There are many opinions and debates on the true meaning the the collective parables. What do they really mean? This parable is definitely one of the most cryptic parables and can't be truly understood, unless we ask Jesus himself, if these are infact his exact words (translation errors, etc)
Maybe these stories are things that he had witnessed upon his travels and experiences throughout his life? Maybe he is actually some of the characters in the parables he tells? One thing we do know is that he had a message for humanity that somehow has travelled through the ages to answer some of the questions in life we could not ask ourselves. I find it wierd how most people today don't appreciate the words of the wise, choosing to trust science or nothing at all because it feels safer.
But perhaps this is what the parable means:
The ground could represent anything from society, down to the your own family or employees that you rely on. Jesus does not mention anything else about the 'rich man' (who could represent the ignorant and distrusting members of society, etc) other than the fact that he is concerned about his goods. This shows the error of his ways, because the rich man doesn not appreciate how he got the land, who worked to make it the way it was, who harvested his 'goods', which in the end are truly irrelevant to true happiness in life. The joy in life, the meaning and the way God wishes us to truly live our lives is to share with others and ultimately to share out time and effort with god e.g. prayer and ceremonial offerings, etc. In this way, the goods could possibly represent all the tings in life that distract us and hinder us from recieving God's word. The 'rich man' is the embodiment of greed and self indulgience. He represents those in society who only think for themselvesl.
Looking into the words of the parable, although we are being encouraged to be truly kind to each other and most importantly show self respect, God at the end of the parable could represent the government of those times and because of this, could also represent temptation in some small way for who truly benefits in life when others feed off of our greed? By following christ and trying our best to be free of greed and helping those in need we have recognised a few of the important steps towards entering the Kingdom of God.
In the parable there is a part where the rich man talks to his 'soul'. What does the soul represent? God and his will? Or perhaps human compassion and the will to be servants to society and God himself? Who knows? All i know is that it is saying that when we slack off and deviate from God's will, when our time of death comes ("this night thy soul shall be required of thee") or when the times comes to prove our worth and commit an act of kindness(this night thy 'compassion' shall be required of thee), we will not be ready and we will not enter the Kingdom of God. The rich man desperately sought for a place to store his fruits and did not think of those who he might be able to help by giving his fruits, so they might survive. He took down his barns and built a big barn solely for the fruits. Maybe this implies that maybe in his greed he cast out those that initially lived in those barns? In his greed, he completely neglected those who needed and deserved his kindness.
If these are in fact stories from Jesus' life, then what happened to these people he speaks of? We can never be sure of where we will end up in the afterlife, but if one thing is for sure, it is our duty as humans to respect the lives of others and to assist humanity in making this world a better place, because with God, we are never alone.
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Lev 7:12-15

12 If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.

13 Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.

14 And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto the LORD, and it shall be the priest's that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings.

15 And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning. KJV


Lev 23:15-20

15 And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:

16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.

17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.

18 And ye shall offer with the bread seven lambs without blemish of the first year, and one young bullock, and two rams: they shall be for a burnt offering unto the LORD, with their meat offering, and their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, of sweet savour unto the LORD.

19 Then ye shall sacrifice one kid of the goats for a sin offering, and two lambs of the first year for a sacrifice of peace offerings.

20 And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. KJV


1 Cor 15:20 20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. KJV

1 Cor 15:23 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. KJV

James 1:18 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. KJV
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My first thing is that a servant is a christian and a beleiver.

Strong's Number: 1401 servant Transliterated: doulos Phonetic: doo'-los

Text: from 1210; a slave (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntary; frequently, therefore in a qualified sense of subjection or subserviency): --bond(-man), servant.

Strong's Number: 4190 evil Transliterated: poneros Phonetic: pon-ay-ros'

Text: from a derivative of 4192; hurtful, i.e. evil (properly, in effect or influence, and thus differing from 2556, which refers rather to essential character, as well as from 4550, which indicates degeneracy from original virtue); figuratively, calamitous; also (but) ill, i.e. diseased; but especially (morally) culpable, i.e. derelict, vicious, facinorous; neuter (singular) mischief, malice, or (plural) guilt; masculine (singular) the devil, or (plural) sinners: - -bad, evil, grievous, harm, lewd, malicious, wicked(-ness). See also 4191.

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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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parable of the Ten virigins, is just that get the MESSAGE.Sometimes, we as christians try to follow the letter of the law and not the holy spirit.I believe is about the anti-christ,the raputure, israel, belivers.This parable can be use for all, depending on where he or she is at the time....It is message to me and others Get right!!Get Ready!!To Go Home!! No man knows the day or hour the son of man coming....When is the end of time when is the rapture. My question is when is my personal end of time. my death we, me may die before the rapture, before end of time come...

Many times we behave pharisee and sadicucess. we do enough to get by, to pass not get thrown out, just little oil in my cup, just pay my tithes and church require offering or minium or matching 10%......

