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hearing God, soil
hearing God, soil Entries in hearing God (8)
Monday's Meditation: Watering the Soil of Our Hearts
Monday, November 29, 2010 at 09:35AM 
Just because we have heard something before doesn’t mean we should pass it by. Watchman Nee observed that patience in the face of the familiar is a sign of spiritual maturity. I need to ask your patience as I revisit and revise a post from April of last year, because it’s on my mind again:
“The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 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. 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." Mark 4: 14 – 20
Let me tell you about the first time I ever heard this parable. The night after I became a follower of Jesus a speaker used this parable to challenge us to put our roots deep into this new life. I just naturally assumed I was the good soil. How could I be anything else? Sitting next to me that night was a friend from high school who had also just turned to Jesus. After the message she wept and wept, and wept some more. Finally she composed herself enough to sob, “I just don’t want to let Jesus down. I’m afraid I might turn out to be one of those other types of soil.” I had assumed that I was the kind of person who was naturally good and would bear fruit, while she was moved to tears, crying and asking for the grace to live up her calling. At that moment I realized after just one day she was already way beyond me in her walk with Jesus.
This isn’t just any parable--it’s foundational. Jesus asked his disciples, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?” (v 13) He cautioned his students that this parable was critical to receiving the Kingdom of God (v 11).
As a young Christian I thought Jesus was describing a fixed reality: too bad for those with hardened hearts, rocky soil, or lives full of weeds, I thought. Thank God I was the good soil! It never occurred to me that his words were a call for me to tend my own heart, or that he was describing a continual process of every time he speaks into our lives. Over the years I’ve discovered I’m never further away from the Kingdom than when I think his words are for someone else, but not for me.
This week I invite you to ask, What about me? Have I watered the spoil of my heart with tears that cry out for his continued grace in my life?
Monday's Meditation: Hearing His Voice
Monday, October 5, 2009 at 11:25AM Following Jesus requires hearing his voice. We have the record of his life, death, and resurrection in the four gospels. We have the record of the early church and the record of letters to those churches, but we need more than the historical record. We need to hear his voice. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10). These famous words offer an abundant life to those who hear his voice and follow him. The tenth chapter of John’s gospel contains an image of Jesus as the good shepherd. Three times Jesus says, “My sheep listen to my voice.” (vs 3, 4, & 16)
Here is a Monday meditation: do I know his voice? How does Jesus speak to me, personally?
The scriptures provide revelation and direction to all believers. The words of the Bible are true and sure. But how do I hear his voice to me, personally? If Jesus wants to lead me to a safe place where I can experience the fullness he has planned for me, how do I know where to go and what to do? It’s true that the scripture can provide insight and guidelines: how to avoid sin and enter into joyful gratitude, but how will I know specifically where to go, and when? The answer lies in our ability to personally hear his voice today, and each day.
It’s Monday. When the craziness of the business day begins to settle into the routine of a new week, here are some questions to consider:
- Do I really know his voice?
- Apart from the Bible, how does Jesus speak to me?
- How are his voice and the promise of abundant life connected?
My prayer is that you will find a quiet place to listen.
Monday's Meditation: Are you sure you want to know his will?
Monday, August 24, 2009 at 12:53PM Here’s an easy topic for a Monday: how can you know for sure if you’ve heard the voice of God? As followers of Jesus we want to follow his directions—go where he wants us to go, and do want he wants us to do. Understanding his direction in our life is a sign of a mature disciple.
I was hanging out with a few friends this morning and we began to discuss the challenges of such worn out phrases like, “hearing God,” or, “moving in faith.” Sometimes God is abundantly clear. Both through the scriptures and the circumstances of life certain aspects of God’s will are very clear. Some are clear every day. It’s God’s will that I should be thankful and praise-filled. It’s God’s will that I should be of a humble, kind and generous heart. It’s God’s will that I should hunger and thirst after him and his kingdom. (NOTE: this is not a throwaway list. The seven things just mentioned are enough for a lifetime!)
There are challenges, however, decisions that involve choosing one thing and not choosing another: What employment does he have for me? Whom should I marry? Should we try to conceive a child? What color outfit should I wear today? From the everyday to the life-changing, we all recognize that some choices involve embracing one direction and choosing to walk away from another path. Both paths could even be “good.” But we must choose.
A second challenge: what about when life makes choices for us? What happens when circumstances and events wash over us like sea waves? Is God the author of every circumstance? Is the Adversary reaching out his hand to steal, kill or destroy? This, too, involves hearing from God. Do I stand against the tide or go with the flow?
Recently a friend of mine faced a decision that would involve a one-year commitment. “How will I know it’s God?” he asked. I suggested he enjoy the ride, and that he would know whether God was “in it” after the year was over. What--is that an unsatisfying answer? Try this one on for size: in the book of Genesis a teenager named Joseph suffered injustice and betrayal at the hands of some of his own bothers. Yet years later (perhaps 15 – 20 years later!) Joseph could say, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” (Genesis 50:20)
Are willing to walk with him day-to-day, moment-by-moment? Sure! But sometimes (just sometimes) we must we willing to wait years to figure out his purposes in our lives.