“Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ”
Luke 15:4 & 8 (NIV)
There is a song playing on Christian radio as I write this by Andrew Ripp. The song is titled “I’d Do It Again.” The song is written from Jesus’ perspective and the chorus says: “Cause there’s no distance too far/ No pain too great. There’s no grave to dark/No hell I won’t pay. The proof that it's finished is here in my hands. I know I don’t have to child but oh for you I’d do it again.” This song reminded me of how the Scriptures are held together with a crimson thread and that with the sorrow God must often feel, there is also joy when we lost ones are found. That He’ll keep searching until all that will be found have been found.
In Genesis 18 when the Lord and a couple of his messengers turn to visit with Abraham on their way to Sodom and Gomorrah in response to the outcry that had reached the throne room of heaven and after Sarah had laughed when the Lord said she would be a mom in her old age a year from then. Abraham dared to bargain with the Lord. Abraham asks Him, if He finds 50 righteous ones there will the cities be destroyed? 50 becomes 45; 45 becomes 40; 40 becomes 30; 30 becomes 20; 20 becomes 10 – the city would be spared if only 10 righteous ones are found. In Genesis 19, that 10 really becomes just Lot and rather than spare the city for just one, the Lord spares Lot and his family and destroys the cities. Lot’s wife looked back and some say the pillar of salt still stands even today. Lot’s daughters, well they are definitely a story for another day.
Which brings us to the questions before us this week. At the end of Luke 14 Jesus is talking about the cost of being His disciple and closes with “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” Luke 15 opens with the parable of the lost sheep – where Jesus asks those listening, especially the Pharisees and teachers of the law who were muttering about the sinners and tax collectors Jesus was hanging out with – “If you have 100 sheep and one goes missing – won’t you leave those 99 sheep where they are and go searching for the lost one?” Jesus continues by saying that when the lost one is found, the owner will throw a party to celebrate. Then comes the parable of the lost coin. Same basic idea, a woman has 10 silver coins and one goes missing. She cleans and carefully searches until she finds that missing coin and then she invites her friends over to celebrate. At the end of both of these parables Jesus says there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over all the righteous ones present.
God so loved the world… He finds us so valuable that He paid the price of our sins and He keeps looking for all the missing sheep and lost coins. In Peter’s second letter to Christians facing persecution, he reminds them that the Lord’s timing is not like our timing. He is not being “slow the way we understand slow – rather He is patient with all image bearers not wanting any of us to perish, but for everyone to repent and accept His gift of eternal life.
Do you realize that we who walk with Jesus, no matter how imperfectly, are part of His search party? Part of His rescue team? We are meant to be keeping our hearts, minds and eyes open for those who are still lost, those He is still looking for, those who are looking for something and just need to know that, that something is a someone whose name is Jesus. Jesus who says no one is too far away to be found. Heaven rejoices every time one more lost sheep is found.
Let me know your thoughts. Know someone who might be encouraged by this – please share. I will be praying for you. Until next week – remember when you were found Heaven rejoiced.
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
It Started Small, It's Still Growing
“What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? What shall I compare the kingdom of God to?”
Luke 13:18 & 20 (NIV)
Luke provides us with the Reader’s Digest versions of two parables as Jesus asks this week’s questions. Jesus responds to his own, pondering questions about what the kingdom of God is like, first with an abbreviated parable of the mustard seed and then the yeast. In the case of the mustard seed, Jesus says: that the kingdom of God is “like a mustard seed that is planted in a garden. It grows and grows until it is a tree that birds can perch in” (Luke 13:19). Jesus asked a third pondering question, as if He is searching for a description that the crowd can understand. Answering Himself he says: “it’s like yeast that a woman adds flour until it is worked all through the dough” (Luke 13:21).
A mustard seed is very small, but in its life span it grows big and strong enough for birds to rest in its branches. The most common type of mustard can grow to be five feet tall, while some other varieties can, in the right conditions, grow to be twelve feet tall. In Matthew’s gospel Jesus tells his followers that if they have faith the size of a mustard seed, they will be able to move mountains (Matthew 17:20). Small things grow. The kingdom of God makes its entrance when Jesus comes into our world as a baby. It arrived in a small package, by the time Jesus was irritating the religious leaders of His time, He was also telling them that the kingdom was at hand. In other words, over his lifetime, it had grown and was nearer than when he arrived.
Yeast, though different, provides a similar result. Add a bit of yeast to some flour and a few other ingredients – think sugar and warm milk or water, to make a dough. Leave it to sit in a warm place and when you come back it looks like there is more dough than there was before. If the yeast is particularly good and well fed, you might come back to find that the dough has escaped the bowl. Jesus warned his disciples against the yeast of the Pharisees – well because they weren’t helping the kingdom grow at all. But the yeast of His words and actions was growing the kingdom and drawing it ever nearer.
