In The Word
Read: Mark 4:21-34
21 And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? 22 For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. 25 For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”
Parable of the Seed
26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; 27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. 28 The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. 29 But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 And He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, 32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.”
33 With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; 34 and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
During the gold rush, if you were going to strike it rich, one had to be willing to dig. The Word of God is like gold. It’s not lying around on the surface for anyone to just pick it up and get rich. If we are going to benefit from the wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and power found in the Holy Word, then we are going to have to study, not just read. However, we are to not study alone, but spend time privately with our Teacher like the disciples did to understand what was being said to them. The Holy Spirit was given to teach those of us who are Disciples of Christ, just as our Savior did when He was on the earth. Through spending time in His presence, we will be able to extract the richness of the Holy Word and see it deposited into our daily lives, making us rich in Christ.
So what is the Holy Spirit showing you about these scriptures today? Would God want to show off your life or hide it? How do you measure what you hear? Is more being given to you or taken away from you? How much seed have you sown? Is it the right seed? Is your crop growing or going away?
Whatever the answers are to these questions, the Teacher will guide you to the true treasure. Dig deep and listen with the ears of the heart and you will strike it rich.