Devotionals & Poems

Posts in category Growing in Christ

The role of leaven (Parables of Jesu...

The role of leaven  (Parables of Jesus part Forty)

In the light of Scripture, Perhaps taking root in rabbinic literature, leaven is often viewed as being symbolic of corruption and evil. There are Scriptures that appear to support this such as Matthew 16:6, 12 where it refers to erroneous teaching and legalism, and 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 where it represents fleshly corruption, and Galatians 5:9 […]

The cost of Christian discipleship (...

The cost of Christian discipleship  (Parables of Jesus part Thirty-three)

We say that salvation is free, and so it is, for “the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 6:23. However there is a cost of following Jesus, or discipleship, of which He lays out the facts in Luke 14:25-33. First, to hate one’s life and family does not mean […]

It’s in the soil (Parables of Jesus ...

It’s in the soil  (Parables of Jesus part thirty)

  Once again Jesus draws from agriculture to teach kingdom truth, Luke 8:4-15. The picture is that of a farmer sowing seed in his field apparently the old fashioned way scattering it by hand. The seed is the word of God so it is very good seed of which God says it “shall not return […]

Growing like a mustard seed (Parable...

Growing like a mustard seed  (Parables of Jesus part seven)

Another parable Jesus used likens the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed in Matthew 13:31-32. The mustard seed referred to here is apparently not the annual plant we likely think of immediately today, but a much larger specimen, whose seed was very small but grew very large. The combination of these provide an appropriate […]

Getting to know God (Part seven)

Getting to know God (Part seven)

Another name we find attributed to God found in Genesis 16:13 is “El Roi” or “The God who sees”. Hagar probably felt all alone here in the wilderness, but God saw her and showed up as, “The Angel the Lord” (a term believed to often indicate an Old Testament appearance of Jesus) saying “Where have […]