Daily Bible Readings
Today’s Devotion by Tom Siderius (MI)
Luke 17:5-6(REV)
Trust
5And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our trust.”
6And the Lord said, “If you have trust like a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be rooted up and be planted in the lake,’ and it would obey you.
This passage has the same subject as the parable in Matthew chapter 13.
Matthew 13:31-32(NKJV) Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
The mustard seed is a brassica seed which is dark or black, and very small, almost like a pencil point size. I have some experience with planting brassica seeds, mostly turnips and other radishes. They are difficult to plant because you cannot see the seeds as they are dispersed from the seeder and cannot see them on the ground against the dark earth. The people of that time hand seeded their fields so they would have to be very intentional about collecting the seeds, storing them and then seeding them in the next year’s field.
The mustard seed here is probably Brassica Negra and grows normally to about 3-4’ in size. But there are some plants that given the right soil and conditions would grow to as much as 10-12’ in height with stems as big as a man’s forearm. These plants give us mustard powder spice and also mustard oil. All were valuable commodities in their culture just as mustard is used to make mustard sauce to use on your hot dog today. It had to be intentionally seeded and cared for to make it grow. The ground needed to be prepared, then seeded and weeded to help the plants grow and flourish. This doesn’t happen by accident or by chance.
When Jesus is telling us to have trust (or faith) in God as small as the mustard seed, he is saying for us to intentionally plant and cultivate the things that we plant in our lives. If we plant the things of God and His Word in our hearts, then the plantings will grow all out of proportion to the size of the planted seed. Trust in God starts with small decisions that will grow into great and important results.
What are the ways that we can plant more seeds of the Word in our lives?
How about the lives of others that we have contact with?
The Kingdom of God will start with small seeds that are planted by intentional gardeners with their eye to an eventual valuable harvest of righteousness. The smallest things that we do now can grow to become a tree which will fill the whole world with righteousness. We don’t have any control over the growing of the Kingdom, except to plant, water, and cultivate the plants. Jesus tells us that if our trust in God grows like these plants then we will be able to produce miraculous and wonderful works that God will direct our hearts to do
Ephesians 2:7-10(NKJV) – that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
The trust that we develop by walking with God daily and studying His Word will change us and give us power in this world to do His will. We don’t necessarily need to uproot trees and plant them in the middle of the lake, but Jesus’ point is that we can do things that we never thought possible if we trust in God.
What are the truly “good works” that God has called you to do?
1 Corinthians 3:4-9(NLT) When one of you says, “I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?
5 After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. 6 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9 For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.
What a privilege to become a part of the wonderful family of God and walk together on the path to the coming Kingdom that God will include us in. As we are faithful to obey His Word and then to give it away to those who are perishing God will give the increase of harvest of righteousness.
Reflection Questions:
What can you do to send the message of the coming Kingdom to others today?
See other questions above in bold text
Prayer:
Father God, we come humbly to You who are the creator of the heavens and the earth. We ask for Your care and help in all that we do. Help us to plant the seeds of Your Word and intentions in our hearts as we try to walk with You. Help us to plant and water the integrity and accuracy of Your Word in our hearts and the hearts of others. Show us the works that You would have us do to further Your kingdom to come. We ask these things in the name of Your Son our Lord Jesus Christ.
