“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Luke 8:15 (NIV) How well do you receive God’s Word? Your level of receptivity is a direct reflection of the condition of your heart. Your heart is the soil upon which the seed, God’s Word, is sown. As you hear, read, and feed on God’s Word, the seed is sown in your heart. If you have a noble and good heart, then the seed will take root in your life and produce a harvest. It starts with your heart. Ask God to search your heart. The light of His holiness will reveal the true condition of your heart. Does your heart resemble the hard path, or the rocky ground, or the thorn infused ground? You can become calloused toward the things of God. You can become distracted by the magnetic pull of worldliness and materialism. It is possible to choke out the Word of God by the worries of this life. Purify your heart before the Lord. Remove the impurities that constrict the flow of the Holy Spirit in your life. Take the initiative to purify your body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. Keep yourself from being polluted by the world. Prepare the soil of your heart to receive the seed of God’s Word. Keep your heart noble and good. Consistently intake God’s Word through hearing, reading, and feeding on God’s Word each day. Your level of receptivity will be evidenced through the level of productivity in the harvest. Move from being a hearer of the Word to being a doer of the Word. Put God’s Word into action through instant obedience. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Category: Parable
Levels of Receptivity
“’A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.’” Luke 8:5-8 (NIV) Have you noticed how you can read the Bible during a given season that you are in and then read the same passage of Scripture at another season of life and get something radically different from the very same passage? It has so much to do with your level of receptivity. I have noticed in my own life that when I am going through a season of brokenness, God’s Word captures my heart at a different level. If I am seeking to become more like Christ in how I treat others, reading the Gospels develops in me a new perspective on viewing others through the eyes of Christ. The condition of your heart directly affects the level of revelation that takes root in your life. When your heart resembles the hard path, the thorny ground, or the rocky ground, your level of receptivity to God’s Word diminishes exponentially. The wonderful news is that your heart can resemble good soil. Your heart can be tender and receptive to God’s Word and yield a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown. Your intake of God’s Word can be beneficial, productive, and life changing if the condition of your heart is right. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
The Heart God Blesses
“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Luke 8:15 (NIV) How well do you receive God’s Word? Your level of receptivity is a direct reflection of the condition of your heart. Your heart is the soil upon which the seed, God’s Word, is sown. As you hear, read, and feed on God’s Word, the seed is sown in your heart. If you have a noble and good heart, then the seed will take root in your life and produce a harvest. It starts with your heart. Ask God to search your heart. The light of His holiness will reveal the true condition of your heart. Does your heart resemble the hard path, or the rocky ground, or the thorn infused ground? You can become calloused toward the things of God. You can become distracted by the magnetic pull of worldliness and materialism. It is possible to choke out the Word of God by the worries of this life. Purify your heart before the Lord. Remove the impurities that constrict the flow of the Holy Spirit in your life. Take the initiative to purify your body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. Keep yourself from being polluted by the world. Prepare the soil of your heart to receive the seed of God’s Word. Keep your heart noble and good. Consistently intake God’s Word through hearing, reading, and feeding on God’s Word each day. Your level of receptivity will be evidenced through the level of productivity in the harvest. Move from being a hearer of the Word to being a doer of the Word. Put God’s Word into action through instant obedience. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell
Levels of Receptivity
“’A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.’” Luke 8:5-8 (NIV) Have you noticed how you can read the Bible during a given season that you are in and then read the same passage of Scripture at another season of life and get something radically different from the very same passage? It has so much to do with your level of receptivity. I have noticed in my own life that when I am going through a season of brokenness, God’s Word captures my heart at a different level. If I am seeking to become more like Christ in how I treat others, reading the Gospels develops in me a new perspective on viewing others through the eyes of Christ. The condition of your heart directly affects the level of revelation that takes root in your life. When your heart resembles the hard path, the thorny ground, or the rocky ground, your level of receptivity to God’s Word diminishes exponentially. The wonderful news is that your heart can resemble good soil. Your heart can be tender and receptive to God’s Word and yield a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown. Your intake of God’s Word can be beneficial, productive, and life changing if the condition of your heart is right. Pursuing God, Stephen Trammell Executive Pastor Follow me on twitter at: http://twitter.com/stephentrammell