Get the Soil Good!

May is a month of miracles!  Believe it.  God is moving and doing things.  This summer is going be full of the supernatural!  I can't wait.

I encourage you to get ready before the blessings come...so that way you'll be able to steward what the Lord pours out.  Go read my blog entitled "How's Your Soil?" for a more in-depth look at what I'm talking about.  Here's the gist:  you can control how your heart is, and how you receive what God gives you.  If your heart (the soil) isn't ready to fully receive and nurture what is deposited, then it probably won't grow to full fruition.  Therefore, GET YOUR SOIL READY NOW!!!

If you are ready with good soil, then trials/persecutions/trouble/heat won't steal the word that has been deposited into your heart; nor will they steal your joy!  Instead, your faith will rise up and God will move to honor His word.  It's the truth.  Let's all get ourselves ready.

Father God, reveal to us the things we need to change and get rid of.  Help us by the power of the Holy Spirit to be able to put away those things that need to go, and get rid of the things that separate us from You.  You are better than anything and Your love is more valuable to us than anything else.  We love You and praise You, and we thank You for loving us in spite of our sin.  Thank You for sending Your One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place for our transgressions.  And thank You for new life in You through Your Son.  In Jesus Christ of Nazareth's Mighty and Magnificent and Holy Name, Amen!!!

If you don't know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, ask Him into your heart today.  Here is a prayer you can pray to God, and give the meaning to it as you pray it.  God will hear you, and you will be forgiven of your sins:

God in Heaven, in Jesus Christ's Name, I pray to You.  I confess I'm a sinner in need of a Savior.  I ask you to forgive me for all of my sins.  I am truly sorry for my sins and turn away from them and walk towards You; I will seek after You now.  Jesus, I ask You to please come into my heart and be the lord of my life.  I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  I confess Jesus Christ as my personal Savior.  I believe that He died for me and took my sins upon Himself.  I believe that He was buried and then came back to life--He conquered death!  Therefore, I have eternal life through Him!  Thank you for saving me, Jesus.  I love You, and thank You for loving me.  In Jesus Christ's Name, Amen.

You just made the best decision you've ever made!  You are literally a new creation!  Now go and let this prayer be the first step in your new life.  Find a Bible and start reading it.  Find a Bible-believing church and start going.  Pray to God everyday and ask Him to come into your heart more and more.  I'm so glad to now call you a brother, or a sister :)  May God bless you as you start your journey towards knowing Him more.

Love in Christ,

Adam

How's Your Soil?

Easter is a glorious day—people come in mass to churches, and more importantly, many commit their lives to Jesus Christ.  Halelujah!!  What happens after that is what I’m talking about today.

In Matthew 13:3-9, Jesus is telling a parable about a farmer scattering seed.  The seed in this parable is the message of the Kingdom of God, and the various kinds of soil are the hearts of the people who hear the message preached:

“Then He told them many things in parables, saying:  “A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil.  It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  He who has ears, let him hear.”

Jesus then explains exactly what his parable means later in the same chapter (verses 18-23):

“Listen to what the parable of the sower means:  When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is the seed sown along the path.  The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time.  When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.  The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.  But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it.  He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

You want to be the one that has the seed fall on good soil…you don’t want to be any of the other ones :)  This alone is a great thought for the day.  If nothing else, go back and read the above verses and make sure your heart is one that is full of good soil so that any seeds already planted, and those seeds still to be planted in the future, will be nourished to grow to maturity and not die out.  If you recently received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, and/or got a fresh word from God, then MAKE SURE that the seed just sown is like the one that falls on good soil.  Examine your heart and pray for growth and perseverance.  Continuously ask the Lord to help you and pray for more faith.  He will do it, I promise.  Amen!!!

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If you want to trek a little deeper, then let’s continue.  Let’s look specifically at one part of this parable Jesus spoke.  Here is Matthew 13:5-6 again:

“Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil.  It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.”

Think for a minute about a seed being planted and the role that the sun plays in the process of it growing.  The sun comes to nourish the seed, does it not?  The sun’s rays are critical in the process of the plant growing to become fully mature.  But its nourishing rays also bring heat.

“…But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched…”

So here we have something interesting.  That which was designed to bring forth more life caused death.  That’s tragic.  But where does the fault lie?

“…and they withered because they had no root.”

The sun itself is not to blame for the scorching and withering of the budding plant; it is the fault of the soil!  The soil was shallow and, thus, the plant had no root.  Here is how Jesus stated it in the verses you read above:

“The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time.  When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.”  (verses 20-21)

It seems to me a parallel is made between “the sun” in Verse 6 and “trouble or persecution” in Verse 21.  If I am right in making this parallel, then it follows that trouble or persecution can play the same role as the sun—intended to bring forth more life, but can ultimately bring forth death.  The result, life or death, is determined by the soil on which it falls.  WOW!

So we should not blame the sun, nor trouble, nor persecution for us losing hold of what the Lord has planted in us by His Holy Spirit.  The sun will shine, trouble will happen, and persecution will come.  We have to accept this.  And we have to be aware that what is in us cannot become fully-grown without enduring the heat which accompanies the life-giving, nourishing rays.  We cannot control when the sun shines or when the troubles come, but we can control this:  making sure our hearts are ready to receive and nurture that which is planted in us. 

Oh Lord, by Your grace, tender our hearts and increase our faith to receive what You have to give.  Strengthen us by Your love, show us Your goodness, and continually grant us Your mercy.  In Jesus Christ’s Holy and Mighty Name, we pray these things to You, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  The Only True God, The God of Israel.  Amen!!!!!