Tilling the Soil of the Heart
First15 Devotional
First15
4.9 • 2.3K Ratings
🗓️ 6 November 2023
⏱️ 7 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week we’ll 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. God longs for us to till 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.
Our Scripture for today comes from Matthew 13:23, and today's worship is House of Miracles by Brandon Lake.
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Thank you so much for listening to today’s podcast.
As we begin this week-long focus on tilling the soil of our hearts, take time today to simply assess how receptive you are to the things of God throughout your day today. Don’t focus on changing anything, but simply noticing whether you are receptive or closed off, whether your heart feels hard or open.
And bring that sense of awareness with you back to this rhythm of meeting with God tomorrow.
And if you haven’t already, make sure to subscribe to the podcast and rate and review.
Have a wonderful rest of your day, and may God bless you as you seek him.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This week will look at a vital spiritual practice to all those seeking to grow in God, |
| 0:11.2 | tilling the soil of the heart. Jesus spoke in Matthew 13 of two different types of soil, |
| 0:17.6 | hard and soft. God longs for us to till the soil of our hearts, that we might be |
| 0:23.4 | receptive to the seed of His Word and bear fruit. May your heart become more responsive to the |
| 0:29.3 | presence, will, and love of God this week as you cultivate good soil with the help of the Holy Spirit. |
| 0:36.9 | Welcome to the first 15 podcast. |
| 0:40.3 | Matthew 1322 and 23 says, As for what was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. |
| 0:56.9 | As for what was sown on good soil, this is one who hears the word and understands it. |
| 1:02.8 | He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case, a hundredfold, and another sixty, and in another thirty. |
| 1:10.7 | The concept of good and bad soil is something Jesus' listeners would have understood well. |
| 1:16.6 | Planting in good or bad soil meant having food or going hungry. |
| 1:21.0 | It meant having money or not. |
| 1:23.5 | For their agrarian culture, it was a matter of survival. |
| 1:27.7 | While Jesus' parable might not have as direct a correlation to us, its principle remains just as relevant. |
| 1:35.0 | We all have spiritual soil. |
| 1:37.5 | Through our mindsets and postures of the heart, we can receive the seeds of God's word, |
| 1:42.5 | which will in turn yield life-giving fruit, or we can allow the seeds of God's word, which will in turn yield life-giving fruit, |
| 1:46.1 | or we can allow the soil of our hearts to make us unreceptive to the powerful work of God |
| 1:52.0 | in our lives. It's incredibly important for us to understand that God never forces his desires |
| 1:57.5 | on us. He waits patiently, beckoning us to open our hearts fully to him. |
| 2:03.0 | He gently shows us his love, whispers his perfect plans to us, and waits for us to trust and |
| 2:09.2 | surrender. With the grace of God, we can till the soil of our hearts, living receptively and surrounded |
... |
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