Romans 15:4 "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
When Jesus came to live and teach among us, it was common for a farmer to sling a bag of seed over his shoulder and to walk through his fields reaching in to the bag and busily scattering handfuls of seed onto the freshly tilled soil.
As Jesus explains the process of the seed sprouting and growing in this parable, we can see that the seed symbolizes the good news of salvation, bringing the potential for new life.
As Paul explains similarly in Romans 1:16, “The gospel . . . is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.”
The gospel is a potent unstoppable force, capable of transforming lives and entire communities. Like seed hidden beneath the surface, its message takes root out-of-sight, deep within the human heart. There it grows and matures, eventually breaking through our soils and yielding a harvest of righteousness.
Luke 12:13-21 New American Standard Bible 1995
Covetousness Denounced
13 Someone [a]in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14 But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” 16 And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive. 17 And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night [b]your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ 21 So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Hoarding the Gospel seeds – Locking it away in our “Silos”
Rather than hoarding and locking the seeds of the gospel in a silo, we are called to freely, openly and visibly scatter it all generously as we journey through life.
We widely scatter seed by supporting missionaries or mission organizations, volunteering for a church community service project, inviting a neighbor over for coffee, a barbeque, a swim party, and more – a worship service in the park.
We sow gospel seed when we nurture spiritual conversations with our family members and friends, converse with strangers in a grocery store. We sow seed with colleagues at work, at lunch or dinner. When we spread the good news of our Savior Jesus, we participate in the process of bringing forth spiritual fruit.
The Kingdom of God on earth is progressing toward an end. While we don’t fully understand all that goes on, we can be sure that the Kingdom is growing, and when it comes to full maturity, the season of the great harvest will come.
There is movement and there is mystery, but ultimately, there is harvest.
We also need to understand this about the Kingdom: The power of the Kingdom grows, moves and matures and breaks out into the light of day despite our lack of complete, full, understanding of all that is happening in this work of God.
One thing is certain, however; when all things are ready, the harvest will come.
A question for us is whether or not we will be an active or passive part of this movement and mystery and grow as we should, to be ready for harvest time.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God, the Holy Spirit,
Praying …
126 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) When Adonai restored Tziyon’s fortunes, we thought we were dreaming. 2 Our mouths were full of laughter, and our tongues shouted for joy.
Among the nations it was said, “Adonai has done great things for them!” 3 Adonai did do great things with us; and we are overjoyed.
4 Return our people from exile, Adonai, as streams fill vadis in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears will reap with cries of joy. 6 He who goes out weeping as he carries his sack of seed will come home with cries of joy as he carries his sheaves of grain.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Jesus loved to use stories to illustrate profound, life-transforming concepts.
He loved to use real and genuine settings, characters, and ideas that apply to all of us to reveal God’s heart of pursuit and love.
Today we’re going to spend time allowing the parables of Jesus to speak directly to our situations, mindsets, and core beliefs about who our God and neighbor is.
It is now time sit still and to open your heart and mind to be transformed by the powerful and captivating stories of Jesus, the profound truths of His Kingdom.
Matthew 13:31-32 Amplified Bible
The Mustard Seed
31 He gave them another parable [to consider], saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; 32 and of all the seeds [planted in the region] it is the smallest, but when it has grown it is the largest of the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air find shelter in its branches.”
Jesus tells a beautiful parable of the kingdom of God in Matthew 12:31-32.
He teaches, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
Trees are beautiful pictures of God’s ability to take what we view as weak or insignificant, a seed, and make a magnificent and life-giving creation out of it.
And Genesis 1:10-12 reveals how trees can be viewed as pictures of the very kingdom of their Creator.
Genesis 1:10-12 Amplified Bible
10 God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that this was good (pleasing, useful) and He affirmed and sustained it. 11 So God said, “Let the earth sprout [tender] [a]vegetation, [b] plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit according to (limited to, consistent with) their kind, whose seed is in them upon the earth”; and it was so. 12 The earth sprouted and abundantly produced vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, according to their kind; and God saw that it was good and He affirmed and sustained it.
It’s remarkable that God would begin his kingdom small and grow it by his faithful stewardship into a good and beautiful and life-giving creation.
God took the seed of the death of one man, Jesus, to create a beautiful tree of salvation for all of humanity.
John 3:17 says, “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
Our heavenly Father’s wrath over our sin poured out on Jesus allowed God to free the rest of us from eternal condemnation.
