Good Seeds or Weeds

²⁷ “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

²⁸ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

²⁹ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2013:24%20-%2030&version=NIV1984)

Jesus explains this parable when the disciples ask Him to. 

Matthew 13: 36 – 40

³⁶ Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

³⁷ He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

⁴⁰ “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴² They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2013:36%20-%2043&version=NIV1984)

In this scripture Jesus is telling us that we are going to have to live amongst weeds in this world.   At some point the people of this world, who choose to do evil will be pulled out and only the true sons of God will remain.  As I read this scripture I had to think of not only the outside world but the world inside our churches today.  It was the same for Jesus, if you recall, at one point He went to the temple and turned over the tables of those who were there to make a profit.  He told them to get out because this was a place for prayer not for robbers, Matthew 21:12 – 13,  Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ¹³ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’^[a] but you are making it a ‘den of robbers. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2021:%2012%20-%2013&version=NIV1984) It seems to me that we are trying to attract the outside world into our churches.  Yes, we want the lost to find the Savior but at times I believe we might let our standards drop just a little to try to get them inside the door.  Those who are attracted to the Lord and Savior should do so because of the prompting of the Holy Spirit not by the music we play, the clothes we wear or the hip pastor that we may have.  We should be living a life full of the Holy Spirit that others see and want.  We should be telling others of the love of our Father and showing them the way, not telling them about our cool praise team or the dynamic minister.  The heart of the church should be about praising our Lord and Savior, urging fellow believers to know more of our Lord and Savior, spurring each other on to spread the Good News, and encouraging one another as we live a life where weeds seem to come in and try to choke us of our joy.  Yet, in today’s society we seem to be trying to attract the world to the church rather than to Christ.  We have changed the process of worship to meet society needs and wants, we have tried to make the church look like the world with all of its worldly pleasures all in the name of spreading the Gospel.  In essence, we bring in the weeds into the fellowship of believers.  Stop Sheila, what are you saying?  Shouldn’t we be sharing the Gospel with everyone, shouldn’t we want these people to come to church?  Of course we want to spread the Gospel but what I am saying is nothing more than what Paul said in I Corinthians 5:6-11,

 ⁹ I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— ¹⁰ not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. ¹¹ But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat. ¹² What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? ¹³ God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

Often times we look at the early church as our example as the Lord was adding to their numbers daily, as the scripture tells us in Acts 2: 42 – 47, ⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.  

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%202:%2042-47&version=NIV1984)

What I want you to take special note of is that they were obeying the Lord, meeting together, seeking Him, and HE added to their numbers.  It was not because of some new program or some dynamic speaker it was because they had glad and sincere hearts.  They weren’t grumbling because they had so much to do in the church they were praising God, their lives were about serving Him.  Wow, that is a lesson to be learned.  Yet even at that, they had those who were not living the life the Lord would have them to live and the weeds began to grow. There was sexual immorality among them, idolaters, slanderers, drunkards, greedy, and swindlers.

Satan wants nothing more than to take hold of the church like he has taken hold of this world.  The church is a place where Christian can be set apart from the world.  Yes, we should want the Lord to add to the numbers, yes we want more people to see the truth and be set free but are we going out and sowing or are we allowing the weeds to come in and choke us out?  If you think I am incorrect, go to Revelation 2 and read what the Lord had to say to the seven churches.  I believe that if we are really honest with ourselves we can each identify our churches with at least one of those churches that He is speaking to.   

It is my firm belief that if we truly seek Him with all our hearts, we will begin to not only see the example that we are to follow but we will become that example to others through the work of the Holy Spirit.  Seek Him with all your hearts and bring glory to Him in all you say and do.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

No Coincidences

Yesterday I wrote about who I imagined Jesus was talking about in His parable of the Sower.  As we read today Jesus describes these people in this parable.  Much like I had imagined but a little different scenario than what I had described.  The important thing to note though is that each of these people received the word and it was what they did with that word that mattered.  We need to each ask ourselves, what are we doing with the word that is freely given to us?

Read the passage below and then I will discuss a little more.

