My Monday Morning Men's Bible Group studied the Parable of the Sower from Matthew 13:18-23 this morning (also in Mark 4:14-20 and Luke 8:11-15) using Patrick Morley's study from Man in the Mirror titled "Unraveling the Parable of the Sower".
The big idea for the day is that a biblical Christian is a disciple who produces fruit. In other words, a biblical Christian is someone who hears the word of God, understands or seeks to understand the word of God, and shares that message with others. He receives the seed that landed on good soil producing 30, 60, 100 times more than what was sown.
There is the God that we want and then there is the God who is. The biblical Christian follows the God who is.
Most of us will want to hold onto our worldly lives more than God. We want Him to save our financed luxury cars which we can't afford, or save us from foreclosure because we got ourselves into an adjustable rate mortgage we can't afford, or to save our relationships that do not honor God, but somehow make us "happy".
I catch myself wanting to hold onto my earthly possessions more than holding onto God at times, and I can say that with practice AND with inviting God to change my heart from within, it is easier now for me to seek God first in all things. I recently committed to praying to God using the model of the Jabez Prayer (1 Chronicles 4:9-10), and I have seen results! I have also noticed already that I have shifted my focus from the God who is to the blessings that are in front of me. This morning I woke up and realized that my relationship with God is far more important to me than stuff. Don't get me wrong, I like the stuff. I like the idea of going to Disney World with my family, but I cannot let that take priority over my pursuit to have a relationship with God. Disney World makes for a lousy God, but a fun place to visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments are valuable to me and the discussion of this blog.
Use the "Name/URL" (no need to leave a URL) or "Anonymous" options for commenting.