Matthew 13:3-7
We've talked before about bad seed and weeds and how they'll grow anywhere; no preparation is needed. However, to grow the good seeds, there is much to be done. And everyone who has ever tried to plant and grow anything said, "Amen".
Everything is affected when there's no rain. Have you ever stood on a soccer field or baseball diamond in the middle of a drought? The earth is so parched for water that there are splits in the ground - splits wide enough to cause the players to be in danger by losing their footing, spraining or breaking an ankle.
Drought is costly in ways that some don't even recognize. There are all the obvious ways - crop failure causing produce prices to increase and the quality to decrease. And unless you're willing to have scrub brush and weed as your landscaping efforts, you have to water, so the utility bill increases. When the drought is so bad, the authorities issue a ban on watering non-essentials, then flowers and flower beds die and sometimes even the grass dies. Those who live in perpetually dry areas circumvent the lack of water by landscaping with rock.
And then there are the wildfires...
How dry and thirsty are we? Are we being replenished and held together by the water of the Word? Are we actively seeking God so that He will rain down His righteousness on us and quench the thirsting of souls? Or are we poster children for the drought? Are the blossoms of love and forgiveness in our lives being choked out by the weeds of bitterness we've allowed to take root? Do we think we can hide the gaping tears in our hearts by covering them with stones, giving the facade of being well-kept and attractive, when there's no life in them? We can't walk safely on rocks, let alone run the race to which we've been called.
Are the fires in our lives fires from God or from the LACK of Him? How do we know the difference? You might wonder what difference it makes - fire burns! However, there is a HUGE difference. Left unchecked, fires destroy completely... unless of course, you are surrounded by water...Living Water (John 4). Godly fire burns away the chaff - the dross in our lives - WITHOUT destroying what is good.
How dry and thirsty are you? I know where the Living Water can be found.
Prayer:
Father,
Your Son declared His Truth to us - “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." As we immerse ourselves in Your Word, Lord, cause our hearts and minds to be flooded with Your Truths. Make us to be the trees planted by Your water and not moved by the spiritual and physical drought conditions around us. Let us produce Your fruit in our lives to feed those around us, drawing from Your well of living waters. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
We've talked before about bad seed and weeds and how they'll grow anywhere; no preparation is needed. However, to grow the good seeds, there is much to be done. And everyone who has ever tried to plant and grow anything said, "Amen".
Everything is affected when there's no rain. Have you ever stood on a soccer field or baseball diamond in the middle of a drought? The earth is so parched for water that there are splits in the ground - splits wide enough to cause the players to be in danger by losing their footing, spraining or breaking an ankle.
Drought is costly in ways that some don't even recognize. There are all the obvious ways - crop failure causing produce prices to increase and the quality to decrease. And unless you're willing to have scrub brush and weed as your landscaping efforts, you have to water, so the utility bill increases. When the drought is so bad, the authorities issue a ban on watering non-essentials, then flowers and flower beds die and sometimes even the grass dies. Those who live in perpetually dry areas circumvent the lack of water by landscaping with rock.
And then there are the wildfires...
How dry and thirsty are we? Are we being replenished and held together by the water of the Word? Are we actively seeking God so that He will rain down His righteousness on us and quench the thirsting of souls? Or are we poster children for the drought? Are the blossoms of love and forgiveness in our lives being choked out by the weeds of bitterness we've allowed to take root? Do we think we can hide the gaping tears in our hearts by covering them with stones, giving the facade of being well-kept and attractive, when there's no life in them? We can't walk safely on rocks, let alone run the race to which we've been called.
Are the fires in our lives fires from God or from the LACK of Him? How do we know the difference? You might wonder what difference it makes - fire burns! However, there is a HUGE difference. Left unchecked, fires destroy completely... unless of course, you are surrounded by water...Living Water (John 4). Godly fire burns away the chaff - the dross in our lives - WITHOUT destroying what is good.
How dry and thirsty are you? I know where the Living Water can be found.
Prayer:
Father,
Your Son declared His Truth to us - “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." As we immerse ourselves in Your Word, Lord, cause our hearts and minds to be flooded with Your Truths. Make us to be the trees planted by Your water and not moved by the spiritual and physical drought conditions around us. Let us produce Your fruit in our lives to feed those around us, drawing from Your well of living waters. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen
