Is it just me or are you, too, tapping to the beat of that new sermon bumper still? I was excited to hear we were diving into the parables! Week one did not disappoint, in my book. The Parable of the Sower is a familiar one but yet I found myself having new and profound thoughts about the meaning behind Jesus’ teaching.
First of all, I have to be more intentional with my time with God. I have to take my thoughts captive and not let every distraction keep me from the Word of God. I love using the You-Version Bible app. It’s actually really amazing to have the Bible right there with me everywhere I go, in multiple versions at that. BUT it can also be downright devastating to my actual time spent with God. A message comes in, an email is received, a Facebook button is nearby, a wandering thought makes me want to Google if a potato is a vegetable, and I am suddenly completely unfocused and not being intentional with God at all.
Can you relate (or did you already know a potato was a vegetable since it’s an edible root)?
Anyway…I have to find my intentionality with God and stay in His Word until it fully takes root. When I don’t feel like I have had spiritual growth of any kind in my life, it’s usually because I haven’t been committed to fully studying God’s word. And that has to change! To plant a seed in myself, that has to change. To plant a seed in someone else, that has to change. I can’t just want to change. I can’t just be excited about it (Matthew 13:20). I have to make the time to be fully present with God.
And after fully immersing myself in His word, I have to live it out. It can’t just be a fun read and snap back to the OG me. I have to humble myself, persevere, and hold strong to God’s teaching. And with God’s Word, I have the ultimate playbook on how to do just that!