Matthew 13:10-23

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

 ¹⁰ The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

 ¹¹ He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables:

   “Though seeing, they do not see;
   though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

   ¹⁴ In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

   “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
   you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
¹⁵ For this people’s heart has become calloused;
   they hardly hear with their ears,
   and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
   hear with their ears,
   understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’

   ¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

   ¹⁸ “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. ²⁰ The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. ²² The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. ²³ But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mathew%2013:%2010%20-%2025&version=NIV1984)

As I read this I had to think about what I do with the word.  Am I the sower that spreads the word yielding an even larger crop or am I the one in the rocky place that when persecution comes my way I fall over. Or maybe I am the one that is among the weeds and my spiritual welfare is choked out because of my desire to be of the world rather just in the world.  After I read this scripture I asked the Lord if I had been the sower because that is what I want to be.  I then went to a cabinet to put something away and found a large envelope in there.  Not remembering what it was I took it out to look at it.

This is what I found:

There was a letter in the envelope from the mother of our exchange daughter.  This letter was written in her language and translated into English by our exchange daughter.  It brought so much joy to me to read this letter because I felt it was God answering my question.

When we decided to host a student from another country our whole purpose in doing so was to become a missionary to that country.  We invited a child into our lives and made the decision that we would treat this child as one of our own.  When we told Ivan’s mother that we were going to have another child I think she became a little faint and we had to quickly tell her that we were getting a grown child for a year.

We told the agency that we would expect our child to go to church with us and be a part of our family.  We were then matched with this young lady.

As we got to know our child and share our faith she told us that her mother wanted her to not only learn English very well but that she also wanted her daughter to learn about Christianity.  This of course made me very excited and I wrote a letter to her mother explaining our faith in Jesus Christ.  In turn she wrote me a letter thanking me for taking care of her daughter as my own.  She told me that she gladly gave her into our hands to care for her while she was so far away from home.  But most importantly she told me how she was so happy to learn about Jesus and how she wanted to know more and more.  She shared that all she knew about Christianity was that they went to church and shared as a family.  She had not had the opportunity to go to a church and the only religion she knew about was one where you had to walk or climb for miles to get to a place to worship a god.  She did not realize that you could worship God wherever you were and she wanted to know more.

This young lady accepted Jesus as her Savior before she left our home.  Her cousin accepted Him as his Savior via the internet with me guiding him through the plan of salvation through the translation of our exchange daughter.  Her mother began going to church and taking her brother. 

Why do I share this with you?  It is not to get affirmation from you or to brag.  It is not to put a feather in my hat but rather to bring glory to our Father in Heaven.  You see, I asked Him if I had sown any seed and He gave me the answer that was written years ago.  I will never feel that I have done enough to bring Him glory but for as long as I live I want to spread the Good News of His saving love to others. 

I don’t believe in coincidences I believe the Lord planted a seed in this family and although her mother didn’t know why, she was curious about Christianity.  I believe He planted a seed in our family to become missionaries to this young lady, her family, and her country.  God put us together for a reason.  I even believe finding that letter today was His way of answering my question and I thank Him for giving me an answer. 

As you seek Him and find Him may you spread the news, water the soil and tiller the ground in order that we may all yield a harvest that will bring others to Him.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Where Did the Seed Fall?

Where Did the Seed Fall?

Have you ever sat around a campfire singing and telling stories?  It is always fun but even more enjoyable when you hear stories about Jesus.  Just think what it might have been like if we could have sat around the lake and listened to Jesus as He told the stories.  Let’s step back in time and imagine as we read this scripture that we are sitting at the lakeside listening to Jesus.  Be sure to put your listening ears on and hear what He is saying.

Matthew 13:3-9

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. ⁹ He who has ears, let him hear.”

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2013:3%20-%209&version=NIV)

Why do you think Jesus told this parable?  What was He trying to say through it?  Let’s take a look at each of the different situations and see where it leads us.

1.  The seed fell in the path and the birds came and ate it.  As I thought about that I had to think of the people who may claim to be atheist or maybe just humanist.  They either believe this is the only life there is and they are going to make the most of it or they believe they are their own god and they make the rules and live by the rules.  If they are going to make it in life they are going to do it their way as the popular song goes, “I Did it My Way”.  They are walking along on the pathway of life and seeds are being scattered.  They run into people who are Christians and they laugh inside at what these people are telling them.  The seed that was scattered by the children of God is eaten up because the path that they are walking on is hard due to their constant beating down the wrong path and no seed will penetrate through it so the birds eat it up.  So are their hearts, so hard that nothing will penetrate it.