The Apostles and the people who became believers while Jesus was here, planted the mustard seeds and mixed into the lives of others the yeast Jesus had left them with. From then until now the kingdom has been growing. It has more growing to do – before we see it in all its glorious fullness when the Lord returns and everything is new, and earthly kingdoms are done.
Today’s followers of Jesus are His church, like those who have gone before us, we have also received a portion of mustard seeds and yeast. We are called to love God and love others. Love others to the foot of the cross and the transforming mercy and grace offered to all who will believe. Are you planting the seeds you have been given? Is the kingdom growing where you have influence? Are you allowing the yeast of the bread of life to permeate your life so that your faith and trust in God is overflowing into the lives of those around you?
I always enjoy it when someone I know takes the time to bake fresh bread and then shares it. Sometimes I enjoy that bread with just butter. Sometimes, the bread is expanded into a sandwich, which I am happy to share if the other person likes mustard. Plant the seeds you’ve been called to plant. Use that yeast, while it still has life in it, to expand the His kingdom right where you are. You will grow and the Kingdom will get that much closer.
Let me know your thoughts. Know someone who might be encouraged by this – please share. I will be praying for you. Until next week – plant some kingdom seeds or bake some bread and share the kingdom that way.
Luke 13:18 & 20 (NIV)
Luke provides us with the Reader’s Digest versions of two parables as Jesus asks this week’s questions. Jesus responds to his own, pondering questions about what the kingdom of God is like, first with an abbreviated parable of the mustard seed and then the yeast. In the case of the mustard seed, Jesus says: that the kingdom of God is “like a mustard seed that is planted in a garden. It grows and grows until it is a tree that birds can perch in” (Luke 13:19). Jesus asked a third pondering question, as if He is searching for a description that the crowd can understand. Answering Himself he says: “it’s like yeast that a woman adds flour until it is worked all through the dough” (Luke 13:21).
A mustard seed is very small, but in its life span it grows big and strong enough for birds to rest in its branches. The most common type of mustard can grow to be five feet tall, while some other varieties can, in the right conditions, grow to be twelve feet tall. In Matthew’s gospel Jesus tells his followers that if they have faith the size of a mustard seed, they will be able to move mountains (Matthew 17:20). Small things grow. The kingdom of God makes its entrance when Jesus comes into our world as a baby. It arrived in a small package, by the time Jesus was irritating the religious leaders of His time, He was also telling them that the kingdom was at hand. In other words, over his lifetime, it had grown and was nearer than when he arrived.
Yeast, though different, provides a similar result. Add a bit of yeast to some flour and a few other ingredients – think sugar and warm milk or water, to make a dough. Leave it to sit in a warm place and when you come back it looks like there is more dough than there was before. If the yeast is particularly good and well fed, you might come back to find that the dough has escaped the bowl. Jesus warned his disciples against the yeast of the Pharisees – well because they weren’t helping the kingdom grow at all. But the yeast of His words and actions was growing the kingdom and drawing it ever nearer.
The Apostles and the people who became believers while Jesus was here, planted the mustard seeds and mixed into the lives of others the yeast Jesus had left them with. From then until now the kingdom has been growing. It has more growing to do – before we see it in all its glorious fullness when the Lord returns and everything is new, and earthly kingdoms are done.
Today’s followers of Jesus are His church, like those who have gone before us, we have also received a portion of mustard seeds and yeast. We are called to love God and love others. Love others to the foot of the cross and the transforming mercy and grace offered to all who will believe. Are you planting the seeds you have been given? Is the kingdom growing where you have influence? Are you allowing the yeast of the bread of life to permeate your life so that your faith and trust in God is overflowing into the lives of those around you?
I always enjoy it when someone I know takes the time to bake fresh bread and then shares it. Sometimes I enjoy that bread with just butter. Sometimes, the bread is expanded into a sandwich, which I am happy to share if the other person likes mustard. Plant the seeds you’ve been called to plant. Use that yeast, while it still has life in it, to expand the His kingdom right where you are. You will grow and the Kingdom will get that much closer.
Let me know your thoughts. Know someone who might be encouraged by this – please share. I will be praying for you. Until next week – plant some kingdom seeds or bake some bread and share the kingdom that way.
Saturday, September 12, 2026
But For The Grace...
“Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? Or those eighteen who died when the tower of Siloam fell on them – do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?”
Luke 13:2 & 4 (NIV)
Jesus has been busy. He has been teaching his disciples, making the religious leaders of His day look foolish, and teaching the crowds that seemed to be constantly around Him. Jesus had just finished calling the crowd hypocrites because they could forecast the weather, by the signs nature presented but they couldn’t figure out how to interpret the times they were living in. Jesus also warned this crowd to be reconciled with someone who had something against them before the matter gets before a judge, because they might lose, and lose big. This is where this week’s questions from Jesus come in.
