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
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