Overview of: MarkToday's Reading:
Mark 4:1-41
"Parables and Power"
Focus Verses: Mark 4:18-20
18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."
Insight:
God's word can bear fruit in the lives of people. The readiness of people to hear, and their softness of heart to receive the word, produces positive results in our lives. The pressures, worries, and deceits of life all diminish or destroy the results of the word in our lives.
Response and Action:
I want to cultivate receptivity to God's word. I will seek the truth and open my heart to the teachings of Christ and the truth of the scriptures. I will strive to put Christ first, and do my best to put aside the distractions, worries, and lies that hamper or prevent God's word from taking root and bearing fruit in my life.
O God, how can I keep my way pure? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Give me a soft heart and a willing spirit to receive your truth and to walk in your ways. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.
Old Testament for Today: Hosea 10:12
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.
In Context: Hosea 10
Proverb for Today: Prov. 14:23
"All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."
Recommended Reading:
Interpreting the Parables
by Craig Blomberg
