Seed to the sower

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Challenge, Potential

                                                   … and bread to eat!

      Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food,
      2 Cor 9 10

Why does God give seed to the sower?
Because God can trust the sower to put the seed to work,
… not just for himself but for the benefit of others.
On the other hand however,
… the eater sees no potential in the seed,
… except for feeding himself,
and will therefore only use the seed for his own benefit.

      The reality of life, and of benefitting from life,
      … is summed up for us by God in Gen. 8 22

      While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest,
      Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night shall not cease.

      Unless you put something in,
      … there will be no fruit, no harvest,
      … and certainly no possibility of increase.

But what about the bread, who is that for?

      The bread is also for the sower!
      God knows that from planting to harvesting takes time,
      … and because God can trust the sower with the seed,
      … that he will not eat the seed,
      The sower therefore can also trust God to look after him,
      … whilst he waits for the harvest!

      Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food,
      supply and multiply the seed you have sown,
      and increase the fruits of your righteousness,
      2 Cor 9 10

What are you doing with what you have,
… so that God can increase what is in your hands?
 

Succeeding by …

Posted on jan2 CommentsPosted in Commitment, Responsibility

                                     … renewing your mind!

As with everything in life, if you are going to succeed,
… you need to have a clear goal.

      And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed
      by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove
      what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
      Romans 12 2

No, the goal is NOT renewing your mind,
… that is the path.
Living that good and acceptable and perfect will of God,
… that is the goal.
And to reach that goal depends on the decisions you make.

      What happens in your life is determined by your decisions,
      … and that is what the renewing of the mind is all about.
      What you think and what you decide.

Having set the goal, to live God’s perfect will,
the way there is obvious …
… find out exactly what His will is, through His Word,
… which will give you a clear vision.

So how do you renew your mind?

      bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
      2 Corinthians 10 5

We are thinking ALL the time,
… which means we are making decisions all the time.
Since the devil’s playground is the mind,
… it is imperative that we
… compare every thought with what God says about it.
And in that way,
… as we continue to decide on every thought according to God’s will,
… our minds are being renewed to His way of thinking,
and our lives are being transformed into His perfect will.
 

Why God…

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Love, Potential

                                                       because He loves us!

God, who is Love, wants to express His love for us,
… and do in our lives what only He can do.
However, He will not do anything in our lives,
… unless we take the first step.
Jesus said to us…

      But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,
      and all these things shall be added to you.
      Matthew 6 33

Seeking God Himself and His ways,
… is what puts us in the place where His life becomes our life,

      for in Him we live and move and have our being,
      Acts 17 28

It is what opens the door for God to do things in our lives,
… where

      His divine power has given to us all things that pertain
      to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us…
      2 Peter 1 3

It is there that His love for us can manifest in our lives,
… and where His love can become alive in us

      And we have known and believed the love that God has for us.
      God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God,
      and God in him.
      1 John 4 16

Where God can express His love for us,
… in us and through us,
because we are where Love is.
 

Have FAITH

Posted on jan1 CommentPosted in Faith, Promises

                                                             … in GOD!

What does it mean to have faith in God?
It does not only mean that you believe there is a God,
… but that you believe that God is Who He says He is,
… that God also can do what He says,
and that He does do what He says.

      for he who comes to God must believe that He is,
      and that He is a rewarder
      of those who diligently seek Him.
      Hebrews 11 6

Now you may say …
‘I believe I receive, but nothing is happening!’

      Having faith in God is not about what you believe,
      … but it is about WHO you believe,
      and believing that He is a rewarder
      … of those who put their trust in Him!

The psalmist put it this way…

      You will show me the path of life;
      In Your presence is fullness of joy;
      at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
      Psalms 16 11

For it is in His presence
… that His fullness is,
and
… where what He has for you will manifest!
 

What matters is…

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Potential, Relationship

                                                     … what you say!

Jesus once asked His disciples who the people say He is,
… not because He did not know,
but because He wanted them to answer His next question …

      He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’
      Mark 8 29

Jesus wanted His disciples to understand,
… it is not what others say about Him,
… or about anything else,
but that what matters is what they say.

What others say is merely an opinion, their opinion,
but what you say about something or about someone,
… is what is real to you.
In other words, what you call Jesus,
… is what He can be in your life.
What someone else calls Jesus or anything else,
… is simply information,
but what I call Him is what is real to me.

