Let me preface this by saying that this is in effect a repentance on my part. That I have been dragged away by issues, concerns and worries from the things I have been called to do by God and I am coming back to the heart of service and worship, by admitting my failing in this forum.

——–

Thorns and weeds, they can grow in any one’s garden, and the minute we think it can’t happen to us, and  we take our eyes off them…..they pop up in our lives. And I am here to confess they happened in mine.

They are insidious little plants. they sneak up on you.  And if your not careful, they soon can be  the main thriving point in your garden while the plants that produce as gasping for survival.  What does this have to to with Christianity? Weeds are a representation Jesus used to explain the effect of the cares of the world on our faith.

Since  this marks a returning point for me, lets return to what I consider to be the cornerstone of my faith….it is the first scripture that the Holy Spirit opened my eyes too. The parable of the sower and the seed  in Mark 4

Mark 4: ³ “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴ And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. ⁵ Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. ⁶ But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. ⁷ And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. ⁸ But other seedfell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
⁹ And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

Well the disciples with Jesus didn’t understand the meaning, so He explained it.

¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. ¹⁶ These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; ¹⁷ and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. ¹⁸ Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹ and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²⁰ But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it,and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”

Now I don’t know about you, but i have been a Christian for twenty-seven years and nothing like :

¹⁸ Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹ and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Could ever happen to me!   Oh no?  When I came back to this page I saw that my last entry was 9 months ago, and in that 9 month period I have given birth to a child of apathy.

Now I have an impressive list of excuses, reasons and why I came to this state, but in the end they all add up to a hill of beans,  I failed.  I let the concerns, cares, worries, and distractions of life turn me aside from doing what I set forth to do, what God has called me to do.

Why do I bring all this up? Well firstly…confession is good for the soul, and I am confessing my weaknesses, for when I am weak…He makes me strong. Secondly its a common failing for all Christians to get caught up in the vagaries of this life and soon they find themselves, distant or apart from what they had originally intended. These thorn and weeds are insidious little creatures  and they sneak and crawl their ways into our life without us hardly knowing it.  It starts out as a little concern , which turns into a little excuse for not doing this and that and ends up with us stranded out in the the dry places wondering “what happened” 

Also if we are not careful to root these thorns and weeds out completely they have a tendency to grow back, stronger than before because their roots are buried deep in the soul of our heart. And we find ourselves, as I have found myself, constantly vascilating  between what I should be doing and what I end up doing….. which is not much of anything.

So what brought me to the point where I am airing my dirty laundry for all to see….and why am I sharing this with you? Well we are in troublesome times my brothers and sisters, and it seems the troubles are going to get worse before they get better and soon will come a time when we will need our faith to fall back on, as the refuge of besieged. And if that time comes and we find our refuge covered with weeds and thorns it will be too late to tend to the gardening.

No matter what happens. No matter what the future holds, God will hold us in His hands, but it is by faith that we hold onto God. And it is by faith that we weather the storms in peace and surety, instead of fear and doubting.  So I am using this opportunity to encourage myself, and anyone else who might read this, that time is growing short, and we must tend our gardens. So that it will remain alive and producing, 30 60 and 100 fold, even through the storm.

God Bless

We take up with the challenge of Jesus to the established rule of the pharisees. A rule based on a desire to keep and maintain power, rather than to serve God. Jesus has just answered one of the Pharisees, Nicodemus , who we know to be an ardent seeker of God, while still numbering himself a Pharisee. Jesus has is still something of an unknown quantity to people as the day ends.

John 7: 53 And everyone went to his own house

John 8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus as always, goes to pray to His Father. This must be a trying time for him. I know in my discussions with scoffers and unbelievers I am easily fatigued, and find it easy to lose traction. But getting alone with God, and praying and praising, has a away of restoring. To Jesus, this time with God was utter restoration.
2 Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them.

The people were still very interested in Jesus, anyone with an open heart could hear the world of God being spoken to them.  There are times when I wish I could be sitting there hearing His teaching. The pharisees, with their closed hearts had already made up their mind and set about to trap Jesus

3 Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery.And when they had set her in the midst, 4 they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act.

