"And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come." John 16:8-13
Amazing.
The Spirit convicts. He does not condemn. He shows us truth. Jesus isn't here but people who have believed are given the righteousness of a Savior who sits in Heaven.
We can grieve The Spirit but He still won't condemn us. He will encourage us to believe and not align ourselves with a dark kingdom that is under judgement.
I think many times we confuse the sound of our conscience with the Holy Spirit and say, 'God said.' When in truth God is only going to declare Christ's righteousness. We sense He Is grieved and then jump to conclusions. We try to amend our behavior in a pleasing way but behavior can't please God. Only faith pleases God.
The Spirit points to Christ and says little about Himself. He urges us to believe and be detached from darkness. Will we listen or will we keep sweating on the treadmill of performance?
Our conscience needs to be cleansed of dead works.
--
Showing posts with label Conviction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Conviction. Show all posts
Monday, January 30, 2017
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Grace And Conviction In Ephesians Chapter Five
I am reading Ephesians chapter 5 over and over again this morning. It is hitting me hard in a good way. It makes me think of this passage.
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." - Isaiah 55:9-13 ESV
Just starting the chapter we see the intense conviction of the writer...
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God." - Ephesians 5:1-5 ESV
When Jesus is in focus everything else falls away. Everything else falls short.
"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord." - Ephesians 5:6-10 ESV
Yes, Discern what is of God and what isn't. Jesus pleases God. We walk as children of light basking in the glow of God's Son. We are surrounded by sexuality in our culture. Crude humor is all around. It isn't our focus. The light is our focus. Jesus is our focus.
"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, 'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.' Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." - Ephesians 5:11-16 ESV
Wow. Just wow. Conviction. The same way we might wake someone up and say, 'It's morning and it's time to wake up.' We say, 'God is here. The light is here. Wake up. Jesus is in the room. There is no condemnation and it's time to open your eyes.'
A wise person knows that waking up at a good hour leaves time to get things done during the day. If we stay in bed all day not much is going to happen or we will begin to stay up late into the night.
"Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ." - Ephesians 5:17-21 ESV
Yes. This is a continuation of discerning what is pleasing to the Lord. Jesus pleases the Lord. My heart begins to sing when I focus on the finished work. That from before the foundation of the world Jesus was and Is a lamb that was slain so that my sins could be put away forever. When that is my focus and the context of my conversation then I'm not thinking about the next party. I'm not looking for diversion.
The realization of grace produces reverence. Good and bad are empty words. Dead and alive are what we think about. Jesus is alive and our old lives died with Him. We are new people who walk in a light that has been made visible to us.
"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." - 2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV
--
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the LORD, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." - Isaiah 55:9-13 ESV
Just starting the chapter we see the intense conviction of the writer...
"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God." - Ephesians 5:1-5 ESV
When Jesus is in focus everything else falls away. Everything else falls short.
"Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord." - Ephesians 5:6-10 ESV
Yes, Discern what is of God and what isn't. Jesus pleases God. We walk as children of light basking in the glow of God's Son. We are surrounded by sexuality in our culture. Crude humor is all around. It isn't our focus. The light is our focus. Jesus is our focus.
"Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, 'Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.' Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." - Ephesians 5:11-16 ESV
Wow. Just wow. Conviction. The same way we might wake someone up and say, 'It's morning and it's time to wake up.' We say, 'God is here. The light is here. Wake up. Jesus is in the room. There is no condemnation and it's time to open your eyes.'
A wise person knows that waking up at a good hour leaves time to get things done during the day. If we stay in bed all day not much is going to happen or we will begin to stay up late into the night.
"Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ." - Ephesians 5:17-21 ESV
Yes. This is a continuation of discerning what is pleasing to the Lord. Jesus pleases the Lord. My heart begins to sing when I focus on the finished work. That from before the foundation of the world Jesus was and Is a lamb that was slain so that my sins could be put away forever. When that is my focus and the context of my conversation then I'm not thinking about the next party. I'm not looking for diversion.
The realization of grace produces reverence. Good and bad are empty words. Dead and alive are what we think about. Jesus is alive and our old lives died with Him. We are new people who walk in a light that has been made visible to us.
"For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." - 2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV
--
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
One Helpless Thief
All day long I have been thinking about the two thieves crucified next to Christ.
One thief on the cross next to Jesus started out a mocker just like the other one. He did not do anything. He was powerless.
Somehow He saw the royalty of Christ. A man with arms bound and struggling for breath just wanted to be remembered by someone divine. He believed and God put righteousness on this helpless man's account.
