Every farmer wants to plant good seed, but in this Parable of the Weeds, Jesus explained that during the night an enemy came and threw weed seed on the newly planted field, so soon the weeds were coming up with the wheat. Now my dad was very proud of his clean fields, so this would have probably driven him crazy! To that end, as children, we joined him in walking the corn & bean fields…much to our dismay. Therefore, many a Summer morning we would start out first thing after breakfast…wet corn or beans slapping our legs as we moved down the rows pulling weeds…all three of us girls complaining all the way. But dad was undeterred by all our griping and soon his fields were picture perfect.
Author: kezha1
A Christian mother, grandmother, and retired nurse living in Illinois. Called into a ministry of encouraging others to find their ultimate plan and purpose in life through Christ.
Genesis 8:22 ” As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and Winter, day and night will never cease.”
This is a powerful promise of God that day and night and the Seasons will continue as long as the earth endures, and that the earthly order as we know it would not end prematurely. But along with the promises of God about seedtime and harvest, there’s also Scriptures concerning His blessings on farming, such as Psalm 67:6 that tells us that God will bless the farmer with not only a harvest this Fall, but will bless all his future harvests. And in his rebuke to the people, Jeremiah urged them not place their trust in idols, but to instead place their confidence in their all-powerful God, Who truly was the one that controlled the seasonal rains upon which their lives and livelihood depended. Our good God blesses the farmer as he patiently waits and prays for a bountiful harvest… and whether he really would like to or not…the farmer knows he must ultimately place those fields of corn and soybeans into God’s hands for safe keeping.
Matthew 18:33 ” Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?”
Jesus was teaching on the Parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35) to show what mercy is all about. The Greek word for mercy or giving mercy is inadequate in its simple definition of clemency, forgiveness, or holding back of a deserved punishment. It’s rather a concrete expression of pity and compassion to relieve affliction, alleviate suffering, and ease misery to the totally undeserved. Isaiah 30:18 tells us, “The Lord longs to be gracious to you, and to show you compassion.” But remember, if we have known God’s mercy, we must operate on the same principle of mercy. For if we won’t show mercy, we won’t receive it from God…for an unforgiving heart is an unforgiven heart.
Genesis 50:20 ” You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”
This classic statement of Joseph’s shows God’s Divine Providence and Sovereignty…illustrating how God can turn evil human intentions of harm into things of greater good. That’s because, nothing or no one can change God’s perfect plan and purpose of working only good. (Psalm 119:68) In this story of Joseph and his brothers, it brings out clearly how God works out His Will through the actions of human wills, without violating the freedom of those human wills. For what Joseph’s brothers had intended for evil, the Providence of God was still working not only for their families, but for many, many others.
Isaiah 30:15 ” In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.”
True salvation and strength comes from returning, repentance, and trusting in God, rather than in our own human efforts… a turning to God for our inner peace and strength. Exodus 14:14 tells us that the Lord will fight for us as the Divine Warrior and so we can rest… trusting fully that, “The fruit of righteousness will be peace, the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.” (Isaiah 32:17)
Philippians 3:12 ” But I press on to take hold of that what for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”
As a Christian, we should be continually striving for spiritual growth and the pursuit of a deeper relationship with Christ. For a Christlike life isn’t a moment to achieve, but a goal to pursue. So when God places a call on our life, we need to realize that we’re not here to work for God because we’ve been chosen, but because God has “laid hold of” us. Understand then, that we are firmly within His grip of calling that doesn’t allow doubt, fear, misgivings, uncertainty, or anxiety…nor are we to turn aside to the right or to the left on a whim. (Deuteronomy 5:32) For our responsibility is reaching daily for the goal set before us.
James 5:7-8 ” Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the Autumn and Spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.”
No one is more at the mercy of the elements like a farmer. They work the soil, plant the seed, and then wait for the rain. It takes patience, spiritual growth, and maturity to give your entire livelihood into the Lord’s hands for safe keeping…but farmers do it year in and year out. And so today, I honor my favorite farmer, my dad, who went home to be with the Lord this morning.
Jeremiah 29:10 ” This is what the Lord says: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill My gracious promise to bring you back to this place.”
Chapter 29 in Jeremiah tells of the Jewish exiles in Babylon refusing to believe Jeremiah’s earlier Word from the Lord (Jeremiah 25:11), that they would be banished from Jerusalem for seventy long years. It also didn’t help that there were among them false teachers deceiving them with lies they wanted to hear. (Jeremiah29:27-31) Thus, the exiles were living like they were just on a short vacation, and that they’d soon be leaving Babylon to go home. Many times, we too can get a notion in our head of how God should be working…rejecting His plans for ours…His Will for our selfish desires. But in the end, God is sovereign, so as Jeremiah told the exiles, accept God’s Will and live accordingly.
Philippians 4:13 ” I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength.”
In many of Paul’s letters in the New Testament we see his reliance on Christ’s strength and power, not his. In II Corinthians 12:9, he describes his “thorn in the flesh” and how the Lord reminded him that, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” In both Ephesians 3:16 and Colossians 1:11 he writes about being strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit…giving him endurance, patience, and joy. And in II Timothy 4:17, he encourages the young Timothy that he can depend on the Lord to stand by him and strengthen him in times of adversity. So despite anything happening today, I can confidently say that I know where my help and strength comes from…it comes from the Lord. (Psalm 121:1-2)
Ephesians 6:19 ” Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel…”
This letter was probably written during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome, but even this couldn’t curtail him from boldly declaring God’s unfolding of Divine things called the “mystery” of His Will. But with this letter, Paul wanted to demystify the before withheld truth that God’s Will is all about uniting all things in heaven and on earth in Christ…a uniting of Jew and Gentile…reconciling them through the Cross of Christ… within the Body of Christ called the Church.
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