Things You'll Need:
- Your Bible
- Prayer Journal
- Pen or pencil
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Step 1
But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred. Mark 4:3 NKJV
Read Mark 4:3-8. This is the parable of the sower who planted some seeds. This parable outlines four different results the sower encountered. To recap here’s a list of the four results in my own words.
1) Some seed that fell by the wayside and the birds of the air devoured the seed.
2) Some seed fell among stony ground where the sun scorched it and it soon withered because it had on root.
3) Some seed among thorns which choked it and yielded no crop.
4) Lastly, some seed fell on good ground and yielded crop, increased and produced thirty, sixty and hundred fold. -
Step 2
Read Mark 4:13-20. This is the section Jesus explains the parable to His disciples. What a good God we have, to give us a parable as well as the explanation of it! Here’s a paraphrase of Jesus’ explanation:
1) The seed [God’s Word] on the wayside can be stolen by Satan, if we let him.
2) The seed on stony ground had no root and only endured a short while. We have no root in our self. We can’t live by our own self-sufficiency for the long haul.
3) Cares of the world were more important than God.
4) Good ground represented those who hear God’s Word, accepted it and resulted in bearing lots of fruit. -
Step 3
As I mediated on these verses over the course of several days, here’s what the Lord seemed to be saying to me. See if it makes sense to you.
1) We can defend our self against the enemy who wants to take God’s Word away. We don’t have to be Satan’s victims.
2) We can protect against too much exposure to sunlight [truth] too. Take in what we can handle, apply it to our lives and move to the next principle. Too much truth can be overwhelming and discouraging. One truth at a time develops roots.
3) We can guard against the thorns by routinely pulling the weeds. Don’t let things fester, instead deal with problems head on with God’s grace and wisdom to handle them properly.
4) Lastly, when we choose to implement God’s principles in our live, we are choosing to hear and do what His Word says. The result is lots of fruit. -
Step 4
We all have a choice to make. Will we choose to be hindered like the first three results? Or will we choose to be “good ground” that readily accepts God’s Word and applies it? The choice is ours. By the power and authority given to us in Christ Jesus, with His Spirit in us, we have the power to choose to be “good ground”.
