Loving People in spite of it all!Written by Greg Ryan
Before movie “Finding Nemo”, came out Steve Jobs founder of Apple Computer company spent millions of dollars promoting it. Before a major push on merchandise Nike will sign a multi-million dollar contract with some sports star. Sometime soon you will see a major player in clothing industry hire a celebrity to promote their product before holiday rush. These companies think they have it figured out. How do they attract you to product or service they are selling? The packaging!! Millions of dollars are spent on researching and packaging many products and services even before they hit shelves. If they can entice you enough, then they have a better chance to hook you into owning it. Many of us get product home and when we open it up and it doesn’t match expectations outside of box conveyed to us. Then in a short period of time we lose our interest become disappointed and put it on a shelf only to go try and find another to fore fill our desires. Let’s say you have a child and they disobey you. Do you put them on a shelf and go have another or borrow one from neighbor. No. You still value them, accept them and love them. You accept them in spite of their behavior and actions at time. But why don’t we take that same type of thinking with adults we know? It doesn’t matter; friends, dating or married many times we love other person because of what they originally brought to relationship (the packaging, hype). However, once we get to know that person we realize that they have some things that don’t line up with our expectations of them or remind us of a past relationship that went sour. They don’t fit in our packaged box anymore. We even try to mold them to fit, and when they don’t we put them on an emotional shelf with an expiration date. In beginning we loved to be around other person more and were attracted to them because of who there were not in spite of who they are.
| | Seedtime and harvestWritten by Adeolu Oluade
FIRST LOVE RECOVERY MINISTRIESHOME PAGE QUOTES ARTICLES DESTINY GUIDE CONTACT US Seedtime and harvest Gen.8:22(KJV) "While earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." Luke 8:4-8(KJV) "And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by way side; and it was trodden down, and fowls of air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." Luke 8:11-15(KJV) "Now parable is this: The seed is word of God. Those by way side are they that hear; then cometh devil, and taketh away word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on rock are they, which, when they hear, receive word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience." The Lord Jesus Christ outlined parable of sower in second set of scriptures and his interpretation of it in third set of scriptures. The seed is word of God(Luke 8:11). The word of God is word of kingdom(Matt. 13:19). God himself is King of kingdom. God is sower of seed. The seed is good,having full potential to become a harvest for sower(Gen.8:22;Isa 55:11). There are several challenges that a natural seed has to face and overcome before it becomes a fruitful tree to be harvested. The sower has obligation to aid seed to overcome those challenges and become his harvest! Examples of such challenges with respect to destiny have been discussed briefly in 'An open door' and more elaborately in 'The viral war'. The word of God contains both his commands and his promises to mankind,and then classical examples of persons and nations that either received his word or rejected it. The greatest example for us in all generations is Jesus Christ:- Luke 24:44(KJV) "And he said unto them, These are words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in law of Moses, and in prophets, and in psalms, concerning me."
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