My Daily Pause

If you have been to church as many years as I have, you’ve heard the Parable of the Sower hundreds of times. (Matthew 13:1-23) Some new angle pops out of it every time I come across it. Any Bible teacher should refer to it often, but even as Bible students, we can look at it as a warning of what will happen if we fail to tend the garden of our heart.

When the seed fell among the thorns, that was the hearer caring more for the world. (Matthew 13:22) These are people that understand what they have heard, believed it and maybe even have taken the steps to respond to it through baptism. Every Christian was in this spot when they were first baptized.

What causes the thorns? Where do they come from?

So many things can cause the seeds of the kingdom to be choked out:

• Allowing TV and Movies to influence us
• Failing to be with the church at every opportunity
• No self-reading and Bible study routine
• Poor choices of friends
• Allowing the world to guide our priorities.

The list can go on and on.

What is the thorn in your life? We all have one. Whether or not we fall to it depends on how much it is given an opportunity to grow.

Daily Bible reading for July 4

Ecclesiastes 2:24-26
Joshua 2
Zephaniah 2:4-15
Matthew 13

They shall be know by their fruit

The world (and many that claim to be Christians) will use Matthew 7:1 as a way to avoid being told they are living wrong. To make that verse an instruction against judging good and evil causes a conflict with nearly everything else Jesus taught.

Take for instance Matthew 12:33-37. Jesus gives us a benchmark on how to tell the difference between good and evil. We can use a person’s actions and their speech to determine what kind of people they are because:

• We can easily know the kind of tree by the fruit hanging on it.
• Good speech comes from good people
• Good things come from good treasure

In this passage, Jesus tells us we simply cannot be expected to consider sinful people good.

To prove my point, I challenge the reader to a little mental exercise. What goodness is demonstrated by a few of these “harmless” activities?

• Gambling (The lottery, gas station slots, boy’s night poker games)
• Social Drinking
• Showing cleavage (Or dressing immodestly in other ways)
• Crude language

Through Jesus’ point we can understand our lifestyle is a very accurate indicator of what is inside our heart. It will definitely be used in the final judgment!

When most people think of a yoke, they think of it as a tool of burden. Yokes help animals push plows and carriages. There are hot summer days and boiling sun associated with working around yokes.

Yokes actually make life easier. There are various ways yokes have been rigged for humans so they can carry enormous loads. Without a well-designed yoke, it would be impossible to carry enough provisions in a backpack to hike very many days at a time. Farmers can carry gallons and gallons of water for their livestock on a yoke.

When Jesus said to take his yoke from him and learn, (Matthew 11:29) he knew he was asking a lot of us. Being a Christian is not always an easy lifestyle. Like the yoke of a hiker’s backpack, or like the yoke of a farmer moving large buckets of water, the yoke that Jesus asked us to take helps us deal with so much more.

Jesus’ yoke makes us better at love. Better at kindness. Gentleness.

Jesus’ yoke makes us strong enough to deal with life’s pain. Stronger to defend God’s word. Courageous.

We weren’t promised an easy life – but he gives us the tools to cope with anything.

As I read through Matthew, (and listening again via audio book) I can’t help but wonder how I would have reacted when Jesus walked up to me and told me to follow him. The disciples had successful businesses and they were in good standing in their community – The kind of lives you don’t just walk away from.

To top it off, they were asked to keep making these adjustments in their lives. Jesus sent them out to teach with literally nothing but the clothes on their back. (Matthew 10:5-15)

They were warned there would be persecution. (Matthew 10:16-17)

They had to go and say things that would not be popular among those they taught.

I found this about the disciples in Burton Coffman’s commentaries:

These men were not princes of the blood, but fishermen, a tax collector, and followers of other ordinary occupations. They were industrious, more than ordinarily successful in business, keen of mind, sensitive of soul, honest, perceptive, and courageous. They were ambitious, hard-working men, an excellent lot indeed; but apparently they possessed no skills or talents of an extraordinary nature. They were men most remarkably like the best men of any stable community anywhere on earth, peculiarly fitted to be the chosen representatives of all mankind, and eminently qualified for the possession of that power and dignity to which the Master called and elevated them.

These look like qualities of the kind of people that are easy to follow. When Paul told us there is no law against bearing the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), when he told the Philippians to act the way they saw him act, (Philippians 4:9) I have no doubt that he meant for us to work toward becoming people like this.

Yes, it’s a lot to ask.

It’s not very easy.

But the payoff is outstanding!

So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. – Matthew 10:32-33

Daily Bible reading for July 1

Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
Deuteronomy 32:48-33:29
Nahum 2:1-3:4
Matthew 10

Previously, I outlined my suggestions for daily Bible study. A key ingredient to an effective study is prayer. When we invite God into our efforts he will provide us with the wisdom we lack (James 1:5)

When Jesus was about to send the disciples out to teach, he asked them to pray for the harvest. (Matthew 9:35-38) As his followers, one of our biggest opportunities is to go out and teach and make others aware of him. (Matthew 28:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:2) This is a big responsibility! Whether it is for Bible studies, door knocking, vacation Bible schools or even our routine worship service we need to follow Jesus example and pray for the laborers.

Daily Bible Reading for June 30

Ecclesiastes 1:12-18
Deuteronomy 31:30-32:47
Nahum 1
Matthew 9