Category: Encouragement

A Life that is Truly Great

If you want to be truly great in this life then there is one thing that you must do and that is you must do good. Doing good is meeting the needs of others without hurting others in the process. The end does not outweigh the means. If the end is good but the means are not then you have not done anything great but rather you have hurt others. Doing good also will not take from someone else to do good to another. Doing good is kindness done to one with justice to all.

Micah 6:8 He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Another way of saying it is that doing good must be done the right way. Doing good does not take what is rightfully someone else’s to give to another, even if they are in need.

Mark 7:27,28 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.”

The Lord is constantly looking for someone who will do good to others. We all are looking for someone who is genuinely doing good.

Psalm 14:2,3 The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who understand,
Who seek after God.
They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.

The beginning of doing good is to seek God for He is the only One who is good.

Mark 10:18b No one is good except God alone.

The Lord is looking for someone who will seek Him because apart from Him we can not do any good. There is so little good in us that none of seek God. We all seek after our own interests. Seeking God is a prerequisite to being truly great. Otherwise everything that we do will be for our own self and we can not serve ourselves and others also.

Matthew 23:11 But the greatest among you shall be your servant.

The more good we do and the more that we serve others, rather than ourselves, the greater we will be.

Matthew 18:1-4 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Before you can be truly great on earth you must become great in the kingdom on heaven. The kingdom of heaven is here on earth and dwells within the hearts of the people who have received Jesus Christ as their King, for He alone is King of kings. He is our King and we are His servants. In serving Him we are to serve others and do good to them, just as He came and did good to others.

Acts 10:38a You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good

Do you want to be truly great? Then you must discover the needs of others and meet them through serving. This what it means to be truly great. God is the only One who is truly great and in doing these things you will be more like Him. Doing good is when God meets man once again.

 

A Life that Does Not Need to Worry

The Lord knows how fragile we are and our tendency to worry. He tells us not to worry. He makes it very clear and says “Do not worry”.

Matthew 6:25-33 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

The Lord knows that we need food, shelter and clothing. He says “do not worry”. He says that He feeds the birds and that they do not even store up but He feeds all of the birds every day of their lives. Amazing. He says not to worry about our clothing. He knows that we need clothes. He began by clothing Adam and Eve in the garden and He will provide clothing for his children. Do you need shelter? Yes! He will provide for you. All of these things the world eagerly seeks but He tells us to seek Him and His kingdom and righteousness and all of these things will be added to us. God is faithful. Do not worry about His part but be concerned that you do what He has called you to do and that is to be faithful to His commands and instructions to you.

Psalm 37:25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his descendants begging bread.

He also says not to worry about tomorrow. He truly knows how we are made and how tempting it is to worry about tomorrow so He tells us to not even worry about tomorrow.

Matthew 6:34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Do you have troubles today. Yes, we all will have struggles and troubles but the Lord says that He is a present help in time of trouble.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.

Go to Him with your struggles and trouble. He is not only an eternal Savior but He is a present Savior who will show Himself strong on behalf of those who turn to Him with all of their heart.

II Chronicles 16:9a For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.

 

A Life that Chooses the Light

Life can be narrowed down to two basic choices and these choices determine the quality of our lives, the direction of our lives and the end of our lives. The two choices are that we can either go towards the light or we can go towards the darkness. If we go towards the light then we will receive more light and will eventually reflect the light to others.

John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

In Christ alone is life and His life is the Light of men.

John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

When we receive Christ then we receive the life and we receive the light.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

Jesus Christ is the light that gives light to everyone who receives Him and He enlightens every man.

John 1:9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

You can come to the light through believing in Jesus Christ or you can remain in darkness. The choice is yours.

John 12:46 I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness.

If you choose to remain in darkness then your “world” will become darker and darker and you will not be able to see life clearly. You will live in a state of confusion and will stumble through life without peace.

I Corinthians 14:33a for God is not a God of confusion but of peace,

The reason why people do not come to the Light is because they want to go their own way and do what they want to do. The end is frustration, defeat and death.

John 3:19,20 This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

After death, those who chose darkness with receive judgment for the choices of sin they made. They could have chosen light and life but they chose darkness, judgment and eternal torment and death.

Hebrews 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

Those who chose the light and the life of Jesus Christ will see Jesus when He appears a second time for salvation without a reference to sin to those who eagerly await Him. They chose to turn from darkness to the light and received light, life and eternal salvation and life.

Hebrews 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

A Life of Great Worth

The value of anything is what someone would pay for it. If this is true then what is your life worth? It is of great worth if you know the Lord because you have been bought with a price, which is the blood of Christ. He paid for you with His life.

