As we continue to press into this idea that we serve a God that has always longed to dwell with us, we'll become more and more convinced that His presence is what transforms our homes and our motherhood as well. Today, we're focusing on Psalm 96, 100, 101, 105, and 132, and we'll take a peek at a familiar parable Jesus told.

Some of these psalms have so much repetition. But just like a mom repeats things to her kids because they're important, when God's Word says something multiple times, I pray we have ears to hear.

Today's Reading: Psalm 96, 100, 101, 105, and 132

Psalm 96 (all)

Psalm 100 (all)

Psalm 50:23

Psalm 101:2-4, 6-7

Psalm 105:4, 16-22

Psalm 132:1-5

Luke 8:5-8, 11-15

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Don't forget to check out the Again Podcast! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-again-podcast-for-christian-moms-encouragement-in/id1700555502

Commentaries Most Referenced: Moody Commentary, MacArthur Commentary, Spurgeon's Treasury of David

This is a Dwelling Place and I'm Stephanie Hickox.

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this series is brought to you by Entrusted

Ministries, As we continue to press

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into this idea that we serve a God that

has always longed to dwell with us,

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we'll become more and more convinced

that His presence is what transforms

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our homes and our motherhood as well.

6

Today, we're focusing on Psalm 96, 100,

101, 105, and 132, and we'll take a

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peek at a familiar parable Jesus told.

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Some of these psalms

have so much repetition.

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In fact, there have been times I've been

reading scripture, and I've thought,

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" They're gonna think I'm making a mistake

because of how redundant this is."

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But just like a mom repeats things to

our kids because they're important,

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when God's Word says something multiple

times, I pray we have ears to hear.

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As I read Psalm 96 over you, instead

of just hearing the recurring themes, I

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want you to listen for how many aspects

of God's character are mentioned.

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Oh, sing to the Lord a new song.

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Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

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Sing to the Lord; bless His name.

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Tell of His salvation from day to day.

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Declare His glory among the nations, His

marvelous works among all the peoples.

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For great is the Lord and

greatly to be praised.

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He is to be feared above all gods.

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For all the gods of the peoples

are worthless idols, but

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the Lord made the heavens.

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Splendor and majesty are before Him;

strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

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Ascribe to the Lord, O families

of the peoples, ascribe to

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the Lord glory and strength.

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Ascribe to the Lord

the glory due His name.

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Bring an offering and

come into His courts.

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Worship the Lord in the

splendor of holiness.

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Tremble before Him, all the earth.

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Say among the nations, "The Lord reigns!"

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Yes, the world is established.

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It shall never be moved.

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He will judge the peoples with equity.

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Let the heavens be glad,

and let the earth rejoice.

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Let the sea roar and all that fills it.

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Let the field exalt and everything in it.

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Then shall all the trees of the forest

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Sing for joy before

the Lord, for He comes.

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For He comes to judge the earth.

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He will judge the world in righteousness

and the peoples in His faithfulness.

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Several different verbs were used

that called us to praise this God

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of holiness and righteousness and

faithfulness and majesty and might.

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As usual, Charles Spurgeon had the most

beautiful words to utter about this psalm.

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He said, " It is a grand missionary hymn.

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It's a wonder that the Jews can

read it and remain exclusive.

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If blindness had not occurred, Israel

would see that God always had plans

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of love for all humanity, that He

never intended that His grace and His

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covenant should relate only to the

descendants of Abraham after the flesh."

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It's so true.

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God's covenant with Abraham

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was to bless all people.

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Psalm 100 is brief, but it's the only

psalm with the title of thanksgiving.

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Apparently, in Spurgeon's day, they would

say, " Let us sing the old 100th," which

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points to how regular it was for them to

focus on their gratitude toward the Lord.

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" Make a joyful noise to

the Lord, all the earth.

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Serve the Lord with gladness.

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Come into His presence with singing.

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Know that the Lord, He is God.

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It is He who made us, and we are His.

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We are His people and

the sheep of His pasture.

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Enter His gates with thanksgiving

and His courts with praise.

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Give thanks to Him.

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Bless His name, for the Lord is good.

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His steadfast love endures forever and

His faithfulness to all generations."

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This reminds me of Psalm

chapter 50, verse 23.

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" The one who offers thanksgiving

as his sacrifice glorifies me.

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Another version translates

this, " A thankful heart

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prepares the way for the Lord."

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I've had some times lately

where my heart feels heavy, and

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it's just difficult to shake.

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But in those moments, when we

can still give God our praise,

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it glorifies Him all the more.

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As a mother, there were a

couple verses from Psalm 101

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that really stood out to me.

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" I will walk with integrity

of heart within my house.

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I will not set before my eyes

anything that is worthless."

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I hate the work of those who fall away.

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It shall not cling to me.

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A perverse heart shall be far from me.

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I will know nothing of evil.

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Tomorrow morning, I have the honor of

interviewing Chris McKenna of Protect

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Young Eyes for the Again podcast.

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I just read his book, Five Habits of the

Tech-Ready Family, and it's phenomenal.

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With every page, I was reminded of

the importance of being vigilant

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to protect my kids, training them

to walk in integrity, but making

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every effort to protect their eyes.

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So I would say Chris gave his

organization a pretty apt name, and

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it's right in line with God's heart.

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If we continue on in the psalm,

God tells us, I will look with

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favor on the faithful in the

land, that they may dwell with me.

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He who walks in the way that is

blameless shall minister to me.

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No one who practices deceit

shall dwell in my house.

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No one who utters lies shall

continue before my eyes.

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We're given two conditions

to dwell with the Lord, to

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be faithful and to be honest.

