My conscience simply will not let me solicit the friendship of someone (saved or unsaved) just to realize some financial gain for myself or the ministry. The thought of it is completely contrary to what God has been teaching me about what reaching out in true love really is. I can't think of a more selfish way to use somebody.

Partiality and favortism is at the very heart of our sinful nature--entertaining people for whatever benefit they can provide. That is precisely the 'old man' I want to see crucified.

Thank God that He (God) did not do that to me, leaving me an example to follow. Just when I had nothing to offer Him, He saved me:

"...because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ EVEN WHEN WE WERE DEAD IN TRANSGRESSIONS..." (Ephesians 2:4)

"You see, at just the right time, when we WERE STILL POWERLESS, Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5:6)

One of my favorite scriptures that almost always causes me to well up in tears is Luke 14:12-14 (THIS is the very heart of God!)

"...When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, OR YOUR RICH NEIGHBORS; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, INVITE THE POOR, THE CRIPPLED, THE LAME, THE BLIND, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, YOU WILL BE REPAID AT THE RESURRECTION OF THE RIGHTEOUS."

God, create in me THIS kind of love that you might be glorified and my joy will be complete.

"...the ONLY thing that counts is faith EXPRESSING ITSELF THROUGH LOVE." (Galatians 5:6)
















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If we study the parable of the Mustard Tree we see that it relates to common OT themes.

Daniel 4,Ezekiel 31&17 show us that Christ is speaking of a type of Christian nation gone bad.Since the birds spoken of in Ezekiel 31 Matthew 13 Revelation 18 seem to relate to demonic principalities that have strongholds in the places of worship in Egypt,Babylon(NT & OT) & Assyria.We see the current state of our churches in the U.S.

In the Torah Mustard is not kosher in vedgetable gardens because as a seed bearing plant it is only permitted to be grown as a field plant yet Christ(a strict Jew)plants it in his garden.

This speaks of the fact that the people who made up the initial Mustard Seed were a very small group of Gentile believers who were made righteous(kosher) by faith.They were grafted on to Abraham (made his sons by faith).

This small group of faithful people were none other than the seperatists(Pilgrims) who landed on Plymouth Rock in 1620.They were the ones who Christ brought to himself then planted in his garden.
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My heart goes out to Edwin who reached out and helped accident victims and became a victim himself. Edwin, I do not believe that this is God's perfect will for your life -- to serve time for giving of your time, talents and the love of God in your heart to help someone. Certainly we can see the hand of the enemy in this. I will pray and ask God to turn this thing around, to cause you to find favor and to reward you for your efforts to walk in love. I believe in prayer and I know that prayer changes things. Begin to speak a positive message of change. Know, by faith, that God has not forgotten you. He will save you and deliver you from this cruel thing that has happened to you. In addition to that, He will reward you for the 10 years you have spent fighting this thing. He will reunite you with your wife and cause your life to be filled with abundance. I decree it in the Name of Jesus!
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If the father divided his estate between his two sons, 2/3 to the elder brother and 1/3 to the younger, then surely the younger brother returned to the land owned by his brother, not his father?
Please help.
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i need your help on the yeast phylum
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Tnx!!! i have an assignment and it is about parables of Jesus... Because of this forum, i can understand it and it is easy to explain in the class!!!Im not a Catholic so i cant understand in the book... TNX Very Much!!! ^_^





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The father in the story of the prodigal son required no proof of repentance. God's love is stronger than his vengeance, as seen in Hosea 11:9.It also teaches us that the Father's love does not depend on our actions, and He loves us unconditionally.
To Davobrian, perhaps we could think of some of the offenses we have particular difficulty forgiving. Do we give others a second chance? Take, for instance, the ex-convicts, do we give them a chance to reintegrate themselves back to society without discrimination?
The younger son travels a journey similar to all Christians. We sin and fall from grace but the Holy Spirit within us constantly reminds us to return to the father, and when we are spiritually dry, we will return. Yet, when that happens we also yearn for our brothers and sisters to welcome us, not only the Father.
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webmaster a quote from you....