One always wonders exactly how she was caught in the act. Was this a set up, or something the Pharisee’s stumbled upon and decided to use to their advantage. I tend to think it was a set up from the word go, and in their bitter hearts set up this woman to sin, just to accuse Christ. This is how messed up our agenda becomes when we stray from God. ( And yes I know she could not do this alone….where was the man?) 

5 Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”

It is interesting to me here, that they referred to it as coming from Moses. This to is a sign of their disconnection from God, for they were not serving God’s law…but Moses’.  What is also interesting to me , is why this is a question. Why would they think Jesus’ answer would be any different from the law.  Yes it is true that was the penalty for such action. What was it about Jesus that would make them think, He would stry from the law? They must have, through His teachings, come to the conclusion that this new  law of Love Jesus was preaching was outside of God’s  law.  Which we know it was not.    So how do you answer a  setup?  You don’t.

6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.

There is much ado about what it was that Jesus wrote, and how and if it applied to what was going on here. the bottom line is we won’t know until we get there, but as we will see later, it is what they heard from Jesus that convicted them.
7 So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”

Jesus did not violate the law, he simply measured them by the same law.  Jesus said elsewhere , “judge not, lest you be judged, for with whatever measure you judge with, it will be measured back to you.” 

 8 And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.

And here he applied it to those who would accuse the girl, and each one was convicted in his heart that he was not worthy. The plain and simple truth of God penetrates into the most hardened soul. No one is beyond reach, but each responds in his own way.

10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.”And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Romans 8: 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

There was one man in that group that was worthy of passing judgement on this woman. He could have easily condemned her and stoned her. But Jesus’ purpose is never to condemn us. But to usher in a life of mercy and grace in Christ Jesus

Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve (The stoning)

Grace is God giving us what we do not deserve (Forgiveness)

While that woman was guilty of the sin, Jesus granter her Mercy and Grace. As He does to us. Do not ever live in guilt and condemnation, for if you are in Jesus (and you are beloved brothers and sisters) then it has no part of you.

There is a Christian song on the radio these days that has been touching my heart. It’s been on the River Praise page but I felt led to bring it up today in this “extra”

We are assaulted by many voices as we walk in our daily life.  There are voices that try and get us to buy this, try that, desire this,  aspire that. There are voices that tell us we are not good enough, thin enough, pretty enough or rich enough. There are voices of people who praise us, and people who berate us. There are voices, hard voices past and present that defile us and revile us.

And then there is the Voice of Truth. God’s Voice

With the cacophony of voices sometimes it is hard to discern that still small voice. We feel guilty, we feel condemned…..we feel as if we have failed. But what does the voice of truth tell us  and how can we hear it more clearer than the rest?

The second part is easy….if you want to improve the clarity of the Voice of Truth in your life, get closer to it.  Turn off Oprah, Dr. Phil, Jon Stewart, or whoever it is that is filling your ears with the sound brass and clanging cymbals of the world and draw close to God. Read your bible, pray, praise, fellowship and you will soon hear that voice much clearer.

The world voices are saying you are condemned

The Voice of Truth says:

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

The world voices say you are defiled

The Voice of Truth Says:

2nd Corinthians 5: 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

The world voices say you are abandoned

The Voice of Truth Says

Hebrews 13: 5 For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

And

Romans 8: 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

The voices of the world say listen to me!

The Voice of Truth says:

Romans 12:  1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

God loves us little children. His heart is tender and open to us. He does not despise us, he does not berate us, he awaits us.  He awaits the moment when we crawl up into His lap  and listen to His words bask in the warmth of His love and restores us, yet again  to walk the path we must, before he places us back on the ground, patting our backsides and sending us off to do our chores until the time comes when we need to crawl back up into His lap again.

The purity of His love for us, which sees no end and has no bottom will restore us fully, and put an end to the folly of the voices of the world that would have you believe you are not the treasure of your Father’s eye.

