Good Soil

If I dwell on the state of our country and the world, often times, I become discouraged. Evil seems so pervasive, there seems to be an overwhelming aversion toward anything Christian, and it seems as if everyone is selfish; caring only about themselves. If you get caught up in the news, you may begin to wonder if God is at work in the world anymore. You may even begin to question if anyone is trying to share the gospel anymore. But when I read the parable of the sower, found in Luke, I’m encouraged that the word of God is being spread, but the ground in which the seed is sown may be more hard, more thorny and more shallow than in days past, producing fewer crops. In effect, the word of God may be shared, but it is having a more difficult time finding good soil. When Jesus shares the parable of the sower, he explains that when the seeds of the gospel fall on soil that isn’t good, the word may be ineffective. Only when the seed falls on good soil will it produce a crop. It says in Luke, chapter 8, verse 15: 

“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”

Have you heard the good news? Has anyone told you that the blood of Jesus has the power to save your soul? If so, do you believe? Did those words fall on good soil? Because only when they have are you truly able to grow in your faith and produce a crop.

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In the parable of the sower, Jesus tells us that “the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop”. Is your heart made of good soil? Do you expose yourself to the word of God, retain it and by persevering produce a crop? I encourage you to get serious about your faith. Allow the Holy Spirit to till the soil of your heart so that when you hear the word, read the word, or in any way are exposed to the word of God, you retain it. And that by living out what you’ve learned you’ll be able to produce a crop by leading others to Christ and storing up treasures in heaven.

Made Wise

There is great wisdom to be found in the Bible. So much so, that if we read it and do what it says, I believe that we are getting a better education on how to live life than any doctorate can give you from any university. If we allow the Holy Spirit to teach us through the word of God, we are made wise. We are wise with the kind of wisdom that teaches us how to live well in this life and how to prepare for eternity. But we need to read it, we need to think on it, and we need to follow what it says. Psalm 119, verses 97 through 99, encourages us with these words:

“Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes.”

Do you believe that claim? Do you believe that God’s commands found in the Bible can make you wiser than your enemies; that it can provide more insight than any teacher or professor? I do. I believe it because we are taught that the words found in the Bible are God-breathed. They are instructions and guidelines on how to live, given to us by our creator. The Bible points us to the Savior who points us to the Father; the one who has the power to bless us, to forgive us, and to save us. I encourage you to do what this psalmist did; meditate, or think, on his word all day long. Read it, learn it, follow it, and gain more wisdom than any man could teach you here on earth.

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I don’t think we, as human beings, understand how powerful the word of God is. If we did; if we truly believed that the Bible is the inspired word of almighty God, why wouldn’t we become scholars of it? Why wouldn’t we do everything we could to know everything we could about it? Why wouldn’t we do what the psalmist did; love it and meditate on it all day long? I want to remind you that the Bible is, in fact, the inspired word of God. If you read it, and allow the Holy Spirit to help you understand it, and if you follow what it says, you will be exceedingly wise. Proverbs teaches us our first lesson; that it all begins with a reverent fear of the Lord. It says that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” I encourage you to be made wise today. I encourage you to study the Bible.

Bird's Eye

It always amazes me how men can, in any way, think we are a match for God. You may have heard the phrase, “playing God”, referring to someone who by their actions, are trying to do what only God can do - like choosing who might live or die in a situation. Other times people might try to challenge God by calling him out in their anger to “meet face-to-face” to settle a dispute, as if in a fight they might give God a run for his money. Or, people might even try to outsmart God, as if they can set some kind of trap that might thwart God’s plans or catch him off guard. An example of this is when King Herod realized that Jesus was about to be born. The Bible reveals that Herod devised a plan he thought would outsmart God. But it says in Matthew chapter 2 verse 13:

“When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’"

And Herod did try. Several children died in his plan to kill Jesus, but God knew his heart and he knew his plan. He didn’t have to send fire down from heaven to consume Herod’s men, or turn Jesus invisible so that they couldn’t see him. But because God knows our hearts and knows our plans, his solution was as simple as sending an angel with a message. We can’t out smart God because he is wiser than us. He has a bird’s eye view of all of our plans. Nothing will take him by surprise, and he can change the course of any planned calamity by something as simple as sending a word of warning.