And through the seed of Jesus’ death, planted into the ground, sprouting by His care, God has been creating a powerful and eternal global movement, bringing all people unto a restored relationship with himself across thousands of years.
Just as the mustard seed grows large enough to become a tree in which birds make their home, the kingdom of God has transferred our citizenship to a new home with him.
Philippians 3:20 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 3:20-21 Amplified Bible
20 But [we are different, because] our citizenship is in heaven. And from there we eagerly await [the coming of] the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; 21 who, by exerting that power which enables Him even to subject everything to Himself, will [not only] transform [but completely refashion] our earthly bodies so that they will be like His glorious resurrected body.
John 15:19 says, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
John 15:19-20 Amplified Bible
19 If you belonged to the world, the world would love [you as] its own and would treat you with affection. But you are not of the world [you no longer belong to it], but I have chosen you out of the world. And because of this the world hates you. 20 Remember [and continue to remember] that I told you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
The kingdom of God established through Christ has rescued us from this world, the Kingdom has saved us from slavery to this world and ransomed us back into restored relationship with our heavenly Father, to be sustained by God’s grace.
Not only does the parable describe the incredible expanse of God’s kingdom from a few to many, it can also illustrate the seed of salvation planted within each of us that God intends to grow into a beautiful and fruit-bearing tree.
Luke 17:21 says, “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
Luke 17:20-21 Amplified Bible
20 Now having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He replied, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed or with a visible display; 21 nor will people say, ‘Look! Here it is!’ or, ‘There it is!’ For the kingdom of God is among you [because of My presence].”
God’s kingdom is not built of brick and mortar, but of human hearts.
And 1 Peter 2:2 commands us, “Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation.”
1 Peter 2:1-3 Amplified Bible
As Newborn Babes
2 So put aside every trace of malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander and hateful speech; 2 like newborn babies [you should] long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may be nurtured and grow in respect to salvation [its ultimate fulfillment], 3 if in fact you have [already] tasted [a]the goodness and gracious kindness of the Lord.
God’s desire is to water the seed of salvation he’s planted in us with the Spirit and the word. He longs to mold and shape us into the likeness of Jesus, that we might live lives that bear incredible life-giving fruit.
Hosea 14:4-7 illustrates God’s heart beautifully when it says,
“I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.”
God wants to constantly steward this gift of salvation in each of us, as he does with the global advancement of his kingdom, that we might bear the wonderful fruit of the Spirit in every area of our lives.
And God is so patient with us.
The earth illustrates his patience.
Trees grow year after year, season to season by his faithful stewardship.
Flowers never begin as beautiful as they are in full bloom.
The earth is constantly undergoing abundant transformation as God’s creation grows and changes.
You and I are no different.
God’s plan has always been to mold us into beautiful pictures of his love.
He’s always longed to fashion us until we walk in full, restored relationship with him.
And by the life and death of Christ, he’s paved the way for his desires to come to fruition.
All that’s left?
Is for us to engage fully in this wonderful process he’s created for us.
Engage in the growth he longs to birth in you by spending time in his presence and his word.
Allow his gaze to transform you into his likeness.
Live in obedience to the word, and allow it to lead you to an un-conformed life in this world.
Follow the guidance of the Spirit as he brings healing to your heart and fruit in your life.
Be a Positive Kingdom Influence
Matthew 13:33 Amplified Bible
The Leaven
33 He told them another parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like [a]leaven, which a woman took and worked into three [b]measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”
Jesus invites us to imagine the amazing properties of a little bit of yeast; it can make dough rise so it bakes wonderful bread flavored in many diverse ways.
Like yeast, only a small expression of the kingdom of Jesus Christ in our lives can make an incredible impact on the lives and culture of people around us.
Christ-followers have a choice. We can withdraw and live separate lives from our surrounding communities. Or we can choose to influence and bless those communities by encouraging values and behaviors of justice, mercy, and peace.
Yeast is at first not very noticeable and even works in the dark.
And the word in our verse that says yeast is “mixed into” can also mean “hidden in.”
Our best influence is often through quiet actions of service and love by which we are not drawing attention to ourselves.
We each probably know of several new churches that have begun in many dark places such as prisons. As they quietly gather for worship and bring people into the presence of Jesus, positive influences spread out through the prison system, transforming behaviors, systems, and the dangerous culture of the entire place.
Even in this current culture of affiliation and disaffiliation, hot button, highly controversial, highly confrontational issues, highly opinionated, highly divisive polarizing and hurtful issues, it’s still possible, even desirable for Godly growth.
