Getting Plowed

Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow…He who has ears to hear, let him hear! Mark 4:3,9

Have you checked your heart lately? It could be that your heart isn’t in as good of condition as you think it is.

I am not talking about your cardiovascular health. I am talking about whether your heart is in the right condition for God to be able to speak to you!

Jesus compared our hearts to four different types of soil, and if we are not careful then we can find that our hearts have become unfruitful for the work of God’s kingdom.

What is often overlooked in this parable, however, is the sower. Did you ever notice that there is only one sower? The sower is the Holy Spirit. And though He uses knuckleheaded people to get the message out, it is important to recognize that it is the Holy Spirit trying to teach us God’s Word.

Jesus told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth. A pastor does the best job he can, but ultimately, he is only a tool of the Holy Spirit to help lead the body of Christ into all truth.

Our job is to listen. Have you been sitting in the pew, listening to the pastor preaching, when all of a sudden something he says strikes a chord deep inside you? In that moment, did you feel like something needed to change in your life? If so, then it wasn’t the pastor speaking to you; it was the Holy Spirit.

We need to have ears that hear. The key is believing that while some human is talking up front, the God of the Universe may butt in and sow seed into our heart.

Will the Sower find good soil in your heart? The answer depends on whether you are willing to hear.

Prayer Holy Spirit,

Thank You for leading me into all truth! Help me to hear Your promptings and to keep my heart prepared to receive the seed You sow.

Amen

Being Wise in Foolish Times

Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice?…She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city, at the entrance of the doors:…Receive my instruction, and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold; for wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her. Proverbs 8:1-3,10-11

Can you hear her? Of course you can; she’s everywhere. The real question is whether you’re listening.

So many of us, especially in the last few years, have faced moments when we needed wisdom. Trying times force us to make difficult decisions, and in that moment it doesn’t matter how much you know because right then what matters is what we do with what we know.

What do I do? I need direction. I need advice. I need help. I need counsel. These are the words of someone who needs wisdom. Should I move? Should I take that job? Which college should I go to? Is buying that house the right decision right now? Is this person really the one I should marry? Should we send our kids to public school, private school, or homeschool?

And a lot of us, when we’re asking these kinds of questions, we want the answer to be quick, easy, and painless. So for all of us in this journey of life, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that wisdom is simple to understand and eager to help you. The bad news is that you will have to reprioritize your life to find her or her words won’t make any sense to you.

If you desire wisdom more than anything else, she’ll speak to you and teach you under-

standing. But if you think you can just pop into her storefront, grab your pat answer, and ditch her until your next need, then forget it. Wisdom knows the value of what she has and who she is. She is not going to give herself away to someone who doesn’t value her the same way she does.

In other words, wisdom wants to help you, but if you think gold, silver, precious stones, fancy clothes, great cars, and all this world has to offer are better than her, then you won’t understand a word she says.

Instead, choose to fear God above all else, more than what might happen if you don’t take that new job, buy that new house, or end up at the wrong college. Then, because you fear Him, seek His wisdom and will in everything you do. Then, finally, you will understand wisdom and have all the counsel you need for every decision.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

I really need wisdom, so I thank You that You are all the wisdom I need! I choose to seek You first and value wisdom above anything I could find in this world. Please teach me to understand her voice as she daily speaks into my life!

Amen

Preparing for the End

Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. But this I say: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 2 Corinthians 9:5-6

There are certain cardinal don’ts of the Christmas season. Don’t shout. Don’t cry. Don’t pout. Why? Because Santa Claus is coming to town!

While the Christmas season is behind us, Someone else will soon be coming to town, and His name is Jesus. And just as with Christmas, there are a few important don’ts for us to observe while we await His coming.

First, don’t freak out. Just look at the last few years-the Arab Spring, the Japan earthquake and tsunami, the ups and downs of the world economy-they have been filled with upheaval. With all this going on, people around us are going to feel anxiety about the future, but we shouldn’t. We should have peace because we have Jesus. And when people ask us why we’re so calm, Jesus is the answer.