I'm also curious about the word leaven. Why are we but it's bad? I know it's used in several other places as a reference to something as bad but does it not also have another use in the original language? Does it not make bread rise "yeast" could have been used for that reference also. Something that makes something like meal flour rise and grow. I consider the kingdom of heaven as growing as a good thing. I know there are a LOT of tares in with it but that's part of doing busniness, you get the bad with the good then the seperation at the end.

For what is worth i agree Anyone who bakes knows the value of leaven without leaven many things would be flat, tastless, hard, If have a few minutes look at leaven and first fruits.....unleaven-passover ... leaven- penticost?




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I'd like more parables to read and appreciate. The Sower is wonderful.
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yes we can be good samaritains in this era! If you kinda a person that has been left to die you would help them weather thye were a stranger or your enemy, it's still a person who diserves to live!
so yes we can be good samaritians!
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There are several ways to look at this parable and still fulfill gods love.I am sure that Jesus was being very specific though when he spoke at the time.Our Lords words just seem to touch each persons life in a little different way.Our Lord was all things to all people and this parable reaches all in one way or another.This parable to me shows me that even the type of person that might outwardly in appearance be rough and offensive, may just be the person that the Lord uses to touch your life in a blessed way, or to pull you from the gutter.Who knows truly about anyone around us but the Holy Spirit that guides us and speaks to us.Our jobs as christians is to be as accepting as possible and to follow the lead of the Holy Spirit.We are to set the example like christ , being Good samaritans and to lift others into the position of Good Samaritans.God Bless and keep your Hearts to all who read this.
Your Brother in Christ,
Chris
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If you would send me an e-mail I think that I can give you the address of the person from whom I got the picture of a mustard tree in Jerusalem with a little boy standing in front of it. I have the address at home and currently am at the church. I also may have the address where you can get seeds which are about the size of ground pepper grains. Let me know.
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teachers - profits

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Please send me a picture of a of a full grown mustard seed tree. Please send it as soon as possible.

Thanks,

Rosalind
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can you tell me where I can find this quote about
the mustard seed in the Bible? The one about how even
the tiniest faith can grow? thank you.

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How are you? I believe that we have to look at the fact that a talent was worth many years wages back then. So this is something valuable that is given to each of us...."the gospel" We all have a measure of faith and talents (which is how we get this english word for an ability) to spread this word to others. If we do this and incooperate our ability with the spreading of God's word to others than we will receive rewards and the Lord will be pleased w us...Faith without works is dead. Therefore if we just internalize the gospel and keep if for ourselves (bury it) than we don't have anything at all. the nature of the gospel is to spread it to others that we may win some. He who wins souls is wise. We are all called to evangelize and to spread what we know about Jesus to others. If all you know is John 3:16, then spread that to everyone. God bless you and continue to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Jesus reigns!!!
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Dummelow writes: " The vegetable or herb, not the so-called mustard tree, is meant. In hot countries it sometimes grows to a great size. The Jerusalem Talmud says, 'There was a stalk of mustard in Sichin from which sprang out three boughs, of which one was broken off, and covered the tent of a potter, and produced three cabs (12 pints) of mustard.' Rabbi Simeon said, 'A stalk of mustard was in my field, into which I was wont to climb as men are wont to climb into a fig-tree.' Although the mustard seed is not really the smallest of all seeds, it was so in popular estimation." (Dumm. pg. 673)
Mark's version says that the mustard tree is "greater THAN all herbs" and Matt's version is the same as Webmaster writes, "greatest AMONG herbs". "Greater than" is different than, "greatest AMONG." To make my point, I am larger than an apple, but that doesn't mean that I am the largest among apples! NEB and J.B. Phillips write of the mustard tree, "---it springs up (grows up) and grows taller (becomes bigger) that any other plant." RSV, "becomes the greatest of all shrubs", NI and NAS, "largest of all garden plants, with (forms) such big branches---" LB, "one of the largest of plants, with long branches---." Only the Amp Bible writes, "greatest of all garden herbs---" All interpretations are much the same for both Matt and Mark. I guess the point is that everything is a matter of human interpretation and and it seems to me that what is most important is to gain the SPIRITUAL import of the Scriptures of which there is only one. It is not mine or yours but God's given to each of us in the quiet of silent prayer. I agree that word definitions are MOST important and useful in discovering the spiritual aspect of the Scriptures, but only to that end.
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after careful and thoughtful study of the old testament prophets I can`t help believing that the ram with two horns that daniel see`s in his vision is symbolic of the ram being america who does seem to do as it pleases in regards to the world today and the horns being the symbology of the twin towers I really believe the end times are being played out in the world today as described by the prophets who recieved their wisdom from god as a gift. I just feel so helpless in regards to what is going on but I also believe nothing happens in this world without god willing it.
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Well, I have been searching olso for a picture of the mustard tree, but I havent found it yet. I will appreciate if you have one in you data bank and chare it with us.