Yeast has a purpose of interacting with dough.
The Word of God has a way of interacting with the hearts and souls of mankind.
Prayer has a way of interacting with the hearts, minds and souls of mankind.
Hebrews 4:12-16 Amplified Bible
12 For the word of God is living and active and full of power [making it operative, energizing, and effective]. It is sharper than any two-edged [a]sword, penetrating as far as the division of the [b]soul and spirit [the completeness of a person], and of both joints and marrow [the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and judging the very thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And not a creature exists that is concealed from His sight, but all things are open and exposed, and revealed to the eyes of Him with whom we have to give account.
14 Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him as Savior]. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. 16 Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].
We have a purpose of living out the values of the kingdom of Jesus Christ as we interact with the people, institutions, and communities where we are. By the power of the Holy Spirit we can all have amazing influence for the glory of God.
Never give up on interacting with God, the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, because God Father, Son, Spirit, never gives up on interacting with you.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Spend time in prayer allowing God to work in your hearts and souls today.
Guided Prayer:
1. Meditate on God’s desire to grow the seed of salvation he’s planted within you.
“I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.”Hosea 14:4-7
2. Where do you need growth in your own life?
Where do you need to bear more fruit?
3. Ask the Spirit to fill you anew today.
Be filled with the presence of God and allow his love to mold and shape you into his likeness.
Ask the Spirit to guide you into areas in where he wants to grow you today.
Find Scripture that pertains to those areas in which you need growth and live in obedience to God’s word.
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18-19
How great is God’s love for us that he doesn’t leave us where we are but is always transforming us!
In the blink of an eye, God sees who we’ve been, who we are, who we will be.
He knows your form, how he’s created you, and what you were born to do.
The more time you spend allowing him to transform you, the more you will understand yourself.
May you discover and engage with all that your heavenly Father wants to do in you through his love today.
Lord, thank you for your generosity. While we offer you our service, you offer us life. You can use us to meet the needs of others around us. Grow us as you will. Amen.
Psalm 16 New American Standard Bible 1995
The Lord the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Deliverer in Death.
16 Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You. 2 [b]I said to the Lord, “You are [c]my Lord; I have no good besides You.” 3 As for the [d]saints who are in the earth, [e]They are the majestic ones in whom is all my delight. 4 The [f]sorrows of those who have [g]bartered for another god will be multiplied; I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood, Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
5 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot. 6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
7 I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; Indeed, my [h]mind instructs me in the night. 8 I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. 10 For You will not abandon my soul to [i]Sheol; Nor will You [j]allow Your [k]Holy One to [l]undergo decay. 11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; 27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. 28 The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. 29 But when the crop permits, he immediately [a]puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Way back when in my youth, My Mom and I would plant a variety of seeds—tomato’s, peppers, beans and radishes in rows, zucchini and squash in mounds.
Every conceivable kind of seed we picked up at the store went into the ground.
Row after row would be planted and then watered and then left to the elements.
There was really nothing else we could do but wait and water and watch them.
Night and day after night and day would pass, we would sleep, wake, go outside before breakfast and leaving for school and we would watch and we would wait.
All we could do was wait a couple of weeks or so as the seed packet had said and watch and water and hope for some kind of sprout to shoot through the ground.
If all went well, a little green sprout would barely show up into the sunshine.
These methods make the sprouting and growing of seeds no less of a mystery.
Surely there is a long and quite complex scientific explanation today for the sprouting of seeds, the growth of tender shoots, that will only increase my awe.
I cannot speak for today’s generations but in younger days, we children enjoyed hearing, reading the stories of Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel.
One favorite was the tale of Toad planting a garden.
After a day or two he began to think and fret about whether his seeds would ever sprout and grow. So he sang to them, he stayed up with them all night (in case they were afraid of the dark), and even screamed at them and wept over them.
Exhausted, Toad finally fell asleep.
When he awoke, he saw to his great relief that the seeds had sprouted.
Too often, I am like Toad when working in Jesus’ church and God’s kingdom.
I act and feel as if it all depends on me.
As Jesus tells us in his parable, however, God’s garden grows from seed to harvest “all by itself.”
So much of this is a mystery.
We need to do our part—sow the seed, water, tend the garden, and reap the harvest—but we do not make the seed grow. That happens by God’s gracious work. We can simply delight in doing our small part in growing the kingdom.
Some thoughts about A Seeds Thoughts …
Mark 4:26-29 The Message
Never Without a Story
26-29 Then Jesus said, “God’s kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows—he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the grain is fully formed, he reaps—it is harvest time!
