Everyday Yes #9 --

No update as of this morning when I checked the Church website. Still waiting on message #7. I went up to the Tech Crew after service on Sunday to let them know the problem. They said they would let the IT guy know. And so we wait... In the meantime, there's still evidence of moving Sheila's things out. Someone was over there with her yesterday. Father's Day went well Sunday afternoon. I just had my parents over by themselves this time. I served Lobster Fettuccini Alfredo Primavera with sauteed Zucchini, Summer Squash, and mushrooms on the side. They had pre-cooked packaged lobsters at the store, so I bought one, broke it, and shredded the meat in my Food Processor to make enough to go around. We had Banana Splits made with Sundae Ice Cream for dessert. In between, when I was cleaning the kitchen from cooking, my oldest, Carissa, called. She ended up joining us for Rummy where she ended up coaching my mother on rules of play. Carissa had reminded me how to play the other week in Maine, and Dad was already semi-familiar, so caught right on to it. After mom and dad left, Carissa and I went out for Chinese. We don't get out much with just the two of us, so it was nice. I asked my parents during our meal how everything was going concerning their housing. Turns out they may not have to move at all. Just depends if their neighbor can buy the duplex and become the landlord. Even then, they should really be organizing better, but we'll see... I'm in a better place with finances than I've been in a while, so that's a relief!! Mike continues to be passed from one Disability Case Worker to another which is frustrating because he really wants us together rather than 1 hr and a half drive distant. So do I, but all in God's timing and provision. As he put it, he has "short term" faith that our day-to-day relationship details will work out with visits and such, where I have the longer term faith that our future will work out as it needs to. Although I also have the short-term side of the faith as well... :) But it just does my heart a world of good to know that he's Saved in the first place. That was not information I was clear on 30 yrs ago... <3 Rob and I continue to seek out balance in our friendship. Carissa is looking at and learning more about Managership at Olive Garden. Time will tell. :D Prayers for all, including my ex-husband, Rich, who spent his first Father's Day without his own with our son, Ben, so at least there was that. Oh, and today is Jasmine's bf, Bryan's, birthday, so good blessing thoughts for him. And after all of that, I almost forgot to wish all you readers a Happy Father's Day, belated though it is now... Current fathers, grandfathers, fathers-to-be, Step Fathers, Foster Fathers, Spiritual Fathers, Pet owners, and Mentors, you all rock!! Your dedication and sacrifices are eternally appreciated. God Bless!!

How many of you have a garden or grew up with one?? Vegetables, flowers, either one counts!! I grew up with both of my grandfathers having gardens. The one my parents and I lived with most of my childhood only had vegetables. The lupine and irises in the back corner were incidental. The other had a huge vegetable garden and a decent sized flower garden. Of course, farm land vs village locations make a difference. <3 Seed sowing can either be precise or "messy" depending on our desired results. Let's see what Jesus had to say about it, shall we?? For today's passages, we'll head to Matt. 13 --

The Parable of the Sower

13 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. 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 Whoever has ears, let them hear.” ---

Matthew 13:18-30 New International Version

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 their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jesus wanted both His Disciples and the crowds to understand that being a True Disciple includes both invitation and challenge. Invitation to freedom in Him, but challenge in achieving that freedom through full reliance on, and obedience to Him. I mean, it's clear that God understands human nature by all the help He gives us throughout Scripture. My immediate thought turns to Is. 55:8-9 where God, through the vessel Isaiah, is telling the people that their thoughts and ways are not His, but His ways are much higher. And once again, for those of you who grew up in Church, don't let the familiarity here make you miss the deeper message. This may be an angle you've never heard before...

Like we've mentioned before, it was significant that Jesus always sat to teach while His audience stood. This was Jewish tradition for a Rabbi. While there are stories about Jesus' teaching in the Temple or Synagogue, He was never actually ordained as a "kohein", which would be an official Clergyman of the Jews*.

