Sowing and Reaping Seed. Final Part

"8But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”  Mark 4:8  NKJV

Today, we reach the final part of the Sower series and this is:

Good ground.  With good ground, we get a good crop. As we saw yesterday, the condition of the soil, determines the potential for growth. Jesus mentions 3 conditions which will produce good fruit from good ground:

Hear the Word - Accept it - Bear fruit.

If we are not open to hear God's Word, we will fail. We must do all we can, to place ourselves in position to hear what God has to say to us. The best place to start is in your bible. God may drop a particular verse into your mind or, you may be reading a piece of scripture and 'BAM" you have the answer to what you were asking. God may also choose to speak to you in your head, so, be alert to this fact. 

The next thing is to accept the Word. Don't bypass it; look at scripture long and hard and do what it says. and by doing this, you will begin to bear good fruit. A gardener tends the soil, you tend the Word, test it, pray about it and when you are certain, do it.

You will get things wrong many times. Why? Because you are not perfect so, stop trying to be, God loves you the way you are. When you get things wrong, play the video back in your head and try and analyse where you went wrong and try again. Paul the Apostle spoke about this in Philippians 3:13:

 "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead," 

Note that he is honest, he admits that he has not attained it yet or, has found perfection. But, this doesn't stop him, he presses on that he may accomplish what he set out to do. But notice one important detail, he forgets the things that are behind him - the times that he has failed; and he looks ahead to the winning post. He knows it may take a while, but, nothing is going to stop him achieving this.

And this is the secret to our success - don't stop, don't give in, press on and forget that you failed this time. When you do this and, remember to tend the ground you're working on, you will achieve your goal.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

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Sowing and Reaping Seed. Part 3

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  "7And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop."                                       Mark 4:7  NKJV 

Today we look at the problem of thorns. The gardener soon becomes frustrated when thorns are present. They creep everywhere and if one tries to pull one up, it usually snaps but, the growth below the soil still carries on. Thorns can be nasty as one who has cut their hands on them, can testify. And yet, certain seed, such as wheat, will grow among the thorns; but the thorns will win in the end as they begin to choke the good plant.

It is the same with the Christian life today. One may hear and respond to the Word of God and be  really blessed that God has shown them something. The problem is, if that person has a lot going on in their life, such as cares and worries, the Word can become of less value. Let me explain, the Christian who has riches and wants to make even more by investing their wealth, can become thrown off course if the market changes and they lose their investment. Some others may be subjected to a scam where, some character, paints a brilliant picture of total success and then rips them off on a deal of the century. Much money can be lost. Then of course there is the person who is never satisfied with what they have and want more. All of these things can drag the Christian away from the Word that was reaped in their hearts earlier. The joy and excitement they felt, becomes choked with their mind racing, wondering what to do next. The Word loses its importance.

In planting seed, there is a need to prepare the ground well because, the condition of the soil, determines the potential of growth. To be complacent and lackadaisical will lead a person nowhere, except on the road to disaster. It reaps little benefit at all. So, rid yourself of all distractions and the urgency to chase after things that you don't need or, will lead to sin if you're not careful. It is not worth it. Keep your eyes on Jesus and His Word.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

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Sowing and Reaping Seed. Part 2

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"Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  6But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away."  Mark 4:5-6  NKJV

Continuing with our study of the Sower, let's look at the next stumbling block:

Stony ground.  I don't know if you have ever tried to sow seed on stony or rocky ground, and hoped for a harvest. It is extremely difficult. The ground is hard and it's like working with concrete. The chance of success is marginal.

This was the problem here. Jesus spoke of sowing seed on stony ground. To do this, one finds there is little soil and so the seed is sown in shallow ground. The harvest may be quick, if at all. However, the plant is short lived because there is no significant root for it to obtain the nutrients 

it requires to be able to survive. Therefore, the plant soon shrivels up and dies.

