Temple Baptist Life

As you are reading this newsletter, Legacy Youth Group is just coming back from Acquire The Fire. I can’t wait to share with you how God has touched us this year. As I am writing this letter prior to leaving, I can only anticipate that God will have many wonderful and unimaginable gifts in store for us. He always does. Instead I will share with you scripture our Sunday School class has read that has stayed on my mind for the longest time. Currently we are reading the book of Luke and the scripture is the Parable of the Sower. (Luke 8:5-15)The Parable of the Sower
4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He, who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Parable of the Sower Explained
11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

I have reflected on this scripture many times over the last month. The examples bring to mind that God wants each of us to be the sower and spread Gods word. It reminds me that the power of life is in the seed not with the sower or in the soil. It is the seed that has this wonderful ability to be dormant and then at the perfect moment life springs forth in roots pushing down in the soil and a stem shooting upward for the light. What a perfect way of thinking of Gods word, as a seed deep in each of us.

I have witnessed each of the four souls with kids in youth group. I have seen only a few examples of the first soil where a teen hears the word of God but Satin takes it away before it sprouts. I have seen a few teens that have sprouted and are producing an abundance. The first and the last soil are the rarest and the wide majority of teens fall in the middle. Either the seed has sprouted and they have great joy but don’t establish roots or after accepting Christ they allow worldly things to crowd out Christ. The funny thing is that we are the ones in control of developing our roots and weeding out the thorns in our own spiritual lives.

After hours of reflection, my thoughts have come to look on my own life. What do I need to do help my roots grow deeper? What thorns need to be weeded out of my life that are making me unproductive? Anyone who has planted a garden knows that weeding the garden is a continual chore. The more often it is done the easier it is and the more abundant is the crop. I hope you ponder the words of our Lord and tend to your garden.