Harvest

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

I don’t know the first thing about farming from experience. I’m what you might call a “city boy.” Green Acres is not the place for me! But I do know some principles about farming from talking with a few in my lifetime, and by reading about them. Scripture deals with principles of farming as well.

One of the main things we learn from Scripture is that a harvest does not come without diligent effort on part of the farmer. There are things a farmer must do if he or she expects to reap a bountiful harvest. Things like cultivating the soil, planting seed at the right time, and nurturing the plants to maturity. Each and every step is thoughtful, disciplined, and orderly.

Bearing spiritual fruit is the same. It is not a haphazard process. One must pursue the knowledge of God’s will, which is revealed in the Word. Paul had this in mind when he prayed for the Colossian Christ followers to increase “in the knowledge of God’s will” [1.9]. 

Grammatically, one could say “increasing IN” or “increasing BY.” Both are acceptable renderings of the word. “In” emphasizes the need to grow and “By” emphasizes the means by which one grows. 

One of Satan’s tactics to impede spiritual productivity is to get us preoccupied with bankrupt substitutes for God’s truth. In Colosse, he planted false teachers that said knowing God’s will was inadequate for spirituality, that they needed more, which could only be taught to them by those same false teachers. But Paul would not let them get away with that. He told them that in Christ are “hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” [2.3]. Christ is all you need. 

We must grow in the “grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ” [2 Peter 3.18]. That’s how we can expect a bountiful, spiritual harvest. Your fruitfulness is directly related to your knowledge of divine truth.

Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better. Colossians 1.10

What Delights the Heart of God?

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

When I started thinking about today’s eDevotion, I was thinking about the joy God has brought to my life. From the spiritual, to the physical, to the emotional, I could list hundreds of things God has done that delighted my soul. And that got me to thinking, have I delighted the Lord too? 

How about you? Have you given much thought about bringing joy to God. It’s possible, you know. And, of course, Scripture tells us how to do it.

Repentance: Luke wrote, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety–nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” And then he added, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” [Luke 15.7, 10]. 

Confession/Truth Telling: When Achan sinned in the wilderness, Joshua confronted him with these words, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done” [Joshua 7.19].

Faith: Your faith is a source of pleasure to God. “Without faith it is impossible to please Him” [Hebrews 11.6]. That’s a negative statement of a positive principle; faith pleases God.

Prayer: “The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but He delights in the prayers of the upright” [Proverbs 15.8]. 

Holiness: “I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness (integrity)” [1 Chronicles 29.17]. The Hebrew word for uprightness is an interesting one. It has to do with evenness and equity. Metaphorically, it means to have a level path, or a path of righteousness. Solomon added the idea that a “blameless walk” is a delight to God [Proverbs 11.20].

Look at those words again: Repentance, Confession, Faith, Prayer, Holiness. These things please God and are expressions of our love for Him. That is the idea behind all of them; we do these things because we love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Your expression of love, whether by words of praise or by acts of obedience, brings joy to the heart of God. 

God almighty delights in you. Thrilling, isn’t it? It should be! Maybe that will motivate you to find as many ways as you can to bring joy to Him today. Your love for God brings Him joy!

Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the LORD, but the blameless in their ways are His delight. Proverbs 11.20

Cast Your Cares

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

“Go to your quiet place.” That was the advice of my elementary school teacher when one of her students got upset. She told us that the quiet place is different for each of us, but it was  a place of peace and tranquility, free from whatever stress we were experiencing. 

Sounds great, doesn’t it? A place where we are released from the trials and tribulations of life. A perfect, trouble-free place. Israel’s King David wanted just such a place. Listen to his desire, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest! I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness” [Psalm 55.6-7]. 

Have you discovered, like David, that trouble is not so easily avoided? First of all, we don’t have wings to fly off to that stress-free place. And secondly, there is no perfect place of peace. If you were to stay in the “quiet of the wilderness” for any length of time, it will produce its own unique difficulties.