Rodrigo
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The "fig tree," without fruit, represented fruitless Israel. Christ had sought fruit for three years, and had found none[Luke13:6-9]. There was nothing but leaves. Thus, the tree was to be "cut down", with a view to the Church being called into existence to bring forth fruit in relation to the kingdom of the heavens, in the stead of Israel [Matt. 21:43].
And, though Israel would be restored at a future time, Israel could never again be placed in the fruit-bearing position in relation to the heavenly sphere of the kingdom[Matt.12:31,32]. The nation, through a failure to bring forth fruit in this realm, had forfeited this right forever. Israel, when restored, can only bring forth fruit in relation to the earthly sphere of the kingdom
Thus, in Genesis, fig leaves only, apart from the figs themselves [fruit], depicted man's condition following the fall. He was in a fallen state, in no position to bring forth fruit relative to the reason surrounding his creation. Then, in the gospel accounts, Israel, though in a position to bring forth fruit surrounding the reason for the nation's existence[ as Gods first born son,in possession of the passover lamb], didn't bring forth fruit. And Christ used a fig tree without leaves only to respresent not only Israel's condition at that time [fruitless] but to also show, through the cursing of the fig tree, what was about to befall Israel.
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teaching vacation bible school. the kids would love to see what a mustard tree loos like.

thank you
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Vs 17 states "When he came to himself". It's important to stay with God.

When do not know how long God's mercy is going to last. You may not be

as fortunate as the Prodigal son coming to himself. You may not come to

your senses (NIV). "Stay with God"
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This morning I was listening to the radio 'Messanic Jew foundation' And the preacher mentioned that there are not 'Mustard Trees' And he went on to explain, I didn't get the details so I'm having to research it.
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I am doing the parable of the mustard seed for a baptism class and need a picture of a mustard tree.
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D'Laine,
I myself wondered about this parable/illustration till I found a commentary on these two verses from Mark 4 in Dr. J. Vernon McGee's Thru the Bible commentary series of books on the Bible. His comments really make sense when we think about how "religion" in the largest sense, has gotten away from the simplicity and the purity with which Christ taught, and instead metastasized into a huge aberrant all encompassing umbrella imbracing man made tradition's, social reform, and the very encumbrance's Christ spoke about of the Pharasee's. Here are Dr. McGee's remark's:
"Mustard is not food, it is a condiment. And the growth of a ustard seed into a tree is unnatural. This picturs the outward growth of Christendom into great organizations big churches, large programs, all produced by human energy and not by the Holy Spirit. The birds in the branches are not even good. They represent Satan". I hope this helps, G. Weldon
P. S. His website for listening to his Thru the Bible series is located at:
"http://www.ttb.org" and if your interested in my Biblical poetry mixed with my secular, my website is: "http://home.earthlink.net/~weldon" .
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I found Morris's commentary on Matthew very helpful here. The background on the Jewish wedding ceremony at the time was helpful to me in understanding.

