A Mustard Seed

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.
Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/yprzmv

Many people have vegetable gardens. They usually provide a steady supply of fresh produce through the summer months. Some seeds that are planted are fairly large and easy to plant. Others are very small and hard to see.

The size of the seed doesn’t always indicate how large the plant will be. Sometime a small seed can grow into a very large plant, even outpacing the size of plants from larger seeds.

My grandparents had a garden for years. They had tomatoes, corn, beans, potatoes, onions, radishes, peas, and okra. Now my grandfather loved to put out the garden, but he couldn’t stand okra. He didn’t like how it tasted or felt but he agreed to plant it for my great-grandmother on the condition that he wouldn’t have to touch it after it was planted.

Okra seeds are pretty small, but they can grow fairly tall. One year my grandfather purchased a special kind of okra that grew exceptionally tall. He did this partly out of his disdain for the vegetable and also in hopes that it would discourage my great-grandmother, all 4 feet 9 inches of her, from harvesting it from plants that were almost twice as tall as she was.

I’ve got to admit that it was pretty funny to watch her cut off that okra. She would have to grab the stalk and then pull it over while walking away. Only then was she able to reach the pods and cut them off.

It’s really hard to imagine that something so small could produce something so large and to do so in just a matter of weeks. But then we can easily underestimate the potential in small things.

Jesus taught a parable about a small seed, the mustard seed. Although it is not technically the smallest of any seed, it does grow to be large. In Palestine, the mustard shrub will grow to about ten or twelve feet tall and has a wide spread of branches.

We find this parable in Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-19 and this reading from Matthew 13:31-32.

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, 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."

Jesus is teaching about the influence that the church will have on the world. Although it will have a small start, it will quickly grow and prosper in the world.

Jesus uses the mustard seed on two other occasions with his disciples. In Matthew 17:20, Jesus says, “I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”

And in Luke 17:6, He says, “If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.”

In both of these additional passages the mustard seed is shown to be something of great potential from a modest beginning.

Many people underestimate the value of the Christian way today. But we should never doubt what God asks us to accomplish. When Jesus was about to feed five thousand people he asked the disciples for their input. He was testing their faith. How would it be possible to feed these people? They had no food and their money would not buy enough for all to eat.

Andrew found a small boy with five barley loaves and two small fish. “But what are they among so many?” he asked Jesus. But from those small morsels of food Jesus gave thanks to God and fed those five thousand people until they were all filled.

At times we may find ourselves skeptical of what God wishes for us to accomplish. Like Andrew we may openly ask, “What is my contribution compared to the needs of so many.” But like the disciples we should learn that God intends for great things to come from small beginnings.

The one life you help turn to Jesus today has the potential of turning untold numbers of others to Him as well.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we never underestimate the power of God and never underestimate the power that your faith and actions have on others.

Our thought for the day: “One should never be ashamed of small beginnings; it is the small growth that disappoints.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.

Laborers In The Vineyard

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at

Payday! There’s a certain warm ring to that word. Some people are paid monthly, some twice a month and some even weekly. But in the times of Jesus people were paid on a daily basis. If you worked today you were paid today.

This principle goes back to the Law of Moses in Deuteronomy 24:15, where Moses said, “each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and it be sin to you.”

A common wage for a day’s work was a denarius, a small Roman coin worth a few cents in our value today. Jesus uses this wage to demonstrate a point in a parable of a vineyard owner. We find this reading in Matthew 20:1-16.

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us,’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’

“So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’ So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen."

Everyone seemed to be happy to be employed for the day. From early in the morning and all throughout the day these workers had been invited to go and work in the vineyard. The stated pay for the first crew was a denarius. For the others, they were simply told that they would be given what was right. Happy to be employed they went to the vineyard trusting that the owner would do what was right.

As the day concludes it is now time to settle up…payday! Can’t you imagine the joy of those who worked only a short time and still received a full day’s wage? How wonderful for the owner to be so generous.

But then those who labored all day were jealous and disappointed. They were jealous that someone might receive as much by doing only a fraction of the work. They were disappointed that they didn’t receive even greater pay than was agreed since the late workers received the full day’s pay. What a shame that they could not enjoy the pay that they had agreed to accept!

The message of this parable is meant to teach us that what God provides for us is not something that we earn. Rather it is a gift from God to us—eternal salvation. We should be happy with those who receive it no matter at what stage of the day, or life, it may come.

Paul discusses this in Ephesians 2:8-9, where he says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast.”

The jealousy of the workers tends to show that the wage had become more important to them than the work in the vineyard. In the end, we should simply do what needs to be done and trust in God to give us what is right.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we never forget that we did not deserve nor could we earn salvation. May we always remember that it is by the grace of God that any of us can lay hold of that wonderful wage.

Our thought for the day: “Unless the job means more than the pay it will never pay more.” H. Bertrum Lewis.

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.

The Wicked Vinedressers

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/34twqu

Most people are familiar with the concept of renting or leasing property. A person pays the landlord an amount of money for rent and lives in the landlord’s house.

