Bible Verse of the Day Monday May 6th , 2024

Luke 8:5-8 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.  Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seeds fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

With very few possible exceptions, most of us are happy to see winter's end and spring's breaking. Most of us are not fond of winter's deep, cold days. We look forward to the day when the temperature is high enough that we don't need a coat to go out in the morning. One of the first signs of spring is the white blooms on the Bradford pear trees and the forsythia beginning to bloom out. These natural signs from God mean we have come to the end of a dark period and the beginning of something new. 

It is extraordinary to get the ground ready, plant seeds, and watch the new plants poke their heads out of the ground, looking for the growing power of the sun and warm weather. This process takes a determined spirit, a lot of work, and an intense focus on growing our own food. I am not very good at that at that. Having lived in the city most of my life, I pick my beans and gather my fruit at the local Food Lion or Wal-Mart.  

There are multiple avenues to reading and understanding this great parable. Many will view this from the prospect of sharing the Word of God with the lost souls of this world. But today, we should take an internal look. When we study God's Word, whether our personal study, attending a Bible Study class, a Sunday School class, or listening to a sermon, there is one critical question we must face. Are our hearts surrendered to Christ Jesus and prepared to receive the message that God has prepared for us? Are we prepared to accept God's message when entering His Holy Word? Are our hearts truly prepared? Or does God's Holy Word find our hearts in a place where they cannot genuinely mature into fruit?

Just periodically reading the Bible, to say we read the Bible today, will not help us grow and mature as strong Christians. We must intake those words, meditate on them, and open our hearts and souls so that God's message will become the seed that grows into a mature plant in our hearts, minds, spirits, and souls. 

The Holy Word of God can help us grow into the mature Christians our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, desires us to become. We must surrender ourselves to God, heart, mind, body, soul, and spirit, asking Him to open and prepare ourselves to receive His message. Let us ask God to help us prepare our hearts and minds to periodically read His word and allow Him to plant His message deep into our spirits and souls. Also, let us ask God to give us the desire to read His Word and spread it to this lost, dark, and dying world.