No Coincidences

Tag: bible

  • Wheat and Tares

    Wheat and Tares

    Christ gives the parable of wheat and tares in Matthew 13:24-30:

    24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

    25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

    26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

    27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

    28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

    29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

    30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

    In Doctrine and Covenants section 86 Christ gave an explanation of this parable. Here are His words:

    1 Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servants, concerning the parable of the wheat and of the tares:

    2 Behold, verily I say, the field was the world, and the apostles were the sowers of the seed;

    3 And after they have fallen asleep the great persecutor of the church, the apostate, the whore, even Babylon, that maketh all nations to drink of her cup, in whose hearts the enemy, even Satan, sitteth to reign—behold he soweth the tares; wherefore, the tares choke the wheat and drive the dchurch into the wilderness.

    4 But behold, in the last days, even now while the Lord is beginning to bring forth the word, and the blade is springing up and is yet tender—

    5 Behold, verily I say unto you, the angels are crying unto the Lord day and night, who are ready and waiting to be sent forth to reap down the fields;

    6 But the Lord saith unto them, pluck not up the tares while the blade is yet tender (for verily your faith is weak), lest you destroy the wheat also.

    7 Therefore, let the wheat and the tares grow together until the harvest is fully ripe; then ye shall first gather out the wheat from among the tares, and after the gathering of the wheat, behold and lo, the tares are bound in bundles, and the field remaineth to be burned.

    Quick rundown:

    Verses 1-3 explains the great apostasy that occurred to the church after the apostles “have fallen asleep” (aka were killed).

    Verse 4 reminds us that we’re now speaking of our day.

    Verse 5 tells us, “the angels are crying unto the Lord… to reap down the fields.” That can be interpreted different ways but basically the angels want to start with the harvest. The harvest can be considered the gathering of souls at the end of times. This leads to

    Verse 6 where the Lord tells the angels to hold off on the harvest because He doesn’t want to destroy the wheat. The wheat are the righteous, those followers of the Lord. The tares are those who oppose God.

    Verse 7 we learn that wheat will grow alongside tares until the end. Then the wheat will be separated from the tares, and the tares will be burned.

    I believe the most telling part of those verses is in verse 6 where it says, “for verily your faith is weak.”

    The Lord doesn’t want to pull up the tares because the wheat is still “tender” with weak faith.

    I’ve heard this parable many times but for the first time a thought occurred to me. What would it mean for the angels to reap the harvest and pull up the tares while the wheat is still weak? The tares being pulled up signifies the evil people of the world being taken away. The wheat would be too weak to handle this, the wheat is too intertwined with the tares. Wheat and tares, of course, represent people. What does it mean that the wheat is too tender for the tares to be taken? The thought that occurred to me was that the wheat, or faithful people, would have their faith shattered if the tares around them were taken. Could this represent the tares of some friends, family, and people we care about? What if God let loose the angels and took up the tares. How many faithful people would lose loved ones? 

    Are you a wheat or a tare?

    Is our faith weak or strong?

    In Matthew 13:38 Christ says

    “The good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one”.

    Christ doesn’t detail the ok seed or the middle ground seed. We are good seeds or we are tares. We are working for Christ or working against Him. We are faithful or we lack faith.

    One day the wheat will be separated from the tares and the end will come. When that day comes, which side will we be on? The side of the wheat or the side of the tares? It’s not enough to be lukewarm as the adversary intensifies his attack. Wheat is nourishing, tares are not. There’s no middle ground. You are either a wheat or a tare.

    Which are you?

  • Sickness

    Sickness

    I’d like to share a poem by Boyd K Packer.

    In ancient times the cry “Unclean!”
    Would warn of lepers near.
    “Unclean! Unclean!” the words rang out;
    Then all drew back in fear,

    Lest by the touch of lepers’ hands
    They, too, would lepers be.
    There was no cure in ancient times,
    Just hopeless agony.
     · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
     But there was One, the record shows,
    Whose touch could make them pure;
    Could ease their awful suffering,
    Their rotting flesh restore.
     · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
     The day He made ten lepers whole,
    The day He made them clean,
    Well symbolized His ministry
    And what His life would mean.
     However great that miracle,
    This was not why He came.
    He came to rescue every soul
    From death, from sin, from shame.
     · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
     What must be done to make us clean
    We cannot do alone.
    The law, to be a law, requires
    A pure one must atone.
     He taught that justice will be stayed
    Till mercy’s claim be heard
    If we repent and are baptized
    And live by every word.
     · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
     If we could only understand
    All we have heard and seen,
    We’d know there is no greater gift
    Than those two words—“Washed clean!”

    Leprosy was a terrible disease. The skin rotting before the afflicted’s own eyes.

