good seed | Kristi's Morning Devotional

August 5, 2020July 21, 2020

Growing “In Him”

It is my prayer that you gained new insight for your daily walk with the Lord because of our brief study of “in Him” and “in Christ”. Over the next week or so I will be sharing some thoughts from God’s word that you have probably heard before but if you start each day’s reading reminding yourself that you are in Him I know the Lord will give you a greater understanding of these truths.

The Bible has much to say about seeds, planting and growing. God intended for nature to be an example for us to learn from and live by. We see what good soil, the right amount of water and sunshine can do on a daily basis. The trees in our yards and parks flourish; the pastures grow and provide food for the cattle; the desert has its own beauty from the vegetation that grows there. Yes, it’s all around us!

Jesus taught parables about farmers growing seeds and protecting what they had planted. In one of my favorite stories He warns of birds coming to eat the seeds that are unprotected and of weeds that choke out the plants while they are young. Finally He tells of the harvest that comes when the seeds are well cared for and allowed to grow. Jesus makes this correlation:

“This is what the story means: The seed is God’s message, 12 and the seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message. But the devil comes and snatches the message out of their hearts, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it. But they don’t have deep roots, and they believe only for a little while. As soon as life gets hard, they give up.

14 The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they are so eager for riches and pleasures that they never produce anything. 15 Those seeds that fell on good ground are the people who listen to the message and keep it in good and honest hearts. They last and produce a harvest.” Luke 9:11-15 CEV

The seed, God’s word, is perfect. It will grow anywhere but it must be protected to bring a harvest. Did you notice that Jesus said if we keep it “in” our hearts it will produce? In the book of John, chapter one, the first thing John says is “in the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God and the word was God”. Jesus is the word of God in the flesh. That makes Jesus and His word the seed that we should be planting in our hearts.

As the seed grows it provides life, protection and safety. God’s word will do the same in our lives and the lives of those around us.

“Then Jesus said, “What can I use to show you what God’s kingdom is like? What story can I use to explain it? 31 God’s kingdom is like a mustard seed, which is smaller than any other seed on earth that you can plant. 32 But when you plant it, it grows and becomes the largest of all the plants in your garden. It has branches that are very big. The wild birds can come and make nests there and be protected from the sun.” Mark 4:30-32 ERV

A mustard seed will germinate in about five to ten days if the soil conditions are right. The black mustard tree, referred to in the verses above, will grow to an average of three to five feet tall and can continue to grow up to ten to fifteen feet tall.

When we allow God’s word to grow in our lives we can be a blessing and a place of rest and safety to those around us. God’s word is powerful but if we allow the day to day cares of life to take hold in our hearts they can choke out the growth of God’s word. We must keep our focus on God’s ability and not our inability.

“I am writing to you who share the same precious faith we have. This faith was given to you because of the justice and fairness of Jesus Christ, our God and Savior. ²May God give you more and more grace and peace as you grow in your knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord.” II Peter 1:1-2 NLT

Be blessed and grow!

May 14, 2020May 14, 2020

Preparing For A Harvest

In the days when fields were cultivated by hand rocks had to be removed before the seeds could be planted. The ground had to be broken up and turned over either with a shovel, hoe or a plow. The stones would be unearthed and removed, generally they were placed at the edge of the fields.

The same holds true in our lives. The Bible teaches us that God’s word is good seed and if we plant it in our hearts we will receive a plentiful harvest.

“I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.’” Hosea 10:12 NLT

If seed is just scattered on top of the dirt and not planted in the soil properly production will be greatly hindered. Some of the seed will be eaten by birds, some will blow away, some will be hampered by the rocks and some will find good soil and grow well.

It’s a foolish farmer that sows seed so frivolously. With a little extra work and a little more time the ground can be properly prepared and a greater yield achieved. I’ve learned that lesson well from gardening. Plants don’t like rock infested ground. The roots struggle as they seek to go deeper in the soil, carrots that encounter rocks during the growth are misshaped and twisted when they are harvested.

“Now listen to the meaning of the story about the farmer: 19 The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message about the kingdom, but don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the message from their hearts. 20 The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it right away. 21 But they don’t have deep roots, and they don’t last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up.

22 The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they start worrying about the needs of this life and are fooled by the desire to get rich. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. 23 The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and understand the message. They produce as much as a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was planted.” Matthew 13:18-23 CEV

Our heart is the soil, God’s word is the seed. Prepare the ground, pick out the rocks, protect the seed and we’ll see a harvest of good fruit in our lives!

February 15, 2018February 15, 2018

Things Are Going to Pop!

Since early yesterday afternoon we have been blessed with a gentle rain. Just exactly what this country needs!

