One thing I realized about myself was that as much as I have a “Finnish” heritage and pride of “Sisu”, I crumble pretty fast when lies start to cloud my vision.
In the past, I did not see my heart as one where the birds devoured the Sower’s seed. There are certain challenges where I’m full of faith (such as resources, giving to others) but one place that hits me hard and fast is to be maligned or shown deceitful passive aggression from someone I felt to be my friend or loved one.
If my competetive conflict style has a chance to kick in, then I’m pretty sure that I fully forget God’s truths planted in the soil of my heart. “I am a dearly loved daughter” becomes “you will know why that was wrong in no uncertain terms because you just messed with the wrong person”. Precious Moments Teresa becomes Godzilla’s Grandma Teresa!
Breastplate of righteousness means their words or false accusations cannot permeate the righteousness of Christ’s work in my heart. In other words, let me check the primary source FIRST. Dear heavenly Father, is this from you? When delivered outside of love, I know it is not!
In that case, consider the secondary source of attack and who they may be influenced by. Don’t let the birds devour God’s Word meant for you. Instead, allow the seeds of His Word to go down deep and bring healing and wholeness. – Teresa #goodsoil #expectaharvest #trustandobey
Mark 4: 1-20 (ESV)
4 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables
10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that
“‘they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”
13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.[b]18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
Reconnection 