Sowing in Tears

“Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy.

He who continually goes forth weeping,

bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless

come again with rejoicing, bringing

his sheaves with him.”

    Psalm 126:5-6 (NKJV)

My study Bible indicates that this Psalm rejoices over Israel’s return from exile after the pain of captivity. It describes reaping a joyful return to the land after sowing tears of repentance. 

Israel was an agricultural economy, so often the Bible uses analogies that are agricultural in nature, such as in this psalm. But one commentator I read opined that the tears and joy in this psalm doesn’t really have anything to do with the sowing and reaping.  It’s not that sowing is a sorrowful job in itself or that reaping is always joyful. Rather, sowing and reaping represents the daily work that needs to be done even when we’re sad and grieving or glad and rejoicing. 

For me, this psalm speaks of tears sown in prayerful intercession and the hope that one day the fruit of salvation will be reaped in the lives of those for whom I pray. Even when I don’t actually weep, my heart aches for so many I know and care about who are lost.  And I bear seed for sowing in that I share God’s word with them and I claim God’s promises when I’m on my knees in prayer for them.

I’m grateful to know that He loves them even more than I do and wants them to come to a saving faith in Jesus.  That hope brings me great comfort and helps me to continue to keep on sowing even while I keep my hand to the plow with my daily work.

Thursday Devotional - Perfect Priest

Do you ever get frustrated relying on imperfect humans? Whether it’s for accurate work or accurate medical diagnosis? People make mistakes.  

My Dad and my friend’s husband need to some important medical resolutions this week. It can be worrisome to rely on other opinions and the ability to ask the right questions in order to make the best decision. We do have someone we can rely on perfectly, though, who is in heaven and sees everything!

Hebrews 7:28-8:2 ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, ² and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.

Jesus is in heaven at the right hand of God! As we read last week in Hebrews 7:25, He is interceding for us. We can trust Him for perfect solutions. Let’s go to Him with all our needs and pray for ears to hear His answers.  

Alice

Hands Off the Hot Stove!

It was there at Marah that the Lord set before them the following decree as a standard to test their faithfulness to him.  He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his sight, obeying his commands and keeping all his decrees, then I will not make you suffer any of the diseases I sent on the Egyptians; for I am the Lord who heals you.”  Exodus 15:25b-26

We have all had that moment where we heard our mothers tell us, “Don’t touch the hot stove,” right?  We touch a little bit and feel the warmth of it.  Then, we go a bit closer or maybe grab on a little longer, and the exhilaration continues to build as we keep pressing further and further until that one time where either the finger goes too far or the hand gets too close to the burning flame.  “Ouch!” We cry.  If you were like me, you probably got away with just that painful tingling sensation for the rest of the day.  Some of us had moms that would gladly call you out.  “I told you to keep your hand away from that!  I guess you learned that lesson, didn’t you?”  Oh, the utter pain of defeat.  If I had only listened more carefully to her instruction, I would not have had to shake my hand repeatedly trying to get the normal feeling back.

We are always rewarded for our submission to God, and as such, we should not be surprised that we are subject to His discipline as well.  We join our walkthrough of Moses after the soldiers of Egypt drowned in the Red Sea, and Pharaoh’s army were decimated completely.  The Israelites have entered the true beginning of their journey to The Promise Land.  So, as they reach their first stop, they were complaining about a lack of water.  This will be a recurring theme throughout the next devotions (remember the comments when they were captive and brutalized by the restrictions placed on them to build bricks without straw?).  What made this even more perplexing was the fact this occurred after the parting of the Red Sea.  There’s this part of me that wonders if God was looking down on them and simply saying, “Seriously?”  So, after He heard Moses’ prayer and made bad water good with a stick, He instructed Moses to tell the people to follow Him and nothing bad will happen to them.  Furthermore, to ensure His instructions were crystal clear He jogged their memories of all the diseases He placed on the Egyptians to help free them.  Care to touch that hot stove again?  Like a good father, God will provide us with guidance be it through His word, action, or maybe even a message through a friend.  No matter the delivery, the expectation is for us to simply follow or suffer consequences.  It sounds a bit harsh and threatening, but if we understand His intent is to protect and love us, it’s not a bad thing at all.

God is always on our side.  We may not at times understand why He instructs us in a certain way, and other times we simply lose context of all that He has done as we wander off the path.  The goal is for us not to find out the hard way through pain and discipline.  Instead, it is to grow spiritually and stay on the righteous path for as Jesus said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate.” (Matthew 7:13a) Let us intently listen to God’s instruction to avert potential hardship and pain.  How can God’s past discipline provide guidance to your current walk of faith?  What lessons can you take from Moses’ submittal to God?  My prayer is that we listen to God’s voice and figuratively ‘keep our hands off the hot stove.’  Amen.

To Be The Shepherd

Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 NLT

I am a huge Samuel L. Jackson fan.  I was watching the movie Pulp Fiction the other day, and marveled at the character named ‘Jules Winnfield’ played by him.  At various parts of the movie he quoted the Biblical verse of Ezekiel 25:17. He said:

The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.  Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children.  And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers.  And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.

Now this sounds all good, but if you know your bible, you know this is not accurate at all (only the last part “And you will know …”).  However, I have learned over the years that if you dismiss something entirely, you might miss something important.  As I watched the final scene of the movie, I gained a level of understanding for the ending.  It is summed up best by Jules talking about an epiphany he had to a man named Ringo, who initially attempted to rob him but now found himself at Jules’ choice of mercy.  In that moment, Jules is trying to understand what the verse meant.  He tells the attempted robber, “The truth is you’re the weak, and I am the tyranny of evil men.  But I’m trying, Ringo.  I’m trying real hard to be the shepherd.”  This hit me because it at times describes a part of our spiritual journey so well.  We are all in this world, and at times, we will find ourselves part of its craziness and insanity trying hard to be the shepherd to others who have lost their way.

We must remember to represent the shepherd to others as Christ represented us.  While the scene focused on Ezekiel 25, I found myself gravitating to the message of Paul to the Corinthians.  Today’s verses, which focus on serving men, was particularly more fitting than the wildly misquoted verse used in the scene because the conversation was between two criminals: a robber (Ringo) and assassin (Jules).  Jules in this case was becoming the converted, and now was extending grace onto Ringo.  Now this even to me seemed like a stretch, but by putting in the context of today’s verses, it made perfect sense.  Paul said of his being, “to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law.” (I Corinthians 9:21 NKJV)  Today’s verses are not about changing to be like someone else to win them to Christ.  Instead, they are to help us understand others and see their views and perspectives to better speak to them.  You can speak to an alcoholic about Christ, but only someone who has struggled with alcoholism and been saved can truly relate.  You see?  Sometimes when you cannot relate, you are the messenger, but when you can and truly understand another’s challenges and struggles, it is then, like Jules, you are the message.

God grants us His grace so that we may be of service to others.  Paul clearly understood this as he wrote to the Corinthians.  Jesus did as well when He ordered the Great Commission to the disciples saying, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19) Whether it be by action, deeds, friendship, or other relationship, we owe it to others displaying the love of Christ because Christ so loved us first.  Let us be the personal representatives that He has been for us.  Who can you show Christ’s love and grace to?  How can you be a better representative of Christ to others?  My prayer is that we remember the guidance of Christ, and through tough times, we try real hard to be the shepherd.  Amen.