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Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Today's Frontline Devotion March 3, 2007 Bare Spots |
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Frontline Devotion for Saturday, March 3, 2007 by Don Kress
About a month ago my 5-year old granddaughter, Emily, was spending the day with us. One of the things she wanted to do was help me fill my bird feeders. As we were walking across the back yard she suddenly stopped and, pointing down to the ground, said, “Look!” Suspecting she had found some evidence of the deer that frequent my back yard, I asked what she had found. Her response was, “Come here. Look!” I walked to where she was standing and looked down. Seeing nothing unusual, I asked her what had caught her attention. Pointing once again, she said, “Look, a bare spot!” Sure enough, there was a spot (not the only one, I’m sad to report) where there was bare earth instead of grass. “Well, I’ll have to take care of that in the spring,” I responded, and we continued on our journey to fill the feeders.
In take pretty good care of my lawn, and I take pride in the fact that it’s one of the nicer looking lawns in my neighborhood. Nonetheless, there always seem to be some bare spots that appear. Perhaps that’s because my soil is largely composed of fill dirt, and from time to time there are rocky patches that just don’t allow the proper root development of the grass. So I’ll get out there as warmer weather approaches, dig out some of the rock, mix in some compost and peat moss with the existing soil, and over-seed that area. In a few weeks those bare spots will be filing in nicely with green grass.
I think that’s a lot like our faith in reference to today’s passage. Jesus talks about four different kinds of soil upon which his Word falls. The hardened soil of the road represents those who allow Satan to snatch the Word of Good from them. The stony ground represents those who respond enthusiastically when they first hear the Word, but let affliction, difficulty and uncertainty turn them from God. Then there are the thorny ground hearers, who hear the Word, but let the day-to-day stress of the world strangle the Good News. Finally, the good earth hearers are those who are genuinely converted by the Word of God. The fact that you subscribe to and read this daily devotion is probably indicative of the fact that you fall into the latter category. But if you’re like my lawn, and like me, no matter how hard you try, there are still those bare spots that appear from time to time. Things are looking pretty green and lush when all of sudden there’s a darned bare spot!
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All are welcome to join and share in our Devotional Ministry on the "Frontlines" of the world. Frontline Devotions are sent via email daily. Sign up by clicking on the box to the left. Pastor Dave welcomes feedback. Contact him at pastordave@goodshepherdonline.org. |
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