Surface Seeds

“Listen! 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.  Mark 4:3-4

The impatiens in our story yesterday are comfortable. They fit in. Each flower is one of the crowd, like the seasoned parishioner sitting in the same pew, year after year. A little bit of church, a Sunday smile, a Scripture heard and forgotten on the way out the door. The scattered seeds of faith are never germinated.

       

A tug of emotion may hit our hearts a time or two, but the Bible? Satan loves it when we disregard the Word of God. “it is out-dated.” “The Old Testament is too violent.” “I know Jesus loves me and that’s all I need.” We’ve heard all of the excuses.The lies of Satan go way back to the garden, when he placed the first doubt in Eve’s mind; "Did God really say...?" 

The Word is God’s love story written just for you. As you read the Word, the Word reads you. It is life-changing, true, and it will mold you and me into the image of Christ. Jesus explains the Scripture verses above.

The farmer sows the Word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.  Mark 4:14-15

Take a chance on leaving the safe corner of the garden where nothing changes and nothing is expected. Let the Great Gardener grow you with the seeds of His Word. Let His green thumb sow those seeds until you stand out, different from the usual crowd. There is not much excitement or adventure in the corner, in the shade. Allow God’s light to penetrate a little deeper today. You may have to squint in the bright light for awhile. Adjusting to the Son is glorious work, not to mention the warm glow from within. Step out into the light.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  2 Timothy 3:16-17

Dear Jesus,

Take away our fear of the Word. It is God-breathed. Open our eyes and ears to see and hear. Open our hearts and minds to savor and understand all. Let the seeds be planted deep in good and fertile soil

Amen

Tender Fields of Grace

     The impatiens looked at each other with satisfaction. Bunched together in full array, they created quite a spectacle. The pretty in pink, the deep-royal purple, the bright-neon orange, together with the pure glorious white, made a luscious picture in this shady corner of the yard. They swayed together, chattering as one in their comfort zone in the shade. Life was good.

In the center garden, however, the parched flowers hung listlessly in the still of the noonday sun.  The large heads of the hydrangea, the stems of the daisies and the sweet aster drooped with thirst. They did not have the energy to look up or to encourage one another. They had lost their sense of beauty. They had lost all strength. Even their roots felt the drought.

Near the back fence, the fertile plot stood ready for anything.  The compost heap had eventually turned into this rich soil, eager to accept new seed, to be filled with something new.

Weeds were flourishing everywhere. They were hidden between the full set of impatiens in the shade. They stood in full view among the fading blooms in the center garden, tall and strong even through this succession of long, dry days. And there they were, low to the ground, perched and waiting. They found the first spots in the fertile ground, ready to spoil the success of any new seed.

The tenant came through the garage door and noticed a stray branch hanging from the large ash tree in the corner. He returned to the garage for a tool and a ladder and cut the wandering branch away.

A brilliant light suddenly shone on the comfort zone of the impatiens in the corner. The impatiens had never experienced a light such as this. In the comfort of their shady spot, they could never have imagined they were missing anything at all, certainly nothing like this. To think there had been something so magnificent just waiting to shine on them and through them.

As the keeper of the garden moved back to the yard after putting away his tools, he noticed the sad looking garden in the center. Back he went again, to fetch a bucket. He went slowly back and forth, pouring bucket after bucket of cool water over and over the parched flowers, until their heads, once again, turned to the sky. Their thirsty roots were filled with the living water that gives strength and hope and health to their weary bodies.

He strolled toward the back of the yard. The readiness of the soil caught his attention. He moved one more time to the garage and pulled out several seed packets.

He scattered them around the garden, imagining the wildflowers rising up in their various colors and forms, scattering more seed as they grew. Eventually these few seeds would scatter and move farther and farther along this back fence to create an even more bountiful harvest of color. Spreading seeds here and there can bring an amazing harvest to the patient gardener.

He pulled a few weeds as he walked back around the yard. He soon realized there would be no way to yank them all out. He would continue working a little bit at a time over the next few weeks. He guessed there would always be weeds poking around here and there.