I encourage you to listen to the song by Casting Crowns: The Voice of Truthand perhaps you will fi the liberty in it that I found.

God Bless

“Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens, Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brow paper packages tied up with strings, these are a few of my favorite things” - Fraulein Maria, Sound Of Music

It’s nice to think about our favorite things. But on occasion we are faced with things we do not like. The things we hope don’t happen but know, that inevitably they will. There are a few things that are my least favorite things.  And one happens every morning. Some people jump out of bed, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to take on the day.  I hate those people.  For me getting out of the bed is like rising from a tomb: It’s slow, it’s not pretty and I spend the first half hour walking around like a zombie. Eventually things pick up and I get on with my day, but I do not like getting up.

But that is just an annoyance. There is a word out there that by it’s mere utterance causes my knees to weaken and my spine to turn like Jelly,  that word is : CHANGE

Change in work situation

Change in living arrangements (moving  shudder)

Change in responsibilities

Change anywhere in my comfortable little personal environment.

I get comfortable in my stagnancy and I I don’t like change.

And then that still small voice rises in my spirit, It is God saying, “I need to bring about this change so I can perform my will.”

And I tell myself, Man isn’t it interesting how satan can sound just like God…..Ha. Get thee beyond me ……

“Craig….something is going to change”

er  behind me…

” And I want you to know, that no matter how uncomfortable that change may feel today, it is for your good, and the it accomplishes my will”

….(squeak) but…

But then I realize that along time ago I made Jesus my Lord and put Him in charge of my life. I also told Him to use me as He sees fit and so (whimper) change comes.

But with each change I can be assured of two things:

1. He will create a better place for me, more productive for Him and over all just better for me.

2. He will give me every strength and every bit of grace that I need to get through that period of change.

There is a scipture that goes along with this, which I have often thought life might be better if I just snipped it out. It’s one of those hard truths that the bible presents that simply cannot be pushed away or disregarded.

James 1:² My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, ³ knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

James, my man, who never has a problem laying it straight.  I used to have a teacher who would start every class with a sadistic little grin and saying ” take a lot of notes, there will be a test.” Well there are tests in Christianity as well…..but they have a purpose. The trials and the tests are there to bring us to maturity in Christ.   Knowing that the testing of our faith produces patience and patience will bring us to maturity, or perfection in Christ.   We cannot walk around as little children in faith forever, we must, at some point grow up. 

The good news is that these tests can not be so strong as to sink us if we continue to stand in faith

1 Corinthians 10: ¹² Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

And that brings us to the subject of tomatoes.

How does the testing of our faith leads to tomatoes?  Here is how.

I was recently considering planting a garden on a patch of ground in my backyard that has pretty much just been a collection area for my yard junk. This ground has remained untouched for years, at least as long as we have lived in this house. The ground is hard, lifeless and full of rocks, perfect tomato growing ground. That is after a little change.

First I will break up the soil using a hoe, or a pick or a shovel or dynamite,  as it resists my every attempt to transform it.

Then I will sift the dirt to remove large rocks and other impediments to gentle tomato roots.

I will follow that my adding some organic fertilizer  (manure) and perhaps a little soil builder to enrich the soil.

 And finally I will gently from it into hummocks and furrows, careful not to compact it too hard and finally it will be ready for my tomato plants. And in a few months I will be simmering pots of spaghetti sauce that will eat on for the rest of the year.

What does this have to to do with testing of faith and patience?  The process of change. I looked at that ground and wanted tomatoes. I envisioned 6ft (2m) tall tomato plants burgeoning with fruit. But if I had planted the tomatoes in that hard unprepared ground, they would have been dead in a week.

God also has plans for us, and sometimes he needs to prepare the ground in us. He has to break up the compacted hard  soil of our hearts. He has to remove the stones from our hearts as well and yes even apply the spiritual equivilent a little nutrient rich organic material (testing) to make sure our hearts will nurture His seeds of faith.

If you took a snap shot of my garden before  and three months after this process, you would see a wonderful change. You would see in one picture flat hard lifeless ground that was collecting junk. and in the other a fertile, lush fruitful place.

