In Luke, chapter 8, Jesus taught a parable about the ‘Seed and the Sower.’ He likened a man’s heart to different types of soil. In the Hebrew culture, the heart of a man was referred to as the center of his being. It is the seat of his affection which is the inner self that thinks, feels, and decides. It is a treasure where precious thoughts and seeds are kept. It is the garden where character is planted in the soil of your being. The heart is the birthplace of character.
Proverbs 4:23 (MSG) admonishes, “Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.” I wonder, what is growing in your heart’s soil today? To answer that question you may need to ask yourself these questions: Whom have I been allowing to sow into my life? Is it Hollywood, the secular music industry, or the philosophies of a godless academic society? Or is it God’s eternal, indisputable, incorruptible Word? The words of your mouth come from your heart.
Matthew 12:34
“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Practical Application and Assignments:
In other words, “It’s your heart, not the dictionary that gives meaning to your words.” Matthew 12:34 (MSG)
- Think about the conversations you have had lately and answer the following questions: Is your mouth filled with faith or fear, love or lust, sweetness, or sour bitterness? What kind of seed are you sowing in the soil of your heart?
- Ask someone you trust to give you a candid personal evaluation of how positive or negative your conversations have been. Ask the Lord to give you crop failure for the negative harvest and fruit for the positive seeds you have sown.
- Read Luke, chapter 8. Study the four kinds of soil which represent the condition of the heart. Destroy the weed seed before it takes root.
“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Luke 8:15 (NIV)