Householder: December 9, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR FRIDAY DECEMBER 9, 2016.

HOUSEHOLDER

DEFINITION:

The one in charge of the storage and distribution of the food in a house in Biblical times.

SCRIPTURE:

Then He said to them, therefore every scribe which is instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things old and new. Matthew 13:52.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

When Jesus came to this parable, He asked his disciples (verse 51) if they understood His teaching concerning the Kingdom. Jesus wanted His disciples and us, as believers, to know and understand His Word so that we are equipped and ready to help new believers understand the Word of God.

In this parable Jesus was comparing his disciples to the Jewish Scribes and told them that they had the same privilege and responsibility as scribes and householders. The Jewish scribe had the privilege of knowing the Old Testament Law of God. They had the responsibility of teaching the Law to others.

Jesus reminded the disciples that they had been unusually blessed. They had been instructed in the old counsel just as the scribes had but now also they had been taught by Christ, the Messiah himself. They possessed not only the “old treasure” but the “new treasure.”

The old treasure was the promise of God given in the Old Testament of a coming Messiah who would bring Salvation. The treasure of the New testament is that our Messiah has come. He has come to save all who believe. His name is Jesus!

Just as Jesus told His disciples that they needed to be responsible and share the whole counsel of God, both the old and new counsel. We who are believers are responsible to “go into all the world and proclaim the Gospel to all creation” Mark 16:15.

The Jewish Scribes were extremely devoted and studied the law so that they were knowledgeable and well versed in it. Jesus expects us to be like the scribes and study the Word of God, both the Old Testament and the New Testaments, with unswerving diligence. Jesus also made it clear that His disciples and we also, are to be a storehouse of His truth by letting the Word of Christ dwell in us. We are not to be like the scribes who perverted the treasure of God’s Word and therefore missed the truth of God’s Word.

Jesus also explained this parable further by using the householder as an illustration. The householder had two prime duties, both dealing with the food in the house. He was to store the old food and keep it fresh and he was to add new food to the old, serving both at the appropriate time.

Jesus explained to His disciples that they were to respond as a householder needed to do. He compared them to the head of a house. He charged them with the responsibility of preserving Christ’s teachings and then they were to share what they had been taught about the Kingdom of heaven, both old and new, with others.

They knew the old truths which were the message of the Old Testament and now since they had met Jesus they were learning the new truths, the message of the gospel and the New Testament. Today all believers are householders of the old and new treasures and we are responsible for the spiritual nurturing of those within the Kingdom.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 119:165.

Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.

PRAYER:

Help me to study daily and improve my knowledge of Your Word, both the Old and New Testaments, so that I can share with others the good news of the gospel as You have taught us to do.

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Leaven: December 8, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY DECEMBER 8, 2016.

LEAVEN

DEFINITION:

A substance that causes fermentation and expansion of dough or batter; an element that produces an altering or transforming influence; yeast.

SCRIPTURE:

Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was leavened.” Matthew 13:33.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

In this parable that Jesus taught, most interpretations say that the woman is the harlot church that teaches false doctrine.  But there are two interpretations by Bible scholars concerning the leaven.

In some passages of scripture leaven is a symbol of evil so some say that the leaven represents evil that penetrates the Kingdom of God and His church. The second interpretation that is the most used is that the leaven symbolizes the Kingdom of God that penetrates and works silently to transform man and society.

Our concern is not to get into a theological discussion but to relate the message found in this parable to us as believers today. Jesus is saying that it is the responsibility of the church (believers) to penetrate the hearts of individuals with the gospel until the whole person and all of society is transformed.

We believe that the leaven represents the gospel. In the parable, leaven is likened unto the gospel. Leaven first of all makes bread soft and pliable and no longer hard. The leaven of the gospel penetrates the heart of a man and softens the hardness of his heart.

Leaven secondly makes bread moist and no longer dry. The leaven of the gospel penetrates the dryness of a man’s heart and life. Thirdly, leaven makes bread satisfying and no longer unfulfilling like dry, hard bread. The leaven of the gospel transforms the dissatisfied life with no purpose, into one with meaning and significance.

