Mark 4:30-32

And He said: “How can we illustrate the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to describe it? It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown in the soil, is smaller than all the seeds, on the ground. And when sown, it comes up and grows taller than all the vegetables, and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky can nest in its shade.”

Luke 17:6

“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,” the Lord said, “you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”

The kingdom of God and faith are both compared to mustard seeds in these verses. While they may start small, they have the power to grow greater than any other seed when planted. Faith the size of a mustard seed can grow to command other things that have grown to move out of the way.

Mark 4:16-20 describes the Word of God as seeds that are sown into the ground. While all the seed is the same, only the seed sown in good soil produces a bountiful crop. The Word, faith, and the kingdom of God are all compared to mustard seeds. Their growth is determined by the condition of the soil – our hearts.

Soil must be plowed to be fertile. Breaking up the ground of our heart is a painful process, but brokenness has the ability to produce a bountiful harvest when sown with God’s word. From this planting, faith grows, and the kingdom of God becomes our harvest.

If your heart is broken today, sow the Word of God into it. You have prime soil to produce a harvest greater than anything this world can produce. As Matthew 5:3 explains, “Blessed are the poor in spirit (broken), because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.

Have a blessed day!

Isaiah 60:22

The least will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the LORD; I will accomplish it quickly in its time.

In the previous verse, God declared His people to be a branch He had planted – the work of His hands that He may be glorified. You were planted to glorify God, and at just the right time, He will cause you to bloom and display the splendor of His glory. He will work quickly when the time is right.

God can take what seems small and insignificant and make it big. When the time is right, He will shine His favor upon it and cause it to bloom with great delight. He will magnify what the world has ignored, discounted, or made small, giving it a “suddenly” moment when everything works well.

Peter experienced this type of moment twice after he had fished all night and caught nothing. Upon the instruction of Jesus to set out his nets one more time, he caught a load of fish so great he could hardly make the haul. When he came up completely empty, God filled him full with more than enough to satisfy.

Trust that God has a right time for you to bloom and display His glory. When your time has come, He will work quickly, bringing all things together to produce what He has planted in you. If He has planted you, He will cause you to bloom at just the right time. Trust His timing and His plan because it is glorious!

Have a blessed day!

Ephesians 6:16

In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Verses 14-17 of this chapter describe the full armor of God we are to wear in battling spiritual warfare. Know for certain that if you are a Christian, at some point the Devil will attack you to try to steal your joy and your peace. He may even try to convince you that you are not a Christian. He will hurl insults, negative and terrifying thoughts, fears, and anything he finds damaging against you. Should you find yourself in this place, you have threatened his territory in some manner. While he may attack, you have weapons of warfare against him. Dress well, and carry on.

Faith is a shield, which is used for protection. Faith must have an object, which is Jesus Christ. Even when you can’t trust your own works or actions, you can always have faith in the finished work of the cross. Jesus’s work for you is complete, and His love for you is everlasting. Nothing can separate us from His love, and you can always have faith that He will act for you and never against you. Regardless of what the Devil may say, God placed your punishment on the cross. Jesus died so you could have life and have it more abundantly. 

I recently read a quote by M. Scott Peck from People of the Lie. In reference to people who are influenced by evil, he said, “God does not punish. We punish ourselves.” If you are a Christian, your sin has already been punished on the cross. I’m not talking about discipline. God disciplines those He loves through conviction and by steering them in the right direction. Punishment has to do with condemnation and judgment. God loves you, and your faith in Him is a protection against the assault of the enemy, who will try to convince you God has rejected you.

We must take this shield of faith with us wherever we go. We can’t just put it on a shelf and head out into the world, where we are sure to encounter evil. Our faith is not just something to use on special occasions, like fine china when company comes to dinner. Your faith should be a staple part of your wardrobe, just like your pants or your handbag. You don’t need to leave home without it! In every situation, take your shield of faith against the enemy.

When fearful thoughts tell you things will not end well and you are doomed, hold up your shield of faith and believe that God will work all things together for your good! When you look at the task before you and feel you will never overcome, take up your shield of faith and remember that God is always with you. He is strong where you are weak, and He is for you. Faith requires you to look beyond yourself and depend upon another for help. God is our ever present help in times of trouble, and He has our back. Hold up your shield, and continue the fight.  The attack itself means there is something awaiting you that is worth the fight!

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 107:16

For He has broken down the bronze gates and cut through the iron bars.

