NO DAYS OFF!!!!

(Prov 19:27 GNB) My child, when you stop learning, you will soon neglect what you already know.

This morning we continue in the book of Proverbs. God, through Solomon, urges us as His children to commit to life-long learning; especially as it relates to the things of Him. We live in a fallen word. Simply put, sin is prevalent in the earth. This means that we must make a conscious effort to strive towards righteousness. Any slack in our pursuit of God will quickly result in us sliding backwards away from Him. That's why God wants us to pursue Him daily, in order to continually develop in Godliness. If we relax our desire to learn we run the risk of neglecting and eventually even forgetting what we already know.

This reminds me of something Jesus taught in Mark chapter four. It is what I call the "Mother of all parables;" the parable of the sower. In this parable Jesus talks about a man who sows the same seed into four different types of ground, and He goes on to explain how each ground produces different results.

Each type of ground is symbolic of a type of person. The wayside person is one who hears the Word, but does not understand it, so satan comes immediately and takes it from him. Satan knows that if this person could ever get understanding of the Word that he heard, that it could actually take root and produce a harvest in his life, so he comes as quickly as possible to steal the Word.

The second type of person is the stony-ground person. This person hears the Word with gladness, but since he is not rooted, as soon as a little persecution comes (because of the Word), he simply throws in the towel and gives up.

The third type is the thorny-ground person. This person hears the Word and actually has some level of understanding of it. However, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things quickly distract him and choke out the Word, making it unfruitful. This person simply gives more importance to worldly things than to Godly things, making the Word ineffective in his life.

And lastly, Jesus talks about the good-ground person. This person hears the Word, receives it in his heart, believes that it can come to pass in his life, and then works it (in faith) for a harvest. The Word works for this person because he works the Word. These type of people bring forth a harvest - some 30 fold, some 60 fold, and others even 100 fold.

Now, whenever I teach from this parable I ask the question: which ground are you? Invariably everyone replies: GOOD GROUND! I would venture to say that if I asked you this question the answer would be the same. Ok, that sounds good, and I truly hope you are good ground today, however, the question is: what type of ground will you be tomorrow? And the next day? And the day after that? Being good ground today - receiving, believing, and then working the Word for a harvest - is no guarantee that you will be good ground tomorrow. If you choose to slack off tomorrow it might lead to a desire to slack off the next day. A couple of days away from God can lead to a few more, and before you know it you are neglecting what God desires to do in your life. It does not take long to find yourself longing for the relationship you once had!

So what does this mean to you? It means that you must be committed to God and to your personal development daily. You cannot take a day-off from being a Christian. And there is no retirement plan for the believer. God expects you to grow every day - period. We serve a God of progression and not regression. If you commit to daily progress, for the rest of your life, you will arrive at God's desired final destination for your life.

Father, I thank You for this revelation! I cannot afford to take any days off in my pursuit of You. I am committed to life-long learning and my commitment is to daily progress. I get in the Word daily. I open my heart and my mind to read, hear, receive, believe, apply and work the Word. As I do, I will be the good ground You desire for me to be and the Word will bring forth a harvest in my life. I will do this today and then repeat the process tomorrow, and then the next day, and then the next day after that! I am committed to arriving at Your desired final destination for my life! In Jesus' name. Amen!