Devotional Song: Go to this link … Please take the time to see a video of the group 4Him singing … The Basics of life, which I’m repeating from yesterday’s blog because the principle being taught in today’s blog is so basic to our lives … and it’s a principle which we should be applying EVERY DAY by our choices [i.e., the basics of life].
Highlight Passage: Mark 4: 20 [NKJV} … Jesus laid the law of the harvest out in a parable …
20 “ … But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
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Highlight Context - NKJV: Mark 4: 1-20 [NKJV] … GO TO THIS LINK … We reap what we sow … God’s inviolable law of reciprocity …
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Reference Passage #1: Proverbs 11: 18-19 … [NKJV] … Truth!! …
18 The wicked man does deceptive work,
But he who sows righteousness will have a sure reward.
19 As righteousness leads to life,
So he who pursues evil pursues it to his own death.
Reference Passage #1: Matthew 7: 12 … [NKJV] … Jesus taught the principle of sowing and reaping too as “the Law of the Prophets” …
12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Reference Passage #2: Luke 6: 38 … [NKJV] … Jesus re-emphasizes the truth of sowing and reaping …
38 “… Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Reference Passage #3: Galatians 6: 7-10 … [NKJV] … GO TO THIS LINK ... Paul teaches God’s law of sowing and reaping …
Reference Passage #4: 2nd Corinthians 9: 6 … [NKJV] … In the context of teaching about giving, Paul reinforces the reality of God’s law of reciprocity …
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Reference Passage #5: James 3: 18 … [NKJV] … In the context of peacemaking, Jesus’ brother taught about God’s law of sowing and reaping as well …
18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional entry, authored by Julie Ackerman Link, emphasized one of the more inviolable spiritual laws, that of the law of sowing and reaping. And I’ve stolen here great title for my blog today. Yes, it is a LAW of God. Jesus called it the “Law of the Prophets;” [see Matthew 7: 12] and one sees it repeated over and over again in God’s word.
Long ago, in my discipleship and growth in the faith, I learned that when God’s word - i.e., God Himself - teaches one principle multiple times with multiple authors, God is trying to emphasize a truth; and today’s ODB is trying to reinforce a Spirit-given LAW about which God wants His children to learn and apply in our lives. The big-fancy theological term is “God’s Law of Reciprocity;” and we often think about it as the law of sowing and reaping. Sometimes we hear one say about this truth, … “What goes around, comes around!”
But what we need to know - and more importantly, apply - from all the scriptures above is the seriousness of this truth. When God - through authors like Solomon, the Apostle Paul, Jesus’ brother, James, and from Jesus Himself, teach one truth over and over again, God, the Father, wants His kids to pay attention, to learn, and to apply His truth as a law just … as sure as the law of gravity.
Yes, what goes up, WILL come down! And be sure about it, … what one sows, one will reap! So, we must continue to do an inventory of our life choices, must we not? We need to occasionally ask ourselves, "What do I want to reap as a harvest in my life?” … And at the same time, we need to ask, “Am I sowing the seeds, from my choices and behaviors, which will predictably yield the future harvest I desire?” And as the attached photo implies, one can apply this law of reciprocity to any area of our lives, … can’t we?
If we sow hatred, what can we expect in return? … If we so love, what will come back? … If we sow generosity, what will come back from God? If we sow selfishness, … what will be the harvest? I’ll let you deal with this truth for yourself. But when it comes to giving to God’s kingdom, our check stubs or online bank statements will tell the story of our sowing and reaping for God’s glory.
How did we do this week when the offering plate was passed in Church? … Are we sowing God’s seeds of love and forgiveness to others … EVERYDAY? … What seeds can we sow today to plant for God’s harvest in our lives tomorrow?
My Prayer for Today … Lord, I know Your Law on sowing and reaping is true; and I pray my heart is right as I sow Your seeds in my life. Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread [TGIF], distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you’ll find a link to read the Our Daily Bread blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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