The best way to deal with our worries, and the stress that comes with them, is to cast them to the Lord. Let go of them; don't hold on or cling to them. God didn’t design us to be self-contained people. We are creatures dependent upon our God. The sooner we come to that realization, the sooner we will experience the peace we desire.

Since He created us as dependent creatures, He’s ready to help! “I am the LORD your God, who holds your right hand. And I tell you, Don’t be afraid! I will help you” [Isaiah 41.13]. 

Our LORD is the Father in heaven who leads us by the hand through the troubles of life. He cares and eagerly waits for you to cast your cares to Him.

Cast your burdens to the LORD, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. Psalm 37.5

Trust in the Lord

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

A FaceBook friend sent me a short video of some trapeze artists the other day. The things they did were amazing — death defying, in fact. With eyes wide in disbelief, I thought to myself, these guys are crazy; how can they do such things! 

It caused me to read a little bit about such acts. I found out, for example, in a trapeze act, there is a flyer and a catcher. Then I ran across this short exchange between a flyer and an interviewer: “As a flyer, I must have complete trust in my catcher. The public might think I’m the star of the trapeze, but the real star is Joe, my catcher. He has to be there for me with split-second precision and grab me out of the air as I come to him in the long jump. The secret is that the flyer does nothing. The catcher does everything. When I fly to Joe, I have simply to stretch out my arms and hands and wait.” The interviewer asked him, “You do nothing?” “A flyer must fly and a catcher must catch. The flyer must trust with outstretched arms that his catcher will be there waiting for him.”

That could have been an interview with any Christ follower about his or her relationship with Jesus. At one time or another, we’ve all stood on a precipice in life wondering, “Can I entrust my life to Jesus? If I make this leap, will He catch me? 

Some respond in what the Bible calls unbelief. It is vastly different than uncertainty. Unbelief is doubt gone wrong. It is a refusal to trust. Unbelief, biblically, is not uncertainty in the intellect, it is a settled decision of the will.

Jesus spent a lot of time with three of His disciples, Peter, James, and John. One day Jesus told them that He would be rejected and have to go through untold suffering [Mark 9.12]. And then He told them, in so many words, you’re going to walk through some of this with Me. I know you’ll have questions and struggle because of it. I’m going to be crucified, but I’ll be right back. Things will be better on the other side, but not now. We’re going off the mountain today, and so it begins. 

Can they trust Him? Will He be the faithful “catcher?” I say, “YES!” There is none like Him. No book, no hunch, no guru, absolutely nothing or no one is worth betting the farm on. Except Jesus. He’s faithful. The big question is, do we trust the catcher enough to let go?

Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. Psalm 37.5

Live in the Spirit

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Not long ago, I read an article in which the author said this: “In the Old Testament, God the Father was rejected. In the New Testament, God the Son was rejected. And today, God the Holy Spirit has been rejected.” 

It was an insightful, yet stunning indictment on today’s church. He makes a valid point that some, for whatever reason, forget, neglect, or discount the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. I think the Apostle Paul saw this in some of the Thessalonian Christ followers, so he told them, “Do not stifle [quench] the Holy Spirit” [1Thessalonians 5.19]. One translation puts it this way, “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire.”

It can happen by ignorance; perhaps they’ve never been taught to live by means of the Spirit. They’ve been told about the Father and the Son, but have not received guidance on the person of the Holy Spirit. It could be they’ve been told to pray a certain prayer, get baptized, go to church regularly, live the best you can, all of which they can do themselves. 

But then they begin to face things that can’t be accomplished solely by human acuity. Things like: Show love to your enemies. Die to yourself. Take up your cross and follow Christ. Live godly lives. Be a living testimony of God’s grace. Fight for your marriage. All of these things (and many others) require a helper. That Helper is the Holy Spirit [John 14.15-17]. 

If you are trying to live out your faith in your own strength, you must be miserable, and probably very weary. Stop! Start relying on, and living by means of the Holy Spirit. He is the divine Helper promised by Jesus. Surrender to Him and utilize the power He has made available to each and every Christ follower. Walk hand-in-hand with Him. Listen to His voice and follow His instructions. He will guide you into all truth [John 16.13]. That’s living in the Spirit.

