Joan Boney ... apostle/prophet
Matthew 13:3-9 And HE spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
and some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
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* some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
These are people who hear the word of God but do not understand. Often they just stand there briefly looking at the writing and then they swiftly read more. They are basically hearers of the word but not doers of the word therefore the word profits them nothing but they will think they are religious and they will think they are doing what they are supposed to do because they read a chapter a day from the Bible or because they read this blog or they went to church and heard the sermon.
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When we compiled the New Testament book which is published on Amazon, I deliberately broke the writing into sections at each chapter, putting stars between concepts presented in the chapter. I did this hoping I could get the reader to slow down and think of that which the scripture had to say in that section.
James 1:21-25 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
If we hear the Word and believe, we do the word.
If we hear the Word and walk away, thinking of other things, the Word is stolen from us.
Matthew 13:18-19 Jesus says: Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
He reads it. He doesn't understand. He walks away. But he thinks he did what he was supposed to do for he spent his 10 minutes a day reading the Bible.
When we read Bible and do not understand, we can pray, asking God to help us to understand. We can reread that portion of the word, hoping God will allow us to see. We can ponder that word in our hearts.
But the man in this parable just heard and walked away, thinking of important things.
* Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
This person heard the word but there was no root system and he did not allow the word to get rooted in his heart.When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
He reads it. He doesn't understand. He walks away. But he thinks he did what he was supposed to do for he spent his 10 minutes a day reading the Bible.
When we read Bible and do not understand, we can pray, asking God to help us to understand. We can reread that portion of the word, hoping God will allow us to see. We can ponder that word in our hearts.
But the man in this parable just heard and walked away, thinking of important things.
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* Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
We read a section of scripture and we STOP and think of what we just read. We apply it to our own life. We rejoice in the concept presented by that scripture and we thank God it is that way.
I did this with the following scripture:
II Corinthians 5:19 God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto HIMSELF, not imputing their trespasses unto them;
What does "imputing" mean, I wondered? So I looked the meaning up in dictionary and found it means: not calling attention to their past sins
I rejoiced! I'm certainly glad God doesn't talk to me over and over about my past sins. God doesn't harp on my past. He just creates me as a new creature in Christ so I can go forward and not dwell on the past.
I thought about this scripture the remainder of that day. The following morning, I thought on it again and reread it again, letting it go deeper into me.
This is the way we create a root system for a new plant. We water that plant daily for awhile until it develops. This is what we, too, must do, keeping that word in our mind and watering it daily by thinking on it and if there is something to do we do what it says, by faith in God enabling us to do it.
Matthew 13:20-21 Jesus says: But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
When he hears the Word, he is joyful about the word. But he fails to build a root system for that word by thinking on that word over and over even for days, as needed.
Then comes trouble. And he quickly casts away everything and begins to complain and murmur and fret over the trouble.
He acts like the men who went in to search out the land. The land was good but they murmured over the perceived problems and God destroyed them.
But Caleb rose up and said, "We are well able. Let us go in and possess it." Caleb heard God and had faith in God believing God would do what HE said HE would do. Numbers 13-14
If you focus on the problem and murmur and complain about the problem, you will not enter the good way of God but you will be destroyed in the wilderness.
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* and some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
They have many thorns in their heart and are troubled in many ways because they have not gone to God with the trouble and have not received the solution from God.
Their faith is in themselves and other humans.
Therefore many thorns are already in their heart even before they read Bible or hear the good word from God.
Then they hear the Word, but all the other problems that are lodged in their heart rise up hitting them over and over in their mind so they cannot focus, and their mind jumps from one trouble to another, battering them first on one side of their head and then on the other side.
Matthew 13:22 Jesus says: He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
I think it is so important to keep your heart free from trouble by taking each concern to God. You might have to pray many times over the same problem before it catches root in faith.
If you are troubled again tomorrow, pray over it again. If you pray and are troubled again in a few minutes after prayer with a thought of the problem, pray again. Every time you remember the problem, stop and pray. Eventually you will overcome through God and that problem will disappear from your mind.
There have even been times, after many days of dealing with a problem through prayer, that I have tried to tell another person of the problem and I couldn't remember the subject of the problem, it was so removed by God. All I could recall was there had been a problem and I had prayed over it and now I can't remember what exactly it was that troubled me.
But if your heart is already full of thorns through neglect, it is easy to see why a word from God is choked.
Problems and taking care of problems are like taking care of a flower bed. You must deal with each weed that surfaces when it is visible. If you ignore it, it will get bigger and spread and take over the whole flower bed and the flowers will be choked out and die.
So learn now to tend to your own heart, taking care of each problem and concern in a diligent, spiritual way, by laying that problem out before God in prayer.
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* But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
This seed fell into "good ground".
The Word fell into an heart that was free from weeds, free from concerns. This "good ground" is an heart that has been watched over and tended constantly and is free to hear the Word and to do that Word.
Watch and pray ... over all things and over people who trouble you and also pray over the righteous people.
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