Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Gal. 6:7

I am not to be fooled because whatever I sow, which means that I do or say, that word or deed will I also reap. If I sow good things, like loving my neighbor or being a servant I will reap, meaning that good things will come from it. If I am gossiping I will reap from that and be caught speaking of others, if I steal or lie, I will suffer the consequences. That is what reaping is, the consequences of words or actions. When we plant we reap whatever we plant, if we plant seeds of faith, by speaking the Word of God, and believing what it says, then we will harvest what we speak. Others also benefit or not from what are words and actions are.

I received this the other day, and this is so true, for its happened to me, I truly hope some day it happens to you.

FOOTPRINTS…A New Version

Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord’s footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace. But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures, and returns. For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord’s, soon paralleling His consistently. You and Jesus are walking as true friends! This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus’ are now walking precisely in His steps. Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are becoming one. This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change. The footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger. Eventually they disappear altogether. There is only one set of footprints they have become one. This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is back. This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts. Gashes in the sand. A variable mess of prints. You are amazed and shocked Your dream ends. Now you pray: “Lord, I understand the first scene, with zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian; I was just learning. But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with You.” “That is correct.” “And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps, following You very closely.” “Very good. You have understood everything so far.” When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that I was becoming like You in every way.” “Precisely.” “So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first.” There is a pause as the Lord answers, with a smile in His voice. “You didn’t know? It was then that we danced!”

To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to weep, a time to laugh, A time to mourn, and a time to dance. Ecclesiastes 3:1,4.

He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. 1John 2:9

I know I cannot love God and hate another person, because God sent His Son to die for them, and I know that He created them for a purpose and loves them too. So how can I hate God’s creation if I claim I know God. Even when someone harms me how can I hate them? I hate the actions but not the man or woman who harmed me, because I know that essentially the actions from someone do not reflect the person, rather it is a reflection of what is in their heart. They are in darkness, or something is polluting the streams of water in their heart, soul. How can I hate when the heart I have has been made tender by the Holy Spirit, when the heart that I have is a heart of flesh not of stone? It has not been so long that I cannot remember the old man that was crucified, with its lusts and so forth, and understand that some have not had a new life created in them. That Jesus dwells within me, and the power of the Holy Spirit which created a new life in me. I don’t live but Jesus lives in me. One cannot hate, and be in the light, because if in the light the hate is not there, and if any hate dwells within a heart then that is darkness, and the Light of the World will dispel all darkness. These are just points to ponder when my heart is full of emotions, like hurt and anger. I need to stop and think, God was patient with me, not wanting me to perish, and like me, He is waiting to bring the offender to the saving knowledge of His Son. Another point to add, is that if I pray for someone who has committed offense to me, I may be the only one praying for Him, and I know the only way for God to hear my prayers and move His hand, is for my heart to be full of love for the offender, and with a heart full of love there is no room for hatred. Christ’s Peace be with you this day.

He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch. Proverbs 11:28

I was wondering what riches mean in this, riches as far as money, and as far as things possessed would be one way of looking at this verse, and it is certainly is true. The other thing that I was reminded of is riches as far as most things go, trusting in my own ability, my work income, trusting in myself meaning I can take care of anything. I am to trust in the Lord, that is where I am to place my trust in, He will never fail, but my riches may run out, my resources, my strength all may fail me, but God never does. That is why the righteous flourish, because the righteous put their trust in God. They know that all they have is His, and they don’t trust in their own strength or abilities or resources. It isn’t that I am not to use what the Lord gave me, but to realize that those things alone will not cause me to flourish. What causes me to flourish is to give it all to Him and allow Him to guide me and provide for me. After all, if it wasn’t for Him, I would not have a life to live.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. Psalm 1:1

I would rather sit in the counsel of the Lord, and stand on His word, and walk according to His truth. Sometimes this is a hard place to be, because it may not be comfortable or I may have a different path than others, but I know that the Lord is directing me. His Word is a lamp unto my feet and will guide me everywhere I go. I do not do it for a blessing but I do it out of love and obedience to God. This verse tells me I will be blessed. Well walking according to what the Word of God says than what the world says, in this, I am blessed to be in fellowship and right standing before my Father. His Peace to you this day.

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Gal. 6:9

I looked at this verse and for the longest time I thought it meant doing well for others, but as I look at it again, I see that it means doing well, as in walking as the Lord would have me walk. Speaking what the Lord would have me speak, allowing Him to work in me, and being led by the Spirit instead of the flesh. I don’t have to do works to have approval of men, because that is what I would reap, the approval of men and not of God. I believe He is telling me, that if I continue to grow and follow Him, “good works” would be the fruit of my labor. As in fruit of the Spirit. So I need to press in, and keep following Him and doing as He would have me do according to His word, and stay in it, keeping the faith, and growing in knowledge of His Will and what He wants then I shall reap, I will be able to have fruit, I will be able to show what work He is doing inside my heart, it will be apparent for all to see. I can’t allow myself to become discouraged or try to change myself, or think its just not worth it, but to believe that while the Holy Spirit is doing a work in the inside, the fruit of that labor, will be apparent on the outside. So don’t ever think that a trial or problem or some exposed sin is an excuse to give up, but think of it as an opportunity for the Lord to work in you, and don’t grow weary allowing Him to do so. I would say,, Faint Not!! He will pick you up and He will do the work in you and see you through if you just let Him, because in due season,, you will reap the benefits, by bearing fruit, that is plain to see. Stick around and let God clean the inside and strengthen you, because in more ways than one, you will see the rewards of your faith in God. This verse is a promise, Gods Word to you.

