Seed Planters - not Seed Substitutes

I want to be a "seed planter"! I am not interested in substitutes.

I have been reading Neil Cole's book "Organic Church". Neil Cole talks of how if we sow the Word of God, we will reap the Kingdom of God." He focuses us on the fact that it is God's Word that changes lives. He talks about how we give people messages about the seed - but that it is a seed substitute.

Yesterday I read how if we focus on "preparing the soil" and trying to "help the seed to grow" (something only God can do), we miss the basics and what we harvest will be a field of MUD! LOL!!! I want more than a harvest of mud! I also want to be sure to give people true seed. I believe that people can hear the Word of God - dig in to it and find it is alive and will impacts their lives. God's Word changed lives!

Neil Cole goes on to say that Jesus' parable in Mark 4 talks about sowing seed abundant, indiscriminant of where it lands. "To see the life of the Kingdom germinate, grow and bear fruit, God's Word must be received abundantly and it must penetrate deeply into our souls. If you do not plant the seed, you will not grow the life and see the fruit. It is that simple."

Neil further qualifies this by saying, "understand that it is not religious reading of the Bible that is important, but hearing God's voice. The Scriptures are alive with God's voice, and the Holy Spirit in us is a special anointing that gives each of us direct access to God's heart every time we open the Word." What a challenge - to take the opportunity to access God's heart. It makes me want to jump up and dig in to scripture! I also makes me want to "sow seeds" by sharing how God's Word has impacted my heart and life. It challenges me want to get fresh seed ready to share with others! 

How is your seed sowing? Are you being satisfied with substitute seed? What kind of harvest do you want?

Plant Seeds - Seeking more than mud!

Gal. 6:7 "Whatever a man sows that he will also reap." Neil Cole makes the point in his book "Organic Church" that in order to reap a harvest, we have to plant seeds. If you sow nothing, you reap nothing...at least nothing but mud. It is that simple. If you sow the Word of God, you will reap the Kingdom of God."  It makes me stop and thing and evaluate my week. What all have I been sowing. How would you answer this question, what have you sown this week? If all we are sowing is just our hard work, but not work that comes out of making Jesus the center of our work... what will we reap? Is the body negligant in keeping Jesus at the center of our efforts? Are we really seeking Him for the opportunities to sow seeds into the lives around us? Are we missiing the "open door" into the fields of lives we touch each day.

I am not refering to hard "old style" evangelism. I see sowing as planting the next seed in someone's heart and trusting the Holy Spirit to lead that same person to another "sower". I remember a dream I had about a Sower that continues to impact my thinking. There were a lot of old farmers content to stay in the "farm house", but were no longer in the business of planting seeds. They seemed to enjoy their connection to other farmers who were now also sitting down - but not sowing. Then there was a sower, who did not relent to stop... but kept on sowing. Up behind him came a wonderful golden harvest... I found myself desiring to follow in his footsteps. I want to be an "Organic Sower"... seeking an "Organic Harvest". Join me - sow some seeds.

Spirare Christos - "Breathe Christ"...

Why this? In a moment of defining who we desire to be - it came in a simple phrase, "One who breathes Christ." His essence in, His life in - into the core of who we are - no closed doors, no hidden agenda. Simply one who is connected to the understanding of complete dependance through total abandoned - knowing every breathe comes from Him and is for Him.

Then it is one who after breathing IN - breathes OUT... His life, His essence into the world around them. Who has as a core desire the quest to be "poured out" for Him in service & love to those we touch in our daily lives.

I am one desiring to BREATHE CHRIST moment by moment - to touch the world one life at at time!

Evening of Pondering

I have spent the last few days on a quest to understand a new trend. It is a trend that young teenagers are getting in to more these days. It is "cutting". I have been asked why young people would want to do this to themselves, and I have found myself seeking the Lord for answers. I read about the sadness that fills the hearts & lives of young people. I read how it is a "temporary" release to the pent up feelings. I hear how my daughters have fb friends who have tried it or gotten caught in it. Questions fill my heart and I ask, how do we reach out? How does one touch the lives of ones who are hurting? In the midst of these times of soul searching and listening in the quiet for answers, I am reading a book called "Jesus Loves You, this I know" by two guys who have gone beyond the ordinary to show an empty world that there is unconditional love out there. It does not come with a list of does and don'ts or a list of "how to join the club". Rather, they found unconventional ways to go the extra mile. To do the extra-ordinary to touch loves with Jesus' love. I pause and look deep into my own live, my past, my experiences and long for ... those "connecting points" to be one who shares a moment with a stranger, who finds a new friend a long the way, who walks alongside the one who is hurting and lonely... Thoughts... Prayers... Waiting...