I Wish I Believed God...More

God told Eve:

"you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die."

Satan told Eve:

“You will not certainly die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Eve was convinced by Satan that the Lord
did not really intend to keep His promise.

Or maybe she misunderstood God.

Or maybe God was trying to keep a secret from her.
(that would drive most women over the edge)

Bottom line...
She didn't believe God when He made a promise.

But before I get too sanctimonious,
a couple of things in her defense.

1) She had no history with God to know His promises never fail.
2) She had no concept of death...she had never seen it.

Had she known all she knew 5 minutes after... 5 minutes before,
I'm not so sure she would have made the same choice.

This was also the first time she had been lied to.

Nevertheless, she listened, believed and all of
human history changed in one fateful bite.

Let's move to today.

We have the Bible and some 5,000 years
of history to prove He means what He says.

God's promises can be trusted.

He told Noah it was going to rain...It did.

He told Abram he was going to have more
kids than he could count...And he did.

He told Joshua, canaan was theirs...And it was.

He told David, the Messiah was going to come
from his lineage...And He did.

You get the point.
Many promises...All fulfilled.

Jesus also gave us some promises.

Promises like...

"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness
and all these things will be added unto you."

or...

"You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it."

or...

"Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened to you."

or...

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. "

We have history to show that God's promises always come through.

We are not like Adam and Eve.
We can see a legacy of fulfillment.

You know what's sad?
What's really sad?

Sometimes I still don't believe.
And I suffer great set backs and limit my success
because of my unbelief.

I have no excuse really.
I see God coming through time and time again.

Yet, I still want control.
I still want to call the shots.

In the words of Dean Trune
"I want to be comfortable."

Crazy, huh?

So, even when I read and memorize great verses like-

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more
than I can ask or imagine according to His power at
work within us."

I shrink back.
And my faith leaves me wishing I had more.

Shame really.
Satan still lies. And sometimes I still believe him.
He tells me God's promises are not for me.
He tells me I'm not worthy. Or God's not listening.

I willingly exchange the truth of God for a lie.
Sound familiar?

But today...

Today I resolve to be more like Peter, Andrew, James, John
and the rest, who gave up everything for the sake of the call.

So that when I read verse like this, "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ."
I've already grabbed my coat and am out the door.
Pursuing.

Bottom line...
Believing what He says.

RP

How Can God Love Me?

God's loves is like a perfect oven.

If you set the temperature at say 500 degrees,

no matter where you measure the temp, it's always

the same. 500 degrees.

Never hotter. Never cooler.

His love is perfect.

He can't love anymore. He can't love any less.

It's just as it is. Perfect.

That's why He loves us as much as He loves Jesus. Jn 17:23

He knows no degrees to love.

His love is complete.

And He loves everyone the same.

Perfectly.

He doesn't love you any less because of your past.

And He won't love you anymore if you never, never, ever sin

even one more time in your entire life.

His love is not based on your performance.

It is based on His character.

And His character is love.

He does not love you any less because of sin.

And He does not love you more because of Christ.

He demonstrates His love through Christ.

He loves you because He created you.

And to show His love for you, He did the impossible.

God opened heaven and promised eternal life

to every believer in Jesus.

Remember the 'Tree of Life' in the Garden.

God protected it after our fall.

He put a mighty angel in front of it to guard it.

Now, through Jesus, we can eat of that fruit.

We have the promise of eternal life from a tree.

Calvary's.

That's how He demonstrates His perfect love for us.

Know He loves you, not based on your merit.

It's based on His character.

He loves you totally and completely.

Perfectly.

It's who He is.

That's the Good News we are to go and share.

God loves us so completely, that He sent Jesus.

RP

God Loves Abundance

Ever notice how much the Lord loves abundance?

Do you ever look at the stars?

He didn't just make a few... He made gazillions.

And He named every one of them.

Ever notice trees?

Now that it's almost Fall, you'll really begin to notice them.

And when your out raking leaves,

notice the abundance He puts on every tree.

How about our bodies?

He didn't just make us out of a few cells,

He uses trillions.

How about the angels of heaven?

"Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. Rev. 5:11 NLT

He didn't just make a few angels,

He's made millions and millions.

Yes, my friends, the Lord loves abundance.

