by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
People with the word of the kingdom of Christ in their hearts do not need to get too entangled in the cares of this world.<\/p>\n
“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. 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<\/em>” (Matthew 13:22-24 NKJV).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Did you notice how “the cares of this world<\/em>” can choke the word out of its rightful place in your heart? Our concern for our country is legitimate, but does it consume us? Or, is Jesus preeminent in our thoughts? Is our concern for His church or kingdom much greater than our concern for this temporal land and institutions? It needs to be first (Matthew 6:33). This country is best helped when we can show the benefit of knowing Jesus. All else is “rubbish” (Philippians 3:8ff). We do not need to let the cares of this world choke out the preeminence of our King. The Prince of Peace within us should be far greater than our fears and worries concerning anything else. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts! (Colossians 3:15). Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly (Colossians 3:16) to the point that it has you singing above the cares of this world (Acts 16:25). In that way, our light can penetrate the darkness in our country.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Terry Wane Benton People with the word of the kingdom of Christ in their hearts do not need to get too entangled in the cares of this world. “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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[609],"class_list":["post-94668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-worldliness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":89522,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-parable-of-the-sower-a-reminder-to-soul-winners\/","url_meta":{"origin":94668,"position":0},"title":"The Parable of the Sower: A Reminder to Soul-Winners","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kris Groda Although Jesus called it \"the parable of the sower,\" we view the parable in light of the explanation that Jesus provided (Matthew 13:18-23). The thrust seems to be about the different types of ground, which represent the differences in people; nevertheless, the seed-sower scattered seed on good\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":37773,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-were-doing-well-a-few-years-ago-but-ive-slipped-into-sexual-sins\/","url_meta":{"origin":94668,"position":1},"title":"We were doing well a few years ago, but I’ve slipped into sexual sins","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Minister, I came upon your website via Google, and read a few of your articles, and found them to be interesting and very helpful, Thank you. My problem is that I became a \"Born Again\" Christian a few years ago when I was in my mid-thirties. 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I feel that a person should attend, for it is a benefit to study and learn\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18552,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-friend-has-left-christ-how-should-i-handle-this\/","url_meta":{"origin":94668,"position":5},"title":"A friend has left Christ. How should I handle this?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a childhood friend who was raised in the Buddhist religion. Through the years I had made small presentations of the gospel to him here and there. 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