Joseph and Mary may have thought that this was a major detour from what they had planned, but the sovereign Lord knew this was part of His grand entrance to earth.

Praying in the Spirit is connected with the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. When we pray the Word of God over ourselves or over others, it unleashes the powers of heaven on this earth.

This is our final piece of defensive armor that we put on. This is the last piece that we put on before going to battle. Jesus wants us to remember our salvation in Him.

There is a beautiful point that God, who is about to reveal His law, is reminding His people that He knows we cannot keep His commandments. But He is the Rescuer. Jesus was coming. Jesus would bring the New Covenant and keep the 10 Commandments perfectly. All who would believe in Him would be forgiven. 

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Most of the pieces of the armor of God are worn by a soldier, but the shield is an item that is carried in hand. This tells me that we have to hold on to faith as we move forward.

Our feet are there to move, to take us forward and get us to where we need to go. In other words, the shoes of peace symbolize taking steps forward in the spiritual battle with the help of the Spirit.

First, we put on that belt of truth, standing firm on the gospel and Bible. Then, we connect our breastplate of righteousness by living by the Spirit and not our flesh, and staying guarded and watchful to areas of sin in our lives.

God intentionally talks about the belt of truth first as the armor of God because without His foundation of the truth of the gospel and the Bible, we cannot withstand the attacks of the enemy. Truth is to be girded around the central point of who we are in Christ.

After hearing about the three other kinds of soil, the listeners probably were getting concerned if there was any hope. Jesus begins with the word still to provide a hopeful conclusion to his parable. Even though many seeds landed in places that did not produce fruit, the seeds that fell on good soil produced many multitudes of crops.

A seed that falls among thorns is not in a place for successful growth. It is in a danger zone of potential attack from the thorns. The gospel that is shared with a person who’s “heart soil” is thorny does not end up thriving and growing in Christ. The thorns block the blessing.

As we share the gospel of Jesus with others, they may appear zealous at first about what we are sharing. This is great! It can be really exciting to walk alongside someone who is hearing the good news of Christ. However, let us always be careful to paint a real picture of what it looks like to truly follow Jesus.

Jeremiah did not always enjoy being a prophet and telling people the hard truths, but he knew that his job was to honor the Lord and obey Him in what He asked him to say to the people. I think of others like the apostle Paul, Samuel, Matthew the tax collector, or Mary Magdalene. These people were surprised by the calling of Jesus in their lives and He transformed them. Photo credit: Unsplash/Priscilla Du Preez

When we think about gardening, a sower’s job is to sow the seeds. If he places seeds along the path, he might have hope for them to grow, but their exposed position makes them vulnerable to birds.

Today as we pray about overcoming our doubts and embracing faith, may we remember that Christ cares about our every concern. He loves us and He is able to do more than we could ever ask or imagine by His power.