Do you avoid interacting with those who are far from God? Jesus addressed this as He concluded His Parable of the Weeds, revealing the inevitable fate of weeds and wheat, our intended focus, and His ultimate desire. At the harvest, the weeds are burned and the wheat is barned (see Matthew 13:28b-30, 39b-42). The weeds represent […]
The Parable of the Weeds | The Weeds Are Burned (Matthew 13:28b-30, 39b-42)
The Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43)
Do you ever wonder why God allows evil to exist? Do you find yourself telling God that your life would work out a lot better if He would just remove the evil barriers in your way? Whether it is a competitor, a criminal, a nemesis, a cheating spouse, or an enemy who was a former friend, […]
One Fruitful Soil Produces Life (Matthew 13:8-9, 23)
What kind of heart does our Heavenly Father desire for each one of us? Jesus shed light on the answer to this question when He described the fourth soil in His Parable of the Sower. The “good” soil was soft (Matthew 13:8), and it received a divinely multiplied blessing: “It produced a crop, a hundred […]
A Hard Heart (Matthew 13:4; 18-19)
In His Parable of the Sower, Jesus described three unfruitful soils of destruction, each representing a condition of the heart with different obstacles to receiving the word of God (see Matthew 13:4-7; 18-22). The first soil that received seed was “along the path” (Matthew 13:4). This soil was hard. It had been beaten down and […]
When God Examines Your Heart What Does He See? (Matthew 13:47-48a)
When God examines your heart what does he see? God fishes for Christ in us: “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and […]
The Parable of the Net (Matthew 13:47-50)
Have you ever asked yourself, “What does God fish for?” The answer might affect what you wake up seeking each day. In a parable about God’s net, Jesus addressed this question (see Matthew 13:47-50). First, God fishes for all: “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the […]