Month: February 2025

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

John 12:24 (NIV)

Jesus talked about seeds more than once. He talked about the seed that falls on thorny, rocky or shallow ground, verses the good soil. He talked about how one wheat kernel, planted alone in good ground, bears a plentiful harvest. He also talked about the transformation of a tiny mustard seed into a huge fruit bearing tree. For as often as Jesus talked about seeds or gardening, His common message in every parable is growth. 

Since many of His parable lessons compare the kingdom of heaven to the growth that begins with a tiny seed, we can conclude that one signature attribute of God is in taking the small, ordinary or insignificant, and bringing about a growth that transforms into the extraordinary and miraculous.

Every living thing grows physically, but spiritual growth happens through the Holy Spirit, who works within us. We were all meant to keep growing spiritually, for as long as we live. God planted a seed of faith in each of us, with the intent to walk closely beside us, that our lives will glorify Him. He thoroughly believes in each person He created, since He foresees all that they were meant to be.

No one is insignificant to God or to His purpose, but we occasionally need reminding that His greatest work is not in what He does for us, but what He does through us.

Jesus chose twelve ordinary and uneducated men, according to the world’s view, but after being filled with His Spirit on Pentecost, they all  became extraordinary men of faith and courage. They changed the world, by doing and being all that the Spirit of Jesus empowered them to be.

The poor widow used the last of her flour and oil to bake bread for the prophet, Elisha, which represents giving all of our emptiness to God so that He can refill us. It was in that moment that her empty jars were miraculously refilled, each day, according to her need.

God has a history of using the most insignificant people and things, to reveal His power and glory. Jesus fed 5,000 people with one single serving of an ordinary boy’s lunch. 

He used a simple, harp playing, unarmed shepherd boy, to bring down the giant who bullied the entire armies of Israel. God is known for turning ordinary and small things into super extraordinary things, through spiritual growth. We are no different than any of those people, and God is eager to manifest that same kind of growth in our lives. 

When Moses led God’s people out of slavery, the path led them to the sea, and as they stopped, Pharaoh’s army was pursuing them. Scholars say that there was a different and shorter route to the promised land, on dry ground, avoiding the sea all together. The Lord deliberately led His people by that longer route, planning to take them through the sea. By miraculously parting the waters, God revealed His might and His great love for them. 

Sometimes spiritual growth comes when we are led down the more difficult path, instead of the easier one. God leads us according to what He intends for us to learn, to grow and bear fruit during our journey. He wants to take us through our Red Sea to reveal more of His love for us. 

We can learn so much about God’s nature and His purpose for believers, through what He has shown us in biblical history. It’s in the nature of God to take the small or insignificant persons or things, and anoint them with His power, to raise them up to a place where He will accomplish the impossible through them. 

The power of God is perfected in us, through our weaknesses, rather than through our strengths. He leads us to places we’ve never been before, and puts us in situations that make us feel inadequate and unsure of ourselves. In these situations, God is watering the seeds of our faith, which causes our spiritual growth. 

 When God is watering our seed of faith, we may feel like that wheat kernel Jesus spoke about. At times, it feels like we are struggling to stay alive, yet God is working through us, for our good, taking us to our next stage of growth, where we sprout and bear fruit.

Spiritual growth removes the barriers that hinder us. God teaches us to trust that He is enough, and He is glorified in breaking through all our barriers. He causes walls to crumble and fall, and creates a dry path through the sea in front of us. The mustard seed represents what God can and will do through our growth, when we trust in Him. We belong to a loving Father in heaven who wants to do the impossible through us. 

On that note, Paul tells us that we are all predestined to be transformed into the image of His son, Jesus. (Romans 8:29)

Lord, we surrender ourselves to you. Please unleash your divine power in us, and bring the growth which transforms us from a seed to a tree, in your name and for your glory. Amen

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”

1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)

Our faith is reflected to others without words, even though we may not realize it. Inner peace shows through our entire demeanor. The same goes for love, joy, or patience. People can sense a certain aura around believers who have a personal relationship with Christ. I know this because I remember a time in my own life before I had faith, when I recognized something special about certain people of faith, who I knew at the time.

Sharing one’s faith doesn’t always require words. People can observe it by how we treat others, or by acts of kindness. We’ve all heard it said, that our lives might be the only gospel that some people will ever read. 

Peter tells us to be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in us. Moments will arise in conversations that offer an opportunity to share our personal faith story. 

Today’s scripture is a reminder to stay ready for that special moment when words are necessary.

