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The Soil is Rich and the Water is Living

Isaiah 58:11 “And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places,

and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden,

like a spring of water whose waters never fail.

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The Parable of the Sower

Wayside- packed hard ground, hard to crack. Dismissive of your efforts, non-believer, hopeless, claim the church hurt them and God is horrible if he can’t protect you from bad things: sickness, murder, assault. Those who don’t want to hear.
Stony Places- can produce a seedling but gets blown away. “Spiritual”, relying on worldly artifacts for comfort(crystals, horoscopes, burning sage as purification, body talk therapy), placing hope in idols(money tree, buddha, zen gardens). Those who hear, but don’t understand.

In Matthew 13:1-9 we read of Jesus preaching to a multitude who have gathered on the shore. Speaking from the boat Jesus tells of a Sower and 4 different types of soil.

Wayside: In verse 4 we read “and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them,”; Dismissive of your efforts, non-believer, hopeless, claim the church hurt them and God is horrible if he can’t protect you from bad things: sickness, murder, assault. Those who don’t want to hear.

Stony Places: In verse 5 we read, “Some fell in stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth” When I think of the rocky soil I think of those who are more “spiritual” relying on worldly artifacts, holding crystals and palm readings hoping for answers from God. They have faith but in worldly places.

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Thorny places

Faithful believers, always here when the door is open possibly?
Monday through Saturday aren’t truly dedicated to doing the Lord’s work
Our schedules don’t allow for time with God
Work, errands, events, and other things get in the way of our light
We become choked out by the world, allowing it to infiltrate our Godly walks
God’s grace is a gift

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Good soil = God’s soil

Nourishing, cultivating, fruitful(Matt. 13:8)
Walks in the light(1 John 1:17)
Salt of the earth(Matt. 5:13)
Wants and desires to be close to God and Christ daily(James 4:8)
Bears their cross daily(Luke 14:27)
Denies themselves the way of the world, glorifies God(Matt. 16:24)
Keeps the Word in their heart (2 Cor.3:2)

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God’s soil is the goal

What type of soil are you rooted in?

James 4:8

Are we rooted in God’s Word/work?

Colossians 3:23,24

Have you prepared your heart?

Psalms 119:11

Are we keeping each other on path?

Colossians 3:16

Are we doing everything in our power to be a worker for the Lord or are we just spectators warming the pews?

James 2:17
Matthew 7:21
James 1:22
Revelation 3:15,16

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Is it possible to plant a seed in hard or stony soil for it to possibly find good soil? I believe so.
Role of a mother, aunt, sister, or friend.
Inquisitive minds….? “Lead me to some soul today….”
Take the time to answer the question asked immediately
Back it up with the scriptures and evidence

Where can I make a difference?

Is it possible to plant a seed in hard or stony soil for it to find good soil? I believe so. Through the role of mother, aunt, sister, daughter, and friend, I believe that one day God will use me to guide someone to Him. I have two young children 7 and 2 and God has given me the responsibility of 2 of my sisters children: 11 and 6. My sisters children have seen and been through more than any kid should and come from a worldly home where they have had to grow up quickly. When my husband and I were entrusted with them our biggest expectation was that while they stayed under our roof, they attended church on Sunday. I love when they question certain topics or things they hear, we are able to back them up with scripture and evidences. In the preteen class, we started from the creation and are on our way to Abraham, the reason I started there was for my niece who has a lot of questions….like how had the people never seen rain before the flood? This is the fun part going into the scientific side of the Bible. The kids love when I look up evidences like the knowledge of a worldwide flood through word of mouth in many cultures. It’s these little seeds that we plant and pray will lead some weary, burden ridden soul to Christ.

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I am planting this seed in hard or stony soil…am I breaking ground?
Have hope, let it grow.
Jesus will meet us at our worst and offers us living water
John 4:1-26, Jesus and the Samaritan woman

Note: Jacob’s well supposedly

At the present time, we are trying to plant a seed in the hard/stony ground when it comes to my niece and nephew, but we are hopeful that the seed will grow by putting just a bit of Jesus in their lives that it will one day become rooted and fruitful. Jesus will meet us at our worst and offer us the living water. Like the Samaritan woman, we are meeting these kids at their well and they are thirsty and only Jesus can quench their thirst. In John 4:1-26, Jesus meets a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well living in sin. She is thirsty for worldly water, Jesus asks her for a drink, she questions him and then He offers her the Living Water. In verse 13-26

¹³Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

¹⁴But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.

¹⁵The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

¹⁶Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

¹⁷The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:

¹⁸For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.

¹⁹The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.

²⁰Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

²¹Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.

²²Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.

²³But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

²⁴God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

²⁵The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.

²⁶Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.

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Jesus asks her for a drink, she is baffled
When she is truthful with Him, He reveals who He is to her
Do you have those moments when your like “Ok Lord, I need you” and He reveals the Word to you?
Comprehension- AHA moment
You’ve been watered

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Hope and pray for the soul that the Lord opens their hearts and reveals the truth
Only the Word can satisfy our thirst daily
The worlds water offers temporary satisfaction

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Tending to our plants and cultivating a fruitful life by:

Removing rocks- a rocky path will not produce rooted plants…How can we help to guide those on a rocky path?

Pray for their hearts to be open to the Lord
Offer Bible study
Coffee dates with scripture and evidence
Invite them to hear the Word at church

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Tending to our plants and cultivating a fruitful life by:

Pulling Weeds-

1. Remove distractions and worldly worries that threaten to choke us

2. Social media is poisonous- there’s a reason its called death scrolling.

Note: social media can be used to spread the word and be an avenue for reaching souls, but not often utilized……1 Peter 5:8 “be sober minded and watchful your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour”

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Tending to our plants and cultivating a fruitful life by:

Stay hydrated in God’s word

Read scripture daily, study a scripture until you have it memorized Colossians 2:6,7
Find devotionals
Listen to podcasts-Authentic Christian, Sisters Podcast, World Video Bible School, Gospel Broadcasting Network

Let your Son shine- Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”

Give the glory to God in all aspects of your life- work, grocery store, gym, school, mall
Don’t be ashamed of your love for the Lord

Stay Hydrated in God’s Word daily even if its reading a scripture a day, speaking of social media, I saw a video on one of the platforms about the prisoners in China who could quote whole chapters of the bible, they would be slipped a scripture on a piece of paper and have to memorize it before it was discovered by the guards. This is in today’s world; they want freedom like we have to study the truth while we take it for granted. They have truly written the scripture in their hearts, it’s very inspiring and motivating. Colossians 2:6-7 “Therefore, as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk with Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” Find devotionals to study on topics your struggling with, listen to a podcast

Let the Son shine- Matthew 5:16- “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Glorify God in all aspects of your life.

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Tending to our plants and cultivating a fruitful life by:

Praying over our rooted plants-

Philippians 4:6 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and pleading with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”
1 Peter 5:7 “ having cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares about you”
Romans 12:12 “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer”
1 Thessalonians 5:17 “pray without ceasing”

Prayer is our lifeline to God through His Son, we must pray without ceasing for:

Guidance
Knowledge
Hope for others
God’s grace as we grow

Be a vibrant plant, rooted in God’s word

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Conclusion

No matter how choked out and thirsty we are He sees us.

God knows what we need in any season, whether we are a sister, daughter, mother, aunt, cousin, friend, or coworker: He sees us and knows exactly what we need, allowing us to

“Bloom where we are planted”