    One day we will stand before Christ and feel how unclean we really are. How grateful will we be for the Atonement in that moment? I’m grateful that we can be washed clean from all our misdeeds, errant thoughts, unkindness, and mistakes. All because He suffered our folly for us.

    While I’m not overexcited to see all my shortcomings, it will be a powerful moment to truly see and understand what Christ did for me. I have an idea now. One day I’ll see and know.

    He died for me.

  • Thou Shalt Not Covet a Perfect Day

    Thou Shalt Not Covet a Perfect Day

    *This was written in 2022. No I did not forget about my other daughters or Bengie’s death.

    The morning of the 4th of July I woke up to a disaster. Our dog, Bengie, was not feeling well, and despite letting him out a combined 9 times between Beth and myself throughout the night, there was dog poop everywhere in our house. Everywhere. Bedroom, dining room, living room, by front door, bathroom. It was insane.

    Needless to say, my day wasn’t starting the way I wanted it to. I was hoping to sleep in a little and I was up at 7am cleaning dog poop everywhere. Literally everywhere.

    As I was walking around cleaning up, and fuming, I realized I was headed toward a ruined day. I was so upset. I realized my day was going to be horrible if I let it. A ruined day. I immediately tried to change my mindset, but it was so hard. I just couldn’t let it go. Stupid dog! I didn’t mean that, I love Bengie, but ugh. Ruining my day off!

    Finally, I got everything cleaned up and I realized I was not getting over this frustration. It was so embedded in my mind. I couldn’t stop being mad.

    I usually meditate first thing in the morning. Since my routine was so crudely interrupted, I hadn’t yet. I went to do my normal meditation. At the end of the meditation, I asked God to please help me get over my frustration and not let it destroy my day. I asked Him to help me to move on and be able to enjoy my day with my family.

    I came out of the room after meditating and Beth and Ivy were both on the couch. I was happy. I can’t explain it. The craziest part was, I forgot about it. I know it’s hard for someone reading this to understand, but this thing that was eating away at my mind and happiness, this gripe and frustration that I couldn’t let go of, was gone. I didn’t realize it until I said my prayer before bed that night. I knelt and started to say my prayer. I was thanking Heavenly Father for how great the day was and how much fun I had with Beth and Ivy and how much we got done around the house and that’s when it hit me. I remembered how the day started. The ordeal had literally been wiped from my mind. I hadn’t even remembered it happened until that moment. And then I got to thank God for allowing me to move passed my frustration that morning.

    It’s not normal to just forget starting your day with 90 minutes (not joking) of cleaning up poop in your home. But it had completely left my mind after that morning prayer and meditation. I realized what God had done for me. I’d asked for help moving on and not being frustrated, and He had removed it from my mind. I was able to have joy that day, not dwelling on how it didn’t start just how I wanted it to. In the grand scheme, was that morning clean-up that big a deal? It could have been. If I let it sour and ruin a great day with my family. Again, I know someone reading this might not understand. But that is an answer to prayer. And I’m grateful for it.

    It wasn’t until typing this, and trying to put the timeline together, that I remembered something else about that morning. I was on call that day for work. After finishing cleaning up after Bengie, I had a work emergency that I had to spend 90 more minutes on. 3 hours of cleanup and work on my Fourth of July. I had completely forgotten about it. It ended up being a great day. My mood, by an actual miracle, was not affected.

    What is the power of positive thinking?

    What is the power of prayer?

    I was recently reading about the Ten Commandments in True to the Faith. The Tenth Commandment said this:

    “‘Thou shalt not covet’ (Exodus 20:17). Coveting, or envying something that belongs to another, is damaging to the soul. It can consume our thoughts and plague us with constant unhappiness and dissatisfaction.”

    I could have “coveted” a perfect morning. I could have coveted sleeping in and waking up to a beautifully cleaned home for a great day of swimming and playing with Ivy. Mornings are rarely perfect, and houses are seldomly beautifully clean. I could have let it “consume [my] thoughts and plague [me] with constant unhappiness.” That was where I was headed. Luckily, I turned to my Father. He gave me the tender mercy of forgetting and moving on. Move on from a mess to the bright sun and pool.

    During my meditation today, it said,

    “As we navigate our emotions, our choices have a reinforcing affect. Irritation strengthens irritation, patience fortifies patience. So, when you notice yourself repeating a habit of frustration or impatience… make a conscious choice of which quality you want to grow.

    As Thich Nhat Hanh said, ‘Every feeling is a field of energy. A pleasant feeling is an energy which can nourish. Irritation is a feeling which can destroy. Under the light of awareness, the energy of irritation can be transformed into an energy which nourishes.’”

    We can control our minds and attitudes. Even when we can’t, there is prayer. When we turn to prayer and trust that He can wipe our minds of irritation and unhappiness, we realize how truly powerful our Heavenly Father is, and how much He loves us.

