Tilling the Soil of the Heart: Thankfulness ..Craig Denison Ministries

Tilling the Soil of the Heart: Thankfulness

Craig Denison Ministries

Weekly Overview:

This week we'll look at a vital spiritual practice to all those seeking to grow in God:tilling the soil of the heart. Jesus spoke in Matthew 13 of two different types of soil—hard and soft. God longs for us to till the soil of our hearts that we might be receptive to the seed of his word and bear fruit. May your heart become more responsive to the presence, will, and love of God this week as you cultivate good soil with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Scripture:“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107:1

Devotional:Thankfulness is one of the most powerful tools in making our hearts both soft to the seed of God's word and filled with abundant joy. Thanksgiving aligns our thoughts and emotions with the reality of God’s goodness in a world wrought with lies about the character of God. It breeds joy and trust rather than entitlement and negativity. With each declaration of thankfulness you dig a shovel into the hard, rocky soil of your heart and churn it over until it becomes receptive to the fullness of God and filled with the fruit of the Spirit.

The Bible is laden with commands to be thankful. Ephesians 5:20 tells us to be “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” But my favorite command on thankfulness is Psalm 107:1, “Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” 

You see, it's important to understand that the Bible doesn’t suggest that we give thanks, but rather commands us to always be thankful. And in God’s command he reveals his heart. We learn in Psalm 107 that our thankfulness is meant to be a response to the steadfast love of our heavenly Father. Thankfulness is meant to be the overflow of remembering, encountering and mulling over how our God is abundantly faithful and filled with unconditional love for us.

I used to read Scripture commanding me to be thankful and think, “Sorry God, I know I need to be more thankful. I know I'm so provided for and loved. I'm sorry for not thanking you more.”

But after meditating on Psalm 107:1, I realized that my lack of thankfulness is a symptom of not spending enough time encountering God’s wonderful character rather than a core issue in and of itself. Tilling the soil of my heart through thankfulness requires that I set aside time to simply experience God’s goodness and love. Because everything he does is by grace, my natural response to his character will always be one of thanksgiving.

Take time today to reflect on the faithful and loving character of your heavenly Father. Allow his goodness to cause thankfulness to well up within you. May your time in guided prayer be filled with a transformational encounter with God and cultivate good soil that bears the fruit of an abundant life.           

Guided Prayer:

1. Reflect on the faithful and loving character of your heavenly Father.

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” Isaiah 40:28

“This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.” Psalm 18:30

“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.” Psalm 103:1-5

2. Now respond to God's character with thankfulness.Take Scripture and thank God for who he is. Look at your life and thank God for any good gifts he’s given you. Allow his goodness to stir up thankfulness within you.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107:1

3. What changed in your heart as you engaged in thanksgiving? Journal about the power of thankfulness. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see how God is at work in your life today and offer thanksgiving in response.

If you start to feel your heart begin to harden because of something that happens today, simply reflect on the goodness of God and give thanks. Negativity and sin have an incredibly harmful effect on our hearts. Decide to put away any form of slander, impurity and anything negative at all, and instead focus on the goodness of what God is doing. Choose to love today and align your thoughts and emotions with faith and trust in who God is. To walk in relationship with God is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit at all times. If you get off track for a bit, simply ask the Spirit to lead you back to the perspective and posture of heart he desires for you! God's grace is abounding and powerful. He longs to walk in relationship with you all day today. May your day be filled with peace, joy and a passionate pursuit of bringing his kingdom to earth all around you.

Extended Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Walking in Sustainable Faith..Meg Bucher

 Walking in Sustainable Faith

By Meg Bucher

“As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.” John 6:66 (NASB)

Can you picture the scene? After Jesus preached that He was the only way to the Father.

Earth-shattering and …in the minds of those who did not believe He was the Messiah, blasphemous speech. It was too much for many to wrap their minds around. And I believe that’s where they went wrong. Our minds will never be fully capable of comprehending Jesus.

Faith kicks in to cover what we cannot comprehend.

We are purposely not privy to all of the answers. But that doesn’t mean we can’t live a life full of the tremendous purpose God has intentionally placed upon all of our lives.

It’s all in how we walk. Where we walk. And Who we follow.

The original translation of walked in this verse is, peripateo, meaning to make one’s way, progress; to make due use of opportunities. (Strong’s.) 

We walk in the life of our steps.

“Jesus had already made clear what discipleship meant, and many were not ready to receive life in the way he taught.” NIV Study Bible Notes

There are many rounds of pain we are promised to go through in this life. Rounds of physical pain, mental pain, relational pain, and tests of our faith. God is not surprised by any of them. What will we chose to do in each round? Will we remember that He’s in our corner, and continue walking …continuing fighting on in faith with Him at our side. With the Son and the Spirit that He sent to help us and build a bridge into His arms everyday we are alive.

Or will we walk away from the fight? Will we turn around when it’s too much for us to understand …bear …or carry? Life is too heavy for our backs, but fits perfectly in His arms.

Father,

Praise You for carrying us through pain. Thank You for Your faithfulness and compassion for us. Forgive us for walking away, making life in harder to bear. Remind us in the moments when life seems impossible …that it is. And that’s why You are the only One capable of carrying us through it. In

Jesus’ Name,

Amen.

Reassurance from God..Annie Yorty

 Reassurance from God

By Annie Yorty

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” (1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT)

I wonder why Barb’s calling so early. My phone identified the caller as my friend, one I had just seen two days ago. She’s a busy woman whose work usually consumes the early hours of the day. I, too, was already digging into my work. As a writer, I had deadlines that beckoned. Some of them even screamed. A meeting later in the day would take a couple hours, my inbox needed attention, and the laundry piled high. I considered getting back to Barb later. 

I’m so glad I answered because Barb delivered a message straight from God to my uncertain heart. “Do you have a minute right now?” Barb asked. “Sure. What’s up?” “Well, I just wanted to tell you I was online this morning and read something you wrote,” Barb said. “I don’t always have time to read everything you post, but this was exactly what I needed.” Her voice broke a bit.

Warmth washed over me. “Thank you for telling me that!” Compliments sometimes feel awkward, but they’re much appreciated. “With all that’s going on in my life right now, God used what you wrote to speak to me. You need to keep doing what you’re doing.” With her purpose accomplished, Barb ended the call. I sat and soaked in the moment. 

Every day I ask God to inspire my writing. Then I tap words into my computer to connect with readers. Unlike verbal communicators, writers rarely see a response to their work. I sometimes doubt. Does anyone read my work? Does anyone really care?

We all wonder from time to time if our work makes a difference. If anyone even sees or appreciates what we do. In my previous job as an accountant, the company’s bottom line received most of the attention. Later, as a stay-at-home mom, changing diapers and doing laundry didn’t exactly affirm me. When I started homeschooling my kids, I thought they’d always delight in learning. Boy, was I wrong!

The earthly reward of work fluctuates. If you’re fortunate enough to receive money for your work, the bank deposit gives you a regular boost. But often, we don’t perceive immediate results from our labor. In fact, the outcome may not surface for years. That’s why Paul said, “Be strong and immovable” (1 Corinthians 15:58). It takes fortitude to work faithfully without visible results.

Paul reminds us in the same verse that we should work “enthusiastically for the Lord.” All-seeing God supervises and applauds your efforts. His Spirit in you encourages you to persevere. Sometimes He employs others, like my friend, to remind you in a human way of the value of your labor.

The writer of Hebrews said, “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24 NLT). Barb responded to God’s prompt to spur me on that day with her phone call.

Do you need reassurance today that your work is valuable? God, through Paul, has a message for you. “Nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless” (1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT). When you wake in the morning, and you’re still breathing, you have a God-given purpose. Any activity, when done to please Him, will become part of God’s eternal, productive plan. That includes a student learning at school, a mom running errands, a dad fixing the car, and a retired grandma praying for her family. 