The Spring rains moisten the soil and bring everything back to life. This desert is going to start to pop with color. It’s a beautiful sight. I just love it! But what I love even more is the growth that I see when the Word of God begins to pop with color in my life. I know I’m growing when that happens.

You know that when you face a situation or a circumstance that was a real struggle for you before and this time you “just happen” to remember a verse that you read or you stop to pray when you didn’t before – that’s growth!

Jesus told this story to his disciples.

“3 Then Jesus said to the followers, “Do you understand this story? If you don’t, how will you understand any story? 14 The farmer is like someone who plants God’s teaching in people. 15 Sometimes the teaching falls on the path. That is like some people who hear the teaching of God. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them.

16 “Other people are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching, and they quickly and gladly accept it. 17 But they don’t allow it to go deep into their lives. They keep it only a short time. As soon as trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching they accepted, they give up.

18 “Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching, 19 but their lives become full of other things: the worries of this life, the love of money, and everything else they want. This keeps the teaching from growing, and it does not produce a crop[a] in their lives.

20 “And others are like the seed planted on the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce a good crop—sometimes 30 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 100 times more.” Mark 4:13-20 ERV

I really enjoy getting my garden ready each Spring. It isn’t a big garden at all, only about 4’x12’ but it’s a healthy garden with peppers, tomatoes and flowers. Yes, I mix them all together. Flowers in the back and veggies in the front. Then I have my flower pots and cactus garden that welcome in the bees and the hummingbirds. It’s so much fun to watch the vegetable plants flower because that means there will be fruit. Patience is required. And then we enjoy the harvest as I make salsa.

God’s word is seed that we can plant in our hearts and it will bring in a harvest of His blessings! It is my hope and my desire that as we have covered some of these promises that God has made to us, you have taken them and planted them so they can begin to grow. There is no instant growth. You have to be patient, protect the plants when they are young, water them with prayer, wait for them to flower and produce fruit. Aw, but it is so rewarding! Worry leaves, it’s been pulled out like a weed and peace comes. Condemning thoughts are removed and confidence in God’s love grows tall. Sorrow withers and dies and the vine of joy climbs higher and higher blossoming as it grows.

That’s what this Christian life is all about – growing!

“Since the day we heard these things about you, we have continued praying for you. This is what we pray:

that God will make you completely sure of what he wants by giving you all the wisdom and spiritual understanding you need; 10 that this will help you live in a way that brings honor to the Lord and pleases him in every way; that your life will produce good works of every kind and that you will grow in your knowledge of God; 11 that God will strengthen you with his own great power, so that you will be patient and not give up when troubles come.

Then you will be happy 12 and give thanks to the Father. He has made you able to have what he has promised to give all his holy people, who live in the light. 13 God made us free from the power of darkness. And he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son.” Colossians 1:9-13 ERV

You see, God has made everything he has promised available to you. He wants your life to produce good things. There are some verses from the Old Testament that I want to share with you in closing today. This is a list of promises that Moses was giving to the Israelites right before they went into their promised land. God had a list of blessings for them and God has also made those blessings available to us.

“1-2 Today I am giving you the laws and teachings of the Lord your God. Always obey them, and the Lord will make Israel the most famous and important nation on earth, and he will bless you in many ways.

3 The Lord will make your businesses and your farms successful. 4 You will have many children. You will harvest large crops, and your herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats will produce many young. 5 You will have plenty of breadto eat. 6 The Lord will make you successful in your daily work. 7 The Lord will help you defeat your enemies and make them scatter in all directions. 8 The Lord your God is giving you the land, and he will make sure you are successful in everything you do. Your harvests will be so large that your storehouses will be full.

9 If you follow and obey the Lord, he will make you his own special people, just as he promised. 10 Then everyone on earth will know that you belong to the Lord, and they will be afraid of you. 11 The Lord will give you a lot of children and make sure that your animals give birth to many young. The Lord promised your ancestors that this land would be yours, and he will make it produce large crops for you.

12 The Lord will open the storehouses of the skies where he keeps the rain, and he will send rain on your land at just the right times. He will make you successful in everything you do. You will have plenty of money to lend to other nations, but you won’t need to borrow any yourself.

13 Obey the laws and teachings that I’m giving you today, and the Lord your God will make Israel a leader among the nations, and not a follower. Israel will be wealthy and powerful, not poor and weak. 14 But you must not reject any of his laws and teachings or worship other gods.” Deuteronomy 28:1-14 CEV

As I said at the beginning, the rain is falling, the seeds are planted and blessings are beginning to pop! Thank God for the harvest.