Student Devotional Week 29: "You're Invited, But Dress Appropriately: Parbable of The Wedding Banquet"

Matthew 22:9 (New International Version)
"Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find."

It seems a bit old fashion, but dress does matter in the Kingdom of God. If I haven't already turned you off at this point, what I mean is described in the parable of the Wedding Banquet. As the story goes, nobody answers the master's wedding banquet invite and so he invites street people basically to come to his banquet, but there is at least one of them who doesn't take into consideration where he is going and dresses in his street clothes. The master insulted and infuriated throws him onto the street. What you might not know about this parable is that clothes would have been given to anyone who attended in preparation for the banquet. This person obviously refused to wear the proper attire and was therefore unprepared and not suited for the banquet. There are preparations we must make in order to attend the big party in heaven and if we fail to "cloth" ourselves in the righteous of Christ, we will find ourselves kicked out just like the one in this parable, but we will spend eternity separated from God in Hell! The parable also gives us a picture of what heaven will be like; people from all walks of life will be present, not just the few privileged ones, but all that accept Jesus as their Lord & Savior. How are you dressed? Are you "clothed" in the righteousness of Christ? How does it make you feel to know their will be different types of people in heaven that might not look anything like you do?

Student Devotion Week 28: Is That Your Final Answer? Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler

Matthew 6:33 (New International Version)
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

In the movie "Slum Dog Millionaire" we have a picture of a young man not seeking after fame, but enters the show only to find his "true love", a girl he had lost contact we years ago that was now taken hostage by a drug lord. The story has a lot of themes that could be drawn out, but I want to focus on this pursuit of love or favor found in the story of Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler and this movie. The Rich Young Ruler had done everything he thought possible to attain God's Love and Favor in order to attain eternal life, but the only thing holding him back in the end was his wealth. In the movie the main character had done everything in his power to try to win this ladies love and just to be with her, but whenever he got close she would be snatched away. In the end through a series of events out of his hands, they are re-united. The movie has a happy ending and unfortunately the Rich Young Ruler does not. What is holding you back from truly having an intimate relationship with God? What is it going to take to give those things, people, possessions away so you might be able to connect or re-connect to God?

Student Devotion Week 27: Small Beginnings, Huge Results: Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

Matthew 13:31-37
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast 31He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
33He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."
34Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."

Jesus often spoke about the Kingdom of God and like many times before he spoke in the form of a parable to try to relay to the crowd of people what God's Kingdom was like. First thing you notice is that God's Kingdom starts with small beginnings: 12 disciples turned into crowds of people following after Christ. The mustard seed is very small and if you were to take a grain of yeast you would have a hard time seeing it, but when they are worked into the batch of flour and when planted in a garden, the yeast and the mustard seed are very powerful with their ability to spread and grow very rapidly. The funny thing about Jesus talking about the yeast and mustard seeds is that for the common Jew these were not good images: Mustard Seeds were forbidden to be grown around other crops because they ruined the other crops and would overrun them. Remember Moses and the Israelites preparing to leave Egypt didn't have time to use yeast, instead they baked unleaven bread, which is also what is used in the passover meal and our communion today to represent the broken body of Christ and for the Jew God's deliverance from the hands of the Egyptians.
So what was Jesus talking about and what does all of this mean? God's Kingdom isn't about who is the best or biggest Christian, but about potential and God sees potential in the smallest of things, even a sinner like ourselves, that is why He sent His son Jesus to die for our sins, because He loves us and believes in us! Never under estimate the power that God has given you through the Holy Spirit to "Move Mountains" as Jesus in another passage refered to the mustard seed and Kingdom of God. God can take something very small and insignificant and use it to affect the whole world! Are you using the potential that God has given you to grow His Kingdom?

Student Devotional Week 26: The Lord's Prayer

Matthew 6:9-13 (New International Version)
9"This, then, is how you should pray: " 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 11Give us today our daily bread. 12Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.' "

When is the last time you talked or texted your best friend? How about God, when is the last time you talked to God? Prayer has been described as "talking to God", but how do you start a conversation with the almighty? Jesus' disciples asked the same question and this is the prayer he taught them to pray. There are many parts to the prayer: adoration of God, humility before God, seeking God's will, forgiveness & confession, guidance or delivery, etc. Basically, we need to talk to God as we do our closest friends and family; let Him know what you are thinking and what you desire. God wants to hear from you and the greatest part about prayer is that God is always online and you don't have to wait to get a clear signal.

Student Devotional Week 25: I Gotta Do What? Jesus, The Lawyer, and The Story of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10:27 (New International Version)
27He answered: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "

The story of the good samaritan is probably one of the most recognizable stories that Jesus told. Luke 10:25-37 is where it is found in scripture. Sounds easy enough, but we are called to love our neighbors, not the people living beside you necessarily, but the people that sometimes we would rather not even be in the same room with. I grew up watching Mr. Rogers and his theme song was don't you want to be my neighbor. Interestingly enough whoever Mr. Rogers came across became his neighbor; he was always meeting new people that were different than him! Jesus uses the Jew vs. Samaritan relationship because they despised each other. The Samaritans were looked down by the Jews because they were not pure, they inter-married with gentiles. Jesus describes how we are to care for all people, not just people that we like and people that like us! How about you, who is your neighbor and who is it hard to be neighborly to?

Student Devotional Week 24: Why Forgive? Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." (Colossians 3:13)

Jesus tells this parbable in Matthew 18:21-35 about a servant that owed his master more than he could pay and the master forgives the debt. Well, the servant has a hired hand that owes him a very small amount of money, much less than his debt to the master, and the servant has the hired hand thrown into debtors prison. The master gets wind of what his servant had done and not only wants the original debt paid back, but had him tortured in prison until the original amount was paid.
This parable Jesus said is about the Kingdom of God and how serious God takes the act of forgiveness. Jesus said if you don't forgive you brother or sister, then how do you expect your heavenly father to forgive you? It's double-minded to ask for forgiveness from God for your sins and then refuse to forgive someone who has wronged you. Sometimes we take ourselves to seriously and think we are more important to God than others. God doesn't owe us anything, but He freely gives us grace not because we deserve it, but because there is no other way and He loves us.
How hard is it to forgive those who wrong you? Jesus says vengence is the Lords, have you ever paid back those who have wronged you? How did it make you feel? The Bible talks about showing kindness to our enemies is like throwing hot coals on their laps, in other words they are shocked and don't know how to respond to kindness. So, kill them with kindness, not revenge!

Student Devotional Week 23: At Your Service: Greatest in The Kingdom

"Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, 'If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.'" (Mark 9:35)

What does it mean to be great? Success, prestige, power, money; these are some of the ways we measure how one becomes great. Jesus told the Disciples that in order to be the greatest you most become a servant, not great at all by the world's standards. The first will be last, and we must loose our life in order to gain it in God's Kingdom. The Apostle Paul said he was the worst or greatest of all sinners! To be a servant it takes humility. Jesus told us that he came not to be served, but to serve others. What would stop you from following God's call to serve others? What are some things you really enjoy doing? How could God use your passions to meet others needs? Go meet those needs!