Tag: parables

Devotional 128: The Gathering of Tares

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The Parable of the Tares Explained

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

37 He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

It is a terrible thing to hear! It will be even more terrible to experience, but what mankind forgets in the seeking of kings is that the king is given sovereignty: he gets to decide who belongs, and who doesn’t, who means him harm, and who doesn’t, who seeks to take his place, and who doesn’t.

There are those who don’t believe in G-d because they don’t understand that belief in the Son is the only way to him. As Dr. David Jeremiah said, the appeal of Eastern religions is that there are things for man to do. There are rituals and  chants to perform that are more active than merely believing.

But what they also don’t understand is that mere belief is not the only tenet of the Christian faith: there are the acts of repentance, of obedience, of giving thanks and praise, enduring mockery, and intolerance, and even death, of taking care of those among us who are less fortunate, of telling others of the way to salvation, of missions, of ministering to our families and neighbors, and using our gifts to herald and advance the Kingdom in truth and love, and to worship in spirit.

Faith is the catalyst. Repentance and salvation are the result of faith.

We are taught that Jesus came to die for us, and that’s true, but it goes one step further:

Matthew 16:21

Jesus Predicts His Death and Resurrection

21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.

His death was an active affair. There were people complicit in every aspect of it, but few speak of the horror of crucifixion. He was Christ, so our minds like to relegate His pain to the realm of the abstract, but had He not felt it all, had He not seen the horror of what was  to come, He would not have pleaded for the cup to pass.

He felt all of the abuse heaped on Him, the weight of the wood on His shoulders, the heat of the sun on His parched flesh, the stabbing of the spear, the spit of those who once followed Him in multitudes to be healed.

And He never let go of the Father until G-d turned away as our sins formed the clouds and blocked His vision. That, for our Lord, was the most horrific aspect of all, and the first and only time He spoke of the Father forsaking Him, even though He knew full well that the Father could not look on sin.

So, if as Paul tells us: (1 Corinthians 6:20)

19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

And Christ tells us: (Luke 12:5)

5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!

Yet people rebel: “You made me this way, and you want to burn me for eternity because I am this way?” There are variations on this, and without examination, seems to even make sense.

Yes, we are “that way”, but we don’t have to stay ‘that way,’  for we have been given the power to choose.

There are those who repent of sin, and there are those who fall into it. It is not an easy choice to shed the things of this world and follow Jesus, but it is always, as long as there is the covenant of grace and the precious gift of time, possible.

John 6:37

37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.

Seeking Him is active too, and even those of us who claim to believe are called to return, to abide, to rest, to sit at His feet and learn of Him, to pray without ceasing, and to love one another.

Matthew 12:46-50

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers Send for Him

46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”

48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Your king is looking for you to be a part of His family, His kingdom, and His eternal life.

Are you looking for Him, or are you content to be a tare in the field, awaiting the dread harvest of His reapers?

Therefore I pray:

King Jesus, 

There are times I don’t know if I am wheat, or weed. I have all the outward appearances of a good servant, but inside, I am a rebel. My pride is all around me, and glory in the blessings I think I’ve received through my own efforts, with no favor from a silent, distant G-d who wants me to believe that the son of a carpenter came to save my soul.

But You are not the son of a carpenter, you are the Son of G-d, and the Son of Man.

Your sovereignty is unchallenged, and Your judgment is just.  Help me to know that every idle word will be held to account, and every secret thing brought to light, whether good or evil.  Then help me to follow the path of righteousness, and believe that You can heal me.

Today, Lord, I lay my sin on the altar for the consumption of Your holy fire, instead of my backsliding soul.

Deliver me from myself, and the whispers of those around me who are agents of the prince of this world. Give me discernment, that I might see what You see inside my own circle of friends and family. 

I would be a light on a hill, pointing them to You, as You point them to the Father.

