With all we are

“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. (Matthew 6:1-4)

Have you ever noticed that you could serve and not be noticed for your service? Sometimes it is possible that those who serve the most are acknowledged the least. There is nothing wrong with this, though. In fact, we may serve well, never being 'celebrated' for our service, and almost feel that others see what we do as 'expected'. The things we do over and over again, with consistency of heart and spirit, may not always be outwardly appreciated. If you have been feeling like others are taking your service for granted, don't stop! Be as trustworthy as you have always been - Jesus knows you are serving faithfully!

The most important thing we can do is be consistent in our walk with Jesus. That leads to consistent service to others. It is a natural outflow of our relationship with Jesus. Sometimes people think what is 'seen' is the most significant part of life, but what is 'unseen' is more significant to Jesus. We serve, not to receive the accolades of others, but because Jesus asks us to love and serve one another out of that love. When we are consistent in our service, even when there seems to be no 'outward' reward, there is a far greater reward awaiting us at the feet of Jesus.

God sees our motives - others just see our service. He sees our consistency - our integrity. We may never hear those words of appreciation we crave, but we need to remember God's grace and love are 'felt', not just 'heard'. We aren't being taken for granted, my friends. We are being consistent, acting in integrity, loving as Jesus called us to love others. The greatest reward and blessing are oftentimes not what others lavish upon us, but what we find at the feet of our dear Savior. Serve with all you are and watch Jesus love with all he is. Just sayin!

A new leaf

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Ever made a really dumb decision? I know I can list a few, perhaps even more than a few. We all make mistakes sometimes, some 'dumber' than others, with some standing out as the 'dumbest' of the 'dumb'. These probably have led to some pretty deep hurts - hurts that seem to hang around long after the decision was made and done. What do we do with the deep hurts that are part of our past mistakes? We can repent, 'turn a new leaf', and move on, or we can harbor those hurts, rehashing the guilt of those decisions over and over again. 

When the hurts of the past aren't in the past, we find the rehearsal of those hurts to sometimes be worse than the original 'misstep' was in the first place. God wants to do a work within us of actually getting those hurts into our past and having them reside there permanently! Those hurts, continually rehearsed, will hinder us from moving forward in life until God affords us the pathway to finally let go of them. We need to follow that path he lays out.

God's voice is gentle - it isn't accusatory. If the voice of accusation is holding you back today, it is time to change who it is you are listening to! God's voice is sometimes no more than a whisper, but it is calling us onward, not back to the past. If God asks us to deal with something that we thought was in the past, it is only because we didn't fully deal with it at the time he asked us to let it go. God doesn't rehearse our sins, so we shouldn't either. He covers them with the blood of Jesus, removing all the stain of our guilt, and gives us a new pathway to follow. 

It is possible we haven't been ready to let go of the past. We hold onto something, even when it isn't doing us any good, bringing us down and loading us up with all kinds of guilty feelings. I want to tell you clearly today that God is ready to transform you right there. Right where your missteps got you into so much difficulty and caused you so much hurt. Listen for that 'whisper' of his gentle voice today and see what he will do as you respond to his voice. You don't have to live under that load any longer. Just sayin!

It is an all-out battle

We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. (2 Corinthians 10:3-4)

Have you ever noticed that there is a war going on in your mind almost all of the time? It is a battle between faith and fear, trust and doubt, unrest and peace. Most of life's battles are actually won or lost on this very battlefield. When we learn to use God's word as a weapon, we learn how to battle well and win! One important thing we must realize - Satan is trying to shape our lives one thought at a time - this is how we are given over to deception.

What is your strongest thought today? You will actually move toward your strongest thoughts. Believe it or not, the life we have today is a reflection of the life we are thinking. It is more than 'positive vibes', though. Whatever we allow into our minds is what will eventually come out of our lives in words and deeds. Negative, worrying thoughts don't produce uplifting, positive outcomes! If our strongest thoughts are taking us down alleyways of worry and anxiety, it is silly to think the actions produced will reflect anything other than mistrust and hopelessness.

Some thoughts move us forward in a positive manner, while others hold us back, anchoring us to some past sin or negative outcome. Did you know the more you think something, forming a thought process around it, the easier and easier it gets to think that way again? If we form the right pathway of thought, we won't be as tempted to stray! Lies believed just makes us a prisoner to those lies. Truth believed will set us free to live as we should. 

Demolish the thoughts that set themselves up AGAINST God's truth. Learn to use the sword of the Word. It actually is our best defense AND offense against the enemy of our souls. Remember, every lie has some element of truth, or we wouldn't believe it. Wrong thoughts can be replaced, producing better actions in the long run. BUT...we must recognize the lies, forsake those thought patterns by replacing them with the truth in God's word, and allow those new thoughts to become our STRONGEST thoughts. Truth is a person - Christ. Just sayin!

A gift from God himself

This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)

No day is the same when Jesus is your Lord. Life is not very monotonous when we are serving Jesus as we should. How's your 'attitude' toward your day? If you find it a bit 'prickly', stop for a moment, take a breath and consider that YOU are responsible for what you feel AND what you appreciate in your day. Look for the right stuff in your day and you are more likely to find it!

This day is a gift from God - choose to be blessed in it. Remember this: The devil will always try to make you 'like' him, his 'things', and his 'attitude' toward life. He attempts to destroy our joy, the unity we enjoy with each other, and the relationships we need. When we allow the devil to be in control of how we see the world around us, we will be robbed of so much. Focus on those with differing views from yours long enough and you will begin to 'conform' to their views or be miserable trying to defend your own!

We must be unified in our mission to be devoted followers of Jesus. With God's help, we can choose what matters most over what calls for our attention now. The devil is all about the 'now' - get it now, do it now, say it now. Become aware of what you want MOST and focus on that - not on the NOW he proffers as the answer to our every whim. Define what drives you. If it is what you can have NOW instead of what you need he MOST, you might just find your days are a bit more 'prickly' than you'd like.

