Where Have the Seeds Fallen?

Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon thee. John 5:14 

The summer beans have been tilled under. It's almost time to scatter seeds for fall greens. I'm wondering if I should even bother. School has started. The sun is setting earlier. My time to work in the garden will be very limited as autumn approaches. The seeds are good, but between the hard ground of dry weather, the rocks and the fall weeds, there probably is little use in planting fall greens. Maybe some will find good ground.  

The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13) shows us a picture of a farmer scattering seeds. Not everything fell on good ground. The Lord was comparing the hearts of people with the different types of ground. He was sowing the good seeds of the gospel, but where would they fall? Satan often snatches away the gospel seeds as soon as people make their way to the car. Some folks make a profession of faith without understanding sin must be repented of. Soon the heat of taunts from others causes them to fall away. Some folks get the need for repentance of sin. They are growing in the Lord until the cares of this world, work, family, friends, entertainment, recreation, etc, etc, get in the way and their growth does not produce any fruit. Then there are those whose hearts are ready to receive the gospel seeds. They show Christ in their words and their actions. The fruit of their salvation leads others to know the Lord as well.  

With all that is transpiring in our families, our churches, and our nation, the real question is where have the seeds fallen in my life? Yes, I did say that in the correct order. The problem began in our homes half a century ago. We were told we deserved to be happy. Someone forgot to remind us that marriage is what you make of it and unborn lives matter.  Then it crept into our churches under the guise of love and acceptance. We must love everyone but we cannot accept their/our sin. Now our nation is disintegrating because of – not immigrants, not racism – but immorality.  

So where do we go from here? We must go back to our homes, our marriages, our children, and begin to make commitments that are Biblical covenants – lifetime covenants. We must take responsibility for our children, training them in the way they should go. Our children do not yet belong to the government. We must love one another but not be accepting of sin. We have all sinned but Jesus told the crippled man at the well to go and sin no more lest a worse thing come upon him. I'm afraid that's where we are. A worse thing is coming upon us.  

I've been very preachy today but what else will turn hearts? Romans says how shall they hear without a preacher? Let us take this week and examine ourselves. Where are we? Do we have hard hearts that dismiss the preaching of God's Word? Did we think we were saved but failed to make repentance part of our salvation experience? Have we allowed the things of this world choke our testimony? Or hopefully, we are bearing fruit that will change the world.  

Blessings for your week. 

Gail 

HEY KIDS: Make a Terrarium

  

Does mom have 4 empty wide-mouth jars you could borrow? 

You'll need a few seeds as well. Any kind will do. 

Create a different type of environment in each jar.  

Jar 1: Add a small amount of dirt that can be packed down hard.  

Jar 2: Add a few rocks. 

Jar 3: Add good soil but also all the weeds that are growing in the soil. 

Jar 4: Add good, rich soil. 

Sprinkle a few seeds in each jar.  

Add just a little water. 

Screw on the lid and place in a sunny window. 

Observe what happens over the next 2 weeks.  

Record your observations.  

How has your experiment given you a better understanding of The Parable of the Sower?