“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."
TO PONDER
This is one of those parables of the kingdom of heaven which I try to avoid. I try to avoid it because it usually convicts me.
I shared at a recent LifeWay staff development day, a story of one of my earliest memories of camping with my family at a little camping ground on the goldfields just outside of Ballarat, Victoria. We were camping with my grandfather who was an avid, amateur gold prospector. I was probably about eight or nine years old at the time and not the kind of kid who usually enjoyed camping. I'd much rather have been in my comfortable house with a book or in front of the television.
Yet there was something about the lure of gold that got me excited. I was up early with the adults every morning and among the first of us standing in the freezing cold, knee deep river water sifting through a pile of dirt in my gold pan. I would spend all day in that river, despite the numbness of my toes and the ache in my back hoping that the next pan would turn up a significant gold nugget.
Yet faced with this parable of Jesus, I recognise that I do not pursue his kingdom and his glory with the same kind of enthusiasm. I am often all too quick to say, 'it's too hard' or to wonder if all the effort is really worth it. The question of selling all I have in pursuit of God's kingdom is not one I allow myself to consider often. But Jesus' words are true, there is nothing more valuable in this life or the next than the knowledge that we are God's children and that he loves and accepts us because of Jesus. There is not better investment - even if it cost everything we have - than investing in the eternal Kingdom of God.
PRAYER
Father of all that is seen and unseen, help me to see the value of investing all that I am and all that I have in you and your kingdom. Help me to put aside the riches of this world and this life and to use all the blessings that you give me in service of you and others. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle Site Pastor.
He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
TO PONDER
I had to google search an image of a mustard tree for today as I had never seen one before. As Australians, used to the sight of ancient river red gums, the sprawling branches of Moreton Bay figs and towering Norfolk pines, the sight of a mustard tree doesn't see so impressive. However, it is easy to imagine in the dry, wind swept, hill country of Israel and Palestine, that the mustard tree may be among some of the bigger trees naturally occurring in the area.
One of the things this parable has to teach us about the kingdom of heaven is what God can do with just a small seed of faith.
How often have you looked at other Christians and thought to yourself, "I wish I had faith like that person" or "I could never do something like that"? The reality is that in the kingdom of heaven, in God's economy, everything is possible when our faith is firmly planted in Christ.
The thing about seeds, is that it doesn't matter what type of seed or what kind or size of plant it might grow into, unless it is planted in good rich soil, it will never amount to much. Our faith must be firmly planted in Jesus if it is to grow into something that can benefit others like the 'mighty' mustard tree.
What kind of tree do you feel like at the moment? A strong tall gum tree or a small and scraggly shrub? How might you go about improving the soil you are planted in?
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, you created a garden for you people to live in and enjoy. You know how to make things grow and what is needed to make me thrive in my surroundings. Please work on me, and in me, so that my faith will be firmly planted and rooted in you and that my life might produce fruit for you and your kingdom. In Jesus name, Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle Site Pastor
For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.
TO PONDER
The gospel of Matthew is full of pictures and images about the kingdom of heaven and over this week we will look at a number of them. In today's picture, Jesus tells the story of a landowner who goes out at various times of the day and hires additional workers to work in the vineyard, agreeing to pay those who only come on board for the last shift of the day, the same wages as those who have worked a full day.
You can just imagine the uproar from the fair work commission if someone tried that kind of stunt today! But the funny thing is that for a lot of smaller vineyard owners in the Barossa Valley, that is kind of how things still work. I have an uncle who is one of these smaller vineyard owners and at harvest time there is a huge amount of work which needs to be done in a very short amount of time to ensure the grapes are picked at their optimal wine making consistency. It's more work tan any one man can do on their own, even with modern machinery and harvesters. So, a group of grape growers, work together sharing harvesting equipment and going to work on each others vineyards until all the work is done. It doesn't matter that one farmer brings the most expensive piece of equipment, it doesn't matter that one farmer has the largest vineyard and requires the most help. Everyone just gets in and helps until everyone's grapes have been picked and delivered to the winemakers. What is important is not what each gets out of or puts into the arrangement, it is simply that the harvest gets collected.
I sometimes thing we miss this point in Jesus story about the vineyard workers. We focus on the disparity between those who worked all day and those who worked little. I think part of what is important here is that everyone got to work in the vineyard. Sure, it cost some more time and effort than the others but everyone got to work, to be productive and everyone was rewarded in the end.
How is Jesus calling you to serve in his vineyard?
PRAYER
Jesus, Lord of the Harvest, you call each of us to work the fields and to go and reap the harvest of your kingdom in this world. Help me to be excited at the opportunity to work along side you to see your kingdom come to life in the hearts and lives of those around us. May I be ready to work for you no matter the cost. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle Site Pastor.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
TO PONDER
Do you remember being a pre-schooler, or a young child in the early years of primary school? Life was beautifully simple back then wasn't it.
