but i'm too busy...

here is another one: to hear GOD speak i've got to make time to hear HIM.

the reason why we never hear GOD speak is because we're in too much of a hurry. we're in such a rat race society that we're always in a hurry.

we want to hear GOD speak, yes, but what we say is, "GOD, i'm in a hurry, so do it quick!" as i am running out the door to my next project or assignment or job i'm saying, "ok GOD, speak to me, but do it right now!" so as a result, we miss what GOD wants to say to us.

luke 8.6, 13 (ms), other seed fell in the gravel; it sprouted, but withered because it didn't have good roots…the seeds in the gravel are those who hear with enthusiasm, but the enthusiasm doesn't go very deep. it's only another fad, and the moment there's trouble it's gone.

now when HE talks about gravel soil here HE's not talking about soil with a bunch of rocks in it. much of israel is built on a bedrock of limestone with about 3-4 inches of topsoil on top of it. that means that plants can grow down 2-3 inches but that's about it. so when summer comes and the heat is on, the plants wither; they die because they don't have any roots because there's a bedrock underneath that does not allow them to develop deep roots.

HE's saying this represents this superficial type of hearer who hears the word of GOD. it sprouts up and they're all excited about it but it doesn't last and when the heat is on and when the problems come they will wither away and fall away.

and we do this. sometimes we hear GOD and we get all excited about it and we're superficially moved and we react emotionally but we never give it the time to sink into our minds.

i don't know how many people in my ministry have told me, "i was so moved by that message! i was really touched. " but a month later, there is still no perceivable life change or behavioral difference in their life. they're still living the same way. they get all excited about the message but they didn't do anything about it so as a result they are just shallow, superficial.

they have no roots, so when the heat is on, they're not going to last.

just a thought from the front porch…