Is it just me, or in America are we so obsessed with money that when something in the Bible mentions a produce return of 100, 60 or 30 that we think in terms of money. It seems like many of the discussions I have heard over they years focus on a monetary return. What if it is NOT about money?

Scripture

Matthew 13;8-16 Amplified

8Other seeds fell on good soil, and yielded grain--some a hundred times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some thirty.
9He who has ears [to hear], let him be listening and let him [a]consider and [b]perceive and comprehend by hearing.
10Then the disciples came to Him and said, Why do You speak to them in parables?
11And He replied to them, 8Other seeds fell on good soil, and yielded grain--some a hundred times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some thirty.
9He who has ears [to hear], let him be listening and let him [a]consider and [b]perceive and comprehend by hearing.
10Then the disciples came to Him and said, Why do You speak to them in parables?
11And He replied to them, To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12For whoever has [spiritual knowledge], to him will more be given and he will [c]be furnished richly so that he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
13This is the reason that I speak to them in parables: because [d]having the power of seeing, they do not see; and [e]having the power of hearing, they do not hear, nor do they grasp and understand.
14In them indeed is [f]the process of fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: You shall indeed hear and hear but never grasp and understand; and you shall indeed look and look but never see and perceive.
15For this nation's heart has grown gross (fat and dull), and their ears heavy and difficult of hearing, and their eyes they have tightly closed, lest they see and perceive with their eyes, and hear and comprehend the sense with their ears, and grasp and understand with their heart, and turn and I should heal them.(A)
16But blessed (happy, fortunate, and [g]to be envied) are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear, but to them it has not been given.

Observation

Did you catch what Jesus said in verse 11!!! To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. The secrets and mysteries of the Kingdom Of Heaven have been given to me.

Application

God has opened up his kingdom for me, through Christ. The kingdom of God is mine for the taking. How does money even compare to that? It's not a 100/60/30 fold return on money given, it is a 100/60/30 times return on what my eyes/eyes and heart take in from hearing God's word. That's where I want and need the return. Where does my treasure lie? In a financial return of 100 times, or having my eyes hear a secret from the Kingdom of God, and having the Holy Spirit grow that seed in me 100 times, for Kingdom returns.

So what does this look like? First, I need to spend time with the Master Gardner, He will be planting. Second, have open ears and open eyes so I receive the planting with gladness. Ask the Gardner to constantly till my soil to keep my soil "good". The Bible says in Matthew 13:22, "but the worries of life and the deceitfulness of riches choke it(the good seed) making it unfruitful". So if I stop worrying about this vapor of a life that I have, and stop running after the riches of this world and be deceived that that will make me happy, keep my soil freshly tilled by God each day, then the secrets and mysteries of God's Kingdom, given to ME, will produce 100, 60 or 30 times the initial planting. Think about this. Just God putting Himself and His mysteries into me should be enough to last me throughout eternity. But Jesus is saying, (warren paraphrased) Oh but wait just a second. God will reveal himself to you and plant himself in you and give you knowledge about his ways. BUT, if you will remain in me and keep the soil ready, keep your eyes open and see, keep your ears open and hear, and keep the callouses from forming, then what God has planted in you will grow 100, or 60, or 30 times." More of God? He wants to share 100 times more with me than he has already. I need to stay prepared.

Prayer

Father, What a great gift you have given me...the knowledge of the secrets and mysteries of heaven! You are wanting to reveal more of you to me. You are ready. I ask that you would clean out my ears and wash out my eyes, scrape away any callouses that have formed so I ingest the knowledge you have given me. I want my soil to be ready, I want to know 30 times, 60 times or 100 times more of you. But that will not come if my soil is hard, or if there are weeds there. I ask that you till me and weed me of things that would stop the knowledge of the secrets of heaven from being made clear to me. Amen.

What's on my Store Shelf?

Scripture

Matthew 12:35

The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

In the Message:

It's your heart, not the dictionary, that gives meaning to your words. A good person produces good deeds and words season after season. An evil person is a blight on the orchard. Let me tell you something: Every one of these careless words is going to come back to haunt you. There will be a time of Reckoning. Words are powerful; take them seriously. Words can be your salvation. Words can also be your damnation."

Observation

As I let the Lord examine my heart, I will find out what type of inventory I have on hand. Is my heart empty, low on inventory or is it stocked full with inventory faced perfectly on each shelf? What have I stored up, or what am I stored up on?

Application

So I guess the question would be, why would my store shelf's be empty or full? Looking at the scripture it goes back to verse 30 when Jesus says, "He who is not with me is against me". So if I am with Christ I have the beginning of storing up good things. But it goes on to say, that the things that overflow out of my heart is really coming from what is stored up in me. So what types of things am I bringing into my store house? I have one BIG #10 can of Jesus on my shelf because I am with him, but throughout the day what other inventory am I storing up? Did I show agape love to my "neighbor"-good stored up, did I deny myself and lift up others-good stored up, did I speak words of encouragement and hope-good stored up, did I speak ill-will and gossip-evil stored up?

For me this is a great barometer as to what is stored up in my heart. Is it good or evil? If there is more evil than good, then I need to go to the Warehouse and get new inventory. More time with the Lord, more time in His word, more time in prayer so my shelves will be full of all things good.