After he believed he was just as powerless. He asked to be remembered but God was now going to take this man somewhere. He was going with God.
Amazing. He just believed. We just believe also. We believe and ask and God does more than we ask for.
I wonder about the sign in different languages that said 'THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS' (see Matthew 27:37) nailed above Jesus' head and what role if any it had in this man's conversion.
Not many would have been close enough to read it. Was it a personal witness to this thief? I know the religious people were angry about it but surely if the thieves could read they saw it also.
--
One thief on the cross next to Jesus started out a mocker just like the other one. He did not do anything. He was powerless.
Somehow He saw the royalty of Christ. A man with arms bound and struggling for breath just wanted to be remembered by someone divine. He believed and God put righteousness on this helpless man's account.
After he believed he was just as powerless. He asked to be remembered but God was now going to take this man somewhere. He was going with God.
Amazing. He just believed. We just believe also. We believe and ask and God does more than we ask for.
I wonder about the sign in different languages that said 'THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS' (see Matthew 27:37) nailed above Jesus' head and what role if any it had in this man's conversion.
Not many would have been close enough to read it. Was it a personal witness to this thief? I know the religious people were angry about it but surely if the thieves could read they saw it also.
--
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Convictions From Eternal Viewpoint
Our convictions originate from outside of time. We make decisions to think with God about all the relationships in our life from His perspective.
"Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." - John 17:24 KJV
"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:" - Ephesians 1:4 KJV
Decisions were made before the foundation of the world. Redemption was planned out before a man walked the Earth.
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:" - Philippians 2:5 KJV
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." - Romans 12:2-3 ESV
Grace has been given to shape our thinking. It was not given to puff us up or bring us down it was given to take us out of our thinking and into God's thinking.
Faith founded on what has always been will be backed by a kingdom that has always been.
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.' " - John 14:6-7 ESV
The doorway is a narrow one. One man. One thought life. We have been given a broad stewardship. All the minutes of this day have been given as gifts. We reign in life as we think with God. We live in victory not by changing our ways but by receiving eternal thinking and having convictions based on what we see our Father doing.
God tells us we are Sons. We have been given power to be His children. Let's take on our new identity and wear the white robe of a child in God's family. Grace will shape our doing in ways our effort never could. Like water washes the body the Bible washes our thinking and builds us.
Knowing who we are is the foundation of knowing what to do next.
--
"Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world." - John 17:24 KJV
"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:" - Ephesians 1:4 KJV
Decisions were made before the foundation of the world. Redemption was planned out before a man walked the Earth.
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:" - Philippians 2:5 KJV
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned." - Romans 12:2-3 ESV
Grace has been given to shape our thinking. It was not given to puff us up or bring us down it was given to take us out of our thinking and into God's thinking.
Faith founded on what has always been will be backed by a kingdom that has always been.
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.' " - John 14:6-7 ESV
The doorway is a narrow one. One man. One thought life. We have been given a broad stewardship. All the minutes of this day have been given as gifts. We reign in life as we think with God. We live in victory not by changing our ways but by receiving eternal thinking and having convictions based on what we see our Father doing.
God tells us we are Sons. We have been given power to be His children. Let's take on our new identity and wear the white robe of a child in God's family. Grace will shape our doing in ways our effort never could. Like water washes the body the Bible washes our thinking and builds us.
Knowing who we are is the foundation of knowing what to do next.
--
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
The Spirit's Ministry of Conviction
"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged." John 16:7-11 ESV
The only faith that works is a faith that is working by Love. The only way to have that Love is if the Holy Spirit sheds it abroad in our hearts. Only new wine vessels can hold that Love. Old wine vessels just burst. That which is new must have a birth that came from the seed of the Word of God. That seed is incorruptible. That seed names the name of Christ who is the only name under Heaven that men might be saved and made new.
The Spirit sheds the Love of God in that which is new. He sheds conviction in that which is old. When does that happen? This verse gives that dynamic clearly if positional truth is understood as a doctrine.
HE CONVICTS OF SIN. In a finished work the Spirit convicts of sin. He convicts the one who does not believe in Christ and the one who is not believing in Christ. What would be Love shed abroad for the new man is conviction in the soul of someone living in old things and methods. It is not 'fear that has torment'... that comes from another source. The old man loves darkness as a shelter and falls prey to those things that live in darkness.
"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." John 3:18-21 ESV
Believing ends our isolation. Grace removes the reasons we thought we needed to be isolated. Grace is the channel that reveals God's kindness that has no condition and a holiness that has no compromise.