I remember a trip our family took from Canberra to Sydney when our eldest daughter turned three. It was a special birthday trip with all the grandparents to go to Taronga Zoo. After a lovely day out at the zoo, we caught a ferry back to Darling Harbour, right as the first diners were finding their tables at many of the outdoor dining spaces at the various restaurants around the harbour. In one little open space was a very energetic and flexible fifty year old Caribbean man busking to some high energy calypso music doing incredible limbo dancing, flexing and contorting his body in a way that no fifty year old has a right to be able to do.
We stopped and watched for a while and suddenly he started asking for a member from the crowd for help. Those of us who had gathered looks at each other expectantly, no one really wanting to volunteer themselves. After an agonising and very awkward silence, there was a tug on my arm. Our three year old daughter wanted to volunteer.
I'm sure this is one of the things about children that Jesus loves so much. They often lack some of the fear and inhibitions that we develop as adults. They tend to take people at their word and hey are used to relying on others for the things they need.
Jesus is inviting each of us to rediscover the joy and innocence of childhood as we learn again to trust him to supply our needs and put aside our fear about what others might think of us when he asks us to join him in the dance - even if it is under an impossibly low limbo bar!!!
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, help me to recapture a little of the simplicity and innocence of childhood. Help me to follow and trust you without question and to enjoy the adventure of participating in your mission, wherever that takes me and how ever it may look to others. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle Site Pastor
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
TO PONDER
This passage of scripture describes what my ideal picture of parenting looks like. Jesus asks Simon to do something and even though he can't understand what good it will do, Simon goes ahead and does what he is told. Any of you parents out there will appreciate how rarely this ever happens when asking your children to pick of their dirty clothes, stack their dishes in the dishwasher or whatever else you might be asking.
But then I was a kid once too. I remember wondering why my parents insisted that I keep my room tidy. After all, I was the only one who had to live in that room and I knew where everything was; I couldn't see the problem. To me, having to clean my room was such a waste of time, I had more exciting and important things to do (usually video games). It took the accidental (but totally avoidable) destruction of an important homework assignment to help me see the value of a tidy workspace. Even now, thinking of all the hours of hard work wasted almost brings me to tears.
Jesus knows where we are supposed to be, he knows what tasks God has created us for and he promises that it will always be best for us to go where he leads. It may not make much sense, like casting the nets in places you already know contain no fish, but if you listen and move where the Holy Spirit leads you can be sure Jesus will show you more than you could have imagined.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I know that I often think that I know best and so I often fail to faithfully follow where you are calling me to go. Give me a more courageous spirit so that I might body step in the path you have for me, even when I do not see the final destination or outcome. Amen
Today's devotion written by Mathew von Stanke, LifeWay Newcastle Pastor.
Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
TO PONDER
'It's your move!' How many times have you heard that phrase in your life? Whether playing chess, monopoly, or some other board game, "it's your move' is a comment that is often said to try and keep the game flowing, moving along. It's your move. We would love to think that Newton's first law of physics that states an object in motion stays in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force, would keep the momentum happening. But we know that in life there are forces and a lot of friction which act on our life to halt us in our tracks and stop us moving forward, I wonder what those forces are in your life at this present time? Grief? Illness? Covid? Fear? Circumstances? Depression? Family? Uncertainty?
That's what I love about this passage. Our God is a God who moves. A God who saw that his people were a people at rest, to use Newton's terms, not in the sense that they were at peace, but that they were motionless, stopped in their tracks, unable to move forward or backwards, stuck. God saw their affliction, he heard their cries, he knew their suffering and so he moves. He moves to deliver them, he moves to bring them to a better place and he moves to bring abundant blessing on their life. It's a movement that continues through the pages of Scripture. In Jesus, he moves to deliver those whose momentum in life has been halted, those suffering, those hurting, those scared, those grieving, those who have hit an obstacle/challenge/force in life that has stopped them in their tracks. In Jesus, he has moved in love to bring the world to a better place, he has moved to bring abundant blessing on and in our lives that gives us an eternal momentum in life. In Jesus, God removes the unbalanced and destructive forces (sin, death, devil) that destroy life, so we can keep moving in love, keep moving in grace, through whatever tries to stop us. We move because he first moved for us and in us so we can move to bring his blessing to others. God's made his move. It's now your turn.
PRAYER:
God, thankyou that you are a God who is always on the move for us. You move to us in suffering, in grief, in hardship, in whatever we face in life, to bring us to a better place that is filled with your blessing and grace. In response to your move, help us to move towards others with the same love, compassion and grace that gets their life moving again. Amen.
