"Stories"

Jesus told them stories,

‘Bout planting seeds and such,

And how God’s word when planted,

Can change our hearts so much.

Spoke of that one lost sheep,

And losing that coin, too,

But best of all the lost son,

Whom the father loved so true.

Told of hidden treasure,

When found to their surprise,

And the pearl of greatest price,

The Kingdom was the prize.

Told them how the Father cared,

For the little birds,

And how if they just trusted Him

And lived by all His words,

They could know great comfort,

When storms became a threat,

If they were obeying,

The house holds off the wet.

Said faith just like a mustard see,

Could move a mountain sure,

And having faith like children,

Would help us to endure.

He warned against hypocrisy,

And praised humility,

And talked about a wedding feast,

Where strangers come for free.

He said that those forgiven,

Should give forgiveness, too,

And our own rule of judging,

Would apply to me and you.

But freely giving mercy,

Would set us up just right,

For receiving back compassion,

And be pleasing in God’s sight.

He said God’s net will gather,

All the nations in,

And then all will be sorted,

And God will triumph then.

If we have fed the hungry,

And loved the least of these,

We did it all for Jesus,

And He’s the one to please.

Listen to the stories,

For there we hear what’s true,

And born of truth and Spirit,

He’ll show us what to do.

“You are already clean because of the word I have spoke to you…” (John 15:3, NIV)

Jesus’ words brough life and cleansing to the disciples. They will do the same for us if we receive them seriously. That’s why Jesus talked about the role of the Holy Spirit in leading us into all truth. This would include the words of scripture and how the Lord leads us to specifically apply the truth to our daily lives. The Spirit becomes our teacher in this process so that our lives will become spiritually fruitful. He is the vine and we are the branches. Spirit and truth flow from Him and trough us to the world.

Lord, help us to apply Your word to our lives, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Shawn Cameron, used by permission. Thanks, Shawn, and God bless you.