2.  The rocky places, have you ever been there?  In this passage the people that come to my mind are those who are looking for love.  As the song goes, “Looking for Love in all the Wrong Places”.  They may have found a high in drugs, alcohol, or sex and have found themselves in a rocky situation.  They may have found a moment of happiness but when reality hits they find themselves right back where they started from or maybe they find that it is even a worse situation than they started with.  They find themselves in prison, expecting a child out of wedlock, or maybe in the hospital with a drug overdose.  Someone comes into their lives and tells them about a loving God that will solve all their problems and they quickly get on board.  What they don’t realize is that at times things are still going to be rough and because they have not been grounded properly in the word and they have not established a relationship with our Lord and Savior when the rough times come, they turn back to what they think will get them through. 

3.  There are those who say yes to Jesus but are unwilling to give up their friends.  Those friends that have been with them through thick and thin but who have a bad influence on their lives.  On this one I have to think of the theme song from Cheers, “Everyone Wants to go Where Everybody Knows Your Name’.  In this show everyone sits around the bar and is honest with each other.   They seem to solve the world’s problems around that bar but are they a good influence on each other?  I never once heard them proclaim that Jesus is Lord and I never heard them say, “Let’s pray about the situation right now” around that bar.  Instead they just wanted another beer to drink as they contemplated life.  In order to grow in Christ, we have to get out of the bar or away from those who have a bad influence on our lives.  If we don’t their negativism towards the Gospel will choke out anything we thought to be true.

4.   Now there was seed that fell in good soil and it produced an abundant crop.  My husband used to be a farmer and in order to have good crops he had to work the soil breaking up the hard soil and getting rid of the weeds and then he had to fertilize the soil and then he planted the crops.  After the crop was planted the work really began as he watered the crop, watched for disease, wildlife would sometimes come and want to eat sees or the produce and then the weeds started to come with the good seed.  At that point,  someone with a hoe would have to go into the field and chop down those weeds.  The same took place in my garden, the soil was tilled, I planted seeds, pushing them into the ground and covering them before the birds came, I watered the ground and of course I chopped many weeds down in my garden and if I didn’t stay on top of it the weeds would soon take over the produce.  Good soil does not come easily, there is a process, one that is not easy but must be done in order to have a fruitful crop. You may ask, “What song does she have for this one?”  It would have to be, “Bringing in the Sheaves”  as a line in this song goes, “they will come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.”

The questions for today are as follows:

Can you identify with any of these four scenarios?   If so, which one?

Do you need to get out of the rocky place, are the weeds keeping you away, is the path hard from you walking on it and from the lack of rain? 

Or are you producing a crop in the good soil? 

Take special note that in each and everyone one of the situations there can be good soil.  The path could be tilled and watered and it would no longer be hard ground and the seed could go inside rather than staying on top for the birds to eat, the rocky ground could become good ground if the rocks were removed, and the ground with the weeds could produce an abundant crop if the weeds were chopped down.  None of these are easy task and I have to think of those big boulders in our lives that are sometimes hard to remove but as I think about that, a verse comes to mind where Jesus is talking about another seed, Matthew 17:20. ²⁰ He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”  (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2017:20&version=NIV1984)

Did you hear that?  Nothing is impossible when you have faith the size of a tiny mustard seed?  Those boulders in your life, those weeds, and that hard soil can all become good soil when you have faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.  Will life be easy?  Not in the sense that there will never be problems, sadness, or heartbreak but when you give that to the Lord and see that He is in control, there is a peace that passes all understanding and He will wrap His loving arms around you.  Life is life, full of sin, disappointment and despair but there is an everlasting life that is abundant and well worth the wait, I have faith that this is the life for me, is it for you?

As you seek Him and find Him may you remember to go and spread the seed to those who find themselves on the wrong path, in the rocky ground, or in the weed infested soil, bring them the Good News of Jesus Christ and help them cultivate the soil in order produce abundant crops.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

What Are You Doing?

Matthew 13:1-2

New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)

¹ That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. ² Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2013:%201-2&version=NIV1984)

To find out what day this passage is talking about we need to look at the previous verses, Matthew 12: 46-50.  If you remember from my last blog, this is the account of Jesus’ mother and brothers coming to visit Him.  He looked at the crowd and said that those who followed Him were His mother, brother and sister.  Now, Jesus is off again ministering to the crowds even though His family came to see Him.  What was more important to Jesus than His family?  What is more important to you than your family?

