PLANTING MUSTARD. Matthew 13:31-32.

Have you seen mustard seeds? Those seeds are TINY, roughly the size of a period. They must be easy to lose—a gust of wind could carry them for miles.

I found mustard seed online. It’s sold by the McCormick spice company in a tiny glass jar with a red plastic top—like so many of our spices at home. The jar contains 1.4 ounces of unprocessed seeds. They have not been made into a paste or treated in any way. McCormick’s advertising copy reads: “Our mustard seeds add tangy subtle heat to pickling brines, rubs, & seafood boils. Flavor maker.”

Jesus said:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than all the vegetables and becomes a tree and the birds of the air come and build nests in its branches” Matthew 13:31-32.

I usually read this parable as teaching that when one person comes to Christ, that seed may pay off a hundred-fold in the future, as he leads friends, neighbors, and family to Christ—and they lead others, and on and on it multiplies, reaching thousands in generations to come.

But what if Jesus is talking about how we spend our TIME?

How many times have you blown hours filling your mind with godless rubbish, with music and stories created by bitter, broken people living dark, hopeless lives—only to have your mood turned around in a moment by a Christian song or a timely Bible passage?

Give God a mustard seed of your time today.

Give Him five minutes—how hard is that? God’s message and God’s Spirit are so supernaturally powerful, in only a few minutes He can revolutionize your thinking and radically change your day for the better.

GIVE HIM A MUSTARD SEED OF YOUR TIME.

God will bless those minutes in an amazing way.

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HOW SMALL IS YOUR PART? Matthew 13:31-32.

They say, “there are no small parts, only small actors,” but the truth is—there ARE small parts. You can be the star or you can be “Man in the crowd number 2.” 

Do you ever feel that way about your life? Like your part is small? You have an unnamed role, a face in the crowd, while someone else is the star? I think everyone feels that way sometimes. Or you may know you are a star in one venue, but your role in GOD’S show, the story HE is telling, may be small. For example, Tom Brady is a huge star in football. But if he is a believer, or one day becomes part of God’s kingdom, his role there may be small. The point is, we all feel small sometimes. 

Let’s talk seeds. There is a coconut palm with 12-inch seeds. The better-known traditional coconuts are also huge seeds. Other plants with large seeds include avocados, mangos, buckeyes, peaches, pecans, and walnuts. But have you ever seen a mustard seed? It’s the size of the period at the end of this sentence. Ground pepper is larger. Yet God uses those tiny seeds to create new mustard trees. 

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed, the smallest of all seeds. But when the farmer plants it in his field, it will become the largest of all the herbs and will become a tree with birds nesting in its branches” Matthew 13:31-32.

Never think you have a small part. Even if it looks tiny. Even if you struggle with doubt so that your faith appears tiny. God will bless what you do for His kingdom. He will take the smallest effort, the smallest obedience, the smallest prayers, the smallest conversation, the smallest faith, the smallest sacrifice—and He will BLESS IT. His blessing will grow your tiny efforts into great things. His blessing will make something amazing out of our contributions. 

So HANG IN THERE! Keep talking, praying, reading the Bible (even 5 minutes a day). Keep doing the things He has given you to do. Keep loving the people around you. Keep talking to Him. 

HE.

WILL.

BLESS.

IT.

God, bless our efforts. Do something great!

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CULTIVATE THE SEED. Matthew 13:1-23.

Jesus told the Parable of the Sower and while reading it again I thought about Passion and other mountaintop experiences: Camps, Disciple Nows, Revivals, Christmas Pageants, concerts, a sermon series, etc. When we are moved deep in our souls, we think we will never fall away, never go back. But things happen, life happens, and we get discouraged. 

Read the parable again with different words:

A farmer went out to plant seeds. Some fell by the road and birds gobbled them up. Some fell on the rocks. They sprung up, but had no roots and the sun scorched them. Some fell among thorn bushes and could not compete for sunlight and water and space to grow. But some fell on good ground and bore fruit, 30, 60, or 100 times greater than the seed itself.

The disciples asked Jesus to explain. He said, ‘When some attend PASSION (or a similar crusade or revival) and don’t get it, then the enemy comes and steals away what little they had. Others hear the sermons at Passion with joy, but they have no root. They endure for a little while, but when it gets tough, they fall away. And the seeds among thorns represent those who go to Passion, get all excited, but the worries of the world choke their faith and they become UNFRUITFUL. But he with good soil hears the message of Passion, understands it, and will bear fruit, up to 30, 60, or 100 times greater than the tiny seed planted in his heart.’ Matthew 13:1-23 (paraphrased).