We may believe in Jesus but in certain areas and under certain conditions abandon Him. The Spirit who will never abandon us will convict us. Not people or law... the Spirit will do it as He wills. He does it so we will believe. Belief is important to God. He can only fellowship with us in newness. Old things as far as He is concerned have passed away.
"Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison." Matthew 5:25 KJV
The adversary here is the Spirit of God. Belief in Christ is our plea bargain that keeps us from the trap of the old life.
HE CONVICTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. There is no righteousness outside of Christ. Christ is seated at God's right hand of approval. No one else has righteousness but Him. The one who believes in Christ is seated with Christ in that position. We have a breastplate of righteousness because the Spirit Gives it to us (and the Church since the armor is a corporate experience).
Everyone in the world without that assurance is jockeying for position in some way. They are looking back into the past for approval and forward into the future to get it. They want people on the left and right that they approve of and that approve of them.
The Spirit of God makes sure that if a person doesn't find rest in approval that is not centered in Christ. He also makes sure that those who find Christ find approval. This is part of God's work in the world for this season of history.
HE CONVICTS OF JUDGMENT. Evil has been weighed in the scales and found wanting. Past tense. Evil and the whole system it has produced has been judged and is under judgement.
That sparks anger and discomfort is the old man and relief in the new one. The old man wants what it knows. It wants the good things and the bad things in a Love / Hate kind of way. Those things have an illusion of control, possibilities for advancement and a way to preserve self.
The new man derives hope and relief from the knowledge of an end to contradiction and darkness and that the Sun of Righteousness will one day rise in the East (see Malachi 4:2; Matthew 24:27). Justice will one day be served up hot for a kingdom that desperately needs a kick in the teeth.
If we live in grace conviction is a good thing. It is a steering mechanism. We can quench the Spirit through rationalization. Or grieve the Spirit by a life of unbelief that bears fruit of unbelief. A return to the law will just bring us back into another kind of bondage and we will find no solution there. Conviction should bring us to Christ. Grace gives us a clear path to get to Him and find newness. When we live in newness conviction turns to love and we have vessels that can hold that love and distribute that love to others.
God... Help us today... turn me and I will be turned... speak to me and give me ears to hear what you are saying. Turn me to your Son and keep me from turning inward for answers and direction. I trust You today. Thank You for the work of Your Spirit. I can't imagine life without it.
The only faith that works is a faith that is working by Love. The only way to have that Love is if the Holy Spirit sheds it abroad in our hearts. Only new wine vessels can hold that Love. Old wine vessels just burst. That which is new must have a birth that came from the seed of the Word of God. That seed is incorruptible. That seed names the name of Christ who is the only name under Heaven that men might be saved and made new.
The Spirit sheds the Love of God in that which is new. He sheds conviction in that which is old. When does that happen? This verse gives that dynamic clearly if positional truth is understood as a doctrine.
HE CONVICTS OF SIN. In a finished work the Spirit convicts of sin. He convicts the one who does not believe in Christ and the one who is not believing in Christ. What would be Love shed abroad for the new man is conviction in the soul of someone living in old things and methods. It is not 'fear that has torment'... that comes from another source. The old man loves darkness as a shelter and falls prey to those things that live in darkness.
"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God." John 3:18-21 ESV
Believing ends our isolation. Grace removes the reasons we thought we needed to be isolated. Grace is the channel that reveals God's kindness that has no condition and a holiness that has no compromise.
We may believe in Jesus but in certain areas and under certain conditions abandon Him. The Spirit who will never abandon us will convict us. Not people or law... the Spirit will do it as He wills. He does it so we will believe. Belief is important to God. He can only fellowship with us in newness. Old things as far as He is concerned have passed away.
"Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison." Matthew 5:25 KJV
The adversary here is the Spirit of God. Belief in Christ is our plea bargain that keeps us from the trap of the old life.
HE CONVICTS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. There is no righteousness outside of Christ. Christ is seated at God's right hand of approval. No one else has righteousness but Him. The one who believes in Christ is seated with Christ in that position. We have a breastplate of righteousness because the Spirit Gives it to us (and the Church since the armor is a corporate experience).
Everyone in the world without that assurance is jockeying for position in some way. They are looking back into the past for approval and forward into the future to get it. They want people on the left and right that they approve of and that approve of them.
The Spirit of God makes sure that if a person doesn't find rest in approval that is not centered in Christ. He also makes sure that those who find Christ find approval. This is part of God's work in the world for this season of history.