So too would you see such in the snap shots of our hearts before and after the change God brings about. Sure for the time it is happening the change is dramatic, and a trial. but not one beyond that which we can take. But we can endure God’s tending of hearts with the knowledge that he will perform a good work in us, and that the time the “season of change” takes is an investment that will bring about a wonderful fruitfulness that is beyond measure.

Philippians 1: ³ I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, ⁵ for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ

We are the garden of God, and He is doing and will do wonderful things in us, so endure the season of change my dear brothers and sisters (as I will as well) and know that He who will never leave us, nor forsake us will complete that good work in us.

Just a note in response to some things I have been hearing from you.

Is any man your shepherd? No.  The Lord is your shepherd. I have heard a few pastor’s call themselves shepherds as if they were responsible for the sheep. They are not, As with all ministers, pastors are merely facilitators put in place to help guide you in your relationship with the Good Shepherd. 

The word shepherd in the bible is used exclusively in the new testament to refer to Jesus or actual sheep herders. Never is it used to portray any other man or ministry,

Ephesians 4 11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God

That’s it. That is the sum total of the purpose of a minister. All any of us are are guides, someone to help you in your relationship with God. We are nothing more than hirelings. Let no man take the place of your Good Shepherd, Let no man tell you, you need HIM to hear from God.

John 10:11  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.  12But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Jesus is our Shepherd, The Holy Spirit is our Comforter and The Father is OUR Father.  We have no need of men to insinuate themselves between us and God.  It is a great sin for a man to place himself as a shepherd of God, when he is only a hireling. It puts the sheep in great danger. Pastors, evangelists, prophets, teachers and even apostles were given to the church to set them up, top equip them for their own work of ministry. They were given to facilitate OUR relationship to God, not to be the source, (which is the Holy Spirit) not to be the shepherd (which is Jesus Christ) and most definitely not to be the director of our wills (which is the Father)  A man who places himself in this place and seeks the accolades, has made himself a god and  they will demand the obedience of a god. These men will be argumentative, pressuring and manipulating. Much of what they say will be about themselves, and they will require you call them “pastor” or “reverend”.

Avoid such as these children of God. Do not be entangled in their self serving web of deciet which “sounds right, but only leads to bondage and spiritual abandonment (lonliness).  Judge all ministers by their fruit.  From the biggest ministries, to the lowliest internet blog (like mine) and God’s truth will out.  God’s burden is easy and His yoke is light, and so will be a ministry in His name .

If you are cought up in a ministry like this and see no way out, please e-mail me. Or contact your local pastor.

If you covered your eyes, and plugged your ears, swaddled your hands with cotton and removed your ?
tongue, what would life be like relying solely on the sense of smell?

It would like someone who solely relies on logic. Logic is a useful tool, and important to be honed and refined, but it is not the only tool to use in your life. Many things we know about defy logic’s ability to grasp. Love, hate, fear…especially phobias. In trying to measure simple human emotions logic fails.

How then can anyone think if God does not measure on the logic scale that He does not exist?

God is beyond us, and our ability to “reason” Him, if you really are interested in whether or not He exists, then you must find other tools.

If you are not interested, then please be honest, because you sound like a man swearing there is no rainbow, simply because he refuses to remove his blindfold when you say, there is no logical reason for God. Your right, logic can’t find him, but it’s not the only tool in the box.