We say or works, and deed speak for us,i dont need to do more have extra oil, annoited life, we like the parable rich young rulers, ive keept all the commandemts since my Youth....I ve been doing good practical all my life we so proudly and pitously boost running down our list of things accomplishment we have done... Are we , me and you ready when Jesus comes with this unexpected request Sell everything and follow me...Jesus u asking for to much, ive done all require, like 5 foolish virgins we say we half lamp of oil, there is more i am to do, 5 wise were ready they were physical and spirtual faithful virgins, not only were the virgins physcially in there body where some one could see, but they were spirtual and had the annoting to prove it, power through testiomony expreience, trial test tribuliation pass the test, the 5 foolish were keeping themselves

pure....in church, in temple, praying long prayers, quoting,studying history that was good, but they miss Jesus the one they were preparing for the groom their future, the mansion their paradise because they had no extra oil, couldnt borrow it, it must be earn oil is made through press,they had to go through hard pressure exprenice to recive this annoiting oil......
.Oh my brothers, sisters and lil children, boys and girls , teenager , my Soul cries out To God our lord, our husbandman, prepare us the bride of Christ to be right, to be without wrinkle or spot, and
Study to show ourself approve and with all our Wisdom get an Understand so we can Stand with You at our Personal Appoint Judgment day and Hear You say Well done my Good and Faithful Servant .............


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Just seems like a good farmer to me. the tree is barren because of the poor ground that the dressser selected for the planting. the owner of the vinyard wonders why thre is no fruit and suggest that the dresser cut the tree down and maybe plant somethhng usefull in its place.
the dresser wants to wait another year after he fertilizes the tree and see if fruit is then carried.

I cannot see what else there is there. this is a story about a good farmer and his Land lord.
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You're both wrong. It's obvious that in this parable it is being taught that, should you have a talent, do not waste it. Although it's shown, the relationship between servant and master really isn't what's really being portrayed (you could take to this, though.). Things like this happen a lot when extremely talented people get into the wrong things before the talent is allowed to flourish, or people just too lazy to care, to take the time to develop what they have.

Faith is a great thing, but don't let it blind you.
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Are these parables really about money? Or are they about the gifts that we are given? The bible says as believers we are given gifts to do Gods work.
Verse 15 of Matthew 25 says one person recieved five talents, one two talents and one one talent, to every man according to his several abilities. If these are gifts such as evangelizing, witnessing, careing for the sick or those imprisoned, etc. then we are not all given the same gifts. One person may have many gifts, others fewer gifts, and some may only have one gift, but we are expected to show an increase in believers when our Lord returns. We are to bring others into the flock. To do the Lords work.
Those who used their gifts as they were instructed were praised by the Lord and promised more gifts because they had been faithful with the few things they were initially given. And yet those who were given a single gift and small amount of responsibility and did not act on their instructions had their gift taken away and were cast into darkness in utter dispair and shamed as an unprofitable servant.
The bible says we are called to be servants. When I envision a mansion in biblical times I see many servants, from the highly visible and well-dressed doorman and personal butler to the lowest person cleaning the toilets (or their equivalent in those times) and those performing all the jobs in between. The work of the Lord is the same, someone has to do the dirty jobs and praise God He gives certain people the abilities, the character and compassion to do a certain job. When He choses someone He gives them everything they need to do His work. BUT, they must step foreward grasp the hanldes of the plow, undertake their work and never look back. They must keep their eyes on the prize, Jesus Christ.
In His service, Daniel.

















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This parable teaches us about persistance and how God wants us to pray, pray, pray, and ask, ask, ask for what we need. Look at the context of the whole chapter when reading this. The man most likely lived in a one room home, as was common in the time and country spoken of in the chapter. It would have stirred everyone else in the home, but because the friend was (importune = urge or beg persistantly) the friend who had rose up anyhow and gave. Prayer works people! Chrys _________________ Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth.

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Kevin, you are walking on very dangerous grounds! The scripture you use, does not say what you are trying to make it say!
(Luke-16-9) And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness: that, when you fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations! Meaning, we know, the unrighteous go to Hell, therefore they may receive you in everlasting habitation of Hell!
(13) No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other: or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other, you cannot serve God and mammon. (unrighteousness)
You cannot serve both good and evil, you cannot serve satan and God!
(Matthew-6-25) Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink: nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more then meat, and the body than raiment?
also note verses- 26-34

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In response to one of the postings found below, there is no question that leaven has been traditionally deemed a contaminating element. That being said, was Jesus bound to using that pattern in relation to the leaven and the dough parable?

Jesus said that he would reveal things kept secret from the foundations of the earth. The idea of leaven traditionally being bad is taught all over the bible. Is that a big secret? The leaven and the dough is a parable of the kingdom (secret).

Jesus used supernatural power to open the ears of those who had a good heart and intended to hear by saying “he that hath ears to hear, let him hear”.
Obviously those who were attempting to ensnare him in his words would not get the jest of what he was conveying. And Jesus did this intentionally. He declared they have eyes and don’t see, they have ears and don’t hear…and when they’re converted…

I don’t see any problem with using a prominent teaching or custom to express a different aspect or analogy.

