I spend quite a bit of time focusing on God plan. I am always quick to say we need to listen for the Lord’s instruction; we should wait and see what He has in store for us. This is all very true, but I get a lot of questions about how do we know God’s intentions in our life, how can do we know if it is God’s will to do this instead of that? A lot of people make the observation that while they pray and pray, they never “hear” the Lord.
So this week I want to spend some time looking at how the Lord speaks to us, and how we can prepare ourselves to really get in tune with God’s plan. We will look at three different areas; first does God speak to man? Next we will ask can we understand or “hear” the Lord. Third (and this is where we will spend the majority of the time) we will look at what the Lord has to tell us, as well as how to hear Him clearly, and know His voice.
We know that the Lord speaks to us. Throughout the bible we read the phrase “the Lord said” We read that the Lord spoke to many people throughout the Bible. Adam, and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Nehemiah, Jonah, the list goes on and on. We do know one thing; yes The Lord does speak to us. Sometimes he even uses animals as in the story of Balaam found in Chapter 22 of Numbers. The Lord used a donkey to speak to Balaam. Then of course there is scores of examples where the Lord sends His messengers to relay his desires, and his plan to men. Mary, and the Sheppard’s are two that come to mind. The Father of John the Baptist would be another.
There is no doubt that God does indeed speak to us! He has much to say, and He wants an open line of communication. It does take some practice, and desire on our part. If you notice most of the people that the Lord speaks so clearly to, happen to be very in tune with the Lord. They are people who spend their time in prayer; they spend their time searching out God’s voice.
The Lord wants to talk to you, the question is do you want to listen?
Peace,
Brian
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
the application
TO wrap up the week on Mom’s I want to leave you with a job discription I found. I hope You all have a great weekend!
Position: Mom
JOB DESCRIPTION: Long term team players needed for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work various hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in faraway cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.
RESPONSIBILITIES: This is for the rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated at least temporarily, until someone needs $5 to go skating. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, and embarrassed the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.
POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT AND PROMOTION: Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: None required, unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.
WAGES AND COMPENSATION: You pay them, offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.
BENEFITS: While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered, job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.
There is little doubt that God knew what He was doing when He created women. The Lord knew good and well that men would never be able to get by with out them. That is why God gave woman the responsibility of bringing life in to the world. The undeniable love that a woman possess for her child is the closest glimpse we get of seeing the love that God has for each one of us.
Peace,
Brian
Position: Mom
JOB DESCRIPTION: Long term team players needed for challenging permanent work in an often chaotic environment. Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work various hours, which will include evenings and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call. Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in faraway cities. Travel expenses not reimbursed. Extensive courier duties also required.
RESPONSIBILITIES: This is for the rest of your life. Must be willing to be hated at least temporarily, until someone needs $5 to go skating. Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly. Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf. Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers. Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects. Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks. Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, and embarrassed the next. Must handle assembly and product safety testing of a half million cheap, plastic toys and battery operated devices. Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product. Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.
POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT AND PROMOTION: Virtually none. Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.
PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE: None required, unfortunately. On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.
WAGES AND COMPENSATION: You pay them, offering frequent raises and bonuses. A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent. When you die, you give them whatever is left. The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.
BENEFITS: While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered, job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.
There is little doubt that God knew what He was doing when He created women. The Lord knew good and well that men would never be able to get by with out them. That is why God gave woman the responsibility of bringing life in to the world. The undeniable love that a woman possess for her child is the closest glimpse we get of seeing the love that God has for each one of us.
Peace,
Brian
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Jesus and Mom
You know I can’t help but think about Christ when I think about Moms. You might think I am crazy to say that but hear me out. First remember how Christ ran the money changers out of the temple? All is right with the world, Jesus and his friends are walking in to the temple then BAM out of nowhere, Jesus makes short work of all of the people desecrating His Fathers house! See that is how my Mom was…..I dare say that is how my wife is! Moms just do not have a lot of room for blatant disobedience, and justice comes quickly, and thoroughly.