I Corinthians 6:20 For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

The incredible price that you were bought with is the blood of Christ. You have been redeemed and bought out of slavery into freedom through the blood of Jesus.

I Peter 1:18,19 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

All the money in the world could not have bought your freedom. It took the life of One who loved you and have His life for you.

Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—

Not only did He redeem you and set you free but He has made you to be a kingdom and to represent men and women before the Father Himself as His priests.

Revelation 1:6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

However, not only are we to be priests to the Lord but we are His spokesmen to the world. We are to share the Good News of God’s love for mankind and His redeeming work of the blood of Jesus on the cross and how He was raised again to live forever and to give eternal life to those who believe in Him.

Jeremiah 15:19a Therefore, thus says the Lord,
“If you return, then I will restore you—
Before Me you will stand;
And if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become My spokesman.

The Bible says that those who do not know the Lord are worth less.

I Samuel 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the Lord

The heart of the wicked is worth little.

Proverbs 10:20 The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver,
The heart of the wicked is worth little.

Only Jesus Christ can restore the image of God within a person who has been destroyed through sin. Only Jesus Christ can give us a new heart and take our old sinful heart. Only Jesus Christ can transform our lives into the image of God according to how He designed and created us. Only God can do the work of salvation but He has chosen those who know Him to be His ambassadors and to tell others.

II Corinthians 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Jesus Christ is the King of kings and He has made us to be His kingdom, His priests and His ambassadors to the world that the world might be reconciled to God. What an incredible privilege and joy.

II Corinthians 5:18,19 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

 

 

A Life Living in Love and Truth

As you learn to live in God’s love and truth then you will soar in life. Your life will have purpose and meaning and you will experience great joy and fulfillment.

Psalm 138:8 The Lord will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O Lord, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

God’s love and God’s truth are eternal.

Psalm 117:2 For His lovingkindness is great toward us,
And the truth of the Lord is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!

As you live in His love and truth then you will being living the eternal life that He came to bring to you. You will have eternal values and eternal treasures.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

As you walk in His truth and His love then you will be doing what He has called you to do.

I John 2:3-6 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

His commandments are love and truth. If you love Him then you will keep His commandments and if you keep His commandments then you will be loving others as He has loved you. Jesus was full of love and truth and kept His Father’s commandments. He wants us to walk in the same manner as he Himself also walked.

I John 2:10 The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

When you love others then you will not make them stumble nor will you stumble. For this reason there are some activities that are not a right or wrong issue but they are “love” issues because they would make someone stumble. If you love your brother then you will not do anything to make Him stumble. You will restrict your “freedom” out of love for your brother.

Romans 14:15-21 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil; for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense. It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.

If you eat certain foods (that were sacrificed to idols) or drink wine and make your brother stumble then you are not walking according to love. The word “good” in this passage means the highest form of love. If you are not loving your brother then this issue is not just a love issue but has become a sin issue. Even though the activity may not be “sin” for you, the very action has become sin because it is not loving your brother.

I John 3:10b anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

If you are a Christian and belong to Him then the commandment that He has given you is to love your brother. If you keep His commandments then you will abide in His love and His love will abide in you.

 

A Life that Knows the Truth of God

Jesus Christ said that He is the truth. There is no truth apart from God. Truth never changes and is the only constant that we can build our lives on and put our hope in. God’s Word will never fail you nor can you change it. There are many theories and speculations in the world but they are constantly changing and are the result of man’s reasonings which will fail.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

God’s Word is truth and when we live by it then it will set us apart from the rest of the world and will define our lives.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.

God and His Word are equal.

Psalm 138:2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.

You can not truly worship the Lord apart from His truth for those who worship in spirit and truth are the ones whom the Father seeks to be His worshipers.

John 4:23,24 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

If you want to be His disciple then you must know His truth which is found in His word.

John 8:31,32 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

When you know God’s truth then the truth will make you free. Many people are free on the outside but not free on the inside. They have allowed some sin to have dominion over them and to control them. You can not set yourself free from sin but God can and He wants to through His truth. Are you struggling within with some particular sin that you know the Lord is not pleased with and if others knew then you would feel ashamed? Come to the Lord and He will set you free and you will be free indeed. He knows our weaknesses and we all have them so come to Him. He loves you and will not disgrace you but He is full of grace and truth and will show you His tender love. He does not condemn you.

Psalm 119:132,133 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
After Your manner with those who love Your name.
Establish my footsteps in Your word,
And do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.

 

A Life of Kindness and Truth

There are amazing promises to the person who will fill their lives with kindness and truth. You will find favor with God and man.

