And Jesus taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

And another fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

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Jesus taught the people in language they could understand by using examples of everyday things they worked with. This way, no matter their occupation, they could understand exactly what He was talking about, as in the above verses.

The principal grains during Bible times were wheat and barley. They didn’t have modern machines that could do the hard work, so they spent much time getting the land ready to plant. The first time they plowed, the plow would only scratch the surface of the ground a few inches. It would have to be plowed many more times before it would be soft enough to plant seeds that would give a maximum yield during the harvest.

The time of plowing for some crops began with the early rains in September or October and continued until March. The field was plowed from several different angles to be sure it was broken up. Then it was gone over with a wooden harrow to level it off to plant. (A harrow is a large wooden timber or heavy piece of wood with nails or spikes sticking out the bottom. As it was dragged, it helped smooth out the field but also made sure the top layer was broken good for planting.)

When a field was cleared for the first time, there were stones and thorns that had to be removed so the crop could have its highest yield. If the thorns had been left, they would have sucked up much of the moisture the crop needed to thrive.

When God has called us to do a certain thing, He then takes the time to plow and cultivate our field over and over so that He can achieve the best yield. This is not usually a fun process because He is taking away thorns and rocks that will get in the way of producing the best crop possible. It is not fun to have sin uncovered in your life that you might have hidden away, or didn’t even know was there.

According the verses 5-7, some of the seed fell upon ground that was not prepared well enough to receive it. This was probably at the end of the rows or just places that had been missed by the plow in cultivation. Some of the soil was partially prepared to receive the seed so it thrived for a short time; but other soils were not prepared to receive the seed at all, so they never got the chance to sprout even for a short time.

Then the last part is about the different yields of fruit that spring up from the good soil.

The fruit yield is directly related to how much the soil has been broken up and how deeply it has been cultivated. To someone who is not a farmer, it would seem ridiculous to plow a field for 6 months before planting even the first seed. The farmer, though, would know that the yield of his crop was directly related to how much the soil had been prepared before planting the seed.

This is many times why you have to wait so long from the time God calls you to do something until the time it actually comes to pass. He is continuously tilling, plowing, and removing stones and thorns until the soil is perfect for planting. Then after the planting there is a time of waiting for the seeds to sprout and the crop to grow to a full maturity. All this must happen before there can be a plentiful harvest.

The next time you feel it is taking too long for God to bring something to pass, remember that He is busy getting all the hindrances out of the way so that He can use you to accomplish what He desires in a mighty way.

The next time you feel that you are being pushed, prodded, poked and bruised, just think about the fact that God is doing what it takes for you to reap a bountiful harvest.

It is God’s Law that you will always reap what you sow, so don’t forget that during the sometimes long process of waiting. Continually sow good things and you will reap a reward that is greater than you ever expected. The reward might come in a different way than you thought, but God always has your best interest at heart and He loves you more than anyone else ever could

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?

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David wrote this Psalm when he was in exile from Jerusalem. He longed to go back there and worship daily in the Temple because that was where God resided. It would be many years before Jesus would come to earth as a man, die on the cross, rise from the grave, and ascend to Heaven so the Holy Spirit could come back to earth to live in the heart of every person who accepts Him as Savior.

David had to physically go to the Temple worship services, and be a part of the chorus of praise that rose up to his Heavenly Father during one of the sacrifice times before he felt he had truly worshiped God.

A hart is an animal (like our deer today) that is fond of feeding near the water. When hunted he will go into the water and stay submerged as long as possible, then get in the middle of the river and swim downstream, not touching any tree branches on either side so dogs won’t be able to follow his scent. In a chase he becomes faint, and longs for  water intensely.

The word “panteth” as David uses it here means not just a quiet longing and inward desire, but audible panting produced by an agony of thirst – the intense desire and overwhelming sense of want.

This exact word occurs only twice in the Bible,  here and in Joel 1:20.  It  properly means to rise, and then, to look up toward anything; to long for. It refers here to the intense desire of the hind (female deer), in the heat of day, for water; or, in Joel, to the desire of the cattle for water in a time of drought.

There was an intense thirst that needed to be quenched, and nothing would help until water was found.

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How much do you thirst to truly know God? Does that thirst consume your very being?  Are you satisfied just being the way you are right now, whatever that is?

God has a plan for every Christian life, but many times He doesn’t reveal that plan until He sees how thirsty you will become to find out what it is.

In these last days, He wants to use His People to do an awesome work. Will you be willing to get rid of all the unnecessary baggage that has been holding you back and completely surrender your life to Him? It probably won’t be easy, but in the long run it will be well worth it. There is nothing greater than living a life of peace and harmony with God.

Now that is truly living!!!

God is looking for Christians who will learn to have an unshakable faith to believe in the impossible. The more you start to see Who He Is, the easier it will be to believe that He can accomplish whatever He chooses through you. In fact, it’s an awesome feeling to know that He does choose you to accomplish great things for His Glory!

Decide today that you will be like David, step out on faith, and believe that God will accomplish the impossible through you.

