Where is your seed …

Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8 all give us the Parable of the Sower.  If you aren’t familiar with this parable, I would advise reading it before going further.

Parable of the Sower – from Mark 4

Today, I would like to focus on Mark 4:18 – 20.

Mark 4:18 – 20 (NIV)
Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”

If you simply read the verses above, you may just simply flow from one type of person to the next – and make the same distinction that I made – that being there are two different types of people being discussed.  I think the realization that I came to today is this can be just one person.  Not one person at the same time mind you, but nonetheless, one person.

In the past, when I have read these scriptures, I have quickly concluded I am the type of person in verse 20 because I was living the Christian life I thought it was referring too.

Mark 4:20 (NIV)
Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.

Today marked a new understanding of who I am.  Sometimes, I believe I am the person in verses 18 – 19.  Other times, I can say that I am verse 20.  However, debt, teenagers, wanting to be out of debt, other weaknesses … all of these things and more … as I allow them to consume my thinking … I quickly become the person described in verses 18 and 19.  The worries of this life … come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

That’s not the life God intended for me to live.  If I am to live the life God intended, then I will focus on the joy that is only found in him.

John 15:10 – 11 (NIV)
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love.  I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

What keeps us from being the person described in Mark 4:20?  What keeps us from having Jesus’ joy in us?  Lack of faith, disobedience, worrying about the hard times we are going through here on earth, and more are the thorns that attempt to choke the word.

So, knowing these things choke the word, making it unfruitful … how do we overcome them and enter into the joy that God has for us?  The things aren’t going away.  My debt will still be here tomorrow.  My children will still be teenagers (and I’ve got four more after the current two).

Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Although Jesus’ tough times were brought on by our sin and not his own, he still had to endure.  He still had to go through things that COULD HAVE (but didn’t) choke the word.  How did he endure?  How did he continue on?  He focused on the joy set before him.  He knew how the story ended!  He understood that he would soon be with the father – again – eternally!  He knew that he would save all of us – or at least provide a way for us to be saved.

What is my debt compared to what Jesus went through on the cross?  What can a teenager bring into our family that would even compare to his trials?  (Some of you may be thinking you have an answer … but believe me … in the end, you don’t.)

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith …

Go with God,
Donald B

Bringing the Truth into Your REAL LIFE

Have you ever experienced God? Or have you ever had some kind of mountain top experience where God showed you something that He wanted you to change in your life or gave you some mission or showed you an act that He wanted you to perform? Have you ever come to a place in your life where you simply knew what God wanted you to do? How did you respond?

My blog today comes from a devotional that I read this morning. Check out this bit from the devo:

My Utmost For His Highest, by Oswald Chamber
Beware of not acting upon what you see in your moments on the mountaintop with God. If you do not obey the light, it will turn into darkness. “If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23). The moment you forsake the matter of sanctification or neglect anything else on which God has given you His light, your spiritual life begins to disintegrate within you. Continually bring the truth out into your real life, working it out into every area, or else even the light that you possess will itself prove to be a curse.

The last sentence is the one I want to focus on. Here’s the question I want you to answer today:

WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU OR HAS SHOWN YOU?

John 14:26 (NIV)
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

Before Jesus ascended into Heaven, He promised to leave us with the Holy Spirit. As we read in John 14:26, this Holy Spirit will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. And we know what the Holy Spirit shows us or teaches us or guides us in or anything is trustworthy and excellent because the Holy Spirit is God! Therefore, as Christians we have God – the Holy Spirit – living in us and guiding us through this life!

It is this same Holy Spirit that is responsible for the experiences we have where God seems to enlighten us on what to change or how to live or what act to perform next. The problem is how we answer the question above. What are we doing with it?

What we should be doing is what Chambers says in that last sentence – Continually bring the truth out into your real life. We constantly hear God … but refuse to act on what He has shown us. WHY???? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that I don’t want to continue ignoring God.

Check this out. 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says “Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.” We stifle the Holy Spirit by not heeding His instruction. The problem with stifling the Holy Spirit is that soon … if we continue to ignore … we will no longer hear. Is that what you want? Do you want to be in a position where you never hear from God again? I don’t.

