DEVOTIONAL FOR 4/15/11
This is a story about Wayne, Roxanne, Thurston, Verle, Helen and Pastor Sam. They all went to church one Sunday and listened to the message. It was a great message. Pastor Sam was on a role preaching straight God’s Word. Sammy was sowing seeds like you wouldn’t believe. Among others, five people heard the Pastor Sam’s message and considered what they heard.
Wayne was there simply to be a people pleaser. Some of the members of this church happened to be important people in his life. To make an impression, Wayne came to their church. With a smile on his face, he listened. However, Wayne did not have really an intention to let the words of the Pastor sink in. Sitting in the pew, he thought to himself that he would make this one effort. He thought he would enjoy a nice little debate about it afterward. He figured that he could then say that church was something to try, but that he didn’t really need it.
See, Wayne believed he did his best as a good person. Why choose this church when other organizations taught how to live good lives? Finally, he didn’t see any reason to follow silly traditions of some religion. After all, there are too many arguments against their beliefs anyway. Wayne never came to hear Pastor Sam again. He never became a believer in Jesus Christ.
Roxanne was in church on this particular Sunday because she was curious and wanted to know more about Jesus. She’d heard a lot of opinions. She even did some research herself. It was partly because of a college assignment, but truthfully she too wanted to know. She found the message to be interesting enough to consider that it might be true. In fact, at the end of the sermon, she was so moved she even came up to talk to someone. She then decided she needed this in her life and repeated the prayer of the woman with her. Afterwards, she felt excited and at peace. She thanked the woman and left thinking about what she felt. She thought about other things going on in her life and how it would all be different now.
Roxanne went home to find some bad news. She was caught blindsided by this news and became angry. Slamming cabinet doors throughout her studio apartment, she heard some banging on the wall and shouting from the other side. She realized that the neighbors were home, and not happy with her tantrum. She started to cry, and the rest of the day was miserable. Next morning, Roxanne woke up and remembered what had happened in church. She took a deep breath and wondered if any of it was real. In fact, every day for the next week, when she spoke to anyone about her experience, their response made Roxanne question the whole incident.
Sunday came but she had a terrible fever and did not go to church. She saw a doctor and got some medication for an ear infection. Due to some other concerns of Roxanne that she thought were minor but brought them up anyway, the doctor ordered special tests. It took about a month to get all the results. Come to find, Roxanne had some serious health issues. The day that Roxanne got the test results, she also found out that one of her closest friends, who was a Christian woman, was getting a divorce after finding out about her husband’s affair.
Roxanne felt so overwhelmed she didn’t know what to do. One thing she did know is that she trusted in God, and then bad things happened. She became so full of anger, that she directed it all toward Him. She spent the next several months telling God that it wasn’t fair to have all this happen to her (or her Christian friend for that matter) after believing in Him. She finally came to a point of giving up. Shaking her fist in the air, as if she was hitting the One she thought was responsible for her misery, she said that she takes it all back and would never trust in God again.
Roxanne spent the rest of her life searching other religions, but never truly found what she was looking for. She finally married and expected him to make her happy, but they struggled and eventually divorced. Roxanne died alone and sad blaming God for everything.
Thurston enjoyed Pastor Sam’s message as well. He was taken with the power of it, the confidence behind it, and the raw truth it revealed. Raised in a religious family, Thurston was never quite on board with their ideas and beliefs. He had respect for his parents and their efforts, and was impressed with their diligence in following everything to the “T”. However, there was something different in the message he heard this particular morning. He too went up to speak to someone after the service, but chose to speak directly to the pastor himself. It was a great conversation wrapped up with a mighty prayer. Thurston believed wholeheartedly.