The first time I saw this photo it reminded me of something important about my walk with God. When I am in the center of His Will, I picture myself walking in sync with Him step by step. Even if He leads me in a path that has some curves in it, I still know that I am walking on the right path.

Then I am reminded of times when I thought I could do it on my own and had everything under control. I veered off to the left or right, and even took gigantic detours away from where God wanted me to be. I was not doing bad things; I was just not doing the things that He wanted me to do.

The road above makes hairpin turns and seems to do a lot of backtracking due to the rough layout of the land. The scenery is breathtaking, but when you take this road you will probably have to go many miles further to get to your destination than if you had just taken a straight road.  If you choose to take a road like this on your own in your spiritual walk, you will be traveling a lot, but gaining very little maturity in your spiritual growth. You will always be veering off to the right or left and wasting valuable time that could be used on doing something productive for God.

The Christian life is always full of choices. You can make the choice to fully commit your life to Christ and walk with Him wherever He leads. Make this your first priority and see the miraculous things God will do for you.

I have found that once I finally make a choice and truly settle it in my mind, things start to get easier at that moment. I have a resolve that I didn’t have before, and start to think about things differently. I just know what I have to do, start to do it, and develop discipline in that area.

In order to grow spiritually, you should commit to daily study of God’s Word, set aside a time for prayer, and ask God to give you wisdom and discernment to be able to see the truth and understand what you are reading in the Bible. Also ask God to open doors for service in the areas that He desires, and to convict you when you start to veer off to the left or right without His leading.

It might not be easy to stay disciplined at first, but if you will stick to it you will start to see God in a way that you have never seen Him before. He will start to reveal Himself to you in a mighty way.

One of the greatest things that you can ever do is commit your life fully to Christ.

I found this picture at a site called www.tomrobinsonphotography.com

He has given permission to use this picture.

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won if he’d stuck it out.
Don’t give up, though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor’s cup,
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are -
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit -
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.

Author Unknown

I love looking at this picture. You can see one drop of water and the effects from it with such clarity. This was entered into a photo contest, and has been digitally altered; the effect to me is still startling.

I see all the ripples that have formed outward from just that one drop, and it makes me think about decisions I make and the actions that go with them. Will my ripples continue to spread outward with good things? Will your ripples continue to spread outward with good things? You are the drop of water in the middle, and only you can decide about the effects of the ripples that spread out around you.

None of us really want to think that a major decision made TODAY can have either devastating or wonderful effects for many years to come. It is only when you look back from a few years down the road that you see the effects from different actions you have taken. You can remember making that decision and hoping that everything would turn out fine, but much of the time you may not have had a true assurance of it; or it may have been made based on your best guess at the time after you collected as many facts as possible.

I know that there are just everyday things you do that won’t really matter 10 or 20 years from now. I am talking about the decisions you are presented with that can affect you years down the road.

The truth is, if you have asked Jesus to come into your heart and save you, you don’t have to make major or even minor decisions on your own. The Holy Spirit is there to guide you in everything you do. You just have to learn how to hear Him speak to you. He always has your best interest at heart and would never lead you astray.

It is only then that you can be assured that your ripples will go forth and be a blessing down the road.

John 16: 13-14

Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Let the Holy Spirit guide you in everyday decisions that you make. Then when the time comes to make a huge decision, it won’t be a problem at all. You will automatically go to God and tell Him that you need His Guidance to do the right thing. You won’t entertain any other way of doing things, because you know the ripples that flow out will always be good.

God has a plan for the life of every Christian and He wants to use them to do great things for Him. Determine today that you will let Him use you in whatever way He chooses.

This is the link for the picture above if you would like to see it in a larger size:

http://www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=9482

When our lives are clean, He can use us to help others grow in their relationship with Him.

Luke 6: 41 – 45

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye but do not notice or consider the beam [of timber] that is in your own eye?

Or how can you say to your brother, Brother, allow me to take out the speck that is in your eye, when you yourself do not see the beam that is in your own eye? You actor (pretender, hypocrite)! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

For there is no good (healthy) tree that bears decayed (worthless, stale) fruit, nor on the other hand does a decayed (worthless, sickly) tree bear good fruit.

For each tree is known and identified by its own fruit; for figs are not gathered from thorn-bushes, nor is a cluster of grapes picked from a bramble-bush.

The upright (honorable, intrinsically good) man out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart produces what is upright (honorable and intrinsically good), and the evil man out of the evil storehouse brings forth that which is depraved (wicked and intrinsically evil); for out of the abundance (overflow) of the heart his mouth speaks.

(These words of Jesus are taken from the Amplified Version with the ( ) being what the word means in the Greek. The [ ] are used to make the sentence read more clearly.)

A Story – Have your Cleaned your Windows Lately?

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood.

The next morning while they are eating breakfast, the young woman sees her neighbor hanging the wash outside.

“That laundry is not very clean,” she said. “She doesn’t know how to wash correctly.  Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.” Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband: “Look, she has learned how to wash correctly.  I wonder who taught her this?”

The husband said, “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.”

Let God get rid of the beam of timber in your eyes so that He can radically use you to help others do the same.