"SO SHALL YOU REAP"

Good Evening to All!

(7) Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. (8) For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. (9) And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Galatians 6:7-9 NKJV

You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So, let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up. (NLT)

God sees the seeds that we plant. We sow seeds of contentment as we say no to the temptation to believe the lie that we need "stuff" to be happy. We sow seeds of peace as we refuse to give in to the temptation to criticize and complain. We sow seeds of generosity as we give, even when we have needs of our own. We sow seeds of humility when we turn the spotlight on someone else instead of on ourselves.

The beauty that blooms in our lives as we learn to sow these seeds and they take root and grow. They make us much happier, better people. They help us to grow in our relationship with God. This is how we begin an intimate relationship with Him. To understand that putting HIM FIRST as well as others needs before our own is Christ-likeness, which is what we are to strive for.

Every choice we make to please the Spirit enhances the harvest of blessing we are sure to reap. Now this devotional can go many directions. On one hand, if we sow seeds of generosity, and we give our tithes and offerings, then God will in turn bless us financially, and so on, BUT I prefer to think of "the blessing" which it is speaking of as the closeness with God, the bond that we will share with Him as we plant these seeds.

Another point I would like to make about seeds is that when we tell people about our wonderful relationship with God, as well as what He has done for us, we are also planting seeds. We are placing God's Word within that person's heart, and giving them hope that they can hang on to. Words that they can recall in times of worry, despair, fear, or any other problem they may have. Planting these seeds will also bring us closer to God.

This being said, the opposite is true also. If we plant seeds of greed, dishonesty, arrogance and so on, we will also reap from those also, although I would venture to say that what we would reap, we would definitely not consider a "blessing".

I pray that I will NEVER grow tired of sharing God's Word with others. He is the ONE on which I can ALWAYS depend on when others fail me.

Good Night to All and May God Bless,

"PLANT, WATER, INCREASE"

Good Evening to All!

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. (7) So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. (1 Corinthians 3:6-7 KJV)

It has taken me quite a few years to understand and not to feel like a failure when I witness to someone and they don't "accept" or understand what I am trying to explain to them about God and His love.

When I became serious about the Lord, and received the Holy Ghost, I wanted EVERYONE to feel like I did. I didn't think about people not being "ready' to hear what I had to say. I just knew that I had been changed for the better and was much happier, and I wanted everyone else to feel it as well.

I know now that I came across very pushy. Albeit unintentional. I just get very excited about things and want to share it all. The problem was I more than likely
scared people away by doing that.

I have finally learned that it is NOT MY JOB to save people. It is MY JOB to plant a seed. Meaning to drop bits of knowledge on people who are wanting to hear the truth. NOT BEATING THEM over the head with the Bible. God is the only one who can SAVE souls. I can do just a small part by answering questions, and showing people what true Christianity is by example. Such as being understanding and not shoving things down their throats that they aren't ready for.

I now have a morning ritual in which before leaving my house in the morning, I pray and ask God to place me in the path of someone to witness to and to prepare their heart for His Word.

Another thing is, many people automatically think of "preaching" or "Bible study" when they hear the word witness. Now, to be honest that is what I used to think because I had people come up to me and start talking about the Lord, and talk, and talk, and talk.... I don't do that. Now if someone is really interested, and keeps asking questions then yes, I will continue to talk to them, but I try to be "short and sweet". If I am having a conversation about something and can interject a bit of scripture in it, I do so. If I am telling someone about something good happening to me, I give God the glory, and tell the person how He helped me and include a scripture or two about God supplying our need or pouring out blessings to those who love Him, and so on.

I then leave it at that. I have grown in my relationship and knowledge enough to realize that saving souls, bringing others to Christ and witnessing IS NOT ABOUT ME. It's ALL ABOUT HIM. I am His instrument, but HE does the final reaping of the harvest. All I do is Plant, or water, and leave the increasing up to God.

This being said, Jesus did tell His disciples to go all over the world preaching the gospel. I know that according to Ephesians 4:11, it says, " And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; (12) For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. (Matthew 9:38 KJV)

When we witness to others, we are doing what God wants us to do.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

"TRUE BEAUTY"

Good Evening to All!

Today's Seed: "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." (Proverbs 31:30)

Although this post is directed toward women, I think men might get something from it too. In other words, looks aren't everything and they are possibly deceiving. While there are lots of beautiful women who are beautiful inside and out, there are also those who are not. So men, although I know most of you who are "older" know better, I may have some "younger readers" as well, and I hope that you will not "judge a book by its cover". Don't just go by looks when getting interested in a young lady. Go by their hearts.

