Tag: good soil
Watch your hearing!
Scripture reading for July 7th: Luke 8, Psalm 135, Proverbs 11
Luke 8:16-18 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
Jesus had just taught His disciples the parable of the Sower. God is the actual ‘Sower’ of His Word. It is likened to ‘Good Seed’ that can produce an abundant crop in the right kind of soil. We receive God’s Word through hearing it preached, taught, or spoken or reading it. Care needs to be taken how we hear. We must be diligent to take His Word deep into our hearts and allow it to germinate and grow. If we receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior through repentance and faith we take the first step in proper hearing. Then more can be given to us. We must always remember that God knows everything about us, including our secrets and secret sins. Confessing them to Him and repentance brings righteousness.
Psalm 135:11-12 “Your Name, O Lord, endures forever, Your renown, O Lord throughout all ages. For the Lord will vindicate His people and have compassion on His servants.”
Prayer: Father God, Your Name and renown endures forever! Through Jesus Christ, I have repented of living for me and now have received Christ’s gift of righteousness. I ask for continued healing of my ears to better hear Your Word and softening the soil of my heart to increase the capacity to receive Your Word and produce a crop for eternal life and proclaim Your Name to the ends of the earth!
Proverbs 11:4-5 “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.”
“My beloved brothers (and sisters)”
Scripture reading for March 30th: James 1, Psalm 64, Proverbs 2
James 1:19-22 “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
Humility, obedience, and integrity are marks of those who follow Jesus Christ and love His Word. James was the half-brother of Jesus and was chosen to be the pastor of the Jerusalem church. He addressed the believers as ‘my beloved brothers’, a sign of humble respect. He shared godly instruction with the church that is written down for us today as well. Hearing requires focus and a quiet and calm spirit. Anger tends to hinder our ability to hear. As we receive God’s Word, faith comes by hearing. We must humbly listen in order to apply and obey. James likens our hearing as looking into a mirror and then forgetting what we look like. We must concentrate intently with a quiet spirit and receive the Word as a seed that can find good soil and grow, producing corresponding actions. True faith always produces good works.
Psalm 64:10 “Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him! Let all the upright in heart exult!”
Prayer: Holy Father, I rejoice in the Word of Truth You have given to Your ‘beloved’ people. Help me to hear and receive Your Word like seed. Empower me by Your Holy Spirit to understand and apply all Your Truth to my life. Forgive me when I have looked into Your Word like that mirror, and then immediately forgot what You had said about my identity and new character in Your Son Jesus Christ.
Proverbs 2:21-22 “For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it, but the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.”
Joy–but no root!
Scripture reading for January 5th: Mark 4, Psalm 4, Proverbs 4
Mark 4:13-17 “And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all parables? The sower sows the Word. And these are the ones along the path, where the Word is sown; when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the Word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the Word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, tribulation or persecution arises on account of the Word, immediately they fall away. . .”
Jesus asked His disciples if they understood His parable of the sower and the soils, telling them if they couldn’t understand this parable, all other parables would also be beyond their comprehension. He explained to them the meaning of this key parable, repeated in three Gospels. The sower is Jesus or any of God’s appointed messengers. The Word of God is the Seed. Those who receive have soil in their hearts. For those whose heart is hard like the path, the Seed finds no place to lodge and Satan carries it away. Some with rocky soil, receive the Word with joy initially. The Seed finds crevices to lodge, but when persecution or trouble arises because of the Word, these fall away. Some soil is weedy, and the weeds, cares of this life, choke the Word and it is unfruitful. But the good soil produces an abundance.
Psalm 4:7-8 “You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound. In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for sending those who sowed Your Word into my life. My mother, my Sunday School teachers, my pastors, and Your messengers all sowed. Thank You for softening the ground of my heart and faithfully weeding to cultivate Your precious Seed. May the harvest abound with more “grain and new wine” of souls saved and filled with Your Holy Spirit and the resulting joy!
Proverbs 4:18-19 “But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. But the path of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.”
Good Soil for God’s Word
Scripture reading for January 17th: Matthew 13, Psalm 13, Prov. 13
Key Scriptures: Matthew 13:20-23 “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the Word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the Word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Jesus used a parable, a story about something common, to teach His disciples about the kingdom of heaven. The parable required thinking and discernment to find the truth being taught. God’s Word was likened to seed sowed on various types of soil in the hearts of hearers. Some was rocky and shallow and quickly dried up, aborting the growth needed for fruit. Some was weedy and the Word was choked out before it produced. Other soil was fertile and the Seed multiplied in harvest.
Faith’s Confession: Father, thank You for considering my heart good soil. I receive Your Word and desire to produce fruit–even a hundred-fold!
Proverbs 13:13 “Whoever despises the Word brings destruction on himself; but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.”
The garden of the heart!
Scripture reading for February 13th: Leviticus 20-23, Mark 4
Key Scriptures: Mark 4:14-20 “”The sower sows the Word. And these are the ones along the path, where the Word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the Word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the Word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while, . . .And others are the ones sown among the thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. . . choke the Word. . .But those sown on good soil . . . .hear and bear fruit. . .””
Jesus explained the parable of the sower to His disciples, explaining that it was a key to understanding all parables. The Word of God is like seed sown on various kinds of soil. The soil is the ground of individual hearts. Hearing and allowing the seed to grow and produce fruit comes only with the ‘good’ soil of faith. Satan, the world and our sinful nature oppose the Word. Those set apart to God hear and do the Word.
Leviticus 20:26 “You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be Mine.”
Prayer: Lord, thank You for separating me to Yourself by Your holy Word, Jesus Christ. I offer the ground of my heart as a garden of fruitfulness and good soil. Amen.
God has plans!
Scripture reading for January 17th: Genesis 43-45, Matthew 13
Key Scriptures: Genesis 45:4-7 “So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God set me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to keep alive for you many survivors.”
Joseph called his brothers close and revealed his identity. He told them not to be distressed or angry with themselves, although they had sold him into slavery. God was indeed working out a plan of salvation. They must see the plan and cooperate in faith. Those who do will produce a harvest!
Matthew 13:23 “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Prayer: Father, help me to see Your plan in my situation and circumstances. Allow me to be good soil that yields a great harvest to Your glory! In Jesus’ Name!
True mothers and brothers!
Scripture reading for March 28th: Luke 8:4-21
Blood is thicker than water! This statement is made to declare that family loyalty is often the closest tie that binds people together. They may not get along on a daily basis, but if a family member is attacked or threatened, other family members will rally to their defense. Blood relationship is a unique tie we have with our close relatives. The Jews used this in their relationship to God as well, claiming Abraham’s blood brought them into a unique relationship with God. Jesus disputed this common proverb when it came to following Him.
“Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see Him, but they were not able to get near Him because of the crowd. Someone told Him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see You.” He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” ” (Luke 8:19-21) The context of this statement was the teaching of the parable of the sower and the seed. Those who received God’s word and put it into practice had good soil in their hearts and persevered to produce a crop of righteousness coming from faith. Blood relationship would not necessarily produce this!
Faith comes by hearing and obeying the word of God. (Romans 10:17) It is by faith through God’s grace found in Jesus Christ that we are saved. (Ephesians 2:8-10) We are adopted into God’s family and become one with Him through covenant by His blood. (Galatians 4:4-7) The Holy Spirit bears witness that we are sons and daughters of God and we can now know God as “Abba” (Daddy). Our faith resulted in belief in the word of truth and we were marked by a seal, the precious Holy Spirit! Our complete family inheritance is guaranteed until the redemption of our bodies at the resurrection! (Ephesians 1:13-14)
In summary, Jesus was not putting down his family but encouraging all that they could become close family with Him through hearing the word of God and obeying it! That is the definition of faith! Faith works through love. Love is a relationship where people and our Father work to bring the highest good to each person regardless of personal cost! Does your spirit and the Holy Spirit bear witness that God is your Father (Daddy)?