Jesus is speaking of how his kingdom increases.
He explains it as a coming to harvest by a patient expectation God will work.
The key of this whole passage is, …the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.
All by itself the soil produces grain.
There are unseen forces at work which will be faithful to perform their work — whether a man stews and frets about it or not. He does what he can do. But then God must work. And God will work. In that confidence, this man rests secure.
As Jesus draws for us the picture this farmer goes out to sow the seeds he threw.
It is hard work as he sows the field, but this is what he knows, believes he can do to move the process along to its conclusions.
But then he goes home after a long day of sweaty labor and he goes to bed.
He does not sit up all night biting his fingernails, wondering if the seed fell in the right places.
Nor does he rise the next morning and go out and dig it up to see whether or not it is sprouting.
He rests secure in the fact that God is at work, that he has a part in this process, and he must do it; no one can do it for him, and he will faithfully perform it.
The farmer rests and waits as the seed goes through observable stages: …first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. Now, it is only when the grain is ripe that he is called into action again – to reap and then to harvest.
This is the way we ought to expect God to work. He sows our witness first, perhaps a word of teaching or exhortation to someone — or to ourselves. And then a process begins, which takes time and patience, and allows God to work.
One of the most destructive forces at work in the church today is our demand for instant “best possible political results.” We want immediate baptisms, and conversions, immediate responses, immediate dedications every time we speak.
We want what we steadfastly believe our worldly agenda entitles us to We tend not to allow time for God, the Word, to take root and grow and come to harvest.
As Jesus explains these ideas, He vividly demonstrates that a person’s spiritual knowledge is based on their willingness to pursue truth – meaning God’s truth.
Kingdom of God and Not being wise in our own eyes
Proverbs 3:5-8 Amplified Bible
5 Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. 6 [a]In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way]. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil. 8 It will be health to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts] And refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones.
The passage for today is Mark 4:26-27. It says,
“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows. He knows not how.”
This passage is a parable about growing the kingdom of God not the world of man and its too often bizarre, wild and assorted politically motivated agendas.
Jesus is clearly communicating that the kingdom of God is like a seed that is planted in the ground – we are the church, we are those seeds being planted.
The seed grows and sprouts, even though the farmer does not know how it happens nor does he know the outcome when the seeds finally bear their fruit.
This parable teaches us that the kingdom of God is a mystery. We do not always understand how it works, too, we are not to know how God works, but if we will allow it, keep our agendas, understandings we can trust that God is at work in it.
We can also trust that the kingdom of God will grow and spread, even when we do not see it happening, even when we are thoroughly blinded by our agendas.
We can apply this parable to our own lives. We may not always see the results of our work, but we can absolutely trust that God is at work in us and through us.
1 Corinthians 3:5-9 Amplified Bible
5 What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Just servants through whom you believed [in Christ], even as the Lord appointed to each his task. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God [all the while] was causing the growth. 7 So neither is the one who plants nor the one who waters anything, but [only] God who causes the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one [in importance and esteem, working toward the same purpose]; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers [His servants working together]; you are God’s cultivated field [His garden, His vineyard], God’s building.
We can also trust the kingdom of God will grow, the kingdom of God will both mature and spread, even when we don’t know what’s going on see it happening.
Let us not be too discouraged if we do not see immediate results from our work.
Do I really trust that God is at work, and all outcomes do not all depend on me? Having done what God has given me to do, do I then rest, since God is working?
Philippians 2:1-4 Amplified Bible
Be Like Christ
2 Therefore if there is any encouragement and comfort in Christ [as there certainly is in abundance], if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship [that we share] in the Spirit, if [there is] any [great depth of] affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, having the same [a]love [toward one another], knit together in spirit, intent on one purpose [and living a life that reflects your faith and spreads the gospel—the good news regarding salvation through faith in Christ]. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self-righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves. 4 Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Setting aside nonsensical worldly agendas, let us continue to sow the seeds of the kingdom of God, and trust only God will bring about a harvest in his time.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Dear God, thanks for the gift and mystery of seeds. Help me to humbly do my part in work and prayer and to rely on you for growth in and around me. In Jesus I pray.
Psalm 23 Amplified Bible
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.
A Psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me], I shall not want. 2 He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still and quiet waters. 3 He refreshes and restores my soul (life); He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the [sunless] [a]valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed and refreshed my head with [b]oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the Lord.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 