…For verily I say unto; you,
If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain,
Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible
to you. Matthew 17:20
Another parable put he
forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard
seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of
all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a
tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
Matthew 13:31,32
I never met a mustard I
didn’t like; yellow mustard, brown mustard, Dijon, and all the varieties in
between. I use the little seeds when I make pickles and I’ve helped plant them
for “greens”. So when I read it grew into a tree, I thought, “What kind of
mustard seed do they have in the Middle East?”
After doing a little research
(http://ww2.odu.edu/~lmusselm/plant/bible/mustard.php)It turns out they have the
same ol’ mustard seeds we do and use them for the same ol’ things – mustard. The
difference is where they plant them. If they plant black mustard seeds in the
very sunny parts of the dessert and leave it alone until fall, the plant is
tall and the stem is woody. Most trees in the area are more like shrubs, big
enough for birds to roost in and find shelter under the branches.
The disciples were trying
to help a man with a demon possessed child. They could not cast out the demon.
Jesus had earlier told them the parable of the mustard seed. He was talking
about growing the kingdom of heaven, adding to the church. The man believed
Jesus could heal his son. The problem was that the disciples didn’t seem to
have the faith needed to deliver the child. When they asked Jesus about their problem,
his answer was the need for prayer and fasting. (vs 21).
How often I go to church
or witness to someone I meet without seeing results. I wonder why there was no
response? Did I not say the right things? Was there something missing in the
service? Checking back on my prayer life…. Did I pray for the services? Has my
prayer life prepared me to witness? Ephesians 6:12 tells us we wrestle not
against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities and rulers of
darkness. Every kingdom must have warriors who are willing to fight. Our
weapons are prayer and the Word of God.
I think I may spend a
little extra time in prayer this week. It is my desire to see people come and
find salvation and rest in Jesus. It’s possible I may find rest there too. Won’t
you join me?
Blessings,
Gail
