“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells everything that he has, and buys that field” (Matthew 13:44).

The Lord makes it plain, yet there is also a thought which needs to be pursued.  We sometimes think in terms of the gifts just being given us, but we must do our part.  This is about relationship.  The two are to become one.  Have we not heard this from the beginning?  It involves true merging with the Lord, Him in us, that we find ourselves.  We are two, yet one.  Some know this in marriage, but do we know this in faith?

Lord, I live the mystery with each relationship that I have.  While I am fully myself with another, I am also a new person,  But also there is a unity or bond that grows in the friendship.  Lead me so that I grow in the ability to relate with You and others.  Guide me into all truth that I may leave behind that which has no enduring value for the gift of the eternal life which You are offering me.

Lord Jesus, You offer me joy and peace.  Grant that I would be led humbly by Your grace and mercy to live into the life that You are offering me.  Help me to understand these things more clearly and focus my attention and energy on what You know I need.  Through all things, guide me in Your goodness to live into the new life which You have given me through faith and by grace.  You are the One who must lead me in the way I need to go.  Help me, Lord.  Amen.

“Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears, let him hear” (Matthew 13:43).

The Light of the world is Christ who shines the radiance of the Father’s glory.  He has made it possible for us to be made new.  Those who embark on the journey of renewal will be in the Spirit of the living God as He transforms them into a child of the Heavenly Father.  Be led by the One who brings you into His kingdom.

Lord, the mystery is great, but the more I walk in Your way, the more I can see Your hand changing me day by day.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to look to You to lead and be led in the way You know I need to be. Holy Spirit, pour into me what needs to be poured into me and bring me to the place where I let go of what needs to be let go.  In all things, bring forth Your righteousness  You will shine through me.

Lord Jesus, You have come sharing the truth of creation.  There are those around me who will not conform to Your image. But help me to see that You are speaking to me anew each day.  Guide me by Your living word so that I may grow into Your likeness.  Grow in me Your righteousness that I may reflect Your light to the world around me.  Lead me, Lord, according to Your goodness and mercy.  Amen. 

“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, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:41-42).

This world is already filled with those who are weeping and gnashing their teeth.  Sin causes the pride-filled person to have hatred because things are not as they want them to be.  The rebellion of this age will end for those who come to the righteousness of Christ, being separated from those who insist on their own way.  Will it be the Lord’s will or your will which you seek?  This is the real difference between those of this age.

Lord, help me to see more clearly the difference between those of this age and who You are creating us to be for the age to come.  Help me to not get caught up in the ongoing nonsense of this age.  Help me to lay down the arms of rebellion I know too well so that I may humbly come into Your kingdom.  Guide me in all goodness, and by Your grace, help me come to You as I am able.

Lord Jesus, make of me what You will.  You are the author and finisher of my faith.  Lead me in Your goodness and mercy to humbly come with a willingness to be shaped by You according to the Father’s will.  Remove from me all resistance to Your plan so that I may conform daily to Your image.  Guide my footsteps to do what is right in Your sight, living the new life You have given me.  Amen.

“So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age” (Matthew 13:40).

There are people who will refuse to come to the Lord.  They like the idea of paradise, but they are unwilling to repent and become people who will not be turned away .  The wicked must be separated.  This is true justice.  It is not capricious of God to forbid sinners from corrupting heaven.  Sin has corrupted this world.  Those who follow the Lord are being prepared to live in His kingdom forever.

I know that this world is filled with hate, Lord.  Guide me so that I live into the life for which You are preparing me.  Help me to understand Your wisdom a little more each day.  When confronted by those who yell, “It’s not fair,” help me to understand the rebellion against You so that I realize that You alone are just.  Lead me to trust You above all things.  This is Your creation, and You will do what You will with what is Yours.

Lord Jesus, You came with great humility, and You have taught us what it means to be a part of Your kingdom.  Help me in Your goodness and mercy to humbly walk the way You would have me walk.  Guide me so that I humbly live according to Your teaching.  In all things, help me to listen to Your voice above the constant noise of this age.  Lead me into the righteousness You give by grace.  Amen.

“[A]nd the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels” (Matthew 13:38-39).

You now know all the players.  There are those who will follow the Lord and those who will follow the wicked one.  This world is in a state of rebellion, and at the end, Jesus will separate the wheat from the chaff.  Those who hate the Lord will hate you when you tell them the truth.  Everyone will not make it to heaven.  Look to the Lord, stop your rebellion, and follow Him wherever He will lead you.

Amidst all the noise in this age, I become confused by all of the messages that float around.  Help me to see things in their simplest form so that I may comprehend the overall truth of what You have spoken.  You have planted Your good seed in me.  Let the seed of the wicked one fall off me so that I listen to You alone in and for all things.  You are the Sovereign Lord.

Lord Jesus, save me, because I cannot perfectly repent nor turn to the Father.  You died for me so that I could be reconciled to the Father.  Lead me now and always, Lord Jesus, to live this new life that You have given me, knowing this world is hell-bound.  I may not know whether my neighbor is wheat or chaff, but I know that You have called me to be one of Yours.  Lead me in the grace You have given to be Your follower.  Amen.

“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.