After he gave his life to the Lord that morning, he decided to follow the pastor’s advice to get to know other believers. Pastor Sam suggested that they could meet regularly, or that he could join a Bible Study group. He decided to join the group. It went well at first, but life (and the corporate world) got busy and drew him away. Then he bought a devotional, but it was left on the nightstand to get dusty. He continued in regular church attendance and enjoyed the worship. He considered himself to be a good, maybe somewhat average, Christian man. He didn’t see himself with any special gifts for serving the church, but felt that it would just keep him humble.
Thurston married a Christian woman who was a believer since her childhood. They did O.K. Their marriage was fine and they had a couple of kids. Life wasn’t perfect for them. One of their kids struggled in school and behavior, but they persevered through it. His wife’s aging mother had to live with Thurston and his family for the last 8 years of her life. It was right when they were going through the “teenage” years with their kids. Grandma had Alzheimer’s so life in their home was extremely stressful. After Grandma passed and the kids moved out to begin their own families, Thurston and his wife felt like life was going downhill for them. Their adult children actually caused them more trouble now than they did as adolescents. Thurston just didn’t understand why life had to be so difficult, but never-the-less, he knew that no matter what happened, he still had God.
In their retirement, their marriage struggled. They bickered so much it felt unbearable. After all the years of marriage, though, they stuck it out. Then Thurston was diagnosed with lung cancer. He never was able to overcome the addiction of tobacco, and now was suffering the consequences of it. Thurston’s life was taken by this disease, succumbing at the age of 71. He finally went to be with Jesus.
Now, Verle’s story is amazing. When she heard Pastor Sam’s message that Sunday morning, she was there with her friend Helen. Verle and Helen had many conversations about the pastor’s message. Verle wasn’t convinced at first, but she was intrigued. She made quite an effort to test Helen’s knowledge as well as Pastor Sam’s. She met with and confided in him. She joined a Bible study and then one day, she made the decision to give her life to Jesus.
Whether it was financial or emotional, Verle had a lot of problems. She had already been divorced and had to share custody of her son. It seemed that car trouble followed her. She never felt like she had a reliable vehicle. Also, Verle suffered with a medical condition that required lots of medication just to function day to day.
After Verle became a Christian, and she joined the study, she confided in the ladies about her issues. Week after week, there were plenty of opinions around the table about what she should do and how she should do it. With conflicting pieces of advice, Verle compared everything to God’s Word. She also stayed closely connected to Helen. The two of them spent tons of time in prayer, and worked together to clear up any misconceptions Verle started to develop. After awhile, she was finding victory in many areas of life. Month after month, year after year, she was growing into a strong woman of God. She spoke the Word with authority when she prayed, and believed with all her heart that her prayers would be answered.
It started with the vehicles. Little miracles were happening. Then financial breaks were starting to occur…nothing that made her rich enough for the easy life, but just enough to get by. Verle eventually led her son, ex-husband and even her doctor to the Lord. She found herself weaning off many of her medications. She and her husband remarried. They felt led to serve and so began a ministry for disadvantaged children in the city. They struggled but overcame. They became content with God’s blessings and rich in their spirit. They lived in a way that made a difference in the lives of everyone around them.
What you’ve just read is “The Parable of the Sower”. Some of the seeds fall by the wayside…like with Wayne. This is the hardened heart of an unbeliever who never receives God’s Word and so never believes because birds steal the seed away. Some fall on rocky soil…like with Roxanne…and the roots never go down deep. The shoots are scorched by life. However, it’s not the scorching that destroys, but the shallow roots. Because of the rockiness and therefore shallow roots, this believer cannot stand under the scorching of life. This believer turns her back on God and rejects Him. Some fall on thorny soil…like with Thurston. The roots go down deep enough to withstand the heat of the sun, but spiritual thorns choke out the power of the Holy Spirit. This believer’s salvation is kept and preserved, but there is no fruit in his life. Some fall of fertile soil…like with Verle…and with the help of other believers…like Helen, she keeps her heart weeded so that no thorns are allowed to choke out the power of God’s Spirit. She produces a bountiful crop.
Amie Spruiell 4-15-2011