Bronze is a symbol of judgment in Scripture, and iron often denotes strength. In this verse, the metals describe a prison cell, where one has been confined by the rebellion of his own sin. Indeed, our sin leads us straight into captivity as a snare of the enemy. Once there, we are enslaved, ineffective, and often subject to hard labor and torment.

The beauty of the gospel, however, is that we serve a loving, gracious, and compassionate God who sent His only Son to free the captives that sin takes into its domain. All we have to do is cry out to God and turn from our wicked ways in repentance, and He breaks the bronze gates of judgment against us and cuts straight through the iron bars of imprisonment to set us free to live for Christ. Hallelujah!

We don’t have to live in bondage. Jesus took our guilt upon Himself to set us free. We are no longer slaves to sin. As the worship song says, “There is power in the name of Jesus to break every chain, break every chain, break every chain.”

If you feel as if you are bound by anything today, simply cry out to Jesus. He died to set you free. Nothing is impossible for Him! You may have to change your thinking and change your behavior in repentance, but the change is worth the freedom. Rely upon His power to free you, and be set free!

Have a blessed day!

Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

The Jews were suffering under a load of religious responsibilities imposed upon them by the priests, rabbis, scribes, and Pharisees. In order for the Jews to be in right standing with the church, they had to perform appropriately. Their faith was very works oriented. Jesus gave them rest – relief from that burden. His command was simple: “Take up My yoke and learn from me…”

What Jesus wants most from us right now is to simply learn from Him. Any command He gives us is light and well-suited for us. Martha was concerned about her service to Jesus and wanted Mary helping her accomplish her tasks. Jesus, however, honored Mary’s desire to simply sit at His feet and learn from Him. His ministry is more about our receiving, rather than our doing. When we learn from Him and receive the grace He has for us, any act of service we do comes from a heart of love and gratitude that wants to bless Him. This is the service He desires.

Jesus wants to meet your need today. He will not require from you what you don’t have to give. We can become very burdened with the cares of this world and with trying to do something for God that God has not required. God doesn’t want to burden you; He wants to heal you and make you whole. He wants to transform you into the image of Christ, where you are lacking nothing and fully equipped to do the works to which He has called you. We must learn to distinguish what is good and what is God because the two are not necessarily the same. When we become like Mary and sit at His feet, we will become whole and able to serve Him appropriately.

Have a blessed day!

2 Samuel 22:34

He makes my feet like the feet of a deer and sets me securely on the heights.

God prepares us to walk in high places. Unless he prepares us, we will stumble and fall. A deer is known for its agility, swiftness, and beauty. With hooves that can handle mountain terrain, they flourish in places where valley dwellers can’t go.

As Christians, we often fight His preparation. We’d rather sleep a little later than get up early to study and pray. We’ll pass on an opportunity to serve because we’d rather do something else. We let our emotions rule us, rather than follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. By ignoring God’s preparation, we forfeit the heights to which He wishes to take us.

At times, however, moving higher is necessary for God’s plan. If we’ve resisted His preparation, He may allow us to encounter situations where we have no choice but to let Him prepare us to move higher. He may let us stumble and fall a few times so we will submit our feet to Him and allow Him to fashion them to walk in places we’ve never before walked. When God is ready to take you higher, He will take you there. You will be better suited to walk if you have already submitted to His preparation.

Today, determine to submit your feet to God. Let Him take you where you can serve others and bring Him glory. Each time you serve with a cheerful heart, He will equip you with something else you need to climb higher. Let God prepare you to walk in high places. You’ve just survived long enough. Be willing and ready to thrive!

Have a blessed day!

Luke 40:29-31

He gives strength to the weary and strengthens the powerless. Youth may faint and grow weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the LORD will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.

Eagles are fascinating creatures. They fly higher than any other bird and have very strong wings. When female eagles are ready to mate, they throw a stick to the ground, and the male eagles must fight each other to see who can gain possession of her stick. The one who is victorious and returns the stick to her is the one with whom she will mate for life. She rejects the weaker males; her mate must be as strong as she is. While there is an excellent lesson there for teenage girls and single women, I’ll re-direct that to a different audience at a later time. The female eagle, without doubt, is a very strong bird.

To wait entails confident expectation and an active hope in the Lord. Waiting is never passive resignation; waiting is being confident that God will act. Those who wait upon the Lord have their strength renewed when they see the culmination of answered prayers and open doors that only He could provide.