Even after He made everything, He wanted more.

"Be fruitful and multiply"...not add.

Jesus reflects that desire for abundance.

After He fed the 5,000.

After everyone had their fill.

12 basketfuls left over.

Not just enough.

Not just scraps.

12 basketfuls.

hhhmmmmmmm.

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. ” Luke 5:38

Your Savior is not stingy with anything.

Especially His grace.

Your salvation is not hanging by a thread.

His sacrifice was more than enough.

His grace is far greater than your sin. Than my sin.

One drop of His blood was great enough

to atone the entire universe.

And yet He poured it out for us in abundance.

Look around you.

See His abundance.

It's everywhere!

Remember His love for you and

how abundant His grace is for you.

There's no shortage.

There's infinitely more than enough!

Praise be to Jesus and His amazing, abundant grace.

RP

Yes, Please. I'll Have Some of That, Thank You.

Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.” John 8:12

Ever notice how much Jesus talks about life?

"I am the way, the truth and the life".

"I have come that they may have life and life more abundantly."

Even under the former covenant God said

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life,... Deut. 30:19

God made the earth teeming with life.

And then He wanted even more!

"Be fruitful and multiply"...

God loves life!

And Jesus is the way to an abundant life.

"The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." Jn 10:10

Notice the contrast.

Satan and his ways are death. Destruction. Lack.

Jesus and His ways are rich and satisfying.

Jesus did not come here to give us a life of sackcloth and ashes.

He came to give us life and life to the fullest.

He gives meaning to your life and will richly bless you.

Uh oh.....

Randy's gone to health and wealth.

I knew it!

Ok.

Question.

Who brings poverty, starvation and lack?

God?

God doesn't bring poverty.

God doesn't bring starvation.

God doesn't bring lack.

Those come from the evil one.

God brings life.

And through His Son, Jesus, we have the promise

of a life full of blessing.

And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.

Eph 3:6

'the promise of blessing'.

ummmmm.

Yes, thank you.

I'll have some of that please.

RP

Does God Really Love Me?

My Pastor and friend Tim York and I were sitting
at a restaurant yesterday.

He was buying as a birthday present to me. Nice.

We were talking about Abraham and Isaac and the parallels
to Jesus.

One of us said, "If our people could see how much
Jesus loves them, it would radically change our church."

Later in the day, I came across a verse that will radically change my life. It will change yours.

And if you share it, it will change every life it touches.

The verse is written in red.
It comes straight out of the mouth of Jesus.

23 I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. John 17:23 NLT

Do you see that my friend?
The Father loves you as much as He loves Jesus!

Whoa. Wait. Really?
Yep. It's true.

And we know how much He loves Jesus.

When Jesus was baptized in the Jordan,
the Spirit descended as a dove.

Listen to what the Father said about the son.

"You are my Son, whom I love, and I am very pleased with you."

He says the same thing about you.
Not because of what you do, but because of what Jesus did.

When you accept His son, He adopts you into His family
and is very pleased with you.

He's pleased that you accepted His grace.
You are in. You are part of the family.

And what a family it is!

Read this very carefully.

After the Father said this about Jesus,
Jesus went into the desert to be tempted.

The first temptation from the accuser, that's what Satan means,
was, "If you are the son of God..."

Notice he left out 'Beloved'.

The Father didn't.
And the Father doesn't.

Satan distorts the truth and he attacks our identity.

He knows if we knew our true identity,
he would have no power over us.

The Father does know who you are.
He knows you by name.

When you accept His Son's grace and sacrifice,
He writes your name down and now YOU are 'Beloved'.

Get it?

He writes your name down.
And He doesn't forget it. Ever.

He loves you just as much as He loves Jesus.
Do you think He ever forgot Jesus or His name?

Do you think He will cast you aside when you fail?
That wouldn't be love now, would it?

Yes, my friend He loves you.

His love for you is not based on you.
It's based on Him.

Remember.
While we still sinners, Christ died for us.

He loved us first.
And He demonstrates His love for us through Christ.

Brothers and sisters. Please listen.

The veil was ripped from top to bottom
and God's Holy Throne was made wide open to us.

The table is ready and He longs to dine with us.
Not snack. Dine.

A great big gazillion course meal with ALL the trimmings.

