The Kingdom of Heaven

In Matthew 13 Jesus teaches in parables. A parable is a story that teaches a truth indirectly. The parables are a contrast with Jesus' direct teaching style shown in Matthew 5-7. One of the parables in this chapter, found in verses 24-30, is about a farmer that sows good seed with an enemy that comes in the night and sows weeds in the field. Matthew 13:24-30 reads:

Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?' And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"

The parable teaches about the existence of good and evil. This is not news to anyone. The intent of creation was that everything would be good. Genesis 1 gives an account of creation, in which God concludes in verse 31 "God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good." In Genesis 3 we see the story of the fall of man, the disobedience of man created an entrance of evil into creation. The parable describes this as an enemy that sows weeds in the field.

The field in the parable would not be like those we see today. There would be areas thick with wheat and other areas with more bare spaces. The weeds would be scattered around the field in the same way. Today we see some areas where good predominates. There are other areas where the evil has won, leaving no room for any good. However, in all places there is a mixture of good and evil. We may not understand the plan, but this is clearly the plan of God to allow the good and evil to coexist for the current time.

It is too easy to focus on the evil in the world and feel that we are defeated. This is a great error. This parable teaches us there is always a mixture of good and evil. It is the job of the believer to bring the Holy Spirit to bear in the world to increase the effect of good. Paul tells us in Romans 12:21 – "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

The parable goes on to teach us the end will bring a separation of the good and evil. It is only when the world passes away when there will be two places, one with all of the evil and another with all of the good. Until that time, we are to keep on working, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to be a positive influence in the world.

Jesus Tempted

Last week during church, we were going through Matthew 4, which starts with the story of the temptation of Jesus. A question was asked about the connection with this story and the statement made by James that God cannot be tempted. Here are the verses:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. – Matthew 4:1

Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. – James 1:13

Do we have a contradiction here? James tells us that God cannot be tempted and Matthew describes the story of Jesus being tempted. The Bible clearly teaches that Jesus is both man and God. Jesus is not a man that has a special connection with God, but he is God. So when James tells us that God cannot be tempted, then why was Jesus tempted?

If we look at the Greek behind these verses there is help. In Matthew 4:1 the work tempted is used once and in James 1:13 the we find the word tempted four times. In each case, the Greek word is the same word with grammatical variations. The key phrase is: "God cannot be tempted", which is two words in the Greek, God and 'not-tempted'. The form of 'not-tempted' is the negated form, typically done in Greek by adding the letter 'a' in front of a word. The definition of this 'not-tempted' word in Greek is 'not able to be tempted'.

James is telling us that you can try to tempt God, but you will not be successful. God is not affected by any temptation. In Matthew, the devil tries to tempt Jesus, but the result is known ahead of time. Jesus is God, so no one is able to tempt him.

It appears the contradiction is not valid. What to you think?

I know the plans I have for you

Jeremiah 29:11 states: 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'

Many believers claim this verse as a promise in their life. The promise is for a good life, a life with hope. It is important to have hope, a belief that life will be better tomorrow. Hope allows us to work through difficulties in life today, knowing the difficulties will result in a better life.

I recently went hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park with my son. We selected a trail with a 2500' rise to a peak that was above 12,000'. The start of a hike is always exciting and we started out a little too fast. As we passed the 11,000' elevation, the hiking became tough and it was slow. One factor that helped us get to the top was the hope of seeing the top of a mountain. We persevered and our reward was a great time of exploration of a new world. It is vital to have hope, it is what keeps us going.

The application of this verse to a specific life can be problematic. A person may think it is Gods purpose to make a better life happen in their life and God will fulfill this better life very soon. When a person faces persistent problems, the thought could come to mind that God is not fulfilling His promise. What is the problem?

Context is the problem. When we take a verse from a large book, it is easy to misunderstand the meaning of the verse. Jeremiah prophesied through the time that Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, was conquered. Assyria destroyed the northern kingdom of Israel 135 years earlier. The writing of the 29^th chapter of Jeremiah was to the people taken into captivity in Babylon. Their life was hopeless because the temple in Jerusalem was the center of their life with God. With their removal from the location of the temple, they believed their contact with God was gone.

Jeremiah writes to the exiles, instructing them to build a life in Babylon. They were to work for the success of the place where they were living. God promised to bring them back to Jerusalem at the end of seventy years. This is when God makes the promise in Jeremiah 29:11. This promise could not have made sense to the readers of the letter. Their picture of a good life was to be in Jerusalem. God was telling them to live their life where they were. The fulfillment of Gods promise would not be in their lifetime. The return from exile would be when their children were old.

We must take into account the context of the verses from the Bible that we claim in our lives. It is clear this verse does not mean that God is promising to provide a better life immediately. If we forget to look at the context of a passage, it may lead to disillusionment. If we work to discover the context, we can learn the richness of God's promises, regardless of the facts we face in life at the moment.

Psalm 100

1–Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth;

There is one God and He is powerful beyond measure, He knows all things, He is the source of all knowledge, He is the eternal One, never with a beginning, never to have an end. God is the creator of all, everything we see, feel, touch, hear and taste and all things we cannot perceive. Beyond this, God loves each person. He knows all details about us and He loves us. This is amazing. All people should respond with a joyful shout at this news, at these facts.

2–Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing.

As our creator, God built each of us in a unique way. We have strengths and weaknesses. We have talents and areas where we are void of any ability. God built us for action, not for inactivity. God does not call us to do service in areas where our gifts are absent. When we serve God in our areas of strength, we serve with ease, our service is vital and good, and we serve with gladness. Each of us should sing our personal joyful song to God.