It is not just the discipline end of it, although I will say if the man is king of his castle, then the mom must be the judge and jury! When I think of how Christ fed so many on so little, I cannot help but think of Moms. There is no end to how far a Mom can make a dollar go. I can come back from the store thinking I got a bargain, only to see my wife come back form the store with twice as much, and still spent less than I did! Then how far she can make those groceries go! I walk to the pantry and see nothing, I show up to the table and the woman has prepared a full meal! I do not know where this food comes from, but I am quite certain that food was not in there when I looked, yet there it is a feast ready to eat!
One of the many amazing things about Christ was His ability to heal others. He cast out demons, he healed lepers, and he brought people back form the dead. There is not a doubt in my mind that God gave Mothers some of that healing magic. This same woman who had brought a child to tears earlier in the day, can relieve the pain of skinned knee with a hug. She can pull the venom out of a bee sting with a kiss, and can break the fever of any sickness with a cold washrag, some Vicks, and an I love you while brushing the wet hair from their child’s eyes! Oh yes, a mother has healing powers, I do not know of a father that does not feel the pangs of jealousy when he see the love of a mother heal the wounds of children.
But when you get down to it, the point that drives it home for me is very simple. As adults we trust Christ, we turn to him, and we look for guidance, we read God’s word and listen for His direction on how to live our lives. We pray to him, we ask Him to heal our broken souls. There is nothing that Christ will not do for us, He was even willing to give His life to save ours…..but you see…when we were young we did not know Christ. We had no idea who he was or what he did for us. That is why He gave us mothers. See, all of Christ’s roles for us when we get older, are trusted to dear old Mom when we are young children. She will bend over backwards to give her child anything they need. She nurtures, she guides, she protects, but most of all she loves. She loves as only a Mother can. Wholly, fully, completely, and is willing to die to defend her child. A mother is unique indeed, a mixture of force, strength, and unyielding love.
Peace,
Brian
It is not just the discipline end of it, although I will say if the man is king of his castle, then the mom must be the judge and jury! When I think of how Christ fed so many on so little, I cannot help but think of Moms. There is no end to how far a Mom can make a dollar go. I can come back from the store thinking I got a bargain, only to see my wife come back form the store with twice as much, and still spent less than I did! Then how far she can make those groceries go! I walk to the pantry and see nothing, I show up to the table and the woman has prepared a full meal! I do not know where this food comes from, but I am quite certain that food was not in there when I looked, yet there it is a feast ready to eat!
One of the many amazing things about Christ was His ability to heal others. He cast out demons, he healed lepers, and he brought people back form the dead. There is not a doubt in my mind that God gave Mothers some of that healing magic. This same woman who had brought a child to tears earlier in the day, can relieve the pain of skinned knee with a hug. She can pull the venom out of a bee sting with a kiss, and can break the fever of any sickness with a cold washrag, some Vicks, and an I love you while brushing the wet hair from their child’s eyes! Oh yes, a mother has healing powers, I do not know of a father that does not feel the pangs of jealousy when he see the love of a mother heal the wounds of children.
But when you get down to it, the point that drives it home for me is very simple. As adults we trust Christ, we turn to him, and we look for guidance, we read God’s word and listen for His direction on how to live our lives. We pray to him, we ask Him to heal our broken souls. There is nothing that Christ will not do for us, He was even willing to give His life to save ours…..but you see…when we were young we did not know Christ. We had no idea who he was or what he did for us. That is why He gave us mothers. See, all of Christ’s roles for us when we get older, are trusted to dear old Mom when we are young children. She will bend over backwards to give her child anything they need. She nurtures, she guides, she protects, but most of all she loves. She loves as only a Mother can. Wholly, fully, completely, and is willing to die to defend her child. A mother is unique indeed, a mixture of force, strength, and unyielding love.
Peace,
Brian
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Mom
Gen 3:20
And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
This Sunday is Mothers day. SO this week I want to spend some time putting some thoughts together on Moms.
The first Mother was Eve. Eve meaning life. God made Adam, and Adam was given many responsibilities. HE was Gods first human creation, however God save the most important duty for His second human creation, the creation of woman. To the woman he gave the gift of life.
Every man woman and child on the face of this earth, have one very vital thing in common. They all have a Mother. I know many might think well without a man a woman cannot produce life. However you would be wrong to assume that. Mary is the example of what happens when God wants to create special life. No man needed!