Why would we not want to sit and dine with Him?

Because of His great love for us, He's done all the cooking.
All we need to do is accept the invitation and walk into the party.

Read the words of Jesus.
Open your heart to God's love for you.
Don't resist.

Life will be rich beyond measure, in every possible way,
when we believe and accept His love.

Love that is as deep, and wide, and long, and high
as His love for Jesus.

He loved us first, so now we get to relish in that love
like a puppy playing with a little boy.

RP

Grace and Food Stamps

I was at a convenience store yesterday to

fill up with fuel and buy some gum.

I stood in line behind a couple of young men.

The oldest, I'd say 13 and the youngest around 5.

I noticed on the counter what they were buying.

4- 2 litres of soda.

2- 32oz powerades.

3- cans of Pepsi.

1- bag of candy.

Then came the clincher.

It was paid for with food stamps.

Really?

Food stamps?

I was immediately aggravated and

called my wife to rant.

Through the course of conversation it dawned

on me. There is a parallel here.

A parallel to grace.

The food stamp program was intended

to help those in need put food on their table.

It was not intended for pop and candy.

We've all seen the abuses and we all are rightly

agitated by those abuses.

But they were not breaking the law.

The program was intended to help

but like all things given to people, some abuse.

Ok. Many abuse.

It's kinda like grace.

Grace was given to all of us, but not without risk.

God knew there would be those who would abuse it

and not receive it as it was intended.

It was a risk He was and is willing to take.

Grace intended to bring us and keep us in fellowship

with the Father, through Christ.

Even when we sin.

He knew we would sin and grace is given to us

ahead of time so we can stay in constant fellowship with Him.

Of course there will be those who abuse this grace.

Of course there will be those who dishonor it.

God does not base grace on our behavior.

It is based on His goodness.

If God did not extend abundant grace to every believer,

none of us could stay in constant fellowship with Him.

We honor God's grace when we stay in fellowship with Him.

Even when we fail.

And we do fail.

All of us.

Walk in the assurance of God's faithful, abundant grace.

Allow it to transform your life as you seek

to be more and more like Christ.

When we fail, He still loves, forgives and walks with us.

It is the reward of His risk.

RP

The Purpose of the Bible

The Sadducees and Pharisees knew scripture.

They could recite entire chapters.

They knew Hebrew and the precise pronunciation of every word.

To even be a Sadducee or Pharisee,

one would have to be exceptionally bright and studious.

Very few of the children who studied the law

would make it to such a high level of achievement.

Only the 'best of the best' made it to this status.

These 'Teachers of the Law' took great pride

in their knowledge of the law, understanding

of the scripture, and the coming Messiah.

Is that ironic?

When the very one whom they studied their entire lives

to find was standing right in front of them, they missed Him.

They were looking for something else.

Someone that would fit their agenda.

When He wouldn't conform, they hated Him.

Please don't miss this.

The Bible, from cover to cover, was written for one purpose

and one purpose alone.

To reveal Jesus.

Our need for Him, His sacrifice for us,

and the return for His people.

Since this is true, read the Bible in it's context.

God's revealed plan through Christ.

It's not a book to condemn you and make you feel sinful.

It's a book to reveal salvation and the love God has for you.

For us.

For all of us.

Read the scripture to find Jesus and

the grace He has made known to us

through His finished work on the cross.

RP

Lift Up Jesus

"And when I am lifted up from the earth,

I will draw everyone to myself.” John 12:32 NLT

Jesus was referring of the way He would provide

atonement for our sins.

But the truth still holds.

When Jesus is lifted up,

He still draws people to Him.

I think that is really the mission of the church.

And the mission of His people.

TO LIFT UP JESUS!

No special programs.

No magic formula.

Jesus.

It's how stronghold are destroyed.

It's how lives are redeemed.

Remember.

He has no condemnation toward you.

He wants to lavish His grace on you.

He has no judgement toward you.

He wants you to find forgiveness in His sacrifice.

And for ALL people everywhere who trust and believe.

The answer is Jesus, and Him lifted up.

Paul said it best "For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified." I Corinthians 2:2

RP

Seeking His Righteousness

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33 NIV

Have you ever stopped and really looked at this verse.

I've often notice seeking 'his kingdom'

and 'all these things'...

