# 334- Today's Living Word comes from Mr 4:16,17 "These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; "and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.”
No farmer plants seed without first working up the ground. In the springtime in Wisconsin you can see the fields that have been prepared for the farmer' seed. Deep furrows of soil worked up by a plow, then the soil is broken down even further by the use of a disc. Rocks that have worked their way to the surface are painstakingly removed to give the seed every opportunity to grow. This working up of the soil is necessary to produce a good crop.
In the spiritual realm, the soil of our heart must be prepared properly in order for the gospel seed to take lasting root and produce a bountiful harvest for the Lord. This working up of our heart is done by the preaching of the Law. It's what John the Baptist did as he prepared the way for Jesus.
It is only when we see the depth of our sin, that we can truly appreciate the Good News of the Gospel and appreciate the love and mercy of God. This appreciation drives our roots deeper and deeper into the love of God, which in turn is able to sustain us during tribulation and persecution.
Oh that we would hear more Law from the pulpits of our land. It seems more and more preachers are reluctant to preach it for fear of losing parishioners, but surfacy preaching will result in nothing but surfacy Christians. Christians that will leave the kitchen at the first sign of heat brought on by trials and tribulations.
I'm Duane Matz and that's Today's Living Word. .
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