Someone in the crowd tells Jesus about how Pilate had a bunch of Galileans killed as they presented their sacrifices. In one of these rare moments when Jesus asks and answers the question, Jesus asks: Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because of how they suffered and died? Jesus immediately answers “I tell you, no”!
Before we continue, it is probably important to understand, that in those days it was common to assume that if some tragedy befell a person or if a person was sick or crippled, that they were being punished for their sin. Think about the situation in John, where Jesus and his crew meet a man who was born blind. The disciples asked Jesus did the man or his parents sin that he was born blind. Basically, anything that happened that was bad, equaled it was a punishment for sin. Read the book of Job in the Old Testament for just such a story.
Let’s continue. Not only does Jesus tell them that the Galileans killed as they presented their sacrifices are not worse sinners than their Galilean brothers and sisters, but that all of those listening to him would also perish if they did not repent. Then Jesus brings up another tragic event where eighteen people died when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them. Jesus asked a similar question. “Do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?” He answers this second question the same way. Nope and if you don’t repent, you will perish too. Then Jesus tells a parable about a fig tree that gets one more chance to bear fruit or be chopped down – but that is a story for another day.
Sometimes we suffer because of someone else’s sin. Sometimes we suffer because we live in a very broken world. Sometimes we do pay the consequences for our own sins. Sometimes we suffer so that God's grace can be displayed in our lives. But we don’t have to stay in that sin-caused place of suffering. Jesus calls us to turn around, to make better choices, to choose Him and His grace. Like the fig tree that is given more time to produce fruit, before it is cut down. God’s grace gives us chance, after chance, after chance to produce the fruit that a life transformed by God’s grace is meant to bear. But for the grace of God.
What do you need to turn from with the power of His grace? What aspects of the fruit of the Spirit need to be cultivated by the power of His grace? Life is going to be hard. Life is going to be unfair. But Jesus is making all things new by His grace.
Let me know your thoughts. Know someone who might be encouraged by this – please share. I will be praying for you. Until next week – will you choose His grace for yourself? Will you extend His grace to someone who needs it?
Luke 13:2 & 4 (NIV)
Jesus has been busy. He has been teaching his disciples, making the religious leaders of His day look foolish, and teaching the crowds that seemed to be constantly around Him. Jesus had just finished calling the crowd hypocrites because they could forecast the weather, by the signs nature presented but they couldn’t figure out how to interpret the times they were living in. Jesus also warned this crowd to be reconciled with someone who had something against them before the matter gets before a judge, because they might lose, and lose big. This is where this week’s questions from Jesus come in.
Someone in the crowd tells Jesus about how Pilate had a bunch of Galileans killed as they presented their sacrifices. In one of these rare moments when Jesus asks and answers the question, Jesus asks: Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because of how they suffered and died? Jesus immediately answers “I tell you, no”!
Before we continue, it is probably important to understand, that in those days it was common to assume that if some tragedy befell a person or if a person was sick or crippled, that they were being punished for their sin. Think about the situation in John, where Jesus and his crew meet a man who was born blind. The disciples asked Jesus did the man or his parents sin that he was born blind. Basically, anything that happened that was bad, equaled it was a punishment for sin. Read the book of Job in the Old Testament for just such a story.
Let’s continue. Not only does Jesus tell them that the Galileans killed as they presented their sacrifices are not worse sinners than their Galilean brothers and sisters, but that all of those listening to him would also perish if they did not repent. Then Jesus brings up another tragic event where eighteen people died when the tower of Siloam collapsed on them. Jesus asked a similar question. “Do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?” He answers this second question the same way. Nope and if you don’t repent, you will perish too. Then Jesus tells a parable about a fig tree that gets one more chance to bear fruit or be chopped down – but that is a story for another day.
Sometimes we suffer because of someone else’s sin. Sometimes we suffer because we live in a very broken world. Sometimes we do pay the consequences for our own sins. Sometimes we suffer so that God's grace can be displayed in our lives. But we don’t have to stay in that sin-caused place of suffering. Jesus calls us to turn around, to make better choices, to choose Him and His grace. Like the fig tree that is given more time to produce fruit, before it is cut down. God’s grace gives us chance, after chance, after chance to produce the fruit that a life transformed by God’s grace is meant to bear. But for the grace of God.
What do you need to turn from with the power of His grace? What aspects of the fruit of the Spirit need to be cultivated by the power of His grace? Life is going to be hard. Life is going to be unfair. But Jesus is making all things new by His grace.
Let me know your thoughts. Know someone who might be encouraged by this – please share. I will be praying for you. Until next week – will you choose His grace for yourself? Will you extend His grace to someone who needs it?
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