What kind of Soil are You? Thorns?!

For those who have been following this series, I move on to the next kind of Soil, Thorns. These are the kind of soil who receive the word but are choked by thorns (worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful).

One thing that quickly jumps out here is that, the previous soil, Path, were persecuted on account of the word, but here we see that these set of individuals are more concerned about worries of this life, which choke the Word. I will like to mention that the worries of Life and deceitfulness of riches act as distractions(blinders) to the Word these individuals received and understood.

I will take it a step further and say that if we were to look at this as a gradual procedure from the first soil, then this individuals might have even overcome some persecutions on account of the Word. The enemy being frustrated devices a new strategy and decides to touch their health, family, riches then worry starts to creep in and their trust in God is shaken, the truth of the word is choked, they struggle to hold on to the Word, it sounds absurd. Or in another case the Devil lures them into riches, greatness, material wealth and they get so involved in attaining these things that they lose focus on Christ, their views are distorted.

These things happen subtly, and as you can see from my writing, it is difficult to pin point where or when it might arise. For each individual our case might be different, but on thing we know is that there will be distractions from focusing on God, and that is our clue. Regardless on how this might creep in, once we notice distractions in our worship and fellowship we can be certain  there is something trying to take the number one spot in our lives, Christ.

So how do we ensure that we are not distracted my the worries and deceitfulness of wealth. Mathew 6:33; Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all other things will be added to you. Here we can see that wealth itself is not bad but our main focus should always be on God. Once this is so, we should be confident that we will overcome. Christ should be our Focus.

For greater understanding on how to overcome thorns read the book of Job.

Till next time were I discuss the final soil, remain blessed.

Maranatha.

Christ-Like Attitude (5): Justice

Justice; yes the Lord is a just God. He is righteous and expects equity, fairness and love from Christians to all men.We can see how the Lord loves justice that he explicitly commands that we are just ourselves, He prefers justice to the burnt offerings and sacrifices that we may offer (Micah 6:6-8; Isaiah 1:11-17; Zechariah 7: 9-10).

He has also asked us to appoint just leaders to rule over us to judge His people fairly (Deut 16:18-20). We will need to pray for our leaders as well as go beyond the physical likeness when we go out to choose these leaders. 

As Christians we should try to work in Justice, as much as lies with us, we should treat each other the way we want to be treated and according to the principles of the word of God. We need to love our neighbors, our friends, acquaintances and even our enemies to be able to overcome any form of evil that comes our way.

Justice as with other Christ-Like attitudes can be achieved by submitting to the Lord, humbling ourselves and letting the Holy Spirit guide us. I pray that as we continue to work with God that His grace and Spirit will lead us to conform to His will for our Lives.

Remain Blessed. Maranatha.

Christ-Like Attitude (1): Humility

"You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.When He appeared in human form, He humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2: 5-11)."

Humility is a key Character for all Christians. Yes, Humility is very difficult to master but possible, and yet one of the best weapons we have in our Arsenal. As Highlighted in italics in the Scripture reading, this was Christ Greatest moment of victory. The results show this, He was Elevated and bestowed the Highest Honor.

For Christians to be Elevated to any altitude they wish to attain be it Financial, Spiritual, Emotional, Physical, we need to practice Humility to the fullest and on purpose. We need to be determined not to yield to our flesh but to the word of God.

Obedience is a perquisite for humility, Christ Humbled Himself in Obedience to God, regardless of the anguish and pain He knew he will be subjected to. Fellow laborers my encouragement to you is to try make Humility a first nature, yes moments of Pride will arise, but through the Spirit of God and by His Grace let us overcome any tactics of the Enemy.

Remember through Christ we are more than Conquerors, we are Victors. Remain blessed and please feel free to share your bouts with pride and how you plan to or have overcome this with Humility.

Shalom. Maranatha.