“Plant Where You Are Blooming” - Ahava Love Letter (Steve Martin)

                 

                  “Plant Where You Are Blooming”

“But others fell into rich soil and produced grain, a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as had been sown.” (Matthew 13:8, Complete Jewish Bible)

Dear family of friends,

You've heard it said, "Bloom where you are planted." For you, that could have been many years ago of course, when we were growing up.

So how about this now - "Plant where you are blooming."

Yeshua (Jesus) shared the parable about the farmer showing seed, in Matthew 13. This guy basically just threw it out there, as they normally did in the open field during the planting season. It is kind of like throwing grass seed on your front yard. Depending on how good your arm is, or how strong your hand-carried seed spreader works, the small seeds will fly all over – landing on good soil, bad soil (like my southern clay “dirt”!), and possibly a few scattered on the cement  driveway if you get too close to the edge of the yard. But in time, hopefully, a majority of the seed will germinate and grow the grass you expect it to. You hope the money you spent on it won’t be washed away after the first hard rain.

Many of us have been casting our “seed” for a good many years now. Using the spiritual gifts we have, in our home, workplace, church or ministry, we too have been spreading seed out there, hoping it will find a dark hole in the dirt and sprout a nice green tender shoot. But also like most of us have experienced, much of the seed may not have found that desired place of planting, and it just dried up or blew away. And for what seems like many more souls now a days, many have just quit throwing, and sowing, and planting.

I have a suggestion for you, no matter what situation you currently find yourself in. If you are not in a regular gathering of committed believers, make it your daily prayer to keep asking for His direction. With the grace of the Lord, Who gives freely to those who ask of Him, trust that He will direct your steps, as that is in His heart for you. His Holy Spirit will help you overcome the fear of rejection and intimidation from the past. He does has the right place for you, in His Body of believers, for you to grow and flourish. Then you can plant and see the blooms, using your spiritual gifts.

For those who have already found that place He has put you in, where you are being joined properly together with the other members of the Body, keep planting your spiritual seeds, out of the goodness He has placed within you, and watch the blooms blossom. The people there need you. The church body as a whole needs you. And the nations of the world are waiting to see the unity of the Lord’s people expressed in love.

In other words, if you are being received somewhere by those around you, stay there, plant the seeds the Lord has given you (share your spiritual gifts) and help others grow further.

Plant where you are blooming. His promise is that the harvest will come, if we keep planting our seeds. I am believing that too.

Ahava (love) to my family of friends,

Steve Martin

Founder

Love For His People. Inc.

Love For His People, Inc. is a charitable, not-for-profit USA humanitarian organization started in 2010 to share the love of the Father in the nations.

If these letters minister to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $5-$25 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless known families in Israel, whom we consistently help through our humanitarian ministry. Your tax deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

Go here for safe ONLINE GIFT GIVING THROUGH  OUR WEBSITE using major credit cards: Love For His People If you don't have a PayPal account you can also use your credit card or bank account (where available). 

Contribution checks can be sent to: 

Love For His People, Inc.  P.O. Box414   Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.)

Please share this Ahava Love Letter with your friends.

Email: loveforhispeople@gmail.com  

martinlighthouse@gmail.com

Facebook pages: Steve Martin and  Love For His People  

  

Twitter: martinlighthous, LovingHisPeople and ahavaloveletter 

Blogs: Love For His People

           Ahava Love Letters

           

Full website: Love For His People

YouTube: Love For His People Inc.

Ahava Love Letter #104   “Plant Where You Are Blooming”   Steve Martin 

Date: In the year of our Lord 2014 (01.28.14) Tuesday at 7:00 am in Charlotte, NC).

  

All previous editions of Ahava Love Letter can be found on this Blog, and our newest website: Ahava Love Letters

Jim Croft - Widespread Consequences of Sowing & Reaping

Widespread Consequences of Sowing & Reaping
Jim Croft

The Lord told Noah that there would be seedtime and harvest until the end of this age. I have been shocked by the extent to which the law of sowing and reaping applies to every facet of life. Seeds sown in attitude and interaction with others produce remarkably after like-kind just as they do with plants.

My father and I enjoyed many pleasant rounds of golf after I took up the sport at age 45. However, in his later years he became severely vision impaired and our golf outings frequently featured shameful irritability on my part. It was in the days before I was delivered from an evil spirit of impatience that gave me the temperament of a spoiled 2-year-old.