Even today with all of our modern advancements the woman is vital in bringing life into this world. There is no device or substitution for a mother’s womb. We have come to a point in science that the man is almost irrelevant, relegated to the sidelines, yet without the mother providing a safe place for the baby to form, and grow, life has no chance of maturing.
It really goes beyond that though doesn’t it? Mothers are a unique creation, they have very unique traits. The uniqueness of the Mother is what I want to look at over the next few days.
Peace,
Brian
And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living.
This Sunday is Mothers day. SO this week I want to spend some time putting some thoughts together on Moms.
The first Mother was Eve. Eve meaning life. God made Adam, and Adam was given many responsibilities. HE was Gods first human creation, however God save the most important duty for His second human creation, the creation of woman. To the woman he gave the gift of life.
Every man woman and child on the face of this earth, have one very vital thing in common. They all have a Mother. I know many might think well without a man a woman cannot produce life. However you would be wrong to assume that. Mary is the example of what happens when God wants to create special life. No man needed!
Even today with all of our modern advancements the woman is vital in bringing life into this world. There is no device or substitution for a mother’s womb. We have come to a point in science that the man is almost irrelevant, relegated to the sidelines, yet without the mother providing a safe place for the baby to form, and grow, life has no chance of maturing.
It really goes beyond that though doesn’t it? Mothers are a unique creation, they have very unique traits. The uniqueness of the Mother is what I want to look at over the next few days.
Peace,
Brian
Sunday, May 3, 2009
the harvest
After we have worked the ground, planted, and waited, we see an amazing thing; we see the harvest start to come in. Now is the time for excitement, and thanksgiving. If we have put in the work, and have waited instead of forcing it, we will see more than we ever imagined. It is much like the parable that Christ told of the sower. In Luke 8: 5"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown."
If we do it right, there is a hundred fold waiting on us. Now as always I need to put the disclaimer out there, when I say a hundred fold, and talk of being prosperous I am not talking about getting rich. That is not the purpose of farming our souls, that isn’t the end result we are after. I am talking about the important things we will harvest. Love, peace, hope, faith, the seeds we decided to plant will be what we harvest.
Do not be fooled though. This season is not easier than the others. It takes work to go out and harvest. You still have to get out in the field, and put in the work to get the harvest into the barn, or to the market; and in respect to your spiritual harvest, the harvest is really just the beginning. While you are out there in your field receiving all of the wonder and gifts that God is showering on you; you now have a greater responsibility that just getting it in to your barn. Now comes the prep work for the continuation. Now you realize that part of your work is not just in your field, but you have to harvest in the Lord’s field as well. That field is ripe, and bountiful. Just as Christ told his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Once we get our own field producing good crops, we have to go out and help others in their fields. We have to show them how to till the ground, and remove the rocks. Just when we think we are finished, we find that the real work has begun! It is not enough to tend to our own fields, and let our neighbors crop die on the vine. The great commission put us squarely in our neighbor’s field working side by side to get his harvest to come in as well as ours has. The beauty of doing that is the more we help others, the fuller our crops become! What we end up with is spiritual land as far as the eye can see; bursting at the seams with love, hope, faith, and generosity. These are the crops that we are to tend. This is what it is to be a farmer of the soul!
Peace,
Brian
If we do it right, there is a hundred fold waiting on us. Now as always I need to put the disclaimer out there, when I say a hundred fold, and talk of being prosperous I am not talking about getting rich. That is not the purpose of farming our souls, that isn’t the end result we are after. I am talking about the important things we will harvest. Love, peace, hope, faith, the seeds we decided to plant will be what we harvest.
