“The kingdom of God is like this,” he said. “A man scatters seed on the ground. 

He sleeps and rises night and day;
the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how.”
Mark 4:26-27

 

Praise God for seeing another Summer! I wish you a peaceful Independence Day/July 4th holiday. I’ll speak for myself but would guess that you too are thankful to be a citizen of the United States of America. Regardless of the current state of the country, few people in this moment in history take the weightiness of their American citizenship for granted.

 

But dear Christian, do you understand the weightiness of citizenship in the Kingdom of God? It was central to Jesus Christ’s public teachings shared with multitudes of people and explained in private to His true followers. By His Spirit the early Church believed in the power of God’s Kingdom on earth. We must also! God’s Kingdom continues to exude supernatural power and action inspiring us to be true to The Great Commission. Our dual citizenship also tethers us to godly guidance in everyday life.

 

But wait…you already know this, right? Don’t we regularly utter to God before Heaven’s witness the words: ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.’

 

Pray this joyfully, understanding the words as a petition to God because you're asking the Lord to have full reign and not just ‘out there’ in society but inside your heart, mind, in your affairs and in His Church! The Church is saying, “Yes!” to being led by God’s Spirit When taken seriously, the Lord’s Prayer models an oath of supreme reverence and submission of human will to the Father’s will. It reminds us to relax in total reliance upon God, come what may. We practice refreshing our faith with childlike trust…

 

‘O! Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost but now I’m found! Was blind, but now I see!’

 

In Mark’s Gospel verses we find a fascinating promise!  We are of God’s Kingdom on earth. The Church is promised vitality and thriving life. In God's economy seeds will sprout miraculously… plants will grow miraculously … crops will yield abundance of 30, some 60, some 100 fold miraculously! But the fulfillment of vitality and thriving even in ‘dry’ seasons only happens when we plant the way Jesus said to! Use Gospel seed. As you go this Summer, sow!! your little Gospel seeds. There's good soil (souls) awaiting. One of your simple personal experiences about Jesus will do it, then leave the rest to God. People’s hearts are already prepared for your path. Believe! (John 6:29) and take a posture of patient expectancy. We are all poster children for God’s transforming love and forgiveness found in Jesus Christ.

 

“And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to describe it? It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground. And when sown, it comes up and grows taller than all the garden plants, and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky can nest in its shade.”
Mark 4:30-32
 

 It's not too late for Summer planting in New England!
“July is a good time to plant beans, cucumbers, and summer squash. It’s also a good time to start seeds for fall harvest vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and kale!”

 

* * *

 

You are good soil because God’s Word took root in you. Time to pay it forward  and bear fruit. Whose life will you touch this Summer for Jesus?  Choose someone to share your story about why you love Jesus? Try giving an example of how your faith strengthened you in a trial when no one or nothing else could. We talk so much and about many things. Talk to someone about your friend Jesus.  This does not require expending a lot of physical energy nor is it about intellect, personality or quoting Bible verses…

 

Dear Christian simply share your testimony.  Don't be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Your story is your Gospel seed! and God has promised a 30, 60, or 100 return for The Kingdom. God will surely smile upon your courageous efforts.

 

 

 

“He taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them, 
“Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow…  other seed fell on good ground and it grew up, producing fruit that increased thirty, sixty, and a hundred times.

Then he said, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”

Mark 4:2,8-9

 

Do you hear God speaking?

 

Blessings and happy planting!

Pastor Catherine