"Ears To Hear"

I believe that having "ears to hear" is the most important element in our spiritual growth.  Many times Jesus said, "If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."  Having ears to hear is much different than having ears that hear!  The same things that Jesus said were heard by both the Pharisees, and by the disciples, but the disciples came back to Jesus and asked Him what He meant, because they desired to understand, Luke 8:9.  The parable of the sower and the seed is the parable upon which the other parables are understood.  Mark 4:13 says, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?"  The meaning of this parable was given to the disciples when they came to Him and asked Him for the understanding.  Others had hearts that were closed, ears hard of hearing, and eyes that were shut, Matt. 13:14,15.  But Jesus said the disciples were blessed because their eyes could see and their ears could hear.  They heard the things that the prophets and righteous men of old had longed to hear and see.  The growth of our spiritual lives is not so much dependant on God, as it is dependant on whether we have ears to hear.  The measure of our growth will depend on our hearing.  "Take heed what you hear.  With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  Mark 4:24,25.  In the parable of the sower and the seed, the fruit produced came from the seed, and the conditions of the soil where the seed was growing.  The fruit in our lives comes from the seed of the Word planted in us, and the condition of our heart where the Word is growing.  Fruit comes from the seed!  Plant more seed for more fruit!  Nurture the seed that has been planted, and guard your heart from thorns, thistles, and hardness.  A harvest of 30, 60, and 100 fold awaits us, as we allow the seed to bring forth fruit in our lives.  Is your heart still open to hearing from God?  Are you hungry and desiring more of God?  With open ears, you will grow and bring forth fruit for the Kingdom of God!      

The Coin In The Fish's Mouth

The story of the coin in the fish's mouth is one of the most intriguing and miraculous stories in the Bible.  In Matt. 17:24-27 we read that those who gathered the temple tax came to Peter and asked him if his Master paid the temple tax?  The temple tax was an annual tax that everyone paid.  Everyone paid the same amount for the upkeep of the temple.  Vs. 27 says, "Nevertheless, lest we offend them, go to the sea, cast in a hook, and take the fish that comes up first.  And when you have opened its mouth, you will find a piece of money; take that and give it to them for Me and you."  I saw three things in this story that we can apply to our lives.  First, Jesus knows where the coin is.  It is so encouraging to know that Jesus knows where the coin is.  When we are in need, and we don't know where the money is going to come from, we need to remember that Jesus knows where the money is.  It moves us to seek God in faith, believing that God will supply every need.  We can have confidence because we know that Jesus knows where the money is.  Secondly, Peter had to do something to get the coin.  Jesus could have given Peter a coin, but the coin was revealed in a way that Peter would never forget.  It took an act of faith and obedience for Peter to find the coin.  We too will need to move in faith and obedience in order to find God's provision for us.  We must ask God, "What do You want me to do"?  And we must be obedient to the things in His Word and what He tells us to do.  Jesus wants to reveal Himself to us through the provision of the coin.  Thirdly, the coin had a purpose.  I'm sure that Peter never thought about going to spend the coin for anything else but to pay the taxes.  The coin had a purpose.  The coin that comes into our hands has a purpose.  We need to find the purpose for the coin.  The coin comes from God, and when we spend it, we should ask if we are spending it for the purpose we received it.  God supplies the coin we need for our taxes, food, clothes, payments, etc. but we need to know we have spent our coin for the right purpose.  Have we honored God with our tithe?  Have we given offerings as we should?  The coin is a gift, not to be squandered but to be used for its intended purpose.  The coin is to serve the purposes of God.  We do not serve the coin, the coin serves us.  The coin is not our master.  God is our master, and we cannot serve two masters.  The battle for our hearts is to keep God first, and to have no other gods before Him.  No, the coin is not our master, it is a blessing from God.  It is our servant to fulfill the purposes of God. 

Free Cheese

We are instructed to bring our thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ. The battle takes place in our mind, in our thought life. James 1:12-15 shows us the way that temptation works. It is a 5 step process: 1. We are drawn away by our own desires. 2. We are enticed (baited). 3. Desire conceives - becomes action. 4. The desire becomes sin. 5. Sin leads to death. I saw these as 5 words all beginning with the letter D: Drawn, Desire, Decision, Deed, Death. It is the process by which we trap a mouse. First, we set the trap, and the mouse is drawn to notice the trap. The mouse may have ran that way a hundred times, but that day something draws his attention. Then he notices the cheese. He says to himself, "Free Cheese". Wow, this is too good to be true! He is enticed. He is baited, and maybe he doesn't go nibble on the cheese right away, but he remembers the cheese and keeps thinking about the free cheese. He finally decides that he is going to get some of that cheese. The decision is followed by action, by committing the deed. But unknown to him, this decision leads to his death. This is the process of temptation. When we are drawn away by something, we can avoid the damage by bringing our thoughts into captivity. But if we allow our thoughts to continue, and we become enticed, we have started down a very dangerous path. Like someone has said, "You can't stop the birds from flying around your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair." If thoughts are allowed to turn into action, it is because we have made a decision to act on those thoughts. The decision means we have done the deed, we have acted out on our thoughts. The wages of sin is death, and death is the result of sin. Our tempter was created a wonderful creature in the beginning, and he has a knowledge of temptation. He knows the traps that can ensnare us. We must not lean on our own strength to overcome temptation, but we must put on the whole armour of God. If we pass by the mousetrap, the enemy will go about to make a better mousetrap, so we always need to walk in the truth of God's Word, and in a spirit of prayer and dependence on God. Be carful of "Free Cheese". It may be very costly!