I resented the break of concentration required to locate the club in Dad's golf bag for his next shot. It was tedious to walk him to where his ball was on the ground and to always have to give him distance and direction for every shot. The endless questions about where his ball went were drudgery.

In ’95, I was rendered legally blind by an airbag in a car wreck. From that time to this, I still golf and am frequently teamed up with complete strangers. I have reaped the embarrassing consequence of having to ask golfers that I just met to do for me what I use to have to do for my father. It is now me who is plaguing players with questions about where my ball went.

What goes around - Comes around

Whatever actions are committed have a way of backfiring. The Canaanite king, Adoni-Bezek had a habit of cutting off the thumbs and big toes of kings that he conquered in battle. 70 of them ate the scraps that fell from his royal buffeting table. When Joshua’s forces captured him, they cut off his thumbs and big toes. Adoni-Bezek bemoaned his former cruelty as he hobbled about and used his fingers like chopsticks to eat for the rest of his life. (Jdg 1:6-7)

Jesus spoke of the principles of sowing and reaping in Lk 6:35-38. We are to imitate the kindness and forgiveness of God. He blesses the ungrateful and the evil as well as the righteous.

With whatever measure we plant positive blessings or, negative curses in our secret conversations and inner judgments about people will be measured back to us in an abundant manner from many directions. Negative conversations and uncharitable inner judgments about us can secretly bombard us long term from multiple sources
.
There are many believers who sit in self-pity wondering about why they hear rumors that numerous people are not speaking well of them. Many notice stiff body language and sense suspicions from those from whom they expect cordiality. This is heavy indication that they need to reflect on what they have sown about the reputation of someone else when not with them. (Mat 7:1-5)

I know of a minister who throughout life sowed harsh criticism about the preaching styles and doctrinal emphasis of ministers who did not suit him. He is now in his declining years and lives as a recluse exposed only to immediate family. All others are hesitant to welcome fellowship with him.

Another pastor was a habitual sheep thief. He sweet-talked, wined and dined the members of other churches. His church had encouraging growth for a while. Then key-people became disenchanted and there was a mass exodus of members. His enticing words to get people in his front door could not keep pace with the swing of the backdoor of his church. His fellowship abruptly ceased to exist.

I must add that this pastor’s church growth program is duplicated around the world. At hearing of a church with problems, the immediate inner response of many pastors is quite different than their first audible response. “I wonder how I can get the names of his church members;” precedes, “That is so sad to hear.”
The declining numbers on church rolls and the relatively fast open-closure rate with start-up churches can partially be attributed to pastoral sowing and reaping payback.

Armchair Ministry Critics

I pity believers that feel obligated to condemn ministries as false that don’t fall within their comfort-zone preference. Personal preference is seldom reflective of God’s view.

The disciples of John the Baptist complained that Jesus was drawing more people for baptism than John. John’s response has broad applications. "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.” (Jn 3:26-27)

Whenever I hear Christians demeaning a particular ministry, I look at the fruit of the ministry. More often than not, there is sound evidence that God has given attestations of his approval. The followers of the ministry are enjoying redemptive benefits and there has been financial abundance sufficient to support the minister and staff for many years.

I have observed that ministries that are innovative and unconventional in approach draw fire. The negativity is rarely about the core beliefs necessary tofunction as a Christian. It is normally about views that are helpful, but non-essential beliefs.

It is legitimate to have differing perspectives and emphasis as the prism of God’s wisdom is multifaceted and has variable interpretations. It is dangerous to be accusatory about motive and to spout ongoing disapproval to all who will listen.

I have shuddered to see what has befallen those who would not refrain from nasty criticisms about ministries that have God’s approval, but not theirs. My concern about possible impending doom is alerted when I hear people condemning ministries that formerly did them good. Proverbs 17:13 says that evil will not depart from the homes of those who return evil for good. I have seen that truth activated in frightening ways in numerous lives.

Facilitate Crop Failure

Many of God’s people need to do some soul searching about what is happening in their lives. They cannot re-gather the negative seeds they have sown. But, they can repent to God about all that they foolishly sowed. In some instances the Holy Spirit dictates that offenders approach those they have shot with secret fiery darts to confess and request forgiveness. God is more than willing to grant crop failure for negative seeds scheduled to come to fruition in the future harvests.

Jim Croft
Boca Raton, FL