But still I don’t think it’s contextually logical for Jesus to after saying in Mark Chapter four verse 20, one thing, and then to meander off into another subject.
(Amplified bible):

20And those sown on the good (well-adapted) soil are the ones who hear the Word and receive and accept and welcome it and bear fruit--some thirty times as much as was sown, some sixty times as much, and some [even] a hundred times as much.
21And He said to them, Is the lamp brought in to be put under a [6] peck measure or under a bed, and not [to be put] on the lampstand?
22[[7] Things are hidden temporarily only as a means to revelation.] For there is nothing hidden except to be revealed, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret except in order that it may be made known.
23If any man has ears to hear, let him be listening and let him perceive and comprehend.
24And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [8] [of thought and study] you give [to [9] the truth you hear] will be the measure [10] [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you--and more [besides] will be given to you who hear.

Now, are people aware that they are saying that Jesus, after laying down the foundation of the parable of the sower, that he immediately began talking about sin, the church, immoral women and Satanic infiltration? And thereby totally changing the subject? Isn’t it more logical to stay on the same theme and maybe say the same thing in a different way? That’s what I believe he did. Remember; know body knew what he was saying anyway until he said, “he that had ears to hear let him hear”.

Are we to believe that Jesus went on hiatus in verse 21-25 and picked up on the idea again in verse 26?

26And He said, The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed upon the ground,

Or is it more logical to believe that he stayed on the same subject matter? What if I was to say, after saying all this, “the cream rises to the top-all we are is dust in the wind”. Wouldn’t you think, “what on earth is he talking about? That has nothing to do with what he just said”. And yet people are accusing Jesus-the Son of God of doing the same thing. In the presence of possibly hundreds of people.

The reason I chose the Amplified version of this scripture is to bring out something that isn’t as strong in the other translations. Look at verse 22. Things are HIDDEN temporarily only AS A MEANS to revelation. For there is nothing hidden EXCEPT TO BE REVEALED, nor is anything [temporarily] kept secret EXCEPT in order that it may be made known. Notice the purpose or intent in this scripture. A person HID something in his heart FOR THE PURPOSE OF bringing it to light. They got on the front end of the deal. It worked against the scribes and the Pharisees in the negative.

Luke 12
1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the LEAVEN of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. (The same thing stated in Mark’account)
3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.

The above verse shows the tie between Mark chapter four “there is nothing hid…” and the parable of the leaven. Now, someone will probably say, “SEE, leaven is a bad thing”. Then why would somebody purposefully hide something in their heart if it were a wicked thing? No, it’s the principle that Jesus is laying down. Leaven isn’t good or bad. It’s just an agent that reacts with our hearts that eventually gets painted on the picture screen of our lives. Why can’t it be the Word of God? Why couldn’t righteousness be the leaven? The person in the above scripture hid it AS A MEANS to revelation. HE WANTED IT MANIFESTED.

It’s very clear that some people just don’t do their studying. And that’s a shame because the Son of God put it in a way that can be figured out, if people will spend some time meditating on it.

I often wondered how Jesus could say to a man “tell no man” without violating the precepts of this very principle. Isn’t he declaring something a secret? Isn’t he whispering something in the ear that will be proclaimed form the housetops? Check out the results of his doing that.

31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.
32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.
33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;
34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.
36 AND HE CHARGED THEM that they should TELL NO MAN:

Now look at the results.

but the more he charged them, SO MUCH THE MORE A GREAT DEAL THEY PUBLISHED IT.

Go figure!

If these things are hard to glean from scripture, it may be because of something else. There is a spirit of humility that rests upon all the teachings of Jesus, and if you don’t understand that, then you won’t get the jest of what Jesus is saying. For more on that, see what I wrote in the article “true humility” under the subject, the parable of the Pharisee and the publican. It may help you to understand these things.



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In the postings found below I’ve extracted many different ideas out of the teachings of the Kingdom that are true and hold water all throughout scripture. But as of late I’ve been getting something that I feel is even more profound then anything I’ve laid down as yet. I think if you get this it will answer a lot of questions as to why we aren’t getting anything from God and why we are so barren spiritually.

Christianity was to be a message of power, resurrection life and of totally victory over death. And yet we don’t even have the bark of a chewawa when it comes to having any kind of influence in this world. Pardon the expression but man have we been impotent. Consider what I’m about to say and just see if you can see why our prayers are misdirected or that the connection with heaven is never made.

Quite often in writing about the teachings of the kingdom I try to ride the words of Christ as much as is possible. And yet I think there is one area that it would do me well to sever off from them and to put them in my own words.

I’m talking about the usage of the word “heart” vs. “spirit”. Why would this be important? Consider these two scriptures and just see if contradicting ideas don’t surface.

There is a scripture in the Bible that says that God will “write his laws in the fleshy tablets of the heart”. Now look at something that Jesus said:

John 3:6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Luke 24:39
Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.