Many women struggle with a "baby belly" after the birth of a child. We glance at ourselves in the mirror (not me unfortunately) daily with determination to someday fit into our "real" jeans again. Our husbands can say we look beautiful. Friends can rave about our appearance; yet despite the compliments of others, we often view ourselves as overweight and unattractive.

Then there are those of us who don't have any excuse of why we gained weight other than hormones and age, lack of exercise and so on (those are my excuses).

In the search for beauty, we find many promises of hope--in the local gym, wild fat diets, expensive cosmetics, and hip fashions. We'll try them all. But each one leaves us feeling disillusioned and empty.

In Proverbs, God shows us the true beauty of a woman. It is not a size 8 waist and perfect hips. Beauty is found in our fear of the Lord. All our weight loss solutions do is keep us from the very scary prospect of inner evaluation. distracted by the pursuit of outward perfection, we miss our needs within.

Beauty comes from knowing that we are God's children, with a worth beyond measure. As we seek God, we will be transformed into His likeness, reflecting the character of God Almighty.

While there is nothing wrong with losing your baby weight, place your value on inner beauty, the beauty of the Magnificent One shining through a life connected to Him. Godly character is the true secret of beauty.

Dig Deeper: The Greek word for "praised" is halal, which means to cause to shine and glorify. A woman who fears the Lord will be praised in this way. Others will say things about her that cause her to shine.

Background Bulb: Godly fear is the virtue that begins, ends, and fills the Book of Proverbs. All the attributes Proverbs extols as meaningful are represented by the woman in Chapter 31. These qualities lead to praise, honor, worth, and enjoyment of life.

Weed & Water: Time spent with our Lord is the most important time spent all day. In order to keep the balance between striving for outward beauty and reflecting God's inward beauty, it's a good idea to spend at least as much time seeking God as you do putting on your makeup.


Think about it: What do you think you would gain by being more attractive physically? Spiritually?

How do you gauge your value? How should you?

Prayer Pot: Father, let your beauty shine through me today when I . . . (Insert your own thoughts)

Take-Away Idea: "If you are ugly at 16, it's not your fault. If you are ugly at 90, it is." Unknown

Reference: "Bible Seeds" A Simple Study-Devotional for Growing in God's Word by Patsy Clairmont and Florence Littauer, published by Starburst Publishing.

Good Night to All and May God Bless!

PATIENCE

Good Evening to All!

Tonight's Seed: "and so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised." Hebrews 6:15
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Waiting. Some days it seems as if that's all we do. We wait our turn to get into the shower. We wait to pay for our gas at the convenience store. We wait in traffic on our way to work. We wait for an important phone call. We wait for a loved one to return to God. We wait.

It's hard to wait patiently. The longer we have to wait, the harder it gets. Abraham is commended for waiting patiently to receive what God promised to hive him. In Genesis 12, God promised to make Abraham into a great nation, to bless him, to make his name great, and to bless all people on earth through him. So Abraham waited. And Waited. And Waited. Abraham waited twenty-five years for God to start fulfilling these promises by giving him a son. that's right! Twenty-five years. And we mumble when we have to wait an extra ten minutes when we pick up the kids after school!

Abraham had no children when God first gave these promises, but the Bible says Abraham patiently waited for God's timing. Patience is a virtue, the say goes. So Abraham was not only the most patient man in the Bible, but also one of the most virtuous! How many of us could wait that long for a promise to be kept? Abraham had not only patience and virtue on his side. He also had faith in God and a certainty that God would keep his promise.

Dig Deeper: The Greek word for "patiently" is makrothumeo, which means to suffer long or be longsuffering and not to give in to despondency. The word is used for being understanding toward people rather than things.

Background Bulb: Although Abraham is congratulated for his faith, he didn't always get everything right. Genesis 15 and 16 records Abraham and Sarah's attempt to "help" God fulfill his promise to them. After ten years of waiting for Sarah to conceive, Abraham lay with his wife's maidservant, Hagar, and asked God to build his line through this son, Ishmael. For the next thirteen years Abraham didn't hear from God. Then in Genesis 17, God finally spoke but not to rebuke Abraham. God affirmed his original promise and told Abraham he would have a son through Sarah. As a sign of his promise, God began the rite of circumcision.

Weed & Water: Impatience, despair, and doubt are temptations that may keep us from waiting patiently. Abraham and Sarah may have thought they misunderstood God's promise. We can learn from their mistake and go to God in prayer, asking for guidance before we try to "help" God fulfill His promises. If God is silent, do nothing and wait patiently. When God speaks, write down his promise and post it at a prominent place. Refer back to the promise often, especially during times of doubt or despair.

Think about it: If you had been Abraham, what may have made it difficult for your to wait patiently?

God viewed Abraham as patient despite his sin with Hagar. How does this help you?