3–Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who made use, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

It is vital that we know our position in life. This is not to say there should be a structure among people built to keep certain people 'in their place'. We should know who God is and who we are. We should strive to understand our position with God. Life will go better for us if we know that God has abilities beyond our comprehension and that we are finite. We should know that God made us and that we are His people. We are helpless sheep that need a shepherd. Sing joyfully to God because He is our supremely competent caretaker.

4–Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

Knowing these things, we will deeply appreciate what God has done for us and praise will flow out of our gratitude. We will bless God and praise His name. He alone is worthy of our praise.

5–For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.

Just as a mother tenderly cares for her newborn child, God carries me all the days of my life. He is there every moment, providing protection and care. The only time that God is not apparent in my life is when I drive Him away. God will never leave me, He will always care for me. Just as God has taken care of countless people in the past, He will take care of me every day that I live.

I will praise God.

Psalm 23

1–The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.

God is my Lord. He may not be your Lord, but I have decided that He is the Lord of my life.

Not only is God my Lord, but He is my shepherd. Sheep are helpless animals that will wander into harm if not protected from themselves. I am more like a sheep than I would like to admit. There are many decisions that I need to make and many actions that I need to take that are beyond my ability to make the right choice. If I am left on my own, I will make the wrong choice more often than not. God will shepherd me as I live my life, helping and guiding me as I live. I will never been in need of anything that is a necessity of life and I will receive many things that are simply gravy.

2–He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.

Since I am like a sheep, I many times do not know what is best for me. Just like the baby that is tired but fights sleep by crying, I have trouble knowing what is best for me, even if it is right in front of me. My Shepherd will make me lie down in the wonderful green grass of life. He knows that I do not like stormy waters, so He leads me by quiet pools. I am thankful that God knows what is best, even if I cannot recognize it and that He makes/leads me into the best for me.

3–He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

I remember years ago when I played football. In the first practices of the year, in the heat of the summer, I would get very tired and thirsty. Although I do not get to that point physically very often these days, I do get exhausted with the daily grind of life. God, my Shepherd, restores all aspects of my life. I am restored physically, mentally and spiritually.

Not only am I restored, God will lead me in His righteous ways. Why does He do this? One reason is that I benefit by walking in God's ways, His ways are protected ways. This is a good reason, but not the best. When I walk in God's ways, which is only accomplished through His work in my life, God is glorified. There is nothing better than bringing glory to God.

4–Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Everyone will experience the darks shadows of the valley. Sometimes the shadows are not so dark, but other times the darkness is so profound that you cannot see your hand if you place it in front of your face. What is the solution when you find yourself in the valley? Certainly being out of the valley is a solution, but the best solution that God is with you as you travel through the valley. There is nothing like knowing the One who restores your soul is right there with you.

Why is God's presence so important to those who make Him their shepherd? God has every tool at His disposal, as the shepherd has his rod and staff, to correct our ways and protect us from every danger. I take comfort knowing that God is present in my life and capable to guide and protect me.

5–You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.

One of my favorite activities is coming home at the end of the day to a meal that has been prepared for me by my lovely wife. It helps that she is a great cook. Walking in the house that has all the smells generated during the preparation of the meal is like settling in a warm bed on a cold winter night. God prepares wonderful meals for me and He does it right in front of those who would cause me harm. God heals my diseases. God provides for me lavishly from His abundance.

6–Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

The life with God is not simply to know that He will take care of you in eternity. God desires to surround you with goodness, love, kindness and provision right now. I need to remember that God is taking care of me, especially when I have a bad day and complain, whine and moan about my life. It is the best to know that God will take care of me every day of my life and He will welcome me into His kingdom after my life is over.

Have you made God your shepherd? There is only one way to do this, it is through God's son, Jesus.

Being Called by Name

The young girl dresses up like a princess and wants her daddy to notice. She wants to hear him tell her she is beautiful. The little boy is playing in the park with his mom nearby. As he jumps off the play set, he wants to hear his mom tell him how brave he is as he makes the big jump to the ground.

As we get older, the little boy or girl in us really does not go away. We want to have someone notice our work. We do not want to be anonymous; we want someone to know our name.

In the tenth chapter of John, Jesus called himself the good shepherd. There is a relationship between the sheep and the shepherd. The shepherd knows his sheep and the sheep know the shepherd. We are told in the shepherd knows the sheep by name.

Think for a minute what this means. Jesus is the Word that was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made. Jesus is the Word that was God. Jesus healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, gave hearing to the deaf and he controlled the weather. Jesus, who is almighty God, knows us by our name. That is awesome.

Have you allowed Jesus to call you by name? Is Jesus your shepherd? Or do you try to be your own shepherd. You should place your trust and your life in the care of the Good Shepherd.

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"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers." – John 10:1-5

The Word Became Flesh

On December 27th I was blessed with the addition of my first grandchild to the family. Jacob Wesley is great baby. Jacob has about two things on his agenda these days. He likes to sleep and when he is not sleeping, he likes to eat. That is about all he does. The other day I spent about an hour holding Jacob. It is a great way to spend time. As we spent time together, I thought about the helplessness of a baby. Jacob can do nothing for himself.

During that time, my thoughts drifted to Mary holding her new boy, Jesus. This happened because I had recently read these verses.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. – John 1:14
Him nothing came into being that has come into being. – John 1:1-3

Mary’s baby Jesus had created all things. Yet he was as helpless as Jacob is right now. Why would the all-powerful God submit to becoming a helpless baby? What a risk that God took, becoming as helpless as anyone can become.

This is an extravagant display of love for us. God did spare anything to reach out to us, to establish a relationship with us. What will you do with this great, risky, expression of love for you?