Studying some parables …
I have been researching and writing a study on the Book of Mark which contains parables. This was my first study into one of the gospels. Not the first time I studied the gospels, but my first time writing the study. It is a completely different experience. God throws many challenges at me during these times of study, and I always come out stronger. The ‘during’ part can be a bit frustrating at times. He drives me to find the truth within me not just His Word. It is a painful pruning experience and sometimes I look a little tattered in the process. Have you looked at a rose bush that has been pruned? It can look scraggly and unhealthy to the untrained eye.
God’s best work …
This is when God does some of His best work. Right now I am looking bare, sick and worn by a storm. But I am not. I know at the end I will be stronger. Right now I have started Chapter 4. This chapter is filled with Parables. I have not been a fan of Parables. I want a list of do’s and don’t’s please. Not a story about seed, lamps, soil and more seed. It is filled with a lot of red too. Red means Jesus is talking…in Parables. He is challenging me. The first Parable is of the four soils. Verse 4:20 “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.”
That’s what I want, to produce a crop for Jesus. I must however soften my heart to allow the seed to grow. I need to constantly cultivate my heart to keep it as good soil. It doesn’t happen overnight. It takes constant care. In Proverbs 4:23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Guard your heart to ensure that is remains good soil. Don’t harden your heart with bitterness, regret, anger and sin. Keep it pliable.
So how am I going to keep it pliable?
I am reading the one year bible this year. However I am not current. It is Jan 12. I am behind already. But, I am learning, studying, and praying. I want to be good soil. It doesn’t just happen, at least not for me. I sin. I am lazy. But I also repent. I forgive. I extend grace and receive grace. God is doing amazing work. I know looking around the world and reading social media aka the news, it looks pretty drab. But God is in control. Allow Him to guide you in keeping your heart good soil, so you can produce a crop for Jesus.