MONDAY, JULY 6
Scripture: Mark 4:1-11

Mark 4:1-8 says, “And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching: ‘Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.’” The parable of the sower sowing the Word is very familiar to most believers. In verses 9-11, Jesus explains how important it is to every one of us, “And He said to them, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’ But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, ‘To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables…’” Jesus outlined the mystery of the Kingdom of God. And what He said is that the mystery of the Kingdom is actually simple. It works according to seedtime and harvest. So if we can sow a seed, we can walk in the Kingdom. The way we get Kingdom results is we sow the incorruptible, eternal seed of God’s Word in our own hearts. If we can do that, we can walk in the Kingdom. If our walk in the Kingdom is limited, it is because we are not plowing our soil, sowing enough seed and tending that seed to fruition in our own hearts. If that is the case, we need to change what we are doing. Instead of asking God to do it, follow the Divine pattern. Take the promise and sow it into our hearts. Water it, weed it, take care of the soil and farm that Word into fulfilment. Try it! Jesus said that it works, and it does for everyone who intentionally moves forward in the growth process.