Again, Jesus speaks metaphorically, looking at the heart of the hearer. Most people receive the Word of God with great joy and gladness. It is so easy to be carried along with other worshippers when they are praising God. Sadly, for these people, they have no root and before they realise it, Satan comes and snatches the Word away. They may hang on to the Word for a short while, but when troubles come along, they fall. 

We're looking at stony ground and stony hearts here. If there is no root within the believer, because of its shallow existence, the fire of the Holy Spirit is extinguished very quickly. Commitment fails when some people face opposition or problems. This is the hallmark of the superficial believer. A person's faith is only as strong as their willingness to identify with Jesus. This is how Paul was able to say 'I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.'  Galatians 2:20

The only difference between us and Paul, was that he was sold out for God; nothing else mattered except living for Him. Thus, he avoided stony ground.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

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Sowing and Reaping Seed. Part 1

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"Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it."  Mark 4:3-4   NKJV

Over the next few days, let's focus on one of Jesus' parables - The Sower. Jesus went out one day and began to teach the multitude along the shore. As the crowd became larger, He got into one of the fisherman's boats and His disciples pushed Him slightly away from the crowd and He began to teach them again. Now, Jesus often spoke in parables, which were quite difficult to understand. I remember when we were first saved back in 1980, I always found this teaching quite challenging, not only in the strength of the message but, initially trying to understand what on earth Jesus was saying. If you're a new Christian, this may be where you are at this time. Don't give up; this is why there are bible study groups and also helps when you look into a study bible. It all falls into place.

Jesus began speaking about a sower of seed. It was not unusual in the growing season to see a sower scattering the seed everywhere - pathways, in weeds, fertile ground and also very rocky ground. The ground on which the seed was scattered was not always the best to sow on.

Jesus spoke of four different types of ground, the first being:

The Wayside  In Jesus' explanation (v14-15) He referred to the seed the sower was scattering as the Word. 'The sower sows the word'. 15 'And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.'  Just like the birds of the air will swoop down and eat seed that is scattered, Satan will also steal the Word of God from someone before it has taken root within the heart. This happens to young Christians and mature ones alike. Our lives are busy, and we can become easily distracted. We see something in the scriptures and we feel that it is for us and we must write it down; but then, something happens to take away our focus, and we forget about it.

Satan is very skilful in doing this. He waits for the right moment. Try not to have a clogged up mind when you are in the presence of God. If you can, practice leaving all the baggage at the door to wherever you pray. Keep the channel open to God, always, and whenever a wonderful piece of scripture comes your way, write it down in your bible or note book. Never, never, never, never give up or allow Satan to steal from you; gems that Jesus is imparting in your heart.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

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Uprooted trees

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"3He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper"

                                                                                  Psalm 1:3   NKJV

A large part of the world has been battered just lately by Storm Darragh. Trees uprooted, roofs blown off properties and wide flooding, just to name a little. It has been a scary time for those involved in this. On the subject of trees, David Guzik comments:

 'He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water: A tree by a river has a continual source of water. It will never wither away, because it is always getting what it needs. If we are constantly needy, it may be worth examining if we are planted by the rivers of water or not. This would also be a tree that is strong and stable, sinking down deep roots. The life of the righteous man is marked by strength and stability'.  Enduring Word

In today's terms, how do you measure up to this scripture? Are you like a tree that is firmly planted so that, whatever comes your way, you are still left standing and in good shape, still bearing good fruit? Or, do life events knock you over and, like a decayed or old tree, you come crashing down crushing everything in its way? 

God designed us, 'That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.'   (Isaiah 61:3)

Life is not easy at times and can be made harder by, never ending problems that mount up and try and rob us of our joy. A well nourished and healthy tree will usually stand firm when it is well rooted and taken care of. Imagine for one moment that you are a tree. Are you well nourished and spiritually healthy to be able to stand firm and well rooted when trouble comes your way? This may be things that bring you anxiety, worry and stress. The pressure may be so severe that you may find yourself at a loss to know how to handle such things. 