Time is measured in minutes, but life is measured in moments. (Psalm 39:4-5) We must learn to make every moment count - not just the NOW. As we experience God together, we grow together. As we share the good, the bad, the beautiful and even the ugly of our days with each other, we learn from one another. Our lives are always best when we take in the 'moments' we have together. What might just make our day a little better is to stop counting the minutes in our day and start focusing on the moments that we share. Just sayin!

Small steps over time

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. 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. (Galatians 6:7-9)

Successful people 'do' consistently what others 'do' occasionally. It may come as a surprise to some, but we have to intentionally prioritize whatever it is we want to realize in our lives. Intentions don't always determine our end results, do they? We can have great intentions but miserable results. Consistent actions are what determines 'success', not just great intentions. We start by doing the smallest of 'right' things, then we add to those some slightly bigger 'right' things until we one day see change happening. It is what happens OVER TIME that reveals success or failure.

Three laws of reaping: 1) You reap what you sow; 2) You reap more than you sow; and 3) You reap only after you sow. We might have gotten a little ahead of ourselves if we didn't take the smaller steps, expecting a huge harvest, but not seeing much growth at all. Sow to the flesh and you shouldn't be surprised to reap a greater harvest of flesh. Fleshly seeds will reap more and more sin in our lives - not as a punishment, but simply as a 'natural harvest' of what was planted. If we don't like what we have been harvesting, it is time to change the seeds we are sowing!

God multiplies what we sow. When we do the small 'right' things, we see a harvest beyond the size of the 'seed' we have sown. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. If the seeds we have been sowing haven't produced a good harvest, it is time to change the seed and see what God will do with it! Remember this - our life is the sum total of the actions we take - good, bad, all of them. When we 'identify' with the wrong we have done, we might not see any other 'seed' as possible. When we allow God to change where our focus is and identify with the 'Christ-seed' that is within us, we might just begin to see a different harvest! Just sayin!

Running with purpose

All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified. (I Corinthians 9:25-27)

This walk with Jesus might intimidate some, but you don't need to be afraid to really 'get into it'. God never asked us to just 'show up' - he always asked for our best and our first. You and I may have been 'trying' to walk as we should for way too long - 'trying' but not really hitting the mark. Just doing our 'best' hasn't proven to be enough to get us to the goal line. We need to stop trying and really just put some effort into training!

Trying is where we start, but a 'trial period' doesn't produce consistent results, does it? We must invest in the 'training' that is required in order to grow up in Jesus. Half-hearted attempts may get us moving in the right direction, but they lack the commitment that will get us 'all the way' to the finish line. The difference between trying and training is simple - when only trying, we give up when we no longer feel the motivation! An athlete trains with intention and intensity. Emotions may tell us to quit, but the athlete, being committed to his training, will 'train on' even when the emotions are drained.

Fight for what truly matters. Training is for a purpose - to be all that God calls us to be. Our mindset must change from just trying to training for the long haul. When we train, we find we do some things today, but those 'things' actually are helping us develop what we will need for our training tomorrow. If you want to think of this in a spiritual sense, training is merely what scripture refers to as 'faithfulness'. An athlete sets goals and then takes the steps toward each goal. It isn't to run a marathon today - it is to run a block, then two, then a mile, until he is able to run the half-marathon. As he trains, he develops the strength and stamina for the race. 

Remember this - trying is something we do for the short term; training is what we do when we want to go all the way with Jesus. Training is actually helping you and I become more of what we already are - redeemed, whole, and living with a purpose in mind. Just sayin!

How do you 'identify'?

Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. (Romans 7:24-25)

It is hard to choose what we want most over what we want now, isn't it? The answer is in Jesus Christ - he has set us free. All determination or discipline in life begins with choosing how it is we 'identify'. If we identify as listening to our 'fleshly desires' just a bit too often, we are not likely to identify with our new nature in Christ Jesus as often as we should. Life isn't about behavior modification - it is about identity transformation. The power that is greater than our fleshly desires is resident within - we just need to begin to 'identify' with it more often!

We are not what we did. We are not the voice of discouragement that consistently condemns us, bringing us down. When we know who we are, we know what we need to do. We are more than a better version of ourselves. In fact, all things became new when we said 'yes' to Jesus. We are fully transformed, but do we live like we are? We belong to Jesus. He needs to become the source of our strength - the person with whom we identify most. The old man has passed away, the new one is beckoning to be set free!

We are no longer slave to our old desires. We can choose what we want most over what we want now. This is called discipline. When we walk by the Spirit who resides within, we will be less likely to give into the desires of our flesh. Our sinful nature will no longer be where we place our confidence or trust. The habitual action of faith - taking one right step after another - will bring 'disciplined transformation' within our lives. It is always a succession of steps in the right direction that brings about the 'spiritual habit' of right choices.

Those 'spiritual habits' are born out of our new identity in Christ Jesus. It might be hard to hear, but the greatest rewards in life are the ones that take the most time to develop. Where we 'come from' doesn't ever define who we are now. Remember, Christ's power within is greater than any struggle you have with your flesh. You might just need to 'identify' with your new 'identity' a little more! Just sayin!

Pretest Proficient?

Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward. 

(Vernon Law)

And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

Have you ever noticed that we learn best from repeated lessons? We learned our multiplication tables by repeating them one by one, over and over again. We learned to drive our roadways, park a car, and navigate on/off highways by obtaining a permit to drive, instruction in how to maneuver the vehicle, and then practicing over and over again. Lessons repeated are seldom forgotten. They become a part of our 'memory' and are easily put into practice.

Our teachers used to give us something called a 'pretest' to see how much you knew BEFORE they taught the lesson. If you actually proved to be proficient during the pretest, you could 'test out'. In other words, you didn't need the lesson! If God were to give us a pretest today on the thing he might want to teach us right now, would we be 'proficient' and able to 'test out'? It isn't likely! We need the benefit of the pretest that reveals just how much we still have to learn!

If God thought it important to have Moses instruct the Israelites to 'review' his commands over and over again, how is it we think we can hear them once and be proficient at actually 'living' those commands each and every day? The reality is that we need the repeated lessons, each with a slightly different scenario to them, one building upon the other until the 'lesson' is well-learned. A well-learned lesson is one that we are able to put into practice without much effort at all! Just sayin!

