Reminded February 22, 2006
Notice I said “reminded” above. That means that god gave me this revelation a couple of years ago but reminded me of it this morning, so here it is.

When we pray for something or we give something God’s told us to give, it’s like planting a seed in the ground. Now, I’m a gardner and I know when I plant a bean seed, my responsibility for that seed is not over. In fact, I had to do some preparation even before planting. I had to get the right seed for the plant I wanted, prepare the soil to receive it, and then make the effort to plant it. Once the seed’s in the ground, I have to water it, maybe fertilize it, make sure the animals don’t dig it up, and then…….wait.

I’ve planted beans before so I know, since I put it in the fertile ground, it will come up. Even if I plant something new, I can read about it, (words), and believe if I follow instructions, it will come up and produce the crop I need. But the waiting is crucial. If I don’t think anything’s happening beause I can’t see it, and go dig the seed up to see what’s going on, I’ve destroyed it. I’ve got to wait, believe it’s growing even though I can’t see it, and wait some more.

Prayer and giving are the same way. First we prepare by learning what God’s Word says about the situation, we pray according to that Word, and we wait. We speak words of belief and faith, (watering), and we wait for the result. The answer is not usually something that comes quickly; we have to wait. If we say things like, “Oh, this is not working.” or “I’m never gonna get out of this.”, what we’re doing is digging up our seed.

Leave your prayer or giving seed in the ground, water it with faith-filled words, and wait. God will make it grow. “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 1 Corinthians 3:6“

Given January 24, 2006
I’m the kind of guy that has to plan everything. I guess it’s a curse. If I’m doing a presentation or teaching a class, I have to have everything thought out and every potential problem solved. If I’m driving somewhere unfamiliar, I use Google Maps and my Delorme software to plan every turn. And you know what happens….I rarely think of everything and frequently make wrong turns.

But you know, if I’m attending a presentation, going to a class, or riding with someone else, I don’t get stressed out at all! If someone else has the responsibility for planning or driving, I’m cool. God brought this to my attention recently about the driving thing and reminded me how I could relieve myself of all that stress. He basically said, “Let Me drive.” “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7”

I know that’s what I’m supposed to do. But how many times do we know what to do but don’t do it? Shame on me and on us. God wants to drive. He wants to direct our lives and take us places. He says, “Calm down son, I’ll take care of it. Just move over and let me drive.”

If this thing in my life is a curse, I have the power to bring it to nought, (1 Corinthians 1:28). When I feel the stress coming on, I need to say, “Hey, not this time! Father, here’s the wheel. You drive.” Then, sit back and enjoy the trip!

Given Spring 2004
As I mentioned in the previous post, most people want to be blessed and, I hope we realize, we can create an atmosphere of blessing in which blessings will more frequently come our way. I heard something the other day that reminded me of this revelation of blessings I received a couple of years ago.

I got a clearer picture of the relationship between us and these blessings God has for us. If we pursue blessings, they will usually outrun us. So how do we “get together” with our blessings? The answer is in Deuteronomy 28: “And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God. Deuteronomy 28:2”

Here’s how I see it. If we chase after blessings and pursue them, if we spend our energy and resources trying to get blessings, they’ll usually stay just ahead of us and are rarely obtained. Now, I’m talking about the blessings of God. Sure, we can attain what this world says are blessings but the Bible says they are fleeting, Proverbs 21:6.

But….if we pursue God, if we focus on catching Him, then, as it says in Deuteronomy, the blessings will overtake us! They’ll even jump out on us from the side of the road! Another way of saying this is: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33″

Pursue God, love people, be a servant, give and you’ll find many good things overtaking you and being added to you.

Given Spring of 2004
If you’d ask people if they would like a blessing, most of them would say, “Why, of course. Bless me!” Most everyone likes to be blessed and, for Christians, that’s part of the benefits of having God as your father. However, those same people might say they aren’t receiving all the blessings they desire. So why do some of God’s children get blessed more than others?

Given January 27, 2005
Jesus told the Jews when they were questioning Him about who was their father, ” You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.” John 8:44. I imagine they got a little riled about that as evidenced by them saying He was demon possessed. Well, that got me thinking….