1 Samuel 9:21 – “And Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the ^[c]tribe of Benjamin? Why, then, do you speak to me in this way?”

Several truths are preeminent today for anyone desiring to be used by God.  I want to remind you of some that have largely been forgotten or not maintained.

Humility – In 1 Samuel 9:21, Saul questioned how God could use someone as insignificant as he was.  Then, in 1 Samuel 15:17, Samuel informed him how pride had brought him into disfavor.   He had gone from being little in his own eyes to being preeminent in his own eyes. When the angel called Gideon, he used almost the same words as Saul: humility trusts and depends on God, while pride trusts self.

Part of Jesus’s statement to the 70 as they rejoiced over the power they had been given was to remind them of the devil’s fall.  Pride brought the devil low.  When God blesses us or uses us in the gifts and power, we must remain little in our own eyes.  It’s not about us, but Him.

Luke 11:35 Jesus made an interesting statement.   “Take heed, therefore, lest the light which is in you is darkness.”  How can light be darkness?  Through Pride and Deception!

Verse 36 – “If your whole body is lighted and there is no part in it dark, the whole of it will give light…”

The objective is to have our body, soul, spirit, strength, and mind be light.  Pride is like leaven and corrupts.  Humility is like leaven and touches every dimension of our lives. We must always be little in our own eyes (humble) and trust God completely.   He will bring us to His greatness so we can minister, not so we can brag.  Nothing is out of reach for the one who walks in humble obedience.   The provision and the power are yours. 

Today is your day of new victory!  Seize it.

Luke 6:38 – “Give and IT will be given to you.  They will pour into your lap a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, running over.  For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return.”  LSB

We are planting a crop that will be harvested in the coming days.  Well, crops because each day, we are sowing seeds that will come to fruition.  Don’t live sowing your wild oats, and spend the rest of your days praying for crop failure!  Sow for the harvest you want.

We tend to forget that our yesterdays are when we sowed the seeds that are producing the harvest today.  The Lord reminded me of something I wrote nearly 30 years ago as I contemplated life, sowing, and reaping when I considered living the abundant life that Jesus came to give.

Yesterdays

Sometimes we mortals seem to forget.

Each day is filled with things which tomorrow we may regret.

Our yesterdays with memories are filled.

Some make us sad, and with others, we are thrilled.

But once the day is over, and all its hours are spent.

We sometimes look back with regret at the message we have sent.

Our yesterdays are filled with decisions which daily we have made.

There we incurred debts which in our tomorrows must be paid.

If we would remember, each passing day.

That harvest time for this hour we will face along life’s way.

Daily we should live with this thought in mind.

The Fruit of what we plant today, tomorrow we shall find.

Live each day knowing that the Law of Sowing and Reaping never fails.  Luke 6:38 says, “Give and IT will be given to you.  They will pour into your lap a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, running over.  For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return.”  LSB

A key to remember is the little word “IT.”  What you give, you get.  You do not sow tomatoes and get watermelons.  We do not reap wheat and corn if we sow thistles and thorns.  Sow hate, and you do not reap love.  When we sow compassion, we will reap compassion. 

What is your greatest need and the greatest need of those around you?  Sow to it!   God desires to bless us and enrich our lives.  He wants us to have harvests that are beneficial and abundant with blessings, not filled with sorrow, pain, and defeat.

I pray that the LORD will enable you to sow to the Harvest You Desire!   May He bless you abundantly, guide and guard you, and enable you to see His Kingdom come, and His will be done on Earth as it is done in Heaven! 

Today would be a great day to sow kindness, love, mercy, goodness, and help where help is needed.  That is a harvest we could all stand more of!

Remember that in Jesus, Joy comes in the morning, and God’s blessings and mercies are new every morning.   Have a fantastic day, and rejoice; God is still on the Throne!

Have a Great Day in Jesus!

As I prayed, read, and pondered the Word, I was reminded of Jesus’s words regarding the last days and His return. I do not intend to wade into the murky water of eschatological predictions but focus on the beginning of birth pains that reveal the time is short.