The virgins are bridemaids, waiting for the groom to come so that they can have a torch-light procession back to the groom's house where there is a fantastic wedding celebration. Reading too much into the parable can be dangerous- we could start to read all kinds of things into it which aren't there, and pretty soon we have a whole new wonderful theology based on the wild assumptions we have just made (eg: the Oil is good works, the lamp is the 10 commandments being taught, etc.)

As far as I understand it, the parable fits in with the other parables about the delay and the return of Christ catching some people out, but not the wise stewards, wise virgins etc. They are ready for the return- whether the return is late or early.

This parable focuses on the delay- so late that everyone falls asleep (notice, as Morris says- no-one gets any blame for this, it was not an offense)- but when it is finally time for the wedding (obvious OT parallels with God as Israel/(true Israel)'s bridegroom or husband), what was previously an invisible difference between the bridesmaids comes to the fore: some of them were ready not just for the delay, but more importantly are ready now that the groom has arrived. The others are not ready. The upshot: they don't get into the party- and that is a disaster.

Hope this helps!
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After reading all the comments on the Filling of the spirit I find this one to be right on the money. I was going to post a writing of my own, but after reading this I decided to commend this writing. God bless and an excellent job Robert.
Pastor Rick.
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Dear Pastor

Who is mammon?

What does it mean 'to make for yourselves friends with mammon of unrighteousness' so they may receive ye in everlastings habitations?'.
Which friends? which habitations?
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i think that there is no name for the prodigal son. Jesus uses it as a "symbol" im not sure if that's the word for it but basically a general implication of us, before christ. i think, don't take my word for it, but pray about it. God will know.

hope that gives u more of a view of things

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Webmaster, I found the link for the "Parable of Servants" to lead me afar to the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. Without a page for Matt. 24:45-51, I include it with this Parable of the Ten Virgins.

The preceding Parable of the Two Servants is critical to the Parable of the Ten Virgins, which begins with the word "Then" (Matt. 25:1). Therefore, the fulfillment of the Parable of the Ten Virgins will shorly follow that of the preceding Parable of the Two Servants (Matt. 24:45-51). Well, when will that be? Who are the servants in charge, and who is their master?

For centuries churches have taught that Jesus Christ is the Master of His parable, but this understanding is collapsing before our very eyes in today's end times. He has prophesied that the end of the age, when He would rapture us home to heaven, would come once the gospel of salvation through Him got spread throughout the whole inhabitable earth for a testimony to all peoples (Matt. 24:14). My problem with the traditional church teaching is as follows: what if the evil servant in charge should prevent world evangelism so that Christ should never return? Well, in that case, Jesus Christ obviously was not the master of His parable. Hebrew and Aramaic grammar can shed light on this.

In English, we usually speak of classes of things in the plural unless we use collective nouns. The same was true of Greek, yet Hebrew and Aramaic were exceptions. In those two tongues, there is a "general (use of the) masculine singular" as we see in Psalm 1, in which a righteous (man) in Hebrew represents righteous people ("am) in general. In the Parable of the Two Servants (Matt. 24:45-51), the general masculine singular "master," "wise and faithful servant," and "evil servant" have been retained upon translation to Greek and English rather than receiving grammatrically correct plural translations to preserve the meaning of the text. The verb "dichotome^sei" (will cut asunder) could merely mean "will categorize" if the evil servant were presented naturally in the plural in Matt. 24:51. By leaving the general masculine singular forms intact upon translation to Greek, Saint Matthew makes it completely clear to us that, yes, the master(s) will most certainly cut the evil servant(s) to pieces. Now that we understand the general masculine singular, I examine the plural meanings of the master and each servant in charge.

