Wyandotte Family Church: 2014

Saturday, December 20, 2014

What happens when I respond to Jesus' call to come part 3

Triumphant isn't a word that we use in our culture anymore but it is a powerful word. It means victorious. The opposite of triumphant is defeated. For many followers of Christ, they walk around defeated. Many followers of Christ walk around discouraged, worried, fearful, angry, bitter, and consumed with failures.

BUT...when we respond to Jesus' call to come to Him. When we take time daily to sit at his feet and listen. When we take time to pray and read the Bible. We are reminded and our minds are renewed. We are reminded....

Psalm 23—Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.
Psalm 84:11—No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Romans 8:28—All things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purposes.
Isa40.29.NLT 29 He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.
Isa41.10.NLT 10 Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand Eph3.16.NLT I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Philippians 2:13--¹³ For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.
Philippians 4:13—¹³ For I can do everything through Christ,^[^a^] who gives me strength. Ephesians 3:20— Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
2 Corinthians 12:9—Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.) Ps68.35.NLT God is awesome in his sanctuary. The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God! Ps68.19.NLT 19 Praise the Lord; praise God our savior! For each day he carries us in his arms. Ephesians 1:10—Be strong in the Lord and in HIS mighty power.

The more we respond to Jesus' call to come the more triumphant we will be. WHY? Because God's presence gives us peace. His Word renews our mind. The battle is won and lost in the mind.

I pray that this Christmas season, you will find yourself responding more to the call of Jesus to come to Him. As a result may you find yourself becoming more faithful, joyful and triumphant.

Thursday, December 18, 2014

What happens when I respond to Jesus' call to come part 2

We actually see joy talked about in the Scripture as a fruit of the Spirit. In Galatians 5, the Bible says that the fruit of the spirit is love and that it is joy.

An apple tree produces an apple because it's an apple tree. It's not having to try any harder to produce an apple! It can't just squeeze out an apple, it just doesn't work. And it's that same way with us, our joy comes from a right relationship with God, it's not something that we can produce on our own. So many people have tried to produce joy through entertainment, drinking, parties, busyness etc. but it never works.

I think it is crucial that we understand that joy and happiness are worlds apart.

QUOTE: Happiness depends on happenings, but joy depends on Jesus.—Craig Groeshel

*Happiness depends on happenings; what's going on with me right now, do I really like what's going on with me right now? Do I not like what's going on with me right now? And that determines my state of happiness.

*But joy, that comes from Jesus. That comes from way down deep. That comes from something that's not a part of this world, that comes from something that is placed in you by the living God and put inside of your spirit. And out of that overflow, a fruit of the Spirit of love and joy comes out, because happiness depends on happenings, but joy depends on Jesus.

As we respond to the call of Jesus to come to Him (Matthew 11:28-30) we will find ourselves becoming more faithful and more joyful. The song O come all Ye faithful will ring a little bit more true in our lives.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

What happens when I respond to Jesus' call to come part 1?

This past Sunday we continued with our new series "Carols?" This entire series we are going to look at 4 specific Christmas Carols and how they apply to our lives!!! This past Sunday we looked at "O Come All Ye Faithful." You can listen to the podcast or download it at http://wyandottefamily.libsyn.com/

You can also download an Amazon App for only $1.99 and have easy access to all of the podcasts right on your Android Smartphone. http://www.amazon.com/Wizzard-Media-Wyandotte-Family-Church/dp/B00OZZXW56/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1418834318&sr=8-1&keywords=Wyandotte+Family+Church

On Sunday, we talked focused on the fact that Jesus doesn't just call the faithful, joyful and triumphant but Jesus' call is for all. He calls those who are weary and heave burdened. He calls those who know they are sinners. We talked about Jesus' invitation in Matthew 11:28-30 to come to Him and find rest for our souls.

What happens when we finally trust Him? What happens when we finally let go of the fear, anxiety, worry, and bitterness? What happens when we begin to develop a daily habit of spending time with Jesus through prayer and Bible reading? Does it really impact my faith? Does it really impact my day?

When we respond to Jesus' call to come to Him, what we discover is that...

