This week we had one of the coldest nights I can remember. It is such a pleasure sometimes to get some different weather as 85 during the day and 75 at night can be monotonous for most. I think the wind chill may have been in the 20s. I’ve always enjoyed Florida, though I didn’t move here until 1994, but I almost ended up here 20 years earlier. It’s funny how life takes interesting twists and turns. The summer before I moved into middle school, we took the “family truck-ster” station wagon on a drive from NJ to our final destination, New Smyrna Beach, Florida. We had 2 family vacations in my life and this was the first. It was a long drive. My sister and I fought most of the way between tolerating each other. We were going to visit friends of my parents, who invited us to stay with them. I really fell in love with Florida. The weather was warm and tropical. They lived near the water and I could see wild dolphins in the distance. Their young son and I waded into the water with just a string and some shrimp for bait and reeled in several large blue claw crabs, which I thought at the time was the neatest thing a kid could do. We went to the ocean and rode right on the beach with our car and stopped at several interesting areas that included a small inlet. I saw a pair of eyes and reached down and picked up a flounder. From that moment on, I wanted to live there. This ended up being a trip I remembered for the mishaps though… early in the trip my step-father was invited to go salt-water fishing on a boat with the dad and at the last minute no kids were allowed to go. My father hadn’t fished in his whole life (I went every week), so I was angry. During the trip, they caught a catfish that of course they were not careful with, and the sting landed the father in the hospital and my step-father had to figure out how to drive the boat back. A few days later we eventually all went fishing on a pier. I remember using fiddler crabs for bait and catching a fish on the first cast. 10 minutes later the son fell in the water and just like that, we were all on our way home, which I couldn’t understand as it was 85 degrees out. That afternoon their dog stepped on a barnacle and they had to rush it to the animal hospital for stitches. The next day we were in their ping pong room watching the adults play. We celebrated wildly on each point, a little too much I suppose and she hit me in her anger with the tennis paddle, fracturing my hand. We did visit Disneyworld, which I don’t recall too much about that day, and left the next morning for the long drive back. I longed to return to Florida. A year later my parents took a trip to Florida without the children. They arrived back announcing that we were moving there permanently. I was elated… The idea of starting over in a new school with new friends excited me. Maybe I’d be the best athlete or more popular going into middle school. I knew the idea of fishing year round was amazing. Several months later, after failing to secure new jobs, they unfortunately aborted the plan… but we almost made it…
Today Joe Stearns shared part 2 of the ALMOST series and started in Luke 8:4-15 with the PARABLE OF THE SOWER. He showed photos of the different soils… The first is the seed on the path, trampled on and eaten by birds. The second is the seed landing in rocky places, growing some, but dying because it couldn’t grow deep roots. Since the seed is the word of God, these soils/hearts would be unfruitful and not conducive to anything long-term. The 4th soil is the true goal and where God wants us… Productive, abundantly fruitful. Joe focused on the 3rd soil, the “ALMOST” soil… Jesus stated the “worries, riches, and pleasures” would prevent us from reaching the 4th soil, however, most of us like the riches and pleasures, and the worries aren’t that bad either. The person choosing the 4th soil faces these dilemmas… The world teaches self-gratification vs. self-sacrifice. The world teaches outward appearance vs. heart. The world teaches competition vs support, and It’s all a trap. The world teaches possessions vs. contentment. The world teaches self empire vs God’s kingdom. The world teaches fear vs. God’s peace. The world teaches hope in self vs. hope in God. If we don’t tackle these riches, pleasures, and worries traps, we’re swimming upstream. Romans 12:2 says… renew your mind. Matt 6:33 says… do not worry and seek first HIS kingdom. 1 Tim 6:9 says money is root of all kinds of evil and 1 Tim 6:17 says God provides us everything for our enjoyment. If we practice self control and delayed satisfaction, we can land in the 4th soil and even have riches, pleasures, and the worries will go away. Ps 84:12 O Lord almighty blessed is the man who trusts in you. Let’s not live in the “ALMOST” soil and yield a crop of hundreds.
I’m glad I finally made it to Florida. I would’ve regretted if I ALMOST made it, but let something get in the way. More importantly, I’m glad I didn’t ALMOST become a Christian. May we trust in God always and seek him first, then patiently wait for the blessings to come. Have a great week!