Monday 7, September 2026

Did you speak Gypsy or Pig Latin in childhood? Speaking in coded language gave us a sense of being a clique, and that no one else understood what we were saying. At times it worked. But a code is of little value if no one understands it. In Today’s Holy Nougat, we discover that Holy language is often coded.

Mark 4:10-11 NIV

[10] When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.

[11] He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables

The Sower’s Dilemma 6

Sometimes Y’shua spoke, and his disciples were preoccupied with other things. They would miss what He said and not know how to ask for clarification. [Can you imagine if they had our technology!] When He spoke from the boat about the Sower, they were riveted, but didn’t understand the parable. Recognising their own lack of capacity, the disciples asked Y’shua for an explanation.

Self-Check

Are we among those who feel embarrassed to ask for clarification, thinking it’s stupid to ask questions?

Application

Y’shua’s response may have surprised the disciples, but it was rooted in Isaiah’s vision about the prophetic. In Isaiah 6, God told Isaiah that not everyone would see or hear God’s Spirit. Some who seemed like insiders were outsiders. God’s Word to Isaiah often felt like Gypsy to me, but as I grew spiritually, I realised that it is a matter of access.

Siblings, as His disciples, the Twelve had an advantage that the multitude didn’t. They had access. Moreover, they were Y’shua’s students, and students may ask a teacher for clarification. Y’shua’s disciples had the benefit of asking questions, and so do we.

In Matthew 16, Simon recognised and attested to Y’shua as the Christ. Y’shua rewarded Peter with access. For that’s what a key is. It takes someone from outside in, or inside out. As post-Pentecost believers in Christ, we are Y’shua’s disciples. And, as children of God, God’s Spirit is our key, our access to understanding the deeper things of God.

It means, therefore, that when Y’shua indicated that the secrets of Heaven are accessible to insiders, we are included.

Do we act like it?

Do we believe it?

Some of us have failed to realise that believers in Y’shua are children of God (John 1:12), thus granting us access to heavenly secrets. In that sense, we have become the ‘older brother’ in the Parable of the Lost Son (see Luke 15:11-32). He failed to recognise his place in his father’s house. We often see the folly of the older brother’s actions. But do we recognise ourselves as that older brother when we fail to seek God’s clarification on matters concerning us or in understanding the deeper secrets of the Bible?

The Bible is indeed a mystery in multiple parts for most of us. It becomes less of a mystery when we get to reading. Even more mysteries are revealed when, like the eunuch, we admit our lack of understanding. That is how we grow in the faith. We ask God’s Spirit to teach us as promised by Y’shua in John 14:26.

As children of God, who have been granted access to the secrets of Heaven, let us walk in the fullness of God’s Spirit. By the grace given to us in Christ, we can ask for clarity about faith issues that feel like Gypsy or Pig Latin. If the disciples were taught by Y’shua for 3 years in face-to-face connections, we need not feel stupid to ask questions. We can confirm what we’ve read or heard by checking with God’s Spirit in prayer or reading the Bible.

Point to Ponder

What’s that one thing we are afraid of asking God about for fear we seem stupid? Ask God now.

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May all we seek be found in Christ