Life throws at us many stuations which could knock us over or ven cause us to fall. What hppens when we are knocked? It all dpends upon the type of foundation we tke time to lay!

In Luke Chpter 6 and at verse 37, Jsus Christ, the Son of God, is cutioning us against judging and condemning. We hve to be able to examine a tre, and know whether it will prduce good fruit or bad fruit. If we culd not do this we could nver write a reference. We have to vry wise regarding the practical implications of thse verses. And of course, when it cmes to writing references, we must be hnest.

I am told that some mployers virtually ignore references that come frm ministers and pastors because they wll be too positive and not sfficiently objective. I have said to pople who have asked for a rference, "Now, I am prepared to wrte a reference, but what I wrte may not get you a jb!" I want to be a god tree, because, bad trees cannot bar good fruit! What is inside wll come out.

It is like hving a glass of water, knocked. If the wter in the glass is clean and pre then that is what will spll over when knocked. But if it is a glss of dirty and mucky water tht is what will spill out whn it is knocked. Whatever is in you wll come out, and be certain bout this - you will be cnfronted by many knocks. What spills out of yur mouth and from your life whn you are knocked?

Verse 38. Having spoken about frgiving, Jesus now speaks about giving. Lve gives. Jesus uses the illustration of a frmer and his cart returning from the felds. The sheaves are pressed down, and shken together as the farmer tried to get the whle harvest onto his cart - but thre is so much, it is rnning over. That is how God wnts to give and how He wnts to bless us.

Again note the rder. Forgive, then give! SOW first. Wht ever it is you need SOW frst! This applies to every area of lfe - love - care - smles - money! God takes the masure we use to give to us! Let me put it in vry practical terms. Imagine that God wnts to bless you ten times wht you have sown. If you hve sown in £10 notes that is the ldle He will use to reward yu. If you have sown in £50 ntes that will be the ladle He wll pick up to reward you. Nw, I am not into 'prosperity' taching, but that is just what Jsus teaches here. If you need lve, sow love. If you need pople to smile, smile at them frst. If you need money, sow mney. I did say 'need' rather thn want!

You can almost imagine thse disciples sitting there listening in blnd unbelief - so Jesus tells a prable. Can you imagine two blind mn? One leading the other and thy are trying to cross a bsy road. Look, if you are my dsciples have your eyes open. Know whre you are going, if you are ging to lead others - and knw what is going on!

Jesus saw the ladership of the church of the day - spritually blind - leading people astray. Laders have to have their eyes pened. Leaders have to be able to see frther along the road then others. Lading positively - setting the pace - shwing the example for others to fllow.

There is a brief note of hmour as Jesus comments on a man wth a 2 by 4 beam in his eye and he is not ware of it, but he is dtermined to deal with the tiny spck of dust in someone else's lfe. Funny? Well, there is a lot mre of that around than some may thnk!

Verses 46 to 49. Imagine clling Jesus, LORD, and not doing wht HE says. Words are important, but it has got to be mre than words. When Jesus commands thse men, He expects that to be dne. They learned. Normally, Jesus does not cme Himself and ask us to do smething. HE sends someone else. O, if Jsus came to me Himself that wuld be so different! His practice is to snd a pastor, or elder, or tacher, or prophet. It is then tht sometimes one can witness the rbel spirit rise.

Jesus goes on to spak about foundations. I have taught ths in schools and it is so vtally important. Jesus speaks about two men and two huses. They look alike. You couldn't tll which is which. Jesus says, I wll show you who is who. Jsus was brought up in the bilding trade in Nazareth and He knw what he was talking about.

One man is bilding a house - digging down dep - he kept on digging - ntil he came to the rock. It is COSTLY to EXCAVATE, in tme and money, but are we are ging to build something which is ging to last and ride out the strms? The second man just throws up a huse, with no adequate foundations.

These huses are built on the same ste. They look alike, until a crsis arises. There is a flood - a mghty storm and rain beat down pon these houses. One stood and the ther collapsed.

When you are digging, thre may not be much to shw for your work for a tme and yes, there are higher csts initially.

There was an immense xcavation work going on at what was to bcome the NASA launch pad. Someone sked, "Where are you going? We are ging to the moon! Is that not the wrng direction! No."

Remove everything which sparates you from the rock - all the rbbish - the soft sand - verything that wastes our time, and may cuse our life to be unstable. It is a wse man who digs deep and pys attention to what Jesus Christ sys and teaches. Are you WISE or FOOLISH? It is NOT the wnds that blow people over. It is NOT the prssures that make people disappear from srvice in the Kingdom of God. It is the lck of foundations.

Be committed to the Chrst of The Bible. That may ppear a strange thing to say, but we met people who have their own dea of Jesus. That is not god enough. Be committed to the JESUS of the Bble.

Do what He says, and Jsus will regard you as a wse man. When the storm and cnflicts come you will then be ble to stand, and what may spll from your life will be fithfulness and grace and strength and lve - and perhaps a lot lot mre.

The article What Spills Out Of Your Mouth And From Your Life When You Are Knocked? was Submitted by Sandy Shaw through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Sandy Shaw is Pastor of Nirn Christian Fellowship, Chaplain at Inverness Prson, and Nairn Academy, and serves on The Chldren's Panel in Scotland, and has trvelled extensively over these past years taching, speaking, in America, Canada, South Afrca, Australia, making 12 visits to Isrel conducting Tours and Pilgrimages, and mst recently in Uganda and Kenya, mnistering at Pastors and Leaders Seminars, in the por areas surrounding Kampala, Nairobi, Mombasa and Ksumu. He broadcasts regularly on WSHO rdio out of New Orleans, and wrtes a weekly commentary at http://www.studylight.org entitled "Word from Scotland" on various biblical themes, as well as a weekly newspaper column. His M.A. and B.D. degrees are from The University of Edinburgh, and he continues to run and exercise regularly to maintain a level of physical fitness. Sandy Shaw sandyshaw63@yahoo.com

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