“Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil…And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately received it with joy…when tribulation of persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.” Mark 4:5, 16-17
January 17, 2024
If you have ever planted seed, you know what good soil can mean for germination and growth. The seed is the word of the kingdom. It may fall on the shallow soil, overlaying the stony ground. You may live in an area where underneath a thin layer of good soil is limestone. This part of the parable tells us what happens when there is life without much depth. Maybe you know some who have believed (Lk. 8:13 “these believe for a while and fall away in a time of testing.”), but when hard times come, or the rejection of friends, or some pressure to take the easy way out of suffering for Christ, they stumble and fail to keep on in obedience. Such is a sad story when the devil takes a believer down. How are you coming along after having started out joyfully as a subject of the King, but now not so eager to live out kingdom life? Are you withering under the heat of difficulties and opposition? Failure to yield the fruit of an obedient life is a gift to the enemy of our souls.
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O Lord, may my knees not cease to bow before you as my King. Make me strong through persecution. Keep me from being ashamed of you and falling away from full allegiance to you.”