He stood, surveying the yard with a practiced eye.  The master would be pleased. The pruned tree looked much better and the amount of sunlight on the impatiens would only help them shine brighter for the master. He had almost lost some flowers in the center garden. What if they had died and the master would never have seen them? He caught them just in time and now just look at them!

The master had shared with him the dream for the large area in the back. He visualized it in full harvest, not as it was now, but as it would be one day. And now the time just might be right to sow those seeds.  The master would help with the weeds. He always had a vision and an answer.

How is your garden growing?

Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times. Mark 4:8

Overflowing Life

     God’s extravagant love, the living water He makes available to us in His presence and in His word fills our souls to the brim. Weaving through the intricacies of our lives has more of a balance and a rhythm as we walk with the Holy Spirit of God. As our knowledge grows and our lives change, the love that has filled us miraculously begins to overflow.

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.  1 Thessalonians 3:12

     Satan’s tricks have not changed over the millennia. He would love us to stay stuck where we are, continuing on with the things that will harm us and keep us too busy or distracted to get to know his enemy, the living God. Jesus offers us freedom in life, filled with His love, overflowing in abundance, a life of joy.  Listen to what Jesus says to us:

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  John 10:10

     Here is the same verse in the Amblified Bible:

The thielf comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows)

     Pray for that enjoyable life, the abundant life filled to the brim, until it overflows.

Dear Father in heaven,

Thank you for Jesus. He gives us the living water that rises up to eternity, that extravagant love that fills our longing souls. Overflow our lives with that love, so we can give it away, just as You gave it to us.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Filled

     On a table sits a pitcher filled with sand, an empty jar and three rocks. Imagine yourself taking the pitcher of sand. As you pour it into the empty jar, think about the ways you spend your days. Pour in the work, time with the kids, cooking, watching TV, reading, laundry, phone calls, computer and anything else that comes to mind.

     The jar is full. You love the Lord your God with all of your heart, soul and strength. The three rocks represent the Bible, prayer and service. You try to squeeze them into the top of the jar but they just won’t fit. Now pour the sand back into the pitcher. Place the three rocks into the bottom of the jar, imagining time in every single day for the Bible, for prayer, for serving God. Now pour the sand back into the jar. And it all fits!!

     We think, somehow, we do God a favor by sitting in a church pew for an hour each week. One hour out of the 168 available to us. If the service goes over an hour, we look at our watches, think about the game about to begin or what we will have for lunch. A distracted faith. It’s there, but we place little value on it when all is said and done.

     Jesus wants a real relationship with us, not a ritual, not a religion. The Bible is His gift to us. It is a way to get to know the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit intimately. I guarantee when you soak yourself in the Word you will develop a hunger and a thirst for more.  Remember the living water yesterday? It is always available.\

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Matthew 5:6

     So much is necessary to get rhrough our days, but developing a hunger and a thirst for God will fill us and His love will get us through all of the details of our everyday lives. Put the rocks in first and everything else will fall into place.

And to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:19

Dear Lord,

We long to sit with you on a daily basis, filling up on Your Word and praying and talking with You. Let that be the desire of our hearts from this day forward. Develop in us a hunger and a thirst for Your righteousness.

Amen  

Living Water

     Our heat has been running non-stop during this endless snow and bitterly cold winter. My skin is itchy and my throat parched with thirst. Is your soul a tad dry and itchy too? That abundant love and contentment Christ offers can fade into the background of our daily existence, when the urgent takes precedence over our needs, our physical, mental, and spiritual needs. 

     The Samaritan woman at the well during the hottest part of the day, met the One who would fill the dryness in her life.

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14

     The lost woman believed. She would become one of Jesus’ first evangelists as she offered the Messiah’s truth to her family and the surrounding area. Soul-thirsty answers, life-quenching truth, free-flowing living water available whenever and wherever we need it. Is it time to stop and drink?

    How do we receive this flowing spring water that will last until eternity?

“Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”  John 7:38

   Believing in Jesus begins with His abundant love. We realize our need for a Savior and His offer is iron-clad. We are His until He will wipe the earthly water from our eyes and we will walk with Him beside the streams of living water forever.

