Sowing Seeds

In our area, plenty of fields cover the landscape. Every year, corn and bean seeds are planted in the spring and harvested in the fall. Every passerby knows that the seeds will yield what is planted, corn seeds produce corn and bean seeds produce beans.

Psalm 97:11-12 says, “Light is sown for the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart. Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous, and give thanks to his holy name.” As we walk in righteousness with our God, He will light our way with wisdom and fill our hearts with joy. Our response will be rejoicing and unending thanksgiving to our God. He plants joy and light into our lives and reaps joy and light from our lives.

Know God

We are not a people who relish stillness. We have got to keep moving to keep up with the world and to prove our worth. But we are missing many valuable and important things by avoiding stillness. When we are still, we can enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. When we are still, we learn to trust God and not our busy lifestyle. When we are still, we find a peace in knowing God and basking in His glory.

Psalm 46:10-11 says, “‘Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!’ The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah.” Be still like the calm of lake waters where there is no wind or disturbance. Let peace fill your soul knowing that God is with you. He is in control and will be glorified.

Walking in Pride

I walk about 10 miles a day and have been doing so for several years. It is easy to take pride in my ability to walk so much. God has a way of humbling me, however. Whenever, I get full of myself, He lets me fall by my own mistakes. Today, I was walking in a seemingly safe and unencumbered place, the local shopping mall. Suddenly, I tripped myself, falling to the tile floor and spilling my drink all over the place. It seemed like everyone in the mall saw my fall and I was duly embarrassed.

I Corinthians 10:12 says, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” Pride makes us believe that we succeed solely based on our own abilities. It is during these times that we become susceptible to the evil that surrounds us, believing what the world tells us. We must reject pride by knowing, understanding and walking in accordance with God’s truth.

Moment by Moment

This morning, I walked over 8 miles. It didn’t happen in the moment when I walked outside. Instead, I had to walk step by step over two hours to go the full distance. There aren’t a lot of things that we have to pay attention to moment by moment in order to succeed. We watch TV, but our mind wanders. Even when reading, we can easily be interrupted or lose focus. On the job, we must pay close attention to what we are doing, but breaks are built into our days.

Paul’s prayer for the people of the Colossian church says, “asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:9-10) Notice that Paul uses words like filled, walk, pleasing, bearing, and increasing, which confirm that our faith is not just a one time decision, but also a moment by moment choice to know and to follow God.

Second Chances

We all want to be given a second chance when we do something wrong, but we are not necessarily generous in giving second chances to those who may fail us. It has become popular to “cancel” people who offend us or cross a boundary that we have set up. We easily give up on people and cut them off from our lives.

Jonah 3:1-2 says, “Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” Jonah had refused to do what God called him to do and wound up swallowed by a great fish. After he repented and the fish vomited him up, God chose to use Jonah to preach to Nineveh and all the people repented. Our past failures do not define what God wants to do with us today and in the future. God does not “cancel” us, but rather shows us great compassion and mercy.