The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed upon the ground, and then continues sleeping and rising night and day while the seed sprouts and grows and increases—he knows not how. Mark 4:26–27 (AMPC) Everyone knows the basics of how their country works. Get a job, pay your taxes, don’t rip anyone off, and figure out how to succeed and you can live a pretty good life. But there’s another kingdom to think about within each country. In Mark 4, Jesus teaches us how this kingdom works. If you learn to work the principles of this kingdom, it will dominate the principles of any earthly kingdom. Let me give you an example. Isaac had learned to tithe ten percent to God, which is …
Connect The Dots
What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. Job 3:25 (NIV) What you believe is connecting the dots to your future, positive or negative. I’m not saying everything that happens to you happens because of your beliefs. But the Bible very clearly teaches us this process for a reason—because it’s powerful. When we read the story of Job in the Bible, many people think that God was being unfair to Job, but I believe this story demonstrates how powerful our beliefs truly are. In Job 3:25, Job makes a revealing statement. What he feared came upon him. Is it possible that he brought what he feared into reality through his beliefs? If so, it’s no wonder God doesn’t want …
Not A Box Of Chocolates
But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Matthew 13:23 (NIV) Many people think that feelings have nothing to do with your spiritual journey. But feelings are signs and symptoms of what you’ve been planting in your heart. And your heart is the key to getting God’s promises to show up in your life. For example, let’s say you’re lacking God’s peace or joy in your life. It’s possible that it’s just because you haven’t been planting the right stuff in your heart, and now you’re harvesting things you don’t like. It’s like someone walking around with a big bag of stuff …
Watch The Signs And Symptoms
Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23 (NKJV) Persistent feelings are signs and symptoms of what’s going on in the deepest beliefs of your heart. Sometimes feelings are fleeting—they can come and go depending on how much sleep you’ve had, what you’re thinking about or what you’ve eaten that day. But other feelings run deeper. You can’t just ignore these persistent feelings and pretend they aren’t there. They aren’t just going to go away. You need to deal with them, but this process isn’t as difficult as you might think. If you feel like you can’t stand your spouse and that feeling keeps coming up, it’s an issue. If you feel like you’re never …
Give Birth To A Great Future
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Matthew 28:18 (NKJV) Your heart gives birth to your future. This is why you need to be careful what seeds you plant in your heart. How do you plant things in your heart? One way is through your focus. Your heart is like soil; it grows whatever you put in it. If you plant both carrot and thistle seeds in your garden, the ground will provide moisture and nutrients to both indiscriminately. Your heart is the same. No wonder the Bible tells us to guard the soil of our hearts! You need to focus on good things, and if you focus on God’s Word, you …