God.

This seems all well and good until we consider the ways that we sort out humans these days.
Many times we judge people to be weeds that are not and do not see the ones that are really weeds.
It is why Jesus says to leave such things to the God who knows the heart.

Help me Lord not to judge another person's heart.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
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the four hearts

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:
  • 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 what was sown along the path.
  • As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
  • As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
  • As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” [Matthew 18:18-23 ESV]

I thought that it might be good to frame Jesus' explanation of the parable in a bulleted fashion. He explains to us that there are four different types of hearts. My thoughts about each type:
  • The Hard Heart: The seed never penetrates the soil because the path has been walked on and packed down. This speaks to me about how sometimes life experiences can harden a heart towards God and the religious experiences.
  • The Shallow Heart: The seed grows and quickly dies before emerging. I know of many that have fallen away when life gets hard. I think that if they would have looked past their pain things might have been different. Even so, I hope for healing for ones like these.
  • The Strangled Heart: The seed grows and emerges but bears no fruit. We choke out our spiritual life when our focus is on material things and worldly aspirations. Pride will always strangle our heart because it favors the brain over it.
  • The Persevering Heart: Fruit doesn’t come immediately but with time. Reminds me that Jesus tells us that following him involves denying our self and picking up our cross. Humility will cause us to persevere and trust God. Spiritual fruit will come as we wait.
When I think about a farm I think about the importance of plowing before we sow and weeding and watering after seed is planted. So it is with our hearts. We must allow God's Spirit to plow us, weed us and water us if we are to see the fruit of the spirit grow in our lives.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
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spiritual eyes and ears

Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. [Matthew 13:16-17 ESV]

This verse was one of my late wife Ellen's favorites.
In her early twenties she was blind for three years.
I can still remember that day when she got the news about her eyes.

I can still feel the devastation as we held each and cried uncontrollably.
Those years were so difficult - we were both blind in so many ways.
The joy that Ellen experienced as she got her sight, and her life, back was indescribable.

God healed her and our lives forever changed - I was never the same.
When I was born again it was like my eyes began to see for the very first time.
My life changed as I began to see and hear life through God's eyes.

It was like I had been blind to an inner reality for so many years.
My spiritual eyes were opened to mercy as I experienced God's forgiveness.
Sounds of joy rang in my spiritual ears as I discovered His grace.

My spiritual eyes and my ears are still blessed in so many ways.
Each day I wake to the voice of the Lord in my heart assuring me that I am not alone.
The Lord continues to reveal himself to me opening my senses to see the world differently.

Lord, please tune my inner senses helping me to see and hear like you.

... this devotion is part of the Red Letters series. Click here to read more.
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