February 6, 2025 Morning Devotional

Morning Devotion: Read Luke - The Parable of the Seed and the Sower

Luke 8:4  And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: 5  A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6  And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7  And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8  And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

The Purpose of the Parables

Luke 8:11  Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Luke 8:13  They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.

Matthew 13 give us even more clarification.

Matthew 13:20  But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21  Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

Remember, the seed is the word of God and the ground is representative of the heart. The seed is sown in the rocks of the heart where there is no depth of earth. It is a shallow heart.

The word of God joyful and sweet and is very attractive and to be desired, many receive it with joy. In these verses the Word of God is received into shallow ground, a shallow heart, a rocky heart.

Although the word of God sweet and joyful it is also bitter and hard especially when temptation and tribulation and persecution rises.

Persecution and tribulation and temptation can rise from two sources, inside the heart and outside circumstances.

When the heart (the seat of the emotions) fails to trust God and His Word, there is consternation and tribulation. Example: God teaches us as members of a church to tithe, that is a tenth of our gross income given to God. When a believer is faced with that there is a struggle in the heart for this type of action requires faith. A tested faith can often mean tribulation of the heart for people cannot see where and how God provides after one tithes. Consequently, they get offended leave God and the word of God and fall away.

On the other hand, tribulation and temptation and persecution happen when the one who receives the Word of God begins to actually live it.

Persecution and tribulation rise because others outside of the will of God (the unsaved or the other shallow people) will reject it. They may bring hardship and ridicule to make one feel vulnerable and and insecure.

Example: I have had people question my church attendance; they would say why do you have to go to church twice on Sunday and then Wednesday and have extra activities during the week and take up weekends with churchy stuff. They would entice you with sports and recreation and parties and a lots of extra things to take you from church. When God and church is chosen above their options they ridicule you and call you names and belittle you and in some cases cause harm. That is when the shallow of heart gives in and succumbs. That is when the shallow of heart fall away. The shallow of heart then gets offended and rejects God and the Word of God and choses the supposed easy way.

To the genuine believer God and the Word of God is sweet and joyful all the time, even when tribulation and temptation and persecution rise. They, because the seed, the Word of God, is sown in the good ground, continue to love God and trust God and live by faith and will not fall away.

Psalm 119:165  Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.

What kind of heart do you have?

The choice is still yours,

Pastor Cook