Planting Seeds

"If you want to pick fruit you must plant seed."

Plant seeds
"Behold, the sower went out to sow" Matt. 13:3. A farmer can have the most fertile field, the richest soil but he won't get any fruit until he plants seed. He could pray over it all day but you must plant seed to pick fruit. So it is for us who harvest and sow, spiritually.

How to plant seed
Every one cannot get in a pulpit and preach or get on the radio or get on Television but every one can graciously, courteously hand a tract to a clerk, the cashier, the salesman, the waitress, the delivery man, the neighbor, a fellow workman. More on this next time.

Be sure
Never give out a tract you have not read yourself. Be sure it has the gospel, the good news, that "Christ died for our sins, and rose again." 1 Cor. 15:1-4. Over 50% of the tracts I have read carefully do not have the gospel in them. Remember this, "it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" Rom. 1:16. "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed" Rom. 10:14. If it does not have the gospel, it has no power, you do not want to use it. This is crucial. There are hundreds of tracts  that do not present the gospel but are still used and then they wonder why nothing happens and why they do not see any results.

It works
Just last year, I gave a tract to a waitress and she read it and prayed to receive the Lord Jesus right then and was gloriously saved and told me about it. I gave a lady a tract. She read it at 4 a.m. got on her knees and prayed to receive the Lord Jesus. She called me three hours later to tell me about it. She confessed Christ publically and went on with the Lord. I could tell you of scores of incidents like that. We must plant good seed or we get nothing but weeds.

Where to plant
Put one in every letter you mail. I have stories about that. Give them to waitresses as they take your order. The Holy Spirit can then work on them. I gave one to a waitress in Salt Lake City as she took my order.

How God works
As I was eating she came to the table and said, "I read your paper. I did not know that." I said, you did not know what? Tears came to her eyes as she said, "I did not know Jesus died for my sins." It was easy to tell her how the Lord Jesus suffered and died for our sins was buried and rose again. She gladly prayed out loud with me to receive the Lord Jesus. Wish I had time to tell how the missionary out there discipled her.

Father, bless your dear children reading this. May they obey You and plant seed all over the place and see You do great and mighty things. In Jesus name. Tell me about it when you do.

Pray for Souls

Pray for souls-you have not because you ask not!

Pray for souls
Plant the seed
Pick the fruit

"You do not have because you do not ask" James 4:2. That, dear people, is the Word of God. Most do not have souls, because they never ask! Doesn't that add up?

First of all
"First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men" 1 Tim 2:1. At my age, I am staggered, stupified, stunned at how we do not do what we are told by ALMIGHTY GOD. Pray for all men! "All men." That is six and one half BILLION people. Pretty important, I would say. What do you pray for them? "Who desires all men to be saved " Vs. 4. You pray for them to be saved. Doesn't that make sense? And when you do, you then have a part in every person who gets saved that day! WOW. That is pretty big and important praying.

Jesus did
"I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word" John 17:20. Jesus prayed for the lost! Not only that but He laid down his life for them, "I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also" Jn. 10:16.

Paul did
"Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation" Rom. 10:1. God said, "Pray for all men" all six billion. Jesus prayed for the billions who had not even been born yet. Paul prayed for "all Israel" and that is billions more. Do you get the picture? Some say, "Don't bunch everybody up, but pray for individuals".  The truth is, we must do BOTH.

Pray for souls
We pray for God to give us so many THINGS. Soul winners pray for souls. I do, every day. "You do not have because you do not ask." It really does make a difference. Keep on asking, the two parables in prayer Luke 11 and 18 teach us.

Father, help each one of Your children to begin by praying for souls like You told us to do. Then help us to plant seed with the results of souls being led to Christ by each of us. In Jesus name.

Oh, dear people you too can win souls. There is nothing greater, more lasting, more rewarding you will ever do. I implore you to stick with us and do what the Word of God says. I LOVE YOU, all because of Calvary, Sumner

Belief determines Behavior

Belief determines behavior, believe it?

The first
One of the first things Jesus said is, "Follow me and I will make you fishers of men" Matt 4:19. Is that just a nice saying and cute song or is it the truth. Someone said, "If you are not fishing you are not following." According to this verse, that is true!

The middle
Jesus said, "you will be catching men" Lk 5:10. He did not say you might, you ought to, some will, but you WILL catch. I am terribly bothered about people saying, "We can not all be soul-winner." To me that is a barefaced falsehood.

The last
One of the last things Jesus said is, "Preach the gospel to EVERY creature" Mk 16:15. That is a command not a suggestion. You don't have to you pray about should you pray nor pray about reading the Word of God. We must say with Peter, "I will do as You say" Lk 5:5. Peter obeyed the Lord and made the biggest catch of his life. Forget what others say or do and get the gospel to every person you have a personal encounter. Look what happened when Jesus did that to the woman at the well in John 4. She brought a whole city to Jesus.

To top it off
After He suffered and died for our sins, paid the debt in full and rose again, He appeared to them and said "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses" Acts 1:8.

Dear people, what are you going to do about these verses? Don't claim Phil. 4:19 and disclaim these verses. If you want God to " to do Phil 4:19, supply all your needs," then you do Mark 16:15. Make sense? If you get the gospel to people you have a few moment with, you will be staggered at what God will do for you far above all you could ask or think. We must walk by faith (obedience) and not by feeling.

Father, You are so wonderful. You got someone to obey You and they got the gospel to us so we could be saved, now help us to obey You and get the gospel everyone else so they have a chance to go to heaven to. I believe the harvest is plenteous just like You said. I believe I am to witness too. In Jesus name.

You pray
Father, lead me to some soul today that You have ready to hear the gospel. Bless our king/president and give him wisdom that Thy will be done on earth. In Jesus name