This young plant that McNutt & Partners used for the fresh soil of the website reminds me of the parable of the sower – a perfect place to get my hands dirty digging for this new blog site. I hope you’ll return, and join me as I navigate this faith-filled journey called life!
One of the most important things we can ever do is record our personal encounters with a living, breathing Savior. Why? In Matthew 13:18-23, we see what can happen after we receive the Word into our hearts. As we attempt to understand what God has revealed to us, many other distractions can prevent us from being completely transformed by the revelation.
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Distractions can result in a walking dead faith. For one, the enemy who is Satan can and will snatch the truth and displace it with doubt and deception. Worries and troubles can so usurp our thoughts that they can seem to attach to our very personhood. The abundance of life can be a blessing, but is often a curse making the revelation unfruitful in us.
I’ll never understand why God, in His great mercy, allowed me the sweet privilege of falling in love with Him through His Word. When it happened, the seeds planted inside me at a very young age from Scripture began to break through the dark moist soil to the warmth of the sun and grow. Before I knew it, I was head over hills in love!
Scripture sourced from the New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.