Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts

Friday, 21 May 2010

Testify of the things heard

“who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” (Re 1:2-3 NIV)

 “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2Ti 2:2 NIV)

 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” (Jas 1:22 NIV)

 “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.” (Jas 1:25 NIV)

“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” (Isa 44:3 NIV)

 “"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” (Isa 55:1 NIV)

 “Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” (Isa 58:9-11 NIV)

 “Whoever believes in me, as {Or If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me. And let him drink, 7:38 who believes in me. As} the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him."” (Joh 7:38 NIV)


Dutch version / Nederlandse versie > Getuig van het gehoorde

Saturday, 14 March 2009

Picking Stones

English: A Pile Of Stones These stones were re...
A Pile Of Stones These stones were removed from the field whilst preparing the soil for planting potatoes. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Picking Stones

March 14, 2009

By Randy Mantik

Ah, spring. It's wonderful to see things green up. One of the things that signaled the arrival of spring for our family when I was growing up on the farm was an annual ritual we carried out in the fields before planting called 'picking stones.' Ugh! For the uninitiated, picking stones is when you go through the field and pick up and cart off all the stones that have pushed their way up through the soil during the winter.

The first few times I did it, I thought, 'One of these years, we're going to get rid of every single stone and never have to do it again.' But, alas, when spring came the next year there was a fresh crop of stones.

In Matthew 13:1-23, Jesus talks about people's hearts, comparing their receptiveness to the message of the gospel to the soil. The soil of the heart doesn't have to be hard and unworkable. It can be softened.

Jesus says the seed sometimes falls on rocky ground. The soil appears to be good, yet it¹s shallow. The seed goes in and seems to take root, but there¹s not enough depth to maintain life. The plant dies off when the sun burns hot and things get hard because there are no strong roots.

Everyone faces the 'sun of circumstances' on their lives. Sometimes the rays are feeble and hardly felt; other times you suffer from a serious sunburn. A feeble ray might be when your car is in the shop or the washer breaks. A heat wave, when your child is diagnosed with cancer or the company you work for downsized you right out of a job. You name it, life can throw it at you.

However, what determines whether we grow in the heat of our situation or simply wither away is the depth and workability of our soil. How healthy are our spiritual roots? Are we diligently picking the rocks out of our hearts' soil.

What's life's sun doing to you? As someone said, "The same sun that hardens clay softens butter." When we allow the Word to soak into the hard, rocky places of our heart, wonderful things begin to happen. There is death to self. And then there is life. Let the Holy Spirit help you pick some stones from your heart today.
‹ Randy Mantik is lead pastor at CrossPoint AG in Portage, Wis.

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