Prayer

Father, Thank you for being the only warehouse I need to come to, so I can store up good things. All good things are from you and for your glory only, if my store is full then it is because or you and will only be used to glorify you; not me. Help me today, to follow you ways and speak words of good to those I meet. If there is evil words and deeds in me, I ask that you remove them and as I seek you more replace them with good. Amen.

Things Revealed

Scripture

Matthew 10:25
25At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.



Observation

I guess the question here is WHY were things revealed to little children and not to the wise and learned? Is it because children accept things as they are and don't try to add into what Jesus is saying with "their years of experience, their own beliefs/philosophy and prejudices?" Is it because children are naturally curious about things without their curiosity having an agenda?(like most of us adults) Years ago there was a show which Bill Cosby hosted called, "Kids say the Darnest Things", and it was a show with out takes of kids asking and saying simple things that we completely relevant to them at that point. It was kind of silly, but children are not tainted with other mental games, if they have a question about something they will ask it. I was asked by my step-granddaughter last week, if the grapefruit, which had a bruise on it, was hurt when it got bruised. She hurts when she gets a bruise, so her question is a valid one.

Application

How do I go through life with the curiosity of a little child, having an open mind to all things, so the things of God will be revealed to me? Is it as simple as just believing what God and Jesus is telling me, without Warrens Wisdom( I think that may be an oxymoron) saying, "I know that the Bible says this but it makes sense to do it this way" when I am adding on to the word with a "Yeah, but.....................". So my challenge today is to view things through a child's eyes. Yesterday when I person stopped in the middle of the road with no cars in front of them, and I am just sitting there behind them( then gave them a couple honks) then a couple blocks later when they turned I could see that it was a couple very elderly women who were looking side to side like they were lost and needed some help. Would a child of 4 or 5 honked at them? They probably would have had the attitude that the people needed some kind of help. Look at the help I gave....honking.

Prayer

Father, you have revealed things to children, in fact you have told us that the kingdom of God belongs to the children. Help me today have the eyes and thinking of a child so that I accept everything you have said, so that I do not filter your word with any of my thinking, so that I will ask curious questions about life and you because I want to know more of you, not for any agenda. Just because you are worth knowing. Thank you for revealing yourself to me. Amen.

Freely Give

Scripture

Matthew 10:8
"Freely you have received, freely give"


Observation

What a wonderful verse from a set of instructions Jesus is giving The Twelve right before they hit the road. I did NOTHING to deserve what I have received from God. He gave me the Faith to believe in him as well. I was sitting at a table with it completely empty. The table, my plate, my cup, my life. Empty. Jesus fights through opposition and finds me there. It's just Jesus and I-nothing else around. He asks me what I need. I need something to eat...so Jesus turns and when he turns back around his arms are full of food. What else do I need he asks? I need something to drink. He turns and then pours into my glass a water that ever refills itself after I drink. What else he asks? I need love I say. He reaches for me and touches me, and I am filled with a love I have never known.

Application

Jesus has given me everything I need. He gave The Twelve everything they needed. So the question I have for myself is.....How have I given to others what Christ has given to me? How did I share the Love of Christ today? I don't have to go on a mission to do that. What about letting an extra person go ahead of you on the freeway, how about letting the person in the grocery store line, who looks like they have things for dinner in their cart, go ahead so they can get home sooner with their family, how about buying some of the groceries for the person ahead or behind you? How have I shown Hope to a dying world? Did I give some time to a worthy cause helping the needy, did I share Hope with a co-worker who is facing difficulties at home or did I just say "I'm sorry to hear that-I hope everything works out OK", because you didn't want to offend? My eyes have to be open to this today. The word has been injected into me, so I must do something with it. If I don't do something, if I don't do what the Bible tells me to do then I am as the Pharisees and Sadducee's and should be called a hypocrite for not doing what I have been called to do.

Prayer

Father, You have given me everything, and because of your great love to me, you have shown me how I am to love others. I ask that you would assist me in showing your greatness to those who are dying. You have provided me with Love, Hope, Faithfulness, Goodness, Gentleness, Kindness, Peace, Patience and Self-Control before I even knew I needed them. You have given me YOU. Thank you for coming to me, empty and hopeless, and opening up your kingdom and passing all good things out to me. You didn't do that so I would have a Big Barn full of things, but rather us me as a vessel to show the world of your wonders. Help me to give, as you have given to me. Amen.

Put it into Practice

Scripture

Matthew 7:24 Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built is house on the rock.


Observation

I think this one is pretty simple....When I read the word and hear God's voice I need to do what I have heard. I need to put into practice the things I read.


Application

OK I am supposed to do what I hear. But my mind wants to hold me back. So for me I need to keep myself marinated in the word so that my thinking will be renewed-Romans 12:2. When the time comes that I am going to do what I heard, instead of my mind telling me that I am stupid for subjecting myself to "that", or that "that" would be a colossal waste of time...my renewed mind will put into practice what I have heard. Jesus told me to love, give to the needy, to pray for others, to not judge and that if I do those HE sees my obedience and will reward me. The thing is I am not doing it for the reward, I'm doing because it to be obedient, to put into practice all the things I have heard.

Prayer

Father, You have given me the words of life. I ask that my ears would be wide open to hear clearly from you, and that my mind would continue to be renewed to your way. My ways produce death and destruction, but you bring hope and life to those who accept it. I also ask that you would work with me in putting into practice all the words I hear from you. Regardless of what it looks like to this world, I want to put into practice the words you have given to me. Continue to make my heart one of obedience, bringing glory to your kingdom. Amen.