PARABLES - WEEK TWO - DAY ONE
Hello and welcome to your Daily Devos following our Prophet messages at 29:11! Take some time today to read through the scriptures provided, meditate on the lessons learned that are applicable for all of us from this week and journal your prayers. Have an amazing week 29:11 Church!
THEME SCRIPTURE:
18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: 19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. 20 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 21 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. 22 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. 23 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!”
- Matthew 13:18-23 NLT
TODAY’S PASSAGE:
Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts.
- Proverbs 4:23 MSG
REFLECTION:
There is an interesting thing that happens in really hot environments. If you have ever walked in a desert, at some point you have probably come across a patch of dirt that was hard looking and covered in tiny cracks. Looking at this dirt would make you feel almost like a giant overlooking a network of canyons. This phenomenon is conveniently called mudcracks, or sometimes called desiccation cracks. You might be asking yourselves how these cracks are formed? The first step to creating mud cracked soil, is to first create mud. In order to get this dried creviced dirt, you first have to have wet soil. What was once ground that might have been suitable for growth, has now become something desolate and void of life.
I think our hearts can often be like this soil. It might be in small ways or it might be in big ways, but our hearts that were once full of living water can become dry and crusty. Why does this happen? It happens because the soil of your heart wasn’t being worked. There was a lack of water. There was a lack of tilling. There was a lack of seeds. When we leave our hearts out to dry, they do as they are told and dry up. There are two very difficult parts to having a hard heart. First, when the soil of our heart is hard and dry, it is often difficult to remember what it was like to have a softened heart. We become blind to our condition because it seems like we have always been in the desert. Second, when our heart is hard and dry, it takes some hard work to till the soil and soften our hearts.
Here is the good news! It is not up to us to soften our hearts. If we prayerfully go to God, He will step in and do the work for us. Not only will he help us to see our own condition, but he will water and till the soil in us. All we are called to do is go to the feet of the Father and allow Him to work inside us.
THOUGHTS TO PONDER:
Challenges are good, especially if it’s coming from Jesus himself! When was the last time you challenged yourself and looked at how your heart is doing? Is you heart like the dry soil, all hard and crusty, or is you heart more like healthy soil, ready to recieve the seeds of the Kingdom? Take some time today to sit with God and ask him to help you identify what the condition of your heart is. Don’t try to fix it right away or on your own. Ask God to do the work inside you, revealing and softening your heart condition.
