MATTHEW 13:21

But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

 TO PONDER

Does it seem like your pastor is a broken record and he goes on and on about reading your Bible and praying as you read? Does he go over and over the basics of life rooted in faith, week after week? If you are not paying attention, then you will have no roots when the hurricanes of life blow or the heat of the frying pan flips you into the fire of tragedy. If you have ever considered the repeated cycle of Israel’s faithfulness, disinterest and betrayal recorded in the Hebrew Bible, then you may have recognized the cycle of human history, you may have recognized the cycle of your own life.

There are no short cuts to resilient faith, enduring hope, and consistent love, without God’s Word and the Spirit’s interpretation through prayer and meditation, either alone in your own quiet space or in the company and shared wisdom of others. 1. Oratio: Read it out aloud so as not to skip over the words your brain doesn’t want to see. 2. Meditatio: Sit and consider deep and long what you have just heard from God’s Word. 3. Tentatio: Struggle and wrestle with the Spirit to find the lasting blessings that will transform you by the renewal of your deepest, truest self in Christ.

PRAYER: Lord, I don’t want to lose the gift of life you have won for me. I don’t want to repeat the cycle that leads to faithlessness, hopelessness, and lovelessness. Grant me the deep desire to pursue you as you have pursued me. Amen.

Today's devotion written by David Schuppan, LifeWay Illawarra