| ............ | A Word In Due Season FEB 2021 2/1/21 LIFE AND BREATH Scripture: Job 33:4 "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life." There are two special things about us that we need to understand so that we can enjoy life the way that God intended. First, the Spirit of God made us and that makes each one of us special in our own individual way. We did not evolve from some lower beings, nor were we were created by chance. We were not cloned as a group but created individually in our mother’s womb. God made us in His own image and according to His special design. Our voices are different and we do not act or think the same as anyone else on Earth. We are individuals and this is a marvel of God. God has created millions of people since the Earth began and yet we all look different and each of us can be identified by our own personal fingerprints. It is a miracle that God could make a half inch square on our thumb totally different from that of the other millions of people who have lived and still not duplicate Himself in the process. God is an awesome Creator and we are His awesome creation. Most of the times, we do not think in these terms or think of ourselves being specially created. We may even wish that we were someone else or wish that we could at least be like them. Yet, God's choices are sovereign and we should never question His work. The same people that we admire may be looking at us in the same manner. We cannot afford to be envious of each other or complacent about who we are. Red roses are my favorite flower but it would be sad if all the flowers of the field were red roses. Where would the variety be? Can you imagine every floral arrangement being a dozen red roses? God is creative and His work is never boring and that includes you and me. The second special thing about us is that the breath of the Almighty gives us life. We were alive within the womb, but the first gift that we received when we exited our mother's womb was breath. God was there at our birth and He, Himself, breathed His breath of life into our being. Without His breath, there is no life. Yet, we seldom think about our ability to breathe or give thanks for our breath. We take it for granted and it is only as we experience some sort of episode where we are unable to breathe that we give thought to this awesome gift. As we make our way through today, let us realize that life should be exuberant and exciting. God loves each and every one of us and we should love ourselves just the way that He created us. We are definitely one of a kind, fingerprints and all. So let us acknowledge and give thanks to our Maker, cherish our life and breath, celebrate who we are, and enjoy every moment of the day. +++ 2/2/21 MULTIPLYING YOUR TALENTS Scripture: Matthew 25:29 "For to everyone that hath, more shall be given, and he shall have abundance." A man divided several talents between his servants according to their individual ability before he went on a journey. When he returned, he found that the servant to whom he entrusted five talents had put his talents to work and had gained five more talents. Likewise, the servant who received two talents gain two more. However, the servant who had received only one talent fearfully hid it in the ground. Because of his fear and laziness, his talent did not produce an increase and he had nothing to offer to his master. The lord of these men was pleased by the two servants who had put their talents to work. He was also so displeased by the fearful and slothful servant who had hid his talent in the ground that he took his talent from him and gave to the faithful servant. This wise servant now had eleven talents because he had shown himself diligent in managing the five talents that had been originally given to him. Did you ever wonder why the people who have, seem to be able to get more, or why the people who lack never seem to be able to gain and move forward? Jesus shares the reason in this story. It is a simple principle of putting what little you have to work so that God can bless it. He has promised to bless and multiply whatever you sow or whatever your put to work. Yet, if you do nothing or sow nothing, then when your nothing is blessed or multiplied by God, it still remains as nothing. It is easy to identify with the fearful servant because it is difficult to sow when you have little, but we must remember that everything belongs to God, and Jesus declared that He was able to reap where He had not sown. The Lord knows if you are able to handle five talents, two talents, or just one talent and He will never ask you to go beyond your ability. He does not expect you to give what you do not have or to exercise a talent that you are not gifted with, but He does expect you to take the little that you have and put it to use. It will take faith to reach forth and sow the gift that God has given you, but miracles only happen on the other side of the comfort zone. If you only have a few dollars, it is hard to let go and sow it into the life of someone else. It intimidating to play an instrument in public if you know only one song. Yet, you cannot be like the man who hid his one talent if you want to experience increase. Small ability does not negate responsibility. Multiplication does not come by hiding, but by sharing. Even