And finally, leaven makes bread nourishing. The leaven of the gospel nourishes our faith. The growth of our faith will prepare us and inspire us to feed others with the leaven of the gospel.

Jesus seemed to want believers to understand how the Gospel penetrates to the heart and soul of the unbeliever by comparing it to leaven. Leaven works quietly and silently until it permeates the whole batch of dough. The Gospel, like leaven, works silently and quietly in the soul of those who receive it causing the dough to grow. The Gospel works slowly and gradually in the believer causing him or her to grow spiritually. Leaven changes the quality of the dough and not the substance. The Gospel leaves a new believer unchanged on the outside but on the inside he is a changed person. He has been made a person of perfect quality, a man of God.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 119:165.

Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.

PRAYER:

Help me to be diligent in feeding on Your Word so the leaven of the Gospel will penetrate the hardness of my heart and make me pliable in Your hands. Give me the words and guidance to be Your representative to someone today.

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Tares: December 7, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 7, 2016.

TARES

DEFINITION:

A weed; undesirable plant.

SCRIPTURE:

Another parable He put forth to them saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares (weeds) also appeared.” Matthew 13:24-26.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

Jesus explained this parable giving us six factors to understand His message.

First, He tells us that the sower of the good seed is the Son of Man the Lord Jesus Christ.

Secondly, the field is the world. While here on earth Jesus sowed the good seed in person but before He ascended into heaven, He commissioned His church, you and I, to proclaim the gospel to every person in every nation. Today the world is our mission field.

Thirdly, the good seed, the wheat, in this parable, is not the gospel but the children of the kingdom. Jesus began to sow (scatter) the good seed (the children of God) first in Jerusalem, then in Judea and Samaria; and he continues to scatter His children into all parts of the world. The good seed, His children, as they are sown are to share their faith with the part of the world in which they have been scattered.

When we are born into this world we have no choice as to what part of the world that would be. God has put you, as a believer, into the part of the world you live in for a reason. Wherever you live, you as a believer, are a “good seed,” a child of God, and His ambassador.

Fourth, the tares are “the sons of the wicked one,” Satan. Jesus said to the unsaved religious leaders of His day, “You are of your father the devil.” Where Jesus sends His children, you and I, Satan also sends his partners in sin.

Fifthly, the enemy that sowed the tares is the devil.

And finally, the harvest is at the end of the age, when we all witness the second coming of Christ. He will then send His angels to reap the harvest and separate the wheat from the tares. He will rapture the “wheat,” the children of the kingdom, and burn the “tares,” the children of Satan. The children of the Devil will be cast into “the furnace of fire,” while the children of God “will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father.” Revelation 20:15

In summary, there are both good and bad people in this world. God sows the righteous and Satan sows the wicked. Men are not to judge who the wheat and tares are because they can appear to be the same. God will be the judge because God alone has the wisdom and authority to know and to judge. He will separate the wheat from the tares.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 119:165.

Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.

PRAYER:

Thank You for saving me from my sins and making me a child of God and one of the good seeds among the tares of this world. Help me to be Your witness in the part of the world that You have placed me. May my life, through my words and my actions, set me apart from those who only say they believe in You.

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Pearl: December 6, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR TUESDAY DECEMBER 6, 2016.

PEARL

DEFINITION:

A hard-lustrous round bead formed around an irritating foreign body within the shell of oysters and other mollusks valued as a gem; something precious or choice.

SCRIPTURE:

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Matthew 13:45-46.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

There are at least two interpretations of this parable by Bible scholars today.

One is that the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant man, seeking good pearls. The man is rich but still not satisfied with all he has got. Pearls are the only substance which cannot be improved by man; this pearl in this parable represents Christ.

When he found one pearl of great price, greater than all, which represented Christ, he went out and sold all that he had and bought the pearl. This pearl, Christ the Lord, the Son of God, is worth everything, and everything is what it will take to obtain it.

There is nothing more valuable than having Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The only way to Jesus is to accept His gift of salvation by acknowledging our sins and seeking His forgiveness whereby we can obtain His Kingdom. In order to obtain His Kingdom, we must be willing to give up everything we have.