If the master be not Jesus, he must have entrusted the servants in charge of his wealth or at least now hold the position to return and judge them. Only the people, or successors threof, who entrusted the servants in charge of the goods of God's people and responsible to nourish them can then be this master. Furthermore, when this master returns, he must recognize faithful service and entrust the good servant with all his goods: who is so incredibly generous today? Furthermore, he must conceal his intentions to return to the evil servant unawares, do so in good times, cut him to pieces, understand how the evil servant was hypocritical and assign him his portion of the hypocrites, cast him out knowing the weeping and gnashing of teeth to result, and beat or flog the evil servant according to the servant's conscience (Luke's account). The text to condemn the evil servant is Matt. 7:7 to refute the spiritual claims of every pastor who browbeat his needy while he lived it up. By putting his needy down when they made requests, the evil servant has caused them to sin habitually (worth a curse, Matt. 18:5-7) by putting aside Jesus' commands not to worry but to ask, seek, and knock. In light of the general use of the Hebrew or Aramaic masculine singular forms, the master, if not Jesus, over servants, represent the following situations...

Board of elders (master) over pastor, treasurer, Sunday school teacher;
State legislature or accreditation board (master) over psychiatrists, corrections officers, physicians, psychiatric gatekeepers, etc.;
HR Department (master) over hospital billing staff, nurses, etc.;
College of cardinals (master) over Roman Catholic bishops (servants);
Head of the United Methodist Church (master) over itinerant ministers;

and so on. Still, this judgement cannot happen yet because these masters still have today's laws to fear, laws against aggravated assault and battery. Remember, in order to return as master, each of these gatherings in power must be able to amputate the evil servants, so literal a word in the Greek as to make Matthew retain the general masculine singular of Hebrew in Greek translation to preserve its meaning of cutting into pieces, of absolute amputations, perhaps just one, perhaps several amputations. Furthermore, from Luke's account they must have the power and will to beat the crying evil servants already kicked out severely according to the content of the conscience of each. How the various masters will gain their rights to impose these corporal punishments, judgements of Scripture, I leave to the Lord Almighty. (Lord's Prayer)

Next, after all this has happened, the Parable of the Virgins will be fulfilled as the church worship industry dies and loses its buildings. The five wise virgins with extra oil represent believers, such as churchgoers, with salvation and sufficient obedience to Jesus to be received into house churches. In contrast, the five foolish virgins represent lukewarm so-called or backslidden Christians who believe or go to church for social reasons and are unwilling to desist from sin in order to stay welcome at a house church. When the Kingdom of Heaven moves out of the dedicated church buildings and into house churches to meet in mundane places, will the social churchgoers indeed feel locked out! And thus our "extra oil" represents sanctification beyond the oil in the lamps, justification. Lastly, the wedding banquet will occur then in the house churches if not after the Rapture in heaven.

Finally, the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25:14-30) will be fulfilled as masters call their rank-and-file stewards to account. Each steward, each of us in charge of wealth of our own, however little, has been entrusted to make a profit according to our abilities. The good stewards or servants (not necessarily in charge of people) will have profits to show their masters, their rich friends of Luke 16 if not Jesus Christ in heaven. The lazy servants have failed to do what was right: to trade with their wealth and make profits. Perhaps the load of seventy-six pounds avordupois of silver was too heavy for the lazy to carry; soldiers who drop their seventy-pound rucksacks are those most likely to get killed because others have to carry their packs for them. Perhaps his experience is with funerals and burials rather than in trading; perhaps he does not trust in his master's return, thinking instead, "He won't ever come back. When he dies, I won't trust his heirs; they won't know what I have hidden to free myself." In the worst case, however, the lazy servants say they never had money to invest. In that case, I, Kevin Douglas Rosenberg, prophet of Luke 16, or some ally of mine, shall be their master if the faithful servants answer to their rich friends then instead of to Jesus Christ after the Rapture.

I will tell the hard-lot lazy servants that they had Luke 16:1-13 in their bibles; how come they contented themselves with financially limited congregations despising Jesus' commands to generosity as they hewed to their Budgets? Very few of them indeed in Christ can say they never had the chance to read this passage, only that no one led them to it. I will be far less sympathetic toward those lazy servants who did not have such a problem as incarceration yet still ignored Jesus' clear command to make friends with the rich people of the world so that people might welcome us into everlasting dwellings if we lost our homes and so that our congregations might be granted the wealth for our ministries. And the profitable servants will be commended by their grantors while the lazy servants get stripped of their little wealth and possessions and cast out into the outer darkness of homelessness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Yes, the lazy servants content to serve God by themselves with what they have will lose it all, and that will be given to the best stewards.

