2.5- The best spiritual growth happens when God is understood

 2.5-

The best spiritual growth happens when God is understood as our Father in heaven who desires to give His children His grace, mercy and peace.

God is love.  Those who live in love--live in God

When we love God and His Son Jesus and when His Spirit is in our hearts, we know God wants everyone to be saved and receive His love into their hearts.  He is not going to force His love on us.

This is the word of God shown in every different kind of Scriptural text.  From Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms down to the life of Jesus in the gospels there is nothing more clear than the reality that God loves His children.  He stands against sinful behavior that destroys them, but He loves them and has done everything He can to redeem them.

So I remind myself and my readers this morning to not allow anything to steal God's word from your mind and heart.  

Satan wants to steal the word from your life.  He is a liar and a murderer and is the opposition.  Our fight in life is not with people, but with the evil one who tempts all of us.

Do not let worry, wealth and there things choke out your time in intimate conversation with Him.  Pour out your heart to cry for mercy.  Get time alone and wait on the Lord.  Be still and remember your worship time with the body of Jesus and remember the words that were preached and taught.  If you are blessed to have access to Scripture in your own language then be sure and read the written word and meditate upon it.  Those who don't know the Scriptures do not know the power of God.

Do not be distracted by deceitful wealth.

Do not allow suffering brought about because of your stand with God and His word to stop you from walking with God.  Received God's strength.  Add to it by choosing to be strong.

Mark 4.

4 Again He began to teach by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat on the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. 2 And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, 3 “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.” 9 And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, [a]let him hear.”

10 As soon as He was alone, [b]His followers, along with the twelve disciples, began asking Him about the parables. 11 And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but for those who are outside, everything comes in parables, 12 so that while seeing they may see, and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear, and not understand, otherwise they might return and it would be forgiven them.”

Explanation of the Parable

13 And He *said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16 And in a similar way these are the ones sown with seed on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and yet they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately they [c]fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown with seed among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of the [d]world, and the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter and choke the word, and it [e]becomes unfruitful. 20 And those are the ones sown with seed on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much.”

21 And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a [f]basket, or under a bed, is it? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? 22 For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, [g]let him hear.” 24 And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. [h]By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”