PT-2 “The Rocky Soil” (Luke 8:13)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/12/2026 7:30 PM

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus: PT-2 “The Rocky Soil”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                       Reference:  Luke 8:13

            Message of the verse:  “Those on the rocky soil are those who when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.”

            John MacArthur writes:  “What makes it evident that the faith of those symbolized by the rocky soil is superficial and non-saving is that in time of temptation they fall away.  The scorching heat of the sun reveals that plants in the rocky soil lack a deep root structure.  Because of that they are unable to draw the nutrients and moisture from the soil that they need to survive.  In the same way temptation (peirasmos; ‘temptation.’ ‘trial’ ‘testing’), affliction, and persecution (Matt. 13:21) cause false believers to fall away from their profession of faith.

(Matt. 13:21)

“21  yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

            “Right after experiencing the miracle that had the greatest impact numerically of any the Lord performed, the feeding of the 5,000 (John 6:1-13), many would-be disciples ‘withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore (v.66).

(John 6:1-13)

“1 ¶  After this Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, which is the Sea of Tiberias. 2  And a large crowd was following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick. 3  Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4  Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand. 5  Lifting up his eyes, then, and seeing that a large crowd was coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?” 6  He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he would do. 7  Philip answered him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for each of them to get a little.” 8  One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, 9  “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are they for so many?” 10  Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, about five thousand in number. 11  Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. 12  And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” 13  So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.”

“They were fervently hoping that Jesus would be the conquering king who would oust the hated Romans and usher in a glorious kingdom for Israel.  But they found Christ’s teaching on the true nature of salvation and His call for total commitment to Him (vv. 26-65) unacceptable, and permanently abandoned Him.  As the apostle John would later write, ‘They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us’ (1 John 2:19).

            “The faith of true believers, in contrast, is not crushed by trials, but strengthened by them.  James encouraged believers, ‘Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing’ (James 1:2-4).  When faced with a painful trial that the Lord chose not to remove (2 Cor. 12:7-9) Paul responded, ‘Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong’ (vv. 9-10).  The writer of Hebrews exhorted believers undergoing trials to remember that ‘all discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness’ (Heb. 12:11).  Peter wrote, ‘After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you’ (1 Peter 5:10).

            “When tests and trials come, they reveal whether faith is real or superficial.  The same trials that perfect righteousness in believers harden unbelievers in their sin.”

            What I can say about trials is that I am in the midst of them as my dear wife passed away on the 29^th of July at 9:36 AM, and then this past Tuesday my grandson was in a devastating motorcycle accident where he lost his right leg, and left arm and if it were not for the grace of God he would have lost his life, but God had other plans as he was rescued shortly after he dialed 911 and was taken to the hospital where he is still there today awaiting more surgery.  Praise the Lord that everything else functions and once he is fitted with a new leg and a new arm then he will be able to life out his life in a good way.  I’m praying that God will use him for His glory after that.

9/12/2026 7:57 PM

 

PT-1 “The Rocky Soil” (Luke 8:13)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/12/2026 10:05 AM

My Worship Time                                                                           Focus: PT-1 “The Rocky Soil”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                       Reference:  Luke 8:13

            Message of the verse:  “Those on the rocky soil are those who when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.”

            I suppose that all believers have come into contact with people that are identified in this section, people who say that they are believers and then later on will say things like “Oh we’re not into that anymore,” like a person can get in and out of Christianity.  Now these people seem at first to be the opposite of the hard-hearted ones represented by the roadside soil.  Far from rejecting the truth when they hear it proclaimed, they initially receive the word with joy.  Their euphoria may convince many that their conversion is real.  They are not only interested and receptive, but also exuberant and exhilarated—but not for long.  The problem is that since these have no firm root they only believe for a while.

            MacArthur writes “Perseverance marks genuine saving faith.  ‘If you continue in My word,’ Jesus told some who professed faith in Him, ‘then you are truly disciples of Mine’ (John 831).  Paul wrote to the Colossians that those who have been reconciled to God will ‘continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not m oved away from the hope of the gospel’ (Col. 1:23).  The writer of the Hebrews reminded his readers “We have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end’ (Heb. 3:14; cf. v.6; 4:14; Matt. 24:13).”

(cf. v.6; 4:14; Matt. 24:13)

“6  but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”

“14  Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.”

