Jeremiah 8:20
“The Harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.”
As a teenager I remember how cool and grown up I felt when I would help my Dad plow the fields on our family farm. My Father and Grandfather owned farmland most of their lives in the wonderful rural countryside of America.
We are blessed in American with beautiful farmland of corn, wheat, cotton fields and more from the east to the west. Because I was raised with farms all around me, I am always fascinated with the numerous verses in the Bible about farming, farmers, wheat fields, plowing and the harvest time of the year. To help us understand Scripture God uses natural everyday places and people in our lives to help us understand His Word and commandments.
One of the familiar parables that Jesus shares with the disciples is found in Matthew 13. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. In this chapter Jesus is telling about a Farmer who went out to Sow the seed and He describes for us four types of soil. Each part of the parable has a special meaning: the Sower represents Jesus (v.37); the seed is the Word of God (v.19); the birds represent the devil and his demons (v.19).
The parable is told in verses 3-17 and explained in verses 18-30. Please grab your Bible and take a moment to read this entire chapter. Notice that the four types of soil are: the path on the wayside, rocky soil, thorny soil and good fertile soil. The productivity did not depend on the seed but on the type of soil.
The seed that fell on the pathway was easily destroyed due to the shallow ground and lack of faith. This type of person reminds us of someone who approaches church like they have joined a club. One scholar compares it to being in a deep freeze where they have heard the Word but it is not mixed with faith and they never grow spiritually.
The seed that fell on the rocky soil does not have deep roots and is killed by their personal emotions and feelings. Here the person is just the opposite of a deep freeze like the first soil, we picture this second soil like an oven. Their emotions are warm and rising in temperature like on a roller coaster but they are lead by their own flesh and feelings.
The third soil is the thorny soil where the seed is choked out by the deception of the world. The world crowds out the Word of God and easily distracts this person in their every day life.
The good soil is the seed that hears the Word of God and understands it. The good soil is productive and produces a harvest. This seed is successful in growing strong and having deep roots to create a solid foundation. When the storms of life come, these people experience trouble and are sometimes trampled on but not destroyed or perplexed.
If you know a little truth and want to know more, the Lord will add His truth into your life as you seek Him. If you don’t want to know the truth, God will not force His Word and ways on your life.
God will never shut the door to knowing the truth on any person. God loves us so much that He allows us to make the choice to know His truth or to reject it.
I want to encourage you if you are a believer and follower of Jesus Christ. Right now is the time to share your faith and plant the seed.
If you have not made a commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and have not admitted that you are a sinner who needs a Savior, I want to encourage you that right now is the time to talk to God in prayer. Admitting that you need help or that you have sinned will never be easy but we can only receive true peace when we are broken enough to reach out for God’s help. God desires to be your Savior and walk with you through this life on the earth but you need to invite Him into your life.
My heart’s desire is to help you understand what your decision to follow Jesus Christ looks like on a daily basis. Jesus in the Word of God explains every detail of salvation to us. For more information, discussion or Scripture references you can send your questions and contact me at jaymehull@gmail.com
We need to remember that the Harvest time only comes after the seed is planted. As believers we need to sow the seed, the Word of God in our family, friends and the world around us. Today is the day for sowing the seeds.
Daily Application:
Day 1: Ask God what type of soil you represent and pray for Him to help you grow in your walk with Him. Do you need to change?
Day 2: Memorize our verse for this week at the top of this site.
Day 3: Pray Matt 13:16 all day today: ”Lord, bless my eyes that I may see, and my ears to hear You.”
Day 4: Discuss this weeks devotional with a friend or your family and pray for everyone involved in your conversation to seek to have good soil for the seed of the Word of God to grow and blossom.
Day 5: Read John 12:23-26 today and pray for discernment.
Day 6: Nothing was wrong with the seed that was planted it was the soil. Pray for God to refresh your soil and mold you into fertile soil for the Word of God to grow.
SOIL: Seeking-Our-Incredible-Lord
Day 7: Find a place of Worship and Praise that teaches the Word of God. Go and Seek the Lord while He may be found.
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