The Parable of the Sower

I hope that many of you have heard The Parable of the Sower. It's a great minder that we who have ears, need to hear. The post today will mainly be scripture based. The Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13 is interesting to read about because at the beginning the chapter, Jesus says the parable, and towards the end he explains it. 

The Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:3-9: Then he 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 the 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 the thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a croup-a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear."

So there is The Parable of the Sower and here is what it means.

Matthew 13:18-23: "Listen the not what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and doe not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

I really enjoyed reading and learning more about this parable. I hope this encourages you to read and understand the word so that you too, can produce a crop.  A part from learning about the parable, how awesome is it that a passage is totally explained by Jesus? God's word is awesome and I encourage you to dig into it every day. 

Whatcha say?

There is one thing that I really want to share with you tonight that I believe you can take to heart and run with it. The scripture comes from the book of Matthew. I know that the National Championship game is on tonight so I won't try to make this post very long. Who know how God will work though. I have said that before and I've had super long posts.

Words 

The first topic I want to touch base on is your words and how what you say reflects your heart. This scripture really jumped out to me because I know that sometimes it's easy to say things that you shouldn't when you are around your friends. This topic is also important to me because I think it is something that I have gotten a lot better at. This all kind of relates to me guarding my heart. It's tough sometimes when you are a little more spiritual than your friends. Sometimes that can make you feel like you are on an island. (I'll talk about this more in another post) Which isn't bad. I think being on an island because of where you are at spiritually doesn't sound too bad. With guarding my heart, comes me watching what I say. Sure, I say things that I probably shouldn't say all the time but more than ever, I feel God's presence keeping me from saying things that I shouldn't. Confession time, in our game Saturday, I missed a shot and said a word that I should not have said, so if you were sitting close enough to hear that, my bad. It's a really cool feeling to know that the Spirit's presence is so real and so active. There has been so many instances as of late where I was about to say something and I was able to stop. This is something that I need to work on everyday and you probably should too.

Matthew 12:33-37: "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoke. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." 

Now there are some parts in that passage that really stick out to me. Mainly the end of verse 34 which says; "For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." Now when I read that, I felt convicted. I immediately thought of all of the conversations I had today and how many of them I wasn't proud of. It's so convicting. It's tough to think that what you speak comes straight from the heart. This really motivates me to have loving conversations that give God the glory and ones that would make Him smile. Verse 36 sticks out to me as well. "But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken." Knowing that, there are some things that I don't want to tell God that I said. Saying that, I hope that this reminds you that words are important and what you say correlates directly to what is in your heart. Guard your heart my friends. I also challenge you. I challenge you to have conversations that are full of love and positivity. Do the conversations you have glorify God?

Have Some of Faith

Faith is a strong belief or confidence in someone or something. You probably hear that you should have faith all of the time. What does it mean to you to faith?

I want to take a quick peak at three verses from Matthew and how a little bit of faith can save you. Throughout the gospels there are so many stories about Jesus healing and him performing all of the miraculous things that he did. This particular story really stood out to me more than a lot of the other stories did about Jesus's healing of the sick and ill.

Matthew 9:20-22: Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the edge of His cloak. She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed." Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed at that moment.

This passage sticks out to me because of the woman. She had faith that if she only touched Jesus' cloak that she would be healed. She was confident and had a strong belief that she would be healed. She reached out and touched it and Jesus looked at her and said, "Take heart daughter, your faith has healed you." How powerful is that? I would love to have faith so great that God would look at me and tell me that my faith in him has healed me and changed my life. I think this verse goes beyond just having faith in Jesus' healing. I believe you can apply it to having faith in God during all circumstances and in all areas of your life.

I believe that sometimes we have faith in Jesus but we don't act on it. For instance, driving home from church this morning, I saw this lady outside shoveling snow in her driveway. She looked tired and exhausted and like she could use a helping hand. Driving past I felt God telling me that I should help her. I wish I could tell you that I did, but I didn't...I kept on driving. I had faith that what God was telling me to do was the right thing and that it would've made her day but I didn't act upon it. For that, I feel bad and I know that I missed out on an opportunity to love others just at Jesus did. My main point is that the lady from the verses, who had been bleeding for twelve years, had faith that Jesus would heal her, reached out her hand, touched his cloak and she was healed. Simply amazing. God is right there. Have faith in the amazing things that he has done in your life and will continue to do until your time comes. Take action in faith and watch God work. Remember: faith without works is dead. A person is considered righteous not by faith but what they do. So if you have faith, do something about it!

I found this verse in Habakkuk earlier this afternoon. If this doesn't motivate you to have faith, I honestly don't know what else will.

"For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told."

If a lady who was bleeding for twelve years had faith in Jesus to heal her and took action about it, I believe that you who are healthy and blessed can do the same thing.

Ask, Seek, Knock / Wise vs. Foolish Builders / Malachi 4

I want to apologize first off, I feel like I haven't put 100 percent effort into my posts this week. It's tough during such a busy schedule with basketball but I know that I should not be making any excuses. This afternoon I was able to have a pretty significant amount of alone time and during that time I was really able to dig into the word. I am currently reading the books of Matthew and Malachi. Both have been filled with a ton of great things. There are three different passages I want to briefly talk about to encourage you today. These three don't really relate to each other, but I believe that they can be related to your daily everyday lives. 

Ask, Seek, Knock

Matthew 7:7-8: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." 

