This week will look at a vital spiritual practice to all those seeking to grow in God,

tilling the soil of the heart.

Jesus spoke in Matthew 13 of two different types of soil, hard and soft.

And God longs for us to tell the soil of our hearts

that we might be receptive to the seed of His Word

and bear fruit.

May your heart become more responsive to the presence,

will, and love of God this week

as you cultivate good soil with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Welcome to the first of teen podcast.

Our scripture for today comes from Matthew 22 through 23. God's word says,

As for what was sown among the thorns,

this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world

and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it.

He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, and another 60, and in another 30.

The concept of good and bad soil is something Jesus' listeners would have understood well.

Planting in good or bad soil meant having food or going hungry.

It meant having money or not.

For their agrarian culture, it was a matter of survival.

And while Jesus' parable might not have as direct a correlation to us,

its principle remains just as relevant.

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