Psalm 106:23 – “He threatened to destroy them, but Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him and turned back his destructive anger.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God, I was moved to consider Psalm 103.   It begins with multiple reasons we praise God.   Motivators for developing a deeper relationship with Him.  There are benefits in serving God.  One of the chief reasons is forgiveness.  Then, redemption and restoration. The incredible lovingkindness of God leaves us in awe. Tragically, some develop an entitlement mentality and take God’s mercy for granted.

In that relationship, we discover the power of intercessory prayer.  In Psalm 106:23, Moses serves as our example.  Sodom could have been spared for ten!   Matthew 22:35-40 reveals the importance of the heart.  If God has our whole being (body, soul, mind, and spirit), we discover the doorway to Him.

Matthew 23:28 reminds us that the heart is the key.   When we focus on God being our everything, we see the three revelations of Matthew 25:

1. The ten virgins. All ten were virgins. All ten slept or lost focus because of the delay. Five kept the inner fire burning and responded to the midnight cry.

2. The talents and results. We are only responsible for what we have been given. Fulfilling our assignment is the key. Fear of failure or making a mistake causes paralysis of analysis and results in inaction. The focus is on self, not the kingdom or purpose.

3. True Body Ministry is shown in vv 35-40. If God has our whole being, serving others is natural. Serving others is True Body Ministry. We are Christ’s Body; therefore, if we serve others, we are serving Him.

My prayer is, LORD, help me see You, and be You to others.   No, I’m not Jesus, but if Jesus is in me, living through me, I become the Jesus people can see. That leads them to Him.

Father, help us to become so adept at Praising You that it is second nature.

Psalm 92:12-15 – “The godly grow like a palm tree; they grow high like a cedar in Lebanon.  ¹³ Planted in the Lord’s house, they grow in the courts of our God.  ¹⁴ They bear fruit even when they are old; they are filled with vitality and have many leaves.  ¹⁵ So they proclaim that the Lord, my Protector, is just and never unfair.”

As I read, prayed, and meditated on the Word of God today, a challenge and question echoed in my heart and head: Being Planted.  In Psalm 91, the Covenant Psalm, the key is relationship with God (dwell in His presence).   In Psalm 92, we find that if we are planted in God’s house, we flourish in His courts. The courts are the place of judicial decrees.  We win our cases over the enemy!

In Matthew 15:2-3, we hear religion’s question (focus on man-made tradition) and Jesus’ answer (focus on God).   In Matthew 16:3, we encounter the question that becomes a challenge.   We are in tune with the natural but not the spiritual.  Why?  This is reemphasized in vv 11-12. The focus was on the natural. Their minds were not transformed yet!

In Matthew 16:15, we encounter life’s most probing question, “Who is Jesus to us, personally?”   In Matthew 18:1, they are still battling with the carnal, “Who is the greatest?” Position and prominence!   

We have a problem with forgiveness because we are more in tune with or focused on the natural than the spiritual.  It is about us.   Matthew 18 gives the process with some necessary caveats.  In v 15, a person (fellow believer) is at fault with us.   That reveals there is some connection and relationship. We go to them personally.  If necessary, we took others with us.  Then, as a final appeal, we bring it before the church.   Not social media or talebearing.

Why?  The motive is reconciliation and restoration.  Anything else is rooted in the flesh.  We forgive in light of our forgiveness!  We forgive, remembering the magnitude of our forgiveness.  Our problems in life largely stem from the reality that we are more in tune with the natural than the spiritual. We have to die to self so we can live to, in, and through Jesus.

Lord, help us become more in tune with the spirit than the flesh. Help us decrease so You can increase in us.

Matthew 13:24-30 – “ He presented them with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed darnel among the wheat and went away. ²⁶ When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the darnel also appeared. ²⁷ So the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the darnel come from?’ ²⁸ He said, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So, the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather it?’ ²⁹ But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the darnel, you may uproot the wheat along with it. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time, I will tell the reapers, “First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn.”

As I read, prayed, and pondered the Word of God today, the thought of being self-appointed defenders of God flooded my consciousness.  Jesus spoke of divided kingdoms in Matthew 12. In Matthew 13, we have a fascinating parable.

The tares and the wheat are growing in the same field. Several things surfaced:

• The Tares & Wheat are in the same field.
• They are growing (could speak of prominence and position).
• The Danger of Rooting out the Tares.

The Danger is destroying innocent wheat.  If we become self-appointed purgers of error, we may and probably will destroy some wheat in the process. It is always God’s heart to protect the wheat.

Is letting the tares & wheat grow together a sign that God overlooks error? Is it a sign that error is never confronted or corrected? Is it a live-and-let-live attitude that Jesus is teaching? NO! It is God’s concern for the wheat. God will deal with error in His time. Remember His warning about offending one of the little ones or weak ones? He said that the one causing the offense would be better off if they were anchored to the bottom of the ocean.