Proverbs 3:3,4 Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
Bind them around your neck,
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
So you will find favor and good repute
In the sight of God and man.

The person whom the Lord uses will characterize these traits for they are what defined our Lord Jesus Christ. He was full of kindness and He was full of truth. One of the aspects of grace is kindness. An expression of grace is showing favor towards someone expressed in kindness. Jesus was full of grace and truth and it was expressed in kindness and truth.

Proverbs 14:22 Will they not go astray who devise evil?
But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.

Goodness and doing good is what God has called us to do and it consist of doing kindness and truth. When you seek to do good to others then kindness and truth will come to you. The Lord is good and He is kindness and truth. He wants us to do good and to be kindness and truth to others. What you do to others will be done to you.

Psalm 25:10 All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth
To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

The paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and truth and when you learn to keep His commandments then you will walk in His paths.

Psalm 40:11,12 You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
For evils beyond number have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has failed me.

If you are seeking Him and seeking to obey Him and to do what is right then even when you feel as though you have failed and your sins have overtaken you so that you can not even see then His lovingkindness and His truth will still and continually preserve you. His lovingkindness and truth are in Christ Jesus and Jesus will never leave you or forsake you.

Psalm 61:2-4 From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For You have been a refuge for me,
A tower of strength against the enemy.
Let me dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.

Even when your heart is faint and you can not see through the darkness then call to Him. He will lead you to the rock that is higher than you. Jesus Christ is that Rock and He will be a refuge for you and a tower of strength against the enemy. You will dwell in His presence forever.

Hebrews 13:5b for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,”

 

 

 

 

 

A Life that Recognizes a Wise Person

If you have wise people in your life and if you have a wise friend then you are especially blessed because the Bible says that you also will be wise. Since there are not many wise people in the world, for the way of wisdom and walking in God’s ways is narrow, then how do you recognize a wise person so that you might walk with them through life?

Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Many a person has gotten into trouble by being a companion with a fool. However, many a person has been saved from much grief because they had a friend who was wise. First of all, seek to be wise and then ask the Lord to give you a wise friend. Your wise friend will stick closer than a brother and will speak truth to you even if it hurts.

Proverbs 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend,
But deceitful are the kisses of an enemy.

A wise friend will be more concerned about your relationship with the Lord than with your friendship with them. Their love for you will be Christlike and will point you to the Lord. However, how do you know when someone is a wise person?

James 3:13 Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom.

A wise person will have the fruit of wisdom and the fruit of wisdom is to do good. The Lord gave Solomon great wisdom because the heart of Solomon was to do good by leading God’s people in the right way. Solomon did not seek for wealth or honor but asked God for wisdom. A wise person will not seek after honor for themselves nor will they put their hope in riches. A wise person will seek the Lord and it will be evident in their life by their good deeds.

Proverbs 1:5 A wise man will hear and increase in learning,
And a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,

A wise person will be teachable and will continually want to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn from Him. The Bible says that a man will be praised according to his insight. A wise person will have God’s insight on matters.

Daniel 2:20,21 Daniel said,“Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.
“It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men
And knowledge to men of understanding.

A wise person will recognize and know that the Lord is the source of all wisdom and that He is the One who gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding. A fool is one who is wise in his own eyes but a wise person will know that he has no wisdom of his own.

Proverbs 29:11 A fool always loses his temper,
But a wise man holds it back.

A wise person does not have anger issues. Anger stems from wanting your own way and is destructive to those around them. If you want a life of misery then marry a fool and especially one who loses his temper. A wise person wants God’s way and is peaceful, gentle and loving. If you want a marriage designed by the Lord and is a taste of heaven then marry a wise person and enjoy the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

Matthew 7:24 Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.

Finally, a wise person is one who builds their life on the Word of God. They don’t just listen to it but they do it. They seek the Lord diligently. This is who is wise and who will be a friend who will not only love God but will love you also. Seek to be this friend to others and you will find that those who are wise will want to be your friend. Your life will be richly blessed and you will be a blessing to others.

Hosea 14:9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
Whoever is discerning, let him know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
And the righteous will walk in them,
But transgressors will stumble in them.

 

A Life that Seeks to Be Wise

There is a proverb that says that if you are wise then you are wise for yourself but if you scoff then you alone will bear it. What this means is that one of the greatest gifts that you can give yourself is wisdom and if you do not seek wisdom and treasure it but scoff and turn your back on wisdom and do your “own thing” then you will bear the sorrow.

Proverbs 9:12 If you are wise, you are wise for yourself,
And if you scoff, you alone will bear it.

