His Seed Vs. Your Soil
A farmer goes into a field to sow his seed, when he comes across 4 different kinds of ground: trampled, rocky, thorny and good. Seed doesn’t take to no soil, and so the seeds on the path quickly become food for the birds. The shallow soil does little with the seed, as it is too dry and rocky for growth of any kind. The seed that falls on thorny ground only grows to be choked by weeds. But, the good soil replenishes itself long enough to give back a hundred fold. The seed is the Gospel, and the soil is your heart. “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear” (Luke 8:8b NIV). Is your soil ready to accept the seed? A path is where too many have been. No seed could take root there. The ground is too hard; your heart is too cold. It’s counter productive really for a farmer to even throw seeds on a worn path. Jesus says, “As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them” (Mark 4:15b). “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12). But, if you don’t fix the brokenness that keeps you from hearing, you allow the enemy to eat it up to use for his kingdom. The second kind of seed is a shallow one indeed, only lasting for a short time. Secure only in biblical rootlessness, the plant cannot weather the storm. When tribulation strikes, “they wither because they had no root” (Mark 4:6b). Rocky soil has not enough moisture to keep the seeds, a lousy foundation it makes when looking to produce a crop. Trouble in this world is a guarantee though, not a maybe (John 16:33). Never forget your roots. The seed that fell among thorns is hindered by these death traps that don’t allow for growth, but kill the Good News. If you allow for weeds to grow by your wheat, if you simmer in the soul-sick society for too long, come judgement time, you’re hardly recognizable; “unfruitful” Matthew says (13:22b). The many distractions of mammon and the worries on Earth prove to deter many from the seed they’ve received, and they die with the earthly treasures they’ve stored up in their heart. “You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot” (Matthew 5:13). Good soil takes the seed and works to preserve it. He “understands it,” says Matthew (13:23b). The good soil accepts the seed, nurtures and cherishes what was given to it. The only soil to produce a crop, this heart recognizes testings of his faith as a time to sow good seed to grow roots that will not be swayed by a deceitful age. “Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4 NIV, emphasis added). Every time we surrender to God, the Kingdom seeps into more parts of our hearts. If we’re not expanding, we’re shrinking. Every parable Jesus taught pointed to the Kingdom of God, and there is no question about the seed’s validity, but every inclination of your heart is brought to light with the teachings and life of Christ. The Kingdom of Heaven is here, but the hearts of the people are not ready. This idea of “preparing your heart” runs rampant in the Bible and for good reason; the soil is entirely up to the listener. The condition of a woman’s heart determines her response to the Good News. “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23).
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much emphasis is put on the importance of emotional intelligence. E.I is quickly becoming one of the top sought job skills. &at the beginning of my junior year, 1 of the first things my professors emphasized was this ability to know oneself. (it’s the only person you’ll ever be able to change). knowing how to manage your emotions &the emotions of others is key to everyday life.
in 2 of my beginning classes then, the hw assignment included taking the myers brigg personality test. of course in this world, what is considered fact today is false tomorrow, but take it with a grain of salt! maybe you’ll learn something about yourself. i definitely did &the ones i love would tell you my results are fairly accurate. 1st time i took the test I got “introverted intuitive feeling &perceiving &the second time, two months later, I showed “extraverted intuitive feeling &perceiving” : the idealist vs. the visionary.. happy findings people. |
if you can keep your head , when all about you are losing theirs &blaming.. trust yourself when all men doubt, but make allowance for their doubting too; if you can wait ¬ be tired of waiting, or being lied about, don't deal in lies, or being hated, don't give way to hating, &yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise. if you can dream -¬ make dreams your master; think -¬ make thoughts your aim; if you can meet w Triumph &Diaster, &treat those 2 imposters just the same; if you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken twisted by knaves to make a trap fro fools, or watch the things you gave your life to, broken. &stoop &build em up w worn -out tools. if you can make 1 heap of all your winnings &risk it on 1 turn of pitch &toss, &lose, &start again at your beginnings, &never breathe a word about your loss.. if you can talk w crowds &keep your virtue, or walk w Kings -nor lose the common touch, if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you. if all men count w you, but none too much.. Yours is the Earth &everything that's in it, &-which is more -you'll be a Man, my son!
-father's advice to son; Kipling "in order2be able2think you have2risk being offensive."JBP
i am no bird; &no net ensnares me. -charlotte bronte
D.E.A.R. "never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never -in nothing, great or small, large or petty -never give in except to convictions of honor &good sense." -w. churchill. 10/28/41
i am not afraid of storms, for i am learning how to sail my ship. -louisa may alcott
nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. talent will not: nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. persistence &determination alone are omnipotent. -calvin coolidge i am not an extraordinary man, &i am quite ordinary. but God chose me for something quite extraordinary. -a. valladares receives '16 canterbury medal.
not failure, but low aim, is crime -james russell lowell
a genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus -mlk jr. (you are all leaders .#experts) it is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. the credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust &sweat &blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again &again because there is no effort without error &shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worth cause; who at the best knows in the end the trump of high achievement, &who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold &timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. -theodore roosevelt we are what we repeatedly do. excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. -aristotle
no one can make you feel inferior without your consent. -eleanor roosevelt a dead thing can go with the stream, but only a living thing can go against it.-gk c.
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