Sunday, June 16, 2024 6:52:01 AM
Tilling the Soil of the Heart
~ May your heart become more responsive to the presence, will, and love of God this week as you cultivate good soil with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 13:22-23 says:
“The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s Word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s Word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
The concept of good and bad soil is something Jesus’s listeners would have understood well. Planting in good or bad soil meant having food or going hungry. It meant having money or not. For their agrarian culture it was a matter of survival.
While Jesus’s parable might not have as direct a correlation to us, its principle remains just as relevant. We all have spiritual soil. Through our mindsets and postures of the heart we can receive the seed of God’s Word which will in turn yield life-giving fruit. Or, we can allow the soil of our hearts to make us unreceptive to the powerful work God in our lives.
It’s incredibly important for us to understand that God never forces His desires on us. He waits patiently — beckoning us to open our hearts fully to Him. He gently shows us His love, whispers His perfect plans to us, and waits for us to trust and surrender. With the grace of God, we can till the soil of our hearts, living receptively and surrendered to His loving kindness and perfect will. If we will cultivate a willing heart, God will mold and shape us into children free from the cares of the world and empowered to live Christ-like, fruitful lives.
Take time today to assess your own life:
• What parts of your heart are hard to God?
• Where do you feel unreceptive to His goodness?
• Where do you need to say yes to God today in a fresh, transformative way?
God is calling you to a lifestyle of trust and surrender that He might lead you to green pastures and still waters. There is abundant life for you in store this week as you cultivate good soil. May the Holy Spirit help you look honestly at the posture of your heart today as you enter into a time of prayer.
Tilling our hearts into good soil is an important daily exercise. The more often you do it, the more you’ll realize the need to have good soil. Having our hearts fully open to God takes the mundane and makes it wonderful. It takes sunsets, conversations, prayers, work, and church and fills them with life, value, beauty, and joy. Take what you’ve learned today and continue to put it into practice. Choose to live a life positioned to receive all that God has in store for you. May your day be marked by the fruit of the Spirit.
________________
~ published by: First 15
https://www.first15.org/
•
~ May your heart become more responsive to the presence, will, and love of God this week as you cultivate good soil with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 13:22-23 says:
“The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s Word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s Word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
The concept of good and bad soil is something Jesus’s listeners would have understood well. Planting in good or bad soil meant having food or going hungry. It meant having money or not. For their agrarian culture it was a matter of survival.
While Jesus’s parable might not have as direct a correlation to us, its principle remains just as relevant. We all have spiritual soil. Through our mindsets and postures of the heart we can receive the seed of God’s Word which will in turn yield life-giving fruit. Or, we can allow the soil of our hearts to make us unreceptive to the powerful work God in our lives.
It’s incredibly important for us to understand that God never forces His desires on us. He waits patiently — beckoning us to open our hearts fully to Him. He gently shows us His love, whispers His perfect plans to us, and waits for us to trust and surrender. With the grace of God, we can till the soil of our hearts, living receptively and surrendered to His loving kindness and perfect will. If we will cultivate a willing heart, God will mold and shape us into children free from the cares of the world and empowered to live Christ-like, fruitful lives.
Take time today to assess your own life:
• What parts of your heart are hard to God?
• Where do you feel unreceptive to His goodness?
• Where do you need to say yes to God today in a fresh, transformative way?
God is calling you to a lifestyle of trust and surrender that He might lead you to green pastures and still waters. There is abundant life for you in store this week as you cultivate good soil. May the Holy Spirit help you look honestly at the posture of your heart today as you enter into a time of prayer.
Tilling our hearts into good soil is an important daily exercise. The more often you do it, the more you’ll realize the need to have good soil. Having our hearts fully open to God takes the mundane and makes it wonderful. It takes sunsets, conversations, prayers, work, and church and fills them with life, value, beauty, and joy. Take what you’ve learned today and continue to put it into practice. Choose to live a life positioned to receive all that God has in store for you. May your day be marked by the fruit of the Spirit.
________________
~ published by: First 15
https://www.first15.org/
•
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