“Then he [Jesus] 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.”* Matthew 13:3-9 NIV

The Parable of the Sower is well known and very popular because of it’s clear message about the different types of seed and their clear application for believers.  This parable is also unique in the sense that Jesus explains it to his Disciples so we have no doubt about the interpretation.  It is an amazing passage in many ways.

Recently, I was reading this as part of my daily plan to read the Bible and I had an insight that I want to share with you.  We all know we are to be like the seed that fell on good soil where our lives can be a bountiful crop offered to the LORD.  But, I think we should also be like the Sower. 

We never hear about the Sower, other than as a beginning to the stories of the various seed.  I believe the Sower is not only where the story begins but where they story finds a new beginning. 

After we become seed in good soil and produce a crop we have the opportunity to be sowers and plant new seed.  As a Sower we are responsible for spreading the seeds of the gospel—sharing the Word of God and the message of hope found in Jesus.  Our methods of sowing may be very different, ranging from a person who shares a personal testimony of what God has done in their lives to someone who gives faithfully of their time, knowledge, experience, or wealth so others hear about Jesus through their words and see Jesus in their lives. 

One more thing about the Sower, he spread seed but didn’t what kind of soil the seed would eventually end up in.  Once he scatters the seed his job as a Sower is over.  He may have the opportunity to water or weed around the seed but, ultimately, the rest is up to God—He is LORD of the Harvest.  In other words, it’s not my job to decide who I should share the Good News with or who is worthy of this gift from God.  I am to spread seed wherever God puts me and to whomever God chooses. 

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

Jesus’ command is clear—we are to go and make disciples.  That begins with sharing Jesus with those around us whether in our words, actions, or the testimony of our life.  We obey Jesus by sowing seeds in the soil around us.

Here are some other posts you might be interested in:

http://www.livetohonorgod.com/2010/12/grow-where-you-are-planted.html

http://www.livetohonorgod.com/2009/11/administering-grace-ephesians-31-13.html

http://www.livetohonorgod.com/2009/03/on-being-in-ministry.html

http://www.livetohonorgod.com/2009/08/witnesses.html

http://www.livetohonorgod.com/2012/01/opportunities-to-honor-god.html

Opportunity is defined as a favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances.  Everyday, we are presented with opportunities to honor God.  In fact, I believe God arranges circumstances in our lives and provides us with favorable circumstances or opportunities to Honor Him every day. 

Do you believe that?  Do you recognize opportunities to honor God everyday?  What do you think, does the Bible support my belief?

“Well, when I came to the city of Troas to preach the Good News of Christ, the Lord gave me tremendous opportunities.”   2 Corinthians 2:12 NLT

“Now when I went to Troas* to preach the gospel of Christ*and found that the Lord had opened a door* for me,”  2 Corinthians 2:12 NIV

Paul says, in this passage from his 2nd letter to the church in Corinth, that God had given him opportunities to preach the Good News.  The NIV says “the Lord had opened a door for me.”  That is a phrase I use all the time.  Has God ever opened a door for you?  Maybe a better question is, “have you walked through the doors God has opened for you?”  I do believe God opens doors of great opportunity for us.  The question is, what do you with those opportunities?

Here’s another verse that talks about opportunities.

“For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity* in you.”  2 Corinthians 9:10 NLT

This verse says God will give us opportunities to do good, just like He gives us bread to eat and seed to the farmer.  God gives us many opportunities to do good; to show kindness to a neighbor in a time of need or love someone who feels unlovable.  Maybe, my open door is a chance to share my testimony about what God has done for me.  If we open our eyes and look for God’s handiwork in our lives we will see many opportunities to do good. 

I don’t think there is any doubt about it—God does, absolutely, give us many opportunities to “do good.”  So, if I choose to do good in an opportunity that God has given me, does that automatically honor God?  The answer is NO. Well, it does honor God to a certain extent because God wants us to do good.  But, there is one more, very important thing that is needed—look at these 2 verses:

“Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can interpret it.* But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”* 

“I cannot do it,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires.”*   Genesis 41:15-16 NIV

Did you see it? Joseph immediately gives ALL glory to God, even though it would have been easy to agree with Pharaoh and simply say, “yes, I can interpret dreams.”  Joseph honored God by giving Him all the credit. 

If we want to honor God, we must not only “do good” in any opportunity he provides, we must also point our finger to God and give Him ALL the credit for whatever good we do.  This goes against our human nature—the very nature God gave us.  Why would God ask us to go against the nature he gave us?  The answer is simple—he wants us to really want to give Him ALL the glory; not because we have to but, because we want to…because we love Him.

This is, exactly, what we see in the example of Jesus. He completely humbles himself, because of his love for God and his love for us. 

Here are two passages where Jesus teaches about humility:

“He [Jesus] called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children,* you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.* 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.*  Matthew 18:2-4 NIV

and

“[Jesus speaking] But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Luke 14:10-11 NIV

Here are 9 important lessons we can learn from Noah about honoring God. 

1. Don’t miss the boat – Imagine the persecution Noah endured in the 100 years it took to build the ark.  Can you imagine working to complete a task for 100 years?  Some days I have trouble staying focused for 10 minutes.  When God commands you to go, make sure you don’t miss the boat.

2. Plan ahead – it wasn’t raining when Noah started building the ark.  In fact, it had never rained before.  Another way to say this is “When God tells you what He wants you to do in the future, believe Him.” This requires complete trust in God. 

