The harvest

James 5:7-8

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.

I recently planted some seeds to do a little garden this summer.  I was so excited when they started to grow.  Now the waiting really begins as they won’t be ready for harvesting for a month or more.  Waiting for something when you are excited can be so hard and discouraging. 

I can’t speak for you, however I know that I am excited for the Lord’s return.  This world is certainly not my first pick of places to be some days. 

Just as a farmer (or someone just growing a few vegetables), must wait for the harvest, so brothers and sisters, we must wait for the Lord’s return.  It’s not always easy and can often be discouraging, feeling like it’s never going to happen.  However if we care for the garden (ourselves and those around us), the Lord will return for his harvest. 

Stand firm today, the Lord’s return is near.

Thurs Devo: The Dragon's War

Thank you for your prayers! My sister, Mary, did indeed have her baby last Thursday! Jack arrived at 2:53 pm after about 6 hours of natural labor. Jane (my other sister) and I were able to be with Mary via FaceTime for the last few hours of labor and the birth (thanks to Mark and my Mom and Dad for making sure we stayed connected)!
A new baby is so exciting! However, we all know that it won’t be all roses. Even though the labor and delivery pains are over, there are still recovery pains and adjustment struggles.  The blessings of children take a lifetime of reliance on God, discipline, hard work and perseverance on the part of the parents.
The same is true for the woman in Revelation chapter 12…
Revelation 12:13-17  ¹³ When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. ¹⁴ The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.¹⁵ Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. ¹⁶ But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. ¹⁷ Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.
War is a strong word. It doesn’t say merely “tempt” or “deceive,” but “wage war against.” If you and I hold to the testimony of Jesus and obey God’s commands, Satan (the dragon) wants to make war against us. Like parenting, we must expect difficulties in our Christian walk but rely on God’s power to remain faithful and persevere.
Ephesians 6:10-13    ¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

God has full armor for us to wear to fight in the Dragon’s war! We must choose to put it on!

Alice

Always Loving, Forever Faithful

Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and God of my father, Isaac—O Lord, you told me, ‘Return to your own land and to your relatives.’ And you promised me, ‘I will treat you kindly.’  I am not worthy of all the unfailing love and faithfulness you have shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I owned nothing except a walking stick. Now my household fills two large camps!  O Lord, please rescue me from the hand of my brother, Esau. I am afraid that he is coming to attack me, along with my wives and children.  But you promised me, ‘I will surely treat you kindly, and I will multiply your descendants until they become as numerous as the sands along the seashore—too many to count.’”  Genesis 32:9-12

A while ago, I was dealing with an issue at home that would not seem to go away.  Each time I thought it was resolved, I would only find that it had returned.  It got to a point where I believed more drastic measures that could harm relationships with family and friends was needed.  Prayer after prayer and day after day, it seemed that things did not change, but I kept coming back to God.  Looking back, I realized He did not necessarily give me the answer I might have wanted at the time, but He always gave me enough to keep moving forward.  Then one day, the issue went away, and this time it was for good.  I had a moment where I actually said to myself, “Has this really happened?”  My faith in God did not waver although I have to say I did a lot of questioning, and the experience reaffirmed that God is always with me.  It was so humbling that in spite of all my own flaws, God still loved on me and was faithful.

God is always faithful even when we at times are not.  In reading the story of Jacob, I found that there were a lot of things that he did that were not so nice.  He stole a blessing from his older brother, Esau, and denied his family stole idols from a relative even though his wife did.  Granted he did not know of his wife’s doings, but still his family certainly had some issues.  Furthermore, both of his wives were sibling rivals to the nth degree!  So now, here comes Esau with an army of men.  I thought, “Now he’s going to get it!”  However in Jacob’s blessing years previously, God promised that He would protect him (Genesis 28:15).  Fast forward to today’s verses, Jacob goes humbly to God reinforcing (maybe to himself?) of His promise.  In the end, Esau, instead of coming back at him with a vengeance, hugs Jacob, and their relationship is restored!  All was well, and they made peace.  We often encounter situations where we feel all is lost.  Sometimes we wait days, but others times we wait months and even years.  However, we must always remember God’s promises to us are unfailing.  They never change, and He is always faithful.  We are to be both grateful and humbled knowing that in spite of our own flaws, we can always trust in His word.

God is always right and right on time.  We often find ourselves questioning if God is with us because of our own timetable, but we should always remember that whether we are dealing with strife for an extended period of time or like in Jacob’s case doom and gloom comes back from years ago, God will be faithful.  Trust in His word, and humbly present yourself to Him.  He will take care of you.  How can God’s promise reassure you in your troubles today?  What can you both earnestly and humbly pray to God for?  My prayer is that we gain strength knowing that even when underserving, God is always loving and forever faithful.  Amen.

Tues Devo: What is that for anyways?

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” (NASB)

Hello,

Sometimes as believers and followers of Christ we need to remind ourselves of the basics. One of those things are the purposes of Scripture. Sure, we can answer that the Bible is God’s love letter – it is the message of hope and salvation. But there is purpose beyond just introduction to the person of Jesus and how to be saved. Paul addresses that to Timothy. It is here to teach and guide and correct us. Not to crush us – but to build us up to where God is able to use us beyond measure for His eternal kingdom. WOW – think of what we are part of! What a privilege that is. But, we miss opportunity because we don’t align our lives in the way that God needs. Most people don’t go about seeking correction proactively – shoot, we don’t even like it when it comes and finds us! But this is what Scripture is for. It is there to help us maximize our relationship with God and impact to the Kingdom. No wonder it is (and has been) a matter of social controversy. It’s words don’t change to match the swaying desires of culture – they stay true to the character of God.

How are you using Scripture? Hopefully this reminder is helpful to all of us in getting into Scripture and approaching it well.

Have a blessed day,

Will Hill