After EVERY spiritual high or mountaintop experience, PRAY for good soil, for a true and faithful heart.

God, help us hear and understand Your Word. Make it bear incredible fruit! Never let our faith be stolen or choked by the cares of the world. We want to serve and bear great fruit for you!

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TREASURE. Matthew 13:52.

Do you have any treasures, things that if lost in a fire would break your heart? I find it hard to think of treasures—but that may be because I have never had a house burn down.

But going through my parents’ home reminds me of treasures: irreplaceable albums and heirlooms. What are treasures you can’t replace? Jewelry? Guns? Photos? Paintings?

Jesus talked a lot about treasure.

Today I ran across a verse that made me curious so I read it in other translations—and the meaning became clear:

“Every expert in the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings from storage treasures both new and old” Matthew 13:52.

An expert in the law would be an expert in the OLD TESTAMENT.

And if that same expert were then to become a disciple (student) of the kingdom of heaven, he would begin discovering the amazing grace in the NEW TESTAMENT.

The Old Testament teaches us the joy of living with the discipline of observing the law; the New Testament teaches us the joy of walking in grace.

But many Christians dislike the law so much they can hardly read the Old Testament. Some are so burdened with guilt and the weight of their failures, they hate the law. But Paul says the law is holy and just and good, and that the law was his teacher, leading him to Christ. Romans 7:12, 7. And while many today might ignore the law completely, as though it never existed, Jesus said, “Do not think I came to abolish the law… I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” Matthew 5:17.

We walk in GRACE. We are forgiven and freed from the grip of sin. But the law remains a storehouse of TREASURE. Never neglect it.

“All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful. Yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” Hebrews 12:11.

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If Moses and the law are no longer relevant, why do martyrs in heaven sing about Moses? “And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb” Revelation 15:2-3.

“GRIPPED BY GREAT FEAR.” Luke 8:37.

When you read the Gospels, it’s easy to envy those who knew Jesus on earth. How amazing to sit with Him at the Last Supper, or pray with Him in the garden? Or to pass out miracle-food to 5,000 people? Or see Lazarus come out of the grave?

But it was not all sunshine and rainbows. As John Eldredge puts it, when Jesus entered humanity, He invaded a world at war.

Christmas was an INVASION, the most powerful foe the devil would ever face was born behind enemy lines.

And Satan wasted no time sending Herod’s soldiers to destroy the child—and every other boy child for good measure. (I wonder what Jesus thought about those deaths—the hundreds of grieving families, the classrooms with no male students, the young ladies with no men their age to court them…)

Read Revelation 12—the Bible’s alternative version of Christmas. “The woman’s child was snatched away from the dragon and there was war in heaven…” Revelation 12:5, 7.

As Simeon held the baby, he told Mary, “a sword will pierce even your own soul” Luke 2:35. Being His mother would be tough. It would not be sunshine and rainbows. In fact, she would watch her son die a horrible death.

Jesus would confront hypocrisy, upset the status quo, and make everyone freak out. In fact:

This Man children loved TERRIFIED adults.

  • They were scared when they heard the Father say, “this is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.”
  • Scared when He cast out demons.
  • Scared when He commanded the wind and waves to be still.
  • Scared when He came to the disciples walking on the sea.
  • Scared when He told the paralytic to “take up your pallet and go home.”
  • Scared when He raised the dead.
  • Scared when He was transfigured with Moses and Elijah.
  • Scared when He boldly announced to the torch-carrying crowd that He was Jesus, the One they had come to arrest.
  • And scared when the tomb was empty.

Following Jesus is TOUGH. You will be challenged. Scared. Hurt. Exhausted. And why not? Jesus experienced these things—why shouldn’t we?

PRAY FOR COURAGE AND FAITH.

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ARE YOU WATCHING THE STORIES AROUND YOU? Luke 8:8, 12-15.

I am fascinated watching the stories around me—Mr. Most-Likely-to-Succeed actually does, while another flames out; gung-ho teacher quits after working 12 hours a day for two years, while another works half as much, but keeps at it for decades. Some destinies fulfill expectations, others are surprises. Most apples don’t fall far from the tree—but now and then one falls during a flood and floats away to a place unpredictable. God’s grace works miracles.

