Dear Friends: The one thing I ask of the Lord the thing I seek most is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. For he will conceal me there when troubles come; he will hide me in his […]
A Word of Grace
A Word of Grace – March 21, 2011
There are entire theological treatises devoted to the parables of the mustard scene and the yeast.
Some interpreters say that a mustard seed shouldn’t grow into a tree big enough to support nesting birds. They claim that Jesus is warning that the church can get out of hand in size and organization and become an idolatrous end in itself.
The same eisegetic (highly personal and subjective) interpretation is applied to the yeast as a symbol of growth by fermentation and pride rather than the graceful increase of the Holy Spirit.
I do not buy this. Jesus can be taken at his word. He is speaking in parable and metaphor about how a tiny, almost invisible seed of faith can grow into something capable of shade and shelter and the nurture of life. That’s the thought of the Creator and Redeemer and that is who Jesus is.
A Word of Grace – March 14, 2011
Dear Friends: Thank you for the outpouring of prayers and encouragement in response to my message for February 28, “The Biography of My Left Knee.” Our heavenly Father has heard your petitions and I am grateful to Him and to you. I received a total replacement of the knee. The surgery went well at the […]
A Word of Grace – February 28, 2011
Dear Friends: For reasons that will become apparent below, the Word of Grace messages may take a hiatus for a few weeks. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who are of a fearful heart, ‘Be strong, do not fear! — Isa 35:3-4 Therefore lift your drooping hands and […]
A Word of Grace – February 22, 2011
Dear Friends: The heart and mind long to be understood and to understand. Chief among human qualities that bear the image of the Creator are speaking and hearing–the gift of communication by which we know that we are not alone. We are desperate to know this. Our cell phones, emails, instant messaging, text pages, MP3 […]