09 February 2011 Devotion for Today "Bumper Crop" Matthew 13:8-9

09 February 2011 Devotion for Today "Bumper Crop" Matthew 13:8-9

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!” Matthew 13:8-9

It is mid-winter here in Weeksville, but very soon the farmers will be out in the great field behind where I live. I have noticed already that many growers in the area have ordered and have had potato seed delivered. Potato seed appears to be little more than chopped potato spuds left over from last year's crop. Soon the soil will be plowed and the potatoes will be planted. Weeksville is known for its fertile soil ideal for growing potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, and other table produce- and farming is usually fairly profitable here. God has blessed this very productive soil which is rich in nutrients and easily hydrated.

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus tells of the seed which falls on "good" ground or fertile soil. Of course, that was the intent all along, but even so- the seed which falls on the productive soil more than makes up for the small percentage of the seed which seems wasted on the wayside, the rocky soil, or sown among thorns. This seed will sprout, form a good root system, hydrated and cultivated properly until its stalk shoots up out of the ground. The natural photosynthesis process creates leaves and then the fruit or grain. A bumper crop is produced- in some cases a hundred times what was planted, on less fertile ground it is thirty times. But all told, the crop is far more productive than imagined in the right soil from just one solitary seed. This was very important in Jesus' day, because a bumper crop usually meant that everyone was going to be fed that year.

Jesus interprets this part of His parable in verse 23:

But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” The seed of course is the Gospel message of Christ, but the good ground is the one who not only receives the word into his mind but also into his heart to the point that he makes a personal commitment and allows it to transform his life. In turn, as he grows in Christ, he witnesses and makes disciples of many others.

This is the process of making disciples which will be much more productive than just making converts to Christ. This is not to say that evangelism in itself is bad- far from it! But if we place our focus on making disciples of those who will reproduce and bear fruit, instead of just making converts, we will fulfill the Great Commission much faster and with better results. There will be fewer seeds sown on unproductive soil or those who fall by the wayside.

Of course, Jesus knows that some soil is going to be more productive than others, just as some people are capable of producing more valuable fruit than others. But the point is not who is going to produce more fruit- the point is that everybody is capable, if their hearts are fertile and hungry for the word, to become disciples who will reproduce.

Has the seed fallen upon productive ground in your heart? May God help you do all that you can to make it more productive as you expose it to conditions that will make it more fertile such as studying the Word, meditation, and prayer. You will be surprised not only how much you have grown, but how you have produced your life in Christ in the hearts of others.

Have a blessed day!

07 February 2011 Devotion for Today "Thorny Problems" Matthew 13: 7

07 February 2011 Devotion for Today "Thorny Problems" Matthew 13: 7

7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. Matthew 13:7

This passage takes me back to when I was a teenager. One of the first summer jobs I ever had was working on a truck farm picking produce- mostly cantaloupes and watermelons. I worked all summer for about $1.75 per hour- big money, I thought for back then! It was hot, back breaking, and tedious work. The crew would arrive early in the morning at the packing house where the crew forman would drive us out to the field that needed picking. When picking cantaloupes, we would fleece the vines looking for ripe melons, pick them, and them place them in our baskets. When the baskets were full, we would have to run and dump their contents into the back of an old truck which was slowly motoring through the field, and repeat the process again.

My fingers would get scraped and bleed even through the cloth gloves that I would wear. But sometimes I would grab a surprise cocklebur that would penetrate the glove and bite into my flesh. It happened to all of us, and we would slow production down somewhat in order to extract those thorns and burrs from our hands. It reminded me of the curse on Adam after he had sinned in the Garden when God told him in Genesis 3:

“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
(Genesis 3:17-19)

In the parable of the Sower, Jesus recognizes that not all of the seed the sower scatters will land where it is supposed to. Sometimes it will land on the wayside or in the stony soil. It will also land among thorns, He says. When that happens, the seed and the thorns usually grow at the same time, making it virtually impossible, or very uncomfortable, to harvest the grain in those places. More often than not, however, the thorns and weeds will rob the plant from needed nutrients in the soil or sunlight, causing the plant to wither and die. And because of the unpleasant work that it will take to cultivate the soil and pull those nasty weeds, the sower will probably not worry too much about the seed that falls there; focusing instead on tending the fertile soil.

In the parable, the seed that falls among thorns are described as the worries and cares of this world that seems to overtake many who are exposed to the Gospel message. Many will receive it but when some of these insurmountable problems begin to creep in, the recipient will often become discouraged. Worldly habits, which are often unpleasant to extract from one's life, will overtake the growth in Christ unless that person has help to cultivate and pull out the thorns. Sometimes circumstances which require a lot of immediate focus discourages the new believer from moving forward in his faith. Sadly, his interest in the Gospel will wane away in light of all of these distractions and concerns in his life.

Like the seed which falls on the stony soil, the thorny problems and cares of this life can render our lives ineffective unless properly cultivated and discipled. Seldom will the message of Christ properly germinate unless we have someone more mature in the faith to come along side of us and encourage and keep us going In the faith. The thorny problems of life have a way of overtaking us if we are not careful. We're not usually mature enough to spot them when they come, and when we try to remove them, they hurt too much, we think, to bother with.

Do you have these thorny issues in your life that set you back? Perhaps this is God's way of telling you that you need a mature Christian friend or prayer partner to work with you and help you to keep those thorns from getting too big in your life. Thorns are everywhere, and its not only the young Christians who are susceptible to them.


Have a blessed day!