If Christ is to be our example on how to live I think many of us are doing it a little backwards.  As I sit here on my comfortable couch with my laptop on my lap writing I wonder how much of myself am I really giving Him.  I wonder, if my family was here right now would I be typing a blog or spending time with them.  I recently took a trip to see family.  It was a marvelous trip and we had a wonderful time but I failed to write a blog during that time.  On the other hand, my husband’s sister and brother-in-law, whom we went to see, are a perfect example of how we should live.  They are managers of a retirement community and were busy much of the time that we were there.  My husband’s sister was able to take a day and an afternoon off to spend time with us but they live on site and were called out several times to tend to their residents during our visit.  That is the way Jesus was with His family.  I am sure He loved to see them but if His people needed Him, He was there to take care of them and His family would have to wait. 

So many times we seem to find other things to occupy our time and when others begin to occupy our space we begin to grumble and complain.  Is that what Jesus did?  No, He ministered.  When the crowd got large He went out on a boat, not to get away from them but so that all could hear Him teach.  Do you run from crowds?  I can’t say that I necessarily run but I do let other things occupy my time.  Sometimes I get a little too lax in my ministry to others.  It might make me feel good to just sit and watch television for a while but in the end, it would be so much better if I went out and ministered to someone else.  That is a comfort that is above all other comforts, to know that you made someone feel a little better because you took the time to care for them.  Even better is to be able to share the love of our Lord and Savior with them.

When we begin to think that we need to have a break from the crowd, it is important that we first examine why we do what we do and ask ourselves, “What would Jesus want me to do?” or “If Jesus would return tonight, where do I want Him to find me?”  Keep in mind that He knows where we are and what we are doing right this very moment.  Are you making Him happy?

As you seek Him and find Him may you be found serving Him.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

Are You Jesus’ Mother, Brother, Sister?

Matthew 12:46-50

New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁶ While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. ⁴⁷ Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

⁴⁸ He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹ Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2012:46-50&version=NIV)

Have you ever wondered why Jesus was not more receptive of His family in this passage?  As I ponder Jesus words in this passage I have been given a little bit of a different perceptive than what I have had in the past.  As I read this it reminded me that in everything that I do, I should make sure I am doing the will of my Father.  In today’s society it seems like people put more and more of an emphasis on their families.  I don’t know how many times I have heard that we need to give pastors more time with their families.  We need to protect their family time because family is so very important.  We even use that excuse if we are lay leaders in the church.  However, it seems like in our society if you make a ton of money it is okay to neglect your family because you are providing for them, you are buying your replacement for being gone.  As a pastor or even a lay person though, we think we need to only serve in the hours that are convenient for our family, after all we don’t get paid that much and we need to have family time.  Is that what Jesus is saying in these verses.  Do you notice thought that Jesus points to His disciples, I don’t know if He pointed to the chosen twelve or if He pointed to each person in that room but at any rate, notice, He pointed to those who were there spending time with Him.  He pointed to those who were there early enough to get in the same room with Him.  He pointed to those who had His full attention.  It is my understanding that those who chose to follow Him left everything.  They had families that they left behind to follow Him.  Some may argue that if we have been given a family then spending time with them is the will of the Father.  They may be correct in that but it is my belief that if we are truly in the will of the Father He will give us those times that we cherish with our families.  He will grant us those precious times together and He will bind the family so close together that even during those times that we are not together, the cord will be so strong that it will not be broken.  Jesus makes it very clear in this scripture that our families, although important is nothing in comparison to the importance of the will of the Heavenly Father. 

For years my husband and I served as a deacon couple in our church.  We were involved in different leadership roles and spent hours away from our girls in order to serve the Lord.  I think you could ask either one of our daughters and they would say that they were not deprived of their parents’ time or attention.  I believe you would hear them say that they respected our commitment and their lives indicate to us that they too have a desire to serve the Lord.  I am not saying that we were always perfect in our service or as parents but we certainly wanted to be in the will of our Father and we served joyfully in that role.  Whey our service did not bring joy then we were doing it for all the wrong reason causing it to be burdensome.  It is also easy to get so busy in church work that we are not truly doing it for the glorification of our Father.  When we find ourselves being busy but have no joy we may want to examine what we are doing what we are doing.  If we find ourselves complaining more than rejoicing we need to examine why we are doing what we are doing.  Doing the will of the Father should bring joy to our soul and peace beyond comprehension.