#1-He helps us be more faithful

Hebrews 12:2, the Hebrew writer says—²We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.^[^a^] Because of the joy^[^b^] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne

So, our faith comes from the one who authors it, it's Jesus. He gives it to us and then he goes about the work of perfecting it. It says in Romans 10:17, it says: So faith comes from hearing...But hearing what? ...hearing the word about Christ.

Hearing, reading, listening to, memorizing God's word, it builds our faith. Hearing the truth of reality makes a difference. Our thoughts are constantly bombarded with lies. You can't do it. You always fail. You'll never measure up. God doesn't love you. There is no hope. The onslaught and attack from our sinful nature, from others and from the devil fill our minds. But when we pause to respond to Jesus' invitation to come to Him, and we read His words, our faith grows. Our faith becomes stronger. We become more faithful.

By developing a daily habit of spending time with Jesus, you will find yourself becoming more faithful. It is a naturally by product.

Check back tomorrow as we talk about how responding to Jesus' call to come to Him helps make us more joyful.

PS. Here is a great worship song that I pray encourage you today as you pause and respond to Jesus' call.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D079LdJJbD8 Your Promises by Elevation Worship

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Move from acknowledging to affirming

This past Sunday we KICKED OFF our new series "Carols?" This entire series we are going to look at 4 specific Christmas Carols and how they apply to our lives!!! This past Sunday we looked at "Oh Holy Night." You can listen to the podcast or download it at http://wyandottefamily.libsyn.com/

This past Sunday we focused on the phrase from O Holy Night, "The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices, yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn." We talked about how we all cling to various things in our lives like stress, worry, fear, anxiety, anger etc.

Hebrews 10:23—Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.

We are challenged by the writer of Hebrews to hold tightly (cling) to the hope that we have in God. We have that hope because he can be trusted to keep HIS PROMISE.

We need to acknowledge the situation we are facing or walking through. If we are walking through financial trouble we need to acknowledge it. If we are walking through sickness we need to acknowledge it. If we are walking through anger and relational challenges, we need to acknowledge it. But as a follower of Jesus Christ we have a huge benefit. We don't stop with acknowledging but can move on to affirming. We can affirm the promises of God for the situation we are in.

In order to do this though, we need to meditate on and memorize God's promises. When we are in situations, pain or hardship, everything around us is going to scream there is no hope. However, we do know the sun will rise in the morning. That is when the promises of God brings fresh hope, courage, strength and joy into our lives. Because God can be trusted to keep his promise.

One way you can do this is go to www.biblegateway.com and type in money, fear, joy, peace, strength etc. It will give you every verse in the Bible that uses that word. You can sort through the verses and select 2-4 that you are really going to focus on. Click on the verse and it will give you the opportunity to read that verse in context. When you identify a few verses that God is making promises to us, then write those verses down and move from acknowledging your situation to affirming His promises. You can do it!

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

I never seem to have enough time!

We never seem to have enough time to accomplish what we really want. Projects go on for days, months and sometimes even years. We still haven't called that friend. We have been meaning to visit Grandma and Grandpa more. Busy, busy, busy, everyone is busy.

Like I said on Sunday, when you ask someone how they are doing the #1 response is "Busy." So what do we do? How do we change? Below is a powerful and thought provoking quote from Eric Hoffer.

The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is, on the contrary, born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life. When we DO NOT do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else--we are the busiest people in the world.

There is an amazing and mysterious truth that works for us when we decide to keep our priorities in line. Have you ever experienced this mystery before? On the days you get up and spend time in prayer and Bible reading, regardless of how much you have to do that day, you walk in peace and seem to get a lot done. On the days you don't spend time with God because you have so much to do, it seems like it is never enough. You always need just a little bit more time. Why is that?

When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else. We become the busiest people in the world.

Actions steps:

1. What are you top priorities in life?
2. Do you allow your priorities to dictate your schedule?
3. What changes do you need to make in your schedule in order to make room for what really matters?

PS You can listen to this past Sunday's message about this at http://www.wyandottefamily.com/media

Saturday, November 1, 2014

The beauty and mystery of going deep

As I was praying this morning I was reflecting on an element of life that many people miss out on every day. Every single one of us has the same opportunity to experience it but many go their entire lives and miss out.