Hello again my brothers and sisters in the Lord

As you know, today the world is in a state of warfare. Terrorist wars, regional wars, religious wars, wars against crime, wars against drugs , wars against poverty and war just about anything what so ever. But from the beginning of time there has been a war going on for the soul of man. Since the day the serpent sidled up to Eve and whispered into her ear the devil has been trying to crush the things of God, and the people of God.
While this battle has been going on since the time of Adam and Eve it seems particularly brutal in these times. Christians are falling left and right to the compromise of the devil. “it’s not so bad” or “what they do in the privacy of their own home…” is replacing “That’s not right.” Yes, it has become most unfashionable and unacceptable by the world standards for us to even say what the truth of God is.
It’s come to the point where even more Christians who have not made these compromises with the devil are never the less unwilling, or afraid to stand up to the truth, these are the foxhole Christians. The ones to whom the attack of the enemy through derision’s and an unrelenting barrage of lies have been stunned into inaction. The have crawled into the fox holes, secure in their own salvation and yet afraid to light a candle so others might see, lest the enemy rain his derision down upon them
Mind you I know how very tempting it is to look upon the landscape of the battlefield in front of us and want to run for cover, but we have a job to do. Our job is to take the land that the devil holds. To tear down the strong holds of the enemy and bring the souls of the lost to Christ. And we can’t do that shivering in our foxholes.

In case you are unsure of the war we fight let’s refer to scripture.

2nd Corinthians 10: 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

This scripture applies not only to us and our own battle with the enemy but in the global sense as well. We are to cast down every argument (vain imagintation according to the King James) that exhalts itselagainst the knowledge of of God. We are to stand for and speak for what is right.

The world, by the unwitting puppetry of satan, has become aggressive in it’s stands. Wrong is no longer wrong, and if you say it is wrong then you are intolerant, bigoted and hateful. Andif you standup for the truth, they will actively try to slap you down. The world has become repugnant in it’s stand against God. Note
So what is our response to this? Do we standup and fight ,  contednd for the faith, and by doing so lighting a candle that others might use to find their way to the Truth, Jesus Christ. Or do we huddle in our foxholes like the devil wants us to and let the people be taken away by the lies of satan and spend eternity in hell. Because they won’t learn about God by osmosis, they have to be told.

So lets look at one situation where a choice was to be made.

In Numbers 13 we come upon the people of Israel in the Sinai, they had just escaped Egypt and were going to enter the land of Canaan and take it over as God told them to. The same God, who defeated Egyptians, delivered them from bondage and was a constant presence among them in a pillar of smoke and a pillar of fire had told them that this land was there’s and He would help them. And so as they approached the land Moses sent forward 12 spies, to spy out the land, among them were Joshua and Caleb

Numbers 13: 26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants[d] (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
Numbers 14
1 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
6 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’[a] 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.”
10 And all the congregation said to stone them with stones.

When faced with a choice of going forward in faith, knowing that God has proclaimed for them to take the land, or cowering in fear, all but two of them. Joshua and Caleb sought to move forward with God’s plan, and the congregation thought to STONE them, because they were afraid.

Because they were afraid.

The end result of this choice was that the Israelites were doomed to wander the desert for forty years, until all of those who chose to run away were dead, save Joshua and Caleb. And it was this same Joshua forty years later who led the army of Israel into the promised land and by the power of God conquered it.

God has called us to take the land as well, to bring the good news to the lost. When the wolves bay and the jackals howl are we going to fall away into our foxholes? Or are we going to move forward knowing that :

Romans 8: 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

We have an example in Paul. By far his life effected more humanity for Christ despite all his trials. The entire world was opened up to the truth of Jesus Christ because he knew That God would see him through. Through beatings, stonings, shipwrecks, starvation, nakedness, well let’s hear it in his words

2nd Corinthians 11: 24 From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness— 28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches.

He considered these hardships as necessary to further the Gospel fo Christ. Well we surely are not facing anything more than the derisions of our peers and yet do we quail at the thought of their objections. Do we shrink from our duties because we are accused of being “hateful, bigoted, intolerant of others, and someone who shoves our beliefs down anyone’s throat”?

Or do we stand for something, do we let our light shine despite the scorn of the enemies. Do we take up the charge of Paul in his last words to Timothy.

2nd Timothy 4: 1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at[a] His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

And can we then like Paul say, when we come to the end, that we have done the work set before us?