One additional note, do you notice Jesus never says that if we serve Him we will be His Father?  Of course not, the role of the Father is specific to the authority of God the Father.  There is no one on this earth male or female, young or old that has the authority of being the Father, Jesus reserves that for the Heavenly Father as should we.  I believe sometimes we elevate our ministers to a position higher than was intended for them.  We need to respect those who have been called but yet every one of those who claim to be followers of Christ have been called, everyone is His brother, sister or mother.  Some have been given the gift of speaking (preaching), prophesying, teaching but not one of us is more important than the other.  Just as Jesus points out in these verses, if we want to be a part of the family we need to be doing the will of the Father, glorifying Him in all that we do.  Please don’t get me wrong, I believe Jesus has given us those to help guide us in our lives and if they are preaching and living the word of God we need to listen and heed the message.  If we are not careful we can start worshipping the messenger rather than worshipping our Heavenly Father, thus falling out of the will of the Father. 

I write this blog because I want to be in the will of my Father.  He has granted me the ability to write and people have said how much the blogs have touched their lives but it is not the blog, it is not me, it is the will of the Father.  Never do I want to be elevated to the point that people believe these are my words, they are the thoughts that go into my mind that I believe the Father has given to me to share.  If Sheila is the one shining then it is time to quit the blog.  As long as our Heavenly Father is shining then the blogs will continue.

As you seek Him and find Him you will know and understand the will of the Father in your life.  Glorify the Lord and do so by using the gifts that He has given you to do. 

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila  

The Power of Repentance

Matthew 12:38-45

New International Version (NIV)

³⁸ Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

³⁹ He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰ For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹ The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here. ⁴² The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation.” (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2012:38%20-%2045&version=NIV)

Have you ever asked for a sign from God?  I have and yet as I read this I wonder if I should have asked such a question.  Why do you think Jesus says that “A wicked and adulterous generation ask for a sign!”?  As I read this scripture in preparation for this blog my first thought was “woops”!  How many times have I asked for a sign?  Have I been wrong?   He goes on to say that the people of Nineveh will condemn this generation as well as the Queen of the South.  In order to really understand what Jesus is talking about we may need to explore these people just a little.

First let’s consider the life of Jonah.  If you go to I Kings 14: 23 - 39

²³ In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. ²⁴ He did evil in the eyes of the LORD and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit. ²⁵ He was the one who restored the boundaries of Israel from Lebo Hamath to the Dead Sea, in accordance with the word of the LORD, the God of Israel, spoken through his servant Jonah son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.

²⁶ The LORD had seen how bitterly everyone in Israel, whether slave or free, was suffering; there was no one to help them. ²⁷ And since the LORD had not said he would blot out the name of Israel from under heaven, he saved them by the hand of Jeroboam son of Jehoash.

²⁸ As for the other events of Jeroboam’s reign, all he did, and his military achievements, including how he recovered for Israel both Damascus and Hamath, which had belonged to Judah, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel? ²⁹ Jeroboam rested with his ancestors, the kings of Israel. And Zechariah his son succeeded him as king.

Things weren’t so great during the time of Jonah but in this scripture I think it is so important to note why God had Jonah prophesy to these people.  First of all He cared about His people, He saw their suffering and He had made a promise that He would stick by, no matter what!  What does that say about our AWESOME God?  He is good, all the time, all the time God is good.  Not always are His people good but that does not change the character of our God.  You can read more about Jonah and how God used him in to call the people of Nineveh to repent in the book of Jonah.  It is only four chapters long and one worth reading, if you don’t have a Bible go to the following link and read it  http://www.biblegateway.com/ .   Jonah lived in a time that the ways of God weren’t really being followed and the people of Nineveh were one of the most wicked places of all but God chose to send Jonah there to speak His words to these people.  Jonah questioned why God would want these people to repent.  Have you ever wanted to see God’s justice on people who were evil?  We often think that we want God to pass His judgment and punishment on people sooner rather than later.  I don’t think that Jonah was any different from us.  I  would imagine these people had done evil things maybe even something that had a personal impact on Jonah and he really didn’t want them to repent but God had other plans.  As you read, Jonah did finally follow God’s calling and the people repented, just what Jonah thought would happen and he wasn’t happy about it.  But, he did follow God’s plan and God humbled Jonah through the process. 