Maybe God also wants to use you in the same way He used Barb to strengthen the heart of someone who feels uncertain about the value of their work. When you feel that nudge in your heart to pick up the phone or write a quick note of encouragement, don’t allow your busy schedule to override His call. 

When Barb reached out that day, I didn’t even ask which article she had read. It didn’t matter. I didn’t need to know because, as the boss, God takes a personal interest in my writing and has the right to direct it in any way He pleases. All I needed was the reassurance that He uses my efforts to encourage and build up others for His glory. He gave me the motivation to keep up the good work. 

I pray that God’s Word inspires you to keep up the good work too.

Intersecting Faith and Life: How does God view the value of your work? Who could use God’s reassurance through you about the importance of their labor?

Further Reading: Colossians 3:16-25

A Prayer When You Feel Condemned..Emily Rose Massey

 A Prayer When You Feel Condemned

By Emily Rose Massey

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, ESV).  

For many years I was driven by perfectionism and the feeling that I had to work successfully or perform well in life to be loved by other people…and be loved by God. On the outside, I looked like I had it all together- high honors throughout school, hyper-involvement in extracurricular activities, serving in any ministry I was asked to be involved in, star of the high school plays and musicals, head cheerleader, first chair clarinet player in the band, and the list goes on and on. But on the inside, I was so empty and constantly searching for true fulfillment. I knew God was there for me, but somehow, I thought I could be perfect in my own strength on my walk with Him. 

Because we are human, we fail time and time again. We make a mess of things more often than not. Guilt and shame can often push us further away from God instead of closer. For so long as a Christian, I was allowing self-condemnation to take root in my heart, and it weighed me down as I walked around carrying all of the baggage of my past sins and failures, thinking that I had to continue to strive to keep God’s forgiveness. Thankfully, today, I no longer live burdened by a works-based mentality. I find my identity in the finished work of Christ, and I want to encourage you, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, you should too. Grace is a gift that cannot be earned, and you do not have to strive to keep it, either.

In Romans 8:1, the Bible tells us that we do not have to carry condemnation in our lives when we’re truly in Christ. If you are a born-again believer, condemnation does not exist because the punishment for our failures and sins does not exist. 

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1, ESV). 

This means that when we embrace and believe what Jesus did for us on the cross, as He took the punishment for our sins that we deserved, our lives are now hidden in Christ. When we come to God with a heart full of repentance, resting in this glorious, finished work of the cross, we can stand before the throne of God without any shame because Jesus bore all of it for us. The debt we owed has been paid in full- we are free from all bondage.

Jesus took all of your sin and your shame upon Himself and cast it as far as the east is from the west, friend. You no longer have to live with the weight of your failures. You can come boldly to the throne of grace, beloved because it is grace that did the work for you. You can rest assured that God sees you as blameless and perfect because you are in Christ. There is no reason to carry that heavy burden of condemnation you’re your shoulders…surrender it to Christ today. Let’s pray that you learn to no longer walk around carrying the weight of your past and stop striving for perfection. Remember, Jesus is blameless and perfect for you…lean upon Him. 

Let’s Pray:

Father, 
I know that I need to stop running away from You when I fail and sin. You see it all and know that I am going to undoubtedly mess up. That is why You sent Your Son Jesus to earth to live the perfect life for me, to fulfill the law completely for me. His death on the cross paid for my punishment of the curse of the law that I will never be able to uphold. So I come boldly to the throne of grace today and receive new mercies that Christ died for me to have. I lean upon Your strength and grace today and trust that the work that You started in me will continue until Christ’s glorious return or when I meet You face to face. I rest in Your beautiful mercy and cast off any condemnation that may be trying to weigh me down. In You, I am completely free and forgiven!
Thank You, Lord! In Jesus’ name, amen.