At the age of 19, I reached a turning point, after surrendering my life to Jesus. For the first time in my life, I truly understood the gift of God’s grace, the cross, the resurrection and the peace of forgiveness. During a  four year obsession with the occult, during my teenage years, all of my energy had been spent in making astrology charts, palm reading, practicing witchcraft spells, and reading cards. It may sound crazy to those who never dabbled in any of these things, but I was finally set free from the grip that those mind controlling black arts had over me.

When I prayed a simple, sincere prayer to Jesus one day, something radically changed within me, and His mercy washed over me in a powerful way. I had no doubt that I received amazing grace, but I had no idea that it showed on my face. 

Afterwards, I was walking home one day, and a neighbor asked me, “Why do you look so different lately?” I was surprised by his question, but I told him that I recently surrendered my life to Jesus. I had no idea that my external image could possibly reflect what was happening within my soul. That was the first of several opportunities I had to give an explanation of the hope that was within me. 

During that same period of time, my cousin Clifton, had joined the army, and before he left for basic training, I remember a conversation I once had with him. I was sharing my faith and explaining what Jesus did for me, but he wasn’t very receptive. His responses carried a tone of mockery and total disregard for anything about God. It frustrated me, but after he went off to basic training, I continued to pray for him. 

I wish the story ended on a more positive note, but several months later, he was out drinking with his army friends while stationed in Hawaii, and they had a head on collision. My poor cousin, only in his early twenties, died instantly. It made me very sad, but it also made me realize that we never know how sharing our faith with someone, could be the last time we ever see them again.

Sometimes an opportunity comes when we least feel like talking about it. In Paul’s letter to Timothy, he encourages the church to be ready, whether in season or out of season, to speak and encourage others in the faith, and to do it with great patience.  (2 Timothy 4:2) 

We all have those “out of season”days, when it doesn’t feel like the right time to talk about our faith, or when we try to explain ourselves, but nothing is being received, requiring great patience with certain people. Paul tells us to speak, whether in season or not, always being ready to give an account of the hope that is within us, and to do so with respect and gentleness.

Whatever season it is, when Jesus is seated on the throne of our hearts, the more He reigns in every area of our life, the more we will naturally want to talk about Him. The throne of our heart is never empty, because if Jesus isn’t reigning there, then someone or something else will be. 

The beauty in all of this is that we each have our own unique story to tell, and Peter encourages us to be ready to tell it. Some have a story to share of a radically transformed life, or of receiving a miraculous healing of some kind. Some people’s story has little drama, but is about simple, steadfast faithfulness, despite years of difficult trials and afflictions. Each person’s story is so valuable to someone’s listening ears. 

Christ has reconciled the world to himself, and since we have all been reconciled, we tell our own unique story of redemption. We may never be called as missionaries or to any ministry, but we are all called to be “ambassadors for Christ”. To be His ambassador is defined by Paul as, God pleading through us, yet using our words to invite others to come back to God.  (2 Corinthians 5:20)

Lord, help us to live out our calling  as ambassadors for Christ, to be always ready in season and out, to share our story and the hope that is within us. Amen

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.”

Luke 15:22-24 (NIV)

The Father of the prodigal made a feast and ordered his servants to bring the finest robe and put it on his son. This was the son who took his inheritance money and estranged himself from his family, until he finally returned home after living in a pen full of swine. Though he urgently needed a bath, his father wanted to first shower him with love, rejoicing in his return. The bath could wait until later. 

The prodigal son story reveals many truths about how extravagantly God loves us, first, by receiving us as we are. The bathing and deep cleaning can wait until later. He sees us as sons or daughters, and it doesn’t matter where we’ve been, He is looking for all of His children to finally come home.

Paul said that if we were baptized into Christ, we put on Christ, as one puts on a garment. (Galatians 3:27)

Putting on Christ is like putting on the Lord’s robe of righteousness and His garment of salvation, as described by Isaiah. (Isaiah 61:10)

The father of the prodigal put his  finest robe on his son, honored him with a ring on his finger and new sandals on his feet. He made it clear that this was his beloved son. The father did all this, not because his son was deserving or righteous, but because he was his son.

We are all undeserving, but we wear that robe by the grace of our Father in heaven, who loves us. Every lesson from the prodigal story, centers on relationship. God is our Father, and we are the sons and daughters He loves, and He merits us to wear His finest robe, which is Christ. He wants all His children to keep coming home and regularly receive the grace and forgiveness that He so generously offers.

