My 2 biggest aha observations in this passage are: 1. Good Heart=Good Soil. Jesus says he talks in parables so “though seeing they may not see, though hearing they may not understand”. This theme is repeated several times in the NT that God will only reveal himself to those who are willing to receive. Being willing requires having a good heart. An open heart. 2. I observed that Jesus explains reasons that might prevent a person from receiving the word of God into their heart and they all involve destruction, a known tool of the enemy. “Take away”, “Fall away”, “choked”… but the good soil example has to do with producing a crop 100 fold and speaks of abundance! This ligns up with John 10:10, “The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I have come that they may have life and life abundant”.

I LOVED Becky Johnson’s talk! It is impossible not to feel convicted of spending time daily with God after this talk. I was questioning my recent decision to get off of social media after finding out late about a friend’s tragedy. After 2 months of it, I found myself asking if I was being irresponsible, ignorant, or unnecessarily guarded…all Becky’s message did was deeply confirm for me that for the specific callings on my life, it requires this deeper level of obedience. Social media is not healthy for my walk with God, and he has shown me that. I’m learning to use it sparingly and replace massive amounts of scrolling time to put towards writing, singing, and working on my gifts. 💖

@Lorraine Cardenas Wow Lorraine! Powerful testimony!!! I can clearly see how God has redeemed your story! 🥹

Observations: 1. This passage is General to Specific. 2. There are several Cause and Effect sentences within Paul’s words 3. Both paragraphs use lists to fully describe his message 4. The audience is “brothers and sisters” 5. Paul is giving us the antidote to anxiety Questions: 1. Why does Paul choose the word “gentleness” to describe as being evident to all. Is this an overall demeanor, or how we are to approach God with our requests? 2. Is Paul saying that if we still experience anxiety, it is because we prayed but only once? Or prayed but forgot to be grateful? His formula is very direct and seems we need all 3 components: Prayer, Petition, Thanksgiving. 3. Consider the difference in promising the “Peace of God” in the first verse, and the “God of Peace” in the second verse…are they the same thing? 4. What caused the urgency in Paul’s message for him to use so many absolutes? “All”, “every”, “will”, “anything”, “always”. What was going on during this time? 5. Where else in the Bible is Peace talked about in regards to being promised from God? Perhaps it could lend a deeper understanding of God’s desire for us to have this precious gift!

I love that everyone chose different books!! I chose the Book of Revelation! 1. Believed to be written by the disciple John who also wrote the Gospel, during an encounter or glimpse into heaven! 2. Many Christians had been martyred at this point in history and were still being persecuted under Roman rule. There were 7 churches at this time. 3. My takeaway was that the writer, John, was given a prophetic vision of heaven and events to come. He encourages us to remain FAITHFUL to Jesus Christ and calls this the key to conquering! We are depicted as God’s army in the war to come!!