2nd Timothy 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

It is my prayer for myself, and that for all of us, that we will eschew the foxhole, and stand up holding the light of the salvation Lord until the day we can say  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

 I also pray that the Lord will open our eyes to see the need for light bearers in our situations. May God richly bless us and strengthen us for the battle we face, in the name of Jesus I pray. Amen

Bread Of Life features scriptures to help in the survival of daily life. These are scriptures to read and meditate on until the Holy Spirit gives you the full meaning of them and then, you can stand in faith for them.

Help In Sickness

Isaiah 53:4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.

How To Pray

Matthew 6:8
“Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. 9In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
10Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us this day our daily bread.
12And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
13And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Help In Worry

Phillipians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy–meditate on these things
Help In Sin 1st John 1:5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Knowing Who You Are In Christ 2nd Cor 5: 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation
Making Christ Your Lord Romans 10: 9that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. 13For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.”

Shall we Keep Sinning?

Romans 6:Dead to Sin, Alive to God
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? 2Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? 3Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
How Can I have Power in Christ? Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6Therefore, when they had come together, they asked Him, saying, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. 8But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Help with my Needs
Luke 11: 9
“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Are you seeking God?  He’s not hard to find. He is right behind you.

As we Christians go through daily life we seek many things, most of them things your Father already knows you have need of. But like independent children we must seek our own way. We must provide for ourselves, get what we need and what we want, and when the time is right we honor God. We have even set aside a whole day to honor God too and to rest and yet many of us, and I include myself, find it hard to get off the launching pad of Christianity, to live the life God wants us to live.

Many times in my experience in working with children I will watch them explore and do many things in the presence of their parents, seemingly independent of them, but if you watch closely you will see they will cast a glance back to their mommy or daddy to make sure they are still there, and should they fall and scrape their knee, or should another child treat them rudely they will quickly return to the comfort zone of their parents.

Is this the relationship you have with your Heavenly Father? May I say I do not think this is the relationship He wants to have with us.

We are the children of God, there is no doubt of that, it is a theme expressed over and over in the bible.

Romans:8: 12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors–not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

and

Ephesians 1:4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, 5having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

We are children of God, made so by the love and grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ and done so, from the foundations of the earth. It was always in God’s will that we would  be His Children.  It was for this purpose we were created. It was for this purpose that Eden was never destined to be the final dwelling place of man, but rather that we should fall in sin, and in rising again (in new birth) that we should be made the children of God.

Let us read further in Ephesians 1

7In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both[a] which are in heaven and which are on earth–in Him.

The purpose that God brought all of this about for was so that He might gather together all things that are in Christ.

Our Salvation….our acceptance of the Lord Jesus Christ as Our Lord and savior is not the end of  the purpose, but the beginning.

2nd Timothy 1:8Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God, 9who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,

He has saved us with is Holy calling, for a purpose……and what is that purpose?

Are we seeking God? Or are we seeking our own?  God knows what we need, we should not be seeking after that.

Matthew 6:31″Therefore do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?’ or “What shall we drink?’ or “What shall we wear?’ 32For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
 

Our mind’s purpose should not be in this life, But life in Christ Jesus, for His purpose. Most of us, including yours truly, don’t have a firm grasp on what that purpose is, because we are the children in the playground, independently seeking our own, as long as we know He is there for us if we need Him, but this is not His purpose. So how do we find that purpose…

Are we seeking Him?

And so we continue on in Ephesians

17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power

There is a purpose to salvation, a call on the life of each believer. And it is not to seek our own.  We must seek God.

Colossians 3:1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

So then having established this frame work, what should we finally do? Seek Him. Pray, find his will. Cast aside our own desires, set aside our own agenda, remove the impediments of this world from our life and seek God. As I said in the beginning I am no more perfect than anyone else in Christ, but we can all recognize the disservice we do to the kingdom of God by not seeking Him.

Matthew 16:24Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

And yet have we still  not answered the question?…..How do we seek Him?

The answer then is back in the first Scripture we looked at.

