Seeds

I came home from work last night to a box a seeds that were just delivered for our farm (Google 'Abundant Blessings Farm, LLC' for more farm info).  The seeds are all packaged by variety and stacked neatly for our use.

Have you put much thought into a seed?  Inside each of every seed in that box is the genetic code of the parent from which they were derived.  These days the wonder of this has been removed by the scientific minds of our day and we toss around terms like 'DNA' without giving it much further thought.  But really, have you ever considered the miracle that awaits in each and every seed?

As a farmer, my wife will lovingly place each seed in the soil (or growing media because we grow hydroponics as well).  She will make sure that each gets the correct amount of water and nutrients (i.e. food) do develop into a mature plant.  She will carefully train the branches (pruning where necessary) so that they will be fruitful and multiply.  She will protect the plants from pests and diseases that seek to harm and destroy.

What an incredible miracle... each and every seed!

In the same manner, we are God's seed.  He places us here and wants to tend, nurture, prune when necessary so that will be fruitful by telling others about Him and leading them to Christ.  That is how we multiply.

We get caught up in labels of who we are by what we do (Mom, Dad, Fireman, Farmer, Banker, Lobbyist, etc.) yet that is just what we do part of our life.  We came from a seed that was planted by God.  Our purpose... our true purpose in life is to do just as those seeds in the box in our kitchen.  Our true purpose is to grow in Christ and bring others to the understanding of His redeeming and saving grace that is available to all who choose to believe.

I can't wait to plant those seeds!

Are You Watching? Do You Notice?

I just spent the first 30 minutes of my day the way that I do every morning. I have set up RSS feeds to scan newspapers across the United States and around the world. I like to review the news this way as it keeps me on focus and I'm not bogged down by articles that just really don't make a difference in the long run.

One of my RSS feeds happens to be Joel Rosenberg's blog (joelrosenberg.blogspot.com). He mentioned that since the summer of 2005, 4200 rockets, missles and mortars have been fired at Israel! All while the U.S. and other countries do basically nothing! What would we be doing if it were Canada firing into Chicago or western New York? This is just amazing to me and is spoken so much of in the end-time prophecy of Ezekiel, Daniel and Revelation... No one comes to the aid of the Jewish State.

I also read of Putin's progressively aggressive stance to the countries that used to be under control of the USSR. His retoric is also aimed at the European countries and the U.S. All the while, Putin has had very cozy relations with Iran.

All of this is ratcheding up in real-time. Are you watching? Do you notice? Most importantly... are you in prayer?

Time is short and there are SO many who are not Christ followers. I don't mean 'Christian' either, I mean 'Christ followers'. The term Christian means close to nothing in the United States except that the person professing that they are a Christian know that God exists and that someone walked around several thousand years ago by the name of Jesus who called Himself 'Christ'.

Time is short and we have do not have time to 'play' Christian. Spiritual warfare is running rampant and we must be diligent and solid in our stand for Christ. I am a Christ Follower. Please join me in prayer for salvation for unbelievers as well as fortitude and strengh for Christ followers as they stand solidly and firmly on the Rock of Salvation for what they believe.

Directing My Five Senses in Obedience

I was reading in Romans 6 this morning. Paul is trying to explain the motives for right living to the Christians in Rome. He says that we should 'count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus' (vs. 11).

We have died to sin when we count Christ as our Savior. We are to not allow sin to remain in our lives. This takes a LOT of discipline in todays world. I must always be on guard - on alert for sin that will tempt me. What I see, what I hear, what I taste, what I smell, and what I touch.

My senses can carry me towards God through obedience or away from Him towards satan. I am reminded of Jame's words (James 1:14-15). If I look once again at my five senses and how they can carry me towards satan, James notes the succession to be desire --> enticement --> sin (which is desire conceived). And sin ultimately leads to death and eternity away from God.

I CHOOSE this day... Obedience.