By obeying Luke 16, we may know the rich people of the world, and they may let us in on their investment advice. In contrast, the proud among us who avoid the rich will make dumb investments such as gambling. Therefore, faithfulness even in the unrighteous mammon of Luke 16:1-13 is even more important than investment advice for hard-earned money.

I wish you all the best of luck in these end times as we get our houses in order for these awesome events.

Yours in Christ,

+++ Kevin D. Rosenberg

(reply here; e-mail is exclusive of junk mail)



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What will it take for the elder boy to come to his senses? I say it will take pain -- real pain, and a reflection on pain that seeks understanding, not only of its external cause but also for that part of caused by one's own action. For example, it hurt the elder to be taken for granted as a obedient son, to be "dissed," but it hurt him more to hold on to the memory of, or to impute malicious intent to the ignorant one. Christ avoided this by forgiving the ignorant, those who, due to lower consciousness, "do not know what they do." The fact that Jesuse even talks to the leaders shows he has hope in their transformation; this address anticipates repentance, as it is not condemning, just like the father does not condemn the, now, disobedient son.
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who were they really? what were some of their main beliefs? how did they relate to the Jews? to Rome? Where were they located? what rolde did they play in Jesus' life?HELP
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Denny,

I really enjoy your musings. I tend to agree with you about most of what you say. I think that makes you a very wise person - in my estimation :)

Humility is not groveling in the dust, calling God a liar. The apostle Paul called that "false humility". True humility is when we agree that God's view and opinion is reality. True humility is when we agree with God who says we are righteous. We WERE sinners but not now.

The parable of the "unprofitable servant", (Luke 17) when taken out of context might, at first blush, seem to be telling us to work hard for God and not expect any words of thanks. But Jesus had just finished telling of the great power that is available to us if we would just believe it. "Lord, increase our faith", prayed the apostles.

If I'm commanding sycamine trees to be uprooted and planted in the sea, then such power might go to my head, don't you think? Jesus warned us to do these great works of God and keep in mind that He is the source of our power.

Far from trying to connect people with a sense of inadequacy, Jesus parable is a warning NOT to let all this power go to our heads. Jesus has all power in heaven and earth and if we are in Him, so do we. If Jesus can walk on water then so can I. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in me. If Jesus can heal the sick then so can I. If Jesus can raise the dead, so can I. "I can do all things", the apostle said, "through Christ which strengeneth me".

Do all things, small and great and remember always to give God the glory. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:6) By acknowledging God in all that we do, He keeps us on the strait and narrow. That's a promise I can use.

And the scripture was fulfilled which said, "And Rob and Denny believed God and it was credited to them for righteousness."

God has blessed you with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. Rest in the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit.

Your brother,
Rob

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The evil one spoken of in the beggining
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this parable is very simple. Stay ever ready for ye know not when the master of the house will return.
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This has been a great study to learn how to apply this parable to my own life and pass on my findings in the LORD. I have a wonderful time looking at this small but great seed for my life.
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Matthew 7:24-27

(24) Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
(25) And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
(26) And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
(27) And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.

Hi, my name is Ashleigh and I am 13 years of age, my friend, Shannon and I are doing a religion assignment on that parable, worth 45% We just need some help of a few questions. Here they are:

An explination of the meaning of the parable
Revlevance for today
Catholic Beliefs evident in the parable.

If you can help us, because this is hard for us and need some 'fresh' help. Please email me on ashleigh.mansell@stclaresc.act.edu.au or you can email my friend whos email is shannon.talbot@stclaresc.act.edu.au

Thanks a bunch!

We really hope you can help me!
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The mustard seed is seen growing after an abnormal fashion, showing Satan's success in stopping Christian from bearing fruit through causing and unnatural growth in their ranks. And not only so, but the mustard seed is seen devoloping so abnormally that it eventually becomes a tree; and this tree is seen to be of such a nature that " the birds of the air ," individuals doing the work of Satan, found a lodging place in the braches .