Don’t be deceived. In the last days, which we are in, there is going to be a great falling away. This means that people who used to call themselves Christians decide to stop believing in Jesus. It means that many Christians are going to be deceived by a lie that steals them from the truth. Don’t let it be you.

Don’t let anyone steal your identity in the Lord. In the end, the anti-Christ will call himself God, exalting himself above everything that’s worshiped, but not for long. Jesus will come and destroy him with the breath of His mouth! Make sure you’re on the right side of that battle. Stay firm in the Lord.

Don’t be stubborn, don’t be stupid. Don’t be one of those people who hear the truth of God’s love for you and refuse to receive it. I mean, you have to be deceived by something to hear about love like God has for you and reject it. His love is so big, so deep, so penetrating, so transforming; I really am afraid for those who reject this love.

And that gets us to the bottom line today-God’s love. Let God’s love give you peace. Let God’s love hold you in His truth. Let God’s love define who you are in Him. Receive His love now, today, and every day for the rest of your life until Jesus comes to town.

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for loving me! I want to receive Your love today and always! I believe Your love for me and invite You to lead me in Your love every day for the rest of my life.

Amen

The Promise of the Presence of the Power of the Holy Spirit

But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? But now indeed there are many members, yet one body. 1 Corinthians 12:18-20

Do you remember back to when you were inside your mother’s womb?

No, obviously not, but if you could, it’s not hard to image God’s voice speaking over you, His hands carefully crafting you, His heart dreaming ahead into your life of all the things you might become. He is, after all, a good Father and the Creator of us all.

In that creation, God put into the very core of us which part of His body we were called to become. This part of us lay dormant like a seed until the Holy Spirit filled us upon conver-

sion and brought life to that God-given identity and calling with which we were born.

Now we face a choice. Will we allow the Holy Spirit to determine our identity, to tell us where we fit in the body of Christ? Or will we insist that we know better than Him, forcing our way into what we want the most or think we’ll like the best?

This should be a silly question. In fact, it should not be a question at all. Obviously, if God is good and trustworthy-and we are believing that He’s good and trustworthy enough to save us from our sins and give us Heaven, after all-then we should trust that whom He created us to be will be the most fulfilling and life-giving identity we could have, beyond all we could accomplish for ourselves.

Nevertheless, oftentimes we come to church and strive to be like the people around us. Or we strive to be like the leadership up front. Some insecurity about who we are tells us that we need to stand in front of the congregation to be important. We need to be on a board. We need to teach a class. We need to be seen.

Nonsense. We need to be the part of the body that God determined we would be.

Submit your life to the Holy Spirit today and allow Him to determine your steps. Let Him set you apart for service in the body and make your time in church about those around you instead of yourself. Then, and only then, will you find the fulfillment you desire.

Prayer Holy Spirit,

Thank You that You know more about me than I do! I give my life to You today and ask that You help me become the part of Christ’s body You created me to be.

Amen

Vision: A View from the Top

Yet surely My words and My statutes, which I commanded My servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers? Zechariah 1:6

Do you know what my greatest fear is? It is that I would be successful at the wrong thing. That should be your greatest fear, too, because do you know what that would mean? It would mean succeeding and failing at the same time, to miss out on why God has you here because you weren’t listening to Him, you weren’t yielding your heart to Him, and that you weren’t in a place to really hear His voice or see the vision that He has for you, your marriage, and your future.

You see, it is possible for you to go through life serving God, but never following Him. On the other hand, it is impossible to follow God without serving Him.

People serve God without following Him all the time. They do the religious thing and check the box, saying, See? I served. I went to church. I taught in Sunday school. I passed the bags for the offering. I served!

You can do these things, and that’s great, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re following Jesus. Following Jesus means that you need to hear His word and respond, and you can’t do that without picking up your cross and taking that up in your service to Him.

For example, I have three kids. Imagine that they are the best kids they could possibly be. They get perfect grades, always choose good friends, make wise decisions, work hard, and are responsible with everything they do. Yes, they do all these things, but what if they don’t listen when I speak to them? What if my words mean nothing to them?