A small canvas

A great artist can paint a great picture on a small canvas. (Charles Dudley Warner)

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. (I Peter 4:10)

I cringe whenever I hear someone say that God couldn't use them or that their 'gifts' were too insignificant to 'count' in the scheme of things. God created each of us uniquely - some with a great big 'canvas', others with a 'small' canvas, but the thing he created is what makes the difference, not the size of the 'canvas'. We all have probably heard that good things come in small packages. I think God uses the canvas of our lives to paint a picture of his grace and love. We are a 'display' of both!

Use your spiritual gifts, regardless of how 'small' or 'insignificant' you may believe them to be. The beauty displayed in a life that has been redeemed by his grace doesn't find its significance in the 'quantity' of one's gifts, but in the quality of putting those gifts into use as he directs. Serve one another and do it well. You will be fulfilling your purpose when you do. 

God sees our talents as limitless. They may not be as 'public' as some are, but when we serve one another with the gifts and talents we have been given, we are allowing God to move through us to touch the lives of others around us. There is no greater 'canvas' than one that has been painted by God's hand. When you said 'yes' to Jesus, his finger strokes set forth a thing of beauty. All that grace touches is beautiful and is it useful!

Have you ever seen a mosaic? The artist has taken small objects and created a larger object out of all those small pieces. In much the same way, God takes the 'small canvas' of our lives, fits it together with various other 'small canvas' lives, in turn making a vast mosaic of his 'artwork'. The thing created when we are faithful to use the talent he has given us is 'huge' when all of us are faithful to display what he has done in each of our lives. Just sayin!

Action or Words?

It was Jean-Paul Sartre who reminded us, "Commitment is an act, not a word." God reminds us, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn, and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun." (Psalm 37:4-6) While we all want to say we are 'committed' to following Jesus with all our heart, we might just find ourselves with an occasional 'action' that reveals something totally different. 

Commit everything you do to the Lord. Does that mean that today's laundry and yardwork should be committed to him? It does indeed. God's desire is to be part of your everyday life, not just your Sunday morning life. He wants to be there, whispering little tidbits of truth in your ear while you fold the clothes, weed the garden, or wash the car. When we 'limit' God to Sunday mornings, our actions are sure to be somewhere 'below' the plan God has for our days.

Trust him and he will help you. There is much wisdom in trusting someone else with the stuff we cannot handle on our own. I take my car to the mechanic because anything other than minor maintenance of fluid levels is way out of my wheelhouse now that everything is so computerized. I bring an air conditioning maintenance man over to tune up the AC. I use an arborist to do a good trimming of my trees. Why? They have the expertise. When we allow God to handle the things in our lives that are out of our wheelhouse, we are going to see better outcomes!

Commitment involves trust - one cannot commit to someone or something they have no faith in, can they? We travel the highway because we know someone has laid out the path for us, allowing us to get from one destination to another. We purchase the roast at the meat counter, knowing the butcher knew exactly how to cut that roast from the entire cow. We have 'faith' in some of the simplest of things, but we struggle to allow God to take control of our daily, everyday lives. Maybe it is time to 'act out' our faith a bit and see just how trusting God to have control can make a difference beyond our imagining. Just sayin!

Do you know where you are going?

But he knows where I am going. And when he tests me, I will come out as pure as gold. For I have stayed on God’s paths; I have followed his ways and not turned aside. (Job 23:10-11)

There are times when we feel like our path is a bit more complicated than we'd like it to be. We find ourselves knee deep in some muddle or another, wishing things could be different very quickly, but they just don't seem to change all that fast. In the 'testing pathway', will we remain faithful to what we believe, while wrestling with everything we find 'contrary' to the way we hoped life would turn out? If we struggle just a bit with the test, we aren't alone. Most of us struggle to make sense of things at times, but when we still trust God in spite of the difficulties, we are going to make it through!

God knows where we are going, even when we don't. That is good news for someone today who is on some 'path' to who knows where, wondering if God has abandoned them. He hasn't! In fact, if you look closer, you will see he has not only not abandoned you, but he has been carrying you for the past while because you have grown so weary in your journey! The 'testing pathway' may not be finished, but he hasn't abandoned you to your own devices. In fact, he has been helping you to sort out the stuff you want to take away from the journey and the garbage you will leave behind.

Stay and follow - two very distinctive words that describe commitment. In the midst of the test, it isn't uncommon to want to escape. If you are anything like me, you look around at the circumstances and take inventory. You find yourself looking for the good in the moment but being quite certain that nothing good will ever come out of it. Then you see a glimmer of light, a bit of hope dawns, and you trudge on a little bit further. More light comes, maybe only a sliver, but it is light nonetheless. You move on and follow the leading of that light. That is how we make it through, my friends. One tiny step at a time. One little battle with our emotions that want us to just give up after another. 

We likely have no way of judging what will await us at the end of the 'testing pathway', but when we stay the course, following his lead all the way, we are sure to find what God has prepared. Something that resembles refined, pure gold. Just sayin!

That one desire

Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. (Psalm 73:25-26)

I am going to ask a tough question this morning. What do you desire most on this earth? Answer honestly, because anything short of true honesty is just foolishness. The more 'religious' of us would immediately answer, "Why, God of course", but we might not be living in a manner that shows that dedication and desire. The more 'honest' of us would reluctantly admit it should be God, but things and people get in the way of that dedication at times. 

Desire goes a long, long way in determining our actions, doesn't it? If we desire something sweet, even if we are on a diet, we will go all out to find a recipe that will allow the 'sweet tooth' to be satisfied, don't we? The craving or desire demands satisfaction. If our craving or desire is for earthly things, that is what we will pursue. If it is for God's presence and grace to be evident in our lives, we will desire to move heaven and earth to see that fulfilled!

We have an 'advocate' who will come to our aid in 'moving heaven and earth' in order for that desire to be fulfilled. God always honors the desire to know him more, learn of his ways, and expand our focus from ourselves to others around us who are hurting and in need of his grace. All we 'pursue' on this earth will pale once we see what he has in store for us. The world has a way of wearing us down, but God's grace has a way of strengthening our mind, will, and emotions.