Jesus told about a farmer planting seed. Some fell on the road and was eaten by birds. Some fell on the rock, sprouted, then withered. Some was choked by thorns, unable to grow.

“Still other seed fell on good ground; when it sprang up it produced a crop: 100 times what was sown” Luke 8:8.

Jesus explained this parable. In these verses, I see the stories–the lives–of everyone I have ever known:

“Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches, and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those who receive the word with an honest and good heart, retain it, and by enduring produce a crop” Luke 8:12-15.

Do you see your friends in these lines? Do you see yourself? Are you choked by life’s worries? Or riches? Or pleasures? Or do you receive the word with an honest and good heart? Will you endure and be faithful so God can use you to bear fruit?

Ask God to plant His word deep in your heart so you can bear tremendous fruit for Him!

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Authority.  Matthew 28:18.

On my first day as a newly licensed attorney, I walked into my new office and my new secretary told me my new Texas Bar Number, which she had located online. She knew it before I did. Within an hour, the boss suggested I sign a motion for him. From that day on, my name was on all the motions and briefs and I was signing them as fast as I could draft them.

But without membership in the state bar, I could not have signed motions. Only attorneys admitted to the bar and listed as “attorneys of record” in a case can sign pleadings and motions.

As an attorney, I possessed LIMITED AUTHORITY to file papers with the Court.

Soon I began to travel a great deal for work, sometimes spending as much as five days out of town at a time. One day I received a prescription on a Friday afternoon, and was leaving town that night. My symptoms had flared up and I needed the refill before leaving, but my doctor had neglected to add the dosage. It was a medication I had taken “as needed” for decades, and I told the pharmacist the dosage, but she refused to fill it.

“I have to hear it from your doctor.”

I was running out of patience. “But the doctor’s office is closed now—and if I were to reach him, you know what he would say? He would ask me: ‘What dosage do you need?’”

“Either way, I’ve got to hear it from him.”

I knew the pharmacist was simply doing her job. But we had gone round and round and I was frustrated—my doctor’s failure to add dosing instructions was about to ruin my week. But my brother is a doctor—and he had an active Texas license at the time.

“You know what I’m going to do? I’m gonna go home and call my brother who is a doctor—and he actually takes the same medication. You can expect to hear from him, and then I’ll be back.”  And that’s exactly what happened.

As a doctor, my brother possessed LIMITED AUTHORITY to prescribe medicine.

The exercise of lawyer authority and doctor authority is strictly limited. We all possess limited authority—over our property, our pets, our children, our decisions.

Jesus possesses unlimited authority.

Jesus taught with authority: “The crowds were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had AUTHORITY, not as one of their scribes” Matthew 7:28-29.

Jesus possesses the authority to stand before God the Judge as our attorney. He is “our Advocate with the Father” 1 John 2:1.

He has the authority to forgive sins, Matthew 9:6.

He has the authority to heal diseases with a word, Matthew 9:6.

He has authority over weather: “the wind and sea OBEY Him” Matthew 8:27.

He has authority over spirits. The demons recognize His authority, asking “What have you to do with us, Jesus? Have you come to destroy us before the appointed time?” Matthew 8:29.

He has authority over death, John 11:38-44.

Is there anything over which Jesus does NOT have authority? No.

Jesus said, “ALL AUTHORITY IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH HAS BEEN GIVEN UNTO ME” Matthew 28:18.

God, help us understand YOUR authority, as we live in this world of bosses and employees, teachers and students, parents and children, and hierarchies and organizational charts of all kinds. Give us insight into Your divine authority as each of us lives “as a man under authority, with others under me” Matthew 8:8.

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*Pictured is the Norman Rockwell painting THE PHARMACIST, a 1955 advertisement for Upjohn Pharmaceuticals.

DO YOU EVER HAVE DOUBTS?Luke 7:20.

If you have doubts, you are not alone. Many heroes of the Bible found themselves doubting God: Abraham, Moses, and David among others.

Think about John the Baptist. He was touched by God while still in the womb—he leaped inside his mother when he heard the voice of Mary nearby. His whole life was escorting the Messiah into the nation of Israel. He knew he played the role of Elijah, crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord!” Mark 1:3. God brought the Jews to John by the hundreds.