So we know that there are 4 types of soil mentioned here --

Pathway -- These are people who hear without understanding or even desire to understand because The Devil is right there to "snatch it up" before they get a chance to really process what they've heard. They just end up going on their way without giving it a second thought.
Rocks -- These are the ones who receive God's Word joyfully, but have no root in the faith. The "seeds" get blown away quickly and the person loses the lesson quickly*.
Thorns -- These have some decent roots, but the "thorns" or distractions of life pull at their attention and so the fruit withers on the vine for lack of proper care.
Good -- These are the people who are ready and focused on receiving. Their hearts and minds are fertile ground for God's Word. They've been well prepared with proper tilling, feeding, and watering. They are protected from weeds with the good coverage of their Family and Friends. They have a good support system to encourage growth and produce a good harvest.

Something it's important to remember is that God doesn't call us based on who we are or any special talents* we may possess. He calls us because, as believers, we are His to call. The Great Commission wasn't just addressed to the Twelve original Disciples, it was for every Believer in God who would ever come later. You in Wyoming, you in Russia*, you in Bradford, NH, you here in Concord, NH, me, etc...

The challenge we all may face in sharing is the same that Jesus sometimes faced. Not everyone is going to listen. Not everyone is going to be as excited about the message as we are. That's okay!! We all know how it is when we've seen a great meme or a movie, or heard an amazing new song. We want to share it with everyone we know, right!? (those of you who are my FB friends know the truth of this with me) :D At this point, Pastor Matt shared about a movie (not the title*) he LOVES and wanted others to see it and appreciate it as much as he does. He even got things set up to show the staff at Church before it occurred to him that they may not like it!! What to do!!?? He went ahead with it and let the "chips fall where they may." If not everyone loved it, that was okay. He had shared something that excited him regardless of the results.

We may (and probably will) run up against this when we share God's Word with people. What are we to do?? Do we force it on them, do we back away and do nothing?? Neither. We share what we know graciously, in love for others and we give God the glory. Even if they don't respond well, we can rest easy in the knowledge that we tried. And we don't always know the final results either. Just because they didn't bow their head and pray with you in that moment doesn't mean they won't pray with someone else later*.

Jesus doesn't pay so much attention to the soil as to the fact of the sowing. This is where another challenge may come in for some of us. We think we know best who to share with or not. We pre-judge certain people or groups thinking that we'd be "wasting our time" with them. We look at a particular group of people and just automatically think that it wouldn't be worth the effort because maybe their lifestyle is different or their political opinions are different. We may even pre-judge ethnicity based on culture. But does Jesus' Ministry pay the least attention to any of that?? Did He only preach/teach to Jews?? No. He taught Gentiles, Romans, Samaritans*, etc... Think about it, how many times do we hear Him say, "whoever has ears, let him hear"?? Right?? It was no mistake that Jesus made it a habit to teach to large crowds. It was the sowing that mattered, not the soil. Thought process here... after all, soil is subject to change, the "seed" of the Word of God is not.

This gives us the freedom we spoke of earlier because the results aren't up to us; they're up to Him. Jesus is Lord over all of Creation. He was Lord over Caesar, He is Lord over money, over sin, over sensuality, everything that we get distracted by in this World. (the "thorns")

As those of us here in the United States are aware, we have recently gained a new National Holiday in June. It is the celebration of freedom provided by The Emancipation Proclamation. It is officially on the 19th because that is the day President Lincoln's troops arrived in Galveston Bay, TX to deliver the news of the Proclamation as this area was still under Confederate control. Therefore, it is called Juneteenth. When viewed from both sides of the Slavery issue, it ultimately provided freedom for both the oppressed and for the oppressors. Not only did it abolish Slavery (at least on a legal basis), but it freed the hearts and minds of the Slave Owners from the guilt of owning other human beings and forcing hard labor on many of them. The Gospel does the same for us. It frees us from our burden of sin so that we may, in turn, help others find that freedom for themselves. It is our job as God's "troops" to deliver the message of freedom to any and all people who have not yet heard it; thereby "freeing the captives" from sin and death.

The fact is, a lot of seed is going to fall on poor soil. That's just the numbers*. That's not ours to worry about. Jesus didn't say, "Go into this one person's house or that town over there and preach the Gospel..." He said, "Go into all the World..." The person's heart is revealed by the results. And Pastor Matt didn't directly say this, but our hearts are revealed in this as well by who we are open to sharing with or not. The bottom line is that we cannot predict the soil, we are only responsible for sowing the seed. As our 2nd passage says, sometimes our sowing will bring 30x, 60x, or even 100x the return on our efforts. We have only to focus on living in loving faithfulness to Jesus and in the freedom of our souls He provides.