Can you see how that even though the terms spirit and heart are quite often used interchangeably, in some instances they shouldn’t be?

What I’m getting at is this. If our perceptions concerning the word heart are that it is somehow tied to the flesh then we are bound to have missed the spirit which Jesus said doesn’t have “flesh and blood”. It’s like an email that ends up in cyberspace instead of getting to the person that we are sending it to.

“OH, THAT’S REDICULOUS” YOU SAY. “THAT’S THE DUMBEST THING I’VE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE”.

Is it really? When was the last time you had a prayer answered? “Forty years ago” you say. I REST MY CASE. Isn’t it clear that God is holding us to a higher degree of accuracy in spiritual matters these days? Remember, we are the ones who can use computers, text messages, download music to I pods. Some of us can get pretty snooty about techy things if we’re asked the wrong questions. Jesus said “with what measure you mete it will be measured unto you”. That means what you put in is what you get out. And it’s quite clear that God is saying to us “if you would put one iota of interest into spiritual things like you do that tech stuff, then maybe you’d get somewhere in your spiritual life”. FUSHTANE? (Do you get it?)

Let’s continue.

Could it be that all of this talk about “hidden” things, “secret” things, things “spoken in darkness”, “mysteries”, could all of these sayings be fingers so-to-speak that are pointing to the human spirit? Isn’t the human spirit a mystery of sorts? You can’t locate it. It’s subconscious. You can’t feel it. Don’t we have some ninety percent of the human brain that we don’t use? Could that be a reserve for when we revive the human spirit? Maybe it will come back on-line. The book of James says that God is the father of “spirits”. Are you a spirit? If you can read this I would submit that you are. The problem is that our perceptions about spiritual matters are all over the board. We never do isolate the part of us that runs the show. Kind of like the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz. “DON’T PAY ANY ATTENTION TO HIM”. Yea it’s YOU ya turkey!

The reason why it’s important to isolate the human spirit is because that’s where faith comes from. It’s the place where we either believe or fear.

GOD IS A SPIRIT. To contact God we have to use our spirits. I’ve totally replaced the use of the word heart in prayer with the word spirit. It’s making a difference.

In Luke 17:21 Jesus said.
Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Matt 16:19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Have you ever looked at this scripture and thought WELL WHICH IS IT? DO YOU BIND ON EARTH OR DO YOU BIND IN HEAVEN?
Why does it matter? Because one will work and the other won’t. It’s these kinds of things that are defeating us, and we only have ourselves to blame. We’re just not a very diligent people. We’re content in living lives that make the word of God a lie (there is no power, no answer, no Holy Spirit-nothing). But things are changing. If you’re reading this there is a good chance that you too might be looking for answers.

When Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is within you, might he have been referring to the human spirit and that how it’s already separate from the realm of the natural? In other words, to affect the world around you, you must approach the Kingdom of God that abides within. IT’S YOUR SPIRT. Your spirit will abide after your body is lying in a coffin holding its breath. But when we use the word heart, the whole matter gets washed out and we never do isolate the spirit.

So then, we bind satanic forces IN OUR SPIRITS. We loose the things that we desire to enter our lives IN OUR SPIRITS. Our spirits subsequently shine these bindings and loosings out onto the picture screen of our lives. I will admit, I never thought that this scripture worked (binding and loosing). But then, I thought that you were to look out at the world and bind it in the world. NO, IT’S ALL DONE IN THE SECRET PLACE. The secret place is a metaphor for going into the realm of the spirit and establishing things there. THEN they show up in our lives. To attempt to affect the flesh or the world around us by the perception that we are dealing directly with it, is as foolish as using the word “manifestation” in prayer. DON’T DO IT. IF YOU DO YOU’VE BEEN DUPED BY THE DARK SIDE. That word doesn’t belong in your prayer life. It’s attempting to change things illegally. You’ll open the door to the adversary.

Our spirits are a place that Satan wants direct access to. But we are the only ones who have the “KEY” (as in “keys of the kingdom”). We set things there (establish). Then it’s just a waiting game. When you deal with your spirit your dealing with power, and there are checks placed on the system whereby the only things that get in there are due to either determination, or unreasonable hardheadedness-as in the person who reaped tragedy as a result of stubborn rebellion.

Proverbs 4: 20My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
21Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
22For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
23Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the ISSUES OF LIFE.

When we use the word spirit in our prayer time as in “I bind the powers of darkness in my spirit, and I loose all of heaven in my spirit”, we are entering a realm that God has given us legal access to. The realm of the spirit is subject to different rules. In essence, what God says goes. It’s the sole truth. Nothing in the world can call it into question. But that’s the place where the Kingdom of God abides. Solomon said “the spirit of man is the candle of the lord searching all the inward parts of the belly”.

USE THE WORD SPIRIT NOT HEART IN PRAYER. You’ll be putting your finger right on the pulse of the issue. The power button.