But I really never noticed the heart of the verse.

'His righteousness'.

Jesus doesn't ask us to seek our righteousness.

He knows we don't have any.

The rewards of seeking God comes when we

understand we need His righteousness.

Not ours. God's.

And God declared His Son righteous and

He bestows His righteousness to us when we believe.

Kingdom living is a result of kingdom thinking.

Kingdom believing.

A life pursuing our own righteousness will only

lead to frustration, failure and sin.

A life seeking God's righteousness will lead

straight to the cross.

Put your faith in what Jesus has accomplished

on the cross.

RP

I Am the 'Everyone'

“For God loved the world so much

that he gave his one and only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him

will not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16

Probably the most known verse in the New Testament.

Maybe the whole Bible.

I believe, so I am part of the everyone.

And so are you, if you believe.

Satan, his name means 'accuser', will tell

you lies. Half truths.

He'll tell you that you aren't good enough.

He'll tell you Jesus really can't use you

because you're too dirty.

You've done too much wrong.

You're excluded by the things you've done.

The 'accuser' constantly points an accusing finger at us

telling us we're not worthy.

It's not a total lie...but just enough of one to keep us

from being secure about our relationship with the Father

through Christ.

Jesus tells the truth in the very next verse.

John 3:17.

"God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world,

but to save the world through him."

The law was given to show us Jesus.

Under the law, every accountable Jew was required to

bring a lamb before the priest.

Not just any lamb...a perfect lamb.

A lamb without spot, wrinkle, or blemish.

The sinner placed his hands on the lamb

and his sin was transferred to the lamb.

The lamb's righteousness was then transferred

to the sinner.

Then the lamb was to be sacrificed.

Repeated year after year.

Joseph Prince in his book 'Destined to Reign' points

out something I'd never thought of before.

It's awesome.

The priest inspected the lamb for perfection

...not the sinner.

Do you see how that represents Jesus for us?

God does not inspect us to see if we are worthy.

He inspects the lamb. And our lamb is more than worthy.

His sacrifice was perfect...forever!

Once for all time.

In Christ, we have every promise of God.

Not because we are worthy...because Jesus is worthy.

We are made worthy by Christ and Christ alone.

Rest fully in His sacrifice.

Don't let the 'accuser' tell you otherwise.

Seek Jesus knowing He accepts you fully

because of His work...not ours.

RP

Jesus Knows Where the Goodies Are.

In Matthew 17:24 Peter was confronted

by the temple-tax collectors.

The tax was 2 drachma.

The collectors said to Peter.

"How about your Teacher?

Does He pay the temple-tax?"

Peter just blurts out "Yep, He sure does!"

Peter hadn't consulted the Lord before he volunteered

His money.

But Jesus in gracious fashion talks to Peter about the subject,

gives Peter an illustration and then does something

really unusual. Even for Jesus.

He tells Peter to go to the lake, cast out a line and the first fish

he catches, open its mouth and look inside.

There will be 4 drachma in it's mouth.

Peter is to pay Jesus tax and his.

I LOVE THIS STORY!

Jesus, as always, was filled with grace toward others.

He could have rebuked Peter for speaking out of turn

and really scolded him for not consulting Him first.

But instead he offers him grace and pays his debt.

Sound familiar?

Secondly.

Something else I love about this account.

Jesus knows where all the goodies are.

Nothing is hidden from Him.

He knows what we need.

And when we ask, He knows right where to find it.

When we think of "nothing hidden from Him"

we usually talk about sin. That's true.

But since we have been made right (righteous)

by his finished work on the cross, we get to enjoy

the grace side of "nothing hidden".

It's ok to ask.

He delights in us.

And when you ask, have the confidence that

Jesus knows exactly where to find what you are asking for.

RP

The Multiplicity of 'All'

You remember the occasion when Jesus fed the 5,000?

We find the story in the Book of Mark. Chapter 6.

Jesus saw the great crowds and compassion on them.

And He began to teach them many things.

It got very late.

And the people got very hungry.

So Jesus' disciples came Him and said

"It's really late. We need to send everyone out of

here so they find something to eat."

Jesus said "How about if you feed them".

I can just see the look on their faces.

"Huh? What do you mean we feed 'em.

We don't have any food

and we certainly don't have the cash."

"Well, how many loaves do you have"? asked Jesus.

"Go and see."

They scoured the place and came up 5 loaves.

And oh yes, 2 fish.

A couple of things here.

Give everything to Jesus.

Don't withhold anything.

If the disciples would have withheld the fish

and just paid attention to the loaves, because that's

what Jesus asked for, the miracle would have not been the same.

Today, we would only be talking about the 5 loaves and

whatever the remaining basketfuls would have been.

Remember this.

Write it down and never forget it.

Whatever we withhold from God, He cannot multiply.

Give Him everything, He can be trusted.

RP

Grace, Not Judgement

Jesus went to the Temple early in the morning

and a crowd soon gathered.

He sat down and began to teach them.

However, the session was soon interrupted

by the teachers of the religious law and the Pharisees.

They had found a woman caught right in the middle

of an affair and either she, her partner, or both, were married.

They dragged the woman in front of the crowd,

(probably barely dressed, if at all) to publicly humiliate her

and trap Jesus at the same time.

“The law of Moses says stone her. What do you say?”

Jesus stooped down and began writing

in the dust of the Temple stone.

What did He write?

The Bible doesn’t say, but here are some thoughts.

This is not the first time Jesus had written in stone.

Remember the Ten Commandments? Jesus wrote those.

And now He was being lectured about the very law

He had written some 2,000 years earlier.

Students lecturing the master is hardly new.

People have been arguing with God for a very long time.

But I love the response of Jesus. He says (paraphrase)

“Alright fine. You can stone her, but here’s the deal.

You who have never lied, cheated, cursed,

had a lustful thought, or any other sin, you be the first one to throw.”

Then, He went back to writing in the dust,

and slowly, one by one, they all left.

Now, the religious elite were the ones being publicly humiliated.

But, check out what Jesus does next.

He turns to the woman and asks “Where are your accusers?”

“They’ve all left”, she said.

Don’t miss this now.

Jesus then said “Neither do I (condemn you), go and sin no more.”

Unfortunately, in the church we all too often say,

“Go, don’t sin anymore and we won’t condemn you”.

But that’s not Jesus.

Jesus is fully aware the law condemns.

He wrote the law.

Jesus is fully aware the laws brings judgement.

He wrote the law.

Jesus is fully aware the law brings death.

He wrote the law.

But we are no longer under the law.

We are under grace. Romans 6:14

“So now there is no condemnation for those

who belong to Christ Jesus” Romans 8:1 NLT.

Satan is your only accuser.

You are forgiven in Christ and have been freed

from the penalty of sin by what Jesus did on the cross.

Worship Jesus knowing we stand before a

Throne of Grace and not a Throne of Judgement.

RP

The Secret to Revival

So, I've been reading this book.
About revivals.

Revivals that have have happened all over the world
over the past 150 years.

I discovered a common thread in all of them.
The secret, if you will.

Ready?
Here it comes.

Prayer.

Every revival began with prayer.

Wow.
So simple, yet so profound.

We have prayer at church.
And it's important prayer.

We pray for Aunt Betty's herniated nail
on the third toe of her left foot.

We pray for Uncle Joe's gout that seems to
really flare up this time of year.

Don't get get me wrong, I'm concerned about
Uncle Joe and Aunt Betty.

But I really don't want to take up valuable time
with the saints on Sunday morning to pray about
worries of the flesh.

This time is incredibly important.
Incredibly valuable.

There is a higher use of prayer when the saints are gathered.

The Bible talks about the "fervent prayer of a righteous man..."

The righteous part has been taken care by what Christ accomplished on the cross. We are righteous, not by what we do, but what He did on our behalf.

Sorry for the digression. Back to topic.

When was the last time we had fervent prayers?

It certainly wasn't over cousin Edna's corns.

God is concerned about people's souls.
And He is fully aware of our, toes, knees and hips.

His concerns are eternal.

How about this?

How about humbling ourselves before our God and
fervently begin praying for revival.

That's where revival begins.

Coming together as believers and
pouring our hearts out for what really matters.

Praying for the lost souls that are driving by our churches
(while on the inside we concern ourselves with music styles,
the length of our services...and gout).

My heart longs to be joined with other saints-
pouring our hearts out to a living God
fervently praying for revival.

