Devotions this week based on the Message: “God’s Part…Our Part?”
“It doesn’t do any good if you don’t plant it!”
The packets of seeds in my garage are just that…packets of seeds.
The seeds have power to grow and produce food to eat, but the power remains bound up if they are never planted.
The last few devotions have highlighted the power of the Word of God – power to a) ground us in faith, b) guide us through life, and c) guarantee eternal life. This is what God has packed into his Word.
But it must be planted in the hearts of people.
Otherwise, it’s just a book on the shelf.
Remember Jesus’ parable:
Mark 4:26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
A man scatters the seed. This is our part.
God has given us the “seed packets” in order to scatter the Word on the ground of people’s hearts. Once it lands on the soil of a person’s hearts, that’s where God’s Spirit and the inherent power of the Word goes to work.
The farmer then brings in the harvest when it is ready.
The Word works when it is planted. The Word blesses when it is harvested.
Consider some of the fruit the Word produces…
Colossians 1:6 All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
It’s like picking beans, harvesting some melons, or pulling some carrots. The seeds work and grow. The harvest comes and we enjoy the fruit.
It’s a wonderful partnership that God has established. He’s given us the power of his Word to plant in the hearts of people. It grows. It develops. It produces fruit.
So don’t let the Word sit on your shelf. Plant it in your heart and scatter it to others.
Watch the power of the Word work and enjoy the fruit it produces.
Apply: Set aside each day time to plant a “seed” of the Word in your heart. Look for an opportunity to plant a “seed” with someone else.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the power of your Word to ground us in faith, guide us in in life and guarantee eternal life. Lead us to not leave the power on the shelf but plant it often and widely. Amen.