the trees of the field have to bear fruit and give forth of themselves to be able to multiply. You have a choice of being fearful for faithful. Trust God for increase and ask Him to help you move out of your comfort zone. When you stretch yourself in this fashion, you will be surprised as God begins to multiply your talents. +++ 2/3/21 WISE COMPANIONS Scripture: Proverbs 13:20 "He that walks with wise men shall be wise." What we gather into ourselves determines who we are. Our physical bodies are formed by what we eat and how much we exercise, and our spirits and souls are molded and shaped by the knowledge we obtain, the things we experience, and our communion with God. Solomon, a man gifted with wisdom, said that if we desire to be wise, we must walk with wise men. He continued to say "a companion of fools shall be destroyed." He understood the principle that worked in human nature; that is, we eventually become like those who surround us. We have all seen people who have handled their lives in wisdom and discretion, but later fell into a sad state as they began to associate with the wrong crowd. Even King Solomon, who wrote this proverb, fell when he married heathen wives and began to worship their gods. Compromise that changes us can happen to anyone. James 4:4 tells us that we cannot make friends with the world. If we do, we become enemies to God, because the flesh will work against the Spirit, and foolishness will work against wisdom. Gaining Godly wisdom is a choice in life. You have to make an effort to be transformed into the image of Christ and be renewed in your mind with His wisdom. It is a daily process of looking at yourself through the Word of God just as you would examine yourself in a mirror. As you see truth, you determine the changes that you need to make so that you will measure up to the Lord’s image and not conform to the world (II Corinthians 3:18). You must make the decision to walk with the wise and not the foolish. It is a steady and gradual process. Even Jesus, Himself, grew and increased in wisdom (Luke 2:52). Jesus was not born full of wisdom and His wisdom was not given to Him as a sudden endowment from God. Wisdom came as He searched the scriptures, sat with the wise men of God in the temple, and as He walked with a wise God. Walking with the wise allows you to hear their speech, see their actions, and witness their examples. As you do, wisdom will manifest itself in your own life and you will begin to think as the wise think, talk as they talk, and act like they act. If you truly want to be wise, you must make a conscious choice to walk with wise men, and above all, you must walk with the God of wisdom. +++ 2/4/21 ALMOST Scripture: Acts 26:28 "Then Agrippa said to Paul, Almost thou persuades me to be a Christian." The Apostle Paul gave a moving testimony of the blinding light and heavenly vision that he experienced on the Road to Damascus. He also witnessed about Christ and spoke of the things that Christ had suffered because He came to this earth as the Savior of the world. Paul was so passionate and shared so many convincing details that King Agrippa declared that he, himself, was almost persuaded to become a Christian. Yet, King Agrippa fell short and never followed through with a definite decision or action to receive Jesus in his heart. To say "almost" in any situation is never enough. God calls us to completion. When Jesus had completed His assignment on Earth, He said, "It is finished." When the Apostle Paul came to the end of his life, he said, "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (II Timothy 4:7). For King Agrippa to say that he was almost persuaded to become a Christian was the same as saying that he was almost rescued from the fire or almost saved from drowning. A person who is almost saved from the fire or from drowning is still dead and without hope. Likewise, King Agrippa's soul was still lost and going to Hell no matter how close he had come to receiving Jesus as the Lord and Savior of his life. There is no joy if you are almost delivered or almost saved from destruction. There is only defeat. There is no reward if you almost refrain from sin. There are only consequences. There is no virtue if you almost tell the truth, for your words are still considered to be lies. There is no such position as almost fair, almost righteous, almost justified, or almost sanctified. Almost is not enough. You cannot go halfway or just nearly make it. The work has to be completed. For true victory in your life, you must go all the way with God and refuse to stop at the place that is called “almost”. +++ DEEPER DIMENSION Scripture: Jeremiah 29:13 "You shall seek Me, and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart." We are standing on the threshold of change. The Lord is moving in a more powerful way than ever before and an entirely new dimension is opening before us. God's Word is made available to us daily through many different mediums so that we are able to grow in His wisdom and understand His will. His Spirit is calling us into a place of deeper intimacy with Him so that we can know His heart. When we understand God's will and yield our lives to His heart's desire, our prayers will reach into eternity and bring His infinite power to Earth. Our lives will show forth His