Our emotional health is frequently tied to that which we pursue the most frequently. If we fill our minds with 'mindless' activity, our minds will be open to just about anything because they are in 'passive mode' most of the time. If we pursue God's truth, not haphazardly or on occasion, but with a tenacity that shows we desire fulfillment, we will find him! Just sayin!

Hold strong

The Lord approves of those who are good, but he condemns those who plan wickedness. Wickedness never brings stability, but the godly have deep roots. (Proverbs 12:2-3)

Some may think wickedness can be overlooked, but as quickly as a wicked person's plans are set in motion, the godly put down even deeper roots! The only way to withstand wickedness is by being deeply rooted in Christ. Roots solidly planted in God's protective soil will be 'hold strong', 'find anchorage', and 'be able to bring nourishment' to the soul.

Wicked people rise up quickly, but their influence soon wanes as people begin to get a whiff of their vile plans. Search for evil, and it will find you! (Proverbs 11:27) The godly seek good, finding it in God's favor. Teh evil find no favor, therefore their influence will eventually begin to turn. They may think they have the favor of their 'public', but that favor is soon lost when the vileness of their actions begins to become evident.

Wickedness has a way of creating its own INSTABILITY. Perhaps that is one way we can always identify wicked plans - they promise great things, but lack the substance to deliver on those promises or plans. It is all smoke and mirrors for the wicked - cunning deception attempting to sway the hearts and minds of those around them.

As Proverbs 13 reminds us, "Trouble chases sinners" (vs. 21). The godly are actually chased by God's blessings. There is no evil plan great enough to interfere with God's blessings in the lives of the godly. Try as they might, the plans of the wicked will only lead to trouble. For them and those who follow them, their influence will soon wane, leaving only death and destruction in their wake. Just sayin!

You go first!

Anyone who rebukes a mocker will get an insult in return. Anyone who corrects the wicked will get hurt. So don’t bother correcting mockers; they will only hate you. But correct the wise, and they will love you. (Proverbs 9:7-9)

Men have many responses to rebuke, don't they? Some will scoff and say you are wrong about them. Others will argue vehemently that you have made wrong decisions yourself, so how could you possibly judge their actions as wrong. Still some will find any rebuke as belittling, cowering as a child scorned, afraid of what others will think should they find out what they have 'done wrong'. When a child of God is rebuked, it is a definite sign they are loved too much to be allowed to continue in their folly. 

We may not judge one another - it isn't our place to act as 'judge', but God does ask us to look out for the welfare of one another. We aren't just to turn a blind eye to another's wrong actions. As much as is possible, we must gently guide them back toward making wise choices. Does that mean we criticize or condemn their actions? Absolutely not! It simply means we recognize their actions as contrary to God's commands and LOVINGLY seek to see them restored.

You teach the wise, not the foolish. You bring insight to the righteous because you know they will embrace it and learn from it. When we look out for one another, we might see certain actions that are 'red flags' the other one may not easily see themselves. We find ways to point them in the right direction, away from those red flags, so they can be safe, secure, and at peace within their hearts.

A word to the wise, though. Don't correct others for actions you have been engaging in yourself. That is hypocritical. Take care of you own sin first. The, as God leads, become an example of his grace and wisdom to those who may also struggle with making right choices similar to the ones you are now making. We won't be able to help another learn until we have learned our own lesson first. Just sayin!

The message or the messenger?

Listen as Wisdom calls out! Hear as understanding raises her voice! “I call to you, to all of you! I raise my voice to all people. You simple people, use good judgment. You foolish people, show some understanding. Listen to me! For I have important things to tell you. Everything I say is right, for I speak the truth and detest every kind of deception. My advice is wholesome. There is nothing devious or crooked in it. My words are plain to anyone with understanding, clear to those with knowledge. (Proverbs 8:1, 4-9)

Listen. Hear. Two very distinct commands, but two very interwoven actions. One must listen to hear, but one may not learn until they have truly heard. We might think God's Word is hard to truly understand, but he is calling out to us from its pages, willing us to just listen and learn of his goodness, grace, and love. Understanding is gained from time spent listening and allowing our hearts to truly 'hear' his instruction. The wise will listen with the intention of hearing. The fool will have listened but will not truly hear what is being spoken.

God's words are plain to anyone with understanding and clear to those who 'want to' learn. It is the 'want to' that we struggle with so many times, isn't it? When we lack the 'want to', we often lack the hearing part of this instruction. What has God been saying to us? What have we refused to truly 'listen to' so as to really 'hear'? We might just find it is the 'repeated stuff' that is what we have refused to listen to! Those are the lessons we most need to learn but have 'shut off' our hearing toward them. We will often start learning again once we acknowledge we stopped listening a long way back!

The words we hear today may seem a little bit overwhelming. If God could use a donkey to speak to a man, what makes us think he wouldn't use an unbeliever, or a prideful man to speak to us these days? God can use anyone to teach a lesson - even the prideful man who doesn't have faith in God. God can bring a message through any messenger - we need to be open to hearing, though. Even the worst message carries a lesson - we just have to listen and learn. The lesson we learn may be to do the exact opposite of what the message says for us to do. Even what some label as a 'negative message' can carry a great lesson for those who want God's understanding and take the time to get it! Just sayin!

Ponder this...

How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them. Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. (Psalm 111:2-3)

The instruction given is to PONDER God's deeds. Whenever we choose to ponder God's work around us, within us, and even through us, we are actually taking notice of his glory and majesty. The deeds of the Lord are so vast that even if we were to take an entire day just 'pondering' him and his work around us, we still couldn't stop 'pondering' because we couldn't account for all of them.

Pondering is when we are exercising careful thought. It isn't just a casual 'moment' - it is purposeful, requiring all our attention. It is often what we don't do before making decisions so many times, but what would have served us well if we had! If we take the time to ponder God's direction first, we might make wiser choices from the get-go. It is often the times of considering how Christ acted, what he did while on this earth, how he treated others, and who he sought direction from that reveals to us the direction God would have us to take.

