(unmarked journal entry – presumably from matthew 13)

i am so glad that God’s ways are higher than ours, that our understanding is feeble compared to His!

what a gift we have in the Holy Spirit! the gifts of insight and wisdom. being able to catch a hint of what God is up to & how He wants us to live. every day, we come into situations that demand our attention, but we cannot possibly understand what to do, or how to respond unless we look to to God for answers. He can tell us what needs to be done, nudge us in the right direction with how we respond & instruct us on how to be a better witness for His kingdom’s sake.

thanks and praise to God for allowing us to take part in His world like He does! what a blessing!

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looking at matthew 13, we find Jesus sharing with the people and His disciples through parables. we read them today with the benefit of both time (with its myriad of teachers and experience) and most importantly, the Holy Spirit (in the lives of those who claim Christ as King.) we can read these parables today and understand them, especially for those of us who have grown up in the church, because we hear them immediately with their explanation.

but the disciples did not even understand them, and they had Jesus at their side. the ministry and work of Jesus, amazing as it was, was still limited from the receiving end/from the perspective of the people He ministered to, because unless He directly explained these parables to them, they were not going to understand them. they did not have the discernment that comes from the Spirit at work in their hearts and minds. that is why Jesus repeated their need for His going so the Spirit could come and work in them and through them.

it is painful to see the israelites in the old testament sometimes, because of their repeated sin, and total lack of understanding of what they were doing. why keep returning to baal and asthoreth? couldn’t they see what that led to? didn’t they understand how things were gong to be, and how God would respond? but we must remember than with them, only the prophets, judges and the few Godly kings ever had the Spirit at work in their lives. the nation of israel, on the whole, did not.

so we must be thankful, so very thankful, that God has poured out His Spirit on His people, who are called according to His Name and His purpose!

all praise be to God, the Almighty, Giver of life, Mender of hearts for His love and devotion that are ever green in the lives of His children! praise to Him for the gift of the Holy Spirit through the work of His Son, Jesus! amen and amen.