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Matt. 18:21,22

I know that no matter how many times others may hurt me, I must forgive them. I do it because the Lord would have it, and it is the fulfillment of the law of loving my neighbor as myself. I also do it because I have learned that unforgiveness makes a bitterness in my heart. Do not let the sun set on your anger is another verse, not letting the enemy have a toehold, because its destructive. Bitterness leads to anger, and it leads to hate. Pure and simple. Unforgiveness festers in your heart and the only one you are hurting is yourself. So many wars would not be fought if forgiveness were the rule instead of the exception. NO matter who does what to you in your Christian walk, you are to forgive, because God will deal with the others person’s heart and He will heal yours. It just frees you up to love, and to love well. The hardest one to forgive is yourself, remember no one is perfect least of all you. There is only ONE who is perfect, and who, as He was dying on the cross, asked His Father to forgive them. Maybe we should too.

I usually get personal and talk as I am reading this, but today, I was reminded of what evil men can do to others, what hard things, and words they can say. A lot is done in the name of love, and most hurts caused in my Christian walk has been by fellow believers. I just have to remember that God sees their heart too, and forgives them more than I. I hope I didn’t offend anyone today, or cause any hurts, because if I did, I truly want to be forgiven by them. I don’t want them to become bitter and alienate themselves from God. The only thing I can say is this, I am sorry, please forgive me.

I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. Psalms 145:1

The word extol, means praise. I am not ashamed to say I love to praise God. I love to sing His praises and worship Him. I have never had a problem with worshipping my Father at all. Although some do, I can’t figure that out, but for some it is a personal thing, they worship Him in their hearts they praise Him with their actions. He is truly worthy of all our praise, and all our devotion. When I praise God something happens, I am encouraged, it seems that I am in His presence and am strengthened. If I have a bad day or week, I know that I have to praise Him. Somehow the flesh has to get out of the way as I pour my heart out in thanksgiving to Him to realize Who He is and what He has done for me. I never thought of blessing Him though, I pray for others to be blessed, and I know He blesses me. So I think I will bless His name today, to try to make it a daily thing, to bless His name. The word bless means:1.consecrate 2.request divine favor 3.make happy 4.extol as Holy . The word consecrate means make sacred, well that to me means revere something, to set it apart special, I believe I can do that this day as I think on Him. I have requested from God before, knowing that only He can work in my life and others. He has made me happy, in so many ways, in a sunrise, a hug, providing for me, the list is endless. I know He is Holy, and I will praise His Holiness all the days of my life. His name is the name above all names, and I get great pleasure from praising Him. He inhabits our praises you know.

A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit. Proverbs 29:23

As I meditate upon this verse, I am asking the Lord what is pride? What is man’s pride and especially what is it to be humble in spirit. Does humble in spirit mean being thankful for any and everything? Does it mean that I know Who is the Source for all good things? Is humble in spirit mean fearing God? When someone says they are proud to be a Christian, is that pride? When I hear “I am proud to be an American” is that pride? When another is proud of his or her children’s accomplishments is that pride? I started years ago to train myself not to say the word Pride, not to be proud of anything, least of all being a Christian.

Rom:11:21: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

I am saved by grace it is a gift, nothing that I did, and I am thankful that God loved me enough to save me from death. I have to double check to make sure but not once have I recalled the Lord God Almighty ever saying He was proud, even of His own Son, He said He was pleased, but not proud. The thing is, that God sees our hearts and knows the amount of pride hidden in there. I believe there are amounts of pride hidden in my heart that the Lord has yet to deal with and get rid of. He will allow me to be brought low, until I see the pride hidden there and repent, and humble myself. Then His Honor will uphold me, and I won’t have my pride in self holding me up. Well at the time that is what I think pride is doing, instead it is bringing me low in order to see Who I am to be thankful to and What power is operating in me, by the way of the Holy Spirit. I want this verse to be a reminder and allow the Holy Spirit to search for hidden pride in my heart, in the meantime, I will say “I am pleased” meaning satisfied and thankful having full knowledge who really deserves the credit. My goal and the Lord’s goal is for me to be humble in spirit, and His honor will lift me up.

The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. Exodus 14:14

I wonder how many times the Lord speaks that into my life, during situations where I cannot do anything by my own strength. Especially when there are no A or B or C options, isn’t it great to know that our Father will fight for you and me? As I am trying to get through this world, when it seems that everything and everyone is against me, or that I have to fight against insurmountable odds to take a stand which at the time seems hopeless or unpopular I am sure in my heart that the Lord will fight for me. I just have to hold my peace, to me this part means be quiet and watch Him move, quit worrying, quit complaining and quit being fearful that the world will get the best of me, that it will defeat me. I am to hold to His peace, which is in my heart. This verse is a promise. Many verses say the same thing, and the promise is the same as it is here. Who can wage war against the Beast? Only God can through His Word, His Sword of Truth, I certainly cannot fight, I am too weak, but God can and most importantly He will.