The treasure that Jesus spoke of is the spirit of man. It’s the thing that at the time was a tremendous mystery. But when we hide things there, or bind or loose things there, truly it is the incubator or the loading dock that eventually ejects things into our lives.

If nothing else I think that this generates “kingdom thinking”. God bless you in your endeavors.

Tell no man.

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I was also wondering what became of Barabas after his release. I had always thought of him as a murderer, but "sedition" appears to indicate that he was a revolutionary..... and I wonder about his crimes also.
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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've recently seen some facetious replies to this perfectly serious question by people who obviously dismiss the whole story as a fiction. Wrong! Back in the 1970s I spent several years researching the identity of the Prodigal and privately published a book on the subject (Brussels, 1981, in French). There seemed to be several approaches to the problem, some starting at the family end (stories of exultant fathers, calves unexpectedly killed, jealous brothers etc., possibly legal documents relating to the original unconventional division of the property), others at the "far country" end (stories of extravagant strangers, records of itinerant Jewish labour). The problem is, of course, that the documentary record for any of this is very patchy. For example, I found a possible 882 pig breeding farms where the prodigal might have worked, but only 17 (SEVENTEEN) had any surviving labour records. However it as while examining some pig farming records in the National Archives of Syria that I found what I believed, and still believe, to be a possitive identification. Another resercher was working on prostitution at around the time of Jesus, and shared some notes with me. I was *thrilled* to discover that he had found a kind of diary kept by a prostitute called Lilia in Damascus (really a client record with comments). Several records referred to a Jewish stranger who had recently come to the area and was spending lavish sums of money on parties and women. Lilia seems to have been a little bit in love with him, and included more details than usual: she says he was short, but strong and aggressive-looking, and most importantly that "he had had his inheritance." She records his visits for 6 months, then he is mentioned no more. HOWEVER she mentions chronic food shortages just after the last reference to the Jewish stranger. These facts fit the Biblical account of the prodigal son so well that I think it 99.9% certain that it was him.
But his name? That's still a bit of a problem, as Lilia seldom referred to her clients directly by their names. And on only one occasion (in what remains of her "diary", which has several missing pages) did she actually refer to the Jewish stranger by name, and there, as bad luck would have it, the manuscript has been torn. The first part of his name can be read however, and it is "Ron...". There are several possible names of the period, all discussed in my book. As further information is unlikely to be forthcoming I suggest that we simply call the prodigal "Ron", though.
Your readers may be interested to know that I am now writing a book identifying the Good Samaritan. I hope to publish this in English, and possibly to make parts of it available on the internet. There is still a huge amount of reasearch to be done identifying the persons in the parables.
Peter

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the fruit bearing has nothing to do with salvation. Jesus is talking to his 11 disciples, they are all saved. this parable is not about losing your salvation because we are eternally secure, nothing can pluck us out of Christ's hand or the Father's hand. nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.

the parable is teaching that if we do not have complete continuous fellowship with Christ, spoken of abiding in him and he in us, then we will bear no fruit. what is gathered together is the carnal work, the wood hay and stubble which shall be burned, but if our works are precious stones gold and silver they shall remain.

the same can be understood when we look at Lot. he was out of fellowship with the Lord. he produced no lasting fruit all the while he was in Sodom. all he had was burned with that wicked city, yet he was saved yet so as by fire.

I hope this helps your understanding of this subject

sincerely

Fred
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I wish I could express those words as you did ;
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The parable looks toward the gospel cry of righteousness by faith just prior to the second coming of Christ This message will go out across the world and many who have been quietly seeking the Lord through bible study and prayer, in places where the gospel has been otherwise supressed, will join their voices to those who are giving this "Elijah" message, whie personally putting away every known sin from their own lives and warning other to do the same. These 11th hour workers will be of every kindred and tongue, and from every nation and culture where the gospel has been deliberately supressed. They will recognise from the leading of God's spirit through their study of His word, the truth of this message- when they hear it, and they will also sound this last call of mercy where missionaries have never yet been able to reach. They will enjoy all the benefits of God's grace as co-laborers with Him according to His plan for mankind's eternal salvation-even though others have been faithfully giving this gospel message for many years. It is not for man to say who recieves what rewards Christ will give his children. His government does not consist of industrial laws where wages are determined by human policy, but by the grace of a loving God who rewards according to the state of a man's heart.
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Thanks for the insight, I was looking for insight on the web about this parable that I am teaching on Sunday morning. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you.

I can see how a church getting larger can get out of control, regarding the birds of the air making their nest in it.

May the Lord help us "small or large" to keep the birds out.

God Bless.
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The power of the sower parable comes with the key 23rd verse of Chapter 13 of the Gospel of Matthew: "But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."

