Category: Devotionals

Sowing and Reaping: A Parable

A wealthy landowner had two servants. One of the servants was selfish, looking out only for his own desires, while the other was selfless and only wished to please his master. One day, the landowner decided that he wanted to use his fields to grow corn. He brought his servants together, handed them each a bag of money, and said, “Go into town and buy some seed for corn. When you have done so, plant those seeds and watch over the fields until it is time to harvest the corn.”
The servants left for town to buy the seeds. The selfless servant headed straight for the market and bought the seed according to his master’s wishes. But the selfish servant decided to stop and use some of the money his master had given him for his own pleasures. After satisfying his own desires, he went to the market to buy the seed. When he got there, he only had enough money left to buy seed that was old and rancid. “I’m sure my master won’t know the difference,” he thought. He bought the seed and returned home along with the other servant. The servants each sowed the seed that they had purchased.
When harvest time came, the seed planted by the selfless servant had grown and produced corn that was large and sweet, which greatly pleased his master. He told the servant, “You have done well. As a reward, take as much of the corn as you wish.” But the seed planted by the selfish servant grew corn that was small and completely inedible. This angered the master, who said, “You lazy, selfish servant! You have deceived yourself only. I know that you have looked out for your own selfish desires and, by doing so, you have turned up your nose at me. The corn that you have sown has been sown out of your own corruption, and it is with this corrupted corn you will be rewarded.”
Galatians 6:7-8 tells us that God cannot be mocked. If we believe that we can turn our noses up at Him by continuing to sow the seed of our own selfish, worldly desires and still receive the harvest of eternal life, then we are only deceiving ourselves. We will reap only what we sow. If we sow to the flesh, then we will reap the destruction and ruin that comes from the flesh. But, if we sow to the Spirit, then we will reap the benefits of the Spirit. Our lives will bear the fruit of the Spirit– love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And the harvest that we will reap will be eternal life.

It Is Well With My Soul


To say that Horatio Spafford knew the meaning of trials and tragedy is an understatement. Horatio Spafford was a successful lawyer and a church elder who lived in Chicago with his wife, Anna, and their four daughters. When the Great Fire of Chicago destroyed the city of Chicago in 1871, Spafford suffered severe financial loss due to significant real estate investments he had made there. Two years later, the Spafford family decided to take a trip to Europe. Just before they were set to sail across the Atlantic, Horatio was detained by business, so his wife and daughters sailed to Paris alone on the steam ship Ville de Havre. As the ship made its journey across the ocean, it was rammed by a British ship and sank within twelve minutes. Although Spafford’s wife, Anna, survived this tragedy, their four young girls all drowned.
Anna Spafford sent Horatio a telegram to tell him of the tragedy that had struck their family, and Horatio immediately left to travel to Europe and bring his wife home. On Spafford’s trip across the Atlantic, the captain called him to his cabin to let him know that they were passing over the very spot where the four Spafford girls had perished. In a moment when grief, pain, and immense sorrow must have brought his heart to the point of breaking, Horatio Spafford did not wallow in self-pity. He did not look to the heavens and ask God why He had allowed this to happen. Instead, he put pen to paper and wrote one of the most beautiful hymns that we still sing even now, “It Is Well with My Soul.” In his original lyrics, Spafford wrote:
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to know
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
Despite his great loss and incredible grief and sorrow, Spafford knew peace, a peace that can only come from God. Spafford’s story brings to mind that of Job who, despite the loss of his crops, his livestock, and his children, gave praise to God (Job 1:20-22). Rather than blame God for what had happened, Spafford instead wrote of the peace that God had given him and, like Job, gave Him praise.

