Tag: Food For Growth

John 4:34-38

[34] Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. [35] Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. [36] Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. [37] For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ [38] I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”

Luke 10:2-3

[2] And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. [3] Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.

I was listening to a Christian novel the other night and the main character was having a flashback. The main character, who is an atheist, was talking with his girlfriend (later wife) about what they believe in. She, being a devout Christian, tells him when you see all of this how can you not believe in someone or something greater than yourself. They say a few more lines and then he asks “That’s it? No more questions? Aren’t you supposed to try to save me?” How does the Christian respond? “That isn’t in my job description. God handles that part.” This is the lukewarm, apathetic, leave it all up to God Church we have become. God said He is the head and we are His body. Therefore, we are to go make disciples of all nations. Not Him. He did His part. He died on Golgotha. He rose on the third day. He ascended on high. Now, it’s up to us to witness. To plant seeds. To make disciples.

Yes, God draws them in, but how can He draw those whom have never heard? There’s little revival and expansion of the Church in the West because we put every single thing on God and take no responsibility ourselves. We don’t witness because God will draw them in. We don’t pray and seek because God will do it if He wants to and in His own time. We don’t spiritually fight for anything because of God has it for me, He’ll give it to me when He’s ready. We have become a passive, apathetic, weak, lazy body. Meanwhile those who will die if they spread the Word or Evangelize or witness to anyone about Christ willingly risk their lives in order to tell others about Jesus.

There’s a hunger there. A desire. An urgency. They yearn to grow the Kingdom of God for Christ because they understand the necessity of it. They understand the need for Jesus.

Today, take some time and reflect. Have you become lazy? Apathetic? Passive? Have you put everything on God instead of giving yourself some form of responsibility? Have you made a difference in the lives of those around you?

Scripture says the fields are ripe on to harvest, but the laborers are few. So, pray for more laborers. Jesus didn’t say pray for more people to get saved. He said pray that those who are already saved will begin to reap the harvest of the world because they are ready to bear. They are ready to receive Christ and God forgiveness, they just need someone to tell them. Someone to reap them.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Begin To Harvest.

Genesis 30:37-43

[37] Then Jacob took fresh sticks of poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white streaks in them, exposing the white of the sticks. [38] He set the sticks that he had peeled in front of the flocks in the troughs, that is, the watering places, where the flocks came to drink. And since they bred when they came to drink, [39] the flocks bred in front of the sticks and so the flocks brought forth striped, speckled, and spotted. [40] And Jacob separated the lambs and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban. He put his own droves apart and did not put them with Laban’s flock. [41] Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding, Jacob would lay the sticks in the troughs before the eyes of the flock, that they might breed among the sticks, [42] but for the feebler of the flock he would not lay them there. So the feebler would be Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. [43] Thus the man increased greatly and had large flocks, female servants and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

I’ve read the story of Jacob and Laban many many times before, but it wasn’t until tonight when reading that I saw something more. I never realized the sticks were physically in the water the animals were drinking from. I always just thought it was placed in front of them, but it was actually IN their drinking supply.

So, when Jacob was carving those sticks, he was carving the image or type of animal he wanted into the sticks and then placed them into their water supply because they drank when they mated. So, they were literally drinking stripes into their bodies and filling their system with stripes so that they could give birth to stripes. I never noticed that before that they were literally drinking stripes to produce striped.

So, really what you put into yourself will be what you become. If you water yourself and feed yourself with movies, music, people filled with strong language and crudity, you will find your mind, your thoughts, your mouth thinking, pondering, and saying those things. You’ll find yourself being filled with what you put into you and what you are filled with, will be what comes from you as well.

Dear LORD, thank You that You never stop teaching us. That Your Word never becomes stagnant but is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. LORD, please continue to show me Your Truth. Show me things in Your Word that I missed before. Things that I overlooked. Teach me, LORD, I want to learn. I want to grow in You. I want to know You and Your heart. I want to grow in understanding and wisdom. Thank You, LORD for giving wisdom and understanding freely to anyone who asks. Thank You, LORD. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

[16] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

The Bible is composed of 66 books, written by about 40 writers, over a time period of about 1500 years, yet there is no contradiction. Let that sink in for a second. 66 different books written by approximately 40 different writers over a time period of about 1500 years, and there are no contradictions. That is evidence that it is God-breathed alone. Think about it. A TV show written by a handful of writers in a room together will contradict themselves on the show in later seasons. Movie sequels will contradict the prequels. Yet, the Bible has no contradictions and has been preserved for over 3500 years.

People will deny these facts saying the Bible is full of contradictions, but when you read the context of those so-called contradictions, you will find that there actually is none. They believed their hypothesis was true before they sought out to prove it true, this tainting their search and clouding their judgment.

Peter tells us that we need to be prepared to give a reason we believe the things we do. In other words, we need to know our Bible and be able to defend our beliefs when they are attacked or questioned by the unbeliever. We need to know the reason one says Judas hung himself and another says his insides spilled out. We need to know why one says Mary went to the tomb and another says Mary and others went to tomb. Why one says one genealogy and the other says another. We need to know our Bible and we need to always seek the LORD for understanding of His Word, so that we might be prepared for any questions to our faith.

