Fri.’s Devo - The Sower and the Seed

Read: Deuteronomy 9:1-10:22; Luke 8:4-21; Psalm 69:19-36; Proverbs 12:2-3 Moses gathered the people to speak to them before they crossed into the land the Lord had for them. They were going to come up against people that were giants who lived in towns with walls that reached to the skies. How coincidental that their first town they came to, it would be the walls that would come down. *** God went to great detail to let them know that he was not giving them this land because of their righteousness or because they deserved it, but because he had promised their descendants and made a covenant with them. They were stubborn and rebellious and had proved it the whole forty years in the wilderness. He was also giving them the land because the people living there were so wicked. *** Moses reminded them of all their sins in the past because Moses stood for “the law” and that is what the law was for. It was to set a standard so people could see their sin through it. Thank God, we live in the day of grace! God reminds us of our future. *** Moses told the people what God required of them. They were to fear Him and live their lives pleasing him. They were to love and serve him with all their heart and soul. The law was for their good if they obeyed it. He told them to change their hearts and stop being stubborn. God is a god of justice and loves the foreigners as well as his people. God had proven to them that he was powerful and worthy of their praise. In Luke, Jesus gave the parable of the sower and the seed. Jesus explained it to his disciples later because they were permitted to know the secrets of the kingdom. God hid these secrets in his parables. The sower was God; the seed was his Word. God scattered his Word everywhere but where that seed fell determined if it would grow and prosper. The places it fell were in the hearts of people. Many seed did not grow because of trauma, clutter, indifference and shallowness. But those who had hungry hearts devoured the seed and it grew and produced a huge harvest. *** Jesus then talked about a lamp. Lamps are light-bearers and should not be hidden but put on a stand so everyone could benefit from its light. We are the light of the world. We are to let our light shine and not cover it with our shame and insecurities. *** Jesus warned them to watch HOW they heard when they listened to his teaching. If they listened with open hearts, they would be given more, but if they listened with cynical hearts, they wold lose what little understanding they had. *** Jesus’ natural mother and brothers came to see him but couldn’t get close because of the crowd. When Jesus heard they were there, he said that his mother and brothers were those who hear God’s word and obey it. I’m sure he went to see his mother and brothers but he was making the point that they were his natural kin on earth but his spiritual kin were just as dear to his heart as them. *** Lord, thank you for your love. May our hearts be fertile and receptive to your teachings, your discipline and your love. May we be a light in the world of your goodness and truth.