Sunday, May 6, 2012

Mark 4:14–20

"'The farmer plants seed by taking God's word to others. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God's word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God's word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!'"


What kind of soil are you? Do you receive the Word gladly yet let it be snatched away or crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, or the desire for things other than the Kingdom of God? Or do you hear and accept it and let it produce a harvest? It is likely that you are a mixture. In some areas, you are producing fruit; in others, you produce nothing. Let God show you where the soil of your heart has weeds or rocks so that you can remove them and produce more fruit.