Mustard Seeds

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches” Matthew 13:31-32.

In a world of supersized everything, it is discouraging that so many don’t recognize the impact their daily activity can have in the kingdom of God. A few years back I had a friend who suggested that we start a Bible Study which we did. For over 3 years this Bible Study has taught us and challenged us as a group. We have learned the precious stories of the Bible and how it is applicable in our own lives. We have prayed together calling on God for His power, comfort and healing. Individually, we have been led to separate fields of service impacting our personal circles of influence. In case you are wondering how many attend this Bible Study, our greatest number was 4 and the fewest number is 3…mustards seeds. In 2008, God led me to begin a ministry called Emerging Life Ministries (ELM) which began primarily as a morning blog. Six years later not much has changed but I trust that people are changing through His inspiration of my writing that He gave to me…mustard seeds.

Jesus described the kingdom of heaven as tiny seeds planted to harvest a future yield. Every Christian should be motivated by planting small seeds with the potential of a great harvest. Edward Kimball was a Sunday School teacher who led Dwight Moody as a young boy into his acceptance of Christ. Through Moody’s small seed John Chapman became a full-time evangelist, bringing Mordecai Ham into giving his life to Christ. As a result of Ham's planting his mustard seed, a 16-year old boy gave his life to the Lord…that little boy was Billy Graham…mustard seeds.

Our role is to seek and fellowship with God to determine where He has purposed for us to plant. ‘Every act of obedience carries with it the potential to mightily impact the kingdom of God…God chooses to work through the small and weak to demonstrate His power to a watching world. Small beginnings do not necessarily mean a small finish. Most of God’s greatest work has begun small, like the mustard seed’ Experiencing God, p. 187. Never underestimate the power of God using your service, however small it may be, to impact the kingdom.

"This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger..." Luke 2:10.

A Farmer Named Jesus

“A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering…some fell …and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell…the soil was shallow…the plants were scorched…Other seed fell among thorns… which grew up and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop – a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” Matt 13:3-8.

Being part of a ministry that depends solely on prayers, contributions and donations from individuals and organizations, I understand the importance of getting the message out there.  Many times I have left after sharing our mission with others with confidence that we would get the support of that person or organization.  What I am finding to be true is that while people might be excited at first to hear the message their response or follow through lacks action.  I certainly understand that there are amazing ministry opportunities out there for people to support.  I know for myself I wish that I could support every ministry out there.  However, there is one ministry that we have all been invited and commanded to support…the ministry of reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ.  It is not just a ministry to receive but a ministry with responsibility on our part to serve.  If we are truly the hands and feet of Christ then why should we believe they are only useful on Sundays?  I use my hands and feet every moment of every day so shouldn’t our Body of Christ activity be constantly serving in the kingdom?

Jesus was that farmer who went out to sow His seed…the message to be planted in the heart of man.  But man’s heart possesses different types of soil and the success of the crop is based on the health of the heart.  Jesus spoke of four different responses to join Him in His ministry.  ‘Some rejected His invitation while others expressed interest but were not willing to pay the price.  Others began to respond to the invitation but the cares and concerns of the world ‘choked out’ their initial interest.  However, there were those who willingly accepted the responsibilities of kingdom citizenship and God produced a great spiritual crop through their lives. The invitation to the kingdom of God is given to everyone.  The difference is our response’ Experiencing God, p. 185.

When we seek the kingdom of God above all other things in this world God brings the kingdom to us.  He promises that through our pursuit of Him we have access to everything we will ever need.

‘But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.’ Matthew 6:33.

Treasures and Riches

“I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name." - Isaiah 45:3

Have you ever noticed how easily scripture and spiritual advice rolls off our tongues when the darkness belongs to someone else?  ‘Take heart, God has a plan for you.’ ‘God will be faithful.’ ‘Turn your burdens over to the Lord.’  These are all great sentiments but the real power of scripture is when we are the ones to digest it in our dark times.  Each of us has within our heart that secret place that we would rather God leave alone.  It is the place we strive most to control, manipulate and calculate without God. It commands our constant feeding like an insatiable beast.  We can bank on the fact that what becomes our worship will become our darkness.  Because that area holds our greatest attention God will use it to reveal Himself, and show us His riches in those secret places.  We will learn about His faithfulness and be comforted by His loving nature when we are forced to trust Him with our greatest need.