Remember what Jesus said to Peter after the resurrection about feeding and caring for the sheep?  Caring for the sheep involves being careful not to destroy them and feeding them.  A diet of truth will expose far more error with a restorative result than blazing in and pulling up tares.

Love repels more error than judgment. Love heals, restores, and preserves.   Remember, it is God’s field, not ours. Our job is to love! Our job is to be our brother’s keeper. Our job is to teach truth! Self-appointed Tare Busters do more harm than Good. Maybe they are not as wrong as you think. Maybe they are redeemable.

Let’s love God and people.

Psalm 62:11-12 – “God has declared one principle; two principles I have heard: God is strong, ¹² and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love.  For you repay men for what they do.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, I was drawn to two thoughts – God and the Harvest.

In Psalm 62:11-12, there is the revelation that God owns power and mercy. Think about that.  Both belong to God.  If something is owned, the owner decides how, when, and by whom it is used. Jesus said, “Be merciful as I am merciful.”   All we do and are flows from Him.  We can do nothing in ourselves.  We can do anything through Him.  That reveals the necessity of God!

Psalm 65:4 reveals the benefits of pleasing God.  That gives access to blessings, God’s presence, God’s courts, and provision.  The Harvest is God’s focus, not kingdom building.  I’m not talking about His kingdom, but our kingdoms. In everything, the Law of Harvest comes into play.  

The Harvest and the Law of Harvest are connected, though not the same. The Harvest is the objective, and the Law of Harvest is a vehicle. 

The Golden Rule operates on the Law of Harvest principle – Sow then reap. Reap what we sow, later than we sow, and more than we sow.   Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus pointed the disciples toward God’s objective. How do we harvest?

If we make God real by manifesting Him in our lives, people are drawn to the light.  If we do the work of the kingdom (signs & wonders), people are drawn to the light.  If we demonstrate the love of God, people are drawn to the light.  If we focus on people rather than position, popularity, power, or purse, souls are harvested.

Matthew 10:7-8 reveals the way we know the kingdom is near – “Heal the sick, cleanse the leper, cast out demons; freely you have received, freely give.”

The need is not more revelation but more heaven in us.  When heaven is in us to overflow, the kingdom is manifested, and the harvest gathered. 
It is God first! Whatever is most valuable to us holds our hearts and is our treasure. If God is most valuable, His Harvest will be, too.

Lord, help us to become laborers in Your harvest!

1 Kings 3:5 – “At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, ‘Ask what I shall give you.”

As I read, prayed, and mused on the Word of God today, the subject of dreams, divine and supernatural dreams fill my thoughts.  I wondered, do we value dreams enough, even the ones we consider strange?  Why do we dream?   Are dreams merely a phenomenon of our psyche, or are they a means of communication, guidance, or warning?

Do we need divine guidance, or has God formed us and then left it up to us to find our way?  He gives us great latitude in decisions, but please think naturally for a moment.   If you have children or employees, you are responsible for, do you leave them totally without guidance and expect them to fulfill their purpose or assignment?   Don’t you offer guidance, even minimally?   Would God be different?

Could dreams be God’s way of communicating to our uncluttered minds?   In sleep, we are not distracted by the busyness of the day.  What better time for God to download information than in a dream?

In Matthew, we have numerous examples of supernatural divine instruction through dreams.  Joseph, Mary’s husband, had multiple dreams that helped preserve the Seed.  The Magi were also warned in a dream.   Pilate’s wife warned him because of a dream.   God will use any means possible to communicate with us, and the one with the least resistance and distraction is DREAMS.

We discount them because we don’t understand them or they are incomplete.   We discount them because we do not recognize dreams as a means of communication.   We discount them because a supernatural divine dream makes us uncomfortable.  

It is almost like we resist the idea that God has access to our subconscious, which is frightening.   It takes control from us and reveals that we can hide nothing from God.   Before we protest, we do it subconsciously with our masks.  We pretend we are okay when we are not.  We pretend we are not angry when we are.  We pretend we don’t doubt when we do.  

Dreams bypass all that and give God an open channel of communication. Therefore, do not discount or discard any dream UNTIL and UNLESS you have carefully prayed over it.  It may require 2 or 10 dreams to piece the pieces together and see the message.

We need guidance and omit a prime means because of our disbelief in the possibility.   Joel 2 declares that dreams will be a part of the Last Days.   Start expecting to remember the communicative dreams and write them down.  You will develop the ability to remember and discover a means of communication you have lacked.  You dream, but do you benefit from them the way God intended?   God is the Speaking God.  Start listening.

Lord, help us to be open to You in our dreams and be quick to obey!