I remember the awesome privilege Julie and I received to go to Hawaii for our 10 year wedding anniversary (4 years ago now...crazy). One extra activity that we did while we were there was a submarine ride to see the reef and bottom of the ocean. It was absolutely gorgeous. We saw many of the fish that are in Finding Nemo. We saw beautiful colors and many interesting things. The amazing reality is the deeper we went the more we saw and experienced. There was a whole lot we never would have seen unless we went deep. Another way to put it, if we settled just to stay shallow there would have been a lot we missed.

In life there is something special, meaningful and powerful when people can have deep conversations. The kind of conversations where we open our hearts and share our true selves. When we share our deep thoughts, desires, dreams, fears, joys and struggles. When we open up who we really are. When we get there we find beauty and mystery.

However, many people settle for the shallow. Many people stay up top and never get past sports, weather, complaining about government, restaurant reviews etc. All of these conversations are fun but they are lacking the real you. These conversations come from your head and not your heart.

Even if you are not a natural talker or even if you are naturally in tune with depth of your soul, I would encourage you to begin to take small steps to going deeper. When we take that next step and open ourselves up with someone we trust. When we share who we are and they share back. When we pray for each other and encourage each other. We find a beauty that will bring joy to our souls.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

How to respond in the midst of conflict

This past Sunday we continued our series "But Why?" This entire series we are going to look at the Why behind the What at WFC!!! We will break down our vision of Faith, Family & Fun. You can listen to the podcast at http://www.wyandottefamily.com/listen.html or you can download it from iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wyandotte-family-church/id478735158

Conflict is everywhere, in every relationship and exists on every continent. Wherever you find people you will find conflict...even in the "church family." So, knowing conflict is coming and will continue to come, how should we respond?

If you are not interested in growing through conflict and are not open to change at this current moment that you probably do not want to keep reading this blog. Just stop and come back in a later time. But those of you who are ready for something different. Those of you who are ready to see better results from conflict and stronger relationships, keep reading.

Ephesians 4:2--Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowances for reach other's faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit...

These short couple of verses have so much meat we could chew on this for weeks and months. The first response to conflict is to be humble. Humility in conflict simply means acknowledging our role in the matter or issue. So many times all we can see is what the other person has done. As bad as it may be, we have played a part in it as well. The second response is to be gentle. Why would we be gentle? Because we care about the other person. The goal of conflict is to restore communication and the relationship not prove we are right. I don't know about you but I could stop now and pray for the next year for myself to be humble and gentle.

It goes on to say be patient with each other, making allowances for each others faults because of your love. Making allowances for each others faults doesn't mean we position ourselves to get hurt over and over again, it simply means we recognize that the other person is human like us. They will mistreat, misunderstand, disappoint, forget and even at times say wrong things, just like us. Verse 2 is strongly connected to verse 3.

Make every effort to keep yourselves unified in the Spirit. When we make allowances for each others faults, we don't run from conflict but we pursue peace. We don't give up on others and write them off, we commit to working through it, growing through it, praying through it, talking through it and loving through it. When we make allowances for each others faults, peace and unity are our chief goals.

It is my prayer that all us take a step toward handling conflict the way God calls us to. I pray that churches become stronger as the "church family" makes a pre-choice choice to deal with conflict instead of running away hurt and offended. I can't wait to see the "body of Christ" (spiritual family) shine like never before in the coming days as we handle conflict better.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Is Church for Church people?

This past Sunday we KICKED OFF our new series "But Why?" This entire series we are going to look at the Why behind the What at WFC!!! We will break down our vision of Faith, Family & Fun. You can listen to the podcast at http://www.wyandottefamily.com/listen.html or you can download it from iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wyandotte-family-church/id478735158

So, is church for church people? What is the church for? What is the purpose of the church? Why did Jesus establish the church? When is the first time the word church is mentioned in the Bible? These are all great questions.

If you listen to the podcast from this past Sunday you will learn where the word "church" is first mentioned in the New Testament, the context of which is was mentioned and what that means to us today. I pray it is as life changing for you as it was for me!

Should church be a place non-religious people can connect to? Should church be a place only for the religious?

Right before Jesus died on the cross we get a glimpse into His heart in John 17. We can glean several things from Jesus' prayer. He prays for his followers (ek-klā-sē'-ä ). He does pray several things but I want to hone in on one of them for the purpose of this blog.

