Meditation Journey Day 8

Hi Friend,

Thanks for reading this each day, your comments have been very helpful and encouraging.

Verse one of Proverbs 2 says “My son, if you receive (accept/take) my words and store up (hide – memorize) my commands within you…” I have found this command to memorize the word is the “make it” or “break it” choice for most people to continue the process. I share this information with you not to discourage you but to encourage you. If you embrace this critical step the rest will begin to happen in your life. That is not to say God just wants us to fill our minds with knowledge. We know knowledge alone is not transformative. As we meditate through the rest of the passage you will see the entire process that involves your whole being, not just your mind.

We must think of the word as God does, like a seed. If I give you the seeds of the sweetest fruit or the yummiest veggie you can ever imagine eating, until you plant and grow them you would never taste the fruit! Let’s ponder this more…

Please know I do not add the passage Proverbs 2:1-5 for filler! I hope you will read it every day! So please DO NOT SKIP reading this each time. Yes, this is part of the process!

My son, if you receive (accept/take) my words and store up (hide) my commands within you, turning (inclining) your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for wisdom (insight) and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then (and only then) you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

“My son, if you receive (accept/take) my words and store up (hide) my commands within you…”

In the Parable of the Sower, Luke 8:11, Jesus said, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.” Isaiah 55 also makes a direct connection between God’s word and the idea of it being seed. Peter also spoke of God’s Word being the seed in 1 Peter 1: 23, “…since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;”

Plant seeds contain the DNA for new life and life has transformative power! God’s Word is the seed with God’s spiritual DNA and will transform anyone if they plant it in their hearts. Do you want the fruit of the Spirit in your life?

As a vegetable gardener, I know I personally cannot produce any vegetable, but if I plant carrot seeds I can expect carrots. My job is to plant, water and tend the seed. God’s job is to make it grow. Yet it is not enough just to plant a seed to get fruit. The seed must be watered for it to grow. No surprise the Water of Life is the Holy Spirit! Jesus said in John 7, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'”  Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” (He had not yet been crucified and resurrected from the dead!)

These are the two essential processes for transformational growth in our lives. The Word of God is the seed and as we yield to the Spirit of God the Water of Life flows in and through us. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross gives us access to both the Word and the Spirit. My purpose in sending you these devotionals is to enable you see how God wants you to garden your heart to be fruitful for Him.

Receiving and memorizing His word are the first steps in you becoming a fruitful garden for God.

Observation: In this passage God is instructing us how to become a fruitful garden. It is not just listening to it or reading His Word. He insists that we also “plant” it in us through memorizing His thoughts.

Interpretation: The Word of God is the Seed of Life. The Water of Life is the Holy Spirit. We need to plant the Word in our minds by memorizing it and yield our hearts to God’s Spirit every day. He will do the work we cannot do…transform us into His image!

Application Prayer: Father God, help us to see our hearts as the soil, your Word as the seed and Your Spirit as the water. Help us to choose to yield to Your gardening plan to become fruitful for You… in Jesus Name, Amen.

What is your take away?

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Thanks for listening. I hope you will pray for me and all the others that are on this journey. You may also want to send me comments, suggestions or questions. I promise I will respond to each inquiry.