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We should never forget how powerful God is. This is his world and he makes all of the rules. He has a bird’s eye view of everything that goes on, and he knows the heart of every person. We should never presume to try to take on the role of God, to challenge God, or to outsmart God. These are all futile pursuits which, in essence, tries to exalt ourselves to the status of God. But we are his creation. We should humble ourselves before him, trust him and fall into his loving and capable hands, because for humanity, there is no better place to be.

Gone Fishing

I love how Jesus uses analogies and parables that are directly pertinent to what he is dealing with at the time, to make his point. For those who have memorized popular statements from Jesus, though they are still very powerful on their own, may not understand how artfully Jesus was able to craft his words if we take them out of context. A good example was when he spoke to Peter, James and John after performing the miracle of the large catch of fish. He said these words in Luke chapter 5 verses 10 and 11:

“Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.’ So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.”

I don’t have to tell you that the metaphor of “fishing for people” was spot on. Not only did it harken to their fishing trade and the fishing miracle they just experienced, it is a perfect analogy for what we do when we share about Jesus to the lost. We are, indeed, “fishing” for them. The bait is the truth of the promise of salvation through Christ alone. And every time we share about him, we hope and pray that our listeners will bite, and in effect become hooked to the point of giving their lives to Jesus. My question to you is, “are you fishing”? For you to play a part in the Spirit’s plan to win souls for Christ, you might have to be proactive. You might have to go out into deep waters, cast the word toward unassuming prey, and exercise patience with those who are considering what Christ is offering. But the first step is being willing to fish.

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25 years ago, God gave us the ministry of KTF Productions. And with projects like this one, I always hope and pray that as we cast our nets with every segment shared, that God may reap some harvest from the effort. God gave us this ministry to fish for men. And though we are not all called to evangelistic ministry, we are all called to be fishers of men even if only on a one-on-one, face-to-face basis. It isn’t about how may God brings to himself through you, it is about being willing, listening to the Spirit, looking for open doors and opportunities, and obeying. I encourage you, if you haven’t already, to become fishers of men. Pray to God and ask him how he wants to use you to bring others to him.

Our Mandate

I hope and pray that your walk with the Lord is strong, that your relationship with him is close and personal, and that the Spirit is helping you to keep the commandments and obey our Lord, because when it comes down to it, that is our mandate. Joshua chapter 22 verse 5 puts it this way:

“Be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all of your heart and with all of your soul.”

Those are the ingredients to a strong walk with our Father; to love him, obey him, hold fast to him and to serve him with everything that is within us. I encourage you to consider your walk daily. Jesus tells us to take up our cross daily and follow him. That tells me that every day we need to evaluate our walk, realign our focus, and do everything we can to remain sensitive to the Spirit. Do you ever sense, or hear, the Spirit talking to you? I believe that one way we can open the lines of communication with him is to have our minds and our focus set upon him; to do what it says in Joshua 22 which his to love, obey, hold fast, and serve him with everything that is within us.

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Our mandate as believers and followers of Christ are to love God, obey him, hold fast to him and to serve him with all of our heart and soul. When I read Joshua 22:5, I understand that we are expected to put our whole selves into our walk with Christ; to do it with all of our heart and soul. That is total commitment. If you decide to follow Christ, what benefit is there if you do it half heartedly? I say that we should go all the way, all in, whole heartedly or not at all. And I know that God would agree because it says in Revelation that we are called to be hot toward him. It explains that he would rather we be cold than lukewarm. So I encourage you today, to run hard after Christ and to burn hot for him. I encourage you to pursue a walk with him that is totally committed.