‘What we perceive as dark periods in our lives is designed to be treasures from God. They are actually riches stored in secret places. We cannot see those times in this light because of the often-accompanying pain or fear that prevents us from accepting these times as treasures. You see, unless we are cast into times in which we are completely at God's mercy for breakthroughs in our lives, we will never experience God's faithfulness in those areas. We will never know how personal He is, or that He can be trusted to meet the deepest needs in our lives.’ Os Hillman, Today God Is First.

I cannot tell you all the times God has responded to my deepest need with something so ludicrously unique to me…a moment in time that reminded me I have a Father who knows me personally on every level.  When I experience a treasure in darkness I know that these are divine blessings from God.  They are tender reminders that the words I give to others are also mine for the taking. 

‘Brenda, take heart, I have a plan for you…I will be faithful…Give me your burdens.’

Paving His Path

“And most of the crowd spread their garments in the road; and others cut branches from the trees, and spread them in the road. And the crowds that went before him, and that followed, cried out, saying, ‘Hosanna [save now!] to the son of David’” Matthew 21:8.

The scene is powerful and my emotions are stirred as I picture the triumphal entry of Jesus.  It is the week leading up to Passover and there are feasts and excitement in the air.  The disciples must have been anxious for these anticipated events…their teacher was getting ready to be King…the King they have awaited for so long…the King to bring peace and order to a hurting people.  They could feel it in the air…the shift in power was rising.  My research shows ‘that spreading garments before a dignitary was a symbol of submission (see 2 Kings 9:13). Palm branches were employed also as token of victory’ (Suetonius, Caligula, 32).  There is no doubt that the people who lined the dusty road that day were ready for this new leader.  They were moved beyond emotion, removing their outerwear, laying it upon the ground showing their submission to the future king, and claiming victory over the old regime.  Their hearts are filled with hope and their adoration was far from misplaced…up ahead they see the new king for the new kingdom…atop that meager colt is their Messiah.  They couldn’t have known the horror of what would unfold the following week.

We have the same hope in a future kingdom that they had back then, but the kingdom has been established for us.  We live in the earthly shadow of an established heavenly kingdom.  We are promised a new city, one with God as the architect (Hebrews 11:10).  We have been shown who the King is and the victory that will be ours if we follow along behind Him.  How do you pave the road that you share with the Savior?  Do you remove the attitudes of the flesh laying it down at His feet?  Do you cut the branches of your own will down, covering your life with His will…the One who has already died for us?  Like these weary followers, we must humble ourselves and follow Him instead of leading the pack looking for the entrance to life.  ‘But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him’ 2 Co. 2:14.

‘And most of the crowd spread their garments…and cut branches…’  Let us be included in the most so we can share in the fullness of Christ and our inheritance in the Kingdom. 

When He Sends Angels

“So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him…Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared… ‘Quick, get up!’ And the chains fell off Peter’s wrist…When this (miraculous release) had dawned on him, he went to the house…where many people had gathered and were praying…But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished” Acts 12:5, 12, 16.

Last year our church focused on raising both awareness and funds for On Eagles Wings, a ministry dedicated to the rescue and restoration of victims of sex trafficking.  We were called on as the Body to pray and consider the monetary contribution that God would lay on our hearts.  It was through both individual and corporate prayer that each decided how one would give.  Our church earnestly prayed over a period of a month, and collected over $389,000 on the Sunday dedicated to the offering.  When I heard the amount I told our pastor that he had better put it up on the screen because all would think they had misheard him.  As a church we were absolutely astonished at what God did in this miracle.  I know that we never expected that much money to be collected, and were equally amazed as the Body of believers who prayed for Peter’s release.  The believers had the responsibility of continued prayer and Peter had the responsibility of ‘getting up and walking in the deliverance.’  Both had to truly believe in God’s power and faithfulness to realize the miracle.