      Peter answered and said to Him, ‘You are the Christ.’
      Mark 8 29

That is what was real to Peter, never mind what anyone else said.
And it is exactly for this reason that Jesus continued…

      Then He strictly warned them that they should tell no one about Him.
      Mark 8 30

We need to decide for ourselves, who Jesus is in our lives,
as Paul had to do on the way to Damascus …

      And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’

      Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’
      Proverbs 11 30

Paul was persecuting people because of a name,
… not actually knowing who Jesus really was.

      Who do you say that Jesus is?
 

Value …

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Trust, Value

                                                             … in your life!

When Jesus said …

      ‘You shall love the Lord your God
      with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
      Matt 22 37

He was talking about our relationship with God,
… and how much value God has in our lives.

Is it important that we value God?
Yes because if you don’t value Him,
… you will not value what He has done for you!

      For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,
      that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
      2 Corinthians 5 21

In other words …
      Do you really value what God has done for you?
      Is what Jesus has done, real to you?

For example, what about healing?

      who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree,
      that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness
      -by whose stripes you were healed
      1 Peter 2 24

You were valuable enough to Jesus,
… for Him to give His life for you!
Therefore value Him,
… and receive all that He has done for you!

      God values us, His creation, so much,
      … and made it all available to us through Jesus.
      Value Him and all He has done …
 

Living the glory

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Fruit, Love

                                                   … a love story!

How do you glorify God?
… by bearing fruit.

      By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit;
      John 15 8

How do you bear fruit?
… by living love!

      But the fruit of the Spirit is love
      Galatians 5 22

How do you love?
… by receiving Jesus as Saviour,
… God’s gift of love.

      For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son
      John 3 16

How does love work?
… Love lives for others.

      And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
      1 John 3 16

What happens when you live for others?
… you are bearing fruit,

      The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
      Proverbs 11 30

What happens when you bear fruit?
… you enter God’s presence,
And you glorify God

      Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
      And to present you faultless
      before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
      Jude 1 24
 

The greatest…

Posted on jan3 CommentsPosted in Love, Value

                              … gift of all!

There is not a more comforting verse of Scripture than …

      ‘For God so loved the world
      that He gave His only begotten Son …’
      John 3 16

Think of it …
God, the eternal Creator of the universe,
… so loved and continues to love His creation
that He gave, not just His very best,
… but He gave His OWN Son
to help fallen mankind to be reunited with Him.

      A greater gift than that does not exist.
      However,
      like with any gift that we may be given this Christmas,
      … it is up to us to actually receive God’s love gift to us.

It would be totally futile for Jesus to have been born in Bethlehem
… as God’s love gift to mankind, (to us)
IF we do not receive Him once into our own heart!

      ‘… that whoever believes in Him should not perish
      but have everlasting life.’
      John 3 16

That is God’s will and gift to you,
… receive what is yours
and have the best Christmas ever!
 

Commit yourself

Posted on janLeave a commentPosted in Commitment

                                                … not your needs!

What do we mean when we say …
‘Lord I am Yours!’

      Committing your life to God (or to Jesus)
      … is not just about saying
      ‘Lord I am yours, You are my Lord,
      … help me, heal me, bless me, prosper me’.

      That is not actually committing yourself to Him,
      … that is committing your needs to Him.

Committing your life to God means,
Lord I am Yours to command,
… show me Your way.
I am here to learn Your will for my life,
… teach me to walk in Love,
… show me how to reach out to others,
… to see their needs and to minister to them.

Because I know that as I do that,
… You will do the same and more for me!

      Nevertheless you have done well
      that you shared in my distress.
      … no church shared with me concerning
      giving and receiving but you only…
      And my God shall supply all your need
      according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
      Philippians 4 14-19
 

Rest …

Posted on jan3 CommentsPosted in Trust

                                                   … in His works!

God does the works,
… and in faith, by believing,
… we enter the result of His works.

      And it is in His rest,
      … where His works are manifest,
      where what God has (already) done – is!

      for in Him we live and move and have our being
      Acts 17 28

So also Jesus (God manifest on earth) did the works,
… the works on the cross.

      and as we believe and in faith receive
      … what Jesus has (already) done,
      we live because of His works,
      … and in His works!

      I am the way, the truth, and the life.
      John 14 6

God also gave us the Holy Spirit,
… as our comforter, our helper, our teacher, our guide.

      And as our guide, He leads us into the fullness of God’s works,
      … into the fullness of that rest in His righteousness
      because of the works of God.

      Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest,
      lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
      Hebrews 4 11