Stop right there! You know what to do; you know Jesus is only a heart-beat away and you only have to call on Him and He will send angels to rescue you and resolve issues that have flared up. There is nothing too difficult for Him but, you must know God's Word so that you know how to handle each and every situation. It's no good having a car if you don't read the manual is it? Or probably, you may be one of those people who never read the instructions. If you are, and ithings go wrong then, you only have yourself to blame. Sorry, but it is true.

Get rooted firmly in God's Word and start living a faith-filled, Holy Spirit led life like Jesus intended for you. You will then be firmly rooted in God.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

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God's wall of protection

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“We have a strong city; God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks. 2Open the gates, That the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in. 3You will keep him 

in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You".

                                                                               Isaiah 26:1-3   NKJV

There are many times in our life, when we need God's protection. Things come at us like missiles. We know satan fires arrows or missiles at us to block our way forward. But, it is not always satan doing this, it is just life piling in on us, so much, that we want to stop the world and get off. Many people do this, they step off this world and end their life for one thing or another.

But, God has provided His protection for us. For Christians, there is a door we go through at salvation - a fortress, and it has walls built around it. We have total protection. But He has also provided a door for non-Christians, and it is the same door that Christians walk through, Believers are already have access to this place of safety through their salvation. Non-believers have the same opportunity; as they call on Jesus and give their life to Him, they too can walk through this door to protection and victory. 

The gate is open and permission is granted because of our righteousness. Therefore, whenever things  get us down; whenever we need help and protecting, we can walk through this door and meet with Jesus for our help. How does this happen you may say? It happens through prayer. We call to Him and He hears us and we are saved and protected: 'For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.'  Romans 10:13.

Of course, these wall and fortress I'm discussing are metaphors that Isaiah saw through faith-filled eyes. For us, it is God's armour, Jesus Himself and the hedge of protection we can ask to have placed around us. This 'gate' is always open - all hours and never closes so, therefore we can share in the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7). It is the perfect peace, Jews recognise as Shalom. Shalom or Peace. Peace. So aim to remain in this peace. The condition for this is to have your mind stayed on Him. Constantly having Jesus on our minds and sold out to Him. 

This peace is all around us; one only has to reach out and ask for it. Jesus will never ignore you or refuse to give this to you. So, ask Jesus for a wall or hedge of protection around you. Back this up with studying His word, praying to Him and ensure that you have Perfect Peace in your life. You will never regret it.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

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Stir up and poke that fire

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"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind".

                                                                             2 Timothy 1:7  NKJV

Paul wrote to Timothy telling him to stir up the gift of God which is in you v6. Timothy, was a faithful man and had been placed, by Paul, as the pastor of the Ephesus church. Now Timothy was capable but, he had a tendency to be quite timid. He would have to change this as, some of the men in the church were strong characters.

Therefore, Paul encouraged him to drop the fear. Fear, focuses on the situation and abilities to cope, rather than what God can do to help. Following fear will obliterate all opportunities to overcome. So, Paul encouraged him to stir up the gift of God which he received when he laid hands on him earlier. Stirring up this gift, would also help Timothy to change his thinking and, re-kindle the flame that had been in him. In other words, Paul was encouraging him to grab hold of the power (courage), compassion (love) and self control (sound mind) and he will be able to stand.

When we sit by a fire, we tend to poke it back into life. A fire left to itself, will always burn out. The Greek word for this is anazopureo which means to kindle afresh or to keep in full flame.

So, this not only applied to Timothy but, also to each one of us. We need to re-ignite that fire that was once burning within us and keep it burning. We have a lot to accomplish for Jesus before He comes and, we need to be strong enough to be able to stand against whatever may try to block us. Therefore, don't look at fear and become intimidated by it; cast it aside and forge a way forward in the name of Jesus. This is what you are here on earth for! 

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus, I have sinned   

I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today. In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

dailylifewithjesusbygrahamehoward.blogspot.com  

If you would like to contact me, grahame.howard@hotmail.co.uk

Member of the National Association of Christian Ministers

Why not order my Daily Commentary from Amazon - Paperback or Kindle 

Check it out

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