When we experience loss, when our hearts are filled with grief and sorrow, when trials and tragedy threaten to bring us down, the best thing we can do is look up to the heavens, to the One who knows what we feel, who loves us, and desires to bring us peace. He is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort and He promises comfort in our afflictions (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). When the trials, troubles, and tragedies of life threaten to wear us down under their weight, we need to look to Jesus. He has promised that He will share that burden with us and give us rest (Matthew 11:28). When we praise God through our sufferings, when we seek His face through our tragedies and trials, we will feel His peace and our hearts will be able to sing, “It is well, it is well, with my soul.”

Count Your Blessings

Jesus told us that, in this world, we will have troubles. As we go through life, it is inevitable that we will experience difficulties, challenges, discouragement, and even sufferings. But, we should not let those troubles get us down. We should take heart in knowing that Jesus has overcome the world (John 16:33). Instead of dwelling on the things that may be going wrong around us, we should look at the good things that God has done for us, the blessings He has bestowed on us. Rather than number our trials and tribulations, we should count our blessings.

In 1897, Johnson Oatman, Jr., a preacher and song writer born in Medford, New Jersey, wrote a hymn that spoke to the idea that, amidst life’s trials and storms, we should count our blessings. The first verse of this hymn says:

When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.


In Psalm 103, David tells his soul to bless the Lord and not forget His benefits (Psalm 103:2). God’s benefits are the ways in which He blessed David. David goes on to “count” those blessings. God blessed David by forgiving his sins and healing his diseases (Psalm 103:3). Through His steadfast love and mercy, God redeemed David from the pit of despair, disaster, and death (Psalm 103:4). As David went on listing what God had done for him, it is obvious that he looked at his blessings as outweighing his trials and tribulations.

When we look at the blessings we have receive from God, when we stop to count them all, life’s storms, and the encouragement they bring, will fade in comparison. So, praise the Lord with all that is within you, praise Him for all that He has done in your life. Count your blessings!

Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your blessings, see what God hath done;
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Be Prepared

Aesop’s book of fables contains many moral lessons told in the form of short stories that highlight the value of such things as hard work, contentment, compassion for others, and honesty. One of these fables, The Ants and the Grasshopper, speaks of the importance of being prepared, of being ready.

In this story, the ants have kept themselves busy all summer, gathering stores of corn for the winter. The ants knew that they must be prepared. The hard work of preparing all summer ensured that they would be ready for the long, cold days of winter, when they would no longer find any food. Now, while the ants were getting themselves ready for winter, the grasshopper was spending the summer playing music and singing. No hard work for this grasshopper. He was so busy singing and enjoying himself that he didn’t find time to prepare for the winter. When winter came, guess who went hungry?

God’s Word also speaks of the need to be prepared. Jesus tells a story of ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet a bridegroom. Now, five of these virgins were wise, like the ants in the fable, and they took oil with them. They wanted to be prepared in case the bridegroom was delayed and they should need the light of those lamps. The other five virgins were were foolish, like the grasshopper. They did not take any oil with them. Of course, the bridegroom was delayed and it was dark when he showed up. The wise virgins who had brought oil were able to go with the bridegroom to the marriage feast, while the foolish virgins had to go and buy oil. By the time they returned, the doors to the feast were shut. They missed the feast because they were not prepared (Matthew 25:1-13).

Jesus told this parable to show the importance of being ready for His return. One day, He will return in glory to establish His kingdom on earth. As we do not know the day or the hour of His return, it is important that we prepare ourselves, expecting that He can return at any time. Before His second coming, Jesus will descend from heaven, call all who are in Him, both dead and alive to meet him in the air, so that we will be with Him always (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). In Matthew 24:40-41, Jesus says that two men will be working in a field and one will be taken and the other left. Likewise, two women will be grinding meal and one will be taken and the other left. The ones who are taken are the ones who are prepared, who are living by His Word, who will be spared the tribulation that will precede His coming in glory, while those who are not prepared will be left to walk through that tribulation.

I pray that we will all be ready for Christ’s return. With faith in Christ, follow in His ways. Be doers of His Word and not just hearers. Don’t be like Aesop’s grasshopper or the foolish virgins. Be like the ants in the fable and the wise virgins in the parable. Be prepared.

Be Satisfied With What You Have

A dog was crossing over a bridge while carrying a piece of meat in his mouth. As he crossed the bridge, he happened to notice his reflection in the water. Not knowing any better, the dog thought that his reflection was another dog, who was also carrying a piece of meat. Now to the dog on the bridge, the other dog’s piece of meat looked twice as big as his own piece, so he decided to he had to have that piece. He dropped his piece of meat and fiercely attacked the other dog. Of course, he only ended up wet and lost his own piece of meat which was carried away by the stream.

This story, from Aesop’s Fables, speaks about contentment. The moral of the story is, “Be satisfied with what you have.” God’s Word has much to say about the subject of contentment, which means being satisfied with what we have in life. It is a state of mind in which our desires basically line up with what we have, with our lot in life. True contentment is not based on how much money we have. It is not based on how many things we possess, or what we do for a living (Ecclesiastes 5:10). True contentment comes from God (Psalm 17:15).

When we take our satisfaction, our contentment, from God, and seek to live godly lives, the combination of godliness and contentment brings us great gain (1 Timothy 6:6). There is a saying that goes, “You can’t take it with you,” which reflects the words of 1 Timothy 6:7. This passage tells us that we came into the world with nothing and we cannot take anything out of the world. When we die, wealth and possessions do not come with us. But, God has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Jesus said that He will be with us always (Matthew 28:20).

The things of the world – money, possessions, status – are temporary, but God is eternal. We should be content with what we have and not look to store up earthly treasures, which are destroyed by rust and moths, or stolen by thieves. Rather, we should seek the things of God, and store up heavenly treasures which are rust-proof, moth-proof, and theft-proof (Matthew 6:19-20). When we do this, we will experience true contentment.

The Holy Bible: First (and Only) Edition

Non-fiction books are often reissued as a new edition. This is especially true of textbooks. Things change, new information is discovered, new research is conducted, and the information published in one edition becomes outdated or no longer correct. In order to get the most up-to-date and pertinent information out there, the publishers of a book issue a second edition, a third edition, and so on. If you are in school and studying a particular subject, it’s important that you have the latest edition of the textbook you are using. Having the wrong edition could mean the difference between passing and failing the class.

There is one reference book that has never changed. No new editions have been released. The edition in existence now is the same edition that has been in existence since the printing press was invented, and this book was published for all to read. This book is the Holy Bible. While there have been many different translations of the Bible, the content of it, God’s Word, has remained the same.

God’s Word is sufficient for faith and for life. For that reason, nothing written in it needs to be or should be added or changed. In fact, Scripture warns against adding to or taking away anything from God’s Word (Deuteronomy 4:1-2; Revelation 22:18-19). God’s Word is truth (John 17:17) and truth never changes (Proverbs 12:19). His Word is just as applicable now as it was centuries ago. The answers to all of life’s questions and challenges can be found within the words of the Bible when we read it and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to us through its words.

God’s Word is perfect. It can revive our souls and make even the simplest of us wise (Psalm 19:7). God’s Word is holy, righteous, and good (Romans 7:12). It is alive and powerful and can discern our innermost thoughts and intentions (Hebrews 4:12). And, although the Bible was written by men, every word was inspired by God. For this reason, God’s Word is useful for teaching, correction, and training in righteousness with the result that, those who read it may be complete and able to do God’s work (2 Timothy 3:16).

The Holy Bible, the first and only edition, is the most important book anyone can read. It is not only reliable but, like the God who inspired it, it is also eternal. God’s Word has been firmly fixed in the heavens (Psalm 119:89).

Come to Jesus

We all need God in our lives. He created man to live in a relationship with Him, but sin destroyed that relationship. But, because He is a loving and merciful God, because His grace is greater than the sin of man, God has provided a way to restore that relationship – come to Jesus. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. You cannot come to God except through Him (John 14:6).