Prayer Pot: Lord, Help me resist despair and to wait patiently for. . . (Insert your own thoughts).

Take-Away Idea: "Waiting is still an occupation. What is terrible is not having anything to wait for.

Good Night and May God Bless!

Second Chances

Tonight's Seed: "And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. "
(Jeremiah 18:4 KJV)

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Have you ever seen a potter working on a pot at the wheel? It is amazing to see how evenly and beautifully the clay takes shape. Sometimes the clay will contain a lump that ruins the shape of the pot as it spins. The potter doesn't throw the clay away. Instead, he stops the wheel, removes the hard lump, and begins again making a new clay pot.

The Bible is full of stories about people who were given a second chance. Instead of going to Ninevah, Jonah disobeyed God and got swallowed by a great fish. When he turned back to God, he got a second opportunity to go to Ninevah. David sinned greatly. When he confessed, God forgave him and allowed the throne of Judah to remain in his family line for generations. Peter was a loudmouth who acted on impulse and even denied that he knew Christ, yet he became one of the greatest preachers of the first. century. It is impossible for us to erase our actions, but it is possible to start over today. Every twenty-four hours, God gives us a brand new start. Our job is to repent of our sins, forgive ourselves, and give God an opportunity to develop us. A quick note: keep in mind that repenting means MORE than saying your sorry. It means truly turning away from sin and not committing that sin again. In other words don't say I'm sorry, then a few days later do it again. Truly mean it.

A potter may work on a piece of clay for days before he puts it on the wheel. He will knead it, wet it, dry it, tear it apart, and put it together again. He may even put it on a shelf for a while. Through all of this, the clay becomes perfectly pliable. God will allow you to experience all sort of ups and downs in your life. Then when His timing is right, he will form you into the person he want you to be. I also think that He allows you to go through trials and tribulations to strengthen you, to increase your faith. He wants you to rely upon Him, not yourself. When we realize that we can do nothing without Him, and our faith increases in HIM, that's when He is most pleased with us. This is why He gives us so many chances. unfortunately for people such as myself, it took me many times of being molded and remolded and molded again before I finally accepted the fact that the more I tried to do things "on my own" the worse I made them. Once I figured out how much better things went when I prayed and ask God for guidance and DID WHAT HE SAID, I was a lot happier and felt like my relationship with God had grown leaps and bounds.

As far as giving others a second chance and maybe even a third, we should do no less than what God does for us. This is how a "true Christian" shows who they really are. This is how we let God's light shine through us. We don't act like "the rest of the world". We keep our temper in check as much as possible, and apologize to the person when we don't, and we treat others as we would like to be treated. We GIVE SECOND CHANCES.

Questions to think about: What failures and mistakes do you need to put behind you?

How can you keep circumstances form ruining your attitude?

Prayer for the Day: Lord, this morning I face a new day and I will start anew with you by . . . (Insert your thoughts).

Good Night to all and May God Bless!

BE GUILT FREE!

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Good Evening to All!

Today's Seed: "Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:22

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The morning starts with a rush. The alarm doesn't go off. The coffeemaker overflows. The outfit we planned to wear is in the wash. The heels breaks on our shoe. The kids are fussing. The car's gas tank is near empty. All great excuses for not going to church. It's too much of an effort. We'd never make it on time anyway. So there! We're not going. Then the guilt sets in. That's not exactly drawing near to God.

Hebrews tells us that every day we'll be challenged to obey God. Sometimes Sundays are the hardest. One mother of five is positive that the devil works overtime on Sunday mornings!

We also told that we need to "have full assurance of faith" --faith that our sins are forgiven. Because of Christ and his death on the cross, we can be sure that when we confess our sins and our guilt, we will be cleansed through the blood of Jesus Christ.

To draw close to God, we need a sincere heart, faith in god, and a guilt-free conscience. We feel guilty for many more reasons that just not going to church--guilt for what we've said or done, or what we've not said or done. Guilt is hard to get rid of on our own, but we don't' need to feel guilt for forgiven sins. Christ paid the full price of our sin for us. Believers can have complete confidence that their sins are forgiven because they are trusting in Christ. We can be completely cleansed--guilt free.

Dig Deeper: the Greek word for "draw near" is proserchomai, which means to approach God, as in entering the presence of God through Jesus.

Weed & Water: Often when we are overwhelmed with continued guilt for something, it is because we cannot forgive ourselves. We believe we are above the depth of whatever sin we have done. We are shocked and can't accept that we could be so "terrible." God already knows how deeply we can sin. He has forgiven us. Chances are those around us already know how "terrible" we can be too--and they have forgiven us. All that's left is for us to forgive ourselves.

