Obadiah prophesied:
The house of Jacob will be a fire and the house of Joseph a flame; the house of Esau will be stubble.
Love will hold us together- this song is great. I'll be my brothers keeper!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvnVjLX_hRE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
The Parable of the weeds
Many times we ask the Lord why we are in an unpeaceful situation. We question why as Christians things get bumpy.
We even share our faith as a peace message - "come to God and He will give you peace." I began to ask the Lord how I was to explain this to a struggling Christian or an unbeliever.
I saw a film the other day that explained it this way:
The plan for them was an unfair, short life and they did not experience the peace here on earth, but rather will experience it when they meet with God and receive that payment for their sin that Jesus offered them, and that they accepted.
Sometimes carrying the backpack of being a Christian can be tiresome. It is like when my Lillian has to decide if she wants to carry her Camelbac. Her Camelbac, which holds water, is really heavy when she puts it on all filled up. She always considers taking it off before she starts her adventure but then she remembers the necessity of the cool Ozarka water that she just put in it. She knows that she can run farther and climb higher when she is refreshed by that cool water.Following Christ, obeying, giving, loving, forgiving, enduring can all be tiresome but Christ promises to be our living water. He understands that we are living among weeds that choke the light and water out of us. He knows that we are surrounded by hardships trying to pull us down. He is asking us to endure. He has made a promise to us. We must run and not grow weary. He makes a way when there seems to be no way and these hardships purify us just as it did David and Job. He is looking for a holy people that have been found righteous. This parable explains His plan:
Matthew 13:24 He put another parable before 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 weeds [3] among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants [4] of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
Matthew 13:36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Matthew10:34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
We even share our faith as a peace message - "come to God and He will give you peace." I began to ask the Lord how I was to explain this to a struggling Christian or an unbeliever.
I saw a film the other day that explained it this way:
If you had an opportunity to share with the victims of 9/11 on 9/10 about the message of salvation, would you really offer the message to them that God had a plan for their life and that He wanted to offer them peace?
Stop and think.The plan for them was an unfair, short life and they did not experience the peace here on earth, but rather will experience it when they meet with God and receive that payment for their sin that Jesus offered them, and that they accepted.
Sometimes carrying the backpack of being a Christian can be tiresome. It is like when my Lillian has to decide if she wants to carry her Camelbac. Her Camelbac, which holds water, is really heavy when she puts it on all filled up. She always considers taking it off before she starts her adventure but then she remembers the necessity of the cool Ozarka water that she just put in it. She knows that she can run farther and climb higher when she is refreshed by that cool water.Matthew 13:24 He put another parable before 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 weeds [3] among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants [4] of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
Matthew 13:36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
Matthew10:34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth.
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