“13  But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

            “Joy, on the other hand, is not the distinguishing mark of true salvation. In fact, a truer indication of genuine conversion is mourning (Matt. 5:4; cf. James 4:9).”

(Matt. 5:4; cf. James 4:9)

4  "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

“9  Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.”

“Joy is sometimes characteristic of genuine salvation, but sometimes of false salvation.  People often respond to the gospel for the wrong reasons.  They may have experienced a broken relationship, a divorce, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, or been diagnosed with a serious disease.  The expectation that Jesus will fix everything for them on their terms is exciting, and fills them with a false joy.  But these people are like the man in the Lord’s parable who crashed a wedding party without having the proper attire and was thrown out (Matt. 22:11-13).  Since their faith is not genuine, they lace the robe of righteousness that clothes the redeemed” (Isa. 61:10).

(Matt. 22:11-13)

“11  "But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12  And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13  Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

(Isa. 61:10)

“10 ¶  I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”

            “Nor is the absence of joy a distinguishing mark of a false conversion.  Emotion is not a definitive indicator of spiritual reality.  Salvation is a work of God, a divine transaction that may or may not produce an immediate emotional reaction.  The saving faith will stand the test of time and assurance, peace, and joy are wrought by the Holy Spirit in the heart of the redeemed.”

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have a close friend who I grew up with who was having some problems, difficult problems and was because of these problems alienated with his foster parents.  He came to seem me and at that time was supposably a true believer, but did not tell me about it.  Later on I went to visit him in Florida and he told me about his conversion and gave me some tapes to listen to, and God used those tapes to lead me to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Later on when he and his wife were visiting me he told a friend of ours that they were not into that any more.  This situation has bothered me for many years.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to lean on the Lord for his peace to help me through the loss of my wife, and also the horrible motorcycle accident that my grandson had where he lost a leg and an arm.

9/12/2026 10:42 AM

 

 

“The Roadside Soil” (Luke 8:12)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/11/2026 9:09 PM

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  “The Roadside Soil”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                       Reference:  Luke 8:12

            Message of the verse:  “Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.”

            Now we must remember that this parable that Jesus is saying represents something, and also remember that only those who are believers will understand it, as that is the way Jesus’ parables worked.  We have talked a bit about this verse earlier, but now we want to talk about its meaning.  Now the hard-packed, impenetrable soil beside the road, which is the pathway through the fields that people walked on.  This symbolizes those who have heard the gospel but reject it outright.  Like that soil, the hearts of such people are hardened against the truth.  MacArthur writes “The Old Testament refers to them as hard-hearted (Ps. 95:8; Proverbs 28:14)and stiff-necked (Deut. 10:16; 2 Kings 17:14; Neh. 9:29; Jer. 7:26).”

(Ps. 95:8; Proverbs 28:14)

“8  do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,”

“14 ¶  Blessed is the one who fears the LORD always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.”

(Deut. 10:16; 2 Kings 17:14; Neh. 9:29; Jer. 7:26)

“16  Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.”

14  But they would not listen, but were stubborn, as their fathers had been, who did not believe in the LORD their God.”

“29  And you warned them in order to turn them back to your law. Yet they acted presumptuously and did not obey your commandments, but sinned against your rules, which if a person does them, he shall live by them, and they turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not obey.”

“26  Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.”

“They are stubbornly resolute and rigid in their indifference and hostility to the gospel, motivated by their love of sin.  The heart of such people is a thoroughfare, constantly trampled and packed down by the sins that traverse it.  It is never plowed by conviction, self-examination, honest assessment of guilt, and repentance.  It is as callous to the sweet reasonings of grace as it is to the fearful terrors of judgment.

            “Interestingly, such hard-hearted people are often not atheists, but highly and seriously religious.  A prime example was the Jewish religious leaders of Christ’s day.  So firmly shut were their minds to the truth of God that they hated, opposed, and ultimately killed His Son, the very Messiah they had longed for (cf. Matthew 21:33-46).”

 

(cf. Matthew 21:33-46)

“33 ¶  "Hear another parable. There was a master of a house who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a winepress in it and built a tower and leased it to tenants, and went into another country. 34  When the season for fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to get his fruit. 35  And the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. 36  Again he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did the same to them. 37  Finally he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 38  But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ 39  And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40  When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?" 41  They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.” 42  Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ’”The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43  Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits. 44  And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him." 45  When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. 46  And although they were seeking to arrest him, they feared the crowds, because they held him to be a prophet.”