What if they did all those things I mentioned, but then they decide to buy into some Zen religious thing, and nothing I say to them makes them turn back to God? Do you think I would be pleased with them as my children?

The answer is no. A perfect child who ignores their parents’ voices will break their parents’ hearts. That’s what God is saying to us here.

Listen, you and I will not live long, but God’s words last forever. Let’s pay attention.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for speaking to me! Please teach my heart to listen carefully to You and help me to understand Your words and everything You say. I do not want to just serve You. I want to follow You!

Amen

Sign Language

Here am I and the children whom the LORD has given me! We are for signs and wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion. Isaiah 8:18

Everyone hates to lose an argument. Once you’ve taken a stand on an issue, it’s very embarrassing when you can’t defend it against opposition and they get the better of you.

So for those of us who feel this way about defending our faith in Jesus, our verse today is good news. We have an argument that no one can beat-a transformed life. No one can argue with that!

When God does a miraculous work in your life, setting you free and leading you down the right path through life, rarely are words needed. The people around you will notice the difference, they will see your confidence and peace that fly above the circumstances around you, and they will want in on what you have.

But maybe you’re reading this today, saying, Bob, you’re the sign and the wonder for people, not me. Well, my sign says that you’re the sign, because Ephesians 4 says that my job is to equip the church to do the work of the ministry. It’s my job to equip, your job to minister. Only you can shine your light and share your story; I can’t do that for you.

If you’re nervous about being the sign, chances are pretty good it’s because of sin, so let me give you some more good news: Signs stands for Standing In Grace Neutralizes Sin. When you rest in the work of Jesus on the cross and live in the love He has for you, then it breaks the power of sin in your life and sets you free to become His sign to the world around you.

This requires you to be all in. A light doesn’t shine when it’s trying to hide, but only when the electric power of God flows through it and it stands out there with a constant desire to be a witness for Christ, a lighthouse that pierces the darkness and points people in the right way.

This can be your life today. Will you choose to be the sign and wonder that God created you to be?

Prayer Lord Jesus,

Thank You for showing me signs to keep me on Your path! Please help me to not see as the world sees and hear as the world hears. But instead help me to see, hear, hope, and believe in the sign of Your love-Immanuel, God with me, You with me right now, able to help me handle anything that comes my way.

Amen

Hijacking the American Dream

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 2 Peter 1:5-7

What’s the destination of your train? Oh, you didn’t know that you have a train? Well of course you do! We all have one-it’s called Life.

At the end of your life, when your train stops and you walk out the door, where will you find yourself?

You see, this is the most important question we can answer for ourselves. But unfortunately, many of us are more caught up in how nice our train is than in where our train is going. How soft is the bed? What’s the thread count in those sheets? Is the food in the dining car gourmet, or just café? And, for goodness sake, the coffee had better be from our favorite name brand chain.

Jesus told a parable in Luke 12 to show us just how foolish this way of thinking is. He told the story of a man who had a huge harvest-I mean bumper crops-and he didn’t have enough space in his barns to hold it all. So he built bigger, better barns and thought to himself, I’m set for life! Now I can take it easy for the rest of my days, eating and drinking to my heart’s delight.

God interrupts the man’s celebrations with a terrible message. Fool, this night your soul will be required of you. Then Jesus drops the punch line, So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God.

In other words, even if your train is made of pure gold, it’s worthless if it drives you straight to Hell. You would be better off in a train made of trashcans that gets you to Heaven. So how do you make sure your train is heading to the right place? It all starts with faith in Jesus’ death on the cross for your sins, but in our verses for today, Peter tells us it should build from there.

Our faith is our ticket to board a Heaven-bound train, but what makes us rich towards God is building on our faith virtue, and on virtue knowledge, and the list goes on. If we will do these things then our faith will bear fruit, storing up riches where they will last forever-in Heaven.

Prayer Father God,

Thank You for making a way for me to arrive in Heaven! I need Your help to build my life right down here on earth. Please show me how to build on my faith so that it bears fruit that will last forever!

Amen