But land can also be rented or leased. Although the term isn’t used as often today, the concept of sharecropping is still an idea we can understand. In many cases the land owner has too much land or is unable to farm all of it himself. So he will lease this land out to others who wish to work it and make a crop. Rent might be paid in currency or in a percentage of the crops that were harvested.

The owner of the land puts his trust into those who agree to work the soil and put in a crop. He expects a harvest to be coming for that becomes part of his payment for allowing the people to live on that land.

In the time of Jesus the area of Palestine was in turmoil. Many landowners would let out their land for others to oversee while they would travel abroad to escape the dangers. Dishonesty and pilfering were common in those days. And it was common for the rent payments of currency or harvest to be less than expected or withheld altogether.

Jesus focuses on this very concept as He addresses some of the religious rulers of His day. The priests, Levites and elders were jealous of Jesus and were making attempts to put Him away. This parable of the wicked vinedressers is found in Mark 12:1-12, Luke 20:9-18 and our reading from Matthew 21:33-46.

“Hear another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. Now when vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. And the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first, and they did likewise to them. Then last of all he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they took him and cast him out of the vineyard and killed him.”

“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”

They said to Him, “He will destroy those wicked men miserably, and lease his vineyard to other vinedressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:’ The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’?”

“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.

Jesus here was speaking directly about the manner in which the Jews, represented here by the vinedressers, had refused to give back to God and had dealt horribly with God’s messengers. But their actions to the servants of God were nothing compared to their goal of killing the Son. Their lives had become so filled with pride and self-preservation that they had falsely assumed that the vineyard was theirs and not God’s.

God, represented here as the landowner, had given the Jews every possible advantage. The hedge, winepresses and tower were all tools with which to function in safety and to produce much fruit. God had delivered them from bondage, given them a land of promise and had protected them from their enemies.

Yet when God desired their obedience and repentance they rebelled against God’s messengers. In the end, Jesus foretells of His own death by the hands of the ones who should have been trustworthy and true.

The Pharisees and chief priests finally catch on that Jesus is speaking about them. This causes them to want to eliminate Jesus even more. How sad.

If not careful, we also can be guilty of not giving to God what is His to have. Friends, God provides us with so many blessings in this life. He provides us with comfort, peace, intelligence and ample opportunities to be a productive person for His cause. When God expects His harvest will we be ready to deliver what is His?

On Our Daily Walk today, may we be reminded that all that we have really belongs to God. May we fight the temptation to withhold anything from Him that He expects or desires.

Our thought for the day: “He who delays repentance pawns his soul to the devil.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

The Barren Fig Tree

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/3cm3qq

Several years ago my wife and I planted some fruit trees in our backyard in Georgia. They grew rather well, but I was disappointed to learn that they wouldn’t produce fruit the first year. But by the second year fruit began to appear and we were glad that we had planted those trees.

The fig tree was a very important tree in Palestine. The fruit was well suited for that climate and the tree had a very thick covering of leaves which provided much needed cool shade.

Jesus uses a fig tree to demonstrate the need for repentance. As some were with Jesus they began to ponder how sin might have played a part in the deaths of several people who were murdered while making their sacrifices. A common thought of the day was that tragedy and misfortune were always the result of sin. So their conclusion was that these people who were murdered somehow deserved their fate.

We find this passage in Luke 13:1-9.

There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

He also spoke this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, ‘Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?’ But he answered and said to him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.’”

Jesus was using this fig tree to represent the Jews. They had great promise of producing fruit for the kingdom but they were coming up barren. They needed to repent, make a turn around for the Lord.

The tree that was barren was obviously useless for fruit. That was its intended purpose. The shade that it would give was a secondary benefit. The reason for its existence was to produce figs.

These fig trees would begin to put on figs in April and would produce two crops—one in early June and another one in August. For years the owner, God, has come expecting fruit, but is always sad to find none.

The barren tree is also hindering good from being done. It was taking up valuable space and drawing off nutrients from the soil as well. And what was the return to the owner? Nothing. Better to dig this one up and plant another one that will produce figs.

Jesus imparts this warning that if repentance is not forthcoming that destruction will follow. He says in Matthew 7:19, “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” And in John 15:6 in speaking of the vine and branches, every branch that does not bear fruit is cut off and burned.

God is very patient and in this parable God is patient to allow the tree another year to make good on bearing fruit. Perhaps more fertilizer will do the trick. But after so many years of empty branches hope is slim.

So it is also with many Christians today who take up space and nutrients but return nothing to God. They, like the barren fig tree, might be otherwise healthy. But without producing fruit they are barren and invite destruction upon themselves.

The good news is that God is patient with us. Extremely patient. Peter informs us of the patience of God when he said in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

Friends, God expects us to produce for Him. The one talent man in Matthew 25 was punished for not producing a profit. The unproductive vines of John 15 were cut off and burned for not bearing fruit. And the barren fig tree was soon to be dug up and replaced with another tree if it would not repent and begin to bear fruit.

Are we producing fruit for God today? If not, why not?