            “Because the sin-hardened hearts of those who permanently reject the gospel are impervious to God’s truth, their father (John 8:44) the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.”

(John 8:44)

“44  You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

“Satan does that through false teachers (Matt. 7:15-20), fear of man (John 12:42), embarrassment at identifying with Jesus Christ (Matt. 10:33), pride (James 4:6), doubt that causes them not to believe and be saved, and mot of all, through the love of sin (John 3:19).”

(Matt. 7:15-20)

“15 ¶  "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16  You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17  So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18  A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20  Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.”

(John 12:42)

42 ¶  Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue;”

(Matt. 10:33)

33  but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

(James 4:6)

6  But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

(John 3:19)

19  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”

9/11/2026 9:54 PM

 

 

 

 

 

“The Interpretation” (Luke 9:8b-15)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/11/2026 9:20 AM

My Worship Time                                                                               Focus:  “The Interpretation”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                 Reference:  Luke 8:8b-15

            Message of the verses:  “As He said these things, He would call out, “The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

⁹ Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable meant. ¹⁰ And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so that while seeing they may not see, and while hearing they may not understand.

¹¹ “Now this is the parable: the seed is the word of God. ¹² And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root; they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation they fall away. ¹⁴ And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵ But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word with a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit with perseverance.”

            Looking at John MacArthur’s commentary it seems to me that this is just an introduction to these verses as we will go into more detail about them beginning in this evening’s SD, and so I think it is wise for me to just quote what he wrote in this mornings SD.

            “As He told this story, Jesus would call out, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (cf. 14:35; Matt. 11:15; 13:43; Mark 4:23).

(cf. 14:35; Matt. 11:15; 13:43; Mark 4:23).

“35  It is of no use either for the soil or for the manure pile. It is thrown away. He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

“15  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

“43  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

“23  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."

“That challenge distinguished between those who desired to understand what He was teaching, and those who did not.  Unsurprisingly only His disciples were interested, and they began questioning Him as to what this parable meant.  Jesus’ response revealed the incredible privilege that was theirs:  ‘To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God.’  The mysteries of which the Lord spoke are spiritual truths hidden through the Old Testament era and revealed in the New. (See the discussion of the New Testament mysteries in chapter 16 of this volume).  The kingdom of God, as noted in chapter 19 of this volume, refers to the sphere of salvation where God reigns over His people.  But as noted above, to the rest who reject the truth, parables are and act of judgment, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand (Matt. 13:12-13).”

(Matt. 13:12-13)

“12  For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13  This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

“Matthew records that Jesus elaborated on that statement of judgment by quoting from Isaiah’s familiar prophecy:

“In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing but not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them.’ (Matt. 13:14-15; cf. Isa. 6:9-10)”

(Isa. 6:9-10)

“9 ¶  And he said, "Go, and say to this people: "’Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10  Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

“Because they willfully hardened their hearts against the truth, God judicially hardened them, just as He did with Pharaoh (cf. Ex. 8:15; 14:8).  While such people cannot understand spiritual truth (1 Cor. 2:14), believers can (v. 16; cf. Matt. 13:16-17, 51).

            Having made it clear that the truth contained in the parable was for His disciples only, Jesus identified its key elements.  Significantly, He did not name the sower (as He so identified Himself in His explanation of the parable of the wheat and the tares [Matt. 13:37]), since the sower is not the issue.  Anyone who proclaims the gospel is a sower.  Jesus identified the issue.  Anyone who proclaims the gospel is a sower.  Jesus identified the seed as the Word of God, specifically in the context the gospel message of salvation.  Peter used that same analogy when he wrote, ‘You have been born again not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and enduring word of God’ (1 Peter 1:23; cf. Rom 10:17).  No artificial, synthetic seed can replace the divine seed and produce better results; attempting to alter the gospel message to make it more palatable to unbelievers brings judgment (Gal. 1:8-9) and can only result in false conversions.  The soil represents the heart (vv. 12, 15), and the four types of soil describe the various conditions of the souls of those who hear the gospel.”

Spiritual meaning for my life today:  That the Holy Spirit of God will use the blogs that I write to give out the gospel message so that souls will be saved, and believers will grow in grace.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I am trusting the Lord to give the surgeons who will be operating on my grandson to have great wisdom so that it will be successful.  9/11/2026 10:08 AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The Parable” (Luke 8:5-8a)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/10/2026 9:03 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                        Focus:  “The Parable”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                    Reference:  Luke 8:5-8a

            Message of the verses:  “The Sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up.  Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.  Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.  Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.”

