April 13 – Holy Wednesday – When a Seed Dies

“And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:23-24  (ESV)

 

During the last week before Jesus died on the cross he was in contact with many people in Jerusalem. In John's record we read in Chapter 12 about some people from Greek regions who came looking for Him. They said, “We would like to see Jesus.” When the disciples tell Jesus what the Greeks asked, His reply is found in today's verse. Instead of responding to the curious sight-seers Jesus begins to talk about his coming death. When Jesus says “the hour,” He refers to the time of His death, resurrection, and exaltation. Up to now, Jesus’ hour had always been future. He knew that by dying on the cross He would do more good for those Greeks (Gentiles) than by just satisfying their curiosity.  We think of Jesus' death like a seed planted which sprouts to bear many seeds. So Jesus, through his death and resurrection has brought many people into the family of God. We don't know if those Greeks ever believed in Jesus as their Savior but they could have. They wanted to see Jesus. Maybe they did. Because He died, we have come to know Him and one day will see Him in heaven.

 

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February 21 – Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy

“He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”  Psalm 126:6 (ESV) 

After seventy years as captives, the Children of Israel were allowed to return to their homes in Jerusalem and the country surrounding what was, and is called Mount Zion by many.  This psalm is a song of Ascents. It is a song of praise to God by the Hebrew people who had come back from their captivity. We can understand how those who had been away from their homes as exiles were thrilled to be back ascending the mountain to Jerusalem. Their mouths were full of happiness, joy, and praise to God. We may not have been exiled from our earthly homes but we can praise God for the great things he has done for us by bringing us into His family. We were strangers to His family but He has made us His children. Has not He shown us so often how much He loves us and how He will take care of us? We may have been weeping as we tended to the tasks God has given to us.  He promises that the result will be wonderful.  Like those who sow seed with tears of sorrow, God promises we will return with joy at harvest time. 

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August 31 – Sowing Tears, Reaping Joy

He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.”   Psalm 126:6 – (ESV)

God never pretends that this life will be easy without any hardship, but He promises us this, for those who have believed and received Jesus and now know and love Him, the tears we shed are like seeds that are sown which will one day bloom into enormous joy.  This verse reminds us that we have a message to proclaim to others in our world and this message can produce results which are of great value.  Passing the message on may sometimes be difficult but as we keep on, it will produce good and eternal result.  If proclaiming the message of Good News seems discouraging at times, we can still trust the Lord to use that difficulty as seeds which are sown.  These seeds will eventually produce the harvest which we will carry home to heaven.  Earlier in this Psalm (v.3) the declaration is made that the Lord has done great things for us; let's be glad and shout for joy because of this promise. 

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March 28 – Holy Wednesday – When a Seed Dies

“Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” John 12:23  (NIV)

During the last week before Jesus died on the cross he was in contact with many people in Jerusalem. In John's record we read in Chapter 12 about some people from Greek who came looking for Him. They said, “We would like to see Jesus.” When two of the disciples inform Jesus what the Greeks said, he replied beginning with the words in today's verse. Instead of responding to the curious sight-seers Jesus begins to talk about his coming death. He knew that by dying on the cross He would do more good for those Greeks (Gentiles) than by just satisfying their curiosity.  Just think of the results of Jesus' death like a seed planted which sprouts to bear many seeds. So Jesus has brought many many people into the family of God. We don't know if those Greeks ever believed in Jesus as their Savior but they could have. They wanted to see Jesus. Maybe they did. Because He died, we have come to know Him.

June 18 - Faith in Our Hearts

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20b (NIV)

When Jesus was in his public ministry on earth he took advantage of things that happened each day to teach his disciples. This verse is from one of those times. The purpose of this teaching is not to encourage us to move mountains around. The real lesson which Jesus was teaching was about the nature of the faith which produces results. Jesus spoke of faith being as small as a mustard seed. Ever so small, the seed would produce great results. Jesus was saying that even if their faith was as small as a mustard seed, it would produce great results because the faith would be there. But the results of even such faith come from God and He is great. It is of course the greatness of God that brings results providing the faith is in our hearts.

April 11 – Many Seeds

“Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” John 12:23-24 (NIV)

What do you think about being a seed?  In our Bibles we have many things recorded regarding the activities of Jesus Christ and regarding His teachings. We remember that we have four gospels records which we call Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They tell about the life and the work of Jesus from the beginning to the end giving many details of his 3 years of ministry. It is so helpful to read these detailed records now during this week. Today’s verses record a very important and powerful prediction and you and I prove how true it is. Yes, we are a small part of the “many seeds” that the death of Jesus provided. Let’s be sure to thank Him and to love Him for our eternal life comes from Him.