On Our Daily Walk today, may we each resolve to do what we can to produce fruit for God. May we do more, read more, pray more, teach more, encourage more and love more so that others may know that we are productive for our God.

Our thought for the day: “God holds us responsible not for what we have, but for what we could have; not for what we are, but for what we could be.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.

The Tares

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/yuzbam

My wife tells a story about when she was a young girl. Her father always had a good sized garden and he expected his two daughters to help with taking care of the garden. One day he sent my wife into the garden to weed a row of corn. Unfortunately, she pulled up the corn as well as the weeds.

Sometimes it may be difficult to tell the difference in a good plant and a weed. In the early stages of growth many plants look very similar. The same is true about the wheat plant and a plant called a tare.

The tare was a type of poisonous rye grass. When in the early stages of growth it would be virtually impossible to distinguish between wheat and tares. However, when the grass grows more it is evident that the plant is different from the wheat.

Today’s farmer spends money and time to help prevent weeds and grasses from growing in his crop. Not only will the foreign plants compete for the nutrients of the soil, but when it is harvest time the foreign plants will complicate the process of gathering a clean crop. To make matters worse since both plants are growing simultaneously, their roots are entwined. You can’t pull out the tares without also pulling up the wheat.

Jesus tells a parable about the wheat and tares in Matthew 13:24-30.

Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?' But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

No one purposely includes weeds with their good seeds. God wants everyone in the world to be good, but not everyone will be. Life continues and good coexists with evil. But one day this world will cease to exist and the good and evil of the world will be separated. Jesus provides the explanation of this parable in verses 36-43.

Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The enemy that sowed the tares was the devil, the evil or wicked one. Evil takes root in the lives of many people. But the devil doesn’t have to be around to encourage or nurture it. Evil just keeps on growing. In this parable, Jesus says that the tares were sown and then the evil one went on his way.

When the plants are young you can’t tell the difference between wheat and tares. Likewise, there are also many things in common between the saved and the lost of this world. There are certain amounts of good in all of us. Many people are moral, upright and law-abiding citizens.

But not all are saved. Not all will be obedient to God’s word. And although we can’t eradicate evil in the present world there will be a separation eventually. Paul tells us in Romans 14:12, “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.”

One day all evil will be punished. Unfortunately, many people mistakenly think that if God doesn’t punish them right away that they are ok. If they do not change, they will be like the tares that grow fully until harvest and then are burned.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we realize that while we are incapable of fully judging the hearts and intents of one another, God is capable and will judge each of us.

Our thought for the day: “Evil does not disappear merely by being ignored.”

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.

The Sower

Good morning and welcome to Our Daily Walk.

Audio version at http://tinyurl.com/2mgahp

I have a friend who works with farmers to help them increase their harvest. They use GPS technology and computers on their farm equipment. It’s really a fascinating process.

They can analyze every foot of soil in the field and then customize how much fertilizer and seed to put down for that specific area. Their objective is to increase the yield for each crop.

Invariably there will be seeds that are sown that just don’t make it. But that number is far less than in years past. The technology they use focuses on two things. Increase the nutrients in the soil and make sure that the seed is sown in that good soil.

Jesus told a parable about a man who went to sow a field. The fields of that time were not like our fields today. You wouldn’t find fences to divide your property from someone else’s. Instead you would find a large open area with several paths dividing the separate plots of land. These pathways would become compacted as the farmers would walk from the edge of the field to their particular plot.

Another difference was that they would sow their seeds much like we might sow grass seed by casting or slinging it outward. This method of sowing seed isn’t the most efficient way. Many seeds would end up in places that were not the best place for a seed to grow. We find this parable in Mark 4:1-8, Luke 8:4-8 and this reading from Matthew 13:3-9.

Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The seed is the same in all four cases and the same person is responsible for sowing the seed. But there are four different types of soil identified in this parable and four different outcomes for the seed.

Jesus explains this parable in verses 18-23.

“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

If you’ve ever sowed seed for flowers or for a garden you know that not every seed will germinate and not every seed will grow to maturity. Weeds, poor soil and birds all become enemies of that course. The process of improving the soil is ongoing.

The benefit of that process is to see those seeds placed in good soil. They germinate and grow until they provide the harvest or the beauty of their maturity.

As we spread the word of God to our community, preachers know that not every person who hears the message will be “good” soil. And just like the gardener, we want to constantly improve the soils around us. By removing the stones of disobedience and the thorns of temptation we stand a better chance of seeing that seed, the word of God, taking root and growing to maturity in more people.

All four types of listener’s hearts will be present in every community. Some people will be just too stubborn to change. But others will welcome the change of heart that allows the word of God to grow in their hearts.

On Our Daily Walk today, may we think about methods of improving the soils, or hearts, of others around us. May we envision a day when even the most hardened, thorny or stony hearts may be receptive to the wonderful word of God.

Our thought for the day: “The improvement of the mind improves the heart and corrects the understanding.” Agathon.

May God bless you on your daily walk.

© Our Daily Walk, Mike Baker, 2007. Permission is granted to copy these articles provided they are not sold and the author's name and copyright are included.