Wisdom is the instruction for life. Just as if you are trying to assemble something and choose to not read the instructions but “try to figure it out on your own”, it will cost you much more time and often the assembled item will not run the way it is supposed to and you may have problems with it along the way. So is life, if we do not follow the instructions then it will take us much longer to figure life out and all of the wonderful ways and gifts of life. We will spend much time trying to fix the problems that could have been prevented if only we had done it right the first time. The gifts of life will no longer seem like gifts but more like burdens.

Psalm 104:24 O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; The earth is full of Your possessions.

One of the greatest gifts that the Lord has given to us is that we are His creation and He has given us life. We are God’s work and it was in wisdom that He made us. There is nothing haphazard in what He has done. We are intricately and wonderfully made.

Psalm 139:13,14 For You formed my inward parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.

Foolishness is the opposite of wisdom and it is foolish to think that we randomly came together or evolved from a lower species. There is nothing like the human being. The Lord made us in His image and only God can give sight and hearing. Even if man could put together the parts or they just randomly came together the eye would not see nor the ear hear.

Proverbs 20:12 The hearing ear and the seeing eye,
The Lord has made both of them.

Evolution is a smoke screen to seek to deny the existence of God. If no God then no guilt and if no guilt then we can do as we please. There could not be a more foolish way of thinking and it is scoffing at God.

Psalm 14:1-3 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds;
There is no one who does good.
The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there are any who understand,
Who seek after God.
They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.

It is the tendency of all of our hearts to go our own way and to not seek after God and to do good. Our hearts are foolish and for this reason we need a new heart that will seek after God and know Him. The Lord is the only One who can give us a new heart. He wants to give you a new heart and put a new Spirit within you.

Ezekiel 36:26,27 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

When you receive a new heart and receive His Spirit then He will cause you to walk in His ways, which is wisdom, and He will teach you to observe His ordinances, which are His instructions for life. If you have not received a new heart then ask Him today. Seek Him while He may be found. He will come to you.

Luke 11:9,10 So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened.

 

 

 

A Life of Blessed Faith

There are two kinds of faith. There is a faith that is an intellectual faith where we believe with our minds. The other kind of faith is a heart faith. We can believe with our minds but not with our hearts. Many people believe with their minds but few believe with their hearts. When Jesus walked on earth there were the two kinds of faith evidenced. When we have heart faith God changes and saves us but intellectual faith only pacifies the one with it and there are no changes.

Matthew 21:32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.

Many of the religious leaders believed that John the Baptist came in the way of righteousness but they did not believe with their hearts but only with their minds. Heart faith will act on the words which are heard. The words will go into their hearts and effect a change within the heart that will be seen in the actions of the person. Many of the tax collectors and prostitutes had heart faith and their lives were changed.

Luke 8:5-8a “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.”

Jesus knew the hearts of men and so He told this parable to the people about the different kinds of hearts. This is a parable about the hearts of men. Three of these people believed the Word of God but only one had an honest and good heart faith.

Luke 8:11-15 Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

In the first soil the Word of God is kept from entering the mind or the heart of the hearer. In the second soil the Word of God only enters the mind but never goes into the heart of the hearer. In time the recipient falls away because the Word of God never took root in their heart. The third soil heard the Word of God but because their hearts were already so cluttered and filled with other things the Word of God never took deep roots in those hearts either. Their lives did not bear mature fruit. The last person heard the Word of God with an honest and good heart. They held the Word of God fast to their hearts and bore fruit with perseverance.

Mark 4:20 And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.

The same parable is repeated in the Gospel of Mark and the word “hear” means “keeps on hearing” in the original language of the Bible. It is a continuation of hearing and not just hearing once but “keeping on hearing”. This is how we hold fast the Word of God in our hearts. Since no one was born with an “honest and good heart” we need to hear the Word continually so that the Word of God will do its work of cleansing in our hearts so that we can receive the Word with an “honest and good heart”.

John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.

Once we receive the Word of God with an “honest and good heart” then we need to persevere in applying it to our lives so that we might bear fruit. All of us have need of perseverance. The Lord takes us to new levels of obedience and faith and stretches us toward maturity that is reached through perseverance and endurance.

Hebrews 10:36-39 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while,
He who is coming will come, and will not delay.
But My righteous one shall live by faith;
And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.

If you find that you are weak in faith and need encouragement then read God’s Word for He will speak to your heart. Go and talk to a more mature Christian whose faith has been tested and who has endured and persevered when there did not seem much hope. The Lord is faithful but sometimes we need to reminded and encouraged. Don’t lose heart. Pray to the Lord and He will help you. This is His instruction to us when our faith is weak and our heart is faint.

Luke 18:1 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart,