GOD IS NOT SHOCKED

God is never shocked about the way things turn out in life, even if we are. It is never a surprise to Him. He never makes mistakes. And because He is a Good Leader, we can trust Him that everything is going to turn out right in the end.

Many times, we think we know how something is going to turn out. That is an expectation. Then, it does not turn out that way. This can cause disappointment. But if we are able to come into agreement with God’s leadership in the midst of this disappointment, we will be able to overcome any trial without quitting in the face of opposition.

But there are times when we are concerned that we missed God’s will. We may wonder if we did something wrong in a specific situation. We may ask the question, “How could I have done it differently?”

It is important to ask these questions and to learn from our mistakes, but many times, we torture ourselves with these questions to the point of worry and anxiety. There comes a point where we must quiet our soul, and realize that God is not as shocked as we are. Actually, He is not shocked at all.

God knows when we have the desire to please Him. He knows when we want to do His complete will with an absolute “Yes” in our hearts. He is not out to trick us. His goal is not to make us mess up so He can beat us over the head.

First, ask yourself, “Am I obeying the commandments in God’s Word to the best of my ability, repenting and warring against sin when I fail?” Then, ask yourself, “Am I truly asking God what He wants me to do in this situation?” Thirdly, ask yourself, “Have I heard a clear answer from the Lord and if so, what is it?”

Most likely, you can answer yes to the first two questions. If not, go back and fix something, but most sincere believers who are truly seeking God can answer “yes” to the first two questions.

The third question, however, is where people begin to torture themselves about whether they are in God’s will or not. But the answer is simple. If you are truly asking the Lord, and you have not heard a clear answer, then do what you feel is best from the wisdom and experience you have, and your knowledge of the Word. If God wants to stop you, He can simply say something.

You are truly seeking Him, and if you heard something clearly, you would do exactly what He said, right? So, if you have not heard anything clear, take a deep breath and do what you feel is best. Maybe seek some godly counsel from close friends and mentors—and breathe. It’s going to be okay. God is not shocked, and He is not worried that you are going to make the wrong decision.

He is a Good Leader and He will let you know if you need to make a turn. Trust Him. He knows where this thing is going.

FAITH: WHERE HOPE TAKES THE LEAP

“Now faith is the substance of hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Heb. 11:1)

Hope begins in the heart, and faith takes the necessary action. Hope creates longing, and faith acts upon it. Faith is hope in motion. Faith is hope’s substance.

With hope, you are not always sure how it is going to end, but with faith, you take the leap between what you know that you can see, and what you believe that you cannot see.

Faith is the proof that what you cannot see actually exists. It is the evidence.  Yet, you cannot see it, so it takes faith to believe it. Faith is risky, but something in our heart longs to believe it. That longing is hope.

“But without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must first believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb. 11:6)

First, we must believe (have faith) that God exists. Then, we must believe that He will answer those who seek Him. He wants to give us a reward.

Abraham believed in this God. He believed in the God who “gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as those they did” and even though Abraham “contrary to hope, in hope believed…” And Abraham “did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but he was strengthened in faith…”(Rom. 4:17-20).

Abraham’s faith and hope were working together to believe in the promises of God.

This is what we desire. We want hope to keep our heart longing, and faith to take the leap and believe. But the thing that hinders faith and hope from believing in the promises is a disappointed heart.

However, even a disappointed heart can reach out and believe that what God’s word says is true. David said, “ I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart.” (Psalm 27:13-14)

Even in the midst of a disappointed heart, we must still believe that God exists. We must believe in His goodness. We must believe in His leadership. We must believe in His Word. If we dare to believe that His promises are true, He will come and strengthen our heart to hope.

Hope without Wavering

Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. (Heb. 10:23)

In the midst of disappointment, the heart can grow weary holding on to Hope. Even the most simple tasks and obstacles can seem ominous and daunting in the face of a disappointed heart. In these times, we feel like we have faltered or wavered in our confession of our hope.

However, we must learn to see our confession of hope the way God sees it. Even in times when we feel the most hopelessness, despair, and disappointment, all we need is one little movement of our heart towards Hope and God counts it as righteousness.

Think about Abraham. Abraham did some good things, but if you look at Abraham’s life, think about how many times he totally bombed it. There was the time when he lied about Sarah being his wife. Oh, and then he did it again. There was the time when he took his wife’s maidservant, thinking that would be the way to get his promised son. Then, he even sent that maidservant and son away, nearly leaving them for dead.

With this is mind reading through Romans, suddenly, you stumble upon the passage that says, “He [Abraham] did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God…” (Rom. 4:20). Wait a minute…

I always slam on the brakes when I read that passage. Wait, Abraham never wavered? Come on, God, are we talking about the same Abraham?

