Seeds For Thinking

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Carts
* Scripture: Jesus said, "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Mark 13:22, NKJV

Got the cart before the horse . . . Well, I've heard that saying, and I suppose someone might harness a horse so that it pushes rather than pulls a cart, but such a scenario seems highly unlikely. It is just a way of saying that someone has their priorities reversed.
I can envision someone hitching their horse to the wrong cart, though. Especially if a number of look-alike carts were parked together. Anyone who has wandered a large parking lot trying to locate their automobile among dozens of identical colors and similar models can relate to this one. Many people fasten unique things to their radio antennae to make it easier to spot their car in the multitude.
It is embarrassing to fumble with your key, trying to unlock the door, only to discover that you are trying to enter the wrong car. Ask me!
I still recall, with a chuckle, watching a friend select the wrong car, only he actually entered it. I had stopped at the post office so that he could check his mail, while I waited in my car. He came back out, intently reading a letter, not noticing that another auto had parked beside mine. The reaction - and embarrassment - when he finally looked up and saw me grinning one car over . . . Priceless!
While embarrassing, and probably humorous to the onlooker, such gaffes endanger only the ego.
Jesus, however, was warning about mistaken identification that could have serious consequences! False christs and false prophets are among the most dangerous of scam artists. Many will indeed steal your worldly goods to support their nefarious causes, but the real loss is to the unsuspecting soul - for eternity. Talk about hitching your horse to the wrong cart!
It would certainly be wonderful if there was a door or ignition switch on these spiritual scam artists, just like the keyed locks that keep us from entering and starting the wrong car.
Imagine for a moment that you are wandering that humongous parking lot, looking for that one car among many - except that there are no locks, no keys, and you could just enter any car, turn a switch and drive off. But you don't want just any old car, and you don't want yours stolen.
Wouldn't you be concerned? Sure you would. You would probably do something about it.
But just think about how many people literally leave their souls "unlocked," and select from those false christs and prophets.
So mark your 'soul' with Jesus Christ. He will provide the security key for you.
November 12, 2006

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Carts
* Scripture: Jesus said, "For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Mark 13:22, NKJV

Got the cart before the horse . . . Well, I've heard that saying, and I suppose someone might harness a horse so that it pushes rather than pulls a cart, but such a scenario seems highly unlikely. It is just a way of saying that someone has their priorities reversed.
I can envision someone hitching their horse to the wrong cart, though. Especially if a number of look-alike carts were parked together. Anyone who has wandered a large parking lot trying to locate their automobile among dozens of identical colors and similar models can relate to this one. Many people fasten unique things to their radio antennae to make it easier to spot their car in the multitude.
It is embarrassing to fumble with your key, trying to unlock the door, only to discover that you are trying to enter the wrong car. Ask me!
I still recall, with a chuckle, watching a friend select the wrong car, only he actually entered it. I had stopped at the post office so that he could check his mail, while I waited in my car. He came back out, intently reading a letter, not noticing that another auto had parked beside mine. The reaction - and embarrassment - when he finally looked up and saw me grinning one car over . . . Priceless!
While embarrassing, and probably humorous to the onlooker, such gaffes endanger only the ego.
Jesus, however, was warning about mistaken identification that could have serious consequences! False christs and false prophets are among the most dangerous of scam artists. Many will indeed steal your worldly goods to support their nefarious causes, but the real loss is to the unsuspecting soul - for eternity. Talk about hitching your horse to the wrong cart!
It would certainly be wonderful if there was a door or ignition switch on these spiritual scam artists, just like the keyed locks that keep us from entering and starting the wrong car.
Imagine for a moment that you are wandering that humongous parking lot, looking for that one car among many - except that there are no locks, no keys, and you could just enter any car, turn a switch and drive off. But you don't want just any old car, and you don't want yours stolen.
Wouldn't you be concerned? Sure you would. You would probably do something about it.
But just think about how many people literally leave their souls "unlocked," and select from those false christs and prophets.
So mark your 'soul' with Jesus Christ. He will provide the security key for you.
November 12, 2006

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Jesus said, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls, When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” Matthew 13:45-46, NIV.

The business of farming underwent a revolution in the years following World War II. Horses were replaced by tractors, labor-intensive methods of planting and harvesting changed through mechanization, and modern conveniences became possible as the electrical grid expanded into rural areas.
Even mail order catalogs sold farm tractors in the late 1940’s. Popular collector’s items now, shown at “Antique Tractor Shows,” the purchase of a tractor required a major commitment for the average farmer in those days. However, the speed with which a tractor worked, and the endurance that exceeded by far what could be done with a team of horses, enabled the farmer to pay off the debt because of the increased income made possible through the axiom, “It takes money to make money.”
The harvesting of grain required three major steps. The farmer had to make one trip over the entire field, even with a cutter/binder, to cut the stalks, and tie them into bundles. The bundles, or sheaves, were stacked by hand into shocks. After drying, on threshing day the bundles were again handled, loaded onto wagons, and hauled to the threshing machine, or corn husker machine. This laborious procedure was replaced by the combine, which cut and threshed the grain in one pass, all in the field. Again, the technology was available, but it cost money to acquire it, lots of money.
Many farmers could not afford such equipment. A tractor was one thing, but it could be used all year long, for many purposes. The cost was justified by the many things it made Harvesting equipment might be used only a few days out of the year, for only one purpose. Many farmers turned to contract services. The owner of a harvester would contract out his services, going from farm to farm. The farmer would pay to have his hay baled, his grain threshed, or his corn picked. It was a good deal for everybody.
My father decided to obtain equipment to harvest forage crops - hay and grass, to store for winter in a barn or silo. A machine that cut the grass or hay, wagons to haul it to the barn, and another machine to blow the “ensilage” into the mow or silo, cost a ‘bundle.” The only way he could afford such a large monetary outlay would be to spread the cost around the farm community through custom or contract work. That required a commitment to be away from the farm a major portion of the summer and fall. It also took a lot of faith to commit to such an extensive enterprise. He knew it would “take money to make money,” and, like the merchant buying the pearl, did what was necessary to make it happen. We spent a lot of time on the road for a few seasons, going from farm to farm, but we paid off the debt! I can truthfully say “we,” because I was the one who drove the tractor and harvester on the roads and in the fields.
That endeavor was certainly not the kingdom of heaven on earth! How much more important, then, should be our commitment to attain the treasure, the pearl of great price, the kingdom of heaven that Jesus spoke so much about. When little is given, little is gained. What we need to consider is the cost - not of attaining the kingdom - but the cost of losing it, by clinging to things of lesser value. Go for the pearl of great value!
possible.