Never underestimate the power of God's gifts for you. These gifts that we reap are many fold more plentiful and bountiful than the actual strength of our faith.
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Time and again, the Parables of Our Christ Jesus has taught us so many things. Loving unconditionally is one of the golden rule. As I have read the passage once again after several years, (maybe a year or two), it still somehow touched my life and made me realized that we should not be selfish with our time in helping other people especially those outside of our homes. Accidents happen unexpectedly, anytime, anywhere. But if we are willing to help without asking anything in return, (rewards or financial compensation, that is), we could make peoples burden easier to carry. In what way, you may ask? This, by giving comfort, moral support, and aid to the victim, err, by calling 911 or any similar emergency departments. That we must help people in need regardlesss of race, nationality and religion... that we must show compassion even when forced during emergency cases. Christian love is what the Lord wants us to learn and feel towards our neighbor...must be difficult, but, very rewarding, isnt it?
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Thank you for constantly updated, always a pleasure to read.
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To confirm my belief that God's destroyer angel was released on July 29, 2003 And is now surveying the United States, I was given a dream on July 30/31, 2003 that is similar to the parable of 10 virgins.

My reality was this: a clear water, cement canal, that winded, so that you could not see far ahead or behind because of the curves. I was swimming in this canal, when suddenly I saw a great white shark patroling the waters and coming my direction. I quickly climbed out of the waters onto the bank. I watched for awhile the creature swimming. Then I gathered the confidence to go back in. However, I knew that I must be vigilant incase the creature came back. Lo and behold, the creature did come back, but was on top of me so fast that I could not escape the water. But the creature passed by without harming me. I believe this to be the destroying angel patroling our nation which was released on July 29, 2003. I believe he does not have the power to destroy yet. And I believe we must remain vigilant, because the day and the hour inwhich he receives the power to destroy may come at any time. Dream/Commentary 2003 - www.bigfootlivesindallaswestend.com

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On the topic of the younger son hating his father. It is not said that he hates his father, and I don't believe that he does... but in asking for his inheritance... it is like wishing his father were dead. That had to hurt the father. Yet the father took him back unconditionally.

As for the older son, that has also been on my heart a lot. You see my sister ran away from home. When she returned I was glad and celebrated, but at the same time it was frustrating. Where was my reward for being the good daughter?? The father's response to the older's sons complaints is, "Everything I have is yours". God gives us everything! He gave us His Son and eternal life. At the same time, the father's plea to the older son to join in the celebration, is how God us to celebrate when others grow in relationship with him.
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The evil one spoken of in the beggining
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It is my belief that when Jesus said "this generation will not pass away" in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 He was talking about a forty year generation. The people who heard Him talking could look ahead forty years and know that everything Jesus predicted concerning the destruction of Jerusalem would come to pass. History records that it did in 70 AD.
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Please, people! Keep the Gospel simple.

We are not exactly sure what is meant botanically by the mustard which somehow grows into a tree-sized plant. If you study botany, you find that the mustards are the Family Brassicaceae (or Cruciferae, cross-bearers!), a very large family of plants, including many of our common vegtables, but hardly any tree-size species. We should also remember that names in the Bible are frequently hard to match with modern usages. All this is fun to work on, but quite inconsequential for the meaning of the message.

It is very clear from a plain reading that Jesus is using the mustard seed as an illustration of something very small which grows into something sizeable and impressive, which can in turn support other life. The birds just happen to nest in trees, and one might wonder if they also have a significance as a sign of spirit, but once again that is just speculation. Certainly there is no connection here with Satan or evil in either mustard seeds or birds. All this talk about the parable's predicting something about the bad behavior of the church is also totally ridiculous.

I will repeat, the message is simple: it is that something small, and easy to overlook, will grow and flourish. That is the Kingdom.

Why did Jesus bother to say this? Think simple! It is because he was correcting a misconception that the Kingdom would come with dramatic, big events; or from high places. Many people today somehow expect that such things must come with claps of thunder and earthquakes. That is NOT the picture that Jesus is giving in his teaching in this parable; and this parable accords very well with other things he says.

The more I think of these matters, the more my admiration grows for the Gospel: not that I am to sit in judgment, but in that my soul responds as before something of beauty. And here part of the beauty inheres in simplicity and clarity.

My fellow Christians, there are many things we will not understand, and which we yet must reverence; but let us not also miss the chance to see what Jesus made very clear for us.
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Can we be a good samaritan in this era...? can we humble ourselves and help others despite of everything; being a stranger or an enemy? how can we be like the good samaritan when we ourselves don't know how to love and to be humble in every actions we did...
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I don't fully undertsand this one.... God calls these people at diffrent times, and gives each person the same reward for thier diligance, I understand that, but I do not understand the lines:
(15) Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
(16) So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

Were all not called and chosen? They all were rewarded. Why was he calling those questioning him evil? Was he calling them evil? What is this about first and last? Did they all not come up for pay at the same time?

Can anyone help me out with this one?