Knowing that it is near has multiple benefits.   It encourages everyone to get their house or heart in order.  Release all unforgiveness and seek full restoration with Jesus and total surrender.   It also enables us to avoid deception.   If we know what He said would be the signs of His coming and the end, then false doctrine and fallacious self-serving prophecies and predictions will not hinder us.

In Mark 13:5, Jesus said, “At that time, deception will run rampant.”  That sounds a lot like today.  I see more deceptive teachings than I’ve ever seen or heard.

In Mark 13:8, “For nations will go to war with each other…”  What’s new or revelatory about that?  The word “nations” is “ethnic groups” or indicating racial and cultural upheaval.   That is more prevalent today than ever, and countless influential people continuously fan those flames.  Why?  They seek power, and in war and discord, they find accessible avenues to enact their edicts of control.

There will be censorship of Christian voices and an attempt to silence the message of Christ.   It is happening.   The good news is that the Holy Spirit will guide us.

Jesus said in Mark 13:8b, “This is how the first contractions and birth pains of the new age begin.”

The Essenes calendar predicted the final Jubilee before the millennial 1,000 years would be 2025-2075. Jesus came early in the final Jubilee of the Torah age before the age of grace was ushered in. He was crucified around 32 AD. If the age is 2,000 years in duration, that would be 2032, and if His ministry was 3 to 3.5 years, that would correlate to 2025. I’m not predicting the rapture; I’m only saying The Time is Short!

We don’t know what tomorrow holds, so today is our time to get our houses and hearts in order.

Live the life He has given, and keep your eye on the ultimate prize.

Luke 4:1 – “From the moment of his baptism, Jesus overflowed with the Holy Spirit.”  TPT

Life is more than what we possess in this life.   It is what and who we are in God.    He is our inner peace, comfort, and joy.   To have His fullness, we must be single-heartedly committed to Him.   He must be our life.

An almost obscure statement in Luke 2:51 about Jesus caught my eye today.   After He stayed behind in Jerusalem at age 12, and Mary chastised Him, this verse tells us that He went home with them and obeyed them.  

We must remember that Jesus is our example.   If we read the Gospels with the view that He is God and do not see Him as fully man, we miss the message, mission, and commission.   He did all He did as a man.   He was fully God but laid that aside and lived fully as a human being subject to all the tests, trials, and temptations we face.

John the Baptist preached that his ministry fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy and cry to get our twisted hearts right for the coming of Messiah.   That is the message for the second coming, too.

Luke 4:1 epitomizes Jesus’s example for us.  “From the moment of His baptism, Jesus OVERFLOWED with the Holy Spirit.”  If He is our example and pattern, then that is how we should be – OVERFLOWING with the Holy Spirit.  Most of the time, we are overflowing, but not with the Holy Spirit.   That needs to change!

Isaiah 61 was His pattern and commission, and “if” He is our pattern, it is ours, too!

Jesus was never stressed out over stuff and never rushed. In Luke 4:40, Jesus laid His hands on them individually and healed their varying illnesses.  He was always personal, always had time for the needs of others, and was never constrained by man-made time constraints.

In Luke 6:43-49, He gives us an amazing life lesson and pathway into His presence and power.  It’s the heart whose condition is evidenced by the fruit of our lives.  The latter part of verse 45 is incredible, “For the overflow of what has been stored in your heart will be seen by your fruit AND will be heard in your words.”

Jesus only did what He saw and only said what He heard from the Father.   As our pattern, He revealed what humans could do and be if they fully overflowed with the Holy Spirit.

I pray, “Lord, forgive me for justifying my lack of Your presence, love, and power.  Forgive me for failing to see Jesus as my earthly example.   Forgive me for my selfishness and self-centeredness.  Fill me now, I pray.   Fill us all.  Amen!”

We are more than we have become; we can be all He was through the Holy Spirit.   My cry is, “Make it so, Lord.  Make it so!”

Have a fantastic day today and every day!  He is alive and alive forevermore!