Freelance writer and Speaker
‘The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field’ Matthew 13:24
We are sowing seed all the time. It could be the seed of discontent. There is a great deal to complain about in our country and in the world. Discontent never achieves anything useful. It can be a means of spreading the discontent and making others discontented too.
We need to prayer that we are sowing ‘good seed’, which builds up others and helps them in their path in life.
‘How do they call on the one they have not believed? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? Romans 10:14-15
Being a Christian is not being passive. There is work for us to do. People need to hear about our God, but sharing our faith is never easy. It probably wouldn’t be worth anything if it was easy. To share with strangers is easier than family and friends. But each one of us has a field of mission, whether abroad or at home. As our text says, we need to be sent; so this is a cause of prayer.
The other day I was at a Gideon meeting. What a wonderful work they do handing out Bibles. It is so easy to take the Bible for granted. But it is God’s love letter to us, a handbook for life and guidance to those in need. Stories of people who have been influenced by reading the Bible are uplifting. But we need to remember Romans 10:14. ‘How can they believe in One they have not heard?’
‘When satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Saviour died
My sinful sin is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on him and pardon me.
‘God saw all that He had made and it was very good.’ Genesis 1:31
Everything that He has made is indeed good; it is mankind that tends to spoil it. I love to see the sky as the sun rises. There is not much time to stand and watch its progress; but I can send a quick thank you to God. Computers and social media do not give hope and comfort. It is only from God that we can be uplifted.
‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’ Psalm 27:1
If we really believe this verse, we should never fear but it’s not as easy as that. We forget, get overtaken by circumstances or just don’t have time to stop worrying. If we learned by heart various verses it might help. But then again we don’t have time to learn. We can be like a drowning man who won’t take of the life-belt.
We spend time with our Bible, not to get to know the Bible, but to get to know Christ, who is revealed through the Scriptures.
The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:27a
When one wakes up in the morning, we never know what the day will bring, good or bad, or just ordinary. The comforting thing is that God knows exactly what will happen. And because of this we can lean on Him. He’s got it all sorted.
‘No longer will a man teach his neighbour or a man his brother saying ‘ know the Lord’, because they will all know me.’ Hebrews 8:11
I always find it difficult telling others about my God. I either say too much or too little. I know I need to rely more on God about this.
When I look at this verse I not sure about my theology, but my thinking is it will be about a time when everyone knows and acknowledges God. This means that I won’t have the difficult job a evangelising.
‘Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.’ Psalm 133:1
I remember my grandmother singing a little ditty based on these words. Christian unity was needed in her day and it is needed even more now. We need to rejoice in all that unites Christians, especially our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.