Daily Reading 7-19-17
Matthew 13:10-17 New Living Translation (NLT)
When we have a growing relationship with Christ, we hear the Word and it deepens our understanding of God’s heart and multiplies our spiritual fruit. When we neglect our relationship with Christ, hearing the Word and discerning the meaning and application becomes more difficult. When we reject a relationship with Christ, the mind becomes deceived and the heart becomes hardened.
In our passage this morning, Jesus teaches his disciples and he teaches us. If you want a thriving relationship with Christ and you invest time in learning to live the Word, he says to you, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Matthew 13:10-17
10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”
11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.
13 That is why I use these parables,
For they look, but they don’t really see.
They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,
‘When you hear what I say,
you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
you will not comprehend.
15
For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.’
16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.
Prayer: Lord, I am blessed to see your hand at work in my life and to hear what you want to teach me. Please continue to teach me the mysteries of the Kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.