The Seed

A successful businessman was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together. He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you.” The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. “I am going to give each one of you a seed today–one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.”

One man named Jim was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by–still nothing in Jim’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn’t say anything to his colleagues; however, he just kept watering and fertilizing the soil. He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed; a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back. “My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown,” said the CEO. “Today, one of you will be appointed the next CEO!” All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, “The CEO knows I’m a failure. Maybe he will have me fired.” When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed. Jim told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, “Behold your next Chief Executive Officer! His name is Jim.” Jim couldn’t believe it. Jim couldn’t even grow his seed. “How could he be the new CEO?” the others said. Then the CEO said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. “But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead–it was not possible for them to grow. “All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. “Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. “Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!”

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust.
If you plant goodness, you will reap friends.
If you plant humility, you will reap greatness.
If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment.
If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective.
If you plant hard work, you will reap success.
If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation.
So, be careful what you plant now. It will determine what you will reap later.

Five More Minutes

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground.

“That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide. “He’s a fine looking boy,” the man said. “That’s my son on the swing in the blue sweater.” Then, looking at his watch, he called to his son. “What do you say we go, Todd? “Todd pleaded, “Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes.” The man nodded and Todd continued to swing to his heart’s content. Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his son. “Time to go now?” Again Todd pleaded, “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes.” The man smiled and said, “O.K.”
“My, you certainly are a patient father,” the woman responded. The man smiled and then said, “My older son Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I’d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I’ve vowed not to make the same mistake with Todd. He thinks he has five more minutes to swing. The truth is, I get five more minutes to watch him play.”

Life is all about making priorities, what are your priorities?

Keys to the Kingdom

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven” – Matthew 16:19

Keys represent access. They represent authority. Whether it’s a key to a building, car, or safety deposit box; if you’ve been given a key to something, it means you have a right to use it. You have access to whatever that key will open.

Friend, we have the keys to the kingdom of heaven! We have access to all the heavenly blessings and promises that are in the Word of God. And, we have the authority to take hold of those promises.

Are you using the keys that you have been given—the keys of faith and the power of your words and actions? No matter what you may have need of—be it physical healing, provision, wholeness, freedom from addiction—you have been given the authority to access it in Jesus’ Name! Take hold of those promises by faith and begin to declare that every need is met according to His riches in glory. Take a step of faith today and use those keys you have been given to take hold of every blessing God has in store for you!

He Holds the Keys

“I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades” – Revelation 1:18

Have you ever been locked out of your car or house? It can be very frustrating and inconvenient. Not having the right keys can keep you stuck and unproductive. It steals your time and can steal your peace and joy if you let it.

On a spiritual level, we need keys to access what God has for us—eternal life, peace, freedom, and blessing. But we don’t have to stand on the outside and be frustrated because the good news is, Jesus holds the keys, and He has opened the way for us to walk from death to life. We don’t have to live in defeat, mediocrity, sickness, sin, or any kind of bondage any longer. We have access to the abundant life Jesus came to give!

Today, if you feel stuck, locked out, or defeated; remember, Jesus is the one who holds the keys. All you have to do is call on His name and He will answer. He promises to hear you and will deliver you! Call on His name today and receive the salvation and deliverance He has already prepared for you!

God Answers Prayers

A man recently told a true story about the pastor of his church. He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc., but the kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten. And that’s what he did, all the while checking his progress in the car. He then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten.

Unfortunately, as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke. The tree went “boing!” and the kitten instantly sailed through the air and out of sight! The pastor felt terrible! He walked all over the neighbourhood asking people if they’d seen a little kitten. Nobody had spotted the poor little guy, so the pastor prayed, “Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,” and went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food … the woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, “Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?” The woman replied, “You won’t believe this,” and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing. Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the woman finally told her, “Well, if God gives you a cat, I’ll let you keep it.” She told the pastor, “I watched my child go out in the yard, get down on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won’t believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her!”*

Never underestimate the power of God and His unique sense of humour!

God answers prayer! The beauty of God answering prayer is just that; He answers us! God, in His ultimate and unfailing love desires nothing less than our absolute best. Sometimes, what we think is best is definitely not beneficial for us. Often, we aren’t able to see that until time passes and we can look back and see how the situation played out. God knew what was best for us all along!

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.” – 1 John 5:14-15