--Asherea
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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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I know what it is like to be the Prodigal child who is too ashamed to approach our Father's home...and yet, when my soul heard my Father's silent prayer calling me back; I ran.
Indeed my Father welcomed me, and blessed me incredibly...which only caused me to shed endless tears of gratitude...a very different person than I had been when I was a "loyal church member"...this time, each tiny gift of bread or water, each stone on my Father's property was sacred to me...this time I took NOTHING for granted. I was so thrilled to be in the presence of my Father's home once again.
However, my elder brothers and sisters could not help but whisper about me, and none visited my home when I lived nearby. This hurt deeply, but I could understand.
I continued to pray with tears of gratitude each day, in a way that I never knew how to pray before...over the years, my tears melted away the residue of resentment I felt towards my elder brothers and sisters in the church, and I began to feel deep compassion for each one of them... and found myself praying that my tears of gratitude and of repentance could be used by our Heavenly Father to wash away the resentment in my elder brother's and sister's hearts...so that there is no resentment or sense of separation left...so that we are of one heart in front of our Heavenly Father...
I pray this not only for my own situation, but for the drama of elder and younger brother being played out in the middle east right now. If the Jewish people has been able to recognize Jesus and to embrace him as the King of Kings (instead of killing him, as Cain killed Abel); Jesus would have unified the Jews and their brothers, the Palistines long ago.
I agree with the writer, that our Heavenly Father is looking for both brothers to love one another with tears of gratitude while in the presence of our Lord.
Thank you, and Happy Father's Day,
Annie
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Thank you!

My five year old daughter just asked me about that and I'm showing her how to use the web and spotted YOU on this topic and clicked on YOUR
reply.

Sure glad I did! Yus hav eit exactly RIGHT!

It was also in wording that my daughter can understand.

THANK YOU!


Very Best Regards and May God continue to Bless YOU!


Nancy
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I think you are right. The elder brother was truly the lost son. Maybe in order to see God truthfully, and to understand His forgiveness in the fullest measure, we have to stray from Him. This way we can compare both sides and choose with wisdom knowing exactly what we want instead of doubting and being resentful of others. I think we are supposed to do this to some degree, that way we aren't just automatons repeating what God wants to hear, instead of actually feeling and understanding His profound forgiveness as well as His message of love.
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HOW POWERFUL AND PROFOUND that artical is. It describes exactely howI feel for THE LORD GOD our FATHER the HOLIEST of HOLY! AMEN thank you for it. May GOD BLESS you + KEEP you
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picture
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If the wise virgins are the Church as many of us(including me) why did they not tell the foolish virgins to come as you are to the master? We as the Church often fail to see the wideness of Gods mercy and grace. God welcomed the prodigal as he was not requiring that he go to those who sell oil first. The wise virgins basically told the foolish to go and cleanse yourself and make yourself ready for God. We cannot do this. Justification comes from God alone and through Grace we are sanctified. We too tell those who are seeking Christ that they must pray a certain way, act a certain way, tithe etc. in order to be the right kind of Christian. In short we send the foolish out for the oil of the world, that is works. But praise be to God, even though we who have tasted salvation continue to be blind to the wideness of Gods mercy we are still welcome at the Lords Table. I am fully convinced if the foolish virgins came out and fell at the Bridegrooms feet he would have embraced them. And further if when they came to the gate and told him that they had tried the oil that the world offered but now have come to God for salvation that God would have thrown wide the door and let them in. When they came however they came still trying to gain entry with the oil of the world. Let the Church stop offering the oil of the world and start offering Christ.
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The parable of the 'shrewd manager' in Luke 16 is probably my favorite parable. Please provide the evidence from Luke 16 itself that suggests this is about picking the pockets of evil, rich unbelievers. I think it is quite the opposite!

Do I understand correctly? I think you are saying the talent parable is about literal money, right? Even if that is true, I say the emphasis in both parables is about GIVING your wealth away, using it, not bringing it in.

In Luke 16, Christ is telling us to use our wealth, our literal money to "gain friends for yourselves..." (vs. 9) and in turn make our master--God--look good by being generous with what he has entrusted to us. Just as the evil manager was commended for his shrewd, but wise, actions, we too will be commended by our heavenly master for being shrewd and generous with what has been entrusted to our care, investing it wisely in loving acts of generosity and kindness. After all isn't it "God's kindness (that) leads you toward repentance?" (Romans 2:4).
(Just as a side note notice how Paul in this Romans passage shows us what the real riches of God are, let us be found diligent and trustworthy with the 'true riches' (Luke 16:11) that God has entrusted to us.

The master commended his unworthy manager because it was very shrewd to win praise for both himself AND his master by using his master's possesions in this generous way. This is the very thing God wishes for us to do. God is exhorting us, "Take what I've given you and show the generosity and love of the master you serve!!!!!!!!!!!! They'll love you and they'll love me, too!. I've given it, now be shrewd and wise with what I've given you--USE IT!!!!!!!! What a witness you'll be!!!"

I can only say amen to the warning given by the previous person to you or anyone "who think that godliness is a means to financial gain" (1 Tim. 6:5).

This cannot be ignored: "Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be RICH IN FAITH and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?" (James 2:5) Read on for his opinion about rich people in general.