Jesus is the resurrection and the life. He is God’s only Son, who gave His life in order to pay the penalty for the sins of mankind. He died for my sins and He died for yours. His sacrifice is a gift that you can receive by believing that He came, that He died, and that He rose again, and by accepting Him as Lord and Savior and following in His ways. Come to Jesus and believe in Him. When you do, you will receive eternal life (John 11:25-26).

Jesus is the bread of life. If you are spiritually hungry, there is nothing in this world that can possibly satisfy that hunger. Come to Jesus and you will never hunger or thirst (John 6:35; John 7:37).

Jesus is the light of the world. Without Jesus in your life, and without the salvation that He brings, you are walking in the darkness of sin. Come to Jesus and follow Him and you will no longer walk in darkness, but will have the light of life that He brings (John 8:12).

Jesus is the good shepherd. He knows His flock, those who belong to Him, and then know Him. He laid down His life for those of His flock. But, Jesus wants all of us to belong to that flock. Come to Jesus and listen to His voice and He will bring you into that flock (John 10:14-16).

A hymn written in the 1800’s by Edward Payson Hammond says,

Come to Jesus, come to Jesus just now, just now.
Come to Jesus, come to Jesus just now!


There’s an immediacy in those lyrics that echoes in my heart. Coming to Jesus, accepting Him as Lord and Savior is the best decision that anyone can make. My prayer is that all will come to Jesus. It begins by admitting that you are a sinner, asking for God’s forgiveness, then believing in Jesus, putting your trust in Him and confessing Him as Lord of your life. If you have not come to Jesus, why not do it now?

For more information on coming to Jesus and following Him, click on the link on my page for Following Christ (followchrist.ag.org).

Weeding

Anyone who enjoys gardening has probably spent a considerable amount of time “weeding” that garden. It can take a lot of time and effort to rid your garden of weeds, those undesirable plants that not only grow in places where you don’t want them, but also can overrun and even ruin your garden. In order to make sure that a weed does not regrow, you need to pull it up, roots and all. Sometimes that may mean using a spade to remove it completely. This can require a lot of work but, in the end, it is worth it as you save that garden that you cherish.

In His parables, Jesus used the imagery of weeds as a way to illustrate sin and worldliness. In the parable of the weeds, after a man has sown good seed in his field, his enemy comes at night and sows weeds in that field. The enemy that Jesus was talking about here is the devil, who loves to sow his weeds of sin into the hearts and lives of God’s people (Matthew 13:24-30). In the parable of the sower, some of the good seed that was sown grows but then gets choked by thorns. The thorns, or weeds, represent not just the cares of life, but also worldliness and sin (Matthew 13:3-8; Mark 4:1-8; Luke 8:4-8).

Our hearts are the garden in which God sows His good seed. That seed, of course, is God’s Word. Because God’s desire is to “sow” that Word in our hearts, we need to treat our hearts with the same care with which a gardener treats his garden. Our enemy, the devil, is always looking for opportunities to destroy our hearts and our lives through sin. When we have sin in our lives, just as the gardener rids his garden of weeds, so we must rid our hearts and lives of that sin. In our own strength, we may not be able to do this, but God is there to help, using the “spade” of His Holy Spirit to help us to remove the “weeds” of sin completely.

Just as weeding has the ability to save a garden, so God’s Word has the power to save our souls. We need to be diligent in ridding the “garden” of our hearts of all that is evil, instead cultivating that garden with the Word that God plants in our hearts (James 1:21).