There are multiplied warnings numerous places in Scripture concerning false teachers who would arise and teach " perverce things," Particularly related to the faith," THE WORD OF THE KINGDOM". And these false teachers would arise, not from the world, but from Christendom itself. These false teachers would arise from the ranks of Christians, in the Churches( Acts 20:29-32; cf. 1 Tim.4:1-3; 2 Tim.2:8,18; 3:7,8; 4:1-4; 2 Peter 2:1ff; Jude 3ff ).
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The non-Prodigal son was guilty of the sin that many of us fall subject to: Pride. He had clearly lived his life with an objective of pleasing his father (or others) so as to receive their acceptance and approval. When the praise and glory was given to another (who he concluded was less worthy) it was more than he could bear. We should live our lives with a mind to please only God. In doing so, we are guaranteed God's approval, and will never be disappointed as the brother was here. Moreover, in doing so, we are likely to please our fellow man anyway, as they experience the warmth that come from associating with a christ-like person.
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I WAS TOLD THAT A MUSTARD PLANT IS ONE OF THE FEW PLANTS THAT WON'T CROSS POLLENATE WITH ANYTHING ELSE. IT THAT TRUE?
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The only perfect response in each of the three parables in Luke 15 is God's response. He seeks to save the ignorant and helpless. He seeks to find an carelessly lost inheritance. He affirms the right of man to choose. He rejoices in the results of shepherd, the woman and the return of his son.

Neither the younger or older son respond perfectly to the situations they are confronted by. Only when the youngest son's life style drops below that of the father's servants does he decide to return home.

His repentance was perfect, though.

The older son is obedient and hard working. In fact he is working at earning and preserving his inheritance. Nothing in his life would have taught him to respond as the father did. Only a father can understand the joy of a child returned to him. The oldest son should have joined in the celebration but could not. His obediance was without fault.

Today our churches don't have the excuse of not knowing the true nature of God. Today we have the presence of the Holy Spirt, and still many believers cannot rejoice at the salvation of repentant sinners. They too have led lives of hard work and obedience.

We seek a simple straight-forward understanding of things; even in God. We seek to hold a complete understanding of God in three short stories; It isn't meant to be. Use these stories to understand God's love and his desire for a relationship with each one of us.

Thesis topic: The evolution of the meaning of the prodigal son; How context can change the classic understanding of this story. Or how different cultures relate to this story;
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Does anyone have an opinion on what the sandals represent?
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I believe that the woed of God should always be used in the context of the verses around the one you are reading.
Mustard seed.
In Matt 13 it seems to be abnormally large and the fowls are clearly stated to be satan and his fallen angels. I believe it represents the earthly human church. Not the spirital church that is following after Christ first.
It started small and if you consider all the churchs called christian, has grown to cover most of the world. Many false teachers and false doctrines rest in it's branchs.

Now if you want to consider other verses.
Matt 17:19-21
Here the mustard seed represents the need for growing faith. The disciples could not cast out the demon because of unbelief. They needed much prayer and fasting. These things would focus you on Christ and thereby make faith grow.

Luke 17:5-6
Here the mustard seed is talked about in growing faith. (increasing your faith) It shows what is possable with faith that has no doubts. Although my faith is increasing by study of the bible, prayer, gathering at my church,ect. I can not say it has no doubts. It is just a sprout. Not even a bush yet.

If you will consider these verses you will see the mustard seed is used as a example of good and bad. Alway consider the verses around what you are reading to get the context of what is being talked about. This is why I personally hate proof text. Read one verse only and then say what it means. Easy to miss interpt that way. Always read 2 or 3 verses before the verse you want and 2 or 3 after or better yet read the whole chapter to get the context.
May Christ richly bless you as you study (not just read over) his word.
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You missed a very important point in the scripture you used, 'if it were possible' the elect shall be deceived.
It is impossible for God's Elect to be deceived, God uses His Elect, to fulfil His Word!
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We are all sinners. Whether we have God in our hearts always (stay with the Father) or whether we stray away and find our way back to our Father, He will always welcome us home with open arms.


