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Speaker 1: Life Audio.

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Speaker 2: Thank you for listening to your Nightly Scripture, a Calming

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Speaker 2: Scripture Center devotional podcast designed to help you end each

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Speaker 2: day with God's word in your mind and on your heart.

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Speaker 2: Right after the short word from our sponsors, we will

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Speaker 2: reflect on tonight's scripture from Mark chapter four. Tonight's reflection

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Speaker 2: is written by Lynette Kittle and read by Kyle Norman.

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Speaker 2: Mark chapter four, Again, Jesus began to teach by the lake.

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Speaker 2: The crowd that gathered around him was so large that

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Speaker 2: he got into a boat and sat in it out

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Speaker 2: on the lake. While all the people were along the

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Speaker 2: shore at the water's edge. He taught them many things

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Speaker 2: by parables, and in his teachings, said listen. A farmer

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Speaker 2: went out to sow a seed. As he was scattering

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Speaker 2: the seeds, some fell along the path, and the birds

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Speaker 2: came and ate it up. Some fell on the rocky

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Speaker 2: places where it did not have much soil. It sprang

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Speaker 2: up quickly because the soil was shallow, But when the

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Speaker 2: sun came up, the plants were scorched and they withered

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Speaker 2: because they had no root. Other seeds fell among thorns,

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Speaker 2: which grew up and choked the plants, so that they

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Speaker 2: did not bear grain. Still, other seed fell on good soil.

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Speaker 2: It came up, grew and produced the crop, some multiplying thirty, some, sixty,

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Speaker 2: some one hundred times. Then Jesus said, whoever has ears

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Speaker 2: to hear, let them hear leaves alone. The twelve and

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Speaker 2: the other around him asked him about the parable. He

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Speaker 2: told them, the secrets of the Kingdom of God has

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Speaker 2: been given to you. But to those on the outside

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Speaker 2: everything is said in parables, so that quote, they may

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Speaker 2: be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but

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Speaker 2: never understanding. Otherwise they might turn and be forgiven end quote.

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Speaker 2: Then Jesus said to them, don't you understand this parable?

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Speaker 2: How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows

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Speaker 2: the word. Some people are like a seat along the

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Speaker 2: path where the word is sown. As soon as they

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Speaker 2: hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that

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Speaker 2: was sown in them. Others, like sets sown in rocky places,

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Speaker 2: hear the word and at once receive it with joy,

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Speaker 2: But since they have no root, they only last a

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Speaker 2: short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word,

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Speaker 2: they quickly fall away. Still others, like et son among

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Speaker 2: thorns hear the word, But the worries of this life,

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Speaker 2: the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires of things to come,

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Speaker 2: choke the word, making it unfruitifal others, like seeing sown

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Speaker 2: on good soil hear the word, accept it and produce

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Speaker 2: a crop some thirty, some sixty, some one hundred times

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Speaker 2: what was sown. Jesus said to them, do you bring

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Speaker 2: in a lamp and put it under a bowl or

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Speaker 2: a bed? Instead, don't you put it on its stand?

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Speaker 2: For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and

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Speaker 2: whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into

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Speaker 2: the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.

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Speaker 2: Consider carefully what you hear, he continued, with the measure

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Speaker 2: you use, it will be measured to you. And even more,

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Speaker 2: whoever has will be given more. And whoever does not have,

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Speaker 2: even what they have, will be taken from them. Jesus

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Speaker 2: also said, this is what the Kingdom of God is.

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Speaker 2: Like a man scattered seeds on the ground night and day.

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Speaker 2: Whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows,

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Speaker 2: though he does not know how all by itself. The

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Speaker 2: soil produces grain. First the stalk, and then the head,

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Speaker 2: then the full kernel in the head. As soon as

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Speaker 2: the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it,

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Speaker 2: because the harvest has come again. He said, what shall

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Speaker 2: we say that the Kingdom of God is like? Or

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Speaker 2: what parables shall we use to describe it. It's like

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Speaker 2: a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds

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Speaker 2: on earth, Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the

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Speaker 2: largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that

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Speaker 2: the birds can perch in its shade. With many similar parables,

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Speaker 2: Jesus spoke the word to them as much as they

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Speaker 2: could understand. He does not say everything to them without

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Speaker 2: using a parable. When he was alone with his disciples,

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Speaker 2: he explained everything. That day. When evening came, he said

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Speaker 2: to disciples, let's go to the other side. Leaving the

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Speaker 2: crowd behind. They took him along. Just as he was

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Speaker 2: in the boat, there were also other boats with him.