God’s Promises

In 1909, Good Housekeeping magazine launched the Good Housekeeping Institute. The purpose of the Institute is to serve American homes and homemakers by evaluating consumer products. Products that withstand the testing of the Institute staff are eligible to be included in the magazine’s list of “Tested and Approved” products. The products that make the grade receive the Good Housekeeping Seal. This seal tells consumers that the product is not just a good product, but also that the magazine itself is offering a limited warranty on the product. If the product is found to be defective within two years of its purchase, Good Housekeeping promises the consumer a refund, or repair or replacement of the product. The seal and its promise are both backed by Good Housekeeping’s Consumer Policy.
Throughout Scripture, there are many promises that God makes to His people. God promises that He will fight for us (Exodus 14:14). If we are weary and tired due to life’s difficulties, God promises that, when we put our hope in Him, our strength will be renewed (Isaiah 40:31). He promises that He will be with us in all our trials and tribulations and, as we walk through them, they will not overcome us (Isaiah 43:2). In fact, when we call on God in those times of trouble, He promises that He will deliver us (Psalm 50:15). In God’s Word, we are promised wisdom if we ask for it (James 1:5), and forgiveness of sins when we confess them (1 John 1:9). But perhaps the greatest of God’s promises is that, if we believe in His only Son, Jesus Christ, we will have eternal life (John 3:16; John 3:36).

All of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ. Just as the products reviewed by Good Housekeeping receive a “yes” in the form of the Good Housekeeping Seal, so God’s promises receive a resounding “YES!” through Christ. And we who have received salvation through Christ can add our “Amen!” to that. When we are in Christ, we are the embodiment of the promises of God, anointed and empowered through the gifts of the Holy Spirit to do God’s work. We are given a seal certifying that we belong to God. That seal is backed by God’s name (Psalm 138:2) and by the Holy Spirit, who God puts in our hearts as a guarantee of all He has promised.

"What Do You Want Me to Do for You?"

“What do you want me to do for you?” On what was to be His final trip to Jerusalem, Jesus asked this question twice. The circumstances that prompted this question, and the responses that Jesus received each time He asked it, teach us a lot about how we should present our needs and desires to God.
The first time that Jesus asked this question was in response to a request made by two of His disciples, James and John, the sons of Zebedee. As Jesus was walking, these two men approached Him to ask a favor. But, note how they “asked” for this favor. Not, “would you be willing to do whatever we ask?” Not, “Jesus, there’s something we were hoping you could do for us.” What James and John said came out more like a demand, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.” Their request was based on their will, not the will of Jesus.
When Jesus asked them what they wanted Him to do for them, their response was that, when Jesus took His rightful place on His throne, one of them would be seated at His left and the other at His right. They knew that Jesus was the Messiah and they were looking to be placed in places of honor when He came into His glory. Jesus responded by telling them that this was not something that He could grant and it was not something that they themselves could earn. (Mark 10:35-40).
The second time that Jesus asked the question was in response to the cries of a blind beggar named Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus. As Jesus came into Jericho, Bartimaeus was sitting by the roadside. When he heard that it was Jesus who was approaching, Bartimaeus cried out, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” Like James and John, Bartimaeus knew that Jesus was the Messiah, but his request was not a demand, but a cry for compassion. His request for mercy was not based on his own will, but the will of Jesus.
Although many in the crowd rebuked Bartimaeus, he continued to cry out. Jesus stopped and commanded that the blind beggar be brought to Him. Jesus then asked what Bartimaeus wanted Him to do for him. Bartimaeus asked that Jesus let him recover his sight. He was not looking for a place of honor, he was not looking for glory. All he wanted was to be able to see. Jesus responded by telling Bartimaeus that, because of his faith, His sight would be restored. (Mark 10:46-52). 
When we have needs, when we have desires, we should present them to Jesus but, when we do, it should be in humility. Our requests should never be demands and we should always seek that His will be done in our lives and not our own will. Jesus wants to know what He can do for us. When we bring our requests to Jesus, He will grant them when we are seeking His will.
When Bartimaeus received his sight, the first thing he did was to follow Jesus and give glory to God. And, when the people around him saw this, they too gave praise to God (Luke 18:42-43). When we receive an answer to our needs and our requests, it is important that we acknowledge the source of our answer by giving God the glory. And it is important that we testify about what God has done so that they also can see His faithfulness and give Him glory as well.