Do not be fooled though. This season is not easier than the others. It takes work to go out and harvest. You still have to get out in the field, and put in the work to get the harvest into the barn, or to the market; and in respect to your spiritual harvest, the harvest is really just the beginning. While you are out there in your field receiving all of the wonder and gifts that God is showering on you; you now have a greater responsibility that just getting it in to your barn. Now comes the prep work for the continuation. Now you realize that part of your work is not just in your field, but you have to harvest in the Lord’s field as well. That field is ripe, and bountiful. Just as Christ told his disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Once we get our own field producing good crops, we have to go out and help others in their fields. We have to show them how to till the ground, and remove the rocks. Just when we think we are finished, we find that the real work has begun! It is not enough to tend to our own fields, and let our neighbors crop die on the vine. The great commission put us squarely in our neighbor’s field working side by side to get his harvest to come in as well as ours has. The beauty of doing that is the more we help others, the fuller our crops become! What we end up with is spiritual land as far as the eye can see; bursting at the seams with love, hope, faith, and generosity. These are the crops that we are to tend. This is what it is to be a farmer of the soul!
Peace,
Brian
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Plant and patience
Ecclesiastes 3:1
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
Now that the ground has been worked, and the stones removed it is the time to plant the seeds…..then the hardest part of all the time to wait. Planting the seeds weather in the fields of the farm or the fields of our spirit, are much the same. The farmer has sacks of seeds, and each of us has the same. Oh our seeds might not be as obvious as the farmers, but they are there. Our seeds are our time, our talents, how we treat others, how we treat ourselves, and how we spend our money, just to name a few.
The farmer goes our and drops his seeds into the ground and covers them. He knows what he is planting, but we make the choice on what we plant. Each of us goes out in to the world, and how we sow our seeds will greatly determine what we will harvest. Are you spending all of your time on yourself? What do you see when you open your check book? Are your funds going to material things, with very little spent on things that would advance the word of God? How do you treat others, are you short, never spending the time on anyone to nurture that friendship, unless it benefits you, and your ideals? If you want to harvest love, peace, prosperity, generosity, hope, and faith, then that is what you have to sow. As Christ told us, an olive will not come from a thorn bush. Much the same hate will not breed love, greed will not breed generosity, and denial, will not breed faith. You have to set out each day and go about planting your seeds. You have to plant them knowing that you will have to wait…..and that is the hard part of this season. The waiting. You have to plant your seeds fearlessly and in faith. The farmer does not plant his seeds then worry day and night if they will take root. He is not a worry wart. He has faith, faith that his hard work he put in will be rewarded. This is how we must wait. We have to wait in faith. We cannot plant then expect something to immediately happen. Just like that farmer we have to wait. We have to have faith that God is working on our behalf. We have to have faith that even though we planted the seed and put the work in, God will provide the water needed to make that seed sprout…..and he will! If you will put in the effort, God will show you his abundance! He will use the bad things in your life for the good, He will see the seeds you have planted, and while you wait in faith, He will provide the life giving water to make the seeds grow.
Peace,
Brian
1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
Now that the ground has been worked, and the stones removed it is the time to plant the seeds…..then the hardest part of all the time to wait. Planting the seeds weather in the fields of the farm or the fields of our spirit, are much the same. The farmer has sacks of seeds, and each of us has the same. Oh our seeds might not be as obvious as the farmers, but they are there. Our seeds are our time, our talents, how we treat others, how we treat ourselves, and how we spend our money, just to name a few.
The farmer goes our and drops his seeds into the ground and covers them. He knows what he is planting, but we make the choice on what we plant. Each of us goes out in to the world, and how we sow our seeds will greatly determine what we will harvest. Are you spending all of your time on yourself? What do you see when you open your check book? Are your funds going to material things, with very little spent on things that would advance the word of God? How do you treat others, are you short, never spending the time on anyone to nurture that friendship, unless it benefits you, and your ideals? If you want to harvest love, peace, prosperity, generosity, hope, and faith, then that is what you have to sow. As Christ told us, an olive will not come from a thorn bush. Much the same hate will not breed love, greed will not breed generosity, and denial, will not breed faith. You have to set out each day and go about planting your seeds. You have to plant them knowing that you will have to wait…..and that is the hard part of this season. The waiting. You have to plant your seeds fearlessly and in faith. The farmer does not plant his seeds then worry day and night if they will take root. He is not a worry wart. He has faith, faith that his hard work he put in will be rewarded. This is how we must wait. We have to wait in faith. We cannot plant then expect something to immediately happen. Just like that farmer we have to wait. We have to have faith that God is working on our behalf. We have to have faith that even though we planted the seed and put the work in, God will provide the water needed to make that seed sprout…..and he will! If you will put in the effort, God will show you his abundance! He will use the bad things in your life for the good, He will see the seeds you have planted, and while you wait in faith, He will provide the life giving water to make the seeds grow.
