Heart Conditions~

Luke 8:8 “Others were planted on good ground. When they came up, they produced a hundred times as much as was planted."

Greetings,

Yeah! Good ground! That’s what we have been waiting to hear about.  No more hard, dry, gravelly, or thorn-filled soil to talk about.  And for those of us who yearn for a 100-fold return, it is important that we retain God’s beautiful Word in our hearts no matter what.

Jesus explains: “The seeds that were planted on good ground are people who also hear the Word. But they keep it in their good and honest hearts and produce what is good despite what life may bring.”

I am pleased to report that I have personally met many of you DEVO readers, and that you are the persevering, patient, enduring kind of folks who bear fruit. 

You pray until you receive the answer, you keep God’s promises close until you witness the miracles in your lives, you keep on believing the truth no matter how dark the days are.  God’s seed has made its way into your good and honest hearts and nothing – not pecking birds, a dry, arid surface, or a thorn within a million miles – is going to take it away. 

No disease, rebellious kid, ding dong spouse, financial struggle, disappointments, feelings of worthlessness, depression, loneliness, doubt, (fill in the blank), are going to scoop in and leave you fruitless.  And when you enjoy seasons of worry-free living and multiple blessings, you won’t forget Who made it possible!

In this passage Jesus teaches that there are four heart conditions – three of which produce nothing good or nothing at all, and one which produces an abundance of goodness and fruit.  I choose that one, and the way to make sure the soil is prime to receive it all is by staying connected with Christ!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, we choose You.  Even now as we pray You are nourishing and strengthening our hearts to receive and then keep Your Word in our hearts.  We all desire to produce a hundred times more than what was planted.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~ 

At All Times~

I am really good at not taking care of my plants.  I have shared before how I have a brown thumb – the antithesis of having a green one.  That’s one of the reasons I have succulents now; they barely require maintenance.  Yesterday, as I was putt-puttering around doing chores, I decided to water some older plants on my terrace, and it was sad to see how dry some of them were.  It took forever for the water to penetrate that tough upper crust of dried up soil, and that’s when my mind came back to Tuesday’s DEVO – especially the part about how some seeds land on hard ground and before they have a chance to blossom are devoured. 

All day I thought about certain seasons in my life where I stayed close to Jesus during struggles and heartache, and then I thought about one particular season where I know God desired to come in and soothe my weary soul, but I wouldn’t let Him.  It’s not so much that I flat out told Him to stay away, but more like me attending church because I was used to it, listening to the great sermons, clapping enthusiastically during the music, and then heading out the door as if nothing happened.  Hardy and nourishing seeds were thrown my way, but I was so discouraged, so sick and tired of being sick and tired, so weary in my faith, so sure that God wouldn’t answer my prayers because certain things had gone on for so long, that I just closed up.  The entrance to my heart was dry and crusty.

I regret all the spiritual nourishment I wasted, and so does my soul.  But I have learned to stop looking back and to continue looking forward to all the joy that awaits. 

Today’s DEVO is a simple reminder to keep your heart open to the Lord.  He desires to help us by providing us with comfort and guidance from scripture.  But it is up to us if we will allow it to take root.  Psalm 62:8 tells us how to do it: “Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge." The key is to trust AT ALL TIMES - even during those times that do not make sense. If we do that, if we pour out our hearts to Him, then our hearts remain open to receive from Him. GLORY!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for being our refuge.  Help us to pour out our hearts to You always so that there is always a fresh flow of blessings in and out.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~   

The Perfect Seed~

Greetings, all you precious saints of the Lord!

Today we continue with our lessons in farming.  The most important thing to remember is that God has given 

each of us the perfect seed; if we plant it in rich earth, it guarantees a bumper crop!  What is this seed?  

Luke 11:8 “The seed is the Word of God.”

God’s Word needs to be planted and take root in our lives because, “There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing us the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us (2 Timothy 3:16-17).”

After reading these two verses I realize that there’s a lot at stake.  I want – make that I need – to make sure that the soil of my heart is receptive to receiving God’s Word because when my faith is optimized, when I have all the truth I need to address the problems in my life, when my hard-headed and prideful ways get in the way of enjoying relationships and God gently nudges me to make things right, when I love the way God wants me to love, and when I am able to serve my family and others, well then, that’s when life is joyful and worth living!

The key is to plant in rich, fertile soil because while God offers the same seed to everyone, where it’s planted is quite another.  This paragraph from yesterday’s DEVO reveals some hindrances to that seed being successfully planted:

Birds eat up the seeds, seeds land in gravel

and don’t grow for a lack of good roots, and

seeds fall on weeds and try to grow but those

weeds strangle them. 

How do we prepare the soil to avoid these pitfalls?  We will continue with our farming series next week, but in the meantime, let’s ask God to begin the process by protecting the seed He has given us from those hungry pesky birds and by gently removing any gravel or weeds that might be growing in our gardens.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, So much gets in the way of Your life-saving, joy-giving Word from taking root and growing into a beautiful crop of blessings.  Help us today to be receptive and ready to all the good You want to do in us and to all the good You want us to do.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~