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Thankfully, as moms, we probably

have the faithful thing covered

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because that's pretty much the

banner of our job description.

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But we want to be faithful to the

Lord, And sometimes it can be hard

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to be faithful to Him when we're

giving our all to our families.

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But that's why it's so sweet that God

is willing to walk with us day in and

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day out wherever our motherhood leads.

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And the importance of honesty

is really something we should be

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impressing upon our kids, that even

when they sin and fall short, they

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can run to us and confess instead of

creating a chain of sinful choices

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that weighs them down more and more.

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As we turn to Psalm 105, you might

notice it's a little bit longer than some

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of the other psalms we've dwelt upon.

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And this reminds us that if you have

the heaviest of heart and can only

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utter a few sentences, or if you issue

an all-out monologue to the Lord,

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is available to hear your prayers.

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Verse 4 tells us, Seek

the Lord and His strength.

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Seek His presence continually.

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And when you feel like Your

family and the world needs way

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more than your flesh can give.

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This is the God that encourages you to

press into his strength to keep going.

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This is another one of those Psalms

that describes the history of Israel.

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This account about Joseph really

stood out to me beginning in verse 16.

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When he summoned a famine on the

land and broke all supply of bread,

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he had sent a man ahead of them,

Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

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His feet were hurt with fetters.

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His neck was put in a collar of iron

until what he had said came to pass.

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The word of the Lord tested him.

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The king sent and released him.

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The ruler of all the people set him free.

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He made him lord of his house and

ruler of all his possessions to

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bind his princes at his pleasure

and to teach his elders wisdom.

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Do you hear the sovereignty of God?

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We know from Genesis that

Joseph understood it was God's

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leading that brought him into

Egypt, but it's confirmed here.

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And when we read that the word of the Lord

tested him, I wonder if that refers to

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Joseph being in prison, thinking about the

dreams and visions that God had given him.

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And I'm sure he wrestled, wondering

if those would come to fruition.

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Psalm 132 asks God to remember

his covenant to David.

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This feels pretty bold to me.

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But it reminds me of Moses, how often

he would call God to remember his

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character and his promises to the people.

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I'm wondering if this could direct my

prayer life in a new and different way.

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I feel like I'm always reminding

myself of what God's word says.

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But I'm going to reflect how it could

change the way I call out to the Lord.

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And this psalm begins, " Remember,

O Lord, in David's favor all

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the hardships he endured, how he

swore to the Lord and vowed to the

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Mighty One of Jacob, ' I will not

enter my house or get into my bed.

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I will not give sleep to my eyes or

slumber to my eyelids until I find

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a place for the Lord, a dwelling

place for the Mighty One of Jacob.'"

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If you want to go ahead and read the

rest of the psalm today, that's fine.

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But I think it reveals a little

too much of what's going to

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happen in our next episode.

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And because it's probably my favorite

story from the life of David, I

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don't want to give any spoilers.

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Reading the psalms that we did today,

we were called over and over to sing

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to the Lord in thanksgiving and joy.

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And it reminded me of Jesus' parable

of the sower, in case you're not

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familiar with it or if you need a

refresher, I'll read it for you now.

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In Luke chapter 8, starting

with verse 5, Jesus said, " A

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sower went out to sow his seed.

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And as he sowed, some fell along the

path and was trampled underfoot, and

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the birds of the air devoured it.

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And some fell on the rock.

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And as it grew up, it withered

away because it had no moisture.

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And some fell among thorns, and the

thorns grew up with it and choked it.

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And some fell into good soil and

grew and yielded a hundredfold."

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Steph: As he said these things,

he called out, ' He who has

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ears to hear, let him hear.'"

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And beginning in verse 11, he

explained it to the disciples.

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" Now the parable is this.

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The seed is the word of God.

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The ones along the path

are those who have heard.

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Then the devil comes and takes away

the word from their hearts so that

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they may not believe and be saved.

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And the ones on the rock are

those who, when they hear

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the word, receive it with joy.

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But these have no root.

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They believe for a while and

in time of testing fall away.

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And as for what fell among the

thorns, they are those who hear.

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But as they go on their way,

they are choked by the cares and

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riches and pleasures of life, and

their fruit does not mature.

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As for that in the good soil, they

are those who, hearing the word,

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hold it fast in an honest and good

heart and bear fruit with patience."

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as I think about this concept of

joy, I'm aware it can be superficial.

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And if our joy is robbed when

the trials come, it indicates

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that we're that second soil.

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But what about the third soil who

hear, but then the treasures of this

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earth call them away from the Lord.

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We definitely wanna be in that fourth

camp, having patient joy, holding fast

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to God's Word no matter what happens.

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It doesn't mean we're gonna do

it perfectly, but I think it's

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good encouragement for us to be

steadfast, and it's one of my

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favorite things to pray for my kids.

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Heavenly Father, thank You for

the joy that's available in You.

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There have been some throughout history

that have been tempted to deny themselves

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for Your sake, but we know Your Word says

You've created all things to bless us.

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And we're coming to You now

asking that our kids would

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be found in this fourth group

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that would have joy in You, but

also that they would bear

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fruit for You that would last.

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Help us to faithfully keep planting

seeds of Your Word in their hearts.

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Continue to water them

and draw them to You.

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Don't let us be pulled away

by the pleasures of earth.

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And no matter what comes, may

we model a steadfast joy and

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have hope in Your redemption.

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Lead us and strengthen us to be

vigilant in protecting our kids,

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especially when it seems that

digital temptation is everywhere.

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And help us to use screens

in a way that glorifies You.

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It's our joy to praise Your name, Jesus.

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Amen.