Peace,
Brian
Farmers of the soul
Matthew 9:37-38
37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Christ often used the image of fields, and the work of farmers. There is a good reason for that you know. That is what I want to talk about today….Farming. Have you ever known a farmer? Or maybe a person that really loves gardening? They are unique people. I remember driving by huge corn fields when I was a kid, and I remember thinking, Man, what a job! You must have to be the most patience trusting, hard working person in the world to be a farmer!
When it comes to our spiritual lives we would do well to model our lives after farming. There are very specific steps that have to be followed. There are no shortcuts, and you can’t do the last step without doing the first! To be a successful farmer you can’t just go buy a bunch of equipment and go harvest your field. Not by a long shot! There is a ton of work to do first. In the same way, we can’t just go out and reap the rewards that the Lord has to offer with out first putting in the work. So what are the steps? Well let’s take a look.
First you have to work the ground. A farmer has to get out there every day and till the land, he has to break the ground open, and turn the soil. It is a dirty grimy job, dirt is flying in the air all day, and it hangs to everything. Imagine how pointless that must seem! Acers of land lying out in front of him, and he is out there relentlessly dragging equipment behind the tractor, kicking up dust, and making a mess! If you were just to glance at him while he was working it might look like he is just wasting his time. A bunch of work going on but no payoff. But the farmer knows better, he knows that he has to get the soil turned, he has to get the rows cut. If he does not the harvest will never come in right. It will be sporadic, and only a small portion of what he plants will take root.
Sound familiar? Walking with Christ is no different! We have a lot of work to do in our hearts and in our lives before anything will grow. We have to take the proverbial hoe to our hearts and turn the soil; we have to prepare our hearts and our lives for the gifts of the Lord. That comes by way of prayer, and by searching out our hearts for all of the rocks and getting them out of our field! We can’t come to Christ, unless we know who Christ is. We cannot come to know Christ unless we search Him out in our lives. The best place to start looking for Christ is on your knees! We as a society do not spend enough time in prayer. It is the most powerful, yet most overlooked tool we have been given. Could you imagine a farmer passing up a tractor, and saying “naaa that’s ok I’ll just use this hoe” of course not! Yet that is exactly what we do when we pass on prayer, and go out in to the world thinking that everything will be just peachy. Time and time a gain in the Bible one of the most repeated things people do is pray. David, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Nehemiah, all of the apostles, John the Baptist, Isaiah, and this is just a few! Christ himself not only prayed, but gave us a prayer to pray! Amazing things happened in these men’s lives and it all started with prayer! I urge each of you to incorporate prayer into your lives, as a foundation of your day. It is vital in the process.
Another great place to “till” the soil of the soul is found in the pages of the Bible. I cannot stress the importance of this in your life. It has been said that you can read the same Bible your whole life, and never read the same book twice. I firmly believe that! It might sound strange at first, but I promise you that the same person never picks up that Bible. Everyday we find ourselves in different circumstances, and facing different challenges. Each time you pick the Bible, up a different part will speak to you that you did not notice that day or the week or the year before! I have read the Bible many times cover to cover, and each time there is something I did not see last time! It is truly the Word of God, and it will speak to you each time you open it. If you start each day off with prayer, and a quick read through the Bible you will find that you have truly laid the foundation of a Great day!
The last thing we have to do to prep our spiritual field is to get down and pick out the rocks. This is the dirty part! We all have rocks in our field, toxic relationships, sin, poor choices that we make, selfishness, greed. Each of our fields has a little different type of rock, but we all have to really work to get them out of our fields. A seed will not root if the soil is full of rocks! Some rocks are bigger than others, some you can reach down and just fling to the side, but we all have those big rocks that we have to go to the shed and break out the sledge hammer, and the breaker bar on. We have to break them down to manageable pieces. The best tools to use for that are prayer, and faith. Pray that the Lord helps you remove those rocks, and most importantly Faith that He will!! The Lord will help you turn the soil, but you have to give Him the room to work, you have to have the faith that he will!!
