Jessica Albritton, Family Connections Minister, LHBC
Matthew 13: 1-9
1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
The first time I ever recall being told the gospel was around 4 years old. My family didn’t attend church but I had an aunt who would occasionally come steal my sister and I for the weekend. Now my aunt is the kind of person that oozes Jesus. She would pray and sing worship songs, talk about Him in the car and at the table, you don’t have to know her very long to know she loves Jesus! She is the kind of person who really lives out the Christian lifestyle. She would always take us to church and I can remember from a very young age how much I loved being there. At my aunts church, once the sermon was over, the pastor would always come down in front of the pulpit and give an invitation. In this time of response he would invite anyone who wished to pray to come down. I would always go and pray that my parents would one day find a church of their own to take our family to. I prayed my parents would attend church because I saw how happy it made my aunt. Well, I thought it was happiness… I later discovered that “happy” was actually “joy.” But that’s a whole other story. I saw the difference between her life and ours. I didn’t know what it meant to be a true Christian but I could tell my aunt had something my family didn’t. Long story short, when I was around 9 years old, my parents randomly decided to start checking out churches in the area. At least I thought it was random… Now that I am older I can look back and see how the Lord was working in all of those details. Shiloh Baptist was the first church we visited. We went there once and never went anywhere else. Shiloh embraced our family and loved on us the way that a true church family should. Mrs. Lisa was my Sunday school teacher and she shared the gospel with me so sweetly. After a few months of attending I walked the isle and gave my life to the Lord.
I give credit to my salvation in part to the faithfulness of both my aunt and Mrs. Lisa. It’s funny to think back to that time in my life, these two women had no idea I would receive that gospel message and repent from my sins shortly after, they had no idea I would grow up and be called into ministry myself, they had no idea I would go on to share the gospel with others, they had no idea that the seed they sowed was falling on good soil, they just sowed the seed. They took the gospel they knew and told it to as many people as they could. And because of their faithfulness in sharing the gospel with me as a small child I am the Christian I am today.
Friend, where are you sowing seed today? Who are you telling about the good news of Jesus? Sow the seed, it could make all the difference in the world. It made all the difference in mine!
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Heavenly Father, thank You for what You did on the cross for me! Lord, give me an urgency to take the message of the gospel and tell others! Give me a boldness to sow the seed You have commanded us to! In Jesus name, amen!
MEMORY VERSE FOR THE WEEK:
John 6:35
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.