The other reference in this has to do with the Queen of the South that went to visit Solomon.  You can read about this visit in I Kings 10: 1 – 13. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%20Kings%2010:%201%20-%2013&version=NIV   The verse that stood out to me though was I Kings 10: 9   “Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king to maintain justice and righteousness.”

Do you see a pattern here?  The Queen of the South recognized the Lord and gave praise to Him.  The people of Nineveh, the King of Nineveh, recognized God and repented.  These people were evil but they recognized their sins and repented.  The pharisees who wanted a “sign from God” were not willing to admit their sin and repent.  To this day they have not recognized Jesus as Lord and they have refused to repent.  The Israelites, to this day, again do not have all the land that was promised to them because once again they have not repented and recognized Jesus as LORD.  Jesus clearly says in this scripture that He was sent, greater than Jonah, wiser than Solomon and yet they were still asking for a sign.

Now, it comes back to each of us.  Are we asking for a sign or are we repenting?  We need to repent and God will take care of all our needs.  He will make sure that His will is done in all situations.  We need to walk in His will by repenting and recognizing He is in control.   He is in control whether we think times are good or if we think they are bad.  Remember God, is good, all the time, all the time God is good!!!!!!!!

As you seek Him may you find Him forgiving you as you repent your humanness to Him and recognizing that He is in control.



Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila

What Did You Say?

 Matthew 12:33-37

New International Version (NIV)

³³ “Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. ³⁴ You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. ³⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. ³⁶ But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2012:%2033-37&version=NIV)

Those of you that have known me all my life can attest to the fact that I used to be a very shy person. As a child I didn’t want to talk to people that I did not know.  I once stayed quiet in the car for 3 hours because there was a new preacher in the car.  I had not seen my dad for a week or more because I had been at my grandparents.  When he came to pick me up there was a new man with him and I didn’t say a word until that man was out of the car.  I was shy, that is all there is to it.  Today the Lord has given me the ability to communicate with others.   Sometimes what I say is not always taken the way that I meant it which can be very frustrating to me.  Sometimes my words are twisted to the point that they are not the words that I spoke.  At those times I have been known to pray,” Lord I don’t ever want to speak again.  Lord, please don’t make me say anything I don’t want to speak.”  As you have probably guessed His answer is “no, you must speak”.   When my heart begins to pound so hard that I think it is going to come out of my chest if I don’t say something, I then will speak.  When I speak I try to think before the words come out but there have been times that I have spoken and then wondered why I said it.  I am sure we have all been there some time or another in our lives and if you haven’t, your turn is coming. 

Today this scripture had many words for thought but the words that stood out to me were the words regarding our speech.  We can really know a person by what they say.  If good comes out of their mouth or if evil comes out.  God knows the heart but the mouth is a reflection of that heart.  If we can’t find something good to say about someone then maybe we shouldn’t say anything at all.  Well, that is some times the case but it is not always the case.  If you look back at the scriptures we see that Jesus called the pharisees a “brood of vipers”, yes, Jesus has the right to judge since He is God but I believe we too need to identify those who bring evil and not peace.  We can see how people act, we can hear what they say, we can see if they are producing fruit or just making life better for themselves, you can tell who is for God and who is against God just by what they say.  That is not what I am saying but that is what the scripture is saying to me today. 

The last part of this scripture is what struck me the most today.  ³⁶ But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. ³⁷ For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”  When you go into a court of law your words can be used against you.  It is no different when we go into the court of the Most High God, our words, not only in that courtroom, but every word that has ever come from our mouths will be used either for us or against us.  How does that make you feel?  It makes me want to do my best to guard my lips at all times.  To always speak the truth in love.  Not to always say what others want me to say but to say what God wants me to say.  Others may judge my words for this moment but God will judge them for all eternity.  As I read this scripture, I was reminded of other verse in the Bible that has meant so much to me.  It was a verse found in a prayer that David prayed, Psalms 141:3  Set a guard over my mouth, LORD;
keep watch over the door of my lips. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20141:3&version=NIV)

As you seek Him and find Him, with your whole heart, may you speak the words that will bring glory to Him.  Ask Him to guard your mouth and watch over your lips so that He may be glorified.

Seeking Him with all my heart,

Sheila