HE CONVICTS OF JUDGMENT. Evil has been weighed in the scales and found wanting. Past tense. Evil and the whole system it has produced has been judged and is under judgement.
That sparks anger and discomfort is the old man and relief in the new one. The old man wants what it knows. It wants the good things and the bad things in a Love / Hate kind of way. Those things have an illusion of control, possibilities for advancement and a way to preserve self.
The new man derives hope and relief from the knowledge of an end to contradiction and darkness and that the Sun of Righteousness will one day rise in the East (see Malachi 4:2; Matthew 24:27). Justice will one day be served up hot for a kingdom that desperately needs a kick in the teeth.
If we live in grace conviction is a good thing. It is a steering mechanism. We can quench the Spirit through rationalization. Or grieve the Spirit by a life of unbelief that bears fruit of unbelief. A return to the law will just bring us back into another kind of bondage and we will find no solution there. Conviction should bring us to Christ. Grace gives us a clear path to get to Him and find newness. When we live in newness conviction turns to love and we have vessels that can hold that love and distribute that love to others.
God... Help us today... turn me and I will be turned... speak to me and give me ears to hear what you are saying. Turn me to your Son and keep me from turning inward for answers and direction. I trust You today. Thank You for the work of Your Spirit. I can't imagine life without it.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
The Eyes of The Farmer
"For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: 'Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.' " - Jeremiah 4:3 NKJV
This is a good thought.
"Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor, And for lack of justice there is waste." Proverbs 13:23 NKJV
There is food waiting to be planted and harvested in the fallow ground. A farmer can look at an empty field and imagine the yield that one day could come from that place.
"Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you." Hosea 10:12 NKJV
How much of what God does is preparation? How much of what we do is? Is that time wasted? Prayer time... Slow steady investment time... Is that time wasted?
The seed will be wasted if sown on the wild soil or the thorny soil of our hearts. It just isn't going to take root. Soil preparation is not fruit production. You can till the soil all you want but with no seed the ground will just lie dormant. The poor soul has little grace in it. It has little truth in it. Maybe some wild things grow there but it is not the beautiful garden or the rows and rows of vines overflowing with juice and sweetness that God knows grace and mercy could produce.
What would a few moments with a shovel do? A prayer shovel that attacks the soil. A little fire of conviction where the thorny branches can be burned and disposed of first. What time that might save later.
Then grace and mercy can be added in abundance. Seed, water and care are added and God gives the increase.
"Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders. He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants. He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in; they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield. By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish. When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow, he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks. The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth. Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD." Psalms 107:32-43 ESV
God till my soil. Don't let me be familiar with a barren landscape in my heart... in my city... in my family. Help us take the shovel of prayer to people, places and situations. Then the seed of the Gospel can be sprinkled in that place where the shovel has landed. Love with life in it.
You are the Lord of the Harvest. What do you see in that field?
This is a good thought.
"Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor, And for lack of justice there is waste." Proverbs 13:23 NKJV
There is food waiting to be planted and harvested in the fallow ground. A farmer can look at an empty field and imagine the yield that one day could come from that place.
"Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you." Hosea 10:12 NKJV
How much of what God does is preparation? How much of what we do is? Is that time wasted? Prayer time... Slow steady investment time... Is that time wasted?
The seed will be wasted if sown on the wild soil or the thorny soil of our hearts. It just isn't going to take root. Soil preparation is not fruit production. You can till the soil all you want but with no seed the ground will just lie dormant. The poor soul has little grace in it. It has little truth in it. Maybe some wild things grow there but it is not the beautiful garden or the rows and rows of vines overflowing with juice and sweetness that God knows grace and mercy could produce.
What would a few moments with a shovel do? A prayer shovel that attacks the soil. A little fire of conviction where the thorny branches can be burned and disposed of first. What time that might save later.
Then grace and mercy can be added in abundance. Seed, water and care are added and God gives the increase.
"Let them extol him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders. He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants. He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water. And there he lets the hungry dwell, and they establish a city to live in; they sow fields and plant vineyards and get a fruitful yield. By his blessing they multiply greatly, and he does not let their livestock diminish. When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, evil, and sorrow, he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; but he raises up the needy out of affliction and makes their families like flocks. The upright see it and are glad, and all wickedness shuts its mouth. Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the LORD." Psalms 107:32-43 ESV
God till my soil. Don't let me be familiar with a barren landscape in my heart... in my city... in my family. Help us take the shovel of prayer to people, places and situations. Then the seed of the Gospel can be sprinkled in that place where the shovel has landed. Love with life in it.
You are the Lord of the Harvest. What do you see in that field?
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