Bad Dirt 1

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
(Matthew 13:1-4)
"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
(Matthew 13:18-19)

I've often heard that this story is about an unsaved person who hears about Jesus, may not understand & then instead of looking & asking to find out more, they just say "I'll worry about that later", & Satan snatches that opportunity away from them. The more a person does that, the easier it is to say no to Jesus the next time. I do believe that is what it implies. But I also think that it can happen to a person who has accepted Jesus as well…heck it still happens to me at times.

I will be sitting in church listening to the pastor & taking in what he says. Now, I sit up front because I'm a tad bit adult A.D.D. (with no medication) & that's the only way to keep my attention. Plus I like to make up for all those times I slept in the back pew with a Motley Crue t-shirt on, earrings & black finger nail polish….I was a mullet wearing ROCKERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry…I told you I was A.D.D…anyway, when I leave church, even though I was listening to every word & following along in my Bible, I will get home or over to my mom's house & if I sit down & start flippin' the T.V. or sit around the table & talk about all kinds of stuff, but never sit & think about what I've heard or what God placed on my heart that day. Then you could ask me 30 minutes after I leave church "What did the pastor talk about today?' & I would say…. uh….. well… uh….Jesus loves you. I would have no idea, because Satan would have snatched it away.

It also happens in your quiet times or whatever you call your Bible study time. If you don't sit back & think on what you've heard, then it will soon leave you. You need to “meditate on His word, day & night”. The best illustration I’ve heard for Meditation is like when a cow “chews the cud”. It’s kind of nasty, but when a cow “chews the cud”, she takes in her food & it goes into one of her stomachs, only to later be pulled back up & yes, chewed again. We need to take God’s word in daily & during the day bring it back up in our mind & “chew” over it again. In other words, think over what we read through out the day. We also need to look for ways to apply it to our lives.

Satan will snatch anything good away from you, if you allow him to. Satan wants nothing good for you. He wants you confused & not knowing where to turn. Remember, he is like a "roaring lion", & a lion will always go after the confused, sickly & alone.

Vern