The finest robe was a gift given, not as a reward for any good deeds that were done, but simply for being his son. We have all been reconciled to God, and are predestined to be conformed to the image of His son, Jesus. He invites us to also wear the gift from of our heavenly Father, which is Christ, His finest robe. 

(Romans 8:29)

Jesus, who knew no sin, wore our sins on the cross, and then gave us His robe of righteousness to wear forever. That kind of exchange reveals the extravagance of God’s love for us. It’s incomprehensible, but it’s the truth and essence of the gospel message. 

If we feel unworthy, it’s because we are. We are recipients of grace, His undeserved favor, because our heavenly Father loves His sons and daughters, like the father of the prodigal in this story. God has called all who are baptized in Christ to wear Him as our finest robe. 

We wear Christ in gratitude, publicly, not in secret, and not hiding Him from the rest of the world. People often say that their faith is private, but the father of the prodigal celebrated his son’s return with a public celebration. His father never intended it to be a private matter, and neither does our Father. 

Redemption is too great a gift to be kept private, since it was meant to be shared with others. Jesus is waiting for more prodigals to return home, so that He can place His garment of salvation and robe of righteousness upon them. Heaven still has a huge celebration every time a son or daughter comes home. (Luke 15:10)

Lord, thank you for wearing our sins on the cross, and clothing us in your finest robe of righteousness, and most of all, thank you for your love, and the free gift of grace, that brought us salvation. Amen

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” 

Isaiah 55:10-11 (NIV)

Scripture has a divine purpose, and that purpose works in whoever hears or reads it. Even the symbols that are used in scripture, become reminders of God’s many truths. 

I remember a mustard seed necklace I once had when I was young. It was a glass ball with a tiny mustard seed inside of it. Jesus said that faith as small as a mustard seed can move a mountain. That tiny seed in the necklace is a symbol and a reminder that God’s word tells us to keep praying and believing, because the tiniest seed of faith can move mountains.

The fact is that a tiny mustard seed does grow into a large tree, some reaching 20 feet high and spreading branches  20 feet wide. Faith, like that tiny mustard seed, is planted in us, with the intention to keep growing.

Reading God’s word produces faith and gives us hope. It also corrects and admonishes us to follow His ways, and not falter through life on our own. Today’s scripture in Isaiah assures us that God’s word never returns void. Whether it is read or heard spoken aloud, it will accomplish a divine purpose in us. 

While we read and meditate on His word, His Spirit transforms and renews our minds, as He is working in us, like a mustard seed growing into a huge tree, bearing spiritual fruit.

Jews have a prayer tradition of filling small containers with scriptures printed on parchment paper.  A parchment of scripture is placed in a container called a Mezuzah, and placed on the doorpost of every Jewish home, as a blessing, going in or out. 

Another parchment is placed in little black leather boxes called Tefillin, which are strapped to their arm and forehead, as they recite prayers. These are the symbols from their scriptures, the Torah, which are reminders to keep their hearts and minds on God and His word.

It may seem like a strange practice, but it’s a literal observance of the following scripture: “Take to heart these words which I command you today…..Bind them on your arm as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)

(A boy praying, while wearing Tefillin)

God wants all of us to know, recite, memorize and bind His word to our hearts. Instead of wearing symbols like leather boxes filled with scripture or on our doorpost, or in a mustard seed pendant, we can plant His word in our minds and hearts, by reading scripture each day.

It will become like a seed planted in us, which grows into a large fruit bearing tree.

In reading scripture, we can know what God has to say to us and about us. We are chosen by grace, and He wants us to cooperate with that grace throughout our lives. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, and reading scripture keeps us even closer as we open our hearts to what He has to say. God’s love for us is like a powerful magnet, and it keeps drawing us closer to Him.  (Romans 8:39)

The Letter to the Hebrews, describes God’s word as a living and active therapeutic sword, like a therapist, which probes below the surface of our being, cutting through the lies that once deceived us and revealing His truth to our heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

Everything begins like that tiny mustard seed that Jesus spoke of. As the Gardener of the universe, God lovingly planted each of us in a womb, beginning as a tiny mustard seed. He has a beautiful purpose for each life He creates, and there are a lot of mountains that need moving. As we regularly allow His word to be planted in our hearts and minds, we will reap the purpose He intended for us.

Lord, help us to cherish your word as your truth is planted in us, as a tiny mustard seed, always growing into a tree of faith and discernment as you reveal more of your love for us. Amen