For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.  Revelation 7:17

    Heaven will provide perfection. What about our dry, cracked souls today? He offers us thirst-quenching answers for every tear-stained question, for every deep longing, for every pit of shame. The water is satisfying. Thirsty? Dip into the life-quenching well of Jesus.

Dear Jesus,

Walk with us beside the still, cool waters of Your saving grace in our uncertain lives. Take our hands as we search for answers and lead us to the Words of life. Refresh our souls. You are the answer to our longings. Fill us to the brim.

Amen

Extravagant Love

     Extravagant love. What comes to mind? Is it a bracelet dripping with diamonds, a trip around the world, a love poem written just for you? All of those sound wonderful, but that’s not it. Our world tells us, “You deserve the best.” “You are worth it.” “It’s all about you.” Jesus turns all of that upside down with His sacrifice on the cross. While we were yet sinners, He took it all upon Himself, suffered and died, because He loves us.

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  1 John 3:1a

     Extravagant love may not come in the way you would envision it. It comes in the heart of the mom with the severely disabled child. There is not much time to think about herself or her needs. She would not have wished or dreamed about this life for her family, but would she have it any other way? No, the love is deeper than anything she has or will ever experience.

     I visited with an older woman for years back in the 90’s. She could not see. Her lungs held little air and she suffered from congestive heart failure. She had several good friends. They shared  the same church for decades, studied the Bible together, raised their children at the same time, shared deep joy and deep sorrow.

     This band of sisters rallied around Marcia. They catered to her needs in reading to her, picking up groceries and praying with her. I rode along with them to see Marcia for the last time. She was near death and in hospice care. This beautiful group gathered around her and sang hymns of praise to their God and thanked Him for the life of this dear friend. Still brings me to tears when I think about it. I sat off to the side. (I can’t really sing anyway) I felt as if I were witnessing something rich and lavish; that extravagant love of Christ that is sacrificial and beyond words.

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.  Colossians 3:16

     I witnessed the message of Christ dwelling richly among them that day as they sang psalms and songs of gratitude. Talk about a Scripture coming to life! The places the world wants to avoid, the difficulties and sufferings we are called to endure, often become the very places we witness the holiness of Christ and His sacrificial love. Don’t be afraid of His lavish love. It is there for the taking. He gives it richly, abundantly, extravagantly. Can we do the same?

Jesus,

You, the pure light of the world, washed the filthy feet of Your disciples. Show us how to love in the ways of Your heart. Take away our fear as we step a little closer to serving others sacrificially in Your name. After all, that’s what you taught us to do.

Amen

More Than Enough

     It was a summer Saturday evening about twenty years ago. The picture is etched in my mind. Our daughters were somewhere around the ages of six and four. The house was thoroughly clean. The gardens were planted. The yard freshly mowed and trimmed thanks to my husband. Our girls sat quietly with hair French braided, clean from their baths in their freshly laundered nightgowns.

       “Aaaahhhh.” Pure satisfaction. You may have noticed the time frame. This is not a daily occurrence. We have those moments when all seems right with the world; when the jobs are done, the tough project complete, after a satisfying meal. And then...the hunger returns. Another project rears its ugly head. The house is in chaos, the kids squabbling, too much to do.

     Jesus offers us this deep and satisfying, soul-quenching contentment. When we place our lives totally in His hands, we recognize the kids are from Him, the grass and all of creation was breathed into life from Him. And our lives can be trusted completely to Him. What Jesus offers us is more than a momentary feeling of satisfaction. He offers us the abundant life, grace-given, love-overflowing assurance of the more-than-enough life.

But Godliness with contentment is great gain. 1 Timothy 6:6

     Contentment with Jesus is available in the midst of the chaos, in the fear of the moment, in times of hunger and peril. Every moment can be trusted to Him. Not only does He offer us contentment and satisfaction. He offers us life overflowing. Let’s dig into the abundant life this week. In the meantime, breathe a heavy, “Aaaahhhh” with me. He has you in the palm of His hand. Be content right there and then go tackle that mess.

Dear Father,

You gave us Your Son. He gave everything up for us and loves us too much to ever let us go. We offer everything right back to Him today. Give us that Godly contentment every day no matter what we see around us.

In Jesus name

Amen