Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Respond before the Devil steals your seeds


             The title of this blog reflects a passion of my heart: the proper response to the Lord, lest you lose what you have gained. I urge you, before you read on, read 2 Kings 22-23:27. The key verse in that passage is 23:25, "Neither before nor after Josiah was there a king like him who turned to the Lord as he did-with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his strength, in accordance with all the Law of Moses." When Josiah heard the word of the Lord he tore his robes and immediately got to the business of bringing righteousness back to Judah no matter what the cost.
             Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 13:3-8 of the different types of soil that exist in the human heart. The one I want us to zero in on is the soil of the path. It is packed down with the everyday troddings of life. When a concept or idea is presented to us, if we let it linger, it is automatically imprinted in us with time. It is unavoidable. It is not a bad thing. If we were constantly questioning and changing our foundations nothing would ever be built. But how hard it is to change what you have built upon when it has existed for so long! The Devil understands this very well. Jesus says that when seed was thrown on the path the birds quickly snatched it up.
Jesus goes on later in the chapter to explain exactly what the parable meant. In verse 19 he says,
"When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path." We are presented with the truth everyday. How do you respond to it? Do you log it for meditation on a later date? Do you assume the seed will be thrown again for you to digest when you feel you have the time? Or do you immediately drive it deep into your soil though it be painful, traumatic, and disrupting as driving a seed in packed soil would be?
          
             There are so many false prophets and corrupt leaders all around us today. They are springing up like weeds in an untended field. They are also predators looking to steal your seed. Don't wait for the Devil to steal the truth from you. Don't wait for false prophets to rationalize and trick you into throwing it away yourself. The thing about seeds is that the first thing they do is take root. And the deeper the roots the stronger and heartier the plant is; and the more it can withstand attacks and droughts.
Be a Josiah, Paul, or Zacchaeus. God loves passion. He says in Revelations 3:15, "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth." Did you catch that? He wishes that you were not even a Christian than to be half-hearted! He can work with cold. But, if you are going to be a believer he requires total submission, total abandonment. Remember Luke 14:33, "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." There are no consolation prizes or participator awards at the end of this race. Either you do it or don't. If you don't want to do it I urge you to live your life fully for yourself and do everything you can to make yourself happy regardless of the consequences, because this is the only happiness you will get. If you are going for it, leave this world behind, when you hear the truth repent, respond, and mourn. Don't give the Devil a chance.

Feel free to comment or ask questions! 

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