JANUARY 26

OUR PERSONAL PROMISES

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John 1:1

The Eternal Word

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Proverbs 4:23

“Keep your heart with all diligence,  for out of it spring the issues of life.”

Galatians 5;22-23

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Ephesians 6:17

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Colossians 2:2-3 (Amplified version for clarity)

“[For my hope is] that their hearts may be encouraged as they are knit together in [unselfish] love, so that they may have all the riches that come from the full assurance of understanding [the joy of salvation], resulting in a true [and more intimate] knowledge of the mystery of God, that is, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge [regarding the word and purposes of God].”

Romans 10:17

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”

1 Corinthians 1:18-20 (Amplified version for clarity)

“But [as surely as] God is faithful and means what He says, our message to you is not “Yes” and “No” [at the same time].  For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, by me, Silvanus, and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but has proved to be “Yes” in Him [true and faithful, the divine “Yes” affirming God’s promises].  For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered] “Yes.” So through Him we say our “Amen” to the glory of God.”

(meaning all of Scripture is true, all the promises of the Old and New Testament are true for every believer, because of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, fulfilling all prophesies about Him in the Old Testament, and making the promises come true.)

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This month we’re reading  the new devotional   “Becoming New”,  written by  Warren W. Wiersbe and compiled by his grandson.  Pastor Wiersbe was the President of Moody Bible Institute before the current President, Erwin Lutzer.  

THE MESSAGE OF THE KINGDOM

Read Matthew 13:1-9 and 18-23

The transformation of a seed into a beautiful and useful  plant is one of the marvels of God’s creation, although season after season we tend to take it for granted.  Jesus used seeds to picture how God uses His Word to transfer people and circumstances.

“The seed is God’s Word” (Luke 8:11).  For the most part, seeds are small and fragile, BUT THEY HAVE GREAT POTENTIAL BECAUSE THEY HAVE LIFE!  “For the Word of God is alive and powerful”  (Hebrews 4:12), and Peter called Scripture “the eternal living Word of God. (1 Peter 1:23).

A seed gets under a foundation or a driveway, begins to germinate, and before long, the concrete begins to crack and out comes a fledgling tree.  When the Word of God, whether printed or spoken, enters a prepared heart, the Holy Spirit goes to work and things start to change.

Jesus compares our hearts to soil because seeds and soil go together.  God’s Word is so constituted that it can work in our hearts.  Jesus also points out that not every heart is the same.  On the footpath, the soil is hard because many feet have pressed it down, and the seeds cannot enter.  Don’t permit too many people to “walk’ on your heart; be careful what you read and hear.  “Guard your heart…”(Proverbs 4:23).

 In Bible times, the people didn’t own copies of the Scriptures but heard the Word  (Old Testament)  read and sung at the temple and in the synagogues.  Jesus exhorts us to take heed THAT we hear, WHAT we hear, and HOW we hear, and you can substitute “read” for “hear.”  (Matthew 13:8-9; Mark 4:24; and Luke 8:18). Careless hearing and reading of the Bible can lead to careless thinking and careless living.

Daily we should allow the Spirit to plant God’s Word in our hearts.  As we meditate on the Scripture and pray, we are “cultivating the soil” and enabling the Lord to produce fruit,  As we share the Word with others, we long to see fruit appear in our lives because fruit is the evidence of life.   “Fruit…more fruit….much fruit..” is what God is seeking in John 15:1—5.

 You don’t manufacture fruit; it grows out of your life.

More than one laborer is involved in producing a harvest.  Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth, “I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.  It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering.  What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. (1Corinthians 3:6-7).  Jesus told His apostles, “You know the saying, “One plants and another harvests.” And it’s true.”  (John 4:37).  There should be no competition in the service of the Lord, for “God will give to each one whatever praise is due.” (1 Cor. 4:5).

Wherever we go, the Lord may give us opportunities to plant the seed of the Word in the hearts of others.  Jesus met the needy woman in Samaria, cultivated the seed of salvation others had planted, and then planted more.  She believed and brought the whole city to meet Him in John chapter 4.  We should take every opportunity to receive more seed into our hearts that we might bear much fruit.  We are soil to receive seed and also sowers to plant seed.  Perhaps the Lord will privilege us to be harvesters and lead people to Jesus.  God is the one who makes things grow, but we must be faithful to plant the seed and cultivate it.

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