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!

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment if this message has spoken to your heart.

Popular posts from this blog

Sentimental gush

-
9-11  So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:9-11 MSG) Sentimental gush - that is what I kind of feel when I watch some of those sappy "and they lived happily after" love stories. Yes, I believe people can "be in love" and that "love will find a way" and all those other cliches about love. Don't think I am down on a solidly committed and growing relationship - it is just that our world often portrays love in ways that are totally gushy and then doesn't show the very 'hard' side of that loving being vital and vibrant...
Read more

At the right time

-
Greetings from Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I was sent to help God’s chosen people have faith and understand the truth that produces a life of devotion to God. This faith and knowledge make us sure that we have eternal life. God promised that life to us before time began—and God does not lie. At the right time, God let the world know about that life. He did this through the telling of the Good News message, and he trusted me with that work. I told people that message because God our Savior commanded me to. (Titus 1:1-3) Sent to help God's chosen to have faith and understand the truth that produces a life of devotion to God. Maybe that mission is one we can carry on each day as we go about our business of 'living life together'. We may not have been called to form the New Testament churches like Paul was, but we have been called to help others grow in their faith and to come into a deeper understanding of God's truths. Why? God wants a people w...
Read more

Hmmm...seeing things differently now?

-
Create in me a clean heart, O God; restore within me a sense of being brand new. (Psalm 51:10) Einstein said, "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."  He was so true in this perception!  The problems we create will never be overcome or changed until we change the way we have been thinking about them!  To change our thought process we often need to change what we are focusing on so often or intensely. If we always see the problem, we will never see the solution standing just beyond it! If all we see is the river in front of us, raging out of control and making it hard to pass over to the other side, we will likely not see the bridge being lowered from the other side! Restoration is a process of not only being "clean" of the sin in our lives, but of being able to look beyond the sin.  We can ask for forgiveness when we have done something we are not happy we have done, but if all we keep thinking about is that thing we asked...
Read more