When Jesus showed up for baptism, the Holy Spirit spoke to John and he KNEW he was looking at one “whose sandals I am not worthy to untie” Luke 3:16.

And he probably thought: Yes, I have known my cousin for 30 years and of course, he is the long-awaited Messiah. Why didn’t I see it before?

John baptized Jesus and heard the voice only he and Jesus could hear: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” Matthew 3:17. After that, the ministry of Jesus attracted crowds larger than anything John had seen. And John explained to his disciples that Jesus’s growing ministry was the whole point of John’s life. He summed it up: “HE MUST INCREASE, BUT I MUST DECREASE” John 3:30.

John understood that God had given him a front-row seat to the life and work of the Savior. Jesus even said, “among those born of women, there is no one greater than John” Luke 7:28.

But who had doubts? JOHN THE BAPTIST HAD DOUBTS.

From a dungeon, John sent two of his disciples to Jesus to ask a question: “Are you the One who is to come or should we look for someone else?” Luke 7:20.

What did Jesus do? Did He criticize John, or say—”How could you doubt ME? You are my herald, my announcer, my agent, my press secretary. How can you ask such a thing?”

No. Jesus encouraged him. He knew the devil’s lies.

Remember—

“DON’T DOUBT IN THE DARKNESS WHAT GOD TOLD YOU IN THE LIGHT.”

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EMOTIONS. Luke 7:37-38, 47.

We are emotional creatures.

I have heard some describe their emotions as a “roller coaster,” but I think emotions are more like waves in the sea. The amount of energy in motion does not really change, but as the sea floor gets nearer to the surface, the waves become more dramatic. We all feel emotions, but some of us experience them as the slow roll of the deep ocean. Others experience them as the surf breaking and pounding on the beach. But we all have emotions—and the same amount of water is moving in each of us, though it is not as obvious if you are one of those in whom “still waters run deep.”

Are your emotions involved in worship? I don’t mean do your emotions look like someone else’s. But does He bring you joy? Does His love and forgiveness bring you gratitude?

Chuck Colson said his conversion was a rational decision—and that’s a great thing in a man like him. But I’m sure as he grew in Christ he developed emotions about his Savior. It’s inevitable.

If you love God and spend time with Him, you will become passionate about Him.

I want to love Jesus more. I want to love Him this way:

“A woman in town who was a sinner found out that Jesus was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house. She brought an alabaster jar of fragrant oil and stood behind Him at His feet, weeping, and began to wash His feet with her tears. She wiped His feet with the hair of her head, kissing them and anointing them with the fragrant oil…” Luke 7:37-38, 47.

We should all love Jesus like that. We should work our MINDS to study the Bible like Ezra, the only man the Bible repeatedly calls an expert in the word.

But we should also love Jesus with the PASSION of this woman who anointed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.

Now THAT is worship!

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THE AMAZING THRILL OF GREAT WORK. Matthew 11:28-30.

Have you ever experienced thrilling work? Been caught up in something bigger than yourself, knowing everything you do matters, that this will make a difference, that maybe this is what you were MADE TO DO?

Have you worked to the point of exhaustion, yet felt the peace of knowing you were using your energy EXACTLY as you should?

People have experiences like that in many settings: A mission trip sharing the gospel or rebuilding a church or drilling a water well. Or pursuing a dream: warming up in Athens during the final week before the Olympics. Or revising that first novel. Or memorizing lines for a role in a Shakespeare play. Or assembling pieces for an art show.

But burnout is possible in every field—as well as in the unpaid parts of our lives. Household chores, marriages, and difficult children can make us as weary. No wonder everyone knows an addict—addictions are the only relief many people understand. 

But Jesus knows how weary life can be. We are steeped in sin, surrounded by broken, hurting people. No one has enough money and bosses are never satisfied. But Jesus offers relief. He wants to LIFT YOUR BURDEN.

“Come to me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I WILL GIVE YOU REST. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” Matthew 11:28-30.

Jesus does not promise to remove your work. He still wants you under the yoke. He needs you working!

But He will shoulder the burden WITH you. And He can bring meaningfulness and rest and joy to any work. Stay close to Him, your GREAT PARTNER in work. He will make your yoke easy, even thrilling. And He will give you rest!

I have experienced this so often in my career! I know it to be “FACTS.”

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