“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 weeds of the field.”  And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man” (Matthew 13:36-37) .

The Lord is the One who scatters the seed of truth.  He intends it to grow.  Those who hear and apply the lessons will embark on a journey with the Lord.  Many are they who will hear the word and it will fall off and go nowhere.  Be one who has ears that hear and feet that walk the way of the Lord.  He has been calling to each one of us from the beginning.  Will you hear and heed His word?

Lord, I have heard Your parables many times.  I want to think that I am one who listens, but I know that many times I do not.  I still need to be taught the finer points of seeking righteousness.  Only You can do that.  By and through Your Holy Spirit, I can have Holy Scriptures opened to know the truth.  You are Truth. Grant me the desire to know more fully the truth that makes free.  In You alone is there hope of salvation to life eternal.

Lord Jesus, Savior of my soul, guide me in the way of righteousness.  Lead my steps to walk the narrow path of salvation.  Through the faith that You have given me, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, connect the information I’ve been given together so that I begin to understand the wisdom that You are giving me.  Lead me always, my Lord, so that I may daily become more like You in all things.  Amen.

“This was so that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will proclaim things hidden since the foundation of the world” (Matthew 13:35).

Through the parables, the Lord shows us how the fallen are redeemed.  The Lord tells us of the people who stay in rebellion versus those who repent and turn to the Lord.  He even tells us that there will be the continuing wicked amongst the righteous.  All that we need to know to navigate in this world is laid out before us.  The hidden things have been revealed because we have been given the Holy Spirit.

Lord, grant that I would have ears to hear and eyes to see.  Lead me in the way of righteousness all the days of my life.  Open for me the Scriptures so that I may know what it is that You have spoken, and apply these lessons to my life.  Through all things, guide me to understand and believe all that You have spoken.  I know that only in You is there true life that leads to eternity.

Come, Holy Spirit, and keep my focus sharp.  Guide me to understand that in You alone is there hope of an eternal future.  Lead me to listen as You speak, whether through preaching, teaching, or the reading of Your word.  Through all that You give me, help me to apply the lessons You give so that I may grow to become what You have always intended.  Lead me always in the way of righteousness.  Amen.

“All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak anything to them without a parable” (Matthew 13:34).

The Lord has a reason for everything.  Part of it is what we hear in other sections of Scripture where the Lord tells us that we could not understand if He spoke plainly.  Part of it is that those who are in rebellion might understand and be false leaven in the kingdom of God.  For whatever reason, for the Lord has His reasons, He chose to speak in parables.  They are timeless and speak to all ages.

Lord, this reminds me that there are many times when I do not know why You do what You do.  Keep me from speculating and then offering that speculation as an answer.  You have called me to live by faith, so help me to trust You above all things.  Help me to understand the parables as they apply to my life so that I may grow in the way You would have me grow as Your follower.

Lord Jesus, There are more sheep that have come into Your fold through these parables – for they speak to me two thousand years late.  Do they speak this way to all who listen?  Lord, You have given me things to understand and things to do.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to live into the life for which You died so that I would have the opportunity to become like You.  Guide me always into steadfast faith.  Amen.  

“He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour until it was all leavened” (Matthew 13:33).

A small portion is enough to do the work.  There is the leaven of sin and there is the leaven of the Lord.  Both begin as ideas that grow.  Will you serve yourself or you will serve the Lord?  The Lord will not stop until you are conformed to His image.  The wicked one will do all he can to stop you.  Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world.  Let the leaven of the Lord leaven the whole of you.

Lord, in this metaphor You give, You make it clear that I shall become completely changed by You.  Guide me in the upward way so that I willingly and with joy walk the path where I am conformed to Your image.  Help me nurture and cherish the faith You have given me.  May it grow to fulness so that all who are given the leaven of faith may become a people who care for those around them.

Thank You Lord for the works You make possible through me.  Help my will to be set on You and my strength be used for Your kingdom.  You have been working on me from the beginning.  Guide me now and always to humbly walk in the way You would have me go, growing as You would have me grow, until that day when I am before You face to face.  Be my salvation, Jesus, to the glory of the Father.  Amen.

“He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches” (Matthew 13:31-32).

The small seed of faith planted in you can grow to become large and provide all that is needed for you and, as the Lord wills, those around you.  The Lord does all the heavy lifting.  The Lord provides the circumstances.  Are you walking with the Lord and willing to allow Him to make of you what He will?  The ability to be willing, truly willing, is one of the most difficult hurdles because it means giving up your will.

Lord, my spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.  You say these words and they are simple to hear and not difficult to understand, but I often meet these words with unbelief and unwillingness.  I like the idea of being large in faith, but I want it to come on my terms and with my timing.  Slay the old Adam so that I may be guided in Your goodness to become what You will make of me.

Holy Spirit, work on me from the inside out.  Where there is resistance to Your will, remove it.  Where there is an unwillingness to not do as You command, do not let me off the hook.  Keep at me so that my faith and actions match.  Let me soak in the living water and grow roots deep in Jesus so that I may become as You know I should become, and be helpful in Your kingdom.  Amen.

“Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn” (Matthew 13:30).