Another interpretation is that the merchant in this parable is the God-man Jesus Christ. The merchant came seeking beautiful pearls and found one pearl of exquisite beauty. Jesus, our merchant, came into the world to seek and to save those who were lost and His magnificent pearl is the Church.

The Lord is still seeking to add to the church, which is made up of people that have come to find Jesus as their Savior. These believers are all children of God and together are valuable pearls making up His Church.

The beautiful pearl that the merchant found in this parable taught by Jesus represents the body of Christ. It is a beautiful picture of the growth, unity and purity of the Church.

This pure, pearl-like unity of the church may never be visible to us who are on this earth, during this age. It will be realized though, according to the scriptures, when the dead in Christ are raised and those who are alive are caught up to meet Him in the air. Then we will be perfect in mind and body and, as the parable states, “one pearl of great price” paid for by the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, the merchant.

Just like in the parable, Jesus came to this earth to accomplish His purpose. He sells all that He has, giving all on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Then He buys the pearl, providing for us life eternal and known to all as His church, a body of believers that will meet Jesus in the air to spend an eternity with Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 119:165.

Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.

PRAYER:

How grateful we are that You commended Your love toward us so that while we were yet sinners You died for us. Thank You for this parable showing us the value of who we are in Your sight. Help our family to be quality pearls that will be of value in serving You and bringing others to know You.

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Net: December 5, 2016

TODAY’S WORD FOR MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2016.

NET

DEFINITION:

A snare; a trap; a piece of open mesh fabric used to catch or ensnare something such as fish.

SCRIPTURE:

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which when it was full they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth separating the wicked from among the just and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:47-50.

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

In this parable Jesus was teaching that the net is the Kingdom of Heaven and the gospel is the message of the kingdom. The sea is the world in all the depth of darkness and it’s unknown. The fisherman represents Christ and all of His followers.

Jesus continued teaching using this parable as an illustration by saying: When the net was full they came to shore and sat down and gathered the good into vessels and cast the bad away.

We need to note several things that Jesus was saying:

First, they worked hard spreading their fishing nets into the sea. Jesus compares the hard work of these fishermen to the hard work needed to spread the gospel message of the kingdom into the world of unbelievers.

Second, Jesus reminds us that there is a mixture of good and bad that are drawn into God’s visible kingdom here on earth just as there were good and bad fish caught in the net. There will be some people that will join the kingdom here on earth that are not sincere and have not genuinely accepted Christ as their Savior.

Thirdly, Jesus said in verse 49 that there will be an end to the world. There is a set time in God’s plan when that climatic time will come. The fishing net has a limit as to how many it will hold and when it is full the fishermen draw it in. Someday the Lord will draw in the net, but only the Lord knows when He will draw the net.

Fourthly, Jesus makes it clear that the good are those who are true followers of Christ and obey His commandments, and the bad are those who are hypocrites and not true believers but they will not be separated until the net is full. We cannot dictate who is part of the Kingdom and who is not. The Lord alone has the right to execute judgment when He casts away the bad. The sorting will be done at the last judgment. (Revelation 20:11-15)

Jesus ends this parable by reminding all who were listening that the unrepentant wicked, the bad, will be cast into the furnace of fire and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. (Verse 50)

Yes, judgment day will be a tragic day for all those who come before Jesus still covered in the guilt of their sins having never accepted Jesus and received His gift of cleansing atonement for their sins. This will include some who were regular in attending church, but attending church does not get one into heaven. It will include many who have done many good works, but their good works will not get them into God’s Kingdom.

After this parable Jesus asks the question, “Have you understood all these things?” (Verse 51). Having just warned of the coming judgment you cannot help but notice the urgency in Jesus’ question. It is an urgent question for each of us. Have you understood this parable? Judgment day is coming and none of us know what even tomorrow might bring.

Jesus warned us in Luke 12:40 that we must be ready because He will return at an hour when we will not expect Him.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Psalm 119:165.

Great peace have those who love Your law, and nothing causes them to stumble.

PRAYER:

Thank You for the spreading of the net of the Gospel that allowed our family to be drawn to You. May our lives be used by You to draw many into a saving knowledge of You.

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