PARABLES - WEEK THREE - DAY ONE

Hello and welcome to your Daily Devos, following our Prophet messages at 29:11!

Take some time today to read through the provided scriptures, meditate on the lessons we’ve learned this week, and journal your prayers. Have an amazing week, 29:11 Church!

THEME SCRIPTURE:

Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.

45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. 46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!"

- Matthew 13:44-46

TODAY’S PASSAGE:

24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?"

- Matthew 16:24-26

REFLECTION:

Growing up, we had a drawer in our house known as the “junk drawer.” I loved that drawer as a kid because if you needed a pen, battery, tape, super glue, safety pins—you name it—you could find it in the junk drawer. Then, there was my mom’s jewelry drawer, which also had some of my favorite items, but those items were of much greater value. A ring passed down from my grandmother, some special gold earrings from my dad, and a few other heirlooms.

When we truly care about something, it holds greater value. Is your relationship with the Lord more like a junk drawer or a jewelry drawer? The parable in Matthew 13 compares the Kingdom of God to a pearl of great price. Are you willing to surrender anything, at any cost, to know Jesus? Is anything worth more than your soul?

There’s a song from the ’90s that expresses it like this:

All I once held dear, built my life upon

All this world reveres and wants to own

All I once thought gain, I have counted loss

Spent and worthless now, compared to this

Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You

There is no greater thing

You're my all, You're the best

You're my joy, my righteousness

And I love You, Lord

There’s no greater thing than a relationship with Jesus. What is He worth to you? How much value does He hold in your life?

THOUGHTS TO PONDER:

Have you been treating your relationship with Jesus like a junk drawer or a jewelry drawer? What things in your life do you need to surrender or give up to give God greater value in your life?