And then I realize that this is how God sees Abraham. He wiped away the sin and the times of losing heart, and He counts the acts of righteousness as Abraham walked out his faith.

And sometimes, I am a little hard on Abraham, but when I apply this to myself, I feel a great amount of relief.

It is interesting that the writer of Hebrews admonishes us to “Hold fast to the confession of our faith without wavering…” Then, he goes on to say, “For He who promised is Faithful…” It seems as though this is the source of the strength for holding onto our hope.

But, it gets even more interesting when you look back at this passage about Abraham in Romans 4. Paul goes on to say concerning Abraham, “and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also about to perform. And therefore, it was accounted to him as righteousness…”

Again, here is the idea of hope in the promises connected with believing in the faithfulness of God.

And the most remarkable part is that it was accounted to him as righteousness.

Even when Abraham seemed to waver in hope, waver in promises, and waver in faith, God saw the movements of his heart and the end result of his life, and it was accounted to him as righteousness.

So with all of that in mind, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.”

Devo 63: The Kingdom like a Child

“Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 18:3-4

Jesus said that for us to enter into the kingdom, we must become like children. He is not only speaking of salvation here, but also of living the kingdom life. The things of God are foolishness to the wise, but they are powerful and they put to shame the things which are mighty (I Cor. 1:27).

Most of the attributes of the kingdom of God are completely contrary to the way we think. God said, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways…” (Is. 55:8-9). The way He does things are so contrary to the way we do things. He who is humbled will be exalted, and he who exalts himself will be humbled.

The God of all creation came to earth, lived a sinless life, and died for the sins of all mankind. Even though he was God, he did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped, made Himself of no reputation and took up the cross. Therefore, God highly exalted Him and now He sits at the right hand of the Father (Phil. 2:6-7).

Stop for a second. Think about that. Everything seems so upside-down there. This is the kingdom of God.

Many times on the road of being transformed into the image of Christ, we come across a blockade in our mind. Our mind must be renewed because the things of God are not natural things that can be understood by a natural mind, but they are spiritual things that must be understood by a spiritual mind (Rom. 8; I Cor. 2).

This is why we must become like a child. Before a child begins to do something, they do not think about the process it takes to do it. They just do it. Children do not reason through something and talk themselves out of it. When icecream is sat in front of them, they do not wonder how many calories are in it, how many miles they have to run, or if it will cause Type II diabetes. They just eat it.

If they go out to play in brand new clothes, they do not worry about whether or not grass stains come out with a certain stain remover, or if they will come out at all. They just play.

Jesus said for us to enter the kingdom of heaven like a little child. So when we lay hands on the sick, we do not need to think about the scientific improbability of something happening, or whether that person will think we are dumb, or whether God heals today, or why He hasn’t healed before, or if we are saying the right formula or not. We just need to lay hands on the sick.

If the Lord whispers a word to us, we don’t need to go through the mental gymnastics of whether that was God, or if God really speaks that way, or what those people will think of us. We just give the word. Just like a little child would. They do not think about what other people think of them. They just say it like it is. That is why parents cannot gossip around little kids because they just repeat what they hear, and they will say it right to the person.

The problem is that many of us do not know what it is like to be a child. Many of us had our childhoods stolen because of tragedy, trauma, abuse, or false responsibility. Some never had parents or their parents treated them badly. Some were abandoned or sick or never saw what it was like to have fun.

Many people believe that they are stuck with the childhood they had and they can never get it back. However, this is not true. You are adopted now. You have come under a different family and you can start your childhood all over again—and it’s not a bad thing this time.

You have been adopted by a heavenly Father, and no matter how good or bad your earthly father was—every single believer must learn what it is like to be adopted as a child of God.

It is no wonder that one of the names of the Holy Spirit is the “spirit of adoption” (Gal. 4; Rom. 8). That is His actual name. He is the one who cries out from within us and bears witness that we are sons and daughters of God (Rom. 8; Gal. 4; Eph. 1).

The only way we can know what it is like to be a child is to have a genuine revelation of the Father. We have to focus on who the heavenly Father is—not who we think He is, or why we do not know who He is, or if we will ever know who He is—but actually who He is. We must focus on scripture that tells our mind who God really is, and then pray and ask God to make that revelation real to us.

God is a Good Father who loves to give good gifts to His children (Lk 11). He is delighted in us (Ps. 16, 18). He delights in giving us the kingdom (Lk 12). He is forgiving (Lk. 7).

Jesus came to show us the Father (Jn 14). Everything Jesus did was a revelation of the Father. He only did what He saw the Father doing (Jn 5:19).

When we realize the joy and delight our Daddy God has over us, then we will be able to become like children and fully enter into the kingdom, which is our inheritance as sons and daughters.