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
TO PONDER:
"The Lord through his Church has assigned you to serve the Auckland Lutheran Parish." They are words I will never forget. Words that shocked, surprised and excited, all at the same time. It was the translation of Genesis 12:1, in modern form in 1995 to my ears. "Go, leave your country, your family, your roots to the land of the long white cloud I will show you" It was the start of an adventure of faith that has been hard, tiring, beautiful and so incredibly enriching. It's been a journey of grace that is still continuing as God calls me to go daily on his adventure. There are days that are still difficult. There are moments that are so beautiful. There are occasions that leave me speechless. There are situations that break my heart. There are details that I long to know but often remain hidden or unexplained. But the one thing that is constant is that the call to go comes with a promise, "I will show you.". The adventure of faith is possible because God is present, leading, revealing, showing, guiding, calling, protecting, equipping. There is not one part of the adventure that God doesn't know. No details that he is not across or goes unplanned. It's his promise and his presence that gives confidence to embark on the journey of faith...a journey that has led to the NZ, to Perth, to the country and the city, to the US, Europe, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia and perhaps now, even to India. It's a journey that has taken me into homes, emergency departments, ghettos and unclean places. It has taken me to government offices and homes of business men and women. It has taken me over land, sky and sea and revealed God's breath-taking glory. It has led to worship and praise, and laughter. It has resulted in hugs, tears and struggle. But the call remains for me...and for you today. 'Go...from your country (your comfort place...your familiar place...your usual place) to the land, the community, the people I will show you." So will you? Will you let God take you on an adventure of faith today? Who knows what he will show you!
PRAYER
Lord God, give me your grace that I may respond today to you call to embark on the journey of faith to which you are calling me. Help me trust in your promise, that you are with me and will show me where to go. Amen.
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship
TO PONDER
Divine appointments. Most of us have had them. Those moments when we wonder why we are at a certain place at a certain time and we haven't got a clue why. Those moments when we feel a nagging of the Spirit to pick up the phone to call someone, or drop in on someone we have been meaning to visit for a while. Those moments when we get on a plane (I know that's rare these days) and wonder why we are seated in that row, in that position, next to that person. Those moments that we reflect on later and marvel at how God has put us exactly where he needs us at a certain time to bring his life, his hope, his grace to someone God knows needs it.
Ali, an Indian from Mumbai was one such person. 'You chose the wrong time to fly into Washington, mister', the cabbie said to me as we sat in heavy traffic at 4pm on the way to the hotel I would be staying at. 'It's no different from Sydney I replied.' 'Oh, you're from Australia then....what are you doing over here?' After explaining I was a Pastor attending some conferences in the States, he went quiet for a little while. After five minutes Ali said, 'do you mind if I share something personal with you?' He went on for the next thirty minutes to pour out his grief of losing his mother three months previously. He was filled with guilt, regret and in the time stuck in traffic, we talked through some of those things. As he pulled my bag out of the boot and offered me his hand, he said, ''Maybe you did arrive in Washington at just the right time, because if you had been earlier, I wouldn't have had this time to talk. Thankyou!' Divine appointments. That was the first and only time I saw Ali. It was the same with Evan and Donna, Gus and Mike, Stephanie and Mohammad. One time appointments that God set up, like he did with Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch, to reveal his presence, to share his hope, to bless with his grace. And who knows how God used that encounter to transform their lives. I wonder, what appointments will God set up for you today that will make an exponential difference for the kingdom that you may never know? Will you move and go where God sends today?
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, give me the obedience to go where you send today, to meet the people you have set up appointments with and place on my lips the words to speak that bring your life to those who need it. Amen.
Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
TO PONDER
Condemnation. Just the word in itself hovers like a dark cloud over our lives, making us want to run for cover. We've all felt it...the disapproving look, the turning of a back, the snide remark, the labels placed on us. Many are masters of self-condemnation - constantly berating themselves for not measuring up, for not being enough, for...(you complete the sentence). And maybe more than once you've thought that if people really knew you, then maybe they would look at you with even greater condemnation.
Condemnation, whether from others or self holds us back, imprisons us, binds us, stops us from moving forward. That's what is so beautiful about this passage. When we are willing, not to run away, but stand before Jesus, acknowledging our failings, our limitations, our bondage, our sin, we hear a word of grace, not condemnation. Jesus doesn't say, "Sin no more and I won't condemn you." He doesn't say, "Clean up your act, change your way of living and then I will accept you." He says, 'Neither do I condemn you, go and from now on sin no more.' Jesus offers a word of forgiveness that alone has power to change the direction of our lives. It's a word that unshackles that which holds us back, and enables us to go and live a grace-filled life. Paul tells us, "There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). As the well known song says, "I'm forgiven, because you were forsaken. I am accepted. You were condemned. I'm alive and well, your Spirit lives with me, because you died and rose again.' May that song be on your heart and your lips today that you may move into today with a clean slate, and a forgiven heart knowing that Christ loves you and accepts you. And may the Spirit give you power to live in freedom and speak those same words of grace and freedom and acceptance into the lives you encounter today that are weighed down by condemnation.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, I know my faults and my sin is ever before me. Thank you for taking the condemnation I deserved on yourself on the cross, that I might live and move forward in the grace of your forgiveness. Amen.