Mark 4:3-20

This reading is about the parable of the soils where Jesus is talking about hearing the Word and bearing fruit of the Word in our lives. There are four soils where the seed falls: the NLT calls them the footpath, shallow soil with underlying rock, thorns, and fertile soil.

Jesus explains that the seed that falls on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away (verse 15). Perhaps this is talking about a person who hears but is not really listening and are not conscious of what they heard, so it is taken from them.

Then He explains that the seed on shallow rocky-soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy, but since there is little soil, no roots can grow. If our heart is hardened by life situations, it causes a person to be shallow in their thinking and beliefs, which inhibits or prevents roots of the Word of God from growing in our heart.

Then there is the seed that falls among the thorns. Jesus described this as receiving the message quickly but the message is crowded out by three things in our lives: the worries of life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things; and therefore, again, there is no fruit produced.

Lastly, this is the seed that falls on good soil. This represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produces a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted.

I want to address what Jesus calls the thorns in our lives; worries, the lure of wealth, and desire for other things, which everyone deals with at some point in their life. We need to be aware that these three lures are snares. So, what is a lure? It’s an enticement; something that attracts our interest and promises a reward, but is deceptive and leads to danger. The power of the attraction is that it preys on a person’s desires and weaknesses. Sounds like a trap to me! Let’s take a look into how lures work in these three areas of our lives, and how to gain the victory over them.

Our first look is at worries that actually begin as a concern for a situation or person. But instead of “casting that care” over on the Lord as instructed in First Peter 5:7, a person falls into the trap of believing that their level of love is shown by their level of worrying. Not so! Worry is a tool of Satan to keep us from acting in faith and believing God’s Word to answer our prayers to resolve the issue. Remember God cares more for the person we are concerned about than we do.

Next comes the issue of wealth. Everyone need wealth to live in this world. The level of wealth may vary but everyone needs some kind of monetary means to purchase items needed to live. The problem with the “lure” of wealth is that it involves the love of money, which the Bible says in First Timothy 6:10 is the root of all evil. God does not condemn having money or wealth, He just doesn’t want it to take His place in our heart. Three of those evils show up as jealously, envy, and covetousness.

Jealously, because we see what others have and are discontent with what we have. Envy is being resentful that someone has what we want and involves wishing they didn’t have it! Covetousness is the desire and yearning for what actually belongs to another.

But be of good cheer; you are not trapped in one or all three of these dangers because Jesus has set you free from their sin! Hallelujah! Glory to God! Romans 5:5 gives us the hope we need – it’s the love of God that is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Spirit. God pours His love so abundantly into our heart, that we are transformed into His likeness, and we realize, and believe, that God loves us as much as others, and, that He wants to bless us too. His love removes any desire to be jealous, envious, or coveting.

If you see yourself in any of these emotional dangers, repent, and receive God’s forgiveness and deliverance from the snare or the weights that has easily beset you (1 John 1:9, Hebrews 12:1). God wants us free from what hinders us from being all He wants us to be; holy, loving, just, kind, etc. Always run to God with a problem not away from Him, for He loves you.