The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands. – Psalm 19:1 (NIV)

Have you ever had moments when you don’t feel God? Do you ever doubt, wonder or question if He’s real? If so, you’re completely normal. We all have times when we don’t feel God. There are times when we wonder if God really is real.

But here’s the truth, regardless of what we see or feel, God is real. We know this because the Bible tells us that He is. So even when we don’t feel anything, it doesn’t matter. Why? Because our trust in God isn’t based on feelings. If it was, it would be a shaky foundation.

Faith in God isn’t based on how you feel. So even if you have days when you don’t feel it, that doesn’t mean that He isn’t real.

Think of it this way. There are days when you’re busy and don’t see many of your friends. Maybe you had an early morning practice, or classes, and then had to run home fast after school. As a result, you didn’t get to see, feel, or talk to your friends. That doesn’t mean that your friends aren’t your friends anymore because you didn’t have any contact with them today.

And the same is true with God. God is real, regardless of whether you feel him, see Him, or anything else. You simply have to believe that He is and walk in that faith each day.

Today’s Truth: God is real, regardless of your feelings.

As children of God, we need to know what God has promised us. If we don’t, we will often live lives that are less than God’s best for us.

I once had a teacher that allowed us to make a study guide for a test. We could have one notecard filled with any notes we wanted and could use that on the test. She told us this in class the day before the test. That night I ran home and wrote as small as I could on that card and put as many things as I could think of on it so that I’d be ready for the test.

Now let’s imagine that you were part of the class, but you didn’t go to class the day before the test. As a result, you didn’t know about the notecard that you could use to help you get a better grade on the test. So the day of the test you show up, and find out that you could have just like the rest of the class had a notecard filled with notes to help you, but because you didn’t know about it, you missed out on a good thing your teacher had for you.

The same is true when it comes to the things of God. God has provided good things for you, but if you don’t know about them, they don’t really do you any good.

Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir. – Galatians 4:7 (NLT)

You are an heir of God. He promises you so many things in His word that are for your good. So today, take some time to learn what those promises are. Know that God is wanting more than anything for you to walk in His goodness and for you to know who you are in Him!

Today’s Truth: God has good things for you.

I know that who I hang out with makes a big difference in my life. I remember a time when I was spending a lot of time with a friend who would use bad words. Like all the time. Every other word almost was a curse word. And guess what? Before I knew it, due to all the time spent with my friend, I realized that her vocabulary was becoming mine. More often than not, I found myself thinking and speaking words that weren’t good.

It’s amazing how much our friends can influence us, for either good or bad. That’s why the Bible talks about the friendships that we keep.

Walk with the wise and become wise,
    for a companion of fools suffers harm. – Proverbs 13:20 (NIV)

So how about you? What are your friendships like? Are your best friends those that are pushing you closer toward God? Or are they pulling you away from Him?

The friends that you keep really influence the trajectory of your life. If you want to serve God and live all out for Him, you’ve got to pay attention to the friendships that you have. If you don’t have a lot of godly friends, pray and ask God for some. He hears you, and wants to help you with those relationships.

Don’t be afraid to seek out godly relationships. They will help you grow in your relationship with God!

Today’s Truth: Godly relationships will help grow your relationship with God.

Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown – Matthew 13:8

Today we’re looking at the last type of soil, which is good soil. Usually, good soil is soil that is ready for planting. It’s been prepared for the seed, properly watered, cultivated, and ready for planting.

Have you ever thought about getting ready when it comes to church attendance? Not getting ready like taking a shower and putting clean clothes on, but rather getting your heart ready? When you hear scripture at church or on your own, are you quick to hear it, apply it to your life, and believe it? These types of things help your heart be good soil for the word of God.

But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” – Matthew 13:23

Sometimes understanding the Bible isn’t always easy. You might not fully understand what a passage is saying. Sometimes, like tending a garden, you have to guard against weeds and things that might come up to get you to doubt God’s word. Just like a good farmer or gardener would, you must tend the garden of your heart. When doubts come up like weeds, you deal with them and pull them up. Often that could mean that you research and learn until passages make sense to you.

Today’s Truth: Reading the Bible is Tranformational

Understanding the Bible takes work, but it is worth it. The Bible is transformational. So take time to get into the Bible and read it. When something is confusing put in the effort to gain understanding. And you’ll be amazed at how God’s word will change you to be more like Christ.

Prayer: God help my heart to be good soil for your word. I determine today to make the effort to read and understand the Bible. I want to live a transformed life in you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. – Matthew 13:7 (NIV)

As we study the Parable of the Sower, hopefully, it has helped you this week to think a little about how you’re studying and receiving God’s word. The Word is powerful, but it’s up to us how we respond to it and what we do with it.

Today we’re looking at soil that has thorns in it. An example of this would be a person who responded to the Word, who grew, but after a little time, the word was choked out.

Often the word gets choked out by cares and concerns of the world. Maybe you had a great youth camp, grew a lot and really have been studying your Bible ever since. But now that school has started, the pressures and cares of getting good grades, getting a good part in the school play have begun to take over your thoughts. As a result, you feel less excited about God’s word.

This can happen to any of us. As life gets busy, we can get distracted by the cares and the problems of life. Sometimes even to the point that we don’t have time for the things of God. That’s what this verse is showing us.

Today’s Truth: Challenge yourself to not let cares choke out the word of God in your life.

So our job is to be a person who guards the word in our hearts. We must not let ourselves get distracted and let the cares and concerns of life keep us from the Word of God. Instead, we must be on guard. We need to make time for His word each day and to make that the focus in our lives. Yes, life can be full of concerns, but if we follow Jesus, we have an answer for every problem that we face. We don’t have to carry those concerns on our own. Instead we can take them to Jesus at any time during the day to get the help we need.

Today, challenge yourself to get the help from Jesus that you need. Don’t let the cares of life choke out God’s word. Take your concerns to Jesus and let Him help carry them.

Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. – Matthew 13:5 (NIV)

We’ve been talking about the Parable of the Sower this week. So far, we’ve seen that the seed the sower plants is God’s Word and the soil is the condition of the hearer’s heart. And as we start our school years, it’s a good time to be reminded that what we get out of God’s word this year is up to us. When we read our Bibles, go to church, and hear the Word, what we get out of it is based on the condition of our heart.

Today’s verse talks about rocky places. What do those represent?

Jesus explains that to us in Matthew 13:20-21 – “The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.”

Have you ever had a flash of excitement about God’s word? Maybe you heard a good message or went to a youth camp and got really excited about what you heard. But then you went home only to realize that a few weeks later, your life was not really any different than before you went to camp.

Sometimes this happens because we haven’t really let God’s word sink down into our hearts. We haven’t spent time to meditate on it and let it change us. God’s word is powerful, but it has to be studied, thought about, and applied to your life for you to get the most out of it.

Today’s Truth: God’s word is the most valuable in our lives when we study and apply it.

In today’s verse we see the seed didn’t last long and persecution and trouble made the word ineffective in the hearer’s life. So challenge yourself to become not a casual hearer of God’s word but rather to become a person who lets it sink deep into your heart. Think about the word. Apply it to your life and as you do, you’ll be surprised at the changes it makes in your life.

Pray: God, I ask your help in becoming good soil for your word. Help me to understand, study and apply it to my life. Help me to grow more in you every day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Memory Verse: “But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” – Matthew 13:23