Tag: reaping and sowing
Sunday rest: Blessed givers!
Dear Friends,
Welcome to another day of rest in Christ Jesus! Because of what He was willing to give to us, we can now rest secure in our salvation and live today in freedom from fear of punishment, guilt or shame! What a blessing to know that! Let’s take time today to reflect on this blessing of Jesus Christ and His gift to us!
“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’“ Acts 20:35
This quote from the Lord Jesus is a truth that we can live by. Jesus lived to give His life blood for our salvation. He offered His body as a sacrifice for our sins and willingly laid down His life that we might have life. He always considered the needs of others above His own needs and readily gave His time and effort to meet their needs. He taught us that the blessed life is a life that is willing to give! If we give, we will be taken care of and our own needs will be met. What we sow we will reap!
I was talking to a person today who said that he had given away his electric dryer to someone who needed one because the rental house he moved into already had a dryer. When he recently moved here, he needed a dryer and told his wife that the Lord would meet their needs. After three days here, a person brought a dryer by his house and gave it to them! God blesses givers! The person that gave them the dryer will be blessed, too!
As you rest today, thank God for His generous heart towards you and ask Him to show you how you can bless someone by giving today. We are imitating our Lord when we give and His blessing will rest on us!
In His Love, Pastor John
The law of sowing and reaping!
Scripture reading for August 23rd: Galatians 6
Key Scriptures for over-comers: Galatians 6: 7-10 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please the sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
Deception is always possible if we get off into the flesh or believe the lies of our adversary. Anything can be justified by our flesh and often we think that because of what we have done for God or how long we have walked with God that we can justify a little sowing to the sinful nature. However, what we sow we will reap! There are only two fields and two harvest that will definitely come. The field of the flesh will always yield destruction and the field of the Spirit eternal life! We must not grow weary or give up sowing to the Spirit. We are to be especially helpful to the family of God.
Observations for over-comers: Perseverance in sowing to the Spirit marks the life of an over-comer and there will be a rich harvest of eternal life for all who finish well! “Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them! They will be paid back for what they have done.” (Isaiah 3:10-11)
What counts: a new creation!
Scripture reading for September 21st: Galatians 6:1-18
Even spiritual people get caught in sins. Spiritual people can still make wrong choices and become deceived. Pride is usually the culprit and we fall into the devil’s trap. Paul encouraged the Galatians to carry each others burdens and love others enough to seek to help them be restored. We must stay in the Spirit and not become conceited or prideful ourselves because we can fall into sin ourselves. We must be honestly checking out our own hearts for wrong attitudes and prideful judgments of those who are trapped. (Galatians 6:1-5)
Paul briefly speaks to the Galatians about their giving. They are encouraged to share their resources with those who teach them the word of God. Generosity and blessing God’s workers is the heart of the Spirit too!
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, will from that nature reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8) Sowing is always a choice of our free will. We are not victims or creatures caught in our circumstances. We make choices each day to either follow the Spirit or our sinful nature. The easy path naturally is the way of the sinful nature. However, it is in truth the hard path because it always leads to destruction and death. When we choose the way of the Spirit, the trials come and the enemy opposes us. However, this path always leads to eternal life and blessing!
The false teachers were trying to get the Galatians to follow the law. In that way they could boast in their flesh and avoid persecution from the religious Jews. Paul’s word to them was, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.” Our good works, however religious they may be, can never produce righteousness in us before God. Our only hope is faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. This faith brings the Holy Spirit into our life to make us a new creation of God. “Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creation.” (2nd Corinthians 5:17)