Mighty God

Isaiah 49: 26

And I will feed your oppressors with the own flesh, and they will become drunk with their own blood as with sweet wine; and all flesh will know that I, the Lord, am your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

God ain’t foolin’ around! Here is the question, which side of this verse do you want to be on. Are you the one to whom the Lord is speaking or are you the oppressor to whom He will feed their own flesh? This is some strong language and God meant for it to be so. He is upholding His beloved. However, might it be that even some of those who attack you are the so called “chosen?” If we are set upon by other Christians, where does God draw the line?

As you sow, so shall you reap. We get to choose which side of this verse we stand on. If we attack our brethren, if we criticize and disparage them, then we have taken on the name “oppressor” and great will be our agony. Do not think that because we are Christians we are exempt from the fruit of our labor or of our mouths. We are not. That is why Jesus emphasized the Parable of the Sower saying that if one cannot understand this principle then he will not understand any of the parables (Mark 4: 13). Whatever you sow, you will reap. God has given us this principle for our good so that we can plant good seed and harvest a great crop. However, the principle of the seed works whether the seed is good or bad. If you sow discord, you will reap a harvest of that seed and it is probably a crop you do not want.

We are a torn and broken people but God can heal us and heal our land. He will stand for those who stand for Him, His Word and His ways. He will show Himself on behalf of those who call on His name. He will defend His own. All flesh, or all people, will be able to see for themselves who is truly of the household of faith. If you have been attacked, fear not. God is going to show out so profoundly on your behalf that all will see and know that Jehovah God is your Lord, Savior and Redeemer. Those who have gossiped about you will be as nothing and shall fade.

If you have been guilty of unkind words or bad acts against your Christian siblings, there is forgiveness for that. Jesus is the way. Repent. Put yourself under the cleansing blood of Jesus. Turn and go a new way, the way of rightness. The Mighty One of Jacob shall receive you into His arms.

The First Law

Galatians 6: 7

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

We have the power to improve the quality of our lives. When we know and follow spiritual laws we find increasing success and happiness. The lead shot manufacturers from yesterday’s Word of the Day employed the physical laws of the earth in order to create a needed product. We can create the same kind of success by employing spiritual laws.

Today’s verse reveals one of those spiritual laws. It is called the law of sowing and reaping. Yesterday I said that it is the preeminent law. Why do I say that? Jesus intimated to his disciples that if they could not understand the parable of the sower and the seed then they could not understand any of the parables (Mark 4: 13). Besides this statement, twice Jesus compared the kingdom of God to seed being sown (v. 26 & 30). In other words, if we cannot understand the parable of the sower then we cannot understand anything about the kingdom of God. This principle of sowing and reaping is how the kingdom of God works. That is why it is so important that we recognize it and employ it. It is not necessary that we understand how it works, only that we apply it.

In Galatians 6: 7 Paul was writing specifically about money. In context he was speaking about giving good things to those who teach us the word (Galatians 6: 6). The principle of sowing and reaping, though, applies to all things. In Matthew 7, verse 1 Jesus is quoted saying, “Do not judge lest you be judged.” Why is this so? Because as you sow, so shall you reap. If you sow judgement, judgment you will reap. If you sow bitterness, bitterness you will reap. No matter what you sow, that you shall reap and more besides because one thing we know about seeds is that they produce much more fruit than is represented by their size and number.

Another truth which supports this proposition is Genesis 1: 12 which reads, “The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind”. That is to say that the fruit yield is representative of the seed sown. The seeds produce according to their own kind such that whatever you sow is what you reap. Agriculturally we wouldn’t expect to plant cucumber seeds and get tomatoes. It just doesn’t happen.

The same is true in our lives. We cannot sow discord and reap harmony. We will not reap love and respect if we sow criticism, judgment and backbiting. It just isn’t ever going to happen. Jesus taught that we could know people by their fruit (Matthew 7: 16 & 20). A good tree, he said, does not produce bad fruit and vice versa. The fruit will demonstrate what kind of seed they have sown. Jesus is talking about the harvest and the harvest is always a product of the seed. Knowing this, we can predetermine the crop which is produced in our lives by planting the correct seeds.

This is the first law of spiritual physics. Harvests are determined by seeds. Therefore, we can cultivate our crop of choice by first planting the right seeds. Understanding that the kingdom of God’s first law is sowing and reaping should help us all to live a more enlightened and fruitful life. Be blessed my beloved.

Abundant Supply

2 Corinthians 8: 14

At this present time your abundance being a supply for their want, that their abundance also may become a supply for your want, that there may be equality.

This is God’s idea of provision. My idea used to be that I would hoard all of my provision for my needs and wants and you would stockpile all of your earnings and take care of your needs. Wow! How wrong was that? Dad’s idea is that I take care of you and you take care of me. So, how am I doing? 

Paul had a global perspective on this economic system. He could see how it operated across all the new churches and the whole of the territory. Lack in one area need not end in lack for those inhabitants because other regions were not only experiencing abundance but they also shared their abundance. Therefore, there was no lack.

Of course this is exactly what Jesus taught us about how the Kingdom of God operates. He said that if we wanted to understand the Kingdom then we must understand the parable of the seed (Mark 4: 13). We begin with seeds. Now you know that a seed produces far more fruit than one could ever guess from such a small beginning. That is the point though. We sow a few small seeds into the lives of others and then the harvest into their lives and then to ours turns out to be an entire crop. However, if I keep my seed and you keep your seed, guess what; there will be no harvest for either of us. We end up eating our seed and there is no growth in our portfolios.

Man, this is the simplest of all parables and it is the one by which Jesus said we would understand all parables. None the less, it is one that seems to elude modern Christians. We need to get a revelation. When we all plant our seeds, then there is a bountiful harvest which we all get to participate in. Why do we not use Dad’s economic model? I think we fail because of fear. Yes, there are perhaps some people who are just stingy but I believe the bigger reason is that people are just afraid. They think they won’t reap even if they sow. Therefore, they hang on to their little seed with a tight fist. Maybe they think that others won’t do their part, so that the sowing will be all one sided. My answer to that is that at the very least if we do our part we will be in obedience. Secondly, perhaps, just maybe, Dad will come through for us. He is the one who makes seed grow. He is the master of the harvest. Verse 15 says, “He who gathered little had no lack.” God’s system works. That is why both Paul and Jesus taught it. I don’t think either of them was trying to lead us astray.

Here is the bottom line – everything in God’s Kingdom functions through the operation of seed. Until we grasp this most basic of concepts we are going to struggle. Eventually we have to understand that Dad is in the business of providing but that He does so through multiplying seed. When you truly get a hold of that idea, you will begin to see how to operate all of the machinery in the Kingdom of God. Unfortunately the converse is true too. You will never operate in Kingdom principles if you don’t grasp the first law.