Matthew 13:10-17 / Mark 4:10-12 / Luke 8:9-10…
Puzzled about parables…
The disciples wanted to know why Jesus would teach in a way that communicated truth to those who were His disciples, while those who were not would not understand. He answers them with an astonishing truth; not everyone is supposed to understand. Only those whose hearts God has opened to the truth will receive it with repentance and faith (Acts 13:48, 16:14). Disciples are given the secrets of the kingdom, but those who are in willful blindness will reject God’s truth even when it stares at them in the face and shouts at them in their ears (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Jesus was not teaching so that men would ask the question, “What kind of ground am I?” Those who were hearing now were already good ground. As we study the parables we have to start by asking: “Lord, what are you teaching to those who are following you?” Jesus was teaching His disciples that success wasn’t about making everyone believe. He was also teaching them the key to the success of the seed in their own lives.
It is about being faithful. The Bible is God’s Word and His way of opening up our hearts. It shows us that God knows everything about us (Hebrews 4:12-13), more than we know about ourselves (Psalm 19:12-13). We are not the final arbiter of His truth, we have to yield our will to His Word if we are to understand it (John 7:17, 8:31-32 / Philippians 3:15-16). We cannot put it in our pocket; we must put it into practice.
The nature of God’s Word is that when we harden our hearts we become hard of hearing. We can only please God by having a faith that seeks God diligently (Hebrews 11:6), and faith comes by hearing the Word of Christ (Romans 10:17). God wants us to be filled with the Word of Christ (Colossians 3:16), but you’ll never be full of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) unless you want to be full of His Word.
Maybe your life is a puzzle because you only want the pieces of God that seem to fit your own will.
4 comments:
In the course of one year we will read
• Every Verse
• Every Passage
• Every Gospel
We welcome your comments. We are not looking to be copying and pasting previous material...we are coming at this with a fresh look, each day, and going with whatever we see. We can send you a copy of the reading schedule (primesoul@hotmail.com). You can check www.voiceofvision.org for each day’s reading, or go to www.voiceofvision.blogspot.com to leave a comment. God bless you as you join in the walk with us...
God wants us to be filled with the Word of Christ (Colossians 3:16), but you’ll never be full of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) unless you want to be full of His Word.
Maybe your life is a puzzle because you only want the pieces of God that seem to fit your own will.
Ouch. Now that's convicting for sure.
This devotional is well written and timed. I am thankful to God Almighty for the insight you're given.
Yes, Mrs., it is...
Thanks, Vicky, God bless you...
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