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Abraham’s bosom was once a compartment of hell. But it never was a place of torment. It was housed in the lower parts of the earth. Old time prophets and men of God went there to await the coming redeemer. These are the ones in the New Testament where it says “he lead captivity captive” and lead them to heaven from there-Jesus. These are the ones who came out of the grave after the death of Jesus and were seen in the streets of Jerusalem. Jesus snatched the keys of death away from Satan and released them as soon as he had paid the full price for sin. They are now with Jesus in heaven.
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Yes the father devided the estate ,but the estate should only become available after death of the father,but the younger insisted recieving his share immediately,the father was obliged to devide.Father had the perogative to refuse,but "Commendeth Love" he acceded to request.The 2/3 is still the fathers but will eventually become available to the eldest son at fathers death.
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Does anyone have an opinion on what the sandals represent?
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Luke 10: 25-37--
The love God teaches not only needs to be read or kept in my mind but must be shared thru our actions towards others. A simple
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the parable of the ten vgirgins is a warning for all the christians and for all christians to come that we should be ready,coz any time could be the day of Jesus' 2nd coming....

like in our generation,we can see that churches had begun to lose their fire for God's word to be told to eveyone.... some assume that Jesus will not come back until another century or so,not realizing that they are fulfilling the prophecy, bacause the parable is about the churches who got tired waiting for God and they were not prepaired when Christ came.

I hope that you won't be one of the foolish virgins,and so for me....
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I agree, the unfaithful servant is simply not saved and therefore incapable of serving the master.

"...his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God has overcome the world." (1 John 5:3b,4a)

Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching...He who does not love me WILL NOT OBEY MY TEACHING." (John 23, 24)

"Those controlled by the sinful nature CANNOT PLEASE GOD. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, IF THE SPIRIT OF GOD LIVES IN YOU. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, HE DOES NOT BELONG TO CHRIST." (Romans 8:8,9)

Abraham was circumcised as a requirement of the covenant God made with him. This circumcision, or absence of the flesh, was the outward proof or evidence that Abraham was indeed in covenant with God:

"You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the SIGN OF THE COVENANT between me and you." (Genesis 17:11)

In the same way today the absence of the flesh (specifically the sinful deeds of the flesh) is the outward proof or evidence that our hearts have been circumcised by the Spirit and that we are in fact in covenant with God through Christ.

"In him you were also circumcised, in the PUTTING OFF OF THE SINFUL NATURE (or flesh), not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ..." (Col. 2:11)

"We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. "
(1 John 2:3-6)

Love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgement, BECAUSE IN THIS WORLD WE ARE LIKE HIM."
(1 John 4:17)










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I am teaching this Sunday on parables. A picture of the mustard tree will help my visual presentation. Can anyone point me to any source?
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In a christian club i was baptised in the holy spirit and i sope the word asabia. i searched on the web and i found this. can u help me out?
jack

ps e-mail me backl

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WOULD APPRICIATE A GOOD CLEAR PHOTO OF THE THE MUSTARD SEED.THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS.
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i just want to tell you that Allah will reward you in heaven if the human court wanst fair for you.......everything we do is written and allah will find your good deed and reward you for it .nothing goes invain
god bless you
be proud of yourslef

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Is the prodigal the father or the son. ?

Look back to definitions...given or giving in abundance. Prodigious means very generous. Could the prodigal be the father? Over abundance of grace and forgiveness when not deserved!?

He always knew where the son was but he could not go and get him.

He used the other brother to go and get him.

Lots to ponder when looked at that way.

I know I am a year late on that thought. How did your research turn out?

May God continue to bless!
SBC
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At the end of this parable Jesus states that "to those who have, more will be given and to those who have not what little they have will be taken away."

As I understand this is that when a person has a state of ming of gratitude to the Creator and feels abundant God provides more of the same. When we feel wronged by God and ungrateful for the little He has given we naturally repel any good that can come our way.

This parable is Jesus explaining the natural laws of the Universe, The Laws of God.

To those who have more shall be given, to those ungrateful people who bemoan there lot will have what little they think they have taken away.

Try it. It works.

Read Mind Power by John KEHOE - he explains this parable very well.

Thankyou have a good day.

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Hi'! I believe the parable of the ten virgins is about the pre-trib rapture of the Saints right after the antichrist comes on the scene.The wise Virgins get to go in the rapture,and the un wise stay here.They are still virgins so they are christians,but they were not ready.They are still saved but they cannot go in the rapture.If they were ready they could go,so this is a message to us all to be ready.Does the Bible tell us that the world will know who the antichrist is?Who will know when the antichrist is on the scene? I feel that the Bible is telling christians that they may be able to know when he first begins his leadership,and who he is.The world will think he is great and that he is good,but only christians could know the truth about him when he first appears on the scene.I believe the rapture is coming very soon.Let us all pray for each other day and night so that we will all be ready,o.k?I love you all though I do not see you! I love you because Jesus loves you and because we share the same Lord Jesus,and we share the same family through him.Please be blessed,and May God bless you all greatly,in his name,amen.Loving Jesus,Diane
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