Ask the Lord to reveal Himself to you as Father. Ask Him to pour the love of the Father into your heart. Ask Him to help you become like a child. Ask Him to give you the faith of a child. Ask Him to let you see the kingdom of heaven come to earth and let you be a part of it happening.

Grace and Peace to you in Jesus Name!

Love,

Amanda

Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved

Devo 59: The Genesis One Creativity of Healing

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them…And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Genesis 1:1-2; 26-27; 2:7

Imagine Jesus kneeling down in the dirt, making the first man. He probably put some dirt in His hands and spit in it (sound familiar?). Forming clay, He molded hands, feet, eyes, head, mouth, nose…Not only that, but He shaped organs. He shaped the lungs—the bronchial tubes, the alveoli, pleural membrane, cilia—little intricate organisms. He shaped the cells—mitochondria, DNA, ribosomes, chromosomes…He shaped the heart and arteries. He shaped the brain—the different hemispheres, the brain stem, the synapses, nerve endings, spinal chord, nervous system, etc…He sculpted every nook and cranny of the colon, stomach, liver, spleen, diaphragm, muscles, bones, veins, tendons, ligaments, cells…Every little part of the human body, Jesus formed it by hand.

He is a Craftsman. Proverbs 8 personifies Jesus as Wisdom. As He speaks of the formation of the world, Jesus says, “Then I was beside Him as a Master Craftsman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him, rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men” (Prov. 8:30-31). Jesus was creative—of course. He is the Creator.

Psalm 139 speaks of how God cares about the human body. The psalmist says:

For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Psalm 139:13-15

Our physical bodies are precious to the Lord. He made them. He also loves to heal them. Asking for healing, releasing a prophetic word, or praying for heaven to come to earth are actually ways to release the creativity that God has given us.

We are made in His image, and He is Creator. We cannot create anything, but through us, the Holy Spirit can create. He can speak through us with the same power and authority that He created the world.

When we realize our God is the Creator, we can understand why humans love creativity. We love art. We love knew ideas. We love to see beautiful structures that man has built. Man is made in God’s image, therefore creativity is part of human design.

Even natural men can be artistic, creative, and have ingenuity. However, men cannot create in the natural. They can only take what is already created and reform it to make something out of it. Jesus did that when he formed man. He formed man out of dust—but of course, He was the one who spoke the dust into being.

When we partner with the Lord, however, we can see things in heaven and call them into existence on earth. It’s called faith. Faith is the substance of things unseen, and the evidence of things hoped for (Heb. 11:1). We can bind and loose things in heaven and earth (Mt. 18). When we behold God the Creator and get a grasp on what things are like in heaven, we have the boldness to pray for them on earth.

Jesus told us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven…” (Mt. 6, Lk 11). Although this does pertain to the time when Jesus establishes His reign on earth, it is not limited to that time. The kingdom is our inheritance as sons and daughters. The Lord originally designed men to have dominion over the earth, but man gave his dominion over to Satan when he sinned.

However, as we come under the reign and dominion of Christ and are seated with Him in heavenly places, we also have His authority through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many times, we try to fight our way up to heavenly things as though we could do anything on our own strength, but God puts everything in us, and He is the one who has called us sons. He made us sons and also heirs (Gal. 4). We are already seated with Him in heavenly places. We can do nothing to earn it.

We often have so many reasons in our mind why we should not pray and believe for healing—mostly unanswered prayer. We prayed and the person died anyway. Our hearts were broken. We ask why. We have physical problems in our own bodies. We do not understand and become discouraged.

All of those thoughts, feelings, and emotions are real. However, we must have faith and just keep asking, keep believing, keep asking, keep believing. The problem is that sometimes we feel it is just too painful for our hearts. We do not want to put ourselves out there anymore. Its too vulnerable, too painful, too difficult…So, we become burned out, discouraged—and if we let that go long enough—offended, bitter, and angry. We stop believing and stop asking.

But, the testing of our faith produces patience, and when patience has its perfect work, it brings us into maturity, lacking nothing (Js. 1). Not only that, but our faith is accounted to us as righteousness (Heb. 11). Not only that, but faith is the foundation for the kingdom of God. We must become like a little child (Mt. 18:3). Little children just believe. They do not know any different.

Also, healing is real. It actually happens today. The kingdom of God really exists and people are actually healed.

In Matthew 8, a centurion came to Jesus and asked for his servant to be healed. The centurion said that if Jesus only said the word his servant would be healed without Him even going back to his house. It says that Jesus marveled at the man. I heard someone pray the other day, “Jesus, Give me faith you can marvel at.” What a wonderful prayer. Jesus, give me faith you can marvel at.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He said, “Let there be…” and there was. God took so much care in sculpting the human body. He cares what we do with it, how we take care of it, and He loves to heal it. So, let’s just ask—and keep asking, and ask again—and just believe, keep believing, and believe again.