So … today … what do you need to be doing with what God has given you or has shown you?

Go with God,
Donald B

RESPONDING to God’s Guidance in Our Lives

Does God speak to you?  Have you ever felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to do something?  How did you respond?

For some, I am sure the answer is that you obeyed whole-heartedly!  And that is great!  But for most, I am guessing the answer is you are now feeling guilty because you are having to think about the failure again.  This I understand … and this is why I write today.

Yes, I know what it means to fail to obey God.  I know what it is to ignore the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  However, I also know how it feels to succeed in obeying God.  I understand the joy and satisfaction that comes from positively responding to the Holy Spirit.

I have recently been reminded of how important it is to obey the Spirit’s guidance.  I want to share with you a couple of thoughts from a book that I am reading.  The book is The Life You’ve Always Wanted, by John Ortberg.  In chapter 9 – entitled The Guided Life - Ortberg is describing to the reader how we can live out our daily life and function on the spiritual level.  He states:

This gentle receptiveness, this ordering our minds on more than one level at once, is a skill that can be learned.  For instance, if we have a significant decision to make tomorrow, we can stop and ask for wisdom.  If we have some discretionary time unexpectedly open up, we can pause and ask God, “Do you have anything for me to do?”  Then we can “listen” for a moment, and if no prompting comes, we simply do what seems wisest.  Each time we greet someone tomorrow, we can inwardly ask the Spirit, “How can I respond to this person?  Do you want to speak or work through me?”

Have you ever asked God a question like that?  If so, what happened next?  Did you receive guidance as to what you should do?  If so, did you obey it?  It is this next statement from Ortberg’s book that I find striking:

Guidance only makes sense for people who are resolved to respond.

“Resolved to respond.”  That’s what I am looking for.  I am looking to be the type of person who is RESOLVED to RESPOND to God’s leading.  What that says to me is that no matter what … no matter how stupid I will look, no matter what ridicule may come, no matter what my friends think, no matter how scared I am … I will respond.  Being resolved to respond means that I plan now for how I will respond when God calls.  It means that I will decide now to recklessly say YES to God’s leading.  Are you taking the time to actively prepare your mind to whole-heartedly follow the Spirit’s leading.

Let me finish with this quote from the devotional My Utmost For His Highest – July 9th.

We say, “Oh, if only I really could believe!”  The question is, “Will I believe?”  No wonder Jesus Christ placed such emphasis on the sin of unbelief.  “He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58).  If we really believed that God meant what He said, just imagine what we would be like!  Do I really dare to let God be to me all that He says He will be?

Resolve today that you will respond to the Spirit’s guidance completely and whole-heartedly.  Demonstrate that you do indeed believe … don’t just say you believe.

James 1:22 – 25 (NIV)
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

Go with God,
Donald B

Useless …

Isaiah 49:4 (NLT)
I replied, “But my work seems so useless!
      I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
   Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand;
      I will trust God for my reward.”

I came across this verse in a Men’s Devotional I use, and it really jumped out at me.  Have you ever felt as if the only thing you can do for the Kingdom of God is serve as an example of how NOT to be a Christian?  Have you ever missed opportunities to tell someone about Christ?  Have you ever quit a position at church or not taken a position at church out of fear or frustration or simple laziness … and then, felt convicted or bad about it?

Have you ever NOT … to any thing God has called you to?  Do you feel like a sinner more than you feel like a saint?

If you have answered yes to any of the above … the one thing I would say right up front is that God is active in your life!  Why?  The only way you can answer yes to the questions above is if you care the least bit about your relationship with Christ.  Only the Holy Spirit can convict.  Satan seems to only send messages of guilt when we are living for Christ.  You must be doing something right. 

 Take some time to meditate on the verse above.  Look at what it is saying.  Basically, in my eyes, I seem like a failure.  It seems like I can’t do anything right … and that I am constantly falling in my attempts to serve the Lord.  But the last part is the important part.  Stop concerning yourself with measuring how successful you are or are not.  Leave that to God.

The encouragement I get from this is that even though I do fail … my responsibility is to keep trying.  Trying is the key.  God will continue to help us.  And God will reward us.