3. Stay in shape – mentally, physically, and spiritually – When you’re 500 years old, God may ask you to do something REALLY BIG. 

4. Don’t listen to critics, just get on with what God has told you to do – remember, God didn’t tell them to do it, He told you.

5. Speed isn’t always an advantage – After all, the snails were on the boat with the cheetahs.

6. You don’t have to be the best at something to honor God with what you do –the ark was built by amateurs; it was the Titanic that was built by professionals.

7. Be aware of Satan’s schemes – sometimes the danger is closer than you realize.  An example of this might be that the woodpeckers inside the ark were a larger threat than the storms outside.  Trust God and listen for His voice—He will keep you safe.

8. No matter what the difficulty, trust in God Almighty – There will be a rainbow at the end of the storm.

9. Do everything you can to bring your family along – share God’s love and message of salvation to those you care about.  Through words and deeds and a life of love present the gospel message at all opportunities.

There is no doubt about it—we accomplish more when we have specific goals we are working to achieve.  Here we are at the beginning of 2012 many people will be setting goals for themselves in the form of New Year’s Resolutions.  Here are some guidelines to help you successfully set and reach your goals.

Ask yourself, “Is this goal S.M.A.R.T.?”  S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timely.

Specific 

Specific asnwers the question, “What?” It is important to be specific when setting your goals.  This keeps you focused on what, exactly, you are trying to accomplish.  Instead of saying, “I plan to walk everyday,” say, “I am going to walk at least 2 miles a day, 5 days a week.”

Measurable

Measurable answers the question “How Much?”  In addition to being specific a successful goal needs to be measurable.  In the previous example you can easily measure whether you have walked 2 miles per day, at least 5 days per week.

Attainable

Attainable describes “How To Get It.”  You need to know how you achieve your goal, then it an attainable goal.  If you don’t know how your will “get it” you will probably not achieve it.  It is helpful to break it down in smaller steps—achieving smaller pieces of a larger goal make it easier to achieve.

Realistic

Realistic is about the “Facts.” Is is practical or even possible that I could achieve this goal?  If your salary is $50,000.00 per year is it realistic to have a goal of putting $100,000.00 per year in a savings account?

Timely

Timely answers the question “When?” It is important to have a specific timeframe for your goals.  Having specific timeframes for your goal and any smaller steps to your goal help keep you on track and make achieving your goals much easier.  “I will set back $100.00 from each paycheck so I can buy new tires before winter weather gets here in December.”

Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals helps you to be successful in all parts of life.  This is especially important in recovery since achieving goals in recovery can mean the difference between life and death.

Happy New Year!

 

*I have seen the acronym S.M.A.R.T. in several places.  I do not know who originated this but many of the ideas in this post came from "DOING LIFE! International, Inc.”

via www.stablerecovery.com

I love this song.  It is probably my favorite of all Crystal Lewis’ many great songs.  I guess I love it so much because I have heard the voice of God so many times while listening to it.  God has used this song on many occasions to remind me of his incredible love and power working in my life. 

To all who mourn in Israel,* he will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the LORD has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory. Isaiah 61:3 NLT

I have thought about this verse so many times in the past but until I heard the song today it never occurred to me the great significance of the phrase “beauty for ashes.”  Ashes are what is left after all the good stuff is destroyed and burned up by the many fires of life.  After we have done our very best and still only produced ashes to show for it, God comes in and takes away the worthless ashes and leaves great beauty in their place.

The bottom line is the best we have to offer in our relationship with God is as worthless as ashes but God, in His amazing mercy gives us His best.

Praise the LORD for His amazing grace and love.

Blessings

Tim

“So God has given us both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can take new courage, for we can hold on to his promise with confidence.”  Hebrews 6:18 (NLT)

This morning God encouraged me and I believe God wants me to share the encouragement with others who might also need encouragement.  It started after I read my daily Bible reading for today and I began writing in my journal. It was really a prayer; sharing my heart with God.

“Lord, I have been weak and given it to temptation several times recently.  I need Your strength because I am so very weak.  Help me! Deliver me from the thoughts and desires that war against you.  I want to be good for you but it seems the harder I try the harder it gets and I end up making a mess. Help me to let go and give it all to you!! I need to stop trying to fight in my power and allow you to fight for me.  “The battle is the Lord’s.” You have already won the victory.”

After pouring my heart out to God I picked up a devotional that connects with my daily Bible reading passages.  It was about courage.  Having the courage to let God work in our lives and trusting Him to be faithful and fight for us when we aren’t able to do it ourselves.

I set the book down and thought, “God gave me exactly the encouraging word that I needed to hear.”  When God shares an encouraging word with us it is not only about helping us “feel” better.  It does help us feel better but it is really about encouraging us—giving us the courage we need at just the right time.  Today, God knew I needed a boost of courage to face the battle and know that He is fighting for me. Hearing God speak like this encourages me to face the fact that I am a sinner, but, I am saved by God’s grace.  I will make many mistakes, but God, will be there to help me up and fight for me if I will let Him.

It is not a show of weakness to admit I need God to fight for me.  Instead, it is a sign of spiritual strength to acknowledge the truth that I cannot win the battle against evil—that is God’s battle.  And by the way, God has already won the victory. Take courage in God’s desire to fight for us.  Be encouraged in God.

We honor God when we acknowledge the truth that we need God to step in and help us—to fight for us.

Blessings

Tim