John 17:18-Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world.

Jesus prayed that His followers would be a sent group on mission. Just as He left heaven and entered our world, we are called and commissioned to do the same The church was originally a movement with a message not a meeting place. It was a group of people who gathered together as one, with a singular vision and mission, "To spread the truth and grace of Jesus Christ to ALL PEOPLE." It was the mission that brought them together.

Looking at the Gospels, how Jesus taught and lived, He would expect the non-religious, hurting, skeptical, struggling and broken to be in our churches. Why? Because that is who Jesus called us to love, serve and reach. The prerequisite to being a part of the church is being a sinner. Jesus Himself said, "He didn't come to save those who think they are righteous but those who know they are sinners."

Who can you reach this week? Who can you serve? Who can you encourage? Who can you listen to? Who can you pray with? Who can you spend time with? Who can you invite to church? Let's be a people who are focused on the mission not tradition.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

How to pray truly effective prayers!

We continued our series this past Sunday "Stories" With special guests "Life Challenge" from Detroit. 4 students shared how their life hit rock bottom due to drugs and alcohol but now they have been transformed by the power and grace of Jesus Christ!!! You can listen to the podcast at http://www.wyandottefamily.com/listen.html or you can download it from iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wyandotte-family-church/id478735158

This next Sunday we'll be having some college students from the University of Michigan and Matthew & Julie Payne from Chi Alpha.

There is a very short verse found in 1 John 5 that is extremely powerful. This one verse has the potential to breathe fresh life, vigor and expectation in your relationship with Jesus. This one verse has the potential to change your view of your job, family, friends and circle of influence. Let's check it out and see what it says..

1 John 5:14-And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.

There are many other verses in the New Testament that talk about asking according to God's will. There is nothing more powerful and effective then praying the very heart of God and will of God.

We know that Jesus came into our world and gave His life so that none should die but all come to repentance. We know Jesus said that He came to seek and save that which was lost. We know that Jesus said it is not the healthy that need a doctor but the sick. We know that the Bible says that God so loved the world that whosoever believes in Him will not die but have eternal life.

God's heart is for your friends. God's heart is for your family. God's heart is for your co-workers. God is for that person in your life who you think is hopeless and too far from God. Jesus gave his life so they had an opportunity to find hope, life and grace in Jesus Christ.

That is why it is so important that we pray for those who are in our sphere of influence that have not crossed the line into a relationship with Jesus. When we pray this prayer, we are praying and asking for something that pleases God. We are praying according to His will.

That is why during this series Stories we are encouraging you to bring a friend or two. That is why we are challenging you to pray for them throughout the week. Praying the heart of God and the will of God is the most effective prayer you could ever pray. God wants to use you to make a difference in others lives. You can start right now. You can start this week! Pray big and watch God answer your prayers!

Easter Sunday is only about one month away. As we approach a Sunday where many people are willing to come to church, I encourage you to start praying today for the people in your sphere of influence. Start praying for open doors and opportunities for you to talk and invite others Start praying for God to challenge your heart and expand His love in your life.

Ps. Don't miss our next "Refresh" Sunday, March 30th 6:30-8:00pm Refresh is an extended time of prayer and worship. It is a great place to learn prayer and experience God's presence..

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Bed Time Stories

Friday, February 28, 2014

Solid Foundation part 4 & 5

We concluded our series this past Sunday "40 Days in the Word" with part 6" How do I Integrate the Bible into my daily life?" You can listen to the podcast at http://www.wyandottefamily.com/listen.html or you can download it from iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wyandotte-family-church/id478735158
We talked about on Sunday the importance of Building our lives on the Word of God. That is the first step in integrating the Bible into our lives. So for I have blogged the 2^nd step which is living the Word of God and the 3^rd step which is growing through the Word of God. Let’s take a look at the 4^th & 5th steps of integrating God's Word into our daily lives.

#4—I’ve got to act on it.

One of the verses we memorized during the 40 Days in the Word series was James 1:22. “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

If I go to church and it’s going in one ear and out the other and I listen to it, I’m living a life of self-deception. I think because I’ve written notes down I’ve got it. No. I don’t have it. I only believe the part of the Bible I actually do. We’ve spent six weeks in the home groups teaching you how to write personal application, how to personalize it and paraphrase it and probe it and pronounce it. All those ways we talked about in our home groups.