Sprout & Scatter: Once Jesus has washed away our sins and we put our guilt behind us, the writer of Hebrews 23-25 encourages us to do four things. (1) "Let us hold unswervingly to hope," (2) "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." (2) "Let us not give up meeting together," and (4) "Let us encourage one another. "Doing these things will benefit others.


Think about it: When you think of entering into the presence of God, what do you think of doing or saying?

For what do you feel guilty that God has already forgiven you?

Prayer Pot: Lord, help me to meet the challenges of each day, especially (Insert your thoughts).

Take-Away Idea: God will cleanse our guilt, and wed can hold onto that hope.



Good Night to All and May God Bless! Don't forget to enter my Book Give-Away! It is truly an excellent faith building book!

Living Carefree with a Lesson in Gardening

Good Evening To All!

Jesus also said,"This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."


Mark 4:26-29

I hope when I get to heaven that I will be able to find out how many of the people whom I have witnessed to over the years had turned their lives around, and made it to heaven. That will be a fantastic feeling. Sometimes, you won't see the result right away, and sometimes not at all. I would just like to know if I had made any kind of difference during my life here on earth.

Bible Seeds

Living Carefree

Today's Seed: "Cast all your anxiety (cares) on Him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

That's why we adults would love to be children again. No responsibilities, no cares. Our moms and dads did all that for us. That's the way it is with the Lord, it's just that now that we are adults, we don't like giving up control like we did when we were children. Back then, it was easy because we didn't have a choice. We had to let mommy and daddy make our choices, and take care of everything for us. Now we have to make them or at least we "think" we do. What we really need to do is give it up to God. Just call on Him and say dad, I have this problem or that , can you help me out? I promise He will answer you. You may not like the answer you get, but He will answer. It's like that verse in the Bible that talks about a child asking for bread and the earthly father wouldn't give him stones, well, our heavenly father will even do better. I can't remember the exact verse word for word, but I will look it up if anyone would like for me to. Just know that our God can run circles around ANY earthly father as far as giving and forgiveness. Not that all earthly fathers don't try, they just cannot outgive God.
Life is getting easier. At least, that's what the advertisements promise New detergents, gadgets, and machines pledge to do all our work, but new-fangled tools have a way of bringing with them new sets of problems. Casting all our problems on God is different. We can be assured of real help--not more problems---because He cares for us.

Imagine that! God, who has the whole world to manage, cares for us. What's important to us is important to Him. Nothing is too big or small. What we thought we couldn't handle, He can. He takes our anxiety about friends, health, property, and jobs--even those everyday, never-ending housework chores. We live carefree because He cares for us. Everything He promises he delivers.

He will either get rid of what we fear, support us as we face it, or exchange it for His load. the good news is that his burden is light. "For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:30). What does He give us that is so light? He gives us mercy, grace, strength, and assurance. He has already given us the tools to do everything He wants us to do. When we call to Him, He gladly answers. His customer support line is never busy.

Background Bulb: Psalm 55:22 can help us understand the concept of casting our care upon the Lord. "Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall." god gave us our position in life, our abilities, and our talents. He knew exactly what we needed and what we could handle. Nothing that comes our way will be too much for us because He sustains us . He has never let the righteous fall.

Weed & Water: One of the definitions of the word "anxiety" is distraction. Life is full of distraction. It seems we can't finish a simple task like making dinner without being interrupted by something or someone. Living without care means that we don't let distractions triumph over us and keep us from accomplishing our goals. Make a list of the distractions in your daily routine. Present the list to
God asking Him to keep each one from interrupting your day.

Dig Deeper:
The Greek word epi is translated "upon". It means to superimpose. You've seen those doctored photos with mix and match faces and bodies. Now picture you and your anxiety with Jesus superimposed underneath it--you and your care totally upheld by Jesus.

Think about it: Look back through this lesson and list some promises of God.

How has God shown you that He really cares for you?

Prayer Pot: Lord, thank you for caring about....

Watching over us is not God's Duty, it's His Delight.

As you know I have been having a lot of trouble the last few days with getting my blog typed. I finally decided to try my laptop, and it worked like a charm. Although, I tried earlier tonight and couldn't even get on line. I guess there are just days like that.

I don't know why Zemanta didn't load, but I don't have any pictures in my "stash" that would go with this article, so that's why it's pictureless (is that a word?) anyway, I'm sorry it is so bland. Hopefully, the substance of the post is more important to y'all than pictures anyway.

It's almost 1 am, so I'm getting to bed a littler earlier than last night and the night before, but not by much. I know I'm gonna take a nap when I get home from Abilene tomorrow afternoon! We're leaving here about 8 or 8:30am, so I guess I better put this to bed.


Good Night to All and May God Bless!

PJ