Matthew 13:34-35 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
Here's an old Yiddish tale that we found.
Once upon a time, Truth went about the streets as naked as the day he was born. As a result, no one would let him into their homes. Whenever people caught sight of him, they turned away and fled. One day when Truth was sadly wandering about, he came upon Parable. Now, Parable was dressed in splendid clothes of beautiful colors. And Parable, seeing Truth, said, "Tell me, neighbor, what makes you look so sad?" Truth replied bitterly, "Ah, brother, things are bad -- very bad. I'm old -- very old, and no one wants to acknowledge me. No one wants anything to do with me."
Hearing that, Parable said, "People don't run away from you because you're old. I too am old -- very old. But the older I get, the better people like me. I'll tell you a secret: Everyone likes things disguised and prettied up a bit. Let me lend you some splendid clothes like mine, and you'll see that the very people who pushed you aside will invite you into their homes and be glad of your company." Truth took Parable's advice and put on the borrowed clothes. And from that time on, Truth and Parable have gone hand in hand together and everyone loves them. They make a happy pair.'
Yeshua (Jesus) told many truths with parables. We can see that as we read through the gospels. Yeshua rarely (maybe even never) began with scripture when he was among commoners. It was only in the synagogue, among the scholars that he did so. Most of the time, Yeshua told stories about everyday things in order to bring His strong message in a way that would keep his listeners attention!
Perhaps you've been sharing Scripture with someone and the message is just not getting across the way you'd hoped. Each person is different. There is no exact universal recipe for how to share our faith. We must sense where a person is -- ask the Lord to show us where to start -- try different approaches! Maybe try something different today. Tell a story -- maybe even your story!
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Have you ever heard how a pearl is formed? It is truly fascinating. A foreign object, often a grain of sand, somehow makes it's way into the tightly sealed crack of an oyster. Instead of spitting out this irritating object, the oyster covers it with layer upon layer of a substance secreted from it's own body. After months or even years, a beautiful pearl is formed. The longer the pearl stays in the oyster, the more valuable it becomes.
President Franklin Roosevelt used to attend church in Washington. One day somebody phoned the church and asked, "Do you expect the President to be in church this Sunday?" The rector answered, "That I cannot promise. But we can expect God to be here, and we fancy that will be incentive enough for a reasonably large audience."
If you ever have the chance to visit Jerusalem, one place you must see is Solomon’s quarries – also known as Zedekiah’s cave.It’s a gigantic underground quarry beneath the old city of Jerusalem, an amazing archeological site which offers a glimpse of the handiwork of the builders of the first temple of King Solomon. Can you imagine, as the Temple was under construction, what the craftsmen and the builders must have been thinking about this glorious house they were building?
A large group of European pastors came to one of D. L. Moody's Northfield Bible Conferences in Massachusetts in the late 1800s. Following the European custom of the time, each guest put his shoes outside his room to be cleaned by the hall servants overnight. But of course this was America and there were no hall servants.
As I traveled across the U.S., I occasionally came across individuals who didn’t believe that Israel and the Jewish people were relevant to God’s redemptive plan. Amazed, I would show them this passage in Jeremiah foretelling how God would make a ‘New Covenant’ with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah!
Ever wonder what someone who's never seen the modern world thinks of us approaching a wall, pressing a few buttons and out comes lot's of money? Cash machines -- they're everywhere -- and if you've got cash in your account, you can just go and make a withdrawal!
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