When we take a growth step and put God’s Word into action, we discover and encounter God in ways we never have before. We get to experience God in ways others don’t or others can’t understand. Why? Because we have put into practice and acted on what God has said. I think about Peter walking on water. I think about the little boy giving Jesus his little lunch. I think about the blind man throwing off his robe and running toward Jesus. Never underestimate one simple act of obedience. Apply God’s Word to your daily life isn’t easy but it is worth it. We get to know God and experience a level of relationship with Him the way we were created to.

Finally there is a 5^th step.

#5—I must trust in it.

I build on it, I feed on it, I live by it, I grow through it, I act on it, and I then live it out by trusting in it.

Why can I trust the Bible? We did a whole session on that. God is never going to guide you in the wrong direction. Other people will. Even well-meaning people. I’ve had dear friends give me advice, and it was the wrong advice. You’ve had friends who love you deeply and gave you advice but it was the wrong advice. Even well-meaning people often will steer you in the wrong way. But God will never do that. You can always trust him. If he tells you to go that way, you’d better go that way! Because it’s always going to be the right way. It’s going to be the best way. It’s going to cause a whole lot less problems if you trust and follow.

Psalm 119:105 was one of our memory verses during this series; “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”

I call this the flashlight verse of the Bible. Your word is a lamp for my feet. It’s like flashlight. Showing me so I don’t stub my toe at night, and a light for my path.

Are you ever in the dark? Yeah, all the time. Some of you are going, “I don’t have the slightest idea of what I’m supposed to do about this relationship I’m in right now… I haven’t the slightest idea whether I should accept this job offer… I haven’t the slightest idea where I should invest next … What I should do with the next five years of my life. I am clueless right now what to do with my children.”

What do you do when you’re in the dark? You flip on the light. This is why memorizing this verse is so important. This verse is a promise from God. The next time you’re in the dark and you’re confused and you don’t know which way to turn and you don’t know what to do and where to go you just say, “God, you’ve said in Psalm 119:105 ‘Your word is a light to my feet and a lamp for my path.’ God, keep your promise. I’m going to start reading your word. Show me what you want me to do.”

If you go to the Word and you say, “Lord, I’m trusting that your Word will be a lamp to my feet and a light for my path, in other words you’re going to show me the path to walk on, you’re going to lead me in the dark. When I’m confused and I don’t know what to do about this relationship, but you promised and I am going to trust in your Word,” you will see amazing things happen.

Here’s what I want to challenge you to do. I want to challenge you to make a commitment to keep on doing what you’ve been doing – not to stop. I want to challenge you to keep on being in a home group and I want to challenge you to keep on reading the Bible every day, having a daily quiet time, a daily devotion.

If you want to change groups and get a new one, that’s fine. If you want to start a whole new group, that’s fine. But keep the habit of a group study and keep the habit of personal study so that you can become a man of the Word or a woman of the Word. Let me pray for you as we conclude this blog series and the 40 Days in the Word series.

Prayer:

Father, I want to thank you for the Word of God. I thank you that it calms our fears. It enlightens our mind. It strengthens our will. It grows our maturity. I thank you, Lord, that it calms our worries and it leads us in the dark. All the things that your Word does we want to commit to being a part of an ongoing process of continuing in your word. Father God, so many good things have been happening the past 40 Days. So many great stories of people finding hope, courage and renewed passion in your Word. I pray that you give us the grace and strength to continue on. I pray that we will not quit with the end of the this series but that this will be a life-long healthy life giving habit. We love you and thank you for teaching us and guiding us. In Jesus Name! AMEN!

Adapted from thoughts form Rick Warren and the 40 Days in the Word Campaign.

PS. This Sunday is the KICKOFF of our NEW series “Stories.” Come and hear Jeff Hlavin share from “Hippy to Happy.” We’ll also be debuting a NEW video story each week from someone in the WFC family.

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Solid Foundatin Park 3

We talked about on Sunday the importance of Building our lives on the Word of God. That is the first step in integrating the Bible into our lives. Yesterday’s blog was the 2^nd step which is living the Word of God. Let’s take a look at the third step.