  • Who was Jesus Christ

    Who was Jesus Christ

    I may have written about this idea before, but given we just celebrated Christmas I’m going to share the thought again.

    If you’re reading this, you chose to come to earth. You don’t remember this choice, but trust me, you did.

    If you’re reading this, you knew to some extent what coming to earth would entail. To be clear, you couldn’t fully understand what you were getting into. But I imagine you knew it would be hard. You knew you would suffer. You knew you would fail.

    Then you discussed an option. Maybe someone could atone for every mistake you would make so you could be forgiven and return home again.

    Someone stepped forward and you accepted Him.

    Who was that person that you put your entire eternal salvation, destiny, and future into? Who did you trust enough to literally put the fate of your soul on the line? Who was this person that you trusted so much, who you knew loved you so intensely, who was so upright, so kind, so seemingly perfect that you actually believed and trusted He would go down and continue to be perfect. You believed He would go down and do something impossible so you could be saved. I assume you knew Him to be so perfect that you believed He could continue to be perfect with all that mortality could throw at Him. Impossible. It seemed impossible and yet you trusted Him.

    Who was this person?

    What was His character?

    What was He like?

    How could He be so magnificent, so powerful, so kind, so loving, so perfect that you were willing to bet your existence on it?

    Who was He?

    Did He know what He was getting into way back then?

    I don’t think He did.

    Matthew 26:39:

    “And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”

    Matthew 26:42:

    “He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”

    Matthew 27:46:

    “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

    The heavens cried for joy when He accomplished the impossible.

    You cried for joy knowing He accomplished the impossible.

    Did Christ know He would accomplish His mission on earth? Was His faith a perfect knowledge? With the importance of agency, I believe there was a chance that Christ would fail.

    But He didn’t.

    We knew He wouldn’t.

    Who was this character?

    This Being.

    This Entity.

    This Savior.

    This Brother.

    This Person that we so trusted.

    I’m grateful He was born. I’m grateful He accomplished His mission. I’m grateful that He knew I wasn’t going to be perfect and so He did the hard thing for me. I’m grateful for His love. I’m grateful that He loved me so much that He refused to fail, even though it was unimaginably hard. I know He refused to fail because He knew what was at stake.

    Merry Christmas.

  • Tithing and Inheritance

    Tithing and Inheritance

    Imagine this hypothetical scenario: Every dollar you make in your entire life, you give 10 cents of it back.  You do this from the day you can sell lemonade on the corner until you are 50 years old. Every dollar you make, 10 cents you give away. Every $1000, give away $100. For your entire life.

    No matter how much you’ve given by the time you are 50 years old, whether in that time you’ve made millions and millions of dollars, or, like most, you’ve earned a respectable living, but what amounts to something like 1.5 million dollars in that time ($50,000 a year for 30 years).

    And at 50 years you are given an unimaginable mansion. A mansion worth $100,000,000,000 ($100 billion for those who lose track of that many zeroes) on a private island with everything you could ever want or need.

    Who wouldn’t take this offer?

    You get to live in this mansion for the rest of your life but not only that, your life has been extended. You get to live 1000 years with no sickness or ailments.

    It gets better, everyone you love and care about gets to be there with you.

    Are you catching onto this hypothetical yet?

    This is the principle of tithing.

    You give ten percent of what you earn in this life. This amounts to almost nothing in comparison to the rewards. An eternal inheritance of life, substance, and family.

    If the world knew this was the pattern, who wouldn’t give up their measly 10 percent of earnings?

    Elder Melvin J. Ballard said: “Do we not hope and expect to have an inheritance in the celestial kingdom, even upon this earth in its redeemed state? [D&C 88:25-26; 130:9.] What are the terms under which we may obtain that inheritance? The law of tithing is the law of inheritance. It leads to it. No man may hope or expect to have an inheritance on this celestial globe who has failed to pay his tithing. By the payment of his honest tithing he is establishing a right and a title to this inheritance, and he cannot secure it upon any other terms but by complying with this and other just requirements; and this is one of the very essential things.”

    President Joseph F. Smith: “By this principle (tithing) the loyalty of the people of this Church shall be put to the test. By this principle it shall be known who is for the kingdom of God and who is against it. By this principle it shall be seen whose hearts are set on doing the will of God and keeping His commandments. Thereby sanctifying the land of Zion unto God, and who are opposed to this principle and have cut themselves off from the blessings of Zion. There is a great deal of importance connected with this principle for by it shall be known whether we are faithful or unfaithful.”

    I know most think members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are eccentric bordering on insane to pay 10% of all they earn. I know most I tell are shocked. But if I truly believe this is Christ’s church, how insane would I be to give up an eternal heritance in His kingdom for any millions of dollars? That would be real insanity.

    If you love God, you seek Him. If you love the earth, you seek it. If you love eternity, you seek it.