God-directed lives have adopted this concept of 'pondering' as a means of getting to know God better, but also as a way of sensing his direction for their lives. The very next verse in this passage asks, "who can forget the wonders he performs" because when we actually take the time to 'notice' God's actions on our behalf, we might just find a few of those 'wonders' in our own lives right this very moment. 

The Lord has been so very gracious and kind toward each of us. From giving us the time and space to come to know him, seeking his forgiveness, and asking him into our lives, to the discovery of every tidbit of truth he wants to make alive within us, he is gracious. He is at work - where he works, wonderful things are produced. Just sayin!

The night hours

I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me. You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever. (Psalm 16:7,11)

We can never underestimate the peace our hearts experience when we listen to and follow God's instructions. God's guidance isn't always "consciously sought", for there are times when he just comes to us within the stillness or peacefulness of our night's sleep. We may not even realize he has spoken to us, giving us that much needed direction, until we awaken and feel what he has done.

As David says, "You are my Master! All the good things I have come from you." (vs. 2) When we refuse to make ourselves comfortable with the pursuit of this world's treasures, aspirations, or alluring temptations, we might just find we hear God's voice just a little clearer. What does it mean to "be at peace"? I believe it means we aren't swayed easily, like a reed that bends with each wind that comes along. We await God's wisdom and actively seek his direction. 

Why do we so often hear from God at night? Maybe it is because we are finally quiet and alone with our thoughts. It is as though he takes all the muddle of the day and sorts it out for us so we can see it clearly. The things that caused us so much worry all day seem to become less troubling as he settles out spirit, engages our senses, and refreshes our soul.

You will show me the way of life - perhaps all we can ask for is to come to know him well. Maybe we need life's entanglements and frustrations to be worked out, or it could be that we find ourselves with doubt and fear because we don't know what to do next. No matter the cause of our 'need' for his wisdom and peace, he remains the only way we will find it. Know this: God's voice may seem the clearest in the night hour because all the other voices demanding our attention aren't. Just sayin!

Toying with Temptation

Do you 'toy with' temptation? If you act carelessly when it comes to the things that tempt you, kind of ignoring them, and then find yourself 'playing with' the thing that is tempting you, you are probably not resisting temptation very well. It is meant to be resisted, not ignored or toyed with at all. 

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. (I Corinthians 10:13)

Temptation comes in all forms. It can be something from 'without' such as cookies in the cookie jar 'calling' for you to eat them when you are trying to watch your weight. It can be from 'another' such as when a coworker wants to share some juicy gossip over lunch about your boss. It could even be from 'within' such as when you are feeling down on yourself and overspend on the online store.

Simply defined, temptation is the desire to do something, especially when it is unwise or just plain wrong. Sometimes we try to 'put lipstick on the pig' and tell ourselves the thing we are considering isn't 'all that bad' because you need to be happy once in a while. It doesn't matter the 'shade of lipstick' you try to use to dress up that pig we call sin; it is still sin!

Whenever we toy with temptation, we are allowing it to toy with us. If you are like so many others, there is a point of 'no return' when the temptation overtakes all manner of reason or will-power one may exhibit at other times. This is why God tells us to resist the devil, and he will flee the scene. (James 4:7) We aren't to entertain his wiles, nor are we to consider what he says as trustworthy. We are to resist - not in our own power, but in the power Christ gives when we call upon him for his help.

The more we 'toy with' temptation, forgoing the instruction to allow him to show us a way out of temptation's path, the more we will give into the wiles of our enemy. Just sayin!

Fallowing the Soil

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.’ (Hosea 10:12)

Plant the good seeds of righteousness - harvest a crop of love. Back in the day, there was a song whose lyrics purported, "What the world needs now is love, sweet love...", and that may not have been bad advice back then or right now! The world needs to experience the love of Christ - through us. We take an 'active' role in not only accepting the 'good seeds of righteousness' into our lives, but in sharing (sowing) those seeds into the lives of others.

One of the things we need to do within our own lives is allow God's 'plow' to be applied to the 'soil' of our hearts. Fallow ground is hard. It has been left 'untilled' and 'unplanted' for quite some time. Farmers actually allow entire fields to go 'fallow' for a period of time because it helps to restore the nutrients to the soil that the crops can strip out. It is purposefully left to rest and regenerate. We all need the seasons of rest and regeneration, but if we remain 'at rest' for way too long, the soil of our heart becomes hard and sometimes quite impenetrable.

When ground is allowed to 'fallow', the potassium and phosphorus that is deep beneath the surface begins to gradually rise to the surface once again. When we engage in times of rest and regeneration, something from deep within begins to surface again - the very thing that will bring health and vitality. The commission is to 'plow up' the hard soil of our hearts - it has been allowed to fallow long enough. Now is the time to seek the Lord - so his work can be done in this earth.

Some have rested on their laurels, no longer putting forth any effort to grow in Christ, much less reach a lost world for him. Perhaps it is time for the 'plowing' of that soil, my friends. We aren't going to produce anything of value for the Kingdom of God without putting forth the effort to know him better, grow in the knowledge of his Word, and being in service to him. Just sayin!

The treasury of the heart

“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart." (Luke 6:43-45)

In case you were wondering, figs are not grown on bramble bushes. The fruit we produce is equal to the 'tree' that produces it. Character is a result of what we 'connect' our lives to on an ongoing basis. The fig cannot connect with the bramble bush any more than the thorns of the bramble bush can be produced from the fig tree. The connection wouldn't be consistent with what is being produced. The fruit born actually is a direct reflection of the tree - the nature of the tree produces the fruit. When our 'fruit' is a little bitter, kind of 'pricking' in nature, and lacking in nourishment, we should evaluate where we have made 'connection' in our spirit.

The treasure of a good heart cannot be undervalued. Whatever it is we hide away in our heart, 'bramble bush' or 'luscious fruit', is going to be evident in the 'fruit' of our actions. Our hearts can either connect to the goodness and grace of Jesus, allowing good to flow forth, or they can connect with the values and attitudes of this world, allowing brambles and thorns to be produced. Brambles and thorns hurt others, keeping them away, and discouraging real connection. In other words, they act as a barrier to us having and maintaining close interpersonal relationships with others.