Romans:8: 12Therefore, brethren, we are debtors–not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

Those who are lead by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. There is a requirement for all Christians to seek after God, follow His leading and find His will in your life. We will not live according to the flesh or it’s wants or desires, rather we will put to death those desires, as we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

Romans 8:17and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

This then is our calling, to be joint heirs with Christ, sharing His suffering, His sacrifice and yes, His glory. To complete our process into becoming a child of God this is the hefty requirement, For His life in you, He asks for nothing less then your life in Him. We must be willing to cast aside every desire, every right that we feel we have, either to indulgence or revenge. To become invested in Christ, we must become bankrupt within ourselves. The complete divesting of our seeking our own wants and desires. Giving to Him the essence of who we are.

And what then, are we to become merely empty shells? Devoid of life and likes?  No, heaven forbid, for as we FINALLY stop seeking our own desires, then we free God to put back into us, what we have given up. We give Him our life, and He gives us back life abundantly, as we seek Him then he grants us the desires of our heart.

Psalm 37:3Trust in the LORD, and do good;
       Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
       4Delight yourself also in the LORD,
       And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
       5Commit your way to the LORD,
       Trust also in Him,
       And He shall bring it to pass.

So let us stop seeking our own, let us put aside the cares of this world, and seek God, and become the true children of God, called according to His purpose, and as we seek to serve Him, as we commit our way to the Lord, He will commit to us, His blessings, and His love. But we must “Seek FIRST (not second or third) the kingdom of OUR Mighty God and His righteousness, and He will add all the rest of  what Peter Calls

2nd Peter 1:3….. all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue
 

I pray that we all find that true glory of God, that awaits the children of the most High God. God bless you all richly

 

im·per·a·tive   n.(m-pr-tv)
1 A command; an order.An obligation; a duty: 
 
 

Do You Believe in God?

Do you TRULY Believe in God?

How Do you know you believe in God?

How do I know? Because He is my Father. He has given me all things pertaining to life and godliness (2nd Peter 1:3) And I trust in Him.

Oh…you trust Him?

Yes.

Trust is a corresponding action to the presence of Faith. If you believe in God…then something, somewhere in your life is going to show it.

This is the Imperative of Faith. Belief. Faith plus action equals belief

Belief.  Greek Word Pistis
conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it
 

If you believed you were standing under a 300 ton Boulder that was going to fall, in the exact spot where you stood.  Would you remain there? No. The corresponding action to your belief that that monolith is going to wreck your millennium is to boot scoot and boogie out of the way.

If you believed that a 700 ton rampaging mastodon was heading on a bee line for your living room, hurling snot and police cars in it’s wake. Would you sit blithely on your sofa munching your Pringles, or would you high tail it to the nearest safe place.

The corresponding actions to these beliefs are obvious. Why then is it so difficult for us, sometimes, to muster up corresponding action to the faith we have in God? He is the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE! Nothing exists apart from Him and yet so often our response to Him is as lackadaisical  as Adam on the Sistine chapel, only missing the touch of God because he refuses to extend his finger. (Oh, I could get so mad at Adam for what he did, but I’d have to get off my couch)

We will answer this question in a second.

There is an imperative to Faith. Faith DEMANDS Action.  Let’s look at some Scripture.

James 2:

Faith Without Works Is Dead
 14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe–and tremble! 20But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
 

I was tempted not to use the scripture because so much misunderstanding abounds in some areas of the church regarding this. But I used it at the Lord’s leading, because the scripture is not at fault, only our perception and understanding of it is.

So lets sweep aside some misunderstandings first.

First. Works do not save a man. Never have, never will.

Ephesians 2
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– 9not by works, so that no one can boast.

The key to understanding the scripture is to know that FAITH…real faith…alive Faith, works. And something that substitutes for faith….counterfeit (dead) faith, doesn’t. Also notice the word “says” that James Uses.

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works?

We are not talking about real faith here….but reported faith. This reported faith….it if does not evidence works, is dead. That kind of counterfeit faith is ….destitute of force or power, inactive, inoperative

But now that we’ve dealt with what this scripture ISN’T saying…..what IS it saying.

 

What it is saying is the Imperative of Faith

Real living faith must have some works grow out it. The key verse is this:

22Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?

