Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “A prosperous life”
Our Bible verse for today: “Still others fell on good ground, and produced a crop: some 100, some 60, and some 30 times what was sown. Anyone who has ears should listen!” Matthew 13:8-9 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “Keep the soil fertile.”
In Matthew 13:3-9 Jesus told His famous parable of the sower and the seeds. In this parable a farmer sowed seeds on various types of soil. Some seed fell on hard soil and the birds of the air came and ate it. Other seed feel on rocky ground where there wasn’t much good soil. The seed sprang up for a short time but because the soil wasn’t good or deep, the crop had no root and quickly withered and died. But other seed was sown in good soil. It took root, flourished, and produced a bumper crop of good fruit.
Jesus’ point is that the hearts of people are similar to those different kinds of soil. Some hearts are hard and the seeds of faith never penetrate at all. Some are shallow and therefore the seeds of faith are superficial and don’t last. But other hearts are fertile soil for faith. In those cases the seeds take root, grow deep, flourish, and produce abundant spiritual fruit.
Most of you reading this are already Christians and therefore the seeds of faith have taken root in your heart and there is some fruit already. The question for you is “how fertile is the soil of your heart and how much spiritual fruit is being produced in your life? How deep do your spiritual roots go?”
The answer to that question is determined largely by how much time and effort you put into nurturing your relationship with the Lord. The most common problem most Christians face is the competition for their time. We allow the demands of life to crowd out our time with God. Rather than getting up early for prayer and Bible study, we sleep late. Rather than going to church on Sunday for worship and fellowship, we go to the lake or something similar. Rather than participating in ministry activities we use the time for hobbies. You get the idea.
When we allow that to happen the soil of the heart turns dry and dusty and that then greatly reduces the spiritual fruit that will grow in and through our lives. This matters more than we realize. If there is one thing that should be clear now at this point in our study of “a prosperous life”, it is that a truly prosperous and fulfilling life is not produced by jobs, hobbies, or possessions. It comes as a result of a deep and rich relationship with the Lord. But if your heart is not fertile soil, your relationship with the Lord will not be flourishing and fruitful.
Today is Friday. Sunday is coming. I encourage you to plan to attend church this week. Go there with a sincere desire to encounter the Lord in the act of worship. Doing so will help to make your heart fertile soil where the seeds of faith can flourish and grow.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 