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Ok OK – i know i was going to let the Lord lead me on what this devotion for the church newsletter – but i didn’t know it would come so quick, LOL …..

So – it is March and i have been writing now in a way that i can easily and freely share – not of where I was in my faith journey but of where I am now…

So this is about parables and reading the bible and spreading the word…  if you want to use it fine – if not – that is fine and i will likely be writing another one soon, haha…

Thanks and God Bless!

Jesus and His Parables, Just a Click Away

Click, Click, Click – I have been reading the Bible a lot lately – but not that one sitting next to me – instead I have been reading an electronic version even closer – one already in my hand – right on my smart phone – take it wherever I go. When Pastor preached earlier this year about Jesus promising “greater miracles than these” – the Bible on smartphones must have been one of those advances – because it really makes a difference.

The Stewardship committee gave us each an index card and a flyer about daily prayer – it’s a great idea – to challenge us to read the Bible and to share our favorite meaningful passages… and to be hones with you, I looked at that card and said: “How am I going to fit all these exciting Bible verses on it?” because I have been binge reading Bible verses on my smartphone….  Well, when Pastor asked me to write a devotional for the newsletter it took me a minute and then it clicked in my brain – and I want to tell you how easy it has been for me to read the Bible when I click click click….

Teaching Sunday School, we use the vast resource of Jesus’ Parables – these stories are so numerous in the Bible – and you can find so many to relate to you and your friends.  Jesus used parables to teach disciples and make disciples: “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” Jesus knew if they were true disciples they would understand the stories – but if those listening were confused and were sincere seekers, then they would take the time to ask Jesus and His disciples questions – YES ASK QUESTIONS!  Challenge your Faith – and see where you stand – Lent, Easter, Christmas are all excellent times to question your own faith and see where you stand.

One of my favorite parables to share with others is that of the Four Soils – three versions are in the Bible – Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-34; and Luke 8:4-18. This summation is from Mark, after the disciples asked Jesus for an explanation:

‘ 13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”’

Click, click, click – into my brain – and then when you click forward or backward on your smartphone in the Biblegateway.com or other Bible online sources into the other chapters – you would be AMAZED at how chuck-full the Bible is with these great parables back to back – just the reading of the titles will bring you memories of favorite stories. Then there are many new stories you may have never heard of!  I was reading Luke and saw a reference to the beheading of John by Herod – and i had no idea what that meant – so I asked one of the trusted disciples I know and it led me to Mathew 14 – where John the Baptist was beheaded – oh! Then that led me to the next paragraph about Jesus Feeding the Five Thousand with Loaves and Fishes – then next to Jesus Walking on Water – and Pete doubting and sinking in the water – only to be rescued by reaching out his hand to Jesus who caught him. Jesus, the Fisher of Men, is truly found in that account…  Now, I clicked back into the previous chapter and found the Parable of the Net, of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl, of the Weeds, of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast, and then back to the Parable of the Soils…

Yes – we are able to work these parables into our daily lives  – with the ease of a click – and just be open to reading and listening.  Then, if we are able, we are to start working the yeast into the dough: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

Enjoy the Parables in the Bible and Yes, ASK QUESTIONS! Then spread the Word of God as if you were trying to spread those tiny grains of yeast until everyone in the world has heard…  “Whoever has ears, let them hear.”