The harvest is ready, and the fields are ripe.  One part of this is not to just wait for the day of judgement, but to spend time in the field looking for those who have received the grain of seed of the word of the Lord and gather them together.  We are meant for fellowship with the Lord and each other.  We are meant to be workers in the field.  We are meant to be a seed of the Lord that grows to maturity.  Are you doing these things?

Lord, I know that I have weed-like behavior.  But I also know that Your grace is upon me.  Lead me out of the weeds so that I may grow as You intend me to grow.  Guide me in the upward way to live the life to which I have been called.  When the time of reaping comes, guide me in Your goodness and mercy so that I may dwell in the house of the Father.  Come and take me to be with You.

Lord Jesus, without You, there is no hope.  With You, I have faith and hope as You teach me how to love.  You know what I need and what stands in the way.  Guide me always so that I may walk the narrow path that You set before me.  Set my feet to walk with You and my heart to look to do what pleases the Father.  Through all things, lift me up daily to become more and more like You in thought, word, and deed.  Amen.

“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?’  But he said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them” (Matthew 13:28-29).

We must, for this age, allow the weeds to grow amongst the good seed.  We do not know who is which.  Some that we think good seed are bad and some we think bad seed are good.  That is the Lord’s business.  But we do not need to tolerate weed behavior.  That we can and must confront, if necessary.  If the weed- behavior person leaves for affronted pride, they leave.  In all things, look to the Lord as the One who must lead in all things.

Lord, I do judge others.  I see their behavior and condemn it.  Help me to not live condemning others, but to use every opportunity for growth in the seed which You have planted in others and in me.  You will gather all at the end and You are the One who must judge us all.  Lead me now and always to take my instructions from You so that I may grow in the likeness of Christ and do what is pleasing in Your sight.

Holy Spirit, I sometimes think beyond what a situation reveals.  Guide me to look to You for all instructions.  Where You would have me be silent, guard my tongue.  Where You would have me speak, grant me boldness to move beyond my fear to speak what needs to be spoken.  Through all things, help me to be faithful to the call You have given me through faith by an abundance of Your grace.  Amen.

“And when the wheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident.  And 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 weeds?’ (Matthew 13:26-27)

A faithful person causes the unfaithful person to be seen for what they are.  Those looking will ask, “How did this good person arise amongst all of those who are not good?”  The mystery of faith shows forth in this way.  The good arise amongst the bad.  It is the way of this age.  You have been told plainly and although you may marvel at it, do not be surprised.  The Lord does what He does.

Lord, I am often puzzled by the wickedness of the wicked.  I see one who rises in faith alongside another that does not grow at all.  It is only by Your calling to faith that those who hear Your voice, and believe, live in salvation.  You ask that we grow as You have planted us.  Help me to not get caught up in the anxieties of this age, but to grow where You have planted me.  Lead me to live in the righteousness You give.

Lord Jesus, You have spoken plainly for any who hear Your voice.  There are tares amongst the wheat.  In this age, it serves Your purpose.  Lead me to not become held up by the mystery of this but live into the life for which You have called me by grace.  Guide my moving and being today so that I would reflect the shining light of Your presence through all that I do.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy always.  Amen.

“Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.  But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and left” (Matthew 13:24).

The enemy is always seeking to thwart the work of the Lord.  Yes, one day the wicked one will be banished, but until that day, there are weeds among what the Lord has planted.  You do not need to tolerate weed behavior.  Sadly, many do.  If one in your fellowship does not contribute, love them, enjoy their fellowship, but don’t support them becoming a leader.  They are willfully unrepentant.

Lord, it is hard when you know someone is bragging about sinning, and whose offering to the fellowship is opinion and advice.  Help me to stand strong as one of Yours and, when it is my place to stand in the way, help me to stand up faithfully and peacefully against willful and sinful behavior.  I know the weeds are around me and sometimes I am the weed; but help me to see through my (first) and others (second) sinfulness to seek to do what is right.

Lord Jesus, lead me in humility so that I do not judge another, but help me to be willing to judge actions righteously.  Guide me to understand that the weeds are all around, but that You have purpose in everything.  Help me tolerate every tolerable situation, but to understand the way things are supposed to be.  Then, Holy Spirit, guide me to do what You would have me do.  Guide me in living life as one of Your redeemed.  Amen.

“But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much” (Matthew 13:23).

Seek to understand the ways of the Lord.  Do not be guided by  worldly advice which is like shifting sand, but be guided by the word of the Lord, which is forever.  Do not be concerned with  how much, fruit you bear, just grow and bear fruit that benefits the kingdom of heaven.  You have been given the words of eternal life.  Walk in the way of Jesus and live out the Good News which you have received.

Lord, You alone know the plans You have for me.  Lead me away from thinking about myself to focus upon You, and then others.  You will grow in me that which You will grow in me.  In You alone do we have hope.  Lead me to understand that all things are in Your hands.  Guide me to know that in You alone do I have hope and a future.  Abide in me that, with Your help, I may bear fruit befitting Your heavenly kingdom.

Lord Jesus, You have come in order that there may be abundant life in and through me.  Guide me in the goodness of Your grace and mercy this day.  Nourish me with the heavenly food You give so that I may bear fruit where You send me according to the Father’s will.  In and through all things, guide me in the goodness of Your grace and mercy to humbly walk in Your presence as I am guided by You step by step.  Amen.