What is unfruitful in your life? It’s funny the things that we discovered are unfruitful when we take the time to check our lives and the world along with the ultimate truth, His word.
Not too long ago, I read and review a book called, “Present Perfect” in which the author shared the following:
From, “Present Perfect” ,
“For us ordinary Christians, trying to remain aware of God’s presence moment-by-moment seems like a hyperspiritual pipe dream. If you’re inclined to feel this way, it might be because like everyone else in modern Western culutre, you’ve been brainwashed by what is called “the secular worldview”.In this view of the world, what’s real, or at least what’s important, is the physical here-and-now. When we’re brainwashed by this worldview, we experience the world as though God did not exist, for we habitually exclude Him from our awareness. We may still believe in God, of course, but He’s not real to us most of the time.Because of this we go about our day-to-day lives as functional atheists. We may pray and worship God on occassion, but these are “special times,” isolated from our “normal,” secular day-to-day life.”-Chapter One, Mere Christianity, “Present Perfect” .
I hate to think that despite anything and everything that I read and feel, that I maybe a “functional atheists”, after all, that has to be very harsh words, but this verse, Matthew 13:22 (NKJV), convicts and challenges us to ask ourselves, “What in our lives, in what we do, say, read and see” bearing either good fruit that is a praise to and in our Heavenly Father, or bears bad fruit that only deadens and numbs us from His Glory and who and what He is.
From the MHC is shared the following thoughts on this passage:
The parable of the sower.
Jesus entered into a boat that he might be the less pressed, and be the better heard by the people. By this he teaches us in the outward circumstances of worship not to covet that which is stately, but to make the best of the conveniences God in his providence allots to us. Christ taught in parables. Thereby the things of God were made more plain and easy to those willing to be taught, and at the same time more difficult and obscure to those who were willingly ignorant.
The parable of the sower is plain.
The seed sown is the word of God. The sower is our Lord Jesus Christ, by himself, or by his ministers. Preaching to a multitude is sowing the corn; we know not where it will light. Some sort of ground, though we take ever so much pains with it, brings forth no fruit to purpose, while the good soil brings forth plentifully. So it is with the hearts of men, whose different characters are here described by four sorts of ground.
Careless, trifling hearers, are an easy prey to Satan; who, as he is the great murderer of souls, so he is the great thief of sermons, and will be sure to rob us of the word, if we take not care to keep it. Hypocrites, like the stony ground, often get the start of true Christians in the shows of profession. Many are glad to hear a good sermon, who do not profit by it.
They are told of free salvation, of the believer’s privileges, and the happiness of heaven; and, without any change of heart, without any abiding conviction of their own depravity, their need of a Saviour, or the excellence of holiness, they soon profess an unwarranted assurance. But when some heavy trial threatens them, or some sinful advantage may be had, they give up or disguise their profession, or turn to some easier system.
Worldly cares are fitly compared to thorns, for they came in with sin, and are a fruit of the curse; they are good in their place to stop a gap, but a man must be well armed that has much to do with them; they are entangling, vexing, scratching, and their end is to be burned, Heb 6:8.
Christ does not say that this good ground has no stones in it, or no thorns;but none that could hinder its fruitfulness. All are not alike; we should aim at the highest, to bring forth most fruit. The sense of hearing cannot be better employed than in hearing God’s word; and let us look to ourselves that we may know what sort of hearers we are. (Mt 13:24-30)
I hope and pray and seek and give myself to our Heavenly Father, that my thoughts, what I seek, what I am, is not determined or measure by what the world condones or desires, but by what our Heavenly Father desires.
For our lives to bear true fruit, it should seek, not after the world, but after Him, and part of that, is not going with the world, that often, like bad soil that is everywhere, doesn’t allow a plant to grow and eventually bear fruit, but instead, wither and eventually become part of unfruitful bad soil, but instead, going with that of our Heavenly Father, though there maybe patches here and there, at least, we know we can grow and be nurtured with nutrients, that will strengthen and help us grow in His light and in the process bear fruit
The purpose of Word filled Wednesday is to share God’s word (no famous quotes or other literature — only the beautiful word of our Father) through photo’s & a Bible verse!
If You’d like to join us for Word Filled Wednesday,post your photo and Bible verse and hop on over to AmyDeanne’s @ The 160 Acre Woods to share the link to your blog.
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