Author Archives: Mark

Seeds – Part of God’s Garden

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Seeds – Part of God’s Garden

Pumpkin seed and Wheat

Pumpkin seed and Wheat

Recently I was asked if you could assess the planting of spiritual seeds, this was part of my answer.

To start with a study of seeds you must realize that the Father is a gardener at heart, after all that was where He first put Man, and He would walk around and enjoy His handiwork.  So I feel it is always fair to view the Kingdom as a garden where there are all sorts of plants each having its own purpose for being there.  Gardens can have different sections and purposes but still be considered a single garden.

The spiritual planting of seeds is discussed well in Mark 4 where three different stories are used that all talk about seeds.  The chapter has a version of the Parable of The Sower (4:1 – 20), an analogy of the Kingdom of God with the man who does not work for the crop (4: 26 – 29), and a second analogy where the Kingdom of God is compared to a mustard seed (4:30 – 32).  I will also use Matthew 13:24 – 30 which explains how to handle bad seeds.

The Sower

The Sower

The Parable of the Sower is a great way to assess the spiritual planting of seed because Jesus, the Master Teacher, explains the parable for the disciples and us so there is no mistake about its meaning.  The seed on the path represents people who hear the Word but Satan steals it.  The seed on rocky ground was received with joy but shriveled quickly when trouble came.  The unfruitful seed was sown into a place where worries and desires became more important, producing nothing.  But the seed on good soil multiplied itself and produced more seeds.  It is worth noting here that the seed on the good ground was also the majority of the seed planted in the field.  The “how” can we assess seed in this parable is done all the same way; it has to be allowed to start growing.

This idea brings in Mark 4:26 – 29 and Matthew 13:24 – 30 where the seed has been planted and has been allowed to grow.  In Mark, it is recognized that the framer’s job was to just plant the seed and the seed does the rest of the work until harvest time comes.  In Matthew, another problem with growing seed is covered in the fact that bad seed will at times be forced in with the good.  This parable shows the great love and patience of God in that He allows the bad seeds to grow because He knows that

Bad Seed

Bad Seed

sometimes if you pull “weeds” you can kill the developing good plant.

The size of the seed plus what type of seed was sown and what we can expect is shown in the Parable of the Mustard Seed.  Seed will produce exactly what kind of plant it has come from.  God can use a variety of seeds to produce the crops He needs to fill His barn.  The mustard seed may have been small but what it produced was useful and needed.   The plant mentioned in the parable may have been a Sinapis nigra or a Salvadora perscia.

The only way a farmer knows if his seed is any good is to wait for it to grow and produce a crop.  It is the same with a teacher of the Word; the only way we know if our spiritual seed sowing has been good is when we assess the crop.

http://www.freebibleimages.org/illustrations/parable-weeds/

http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/pumpkin-seed-and-wheatdried-cereal-seeds-photo-p182054

Senseless

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Senseless

In Jeremiah 10 the word senseless (in the NIV) is used three times and anytime I find a word used that many times it signals a trip to the concordance.  If you use the King James senseless is translated brutish.  Looking in the Strong’s Concordance the word in Hebrew is (number 1197) baar, which means to kindle or consume (by fire or by eating).  The NIV translates several words senseless the one in Jeremiah 5:21 basically means “no heart” and the one in Jeremiah 4:22 means “stupid.”  Jeremiah (in the NIV) uses senseless more than any other book in the Bible. Psalms is next with most of those words meaning “foolish” or “stupid.”

In Jeremiah 10 three different groups of people are referred to as “senseless” or “brutish”:

  • V.8 – Those who are taught by wooden idols (The chapter starts off with a warning about learning the ways of the nations and being terrified by signs in the skies.)
  • V.14, 51:17 – Goldsmiths who are making idols. (See Comparison of Jeremiah 10 and 51)
  • V.21 – Shepherds who do not inquiry of the Lord.  The fruit of that is they do not prosper and their flocks are scattered.

