October Devos from The Greatest Adventure Ever

Note: The following two devotionals are selected from the month of October. 

October 9 | 
Fallow Ground | 
Hosea 10:12 

I said, “Plant the good seeds of righteousness, 
and you will harvest a crop of love. 
Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, 
for now is the time to seek the Lord, 
that He may come 
and shower righteousness upon you.” 

Every fall, we put our garden “to bed.” This means we pull out all the dead plants, put some manure on top of the soil and cover the beds with plastic so the rain doesn’t wash the nutrients out of the soil. 

Farmers who have large parcels of land rotate their crops. That means they don’t always plant something in their fields every year. These empty fields are called fallow ground. They may allow the land to just sit there and regenerate for up to five years. That’s a long time in bed! 

Imagine how hard the fallow ground is when a farmer tries to plow it after five years. Our hearts can become hard too if we haven’t been growing our spiritual garden by reading God’s Word or talking to Him.  

What should you be growing in your garden? Today’s scripture talks about planting seeds of righteousness. Look up the definition of righteousness on your phone and write it below: 

When we work on living a righteous life for God, the result, or harvest, will be God’s love. He’ll also “shower righteousness” on us, meaning that He’ll bless us with whatever we planted, whether that’s kindness, peace or mercy to those around us. 

Journal about areas in your life’s garden that need to be plowed up, and next to it write what you will plant in its place. 

October 13 | 
Harvest Moon | 
Matthew 5:14 

You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 

A harvest moon occurs near the beginning of fall, when the earth’s equator is almost directly in line with the center of the sun. The moon looks so bright and large it’s like you can reach out and touch it or slice off a piece like it’s cheese.  

Today’s scripture says, “You are the light of the world—like a city [or a harvest moon] on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.” 

Like a harvest moon, our spiritual lives are the biggest and the brightest when we are in line with the teachings of Jesus Christ. 

It’s impossible to hide a harvest moon. The only way it can happen is when the earth goes out of alignment with the sun. Spiritually, it’s the same way. We lose our brightness (our impact on others’ lives) when we are not in alignment with God’s ways. 

Can you think of some ways you can shine brighter to those around you? Maybe it’s lending a helpful hand or saying a thoughtful word to someone who really needs it right now. 

Challenge: Commit to shining your light to the people around you, either with a daily act of kindness or with a larger activity, like volunteering. As your loving acts become habits, your light will grow as big as a harvest moon that everyone will see (Matthew 5:16).