Day 62: NT Luke C8: Hear The Word of God and See Beyond What Seems To Be…

How often we hear these days that one’s perspective, one’s positive thinking makes all the difference in the world? And it does though many times it is a manipulation of the mind to promote a product or service and a sale is made.

Some of my earliest inspiration and motivation came from reading “The Power of Positive Thinking: by Norman Vincent Peale. It helped but wasn’t enough for every challenge in my life.

Jesus spoke in parables and after one parable—the Parable of the Sower—He gave the Explanation Key to the Twelve Apostles and to us thought The Word of God.

“He who has ears to hear, let them hear!”

“To you (the Twelve Disciples) it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’”

How can we do not well on the examination of our life when we had the answers given to us? Jesus’ divine interpretation of the Parable of the Sower is embedded here in parenthesis.

‘The sower went out to sow his seed (The Word of God)… some seed fell by the  wayside (they who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away The Word (of God) from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved) and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air ate it up.”

‘The sower went out to sow his seed (The Word of God)… other seed fell upon the rock (they who have heard, received The Word of Joy, and these have no root, but believe for a while, and in the time of temptation fall away), and as soon as it sprung up it withered away, because it had no moisture.”

‘The sower went out to sow his seed (The Word of God)… and other seed fell among thorns (they who have heard, and as they go their way are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not ripen), and the thorns sprung up with it and choked it.”

‘The sower went out to sow his seed (The Word of God)… and other seed fell upon good ground (they who, with a right and good heart, having heard The Word, hold it fast, and bear fruit in patience}, and sprang up and yielded fruit a hundredfold.”

Unlike ‘Make a Deal,’ the TV game show, there are four choices, not three.

What do they all have in common for us, the seeds?

Their hearts, no heart, choked hearts and a right and good heart.

Is Jesus in your heart today? To love you, to lead you, to maintain your vibrant spirit so that all of life’s trials and tribulations and successes are endured in a Christian way!

The devil has come and taken away the Word of God from my heart at times in my life. There were times I did not believe or have Jesus in my heart.

Other times I believed for a while but in the time of temptation fell away. I saw the bait, but not the hook of sin. I was focused on the present and not the rest of my life.

And yes, the care and riches and pleasures of life have distracted me and even today continue to do so.

But now, at least for this moment, my heart is right and good with God, myself and others. I listen closely to The Word of God wherever and whenever it is spoken and it is always being spoken everywhere and in many different ways. I hold it fast, I remain tightly secured to The Word of God and have faith, trust and promise that it will continue to bear good fruit for the rest of my life.

I know I need to give patience her time, not my time or expectations or demands.

Borrowing ahead from James in the New Testament (James 1:2-4):

‘Esteem it all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various trials, knowing that the trying of your faith begets patience. And let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, lacking nothing.’

In this moment I am ‘perfect and entire, lacking nothing.’ I give patience her time to do God’s Will in my life and supply me with the power to do so, if and when God’s Will deems it so. I have jumped off the hamster wheel of always seeking more yet not taking the time to enjoy what I have and to be grateful for what God has blessed me with already in my life.

Which door do you choose?

“For there is nothing hidden that will not be made manifest; nor anything concealed that will not be known and come to light. Take heed, therefore, how you hear; for to him who has shall be given; and from him who does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away.”

Make sure Jesus is in your heart and listen for The Word of God…

See beyond what seems to be…

Day 62: Reading The Bible with a TROML Perspective; Hear The Word of God and See Beyond What Seems To Be…

Read and inspired by the New Testament, The Gospel of Saint Luke Chapter 8.

Bible Notes:

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke

Saint Luke, a pagan by birth and a physician by profession, had never seen our Lord. An early convert, he became a companion and co-worker of Saint Paul.

In the first four verses of his Gospel he explains why he wrote it. Paul’s doctrine that salvation is for all, not for Jesus alone, is the theme of Saint Luke’s Gospel.

 

Luke Chapter 8:  The ministering women; Parable of the sower; Jesus explanation; Purpose of this teaching; Jesus and His brethren; The storm on the lake; A man possessed by a devil; The devil’s name; The devil enter the swine; Jesus asked to leave Gerasa; Jairus asks Jesus to cure his daughter; The woman with a hemorrhage cured; She acknowledges her cure; Jairus’ daughter dies; Jesus raises the daughter to life.

And with Him were the Twelve, and certain women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, who is called the Magdalene, from whom seven devils had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others, who used to provide for them out of their means.

“He who has ears to hear, let them hear!”

“To you (the Twelve Disciples) it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’”

‘The sower went out to sow his seed (The Word of God)… some seed fell by the  wayside (they who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away The Word (of God) from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved) and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air ate it up.”

‘The sower went out to sow his seed (The Word of God)… other seed fell upon the rock (they who have heard, received The Word of Joy, and these have no root, but believe for a while, and in the time of temptation fall away), and as soon as it sprung up it withered away, because it had no moisture.”

‘The sower went out to sow his seed (The Word of God)… and other seed fell among thorns (they who have heard, and as they go their way are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not ripen), and the thorns sprung up with it and choked it.”

‘The sower went out to sow his seed (The Word of God)… and other seed fell upon good ground (they who, with a right and good heart, having heard The Word, hold it fast, and bear fruit in patience}, and sprang up and yielded fruit a hundredfold.”

Thy mother and thy brethren are standing outside, wishing to see thee. But he (Jesus) answered and said to them. “My mother and my brethren are they who hear The Word of God, and act upon it.”

“Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.”

“Where is your faith?”

But they were afraid, and marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey him?”

And the devils came out from the man (named Legion) and entered into the swine; and the herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and were drowned.

And all the people of Gerasene district besought him to depart from them; for they were seized with great fear.

Jesus to Legion: “Return to thy house, and tell all that God has done for thee.”

“Who touched me? Someone touched me, for I perceived that power had gone forth from me. Daughter, thy faith has saved thee; go in peace.”

“Do not weep; she is asleep, not dead. Girl arise!” And her spirit returned, and she rose up immediately.