Will you join me?

"If my people called by my name,
will humble themselves and pray..."

RP

The Verse That Changed Everything

Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. 2 The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” 3 Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.

Previous to this passage, Jesus had walked on water,
cast out demons and even raised a young girl from the dead.

So He heads back to His hometown.
Nazareth.

He went to the synagogue to teach.
And the people were amazed.

Amazed!

Then somebody said, "Hey, wait a minute. This is Joshua.
You know, Jim and Joe's brother. You gotta be kiddin'."

"He ain't who we thought He was."

And their view of Him changed.

There's the problem.
They had the wrong idea about Jesus.

They made the HUGE mistake of not recognizing who He really was.

Been there. Done that.
I'm still probably nowhere close to understanding His real identity.

But I can say this.

My view has definitely changed over these past few months.

Here's what I read right out of the Bible.

Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. Colossians 1:22

Game-changer!

When I realized He took ALL my sin, before I even committed them...
Received ALL my punishment, before I could be judged...

I had a new appreciation.

I quit waiting for the other shoe to fall.
It already fell.

I stopped living in fear of judgement.
Jesus took my judgement.

Thanks be to Jesus Christ!!!

My whole view of Jesus was changed by one incredible verse.

I read the Bible differently now.
I pray differently now.
I worship differently now.
I seek differently now.

You get the point...

I'm beginning to see Jesus as He really is.

Not a judge.
A Savior.

A Savior in every possible way.

Amazing!

RP

The Secret Place

I have a secret place I go...to pray.

No one knows where it is and until right now, no one even knew that I have such a place.

Not even my wife.

I go there for two reasons.

I need Him today.

Right now. At this very moment.

I need Him in my tomorrows.

Unless I meet Jesus face to face today, I'm going to need him today...and tomorrow.

And my tomorrows will come.

What will they look like? I don't know.

But here's what I do know.

I will live in the fruit of this moment.

What I do today...the seeds I'm planting, will be fruit somewhere in my future.

I pray.

I seek.

I worship.

But not for just today.

But for my future.

I can't change my past.

I can radically change my future.

I'm going to my secret place now... and someday I will live in it's fruit.

RP

Boldness

The first week of August, I went to a revivalist event in Chicago.

I have been praying for revival for quite some time now.

I've been praying for revival in the Restoration churches.

I'm not sure we're listening.

To be a revivalist, you must be sold out. 100%.

You must loose your own identity and take on the identity of Jesus.

You must be bold and have the Holy Spirit working actively in your life.

That's really the key.

Boldness.

The willingness to look like an idiot for the sake of Christ.

Not caring what others think, but what does Jesus think.

Not a single person I might unimpress has the ability to give me

what Jesus has already given me.

I'm not concerned about what others might think.

The people in the book of Acts were astonished by the boldness of Peter and John.

And they were "uneducated".

If only we could be so dumb.

Satan has set up shop right in our back yards.

Do we boldly oppose him?

We speak against him and his works ... at church.

Do we boldly fight against his schemes?

Isn't that the what we are to be about as the called out ones?

To fight against and rescue others who are still caught in his lies.

I hope at the end of my life people will say of me, "that dude was a radical".

Or better yet, "That dude was a revivalist"!

A Huge Crop

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 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. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.” Mark 4:13-20 NIV

I've pondered this parable many times over the years and to be quite honest, it kinda depressed me.

I always saw myself as thorny soil at best.
Not producing much. Distracted.

I mean I've tried to be produce, but not much yield.

Then the Lord showed me what is the most important lesson of the parable.
It's really quite simple, but very profound.

(Sometimes the Lord just has to spell it out for me. I don't get it on my own.)

Here it is.

I get to choose the kind of soil I am.

How could I have missed that? ... and for 30 years.
I mean really, it's right there!

When I hear the word and accept it and produce a crop, I am good soil.

So how do I produce a crop.
That's simple also; I ask for it.

Keep reading the the rest of Mark chapter 4.

It's all there...

Don't you think the Lord Jesus Christ wants us all to be good soil and produce huge crops?

Do you think He's Ok with any of us being fruitless?

35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

It is my quest to first be a 30 fold... then 60... then 100... then.........
I've asked. He will honor.

And you?.....