Matthew 13:23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
There was a mailman, John Hand, who rode his mail truck through Los Altos Hills of California on his 50-mile route each day. The route was plain, all brown, and virtually no color. One day he began to throw wildflower seeds out of the window as he drove. Today, if you travel his route in the Los Altos Hills you’ll find beautiful patches of flowers throughout, blossoming in many colors.
We all travel different roads. Sadly, many of us miss wonderful opportunities to change and bring added beauty to our landscapes. In our families, at our jobs, in the world around us, God has given us opportunities to color those landscapes! It’s far easier for us to complain and resign ourselves to settling for those landscapes than it is to be the catalysts of change. From this point on, let’s resolve to stop complaining about the lifelessness around us and do something about it! God has given us the power and anointing to change those landscapes!
Let’s start sowing the seeds of the Gospel, the seeds of salvation and new life. Let’s sow the seeds of love, joy, righteousness, and all the tasty fruits of the Spirit. As we sow them throughout our daily lives, those dull, dry landscapes will begin blossom into something beautiful and we, like that mailman, John Hand, will be remembered as the ones who sowed those seeds.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]On Monday, we talked about “tashlich” — the traditional Jewish ceremony occurring between Rosh ha Shana and Yom Kippur, which involves casting bread crumbs into a river while confessing our sins and watching them be swept downstream. In this passage, however, we read about the importance of casting our crowns. These elders fell down before the Lord, casted their golden crowns and gave God the glory and honor He deserves. How much more should we do the same today?
When my family and I were re-deployed to the United States during the Covid outbreak, all my plans were wrecked. I had planned becoming a licensed tour guide in Israel, allowing the ministry to continue while my kids would serve in the Israeli army for three years. Instead, I’m looking back at 150,000 miles of cross country driving throughout the US, and 350 speaking/ministry engagements. “…Man plans his way…” but, stuff happens, and sometimes we simply need to adjust. So, the adventure continues…
The Bible seems virtually redundant on the theme of courage. More than 125 exhortations for God’s people facing overwhelming trials and dilemmas, resound against fear, notwithstanding how natural that response may seem. Courage based on faith is the universal attitude for saints in all situations. Our omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing), and omnipresent (everywhere) Father says, and repeats, “Fear not! Be of good courage! Be strong and courageous!”
As my wife and I have been redeployed to the United States for a season we’ve traveled over 150,000 miles since 2020. Vehicles which deliver the kind of distances we travel need regular oil changes to stay reliable. So, our vehicles have enjoyed innumerable pit stops.
As we continue to inspect our hearts and take spiritual inventory of our lives during this month of Elul in preparation for the fall feasts, we should stay particularly aware of Yeshua’s prediction in Matthew 24:12, “The love of many will grow cold.” He warned that a sign of the last days would be abounding lawlessness and that callousness and hardness of heart would characterize the end times. The evidence of this is everywhere.
Traditionally in Jewish spirituality, these 40 days of prayer and repentance beginning the 1st of Elul to Yom Kippur parallel the 40 days that Moses spent on the mountain [Exodus 34:28] pleading God’s forgiveness for Israel’s sin of creating and worshiping the golden calf. Interestingly, Psalm 27 is read each day of the month of Elul, along with the shofar blast in preparation for Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).
As we continue our study for Elul, a month set apart for repentance in preparation for the fall feasts, we find a message hidden in the four Hebrew letters spelling the name of this special month. Alef-Lamed-Vav-Lamed form an “acronym” for a well-known passage in the Song of Solomon: Ani l-dodi v-dodi li or in English, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”