Lord of the Harvest

1 Corinthians 1

Paul appeals for unity among the Corinthian believers.

INSIGHT

It has been said: God does the work of God and man does the work of man. Man cannot do the work of God. God will not do the work of man. Paul's exhortation to the Corinthian believers certainly supports this. The Corinthian church had split into factions, following different men. Some said, "I follow Paul." Others said, "I follow Apollos." The most pious among them disdained to follow mere men and said, "I follow Christ." Using the imagery of a husbandman, Paul says, "I planted (brought the message of salvation), Apollos watered (taught you more advanced things), but God gave the increase. So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase" (1 Corinthians 3:6-7). Pursue the work of man with all diligence. And rest in the work of God.

PRAYER

Praise God for caring for the things that are out of your control:
Oh, give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the peoples.
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works.
Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
(Psalm 105:1-3)

Pause for praise and thanksgiving.

Pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
Who can understand his errors?
Cleanse me from secret faults.
Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;
Let them not have dominion over me. (Psalm 19:12-13)

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
He is the Lord our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.
Remember His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations.
(1 Chronicles 16:14-15)

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:

• The fruit of the Spirit in your life
• Those who minister in the inner cities
• Whatever else is on your heart

Finally, offer this prayer to the Lord:
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
And let them say among the nations,
"The Lord reigns." . . .
Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
(1 Chronicles 16:31, 33)

No Condemnation in Christ

No Condemnation in Christ


Mark 16:5-7

Peter was devastated when he realized he'd denied Christ not once but three times, as Jesus had foretold (Luke 22:61-62). This was the man who just hours earlier had bravely vowed to die for his Lord (v. 33). I doubt he ever forgot the horror of such utter failure. He probably spent the next few days suffocating under a weight of guilt.
Maybe you know exactly how heavy that burden feels. The weight of your sin goes everywhere with you, dragging your heart into a pit of despair. God's disfavor seems to bear down on you. In a word, you feel condemned. However, for all who have trusted in Jesus' atoning death on their behalf, the feeling of condemnation is just that—afeeling. It isn't the truth.
The truth is that believers are not condemned for iniquity, no matter how terrible or habitual their transgression may be (Rom. 8:1). Condemnation is reserved for the unbeliever who is declared guilty of sin and punished (John 3:36). We may judge ourselves harshly because our actions and motives fall short of a holy standard. But God sees only the righteousness of Christ, which clothes us the moment we say yes to His sacrifice on our behalf. No one can do enough good to merit his own salvation. Jesus alone removes the believer's sin and "guilty" verdict.
God understands our heart's burdens—even self-inflicted ones. That is why the Lord sent Peter a message to let him know that he was not condemned, and the Messiah who loved him was waiting in Galilee. All believers should personalize the truth that there is no condemnation in Christ.

Were is your Citizenship.

Romans 15

We are to conduct our lives in a way that glorifies God.

INSIGHT

When we become Christians, we exchange our citizenship on earth for citizenship in heaven. Therefore, we live according to the value system in heaven, not the value system on earth. On earth we look out for ourselves, and we satisfy our own wants and desires. In heaven we look out for the welfare of others. This does not mean that we neglect ourselves and our families. Other passages in Scripture indicate that we are to love our spouses, children, and parents and care for their needs, which brings this teaching into balance with other truths.

PRAYER

Praise God for His love that we can pass on to others:
"Praise the Lord, call upon His name;
Declare His deeds among the peoples,
Make mention that His name is exalted.
Sing to the Lord,
For He has done excellent things;
This is known in all the earth.
Cry out and shout, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great is the Holy One of Israel in your midst!" (Isaiah 12:4-6)

Having offered Him your praise, pray this confession to the Lord as you seek to keep your life free from sin:
The fool has said in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity;
There is none who does good.
God looks down from heaven upon the children of men,
To see if there are any who understand, who seek God.
Every one of them has turned aside;
They have together become corrupt;
There is none who does good,
No, not one. (Psalm 53:1-3)

Pray this affirmation to the Lord:
I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:

• Greater peace and trust
• Guidance for your church leaders

Finally, offer this prayer to the Lord:
As we have heard,
So we have seen
In the city of the Lord of hosts,
In the city of our God:
God will establish it forever. Selah.
(Psalm 48:8)

"...never the less"

"...never the less"

Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. Luke 22:42

The laws God gave to Moses and the people called for a number of specific kinds of sacrifices or offerings. The objects offered for sacrifice were sometimes brought by the common people and their leaders, but only the priests could perform the sacrifices, which were to be offered to the God of Israel, and to him alone.
Leviticus describes five basic kinds of sacrifices offered by Israel's priests for the people. One type of sacrifice was the "burnt offering. The object to be sacrificed was a bull, male sheep or goat without blemish, or a dove or pigeon for the poor. The reason for this type of sacrifice was to worship God, show devotion to God, and to ask for God's forgiveness; the entire object was burned (Leviticus 1:1-17; 6:8-13; 8:18-21; 16:23, 24). There was the "grain offering". The object to be sacrificed was a mixture of fine wheat flour, olive oil and incense; bread baked without yeast or honey in loaves or wafers or fried in flat wafers; salt added sometimes; sometimes used along with burnt offerings or peace offerings. This sacrifice was meant to worship God by giving thanks; to recognize that God is the giver of blessings and provides good things (Leviticus 2:1-16; 6:14-23). The "peace offerings" was made with the fat and certain inner organs from a bull, cow, sheep, or goat that has nothing wrong with it; various kinds of bread made without yeast. This was to worship God and ask for God's blessing; some of the meat is kept and eaten (7.28-35). 3.1-17; 7.11-36). For the "sin offering" a young bull for the high priest and the whole nation, a male goat for a tribal leader, a female goat or lamb for ordinary people, two doves or pigeons for the poor, two pounds of fine flour for the very poor, two goats and a ram on the Great Day of Forgiveness (one goat carries the sins of the whole nation into the wilderness) were sacrificed. The “sin offering” was made to ask for God's forgiveness; to make amends for specific unintentional sins; to become clean after becoming ritually unclean. (Leviticus 4:1-5.13; 6:24-30; 8:14-17; 16:3-22). The "guilt offering" was the sacrifice to make things right. A ram that has nothing wrong with it, or the price of the ram in addition to paying back what was stolen or destroyed plus twenty percent were the objects to be sacrificed. To make up for cheating the Lord or unintentionally destroying something that belonged to the Lord; to make up for robbing or cheating another person was the reason for the sacrifice (Leviticus 5:14-6.7; 7:1-6).
Notice that the sacrifices that were to be offered to God were to be: “without blemish,” “that has nothing wrong with it.” From this we can conclude that God wants our best. He wants offerings without spot, without wrinkles and without blemishes. He never wants the less. He wants our best.
My friend, God leads by example. Before we thought of giving our best to Him, He gave His best to us. In the Garden of Eden He sacrificed an innocent animal to cover Adam and Eve’s nakedness (Genesis 3:21). In the Garden of Gethsemane He prepared a sacrifice for you and me His only begotten son, the innocent Lamb of God, Jesus, to cover our sins. Resolve today to always give Him your best. Your best worship, your best praise. Give Him the best of your life and let’s say like Jesus, “…never the less.”

The Value of Obedience

The Value of Obedience


Proverbs 2:1-6

Despite Peter's vast fishing experience, he returned from a night's work with nothing to show for his efforts. It's quite possible that the Lord's request to let the nets down one more time struck him as unreasonable—after all, Peter and his partners were the professionals. Nevertheless, the fisherman complied, and his obedience blessed many.
Scripture demonstrates that divine plans often defy human logic. For instance, who would design a battle  strategy that involved only marching and shouting? God told Joshua to conquer Jericho that way, and doing so proved successful (Josh. 6:1-5).
Moses is another example. When he felt unsure about his leadership potential, the Lord gave reassurance in an unusual way—by telling him to throw down his walking stick. When Moses obeyed, God powerfully confirmed His choice of leader (Ex. 4:1-3).
Our Father may ask us to do something that seems illogical—perhaps to accept more responsibility when we were hoping to reduce our workload, to leave a position that He provided just recently, or to take on an assignment for which we feel ill-equipped. His plan might feel unrealistic in view of our age, stage of life, or health concerns. We must press forward in obedience, regardless of how impractical the request may appear.
To grasp the importance of obeying, think about children receiving instructions from parents or teachers. Careful listening is needed for the task to be done safely and properly. Some steps may seem pointless, but the rationale often becomes clear later. Always make obeying God your priority.

Christians should be sensitive to others.

Romans 14

Christians should not exercise personal liberty if it destroys another Christian.

INSIGHT

We are a part of others; what we say and what we do affects others. This is especially true of Christians. We are a part of the body of Christ; we are a part of one another. Not only does God not want us to live isolated lives but He has made it so that we cannot make it alone. Therefore, we must always be alert to how our actions affect others. If something we do harms another person, we must take that into account. If our freedom causes hurt to a brother or sister in Christ, then love dictates that we limit our freedom.

PRAYER

Praise your heavenly Father for your brothers and sisters in Christ:
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity! . . .
It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing–
Life forevermore. (Psalm 133:1, 3)

Pause for praise and thanksgiving, and as you seek to keep your life free from sin, pray this confession to the Lord:
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

Confess any sins that the Holy Spirit brings to your mind.

Now pray this affirmation to the Lord:
I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to have a walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. (Ephesians 4:1-6)

As you make your requests known to the Lord, include:

• Kindness in your dealings with others
• Encouragement for missionaries in Europe
• Your activities for the day

Finally, offer this closing prayer to the Lord:
Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
"For Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation." (Isaiah 12:2)

Never Thirst Again, Part 3

Never Thirst Again, Part 3

Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?  Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 4:9-14

And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them. Nehemiah 9:15

     Drought is a condition that results when the average rainfall for an area drops far below the normal amount for a long period of time.  In areas that are not irrigated, the lack of rain causes farm crops to wither and die. Higher than normal temperatures usually accompany periods of drought. These high temperatures increase the stresses on plants and add to the crop damage. Forest and grass fires are more frequent and spread quickly due to the dry conditions. Streams, ponds, and wells often dry up during a drought, and animals suffer and may even die because of the lack of water.

     Drought ranks as the chief cause of famine. Famine results in crop failure. Crop failure results in food shortages. Food shortages result in starvation.

  The answer for famine is bread and the answer for drought is water. It is God who gives us bread when we are hungry and water when we are thirsty. The bread from heaven that we need for our hunger is Jesus. The rock that the water comes from is Jesus. All you need is Jesus. In John 6:47-48, Jesus said: "I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. I am the bread of life." When the Jews were in the desert for 40 years, twice Moses struck a rock, and twice water gushed out of the rock for the people to drink (Num 20:1-13; Exodus 17:1-6). The rock is a manifest type of Christ: “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (1 Corinthians 10:4). My friend, make Jesus your desire and never thirst again.