The eagle depicts the strength that comes from the Lord. How interesting to note that our country’s symbol is an eagle. Our strength as a nation comes from Him, and when we reject Him, we lose that strength. We can be those that wait upon God and have our strength renewed as the eagle. Now is the time to pray for the strength of our nation to be renewed and that those who belong to God will turn to Him in prayer. Like eagles, we need to soar higher in prayer and cover our city, our state, and our nation so the strength we have enjoyed is not diminished, allowing the enemy to overcome.

May you be strengthened in the Lord’s great love for you today. May you run and not grow weary. May you be renewed by answered prayer, and may you find strength to help someone else become strong, too.

Have a blessed day!

Psalm 16:5

LORD, You are my portion and my cup of blessing; You hold my future. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

David recognized in verse 1 of this psalm he had no good thing outside of God. He holds our future, and whatever good we hope to experience comes directly from His hand. He has drawn boundary lines around the pleasant inheritance He has for us, and we will not experience good or abundance outside of those boundaries.

Verse 10 of this psalm states, “For You will not allow Your faithful One to see the Pit.” God will drag us away from any trap set to destroy us or allow our own plans to fail until we turn completely to Him so He can bless us with the good thing He has planned for us. As the Message Bible translates this same verse, “You canceled my ticket to hell – that’s not my destination!” At times, we seem to get on a train headed in the wrong direction, not realizing where it will take us. Through Jesus Christ, God has canceled our ticket to hell and has put us on a right path that leads to life.

Trust the boundary lines God has given you. He has a beautiful inheritance for you, and He will not allow you to perish in a pit. He will direct you to the right path so you can fully walk in the plan and purpose to which He has called you. God is great, and you belong to Him! He has made you His heir!

Have a blessed day!

Romans 1:16-17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.

Faith is the beginning of our salvation process, and the glory of God is the goal. When we first come to Christ by faith, God declares us righteous before Himself. He then operates through us believer by His Holy Spirit as we move in faith. The Holy Spirit transforms us into the image of Christ as we walk out our faith and frees us from the grasp of sin so we can live victoriously on the earth. Transformation is a process we encounter from faith to faith.

Faith rescues us from hell and continues to rescue us from evil’s earthly defeat. For this reason, Satan seeks to destroy our faith so he can keep us in bondage. When Jesus warned Peter of his forthcoming denial, His encouragement to Peter was that He had prayed his faith would not fail. As long as Peter had faith in Christ, he could overcome whatever failure he experienced. If his faith failed, however, he would not be able to believe and receive the gift of righteousness that God would give him. Faith fails when self-righteousness is stronger in our minds than the righteousness of Christ. Self-righteousness and its failure is exactly why Judas killed himself and could not receive forgiveness for what he had done.

Faith requires trusting in the work of Christ on the cross. Only this finished work can give us the right standing we need before God and grant us the grace we so desperately need to live a victorious life. We all need a measure of faith and grace to succeed, but God grants them to us freely.

If you are feeling discouraged today, feed your faith. Look beyond yourself and your failure to a God who has destined you for success. Throw away any feelings of guilt and condemnation and grasp hold to the promise of hope and a good future in Christ. God is revealed in your life by faith, so rise up and put your trust in Him. As faith builds momentum in your life, you will find yourself thriving instead of surviving and defeating the work of the enemy. You were created to reflect the glory of God, and faith is just the beginning.

Have a blessed day!

Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

We are to run the race with diligence as Paul instructed, but Jesus promised our burden would be light. A runner can’t perform well if he is carrying a heavy burden on his shoulder. Doubt, worry, fear, discouragement, depression, anger, and many other negative emotions weigh us down. We have to relinquish those things and move forward in the strength and grace of Jesus Christ.

I love the Message Bible’s translation of this passage: “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythm of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” 

Ah! This sounds like the advertisement for a beach vacation spot! How I would love to get away and recover my life right now! This, however, is not a vacation advertisement, nor will it cost you a large financial sum to take the trip. This is a daily invitation to spend time with Jesus, learn from Him, and lay your burdens down. He gives us the opportunity to learn the unforced rhythm of grace that will empower us to finish the race we have started. I desperately need to catch this rhythm and move with it, and I know many of you do, too.

Determine today to get your rhythm going and dance to the naturally flowing tune of God’s grace. Having a true servant’s heart means giving the Master authority in our lives. He who has the authority, however, also has the responsibility. Give your burdens to Him, and trust Him with the results. He can do a better job with them than you can anyway.

Have a blessed day!