Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

July 26
Friday


TAKING ROOT
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Some fell on stony
places, where they did
not have much earth;
and they immediately
sprang up
__Matthew 13:5
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A small area of my yard just couldn't seem to get going. The grass always seemed sparse in that spot, no matter how well I watered it.

So one day I stuck a shovel into this troublesome real estate and discovered the problem: Just below the surface was a layer of stones about three inches deep. This led me to replace the stones with rich topsoil in which new seeds could take root.

Jesus talked about seed and soils. In a parable in Matthew 13 about what happens when the seed of the gospel is sown on various kinds of ground, He said that seeds that land on stones and "not much earth" grow quickly but then die in the sun (vv.5-6). He was speaking of one who has heard and received the gospel, but in whose life the message doesn't take root. When trouble comes, this person__who is not a genuine believer__fails away.

How grateful we can be for Jesus' words that conclude this parable: "He who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the Word and understands it, who indeed bears responsibility that accompanies our salvation.

Praise God for the seed of the gospel and the soil of spiritual growth. __Dee Branon

````````````````Lord, I would be soil in which You can plant```````````````
```````````````````Your Word with its promise of fruit;```````````````````
``````````````````I want to be open to You every day,````````````````````
````````````So what You have planted takes root. __Hess``````````````````
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A heart open to God is soil in which
the seed of His Word can flourish.

***********************Today's Bible Reading __ Mathew 13:1-9**********************

1 On the same day Jesus
went out of the house and
sat by the sea. 2 And great
multitudes were gathered
together to Him so that He
got into a boat and sat; and
the whole multitude stood
on the shore. 3 Then He
spoke many things to them
in parables, saying:
"Behold, a sower went out
to sow. 4 And as he sowed,
some seed fell by the
wayside; and the birds came
and devoured them. 5 Some
fell on stony places, where
they did not have much
earth; and they immediately
sprang up because they had
no depth of earth. 6 But
when the sun was up they
were scorched, and because
they had no root they
withered away. 7 And some
fell among thorns, and the
thorns sprang up and
choked them. 8 But others
fell on good ground and
yielded a crop: some a
hundredfold, some sixty,
some thirty. 9 He who has
ears to hear, let him hear!"

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
The gospel of Matthew places great emphasis on the teaching
ministry of Jesus. One of Jesus' preferred methods of teaching was to
use parables. Chapter 13 contains parables on the kingdom. There,
Jesus explained why He taught this way (vv.10-17). In this chapter,
He taught a total of eight stories that describe what the "kingdom
of heaven is like": the sower or soils (vv.31:32), the leaven
(v.33), the hidden treasure (v.44), the pearl of great price (vv.45-60),
the fishing net (vv.47-50), and the householder (v.52).
*harpis