I don’t believe that I can do greater works than You, for I am not worthy of You. Knowing me fully, yet You still came for me, still revealed Yourself to me, still forgave me and loved me then, as You do now, even though my love for You has wavered, and waxed cold, and rekindled more times than I can count. 

But the hairs on my head are numbered, my days are few, yet You tell me I am worth more than sparrows and lilies to the Father, and He will purge His enemies from His sight.

I would not be burned, Lord. I would be redeemed. Help me to keep a reverent fear of the Father, who has given all authority to judge the hearts of men to You, then let me abide in You, that my sins will be blotted out, and remembered no more by Him who can destroy the essence of my very soul created through Your hands.

I desire to be among the blessed, among those who do His will, among His mother, brothers, and sisters.

I desire to be wheat and not a tare, escaping the harvest’s fires that consume all that wasn’t fruitful, or good, or of use, having used the soil of life to bring forth things of no value the sower, and being destroyed along with he who deceives by planting look-alike seeds of damnation.

Lord, I am blind. I want to receive my sight, and I believe that You, and only You, can do this.

Let it be done to me as You have said.

Amen. 

Devotional 95: To Purge, Purify, and Punish

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Matthew 3:7-11

7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9 and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10 And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Within the Word of G-d, fire has three roles:

The first is to clear the waste of that which is not the work of the Kingdom. The waste itself is part of the harvest, and it is always separated from that which isn’t the Father’s will.  Jesus spoke of these fates to end the parable of the wheat and tares:

29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” 

As people enter the faith and leave it, the harvest will reveal all, but the fire will reveal those of us who’ve remained true to the Lord.

The second is to purify. The Holy Spirit reveals the truth of G-d’s Word to us, convicts us of sin, and leads us to repentance, but also instills within us a desire to share with others the Good News. That which we do unto the Lord, our works, as such, are also tested. Paul tells us this in 1st Corinthians 3:11-15

11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

As Paul speaks of being saved, that brings us to the third role of fire: to punish:

John’s admonition to the crowd, and in particular to the religious leaders, speaks of this:

12 His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Isaiah prophesies to its existence: (Isaiah 66:23-24)

23 And it shall come to pass
That from one New Moon to another,
And from one Sabbath to another,
All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the Lord.

24 “And they shall go forth and look
Upon the corpses of the men
Who have transgressed against Me.
For their worm does not die,
And their fire is not quenched.
They shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

Jesus affirms it when He speaks of removing that from our lives which causes us to sin:

43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— 44 [where

‘Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.’

 

The fire that punishes can’t be put out, and is eternal.

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:

Let us be ever conscious of the roles of fire in our walk with the Lord, and let us work to eliminate that which is unfruitful, that our works may stand, and that which will make Him tell us to depart from His presence.

Let us, instead, seek to be purified, that we won’t need to dismember ourselves to enter into Life, and to remain under the covering of the covenant of grace, in all that we do.

Therefore I pray:

Lord Jesus, 

I thank You for the purification of holy fire, holy truth, and salvation.

I thank you for imparting to me the Holy Spirit, that I might remain reconciled to the Father through You. I ask that You give me discernment to do that which is the Father’s will, in all things. I would like to see my tested works of blessing remain, and not suffer loss (though I know I will). 

I would have You say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” and not be saved with my clothing smoking, or worse yet, to depart.

Help me to know that my willful rebellion is recorded for the Day, and that I will be called to account for my thoughts, and every idle word. Help me to remember that my backsliding means a greater darkness because I claim to be Yours, and that I crucify You again to my shame, which means I abide once again under Your wrath, and not in Your mercy.

You have set me apart, and called me out of the world, and revealed the Father’s will for me through Your teaching, and Your sacrifice. 

I would not cheapen that, or take it lightly, nor for granted. 

Forgive me, Lord Jesus, for the times that I do all these things, and let the Spirit have its way in me. Help me to attune to the still, small voice that guides me to the Narrow Way, that I might be in Your presence, praising G-d forever more.

I ask it in Your Name, believing I’ve received.

May it be done to me as You have said. 

Amen.