It can be our tendency to change the meaning behind Scripture at times to make it easier for us to accept and "obey" according to our revised definitions*. Rather than sharing The Gospel gently, in love, as Jesus did, we may create "Truth Bricks" and proceed to effectively "throw" them at specific people in order to convince them of our news* rather than "sprinkling confetti" in a soft approach over everyone. We need to follow Jesus' example of releasing control of where our seeds land and on whom.

Like we said above, not everyone is going to listen, and that's okay. Think about the Rich Young Ruler. He rejected Jesus' invitation and walked away sad because his wealth had too much of a hold on him. He didn't trust a life without it. Even a life following Jesus. What "wealth" is holding you back from serving God?? What is it in your life's narrative that you have a problem letting go of??

Another aspect of our freedom in following Jesus' example is that we don't have to do anything special. He shared The Gospel as He lived His everyday life. And that's all He's asking us to do. "in your going, preach the Gospel..."* In our lives, we give voice to the life Jesus wants us to live. We don't have to go to Bible College or become an "official Missionary" to a foreign country or whatever. God places us in our cities, towns, and neighborhoods because that's exactly where we can do the most good for Him. (granted, He sends some out, but the point is that it's not nearly all of us)

In closing the service, Pastor Matt shared a few examples of everyday people just doing what they do and serving God in the process. One was a local company owner (Electric or Plumbing, I think). Anyway, in his company meetings, he makes it clear that the culture and ethics are Biblically based. Next, he shared about his wife, Heidi, who is a nurse for one of the areas Dana Farber Cancer Clinics. She was recently awarded the organization's Top Honor for Excellence in Care Giving!! Amazing accolades just for being a Chemo Nurse who truly cares about her patients. And finally, he shared about my friend Diane. She's the mother of one of my HS classmates. For decades, she has been volunteering in the local Elementary Schools to help in Preschool and Kindergarten classes. Literally hundreds of kids, including her own grandchildren now, call her "Grammy Diane". Wonderful stories of Godly people just doing what they love in service to God. Just "sowing seed" in everyday life, as Jesus said. And leaving the results to Him... -- God Bless!!

Footnotes --

Jesus being a Rabbi -- I got curious about the status, so I looked it up. The page I looked at said that a Rabbi is ordained by another Rabbi, but they are just teachers without any organizational or legal authority. A Kohein has official authority for weddings and such. A Rabbi may become a Kohein, but a Kohein does not have to have been a Rabbi prior to being given authority.
Rocky soil -- the seed is snatched away for having no root. This emphasizes the importance of a Church body or at least solid Fellowship to rely on for support.
Special Talents -- mention was made last week on Spiritual Roles and Gifts.
You in Russia -- I get notifications on my phone for every site visit. I know you're there, so welcome!!
He later shared a movie image on FB simply saying, "If you know, you know". The movie is "Warrior". I plan on finding it soon and watching it for myself. :D
They may pray with someone else later. I've mentioned on here before that we don't always know if we are the one planting, watering, or harvesting a seed.
Jesus' preaching to certain groups -- He at least told His Disciples to "render unto Caesar.." Matt. 22:21, but also think about the faith of the Centurion in Matt. 8:5-13. This man was a Roman Gentile. He also spoke to the Samaritan Woman at the Well in John 4.
"Just the numbers" that the seed will fall on bad soil... and me bad at Math LOL
Changing the Bible to suit our needs can also be called "cherry-picking". This is when we "pick and choose" the verses we like and ignore others. Sad and shameful practice IMO... and in Jesus'... He didn't inspire the Bible for us to take what we want and leave the rest, like a buffet. He inspired it to be taken as a single meal ending with a clean plate!!
Throwing bricks -- Guilty as charged... I've been known to do this on Social Media in the past. Also, Pastor Matt had a real brick and a foam brick as visual aids for this part. He scared a couple who are friends of mine sitting in the front row by throwing the foam one at them... lol
"In your going..." we touched on this a little while back on here.