I am sure that most of you have read this passage and probably are thinking in your head, "I ask for things all the time and don't get them." Or "I search for things and can't find anything." Or even this one, "I try knocking on the door and it doesn't seem like anyone is there." I am not talking about these verses to tell you that you have to to get something in return for asking, seeking, and knocking, rather I want to focus on the fact that all of those things depend on you. God is fully self-sufficient, he doesn't need us to do anything for Him. Everything that we do is based on our choice. So if you want something to be given to you, you have to ask for it. If you are trying to seek out and find something, you have to seek it out and you will find it. If you're in the place where you are longing for a relationship with God, you have to knock on the door. He is behind it with His open and loving arms waiting for you. If you haven't caught on to the theme here, everything depends on you and the decisions and choices that you make. God does amazing things and performs amazing miracles everyday, but it's all up to you and what type of relationship you want with the One who is the creator of the heavens and earth. 

The Wise and Foolish Builders

Matthew 7:24-29: "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the dreams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash." 

This passage motivates me because when storms hit my life I want to have a firm and solid foundation. It is so encouraging to read that if you hear the words of God and put them into practice that you will have a strong and firm foundation. Think about the last time you did this. You were probably sitting in church listening to a sermon, or saw an encouraging spiritual post on social media and it really convicted you. Immediately you thought, I really needed to hear that, I am struggling with not doing those things in my life. How many times has this happened in your life? I bet that it's more that you can count. It happens for me too. I have to be honest with you. I will put a lot of time into putting these post together and sometimes it's hard to remember exactly what I blogged about. It's just a little tough to put the things into practice. One thing I have learned though, is that I have learned a ton in the past couple of months and what I have learned has translated not into all of these facts that I need to know, but has translated into me feeling God's presence nearly every second and every minute of every day. Feeling God's presence to me, means that I have a strong foundation. I know that when I slip up or when negative things happen in my life, that it's not going to phase me because of the foundation that I have. 

Malachi 4

Malachi 4:1-3: "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire," says the Lord Almighty. "Not a root or branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the days when I act," says the Lord Almighty. 

So...if you are seeing this scripture for the first time, you probably reacted the same way that I did. Especially after reading verse 3. "Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act, says the Lord Almighty." Like what? It's crazy and I really don't know how to encourage you with this passage. This passage is the perfect example of when you might ask yourself: "If God is so loving, why are the evildoers and arrogant going to burn." Some people might possibly question God here. I believe though that, this passage is just reality. There are going to be people who are out there that love nothing else besides the world. Some people just might not ever come to faith, and because of that, they will burn. This is some pretty intense stuff. That will be quite the day, and the crazy thing is, that day is going to happen too. I think one way that this passage can encourage is the part that talks about, "for those who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays." As believers in Christ we have the power to share his love with as many people as we can before our time on earth is over. I don't know about you, but I really don't want to be trampling over peoples ashes knowing that I could have said something to them that would've changed their lives forever. I like to look at it this way, I know that when I die I am going to heaven and will have eternal life. I know that. It's like I have a special treasure in me and I want to share that treasure with as many people as I can. Whether it's through my actions or my words. I just want people to know that there is something out there to live for and that is Jesus Christ. 

There is a verse I want to close with. It's one of my favorite verses because of how great a reminder it is.

Malachi 3:6: "I the Lord do not change."

I hope that what I had for you was encouraging and that it can affect your life is a positive way today. I love you all and I hope that you ask, seek and knock, and remember that it's up to you. 

A New Habit

"Jesus Calling" - January 4th 

I want you to learn a new habit. Try saying, "I trust You, Jesus," in response to whatever happens to you. If there is time, think about who I AM in all My Power and Glory; ponder also the depth and breadth of My Love for you.

This simple practice will help you see Me in every situation, acknowledging My sovereign control over the universe. When you view events from this perspective-through the Light of My universal Presence-fear loses its grip on you. Adverse circumstances become growth opportunities when you affirm your trust in Me no matter what. You receive blessings gratefully, realizing they flow directly from My hand of grace. Your continual assertion of trusting Me will strengthen our relationship and keep you close to Me.

Pslam 63:2

Isaiah 40:10-11

Pslam 139:7-10

Something to ask yourself

I was having a conversation back in forth yesterday with a new friend on mine, and we were talking about new years resolutions. The conversation was back and forth about these and then my friend told me, "I have a question for you that I was thinking about while I was driving the other day." I was than asked, what are some things that make you excited to be alive? 

What a challenging question that is.  Here was my response: One thing that makes me excited to be alive everyday is the opportunity to love on people and encourage people in whatever ways that I can.  Also I'm excited be alive everyday because there are things that you can learn, especially from reading the Bible everyday, that can change your life and you can use those things to help other people as well.

I would really love to hear what you have to say about this in a couple of sentences or a paragraph. It's a good way put things into perspective. I would love to share what you have to say. It's encouraging to me and to the people who read this blog. You can get your posts back to me in a couple of ways.

1.) text - 419-388-3547
2.) Direct Messaging - Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook 
3.) email - luke.fisher23@gmail.com 

Please Him

There is one thing that I want you to hear and focus on today: It's a quote that I came across and I couldn't help but share it with you.

"Let the light of My presence soak into you as you focus your thoughts on Me. Thus I equip you to face whatever the day brings. This sacrifice of time pleases Me and strengthens you. Do not skimp on our time together. Resist the clamor of tasks waiting to be done. You have chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from you."

Psalm 89:15: Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, Lord.

Psalm 105:4: Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face always.

Luke 10:39-42: She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the word by myself? Tell her to help me!"
"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

I really encourage you to sacrifice some time for God today. It pleases Him and that is one of the greatest feelings there is. Resist what needs done...even just for a little bit. It won't be taken away from you.

~ you are loved ~