            Looking at this one can see it is a simple story and it describes an activity that was very familiar to Jesus’ hearers, since Galilee was largely an agricultural region.  In fact, as they stood along the shore that day they may even have seen this taking place in the distance.  Now when a sower went out to sow his seed he used a method known as broadcasting.  Now this involved walking up and the furrows in the plowed field scattering the seed by hand.  The seed would fall on different types of soil, of which the Lord mentions four of them.

            Some of the seed fell beside the road.  Jesus was talking about the beaten paths that separated the narrow strips of cultivated land.  Farmers used those paths to access their plowed fields, and travelers used them to travel through the countryside, example (Matthew 12:1) “1 ¶  At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.”  The paths were not plowed, and in the dry, semi-arid climate of Israel they would become virtually as hard as concrete.  There was no chance of seeds growing on these hard-packed soil.  What was not trampled under foot by people walking along the paths the birds of the air ate.

            Now some of the other seed fell on rocky soil. Jesus was not referring to soil strewn with rocks and boulders, since those would have been turned up ty the plowing and then removed.  In many places, however, there was an underlying rock bed deep enough below the surface to avoid being struck by the plow.  The plant’s roots could not penetrate that rock bed to reach the water table that was beneath it.  As a result they withered away, because the thin layer of topsoil retained insufficient moisture for them to survive. 

            Now we move on to still other seed fell among the thorns “Akanta (thorns) is a general term for the category of thorny” writes MacArthur “(Matt. 27:29; John 19:2]), prickly weeds that are useless and particularly harmful in cultivated cropland.”

(Matt. 27:29; John 19:2)

“29  and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

“2  And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe.”

“Even the most careful, diligent plowing could not always remove all of the weed’s roots.  The result was a soil that looked good when the farmer sowed the seed, but the tragic reality was that there was other life in it.  The noxious weeds grew faster than the good plants, blocking sunlight and consuming the water and nutrients from the soil.  As a result the thorns grew up with the good plants and chocked them out.

            “But the situation was not entirely hopeless.  Some seed managed to fall into good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.  The soil had not of the drawbacks of the other three; it was soft, deep, and free of weeds.  As a result As a result, it produced an amazing crop.  Matthew 13:8 and Mark 4:8 refer to a crop yield of thirty, sixty, or one hundred fold; Luke mentions only the greatest yield (cf. Gen. 26:12). All were far above the average yield a farmer could expect.”

(cf. Gen. 26:12)

“12 ¶  And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. The LORD blessed him,”

Spiritual Meaning for my life today:  A large part of the reason I write Spiritual Diaries is so the Word of God can go around the world and produce fruit for the Lord.

My Steps of Faith for Today: I have had grief compounded upon grief as my grandson, as I mentioned yesterday has lost an arm and a leg to a motorcycle accident.  Compound with still grieving over the death of my wife on the 29^th of July it has made my life and the lives of our family very difficult.  He has a very long way to go before he will even be back to some kind of a normal life, and our prayers go heavenward for him many times a day.  I continue to listen to the song that was sung and played at my wife’s funeral “He giveth More Grace” as that song is listened to each and every day to remind me that God gives more grace when the burden grows greater. 

9/10/2026 9:43 PM

PT-5 Intro to “Receptivity to the Gospel: The Parable of the Soils” (Luke 8:4-15)

 

EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/9/2026 5:35 PM

My Worship Time     Focus:  PT-5 Intro to “Receptivity to the Gospel: The Parable of the Soils”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                               Reference:  “Luke 8:4-15”

            Message of the verses:  “4 Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: 5 “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up. 6 Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. 8 And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.” As He said these things, He would call out, “The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 9 Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable meant. 10 And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so that while seeing they may not see, and while hearing they may not understand. 11 “Now this is the parable: the seed is the word of God. 12 And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root; they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation they fall away. 14 And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word with a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit with perseverance.

            I will continue to quote John MacArthur’s introduction to the above section of Scripture.

            The first thing I want to say is that you please be in prayer for my family as my grandson was in a very sever motorcycle accident and has lost one leg and one arm, but the Lord has spared his life and no vital parts of his body, like organs and head injury’s did not happen, but it will be a very long road to recovery, and so prayer is needed.

