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 29th 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
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