Prepare the Soil

Jesus shares a teaching recorded in Matthew 13 where He explains how it is possible for the Word of God to enter a man’s heart and produce an abundant harvest. This harvest may result in the benefits of salvation, healing, love, joy and peace to name just a few. Jesus also tells us that there are certain “heart” conditions that will hinder this abundant harvest. The first heart condition Jesus speaks of that will not produce any kingdom benefits is a hard heart. A hard heart is a heart rooted in pride. A hard heart says “God, I can handle this myself, I don’t need you.” A hard heart might say “I pray, I go to church, I do a lot of good works, therefore, I am fine like I am, I don’t really need to come to God; I’ve got this.” A person with this condition might be very intelligent, might be well educated, but hardness of heart prevents this person from accepting even simple basic truths of the Christian faith.

But, praise God, there is an answer to a hard heart: Humility. James 4:6 says “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Humbling our hearts before God is likened to plowing up the hard soil, so that the seed of God’s Word can produce in our lives. Then the Holy Spirit is able to help us understand the hard concepts of faith so our lives can be changed by God’s power. In verse 23 Jesus further explains, “What was sown on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop yielding thirty, sixty, or a hundred times what was sown.” In the natural, planting time is right around the corner. Is your heart ready to receive the seed of God’s Word?

The Cost of Compromise

Our men’s group has been studying the book “Model Man” by Larry Stockstill. Chapter two deals with the subject of compromise and shows how costly moral compromise can be. In Judges 13 we see how the parents of Samson were told by an angel of the Lord that their child born to them would deliver Israel from their enemies and was to be a Nazirite from birth. The Nazirites had only three rules they were required to follow. 1. Never touch a grape or drink wine. 2. Never touch a dead body. 3. Never cut your hair.

Samson did follow these rules most of his life, and God used him mightily to deliver Israel.  Yet slowly, Samson allowed compromise to seep into his life. In Judges 14 we see him in a vineyard putting his hand into the carcass of a lion to gather honey. What was Samson doing in a vineyard, and why did he touch a dead lion? Breaking the first two rules of a Nazirite made it easy for Samson to break the third rule when he let Delilah cut his hair.  The result was his supernatural strength left him and the waiting Philistines whom Delilah worked for gauged out Samson’s eyes. Samson’s compromise cost him dearly, even ending his life prematurely.     

Compromise starts very subtly. Samson did not wake up one morning and decide to “sell out” all his moral convictions. Compromise brought the “sell out” over a period of time. The answer to compromise is to first be a person of conviction. To be convinced God’s way is the right way, and choosing to walk in the Spirit, in God’s power every day. As we yield to the Holy Spirit, He provides the power to walk in grace, in integrity and obedience to God. Not compromising our moral convictions will yield benefits not only for us personally, but for generations to come.

What is Spreading in Our Lives?

Leaven is a term used 39 times in the bible, and scripture usually refers to leaven as a type of sin.  When God gave Moses instructions for celebrating the Passover, they were told to remove all leaven from their houses and eat unleavened bread.  This was the way Israel prepared for the Passover, which set the stage for their deliverance from judgment.

In the New Testament, Jesus tells his followers to “beware of the leaven of the Pharisees."  Here, Jesus explains leaven is the corrupt teaching of the Pharisees.  In 1Corinthians 5 the Apostle Paul refers to leaven as sexual immorality and pride. Paul tells the church to purge out the old leaven (of sin and wickedness) and be a new lump of truly unleavened dough.  Paul is saying that just as leaven is able to spread quickly and thoroughly through the whole batch of dough, so sin can spread through the church if it is not addressed.  

We all know sin is displeasing to God, and the scripture say’s “all have sinned”.  But, is it really possible to do what Paul is telling the church?  Is it possible to “purge out sin” from our lives?  Jesus said, “What is impossible with man, is possible with God."  Only through the saving grace offered by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary can we be forgiven.  And only through the power of God that comes when a life surrenders to the lordship of Jesus Christ can we live a life that pleases Him.  Removing leaven is a type of consecrating our lives for the Lords service.  We can simply say, “Lord Jesus, I turn away from sin and wickedness and commit my life to You.  Help me to follow You and live a life that is pleasing to You.  Amen.”

The Value of Salvation

Salvation is one of the greatest gifts Almighty God has offered to man. Hebrews 2:2 asks the question “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation”? Have we neglected God’s salvation? In our world today, the subject of salvation has been so watered down that almost everyone thinks that they will receive it, yet very few have taken the time to find out what God says is necessary to receive it. 

To get an idea of the worth of any item, one must first get an idea of how much it cost to make this item. The same is true of salvation. What was the cost when God sent His only Son Jesus to come to this earth to offer His life as a ransom for our sins? What did it cost our Lord Jesus, when on the cross after taking the sins of the whole world on himself uttered, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me”? What is the value that God places on salvation, and do we approach salvation with the reverence and respect it and God deserves? 

The good news is that God did not make salvation difficult, yet it came at a great cost. Jesus said “He who comes to Me, I will by no means cast out”. Jesus also said “He who does not forsake all and follow me, cannot be my disciple." And again, “whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me, cannot be My disciple."

Salvation is a free gift, yet it’s worth is beyond anything we could imagine. Salvation is free, yet it costs our complete surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Count the cost, then realize the benefit of receiving Jesus as Lord of your life. How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?