A good tree cannot produce bad fruit. The evidence of 'fruit' doesn't always indicate a 'good connection', does it? I live in an area where citrus is grown pretty easily, but we have these trees that look exactly like an orange tree, even producing large, round orange citrus. The only thing about those trees is that the fruit produced is bitter and isn't good for much. The tree 'looks' good, but the fruit betrays its true nature. In much the same way, we might 'look' like we are connected to Jesus, but the 'fruit' of our lives betrays the true nature of our heart's connection. Not everyone who calls themselves a Christian is connected to Jesus. Just sayin!

Consistently, or most of the time?

The fruit of the [consistently] righteous is a tree of life, and he who is wise captures and wins souls [for God—he gathers them for eternity]. (Proverbs 11:30)

The fruit of the 'consistently' righteous - those who make the choice to live 'right', following the directions God gives over their lives. The idea of consistency might just vary a little bit depending on who you ask. To the one who is 'always' on the mark, they will define it as never missing the mark. To the one who occasionally misses the mark, they might define it as making good decisions the majority of the time with a 'once in a while' slip up. I will not debate this with anyone - when God asks for consistency, he means with no or very few exceptions. He forgives those exceptions when we ask for his forgiveness, repent, and actually turn back to him. He would much more prefer that the seeds he sows into our lives would produce 'consistent' growth, but he knows that even the most 'righteous' among us misses the mark on occasion!

When we choose to pursue righteousness, we are not only doing so for ourselves, but for all those around us who 'witness' how it is we choose to live out our daily 'Christianity'. I put that in quotes because so many claim to be Christian, but their life choices certainly don't add up to 'right-living'. Pursue righteousness and you might just be labeled as 'weird', 'out there', 'a holy roller', or even 'a goody two shoes'. I think I have been referred to in all these ways and that is fine by me. Do I 'hit the mark' all of the time? Certainly not! I do want to live in a way that honors the sacrifice Jesus gave so willingly for me. I don't always demonstrate wisdom in my choice of words, actions, or even thoughts, but I know that God's plan is for me to lean into him, be as consistent in my walk as possible, and then trust him to bring about the changes within me that will help me to make wise choices more and more.

Just in case you haven't thought about it in a while, your choice to 'live right' actually is a means of 'evangelizing' the world. Your actions are making an impact on a life right now. Choose to live consistently by asking God to help you make 'right choices'. Then lean into him to help you choose wisely. Don't just ask for his help and then go around doing your own thing. The proof of who we live for is really observed best in the fruit that is produced. Just sayin!

Spreaders of seed

Although the life of a person is in a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God. (Pope Francis)

For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will most certainly cause righteousness and justice and praise to spring up before all the nations through the power of His word. (Isaiah 61:11)

I enjoy getting away into the remote regions of our country once in a while. It is a way to just admire what God has created. I can sit for hours watching tiny ants build their colony, birds gather twigs and leaves for their nests, and birds soaring high above on currents of wind. Nature has a way of conveying things about God that can capture an open heart, bringing awe and gratitude for his restorative processes all around us. The leaves fall, but they provide shelter and nourishment even in dying. The clouds scatter across the once blue skies, some filled with hopes of soon coming rains. The seeds fall, becoming nourishment for creatures of all kinds, allowing them to be scattered into places they would not reach otherwise. God has a way of not only renewing this earth, but of restoring it - just like he can do for each of us.

We 'participate' in spreading the hope of his restoration just as the birds and tiniest of creatures do on this earth. We ALL play a part in spreading 'seeds' of grace, hope, trust, and love. In so doing, we are encouraging others to find the hope we have found in God's restorative power. Perhaps one of the greatest 'gifts' we give this earth is the spreading of God's word by living out what his word tells us to do. As we allow his word to transform our lives, we are inevitably becoming 'spreaders of seed'. Seed that will 'spring up' in ways that transforms the lives of others around us. Seeds planted deep within our soul have the potential to bring renewal and restoration when they are not hoarded but allowed to be spread throughout this hurting world. Just sayin!

Closed or Open?

As we have been studying 'seeds' throughout scripture, we cannot neglect the parable of the sower and the seeds. The seed in this parable is clearly defined by Jesus as the Word of God. The importance of receiving and nurturing the seed is emphasized, but also the condition of the 'soil' or heart of the one who receives the 'seed'. 

This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest. (Luke 8:11-15)

Receptiveness is a key component in determining if the seed sown will actually come to fruition. A closed heart indicates a closed mind. The more we close ourselves off from receiving God's Word (in all its truth), the more we will squelch growth, being open to all manner of deception. An open heart embraces God's word, not always easily, but willingly.

The more we are 'in' God's word, the more we are likely to be challenged to 'correct' or 'embrace' something. Perhaps this is why so many don't take the time to discover what is within his word - they don't want to change, and they fear what they might be asked to embrace. Our enemy, the devil, works overtime to keep us out of God's word and if he cannot do that, he works overtime to steal away any hope of transformation we may have after reading it.

When we embrace God's word, we are welcoming change. That may frighten some, but truth cannot abide untruth, so God will 'weed out' any lies of the devil we have embraced, replacing them with his truth. Unyielding, unprepared soil might just require a bit more 'tilling' than we'd like. When God sets his sights on the soil of our hearts, what will he find? Just askin...

Active participant?

Growth is a process that cannot be rushed, nor can it be neglected. We manage to do both, don't we? We want growth to be instant. We overlook the 'maintenance' of that growth, wondering why things seem to be 'going south' as it applies to our spiritual health. Seed might sprout where it is planted, but make no mistake about it, growth requires attentiveness.

The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. (Mark 4:26-27)

God is at work even when we don't see him working. We might not comprehend what he is doing, nor are we always 'attentive' to his work within, but when God plants a seed, he sends the Holy Spirit to tend its growth. We don't have to understand the growth process as much as we need to participate in it as it is occurring. Seed gets sown, but growth comes in its own time. We cannot rush it, although we can anticipate it. There is something transformative when we know God goes to work 'sowing' seed into our lives. We actually begin to look for evidence of what is about to come forth, don't we? Sometimes God asks very little in the way of our 'effort' when it comes to that growth, while he may ask for extreme attentiveness at others.

