SOWING SEEDS

MARK 4:3-4  A FARMER SOWED HIS SEED…BIRDS CAME AND ATE IT UP.

Growing up in Bardstown, church was a requirement. We always had good Sunday School teachers and a preacher I could understand. Many seeds were planted but no one explained how to have a relationship with Jesus.

MARK 4:5 SOME SEED FELL ON SHALLOW SOIL AND WILTED.

I was 12 years old, and it was time to be baptized. It was Easter Sunday and we had already been to Sunrise Service, breakfast at church, and Sunday School. The day was young, and it was time for another sermon and then Baptism. I was napping when they called us forward and I remember saying the words I was required to say. However, my heart was still oblivious to God’s calling. In High School, I became more distant to the Lord. College life wilted what few seeds had survived and then Pro Football crushed the rest.

MARK 4:7 OTHER SEED FELL AMONG THE THORNS AND EVENTUALLY WAS CHOKED OUT.

The thorns were choking me until a teammate recognized how lost I was and asked me to come to Chapel Service. I was curious because he seemed to have so much peace and joy. After a year of searching, I asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. The Master Gardener accepted me into His Kingdom, and I was born again! The Lord began whittling away at the thorns and with His help I realized that He is more important than anything the world has to offer (Mark 8:36).

There are still thorns, but I am planted in the amazing garden of God’s love. He nourishes me daily with His miraculous Gospel. Sometimes I ignore His Holy Word and the thorns return and I can feel them choking me. Eventually I recognize my stubbornness, ask His forgiveness, and praise God, the thorns disappear.

MARK 4:8 STILL OTHER SEED FELL ON GOOD SOIL!!!

Praise God for His amazing grace!!