Matter of Faith: It’s a Seed!

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭3:5-6‬ ‭(KJV‬‬)

“Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”

The NCAA is in full swing. For the first time in it’s long history, March Madness started with several upsets with a number of highly ranked teams losing their opening games. Despite their impressive record of wins and the hours of practice in preparation for the games, those teams came up short.

When you come up short, something is needed to put you back on course and to encourage you. I wish I could have been in one of those locker rooms to hear what the coaches had to say. I’m sure they realized that the words they chose had to be carefully selected because they would be the seeds that would be planted into the minds, hearts and the spirits of the young men.

In the focus verses for this article, Paul deflects any attention away from himself and Apollos, making it clear that they are part of the same team. Their respective responsibility is to either plant or to water, but it is God who will give the increase.

The Bible has some instructions about choosing the words that come out of our mouths; “Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them” (Ephesians‬ ‭4:29‬ ‭NLT)‬‬. If the coaches who lost those games carefully selected and thoughtfully planted their post game words, God can use those words to produce a bountiful harvest in the days, months and years to come.

We also plant and water seeds in people‘s lives. Those seeds should be words of encouragement because God can make our common efforts extrodinarily fruitful.

Be Blessed +++

Rev. J. Loren Russell is an associate minister at both Goodwill and The Greater Universal Baptist Churches in the Bronx, President/CEO of The JLR Company for Church Financial &. Strategic Consulting, and hosts “Matters of Faith – The Radio Show” on Soul 1 Radio, Mondays 8:00 – 10:00 PM. Listen by phone” at 626-226-1448. Be sure to Friend “Matters of Faith” on Facebook and email us at mattersoffaith.mof@gmail.com. Order your copy of Matters of Faith: The Book at Book Blues.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email