glory and our witness will bring honor to Him and Him alone. Yet as with anything that is worth having, there is a price that must be paid in order to enter this place of intimacy and experience the deeper dimension of God's glory and grace. The Prophet Jeremiah said that we would only find God when we search for Him with all of our heart. God is not playing hard to get, but He will not be found until a diligent search is made. He is looking for total commitment and He will not show Himself to us until He sees that our heart is desperate for Him. We will not experience God if we approach Him with prayers that are inspired by our own foolish desires and notions. If we intend to find God at all, His kingdom must be our main interest. He must become more important to us than our next breath, the food that we eat, or the water that we drink. Our entire lives must communicate to God that He is life to our being and that we love Him for who He is, not for what He gives. Fathers and mothers always rejoice to see their children learn and they celebrate each new level of growth. So it is with God, our Father. He rejoices over us as we experience spiritual growth and is very pleased when the borders of our territory are enlarged. Yet, it is evident that we cannot travel alone or open the doors by ourselves. We need the Lord to direct our path and help us step over the threshold so that we might experience this new place that He has prepared for us. God, Himself, is the greater and deeper dimension that we seek, and beside Him, there is no other. He invites us to come and experience His awesome presence. He even gives us the formula of how to experience this place of intimacy, but there is a price to be paid before we enter this deeper dimension of His glory. It will require effort to seek for God, true faith on our part to find Him, and personal sacrifice as we search for Him with all of our heart. +++ 2/8/21 SEED TIME AND HARVEST Scripture: Genesis 8:22 "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease." From the very beginning of time, God set irrevocable laws into motion. One of those laws is that there would always be seed time and harvest. God has established a season to plant seed and also a season of harvest for us to enjoy the fruits of all of our labors. The law of seed time and harvest is as sure as the night that follows the day or the promise of summer and winter seasons. Another part of that law is that we will reap what we sow. We cannot plant a bean seed and hope for a corn crop any more than we can plant an orange seed and expect to produce an apple tree. Seeds are limited to the laws of nature and respond to the commands of God. In the beginning, when God created the Earth and everything in it, He spoke to every plant and told them to bring forth after their own kind, and that law is still in force today. God's eternal Word still controls the harvest. The law of seed time and harvest sounds so simple, but many times we fail to remember that it works just as well in the spiritual realm as it does in the physical realm. The Apostle Paul spoke to the church in Galatia and said, "Whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap." The Amplified Bible makes a firmer statement saying, "that and that only is what he will reap." When we think about Paul's words, we must consider more carefully what we sow, for every deed that we do and every word that we speak is going to bring forth a harvest after its own kind. Even the thoughts that we allow ourselves to think will eventually bear some kind of fruit, for every kind action starts with a kind thought and every evil action starts with an evil thought. Another law of seed time and harvest is that there is a space of time before the seeds begin to produce a harvest. Seeds are placed in the ground and hidden from view and for several weeks it looks as though nothing is happening. Then suddenly, life springs forth from the ground and whatever has been planted will make its way through the soil and expose itself. Sometimes the seeds lay dormant and the crop is slow in coming. Three years ago, I planted some yellow iris bulbs in my flowerbed. I was very disappointed the first year because they did not come up. I thought they were totally lost so I just forgot about them. The next year, to my surprise, a few of them came up and bloomed. Finally, the third year, I had a large harvest of yellow irises. It was slow but the promised harvest did come. The same is true with the spiritual seeds that we sow. We may not see immediate results for the good or bad seed that we have sown, but we can be sure that ultimately there will be a harvest. We may even think that we are getting away with sowing bad seed, but when we least expect it, our seed will yield fruit and it will be according to the kind of seed that we have planted. Our good deeds will produce rewards and likewise our sins will surely find us out. Let us keep these thoughts in our minds and remember that every choice we make is a seed and every decision has consequences. For that reason, we must be careful to sow only what we want to reap, for a harvest will surely follow our seed time. +++ Copyright © 2021 Mary Padgett Ministries. All Rights Reserved www.widsonline.com |
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