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Speaker 2: A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over

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Speaker 2: the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was

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Speaker 2: in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke

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Speaker 2: him and said to him, teacher, don't you care if

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Speaker 2: we drown. He got up, rebuked the wind and said

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Speaker 2: to the waves, be quiet, be still, And then the

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Speaker 2: wind died down and it was completely calm. He said

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Speaker 2: to the disciples, why are you so afraid? Do you

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Speaker 2: still have no faith? They were terrified, and they asked

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Speaker 2: each other, who is this? Even the wind and the

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Speaker 2: waves obey him. Living through multiple hurricanes in Florida, both

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Speaker 2: on the Gulf of America side and the eastern shoreline,

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Speaker 2: we've experienced what it means to trust Jesus when the

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Speaker 2: storms surround us. During times when we realize we are

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Speaker 2: not in control of our surroundings, we begin to learn

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Speaker 2: how to truly trust Jesus and let our faith take

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Speaker 2: deep root within us so that the storms in our

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Speaker 2: lives don't uproot us. Whether it's actual weather storms that

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Speaker 2: we encounter such as hurricanes, tsunamis, tornadoes, or other natural disasters,

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Speaker 2: or personal storms striking our lives through struggles or sadness

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Speaker 2: or difficulties, maybe with a husband or a wife, children, parents, neighbors, coworkers,

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Speaker 2: church members, or a pastor. Jesus assures us of his

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Speaker 2: presence of being with us, calming the raging waters and

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Speaker 2: the winds that surround us. Although the disciples in Mark

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Speaker 2: four didn't understand that they could trust Jesus in the storm,

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Speaker 2: he still came through for them, as He does for

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Speaker 2: each of us in every storm that we encounter in life.

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Speaker 2: It's a lesson our family has learned, especially while living

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Speaker 2: in South Florida, where we've experienced numerous hurricanes. During one

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Speaker 2: such storm, my husband was required to be in a

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Speaker 2: house at the hospice where he served as a chaplain

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Speaker 2: as our family joined him sheltering in the hurricane safe building.

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Speaker 2: The irony of our situation struck me. In a place

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Speaker 2: where individuals were dying, caught in the middle of their

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Speaker 2: very real personal storms. We were trusting God to keep

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Speaker 2: us safe from the physical storm surrounding us, while the

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Speaker 2: eyes passed over us, surrounding and engulfing us in the storm.

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Speaker 2: The Lord brought the words of Psalm one nine, verse five,

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Speaker 2: Mind you hem me in behind, and before you lay

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Speaker 2: your hand upon me. No matter what type of storm

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Speaker 2: surrounds us, whether personal or physical, or regardless of our

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Speaker 2: status or location during it, the Lord is with us

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Speaker 2: and we can trust him. God. I am asking you

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Speaker 2: tonight the plans you re see of faith firmly within me,

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Speaker 2: so that when the storms in life come, as they

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Speaker 2: sometimes do, both personal and physical, that they don't cause

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Speaker 2: my faith to drift or fall away from you. Sell

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Speaker 2: to me from the onslaught of storms, whatever they surround me,

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Speaker 2: I ask and assure me of your presence in the

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Speaker 2: midst of them. Strengthen your word within me, send others

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Speaker 2: to water it, so that your truth can grow within

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Speaker 2: and bring forth fruit that lasts for your glory. Amen.

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Speaker 2: How did tonight's scripture speak to you? Share your thoughts

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Speaker 2: in the Your Nightly Scripture Forum discussion.

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Speaker 1: Thank you for listening to Your Nightly Scripture. Tonight's scripture

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Speaker 1: was read from the New International Version by Biblica. All

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Speaker 1: rights reserved. If Tonight's episode blessed you, be sure to

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Speaker 1: Scripture is ready when you are. Your Nightly Scripture is

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Speaker 1: a production of Life Audio and Salem Media. Thank you

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Speaker 1: and we'll see you tomorrow. Night