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soaking in a bath of mustard seeds will make you have an abortion. is this true or myth
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I hope your study of the good Samaritan brings forth amazing fruit in your life. I think it is time for all of us to realize that time is running out and we should spend ourselves, as the good Samaritan demonstrated, seeking out and caring for the lost. We can truly be ambassadors from heaven if we're willing to take Christ to a lost and perverted world. Jesus is the only answer. May God bless you and anoint you to proclaim his Word with boldness to all who will listen. My prayer is that He will give you such a love for souls that you will spend time in prayer and fasting believing for a harvest of souls. God Bless.............in His service, Bro. Pat
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Jesus uses leaven in some parables to explain how evil can quickly take over a person but in the parable in Matt 13 he is using it to describe how the Spirit of God causes the values of the kingdom of God to permeate in a Christian. Jesus does not have to tie his symbols down to one idea.
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Do you no what the scientific name is for microorganism in bread.

what microorganism is used in bread and what group does the microorganism belong to


thankyou

bye
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Denny,

I honestly didn't intend to leave the impression that we are praying to ourselves but I guess I did. And in a sense, any time we try to "establish our hearts" in something (be it good or ill), we mix repetition and emotion.

In some circles, it's called "positive affirmations". All it is, is self-talk. The world blasts us with negative self-images all the time. Really, the church does too (but that's a topic for another post).

Television and radio advertising conditions us to believe certain ways. The beliefs of our hearts drive what we spend our money on. Advertisers mix repetition and emotion through the senses. This sensual stimulation is designed to make us feel a certain way. Then it is repeated over and over until it becomes a pattern in us. When that pattern is laid down, the course of our lives follows.

We do the same thing as Christians. We immerse ourselves in the word because we it makes us feel good. We worship God because it feels great! We pray for the same thing over and over - not to convince God to do something He was originally unwilling to do, but to open up our hearts to the truth that we "have received" His blessing.

Mark 11:24 (NIV) says - "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Jesus said "... believe that you HAVE RECEIVED it and it will be yours". Well, I don't know about you, but that doesn't come easily to guys like me. Think about it - I don't have it but I'm praying to God believing that I already have it. That's not altogether intuitive, ya know?

Paul said - "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." (Phil 4:6 NIV)

Did you ever pray with anxiety? I did. "God please have mercy!" That's really not the "kingdom way" to pray, is it? "Do not be anxious" but pray and petition - WITH THANKSGIVING! Thanking God for what? I'm just guessing - I'm no bible scholar - but I'd say we should be thanking God for the very thing(s) we were praying and petitioning about. "Dear God thank you for prospering me as my soul has been prospered. Now I can pay the rent." But your bank account is zero. God is good and He does deliver us from harm. He who trusts in the Lord shall not be disappointed.

Kingdom thinking is NOT intuitive but we get good at it after awhile. Fully trusting in God's grace is a challenge but it's not hard. His yoke is easy and His burden is light. His commandments are not grievous. And none of this is automatic. We spend time renewing our minds, don't we.

We conform to the world’s pattern when we pray with anxiety or think we've got to change God's mind about something. We are transformed when we renew our minds with "kingdom thinking". We "fully persuade" our hearts to receive the bounty of the kingdom of God - to believe God's promises by walking in His abundant life.

We condition our hearts the same way we've always conditioned them. We mix belief and emotion then we repeat it so that it gets down in our hearts, "GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!!!"

Denny, if you do that, you will be light years ahead of everybody you go to church with (unless you go to a MOST unusual church). If you get in your heart that God will not fail you, your study of His word will change. Things will begin to jump off the page. I know. It happened to me :)

God is NOT holding out on you. The good news is that God is not some "unjust judge" withholding His blessings. The apostle Paul understood that because he said, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Rom. 8:32

God has come to our rescue (past tense). All we have to do is start believing it.

Or so it seems to me,
Rob




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