Gifts and Talents

           Jesus told a parable to the people. "Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

      We all have seeds of greatness inside of us. It depends on the soil that we live in; whether or not that we will become great or not. Do the friends you associate with gossip about everyone around them. Do they play practical jokes on people; and put down everyone they see. We are who we associate with. We become like the persons we surround ourselves with. To become great we cannot live with friends that are not lifting us to another level. Sometimes it is the family relationships that we have that are keeping us down. They are harder to leave behind; but we can if we want to.

      We do what we want to do. We may become famous; or have great wealth; but have not yet done the greatest thing. The greatest thing we can attain is to do the Father’s will for our lives. It is not enough to accept Jesus as our Savior. We must turn from our past and wicked ways, we must become a new person. We no longer do our own will; but we desire to do His will. The only way we can become great is to do the will of the Father. He has great and mighty things for us to do.

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      New King James Version
Matthew 13: 1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.
2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow.
4 "And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
5 "Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
6 "But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.
7 "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
8 "But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

      New King James Version
Matthew 13:18 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:
19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.
20 "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
21 "yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
22 "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
23 "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."