Peace,
Brian
37Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Christ often used the image of fields, and the work of farmers. There is a good reason for that you know. That is what I want to talk about today….Farming. Have you ever known a farmer? Or maybe a person that really loves gardening? They are unique people. I remember driving by huge corn fields when I was a kid, and I remember thinking, Man, what a job! You must have to be the most patience trusting, hard working person in the world to be a farmer!
When it comes to our spiritual lives we would do well to model our lives after farming. There are very specific steps that have to be followed. There are no shortcuts, and you can’t do the last step without doing the first! To be a successful farmer you can’t just go buy a bunch of equipment and go harvest your field. Not by a long shot! There is a ton of work to do first. In the same way, we can’t just go out and reap the rewards that the Lord has to offer with out first putting in the work. So what are the steps? Well let’s take a look.
First you have to work the ground. A farmer has to get out there every day and till the land, he has to break the ground open, and turn the soil. It is a dirty grimy job, dirt is flying in the air all day, and it hangs to everything. Imagine how pointless that must seem! Acers of land lying out in front of him, and he is out there relentlessly dragging equipment behind the tractor, kicking up dust, and making a mess! If you were just to glance at him while he was working it might look like he is just wasting his time. A bunch of work going on but no payoff. But the farmer knows better, he knows that he has to get the soil turned, he has to get the rows cut. If he does not the harvest will never come in right. It will be sporadic, and only a small portion of what he plants will take root.
Sound familiar? Walking with Christ is no different! We have a lot of work to do in our hearts and in our lives before anything will grow. We have to take the proverbial hoe to our hearts and turn the soil; we have to prepare our hearts and our lives for the gifts of the Lord. That comes by way of prayer, and by searching out our hearts for all of the rocks and getting them out of our field! We can’t come to Christ, unless we know who Christ is. We cannot come to know Christ unless we search Him out in our lives. The best place to start looking for Christ is on your knees! We as a society do not spend enough time in prayer. It is the most powerful, yet most overlooked tool we have been given. Could you imagine a farmer passing up a tractor, and saying “naaa that’s ok I’ll just use this hoe” of course not! Yet that is exactly what we do when we pass on prayer, and go out in to the world thinking that everything will be just peachy. Time and time a gain in the Bible one of the most repeated things people do is pray. David, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Nehemiah, all of the apostles, John the Baptist, Isaiah, and this is just a few! Christ himself not only prayed, but gave us a prayer to pray! Amazing things happened in these men’s lives and it all started with prayer! I urge each of you to incorporate prayer into your lives, as a foundation of your day. It is vital in the process.
Another great place to “till” the soil of the soul is found in the pages of the Bible. I cannot stress the importance of this in your life. It has been said that you can read the same Bible your whole life, and never read the same book twice. I firmly believe that! It might sound strange at first, but I promise you that the same person never picks up that Bible. Everyday we find ourselves in different circumstances, and facing different challenges. Each time you pick the Bible, up a different part will speak to you that you did not notice that day or the week or the year before! I have read the Bible many times cover to cover, and each time there is something I did not see last time! It is truly the Word of God, and it will speak to you each time you open it. If you start each day off with prayer, and a quick read through the Bible you will find that you have truly laid the foundation of a Great day!
The last thing we have to do to prep our spiritual field is to get down and pick out the rocks. This is the dirty part! We all have rocks in our field, toxic relationships, sin, poor choices that we make, selfishness, greed. Each of our fields has a little different type of rock, but we all have to really work to get them out of our fields. A seed will not root if the soil is full of rocks! Some rocks are bigger than others, some you can reach down and just fling to the side, but we all have those big rocks that we have to go to the shed and break out the sledge hammer, and the breaker bar on. We have to break them down to manageable pieces. The best tools to use for that are prayer, and faith. Pray that the Lord helps you remove those rocks, and most importantly Faith that He will!! The Lord will help you turn the soil, but you have to give Him the room to work, you have to have the faith that he will!!
Peace,
Brian
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