Just as seed in our garden requires little attention when sown into prepared soil, our prepared hearts may not seem to need much 'tending' until we begin to see the tiniest of growth emerging. That is where we find ourselves 'watching over' with extreme attentiveness the tiny seed of faith that is emerging. Why? Just as in our garden, if we want full development of that 'seed faith', the emerging 'plant' must be protected, nurtured, and encouraged to grow. We might not realize the importance of taking in his word on a very consistent basis, nor do we always understand the power unlocked when we worship and pray, but it is our part in seeing the 'seed' through to 'full growth' and fruit-bearing. We don't have to understand the 'growth process', but we do need to ACTIVELY participate in it. Just sayin!

Seeds of peace

But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:17-18)

Plant seeds of peace - reap righteousness. Heaven certainly knows the difficulties we face on this earth all because seeds of peace are not sown as often as those of discord! Relationships are just hard work. Living within communities of any sort can be challenging, to say the least, but it is the way we live on this earth - all mixed up together, with all our hurts and hangups, muddled up in one big mess. I have come to realize we are responsible to create the environment of peace that we so desperately desire. It might be a bit of a challenge to 'sow peace', but we are called to continually work at creating harmony within relationships because it reflects God's love to those we live in community with.

Promoting peace isn't all that simple, though. There are all kinds of 'personalities' and 'temperaments' we deal with on a daily basis. Some are quite deliberately involved in our lives and others we might have a more passive involvement with throughout the day. Notice that we are not told to be peacekeepers, but rather to be peacemakers. In other words, we bring Jesus into the room when we enter and hopefully leave just a little bit of him when we leave. Righteousness is just a fancy word for 'right-living'. Seeds of peace actually can lead to some pretty big changes in the way we interact with others and how they interact with us.

How hard is it to show no favoritism, especially when we interact with someone we really don't agree with versus someone we are close to, admire, and even 'like'? We want to 'side with' the one we 'like' and kind of move away from the one we find it hard to interact with, don't we? Jesus never gave us permission to avoid hard relationships. He just gave us the commission to plant seeds of peace. I won't sugar coat it - this one will be hard. The 'harvest' only changes when the 'seed' that is planted changes. Just sayin!

Harvest made possible by...

For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. (2 Corinthians 9:10)

As we have been exploring 'seeds' throughout the past several days, let us not forget what God says about the provider of the seed - it comes from him, all of it, no exceptions. The farmer sows the seed, but he didn't create what he sows. The provision God makes in our lives each and every day should never be taken lightly. He is the one who provides all the 'resources' we need - physical, spiritual, relational. We only need to receive what he provides, then put it into good use.

It is a hard thing to trust God sometimes, especially when we don't see the immediate 'provision' of whatever it is we need, isn't it? We get a little too focused on the need for the 'seed' and forget that much preparation must go into the soil before it is ever ready to receive the 'provision'. As soon as we receive the seed, we are to sow it into the prepared soil. We are to sow it not so much for our benefit, but for the benefit of others, allowing what God has provided so richly for us to become a blessing to others, as well.

Invest the seed God provides wisely and it is sure to return ten, twenty, or even a hundred-fold. Kindness might not seem like a popular seed being sown at times, but when we sow seeds of kindness into the lives of others, it impacts the world in a huge way. How? Because God promises over and over again to increase the harvest! A tiny seed of kindness can provide a huge harvest when God is overseeing the development of that seed and the harvest that is about to come. Be generous in your acts of kindness and see what God can do when we are faithful to sow the seeds he gives.

No matter how small the seed, the harvest can be plentiful when God is the one who is doing the multiplication! Just sayin!

A seed alone

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels—a plentiful harvest of new lives. Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity. Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And the Father will honor anyone who serves me. (John 12:24-26)

A kernel of wheat is planted and dies. That doesn't actually present a picture of a bountiful harvest, does it? Or maybe it does, because in dying, the seed actually brings forth an abundance of wheat. We might interpret this passage as a 'dud' seed being planted that really doesn't do what it is supposed to do, but Jesus makes it clear that in dying, the seed actually becomes 'fruitful'. There is much to be said about sacrificially laying down one's life for the betterment of another, but there was no greater 'fruitful' action than that of Jesus' death. Something we might not think about too often is just how willing we might be to actually let go of what we desire in order to see a greater purpose fulfilled through our lives.

Whenever we surrender our 'old selves' to the work of Christ within us, we are actually allowing 'old seed' to die off and new seed to take its place. We are embracing change when we embrace his 'seed' of new life. Death doesn't have to be an end; it can be a new beginning. As his life is embraced, our old ways of thinking and acting begin to change - the new beginning. Jesus spoke of service right along with this new seed being planted. The fruitfulness within our lives is frequently best seen when we are in service to others. You see, Christ wasn't afraid to call out his disciples, pointing out that if they wanted to truly follow him, they would be willing to lay down this world's agenda and take up his.

Something we might miss in this passage is the fact that one seed can 'remain alone'. It is a choice to surrender to the process of growth and fruitfulness. We can choose to remain inwardly focused, always attending to our own needs and desires, or we can look outward, observing the needs of those around us, and lay down our selfish passion to focus on self alone. When we do, we begin to see the fruit of his work within us ministering to the needs of others, bringing hope, joy, compassion, and love where it is most desperately needed. Just sayin!

Impossible, meet your better

“I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.” (Matthew 17:20)

Have you ever tried to move a mountain? I have moved sheds, piles of gravel, stones, and the like, but never a mountain! I have moved wheelbarrows full of dirt, filling flower beds and the like, but never the entire mountain - not even a hill! There is something here Jesus wants us to understand: Faith isn't measured as we measure things. It is measured in the hands of God because only he sees the full potential in that small seed of faith.

What insurmountable thing or looming challenge do you have over your head right now? Are you trusting God with it? Have you given him the 'little faith' you have, trusting him to show you the full potential wrapped up in that 'tiny seed' of faith you bring to him? Trusting God with what we don't understand or have the ability to face alone isn't foolishness - it is the wisest and most 'sane' thing an individual can do!

