Monday, March 10, 2014

First Monday in Lent: Lent Devotional 2014

Lenten Devotional

Today's readings has come of the most powerful information about the Kingdom of Heaven and the power of Jesus over the nature and power.  It opens with a list of parables on what the Kingdom of heaven looks like.  Each of these focus on agricultural picture to help people to understand the images.

There are many images in this reading, but I find the best I find is the parable of the mustered seed.  This parable demonstrates that the kingdom of heaven will start very small, it grows to the a large and very powerful tree.  This image is used else where to describe the faith need to make large acts.  We get to see here that the Kingdom will grow much like a mustered seed.  The other parables are much the same.

The end of chapter fourteen in a fantastic picture of Jesus and the natural world.  Jesus sends the twelve disciples ahead of him on a boat.  During the night he rejoins the disciples on the water by walking towards them.  This scares the disciples.  They believe they are seeing a ghost.  For proof, Peter the bold one tells Jesus that the proof would be if Peter can walk in water.  Jesus has Peter get out of the boat.  Peter takes a few steps but realizes that he is on the water.  Peter falls in.  Jesus pulls him into the boat.  It was a lack of faith on Peter's behalf.

I think we learn quickly that faith is the foundation of following Christ.  It does not require much faith as we learn from other passages of scripture.  The Kingdom of Heaven is already growing and moving, we need to maintain the faith to follow and know that Jesus will keep us upon the water.  

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