If we truly believe in miracles and God’s love then why on earth are we ever amazed when we see God answer our prayers? Why aren’t we praying with more authority and expectation?  Is it because we are fearful He will not come through?  Is it because we will be embarrassed for our faith if it doesn’t work out the way we claim?  I know for myself these are tough questions to answer.  What if the intensity and expectation of answered prayers are the very things that activate angels to come and rescue us from our prisons?  I firmly believe that our faith and prayer life moves and shakes heaven.  The concerns of our heart are the concerns of our Father’s heart.  He takes them seriously and calls on His messengers to act on our behalf. 

We must get up and leave our prayers of timidity and underwhelming expectations and pray with the authority given to us through Christ.  ‘Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe…’ John 11:41.  We do not have to be embarrassed if God answers our prayers in a different way.  Our faith should be anchored in His promise, not in His performance.  Peter was going to win either way…He would either be knocking on the believers’ door or heaven’s door.  Either way, God’s promise was pure and deliverance was guaranteed.

Remember, we can pray in the same power from the same God who raised Christ from the dead.

‘…and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe…the working of the strength of His might, which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places…’ Ep. 1:19-20.

Hinged With Hope

"Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble…The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire" Ne 1:1-3.

After my sister Beth died I had a lot of time on my hands in comparison to the time I invested in her last year of life. Her diagnosis to departure was only 11 months but it seemed like so much longer. In the blink of an eye our family’s life went from calm to chaos…individual focus to family focus…peaceful times to the raging war. Then, eleven months later the war came to a screeching halt and we, as soldiers returned to our individual homelands to resume life. I remember the morning after her celebration of life service being extremely disoriented and somewhat lost. I looked around at my life recognizing that the last year had been lived in chaos, with daily survival being the game plan. But the battle was now over and the battleground was peppered with grief…broken down terrain and burned out hope. Hearts had to be rebuilt and new gates of living had to be erected. Faithfully our emotional walls were rebuilt in our family, and gates of gratitude were set forth on hinges as God provided healing in our deepest places. Our city has been built up again in faith and our hope hinges on future reunions.

There are many battles that wage on earth that send us into exile…that situation that forever defines ‘then and now.’ Our exiles are those circumstances that consume our minds and fill up our hearts with emotions that must continuously be nurtured. While we must live within the battles of this world, we must never lose sight that we live in a temporal land. We are only passing through to enter the land of resting places…resting in eternity…resting in the Presence of God…resting in the eternal reunions of our loved ones. Paul reminds us that while we are inhabitants of this world our citizenship belongs to Heaven. Our eyes must be cast upon the eternal, not anchored in the temporal.

‘For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come’ Hebrews 13:14.

When We Say 'I Do'

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part in it” 1 Cor 12:27.

The Bible states in Mark 10:8 that when two enter into marriage the parties ‘shall be one flesh:  so then they are no more two, but one flesh.’  The same holds true when we accept Christ into our lives.  Christ is the head of the church and the body is His bride.  Can you imagine if after our wedding ceremony we only served our spouse once a week…children followed but we only did things with them when it suited our interest?  What if the only time we offered ourselves to them was when we were receiving from them?

This is a Christian dilemma that stalks the church from the greatest of Christians.  Just as God leads us to our vocation and calling, He also leads us to the church where He has assigned future work.  Just as our family would be dysfunctional as described above, so is the success of our church when we don’t fulfill our God-directed church purpose.  ‘When God places you in a local church, you’re not merely joining a religious organization; you’re a part of the living body of Christ.  God puts you in a particular church because He knows you can help that church fulfill His assignment.  You’re vital to the body and the body is important’ Experiencing God, p. 161.  We do not go to church to receive but to give…give our worship…give our tithes…give our time and talents.  The body is incomplete without each member fulfilling its God-given purpose for that specific church. 

How can we find our purpose in one of the most important groups of people whom we are entrusted…the church, the Body of Christ?  In addition to our weekly attendance, we must pray to God for His revelation and wisdom in realizing our role in the church.  We must look to Scripture to be led into the knowledge of what God is doing in our church.  We must sensitize ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s leading and join Him in His work at the church.  Being active in church means much more than occupying a pew once a week.  It means being active in the activity of Christ in that place.  In every church there seems to be a division, those who are actively serving in the body and those who are not.  Just as every limb on our body operates to serve the rest of the body, so must the members of each church to make the body move as intended by God.

‘So that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other’ 1 Cor 12:25.