Remember they are going to burned or consumed.

The shepherds are the group that concerns me just because of the “sheep” who are hurt because of their actions.  In Mark 3:1 – 6 are examples of this type of shepherd.  The Pharisees set a trap for Jesus using a cripple and when the man is restored they are furious and start to find ways to KILL Jesus.  I know people are still upset when it comes to the topic of divine healing and other moves of the Holy Spirit.  It is sad when any “religious movement” would not stand in awe of someone being healed or set free just because their doctrine never made room for Jesus to do miracles in their life time.

Convection Currents – The Bible and Science

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Revelation 3:15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold or hot.

From my studies, I know that Jesus was describing the Church at Laodicea by comparing them to a hot-water spring that flowed into their city.  It arrived cooled off and just a bad temperature for drinking.  The statement that we should be either hot or cold can be a puzzling one since everyone thinks we should always be “hot” in our relationship with God.

In science the terms hot and cold are relative terms and derive much from the context that we are using them in, sunspots are hot enough to melt iron but appear dark because they are next to stuff that is two times their temperature. (see post-Hot and Cold and Why Hot and Cold)

Hot and cold in our physical world are important because they cause convection currents.  These are responsible for our weather, ocean currents, and the driving force of plate tectonics.  The “hot” material, either air, water, or magma, rises while the convection current“cold” material sinks to be heated thus creating a circular pattern.  When the temperature evens out nothing moves; this can/does happen on the Mississippi Gulf Coast around three in the afternoon.  The air and the water can have the same temperature and there is no lateral air movement, everything goes straight up.  Before and after this point there will be either a sea breeze or a land breeze because of uneven temperatures.

I think in natural cycles as well as spiritual cycles we will have our “cooler” times but watercyclesummarythey are necessary so we can be “heated” up again and rise to the work we have been called to do. (The water cycle in itself may not be a true convection current but energy is still gained and lost in the evaporation/rain process.)

∞Jesus, wither we are in a hot stage or a cold stage always let us always be found in you. Amen.

Water cycle pic is from: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html                     The Convection pic is from:  http://www2.vims.edu/bridge/DATA.cfm?Bridge_Location=archive0906.html                            http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunspot                                                            Eerdmans’ Handbook to the Bible © 1973 page 650 (spring of water)

Lightning 2 – The Bible and Science

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Job 37:11 He loads the clouds with moisture; he scatters his lightning through them.

The bolt of lightning is really just a stream of electrons that is jumping from the cloud to the ground or another cloud.  These electrons are “scrapped” off of atoms/particles because of the movement of ice, water, and air within the cloud.  This movement comes from the convection current caused by warm air rising and cold air falling in the cloud.  As the particles hit each other electrons charge the middle of the cloud while Lightning formationthe positive particles charge the top of the cloud.  But without movement, there would be no energy release.

We see the same principle at work with the power of God in our lives.  We know the power is available but until we start to “move” that energy will not be released.

∞Jesus, may we live the Great Commission and have your power as we go and preach your Word.

Graphics and referenced: http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/science/science-overview.htm

Lightning – Consider God’s Wonders

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Job 37: 14 “Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God’s wonders. 15 Do you know how God controls the clouds and makes his lightning flash? (NIV)

Lightning in the Bible is a wonder of God that biblical man attributes as His weapon and an awesome act of God that is used to describe glorious things.  Elihu in this verse ask a question,” Do you know how He makes lightning flash?” Fast-forward to 2014 and you would imagine that we know the mechanism and principles of how such a common occurrence as lightning is controlled.  The truth is we have a better understanding of clouds and lightning than Elihu and Job but we do not understand completely how this wondrous and awesome act of God happens.

∞Father, help us to always consider Your wonders and to stay in awe of Your mighty works.

See Comparison of Jeremiah 10 and 51 for more on lightning.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/lightning.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightning

http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/science/science-overview.htm   good graphics

http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/myths.htm