#3—I grow through it.

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that the Bible is often referred to as a seed. It’s planted in our hearts. When the truth is planted our hearts, if it finds good soil, it grows and it produces fruit. Remember, no root, no fruit. God wants you to be fruitful in your life. In order to have that you’ve got to have an open heart. You’ve got to have a receptive heart. You’ve got to have good soil in your life.

The fourth verse that we looked at that we memorized earlier this month is Psalms 119:18 “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”

There are lots of wonderful things in the Bible but we can’t see them unless God opens our eyes. Circle, underline or highlight the word “open” in Psalm 119:18. Open means being receptive. I’ve got to be open to the Word of God. So if I’m going to become a woman of the Word or a man of the Word I’ve got to be open to it. That means even when we don’t like it, we are open to it.

Jesus told a whole story about this. It’s in Luke 8 it’s called the parable of the sower or soils. He says, a famer goes out and sows seed and it falls on four different kinds of soil and it gets four different kinds of results. This represents four different attitudes that you can have toward the Bible.

I used to think that the four soils represent four different kinds of people. They don’t. They represent our attitudes (condition of our hearts) and on the same day I can have all four attitudes.

The first is the hardened soil.

The hardened soil represents a closed mind. The hardened soil in this story represents a closed mind. Sometimes we don’t even give God a chance to talk to us. Our minds are made up, our hearts are hardened. We’re not willing to listen. I don’t want to hear what God has to say about my boyfriend. I like my boyfriend. So I don’t want to hear what God has to say. I don’t want to hear what God has to say about my debt. I don’t want to hear what God has to say about sex. I don’t want to hear what God has to say about this or that because I’ve already got my mind made up.

That is a closed mind. And a narrow footpath is narrow and it’s hardened. Some people are simply not open to what God has to say. Their hearts are hardened to His Word and reality.

So the first action to growing through it is I must cultivate an open mind. If I’m going to let God’s truth really change my life I have to be open to it. I have to cultivate an open mind.

Then Jesus said the second kind of soil that the farmer throws seed on is the shallow soil.

That represents the superficial mind. Sometimes we react superficially to the Bible. We go to church and say that was a good sermon. I really liked that That was good. But we’ve forgotten it by the time we get to the parking lot. We get excited, we react emotionally, we’re moved impulsively. But we don’t really let it take the time to sink in. It never really penetrates the bedrock of our personality.

So what is the action step if I don’t want to be superficial? And I know you don’t. You don’t want to be a superficial man. You don’t want to be a superficial woman. How do I have some depth in my life? How do I get some roots in my life? How do I get some spiritual maturity in my life? Here’s the second action step: I must make time for God’s Word.

If I just do a quick little glance at it, I glance at it, I don’t gaze it, I don’t give it any time, then I can’t build any roots. Roots take time to develop. No roots, no fruits. Busyness is a major barrier that keeps us from being a man of the Word or a woman of the Word.

A third soil is a soil with weeds.

The soil with weeds represents a preoccupied mind. In other words the seed God gives is the truth and he plants it in my mind and my heart and I go, yeah ok! And I let it sit there and it starts growing. But then I let other things choke it out of my life – worry and busyness and money and job and all these other things. And the weeds choke it out and I get preoccupied and I can’t really do anything with it. All the circuits are busy in my life. And that’s why I can’t hear God.

What’s the action step? I must eliminate the distractions. I must eliminate the distractions in my life. What things distract you from connecting with God in His Word?

Then finally Jesus says there’s a fourth kind; good soil. A willing mind.

A willing mind says, God, I’m willing to learn. I’m teachable. I’m humble. I don’t think I know it all, so God, teach me. The action step is to cooperate with what God says.

That means, “God I don’t understand it all, but I’m going to trust you. I am going to cooperate.”

When our heart/attitude has good soil we find ourselves growing through it. We find ourselves changing simply because we are allowing God to change us on the inside.

What do you do if you don't have this kind of soil right now in your heart? Talk to God about it. Be honest. Share with you where you are at but pray and ask Him to lead you to where He wants you to be. Pray for a soft heart and willing mind. That is a great prayer to pray every morning before the day starts :)