Faith must be cultivated, but have we stopped to consider it could just be the insurmountable or most challenging things that cause that 'tiny seed' to produce the biggest growth? The 'size' of our faith doesn't determine the 'potential' of our faith. That can be a hard one to swallow sometimes because we imagine ourselves too weak or overwhelmed to face the challenge. The truth is, we probably are, but we don't face that challenge in with our own potential - we face it with HIS!

Remember - it isn't about the 'size' of our faith. Great or small, it is all the same to God. It is about the OBJECT of our faith. If we have faith in only what we can see, understand, or do on our own, we will surely be overwhelmed by the issue at hand. If we have faith in HIM, we are unleashing a power that cannot be contained, limited, or resisted. Just sayin!

A transformative process in the works

When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. (I Corinthians 15:36-38)

A seed must undergo a transformation before it ever can bear fruit. It goes into the ground, but it is still not a plant capable of fruit-bearing. Until the transformation occurs that reveals roots, stem, branches, and eventually buds occur there is no real 'hope' for fruit. The seed is merely a promise of what is about to come, but if you are anything like me, your garden seeds don't always seem to sprout, much less produce! The seed 'exists' - under the soil. It just never sprouted. There is probably a whole lot of seed in our lives that 'exists' but never sprouts. We might not realize how much seed is actually 'wasted' just beneath the surface until the soil of our heart is dug up, turning over the seed. Once the seed has been planted, the promise is for a new beginning, but both the soil and the seed must work in unison toward that new beginning!

There is a hope that lies deep within our hearts - the hope of what we might call 'spiritual growth'. We count on the seed God plants within our hearts to go through a transformation, in turn transforming us. Whenever we take in God's word, we are likely having tiny seeds of faith planted. In time, those seeds begin to transform, as does our inner character. The change begins the moment the seed is placed - the evidence of the change may take a bit longer, though! Whenever we embrace the seed of God's word, we are welcoming transformation, but is the transformation process always comfortable? No! Not at all. There is a whole lot of 'work' going on within our hearts that will eventually bring about evidence of growth and hope of fruit, so we 'endure' the work that is taking place 'beneath the surface'.

God actually gives the 'seed' all it needs for growth. What looks like a 'bare seed' might not reveal the full potential of the seed at first, but as God gives it all it needs to grow, the 'new body' of that seed brings evidence of the fullness of what it will produce. Just sayin!

A little acid might just do the trick

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. 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. (Galatians 6:7-8)

We've discussed many times how actions have consequences. We reap one seed and expect some other harvest to come from it. That's just plain silly - a seed is meant to reproduce, but of its 'own kind'. For this very reason, we need to be mindful of the seed we sow. Soil matters, too, for bad soil with good seed is just 'wasted seed'. Good soil and good seed have the potential to produce a 'bumper crop', especially when both are in the hands of God. There are some 'practices' we engage in over and over again that consistently produce good harvests. Things like taking time in his word, worshipping him, and sharing life with others in the faith are never wasted 'seed'. They also serve to keep the 'soil' of our hearts in tip-top condition.

It is never 'fruitless' to engage in activities that help us to grow or that create an environment that actually assists others to grow. We cannot overestimate the value of what we could label as 'spiritual actions' that God commands us to take. In other words, when God says something, we are to act upon it because those actions either prepare the soil or they are the seed that will produce much fruit within our lives. The more we resist these 'actions', the poorer the condition of our heart's soil will become. I live in Arizona and the caliche soil here makes it very difficult to plant fruit-bearing plants or trees. The soil has to go through a lot of 'amendment' or 'conditioning' before it is ready for the plant. In much the same way, the soil of our heart needs 'amending' or 'conditioning' in order to receive the seed.

The 'calcium carbonate' in our soil here actually a good thing in small quantities. It is the effect it has on the silt, sand, gravel and clay in our soil that isn't all that good. It actually works to 'bind' all those together, making the soil rather 'solid' and impenetrable. We have to acidify the soil, add things like mulch, and then work to break it up in order to plant things. Sometimes there is a little 'acid' needed in order to break up the hardness of our heart's soil. Don't be surprised when God goes after 'solidified' areas of your heart - he is doing it because the seed stands no chance until he does! Just sayin...

Small beginnings

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants; it grows into a tree, and birds come and make nests in its branches.” (Matthew 13:31-32)

If you have ever considered the size of a mustard seed, you will likely have noted it is only 1-2 millimeters in diameter. While it is a small seed, the 'tree' produced (or actually a type of shrub) is about 20 feet across and just about as tall! From such a small seed come what some may say is 'remarkable growth'. The leaves start out as very green, then 'morph' into a yellow tone as they age. The ability to not only see physical growth in the height and width of the tree, but to also observe the 'maturity' of the tree by the color of its leaves is kind of neat. One suggests a good connection, while the other suggests a continued connection that allows growth to develop into maturity - something Christ wants for each of us!

While we might focus on the seed and all the wonderful things this seed can do, we cannot neglect the succulent leaves and stems, as they have a beautiful yellow-green flower that is produced with rather long tendrils (some about 12 inches long). The flowers develop into small pink or scarlet berries, which are translucent. The tree actually grows best in dry, rather arid conditions since they are prone to 'mold' if things are too wet for them. While we all dream of the lush green valleys, with lots of coolness and comfort, could it be that we might just thrive the best in the dry and arid conditions of our soul, when life seems to be less evident in others?

While the older, more mature trees don't take all that much maintenance, they do require a whole lot of attention in the earlier stages of their growth (much like us). The early maintenance is not only important to ensure the seed sprouts, but that good root penetration takes place once the seedling is planted. The eventual growth that comes from the proper root penetration not only ensures 'good anchorage' of the plant, but sufficient resources for its continued growth. As the branches begin to form, the tree takes form. Birds nest in the branches - a place of safety and refuge. As Christ's character grows within each of us, our greatest hope is that our lives become a place of safety and refuge for others who need hope and a community in which to 'take root' themselves. Just sayin!