When you think of “sinners” who might be excluded from God’s kingdom, does anyone come to mind? If so, you may be entering dangerous territory. The Pharisees were certain of their own seat at God’s table, convinced that the tax collectors and prostitutes had no such place. But Jesus came precisely for the people the religious crowd wrote off. He welcomes the broken, the fallen, the forgotten with open arms the moment they repent and turn to Him. God’s grace reaches farther than our judgments, and we may be surprised by those who are on heaven’s guest list!

A Heart Ready for God
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We can spend years listening to truth while our hearts quietly harden, grow shallow, or get tangled in a thousand other things. Even if we show up and check all the boxes, spiritual numbness can still creep in. What we need, again and again, is a heart that’s open, receptive, ready for God’s Word to take root. He doesn’t force His way in. He sows and waits, faithful even in the dry seasons. But the condition of the soil? That’s our part. We must keep it prepared. So what about your heart today? Is it broken and ready, or is there hardness, shallowness, thorns that need to go?

