Has God's Word ever seemed dead to you? It has to me. Recently I could not get anything out of it. Then I realized that it wasn't about God's Word. It was about me. I was feeling dead! So I just told God about it. And wondered if God's Word would speak as I opened it again--just because. As you scroll through this pictures the children took of our garden plants, here are some thoughts God gave me that I thought were worth sharing.
"Your Word is a light to me," I said to Him. Would He shine a light? He did. That day I read about the seed the sower planted. Some fell into a thorny patch, and were "choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity." I pondered that. I am so oppressed with cares, sometimes with money problems, and occasionally with pleasures (or the lack thereof). But I felt that I should read on .Then there are those who "with a noble and good heart keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. " The word "patience" was a light to my path."
Jesus did not say we should eliminate cares, money and pleasures from our life. He said we dare not be CHOKED with them. In other words, we have to have space and time in our lives for bearing fruit to maturity. We have to have margin. Cares will be there. We need money to live; we are obligated to pay our debts. We need some pleasure to keep a sparkle in our eye. But we must watch that we do not become ensnared, overcome, choked by these things to where we cannot prioritize what really matters and give time and space to eternal things like growth in grace and patience in tribulation; like teaching our children diligently, praying without ceasing, giving thanks, submitting to one another, loving God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves, worshipping God.
The thorns will be all around, even in the garden or at the edge. But they must be kept under control, at a distance. We cannot let cares, money and pleasure crowd out the word of God, our love for Jesus, and our love for one another. We must prioritize bearing fruit with patience, and patience means time.
Patience means endurance. Patience means keeping on growing and bearing fruit despite the battle against the encroachment of cares, money issues and pleasures. Lord, grant us noble and good hearts that keep Your Word and bring forth fruit with patience.
Jesus did not say we should eliminate cares, money and pleasures from our life. He said we dare not be CHOKED with them. In other words, we have to have space and time in our lives for bearing fruit to maturity. We have to have margin. Cares will be there. We need money to live; we are obligated to pay our debts. We need some pleasure to keep a sparkle in our eye. But we must watch that we do not become ensnared, overcome, choked by these things to where we cannot prioritize what really matters and give time and space to eternal things like growth in grace and patience in tribulation; like teaching our children diligently, praying without ceasing, giving thanks, submitting to one another, loving God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves, worshipping God.
The thorns will be all around, even in the garden or at the edge. But they must be kept under control, at a distance. We cannot let cares, money and pleasure crowd out the word of God, our love for Jesus, and our love for one another. We must prioritize bearing fruit with patience, and patience means time.
Patience means endurance. Patience means keeping on growing and bearing fruit despite the battle against the encroachment of cares, money issues and pleasures. Lord, grant us noble and good hearts that keep Your Word and bring forth fruit with patience.
No comments:
Post a Comment