            “Though Jesus made up such analogies all through His minis try, this parable marked a major turning point.  From this time on Jesus spoke to crowds only in parables (Matt. 13:34).  Now let me add something here that I hope will be helpful, and that is that the incident where the scribes and other rulers accused Jesus of doing his miracles in the power of Satan was the time when Jesus began to speak in parables, for this was the time when they blasphemed the Holy Spirit, and Jesus said that this was the unpardonable sin.  Now I will quote Matt. 13:34.

(Matt. 13:34)

“34  All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable.”

“That was a deliberate act of judgment on His part.  Those who would not believe now could not; the fools who hated knowledge (Prov. 1:22) were deprived of it.”

(Prov. 1:22)

“22  "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?”

By presenting His teaching in parables, Jesus hid the truth from rejecting unbelievers and revealed it only to His faithful followers.  Without an explanation, a parable can mean anything or nothing; it is little more than a riddle.  The Lord’s veiling of the truth means that judgment had fallen on Israel so that they could not longer understand the teaching of their own Messiah.  Those who had rejected Him were fixed in the darkness they loved (John 3:19).

(John 3:19)

19  And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.”

“Only the Lord’s disciples understood the parables, because only they received His explanation of them.  Mark’s account of this incident records that Jesus ‘was saying to [His disciples]. ‘To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise them might return and be forgiven’’ (Mark 4:11-12).

            “In this passage the Lord told the parable to the crowds, and then interpreted it in private to His disciples.”

9/9/2026 5:54 PM

 

PT-4 Intro to “Receptivity to the Gospel: The Parable of the Soils” (Luke 8:4-15)

 

MORNING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 9/9/2026 8:45 AM

My Worship Time     Focus:  PT-4 Intro to “Receptivity to the Gospel: The Parable of the Soils”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                                Reference:  “Luke 8:4-15”

            Message of the verses:  “4 Now when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: 5 “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up. 6 Other seed fell on rocky soil, and when it came up, it withered away because it had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. 8 And yet other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as much.” As He said these things, He would call out, “The one who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 9 Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable meant. 10 And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest they are told in parables, so that while seeing they may not see, and while hearing they may not understand. 11 “Now this is the parable: the seed is the word of God. 12 And those beside the road are the ones who have heard, then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root; they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation they fall away. 14 And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked by worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word with a good and virtuous heart, and hold it firmly, and produce fruit with perseverance.

            I will continue to quote John MacArthur’s introduction to the above section of Scripture.

            “Matthew’s account provides the setting for this parable.  On the day He told it, Jesus left a house (probably the one where His mother and brothers found Him [Matt. 12:46-50]) and went to the shore of the Sea of Galilee (13:1).”

(Matt. 12:46-50)

“46 ¶  While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 47  48  But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49  And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 50  For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’”

(13:1)

“1 ¶  That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.”

“Because of the large crowds that pressed Him, Jesus got into a boat and sat down to teach the people (cf. Luke 5:3), who stood on the beach (Matt. 12:2).”

(cf. Luke 5:3)

“3  Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat.”

(Matt. 12:2)

“2  And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.”

“The large crowd consisted not only of people from the immediate vicinity, but also from various other cities.  Drawn by the rapidly spreading news of Jesus’ power over nature and the demonic realm, and His ability to heal any and all diseases and even raise the dead, they gathered to experience firsthand His powerful miracles and amazing teaching.

            “When the crowds arrived, the Lord spoke to them by way of a parable. Parabole (parable) means to put one thing alongside another for comparison.  Parables were a common rhetorical device employed by the rabbis.  Here, as He often did, Jesus put a story alongside a spiritual truth to make that truth more clearly understood.  While parables could be brief illustrations (e.g., 5:36-39; Matt. 13:31-32, 33, 44, 45-46), they could also be extended analogies, as is this one. Parables placed profound theological truth in familiar settings, making it vivid, interesting, unforgettable, and easily recalled.”

(e.g., 5:36-39; Matt. 13:31-32, 33, 44, 45-46)

“36  He also told them a parable: "No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38  But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39  And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’"

“31  He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32  It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’”

“33  He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was leavened.”

“44 ¶  "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

“45  "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46  who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he and bought it.”

Spiritual Meaning for my Life today: On top of losing my wife to cancer a little over a month ago I got news this morning that my 20 year old grandson was in a serious motorcycle accident early this morning.  He lost an arm, and part of a leg.  God be miscible to our family.

9/9/2026 9:21 AM