The Bible is without flaw or contradiction, as it is the Word of God. Why? Because it has but one author, the LORD God Himself who gave man the words to write. If the LORD God gave us His Word, the least we can do is learn it and defend it.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Learn To Defend.

Matthew 1:17

[17] So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations.

Matthew uses fourteen generations. He makes a big deal about it, so I started paying attention. 14 is the Hebrew 10 and 4. 10 is the number of covenant, and I believe 4 is the number of division or separation (kinda like sanctification).

See, in Hebrew, there aren’t separate symbols for numbers and letters. The numbers and letters share the same symbols. Each letter equates to a number; this is where the Hebrew Gematria comes from.

14 in Hebrew is also notably connected to the name David, which is who Matthew was trying to show them Jesus was the son of. David’s name is 14 in Hebrew Gematria. I thought that it was interesting that Matthew showed them that Jesus was the Messiah (the Son of David) through the numerology of their own language.

Everything in the Bible has a purpose. There’s nothing written just to be written. Just to fill the page. Matthew was showing that Jesus’ very own genealogy states He is the son of David. The rightful heir to the throne. Three sets of 14 generations from Abraham to Jesus, showing He is the promised offspring of Abraham. Two sets of 14 generations from David to Jesus, showing He is the rightful heir to the everlasting throne promised to David’s descendant.

Each and every letter has meaning in the Bible. God has written it, now it’s up to us to seek out the meaning of these things.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Just Read.

¹ Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. ² And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. ³ Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. ⁴ But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” ⁵ And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. ⁶ These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. ⁷ And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. ~ Acts 6:1-7

I always knew today was Boxing Day, but I never knew it was the Feast of Stephen. The Feast of Stephen is most well known for being in the song/hymn “Good King Wenceslas.”

Good King Wenceslas looked out on the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.

We all know these words, but the last words I had never heard before. They truly summarize the Feast of Stephen.

Therefore, Christian men, be sure, while God’s gifts possessing,
You who now will bless the poor shall yourselves find blessing.

See, on the Feast of Stephen, you honored the memory of Stephen the martyr by giving gifts to the poor. Why? Because Stephen was one of the seven chosen by the early Church to oversee daily food distribution to ensure none were being overlooked or missed.

Stephen died not too long after this in 36 AD. He was stoned to death by the Sanhedrin. And with his dying breath, he prayed to the LORD that He wouldn’t hold that sin against them. He used his dying breath to pray for his murderers.

Today, we honor that legacy. A legacy of love, selflessness, forgiveness, and giving. If you, LORD forbid, were to die today, what would your legacy be? What would people remember you for? Today, don’t let it just be another day. Go out of your way for another person. Let today be the day you start leaving a legacy you would be proud of.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Leave A Great Legacy.

1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. ² (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) ³ And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. ⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Beth-lehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) ⁵ To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. ⁶ And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. ⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. ⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And, lo, the angel of the LORD came upon them, and the glory of the LORD shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the LORD. ¹² And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴           Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace,

Good will toward men. ^{~ KJV} Luke 2:1–14

This is the real and true Christmas story—the greatest story ever told. Why is it so important? Because this is the day we celebrate, the day we commemorate, that a Savior, who is Christ the LORD, was born.

A tiny, helpless baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

The same God who said, “Let there be light,” and light came to be, had now incarnated Himself—becoming a humble, helpless baby, dependent on His earthly parents to provide, protect, and love Him. He took on flesh and came in the form of man so that He might save man through His life, death, and resurrection.

That is what the angel was proclaiming that night to the shepherds who were out in the fields keeping watch over their flock when he said, “Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy.” For a Savior was born in Bethlehem—a Savior who was destined for the cross in order to save mankind from their sins. Every man, woman, and child now has the opportunity to live throughout eternity with Jesus.

There are many so-called facts that claim to be verified by science that are not facts at all, such as evolution. But here is a fact you can depend on, a truth you can believe, because it comes from God Himself: a Savior—Jesus, the Christ—was born over two thousand years ago. He lived and died, was raised to life again on the third day, and is coming back to receive unto Himself all those who believe and take refuge in His great and mighty Name.

This Christmas, let the joy of the new birth take shape in your life. Believe God for great and mighty things—things that only He can provide. It’s Christmas; let us rejoice and be glad. Our LORD and Savior has come.

Father, thank You for the joy of Christmas. Thank You for the hope we have in Jesus. Thank You, LORD Jesus, that You are coming back for us, so that where You are, there we shall be also. In Jesus’ Name we pray, amen.

⁸ And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹ And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. ¹⁰ And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” ~ Luke 2:8-12

The very first people to hear the good news of the long-awaited Messiah were shepherds. Not kings. Not rabbis. Not the teachers, prophets. None that you would expect to be the first to greet the King of kings and LORD of lords. The Great I Am. God Himself. So, this begs the question, why were the shepherds the first to hear?

Jesus, the LORD, is the Good Shepherd, and we, the Church, are His sheep. God told the shepherds first because they represent the head of the Church. Leaders of the Church are shepherds under Christ, the Good Shepherd. The shepherds being the first to hear about and see Jesus isn’t random or strange. It’s setting the stage for the leaders of the Church to take their rightful place and shepherd the flock of Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Follow The Good Shepherd.