e-votional
a message to encourage and uplift from College Heights Baptist Church
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
If you would like any of the previous e-votionals, just reply to this email and let me know. Likewise, if you would like to stop receiving them.
Several people have been asking about getting copies of our e-votionals to give to friends and family. We are looking into the possibility of publishing them into a booklet later this fall. We hope to have some news regarding that this weekend. We will keep you posted.
24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 “But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 26 “But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27 “The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 “And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said* to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 “But he said* , ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”"‘
36 Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” 37 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 41 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 “Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. – Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 (NASB)
My son runs the cash register for a local business. The other day he was telling me about a new process of counterfeiting. Criminals bleach all the color off of five dollar bills and then superimpose the image of a larger bill on that blank paper. That way the counterfeit bill looks and feels like a real bill of the larger amount. It takes the close inspection of a trained individual to determine the real from the fake.
As we continue reading Jesus’ parables, we see that counterfeiting is not new, nor is it something limited to the financial realm. The master counterfeiter is Satan. He has always tried to mimic what God does, only his purposes are much more sinister. Exodus tells us our Pharaoh’s magicians tried to copy Moses’ miracles. False prophets have always looked like the real thing, but proclaim a much different message than their genuine counterparts. Revelation tells us of one to come who will attempt in many ways to mimic Jesus himself.
Here, Jesus tells us of those that the evil one has planted in the midst of genuine believers. He paints the picture of a farmer who plants a good crop, only to have his enemy plant some not so good stuff in his fields. At first, things are fine. The young wheat and the young tares (weeds) look almost identical. In time, however, their true identity is revealed. Unfortunately, so is their destructive influence. The issue cannot be resolved until the harvest. Then, the wheat will be kept and the tares will be destroyed.
Jesus explains the parable to His disciples. He tells them that in this world, there are those that are genuine and those that are not. For now, we can do little about it. At the end of the age, however, God will deal with both the true wheat and the pretending tare. He is not fooled by appearance or smooth sounding words. He knows the truth. He sees through the ruse. Ultimately, He will sort it all out. It is important for each of us to determine that our faith is placed in the right things and that we are truly His.
Unfortunately, many today are tares in the midst of wheat. We cannot allow them to discourage us from doing what God has called us to do. It is important for us to continue pressing on, in spite of the presence of these pretenders. We need to keep shining forth. Let God deal with the tare. Our job is to continue being wheat.
Pastor Darrell
