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Key Bible Verse: "My people have exchanged their glorious God for idols worth nothing." (Jeremiah 2:11, NCV) Dig Deeper: Jeremiah 2:10-13

In studying Hosea you discover that the root of evil was (and always has been) a divided heart. The people were guilty of spiritual adultery. They had been unfaithful to God by loving other gods. In reality all sin is spiritual adultery—unfaithfulness to the lover of our soul.

Understand that the "fallow ground" in Hosea's prophecy—the ground in need of being broken up—was not a reference to the lost world but to God's own people. I've never farmed a day in my life. I do, however, think I understand what a plow is for. You use a plow to break up the ground and prepare for a harvest. If the ground is not plowed, the seed will not get deep in the soil.

My first full-time church out of seminary was in Yukon, Oklahoma. We bought a brand new house and immediately set about turning our red clay yard into an honest-to-goodness lawn. We borrowed a tiller and cranked it to the deepest setting, but we could barely break up two inches of soil. I learned something that day: we have to keep plowing until the hard areas are soft, until every rock is removed and every obstacle to the seed of the God's Word bearing fruit (Matt. 13:22) is gone.

—Michael Catt in The Power of Surrender

My Response: I will identify and deal with any obstacles to the Word bearing fruit in my heart.

Adapted from The Power of Surrender (B&H, 2010) by permission. All rights reserved by the copyright holder and/or the publisher. May not be reproduced.

Copyright © 2012 by Christianity Today/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, please lay my heart bare this week, so that I can see my sin, repent, and receive the blessing of your presence.

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