Have you said YES to God’s offer of being saved from your sins?  If so … there is a reward for you.  Try not to focus on your faults.  Don’t let them drag you down.  Simply focus on God!

Go with God,
Donald B

Faith???

What is faith?  How do we “live by faith”?  How does our faith grow?  How much faith do I need?  What puts action to our faith?

First … let’s go to the Word.

Hebrews 11:1 (ESV)
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

What these verses do NOT say is faith is believing in something for which I have no proof.  I believe this is KEY to our understanding of faith because this creates a difference between blind faith and biblical faith.

Romans 1:18 – 20 (ESV)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

God’s creation speaks clearly for the existence of God.  Those who argue that the world as it exists today is all a matter of chance are represented clearly in verse 18 above when it states “who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.“  From these verses alone we can see that “the proof is in the pudding.”  Look around you!  Just study a tree or a flower … consider the make-up of the human body.  All of these things are evidence for the existence of a Creator.  You may say this isn’t good evidence.  My only reply back to you is that if God considers it good enough evidence (as we see He does in the verses above), then, I consider it good enough evidence.

And if you take the time to read Josh McDowell’s Evidence That Demands A Verdict  you will soon discover that there is more credible evidence for the existence of Jesus and for Him rising from the dead than there is for Napoleon or anything that he did.

Faith is not blind, nor is it stupid.  But it is necessary.  Because whether we like it or not, there are just some things that God has not allowed us to know or to prove.

For example – creation!  Do you know any one who was there?  Is there any scientific method that can show us that God said it and it happened.  Answer is no.  But by FAITH, we believe His Word.  And His Word said He spoke it into existence … so, we accept that by faith.

Hebrews 11:3 (ESV)
By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.

Faith is also essential in order to become a Christian.  We must believe that we are sinners.  We must believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins.  We must believe that his rising from the dead after being buried for 3 days was His victory over spiritual death.  We must believe that He is alive at this moment!  All of this takes faith.

Ephesians 2:8 – 9 (ESV)
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

There may be a few answers as to WHY faith is required to be saved … but for me, understanding that God wants us to completely depend upon Him for our salvation “so that no one may boast” is an ample enough answer for me.

Now … how is faith lived out in our lives?  How do we demonstrate faith in God in our daily walk?

We have 2 great examples for what enables faith within our own lives.  There’s a lot of scripture below, but it is well worth the read:

Mark 5:21 – 42 (ESV)
And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.

Did you see it?  Both of these people, the woman with the bleeding issues (name not mentioned) – the outcast - and the leader named Jairus – the prominent one … both came to Jesus seeking healing.  They both had much at stake.  They were both suffering personally in their own lives.  They demonstrated faith by coming.  What drew them to want to demonstrate this faith?  This may seem rough … so read this out … but selfishness.  When all options have been exhausted, when there is no other way … we come to Jesus.  Is this bad?  I say DEFINITELY NOT!!!  After all, they both received what they were seeking.  But is it the best?

Let’s look at another scripture before I attempt to answer this one.

Matthew 8:5 – 13 (ESV)
When he entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

What I see here as opposed to the other stories is a firm belief that Jesus could heal even before the Centurion asked.  Above, we see Jairus hoping that Jesus can heal his daughter.  We see the woman who was bleeding reach for the robe in the hopes that His power could make her well.  It’s also important to notice what they had in common.  They all CAME to Jesus!

Faith is a matter of the heart.  Whether we demonstrate faith daily in our lives before the last result or if we live out our faith as a last result, that faith must be fully realized in our hearts.  We can’t reason our way into faith?  We can’t explain what that faith is?  We must simply believe that God is who He claims to be, that He can accomplish what He claims He can accomplish, and that He is faithful to hear our prayers.

So, although there is actual proof for the man named Jesus and the things that He did in the Bible … although the creation around us is proof for the existence of God … faith is crucial in coming to Christ and in daily walking with Christ.

And the number one reason that we want to live by faith …

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

If I’ve left you wondering what faith is or how to grow your faith … that can be a good thing.  Read your Bible and find the answer.  Let me know what you think the answer is.

But I will end with this … I believe faith is grown little by little as we obey Christ in what He has called us to do on a daily basis.

Go with God,
Donald B