Daily Devotions
Fruitful Hearts
Title: Fruitful Hearts
Reading for October 13: Mark 4-5
And he said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Mark 4:9
Many of us feel like we need to read our Bibles more. But maybe our goal should be to improve the quality of our Bible reading, not just the quantity.
The parable of the sower in Mark 4 makes clear that simply reading the Bible is not enough. Jesus says the key to fruitful hearing is a receptive heart: "But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." (Mark 4:20)
How is your heart?
• Do you ever read your Bible and just dismiss or pass over the parts that are the most convicting to you? Is it possible that you have a hard heart?
• Do you feel a sense of awe and wonder when reading God's Word or does it feel like a lifeless routine? Could it be that your faith is a little shallow right now and the Word is being hindered by the rocky soil of your heart?
• Does the Word of God take first place in your heart or is it just one of many things vying for your attention? It may be that the cares of this world are choking the Word so that it will not bear fruit in your life.
What should you do if the Word is not producing fruit? Don't just read more. Pray more! Pray hard for God to prepare your heart so that the Word will produce fruit in your life.
Father we pray that you might fill us with the knowledge of your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that we might walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in your knowledge.
