Editor: Richard (Dick) Innes
Published by: ACTS International
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Vol. 15 – No. 0613 February 09, 2013
Thought for the week: "I will prepare, and someday my chance will come." – Abraham Lincoln
5. Special Words from the Heart for Your Valentine
Garden of My Heart
If every thought
I had of you
was a rose and
every rose a word,
I would keep
picking endless roses
from the garden
of my heart
And speak them
all to you.
Larry wrote me the following letter: "I've been a small businessman for almost 23 years in a business where people lie, cheat, and steal. I'm sorry to say I became one of them. In the short term it may have helped, but long term it came back to haunt me. There's no amount of success that's worth it. I am now 48 years old. I have lost my good name; my values and my ethics have been destroyed. Is there any way I will ever be able to restore my reputation and lead a life of integrity?"
What a pity that so many people delude themselves into believing that traditional ethical principles like honesty and integrity don't apply in the business world. They govern their daily decisions by pragmatism—what works—without reference to principles—what's right. And, piece-by-piece, decision-by-decision, they sell their souls and sully their names until they find themselves naked and alone on the barren wasteland of moral compromise.
The good news is that Larry can start leading a life of integrity immediately. He can redeem himself and become a man of character simply by choosing to be honest, responsible, respectful, caring and fair.*
The bad news is that his reputation will take longer to restore. Character is what you really are; reputation is what people think of you. And since people are more likely to judge us by our last worst act rather than our most virtuous habits, rebuilding a reputation can take years of honorable living.
This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.
* Ed. note: Further good news is that when we fall and fail, God will forgive us if we confess and ask him to. Furthermore, we can always enlist his help through prayer, when we get up to start anew.
"A sower [farmer] went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold." When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear let him hear!"1
Probably most people like to have a nice lawn around their house. Joy and I certainly do. We used to have a lovely front lawn, but unfortunately ugly weedy-type grass has taken a hold and ruined it. Unfortunately, I didn't get rid of it when it first appeared, so to make it good again, I'll have to destroy the entire lawn and start over from scratch.
It's amazing how easily ugly grasses and weeds grow, but to maintain a good lawn and garden takes constant care. Hopefully this summer I will make the effort to plant a new lawn. To do so, I will first have to destroy our entire lawn, carefully re-cultivate the soil, and get a new layer of top soil before planting new good lawn seed, and then take care of it so it will take root and thrive.
It's exactly the same with the "seed and soil" as illustrated by Jesus in his parable in today's Scripture passage. The seed represents God's message as found in his Word the Bible--a message that includes his message of salvation--and, as Jesus explained, the four soils represent all those who hear God's message and what they do in response to it.
The four soils are best explained in the words of
Jesus: "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience."2
Today's question to you and me is this: "Which soil represents you?" Have you accepted God's message of forgiveness and eternal life and allowed it to grow in "good reproductive soil"? For help to receive God's forgiveness see "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian" at: www.actsweb.org/christian.
Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please give me the desire to not only hear your Word, but also the good sense to listen to it with my heart, accept it, and follow its direction knowing that it is for both my temporal and eternal wellbeing. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus name, amen."
1. Luke 8:5-8 (NKJV).
2. Luke 8: 11-15 (NKJV).
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Wishing all readers a very Happy Valentine's Day 
