The Sower and the Seeds

Scripture: Luke 8:4-15 (Mark 4:3-9; Matthew 13:3-9)

4 And when a great crowd came together and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold." As he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature."

Parable of the lamp

MARK 4:21-25

Jesus said to the crowd, "Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear." He also told them, "Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

A lamp placed under a bushel basket

What a waste! No, put it on a stand! If you love me, come on and let it show! If you have faith, why frown and fear? We need burning lamps to dispel the depression and helplessness in our culture.

A man puts schoolbooks in a small cart and goes around the squatter areas, gathering and teaching poor children who cannot go to school. A young executive gives up her lucrative job and volunteers in a remote mission area to establish a high school for kids to give them an alternative to getting married after Grade 6, the farthest they can go in their village. A young doctor bypasses an opportunity to work overseas and takes an assignment in a mountainous area for villagers who have never seen a hospital or a doctor. These people are all lamps burning bright for others who sit in the dark.

If you have ears, hear. If you have a heart, love. If you have a mind, understand.

And if you are happy, show it. Dance! If you are light, let others glow in it. If you have God, let Him shine through!

Express your joy today.

46.4 The Holy One Was Executed But God Raised Him From The Dead

(Acts 13:23-31)

It was Jesus, a descendant of David, whom God made the Savior of the people of Israel, as he had promised. Before Jesus began his work, John preached to all the people of Israel that they should turn from their sins and be baptized. And as John was about to finish his mission, he said to the people, “Who do you think I am? I am not the one you are waiting for. But listen! He is coming after me, and I am not good enough to take his sandals off his feet,’

“My fellow Israelites, descendants of Abraham, and all Gentiles here who worship God: it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent! For the people who live in Jerusalem and their leaders did not know that he is Savior, nor did they understand the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Yet they made the prophet’s words come true by condemning Jesus. And even though they could find no reason to pass the death sentence on him, they asked Pilate to have him put to death. And after they had done everything that the Scriptures say about him, they took him down from the cross and placed him in a tomb. But God raised him from death, and for many days he appeared to those who had traveled with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now witness for him to the people of Israel.

46.3 The Criminal At The Cross Declares His Innocence

((Luke 23:39-43)

One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

The other one, however, rebuked him, saying, “Don’t you fear God? You received the same sentence he did. Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong.” And he said to Jesus, “Remember me, Jesus, when you come as King!”

Jesus said to him, “I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me.”

46.2 Jesus Is The Holly One Of God

(Mark 1:23-28)

Just then a man with an evil spirit came into the synagogue and screamed, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you here to destroy us? I know who you are – you are God’s holy messenger!”

Jesus ordered the spirit, “Be quiet, and come out of the man!”

The evil spirit shook the man hard, gave a loud scream, and came out of him. The people were all so amazed that they started saying to one another, “What is this? Is it some kind of new teaching? This man has authority to give orders to the evil spirits, and they obey him!”

And so the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the province of Galilee.