"I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother's house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the juice of my pomegranate." (S.O.S. 8:2)
"Wisdom hath built her house ; she has carved its seven columns. She has prepared a great banquet, mixed the wines, and set the table. She has sent her servants to invite everyone to come. She calls out from the heights overlooking the city. "Come in with me, " she urges the simple. To those that lack good judgment, she says, "Come, eat my food, and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways behind, and begin to live; learn to use good judgment." (Proverbs 9:1-6 NLT)
To anyone that may not know, you are responsible for knowing and assuring that your faith is real; if you doubt that it is, and you are serious about knowing for sure, then you will do whatever it takes to make sure that it is certain. Not that I am any sort of expert in these matters, because my mind is already made up! If you want to know how I know, you only need to watch what happens in my heart when I get slammed against the wall or when the rug gets ripped out from under my feet: I grab hold of Jesus with all my might!
I was listing to Pastor Jeff sharing on the parable of the sower, the other day. It is a pretty good parable to use if you want to check you heart, as to where those seeds might have landed. This parable is found in Matthew 13:3-23, as Jesus describes what happens when people receive the word about salvation. To some, it is received with no understanding, and has no effect; to some it is received with joy, but has not roots; to some it is received with wrong motives, which cause it to be overtaken; but to those that have received it rightly, the roots go deep into the soil, and it is able to produce fruit!
Whether you know this or not, the fruit that is produced within your heart is for you also! Yes, I didn't speak something we don't already know; because the real fruit that is produced is the Fruit of the Spirit! If you don't have the Fruit of the Spirit springing up inside you, then it is a pretty good indication that you need to see about what might be wrong with your heart. This is your responsibility to check and see; because no one else can do that for you, except God: but you must ask Him to do so, and with you must have a contrite heart!
A contrite heart is a heart that shows remorse and is willing to do whatever it takes to make things right. If you want to understand what that might look like, the Scripture above is quite inviting; as well as Solomon's complex version on Wisdom building her house. You must invite Him in and let Him have control. Does it always work? I could only wish! But here is the thing that does: to always make sure you are grounded in His Word! Whether you are sidetracked or fallen overboard, sunken or high on the hog; whatever your situation or location, if you are rooted in the Word of God, then you are never ever alone!
To make such a claim, I must clarify my observation: The Seed that gets planted is the WORD! You cannot dig it out, it cannot be uprooted, and nobody or nothing can snatch it away...
"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow -not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below -indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39) NLT
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