Bible Study with Danelle

Jesus loved to teach in parables. It was a way to use everyday life to explain a moral or spiritual lesson. The parable of the sower is one that a majority of people know if you have been to church at some time in your life.

I love this parable as it forces me to examine where I fall. I think at different times in our lives we fall into different places. I think for some people it can be a journey from the path to rocky soil to thorns and then to good soil. It is not the same for everyone, but that has been my experience. But how do we get planted in good soil?

I can honestly say that looking back to my late teen/college years I was between the path and rocky ground. I had no firm roots and it was easy to be distracted by the world and its ways. As I grew into my 20’s and early 30’s I was still on the rocky ground. As much as I thought I was a “Christian”, I truly did not have firmly planted roots, and as I have discussed before, when my father died I fell away and was very mad at God.

My turning point in growing my relationship with Jesus came when we lived in Bakersfield, California. I look back at that time and I know that God was truly working hard on me. It was probably one of the most trying times for us as a family and for each of us personally. God brought us to a small Methodist church with a Pastor that was passionate about teaching the Word. After a few months of us being in the church, our pastor led our church through the study 40 Days in the Word by Rick Warren. This started my journey of reading the Bible, but I still was not doing it on a regular basis.

While this was a start, I still found myself falling into the thorns. I still chased the things of the world. The big house, the nice cars, and other worldly things that take away our focus, time, and money from God. We found ourselves in never-ending cycles we could not dig out of. Then, the pandemic hit and I started using the time I would have normally commuted to work to start really reading my bible. From that point forward, my focus started changing. How could we make changes that would put our priorities (time, money, etc.) more on God and less on the world? We planted ourselves in good soil. We made some bold moves, that many did not understand, and made satan mad. He relentlessly attacked our family and me through my mind…what I am capable of, whether I am worthy, and my contentment with our decisions, which led to not taking care of my health. It took me over a year to realize it was a spiritual attack, but the whole time I just kept pressing on to get closer to God and living how he had been guiding us. I have more on my journey on my Transformingd blog where I go into more detail about my health journey over the last 2 years. Thank God that this past Christmas, through the prayers of a stranger, I was able to set aside satan’s hold on me and begin my journey of health again. I vowed to never fall away, even when I was at my lowest points. Still firmly planted in good soil and with Jesus as my Lord.

Planting yourself in good soil starts with reading the Word on a regular basis. It means not only realizing that you need Christ’s forgiveness but really making Him the Lord of your life. You have to allow the Holy Spirit to transform you. Change how you act, what you say, how you spend your money, and what you prioritize…it is a complete life change. When that happens, you will bear fruit for the kingdom. And I am NOT talking about a prosperity gospel-type fruit. It means growing in the fruits of the spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. By growing in the spirit, you will also help to grow the kingdom of God.

I pray today that you will take time to journal and examine your heart. Where it is planted? What changes could you make to get on good soil? What is God calling you to set aside and follow Him? Let the Holy Spirit speak to you today. You may be surprised by what you are holding on to. But, I will tell you, make sure you have on your armor when you begin to move. Satan wants to keep that hold on you in every way possible. He will attack and you may not even know it. Stay prayed up.