Faith is perfected by works. Does this mean you HAVE to do works or your faith is dead….. yes and no. What it is saying, is that real faith HAS works. Faith is like a seed in our life. If you plant any seed in the ground it will grow, if unimpeded. So to will the Kingdom of Heaven grow in the heart of the believer, if unimpeded. Jesus likened this process to a mustard seed.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Matthew 13: 31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

So this passage of James is not devoted to telling us we have to work, not at all. It is telling us that if we have living faith…we WILL work, we can’t but avoid to have that seed grow in our life. Works happen, and there is nothing we can do to stop them, if we have a true and living faith.

So then, we come back to our earlier question?
“Why then is it so difficult for us, sometimes, to muster up corresponding action to the faith we have in God? ” The answer is simple….because sometimes we impede the seed. Things get in the way.  Things that we dread…like worry doubt or fear. Or things that we seek after, like desires, lusts and appetites.

Back to Matthew 13

 Parables About the Kingdom of Heaven
1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Parable of the Sower Explained
(18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
 

Reading the parable we see that the groups of people can be divided up into two. People who never receive the seed, the unsaved. And those who do receive the seed. The saved. Everyone who received the seed, the word of God…Jesus in their heart is saved. Even if their production capability is off. Salvation is never in question.  Remember Ephesians 2-8:9 saved by grace, not of works. In this situation we are talking about LIFE. because once you are saved, it is expected that you in turn will sow life and be a producing Christian. So what stops a person from producing?

 

Three kind of people received the seed, one type produces, two don’t.

The first type is this:

20But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

This is the person who, after their saved, does invest the time and effort into the devotion of God necessary to create a deep, substantial root of support in times of trouble. A deep abiding faith, where in our first and only reliance is on a loving father and His provision for us. You Know,  2nd Peter 1 3as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue When our reliance is on Him and His provision we can stand against the tribulations of life, both from the enemy camp, and simply from our families. This person’s faith withers in the face of adversity and they can no longer produce or even thrive, they simply wilt. Raise your hand If this has happened to you?  (I would but I can’t type one handed ;o) )To keep from falling victim to this “Seed Impeder” we need to dig our roots deep into the things of God.

The second type is this:

. 22Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

 This is the person who after coming to God turns back into the things of the world. Not leaving God, but not completely leaving the world. They Like God , they want to be Christian, but they can think of any number of excuses why God wouldn’t mind this guilty little pleasure, or that little tiny sin, or this desire or this lust, and soon they become so entangled with the weeds of their own desires that their roots to God are crushed in the avalanche of compromise and suddenly, they just don’t “feel” God anymore. And they may even go to church, but they don’t produce….and they slowly wither under the weight of compromise and fall to the ground. When a person comes to Jesus, they must cut their ties to the world, turn their backs on their old lives and move into the new life God has for them. Does this mean abandoning their friends and family, no not necessarily but it does mean that you make your friends and family know that your life is now different and you won’t go with them to the bar, or anything else God would disapprove of. And then we tighten our sails and sail a steady course, straight for Holiness. And expressing the Holiness in our hearts….into our lives.

So what do you do if your a withered stalk? Do you give up? Do you kick in your chips and wait to die, so that you can FINALLY “feel” Jesus again?

Certainly not. While your faith is not dead, it most certainly is comatose and you need to wake it up. Tend your soil, remove the rocks and the weeds from your heart, resettle your roots and start growing again. To be come a producer of 30 60 or 100 fold. Plant the seed and watch your faith become awake again. Get help if you need it, Pastor and I are hear for just that purpose. We all have failures, we all have set backs….we all wither from time to time. But it is OUR JOB as Christians to always re-root and dig deep. It is OUR DUTY as sons and daughters of an Almighty God to come alive again in our faith and produce that thirty sixty and one hundred fold.

It is the Imperative of Our Faith.

I pray that you I and the whole family of God will find ways to strengthen our roots, and clear the weeds of the word out of our lives, so that we can survive and succeed into producing Christians sowing our seed into the lost world to produce yet more in the family of God.