This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,” says the LORD of hosts. Zechariah 4.6

He Knows My Name

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

I woke up this morning with the meditative words of the song, He Knows My Name (I Have A Maker), on my mind. Do you know it? The refrain goes like this:

He knows my name

He knows my every thought,

He sees each tear that falls

and hears me when I call

“He knows my every thought.” The omniscience of God is wrapped up in those words. An all-knowing God may cause fear in some, but for me, it brings comfort. God knows me, therefore I’m not lost in insignificance. He knows me - personally.  

If you have ever wondered that God really knows you, you are not alone. Godly people in Malachi’s day questioned it too. When Malachi spoke about the judgment of God against the wicked, some feared that God might forget them. They even thought they might get consumed by His wrath as well. Malachi records, “Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored His name. “On the day when I act,” says the LORD Almighty, “they will be My treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not” [Malachi 3.16-18].

God doesn’t forget whose names are in the book. He knows you and me and that we belong to Him. 

David knew this and found comfort in it as well. “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book” [Psalm 56.8]. 

In David’s time, it was customary to hire “cry-ers" [mourners] for a funeral. Some commentators suggest that they would collect their tears to prove they had earned their money. As with David, none of our tears go unnoticed by God. He knows. He cares. 

God also sees the tears of frustration when we find sin in our lives. Praise be to God, He loves us in spite of our failures! After His resurrection, the Lord met His disciple in Galilee. He spoke to Peter, who seemed to be trying to convince the Lord that he loved Him (remember, Peter had denied the Lord and was, most likely, guilt ridden). After a third question about his love for the Lord, I don’t know if it was a moment of frustration or if a light of understanding came on, but Peter appealed to the omniscience of the Lord. He said, “Lord, you know all things; You know that I love you!”

Yes, the Lord knows. He knows every fault, failure, fear, and foible - every sin. He knows our love for Him too. And, joy of joys, He helps us through all of them.

A third time Jesus asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know all things. You know that I love You.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.” John 21.17

Resisting Temptation

eDevotion

Encouragement for your daily walk with God 

Before reading today’s eDevotion, take a minute or two to read Genesis 39.1-20. It’s about Joseph’s encounter with temptation and how he handled it. 

Finished? Good, let's begin.

Oscar Wilde, the famous playwright, said, "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." Many people handle temptation that way, they just give in to it. The account of Joseph is a model for us to follow in dealing with temptation. In his case, it was a recurring temptation of sexual sin [39.7, 10].

Rather than giving in, Joseph resisted. In fact, he ran away from it. I see three things in his behavior that will help anyone in their battle with temptation. 

1. Develop strong convictions. Joseph was loyal to his employer and would do nothing to violate or hurt him. And beyond that, he had unquestionable loyalty to God. Did you see that in verse 9? “No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Your conviction not to sin against another person, especially God, is a great weapon against temptation.

2. Shut the door. Even in the face of recurring temptation, Joseph “refused to go to bed with her or even be with her" (v. 10). Joseph shut the door. He wouldn’t even hang around her to be exposed to the temptation. How about this —The next time you’re watching a movie and it’s harmful in some way, walk out of the theater or turn off the TV. Shut the door. The next time someone spews gossip, or impugns the character of another, leave the conversation. Shut the door. This is where we can pray, “Lord, lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from the Evil One. Help me keep the door shut.”

3. Act immediately. As soon as the temptation came, Joseph said NO right away — and every day after that, as a matter of fact. He developed a pattern of refusal, so much so that when NO was not enough, he ran out of the house. He didn’t worry about being rude. He didn’t even hang around to be a witness. Had Joseph lived in New Testament times, he would have been an example of Paul’s admonition to “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts” [2 Timothy 2.22].

When confronted with temptation, let’s not give in to our fleshly desires. Instead, let’s resist and fulfill our role as people of God, set apart for the Lord.

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10.13