Blessings,

Amanda

Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved

Devo 58: There is no Fear in Love

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.

I John 4:17-18

As the world continues to spiral downward in economics, politics, morals, spiritual decline, crime, etc…many people find themselves terribly afraid. Fear of death, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of debt, fear of loss, fear of men, fear of rejection, fear of pain, fear, fear, fear…Fear is one of the most paralyzing influences on a person.

Many people struggle with fear. Even those who seem confident in outward appearance are, many times, terribly afraid on the inside. However, people will cover up fear with anything and everything, filling their lives with lots of “noise” to keep themselves from being alone and afraid.

Jesus said that in the last days, men’s hearts will fail from the “fear and expectation of things to come” (Lk 21:26). Basically, men will have heart attacks from the fear of the future—fear of the unknown, uncertainty, insecurity. The world will be rampant with fear in the last days.

However, as sons and daughters of God, fear is not our inheritance. Our inheritance is the spirit of adoption that cries out “Abba! Father!” and breaks the bondage of fear! (Rom. 8:15). Our inheritance is the love of the Father. His perfect love casts out all fear.

I John 3 says, “Behold what manner of love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God!” Then, I John 4 talks about this love and how it is manifested to us and through us. It is in this context that John speaks of love being made perfect among us, which casts out fear.

When this love is perfected, it also gives us boldness in the Day of Judgment. This is our inheritance, because even though we may not know individual twists and turns such as finances, deaths, disasters…etc, we know the ultimate outcome. We know that Jesus is coming back and He will make the wrong things right. We know what He says in Revelation and other books concerning the things to come. We are instructed in how to carry our hearts during these times—love, humility, abiding in the Spirit, etc.

In Philippians 3, Paul speaks of those who set their mind on earthly things. He says that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, but “our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly bodies that it may be conformed to His glorious body…” (Phil. 3:18-21). Our challenge is to live for heavenly things even while we are still on earth.

We belong to a kingdom which cannot be shaken (Heb. 12:27-28). In the last days, the Lord will shake not only earth, but heaven also (Heb. 12:27-28). He will shake the 2nd heavens where the demonic principalities and powers have their dominion (Eph 6.) Jesus says that this is the time when men’s hearts will fail because of fear—when the heavens are shaken (Lk. 21:26).

Revelation 12 speaks of the time when Michael will throw Satan out of heaven onto the earth. This is comes as a result of the intercession of the saints prevailing over the principalities and powers in the 2nd heavens, because the saints have found their identity not on earth or in the 2nd heavens, but seated with Christ in heavenly places (in the 3rd heavens) (see Eph. 2:6, 6:12-13; II Cor. 12:2).

At this time, Satan will be cast down to earth and this will be the time of the greatest persecution of the saints and Jews that the world has ever known. However, the saints will overcome by the blood of the lamb and the Word of their testimony (Rev. 12:11).

The Lord is preparing our hearts now to be free of fear so that we will have boldness in the Day of Judgment. Even if bad things happen to us and around us, we will have the courage and boldness to set our mind on heavenly things instead of things on earth. We will have answers when everyone else has questions, anxiety, and fear.

Don’t count yourself out! The immediate response when I say something like that is to say that this cannot be for you. You cannot have that kind of freedom. That is not true. The enemy wants us to believe that because he wants to keep us in bondage to fear so that we will not realize our inheritance as sons and daughters, and take our place seated with Christ—above Satan! When we truly realize that and make conscious choices to walk in that everyday, we become deadly to Satan, because it is the result of our prayers that will ultimately cast him out of heaven and call forth Jesus to return.

Where the Spirit of the Lord is—there is freedom! (II Cor. 3:17). We do not want to be enemies of the cross by thinking that we cannot be free and therefore setting our minds on earthly things (Phil. 3:18). We must be anxious for nothing, but set our minds on whatever is noble, lovely, true, and pure (Phil. 4:6-8).

This week, meditate on the love of God. Meditate either on Jesus love for us by dying on the cross (Jn 15:13) or on the love of the Father (Rom. 8:15, I John 3:1, I Jn. 4:19). Pray the following kinds of prayers out loud. Ask the Lord to reveal His love to you. Ask Him to prepare your heart to receive His love and ask Him to remove fear or anything that stops you from receiving His love. Ask Him to make you able to comprehend what is the width, length, depth, and height, of the love of Christ which passes all knowledge (Eph. 3:17-18). Ask Him to perfect you in love and to make you bold in the Day of Judgment.

Grace and Peace in the Lord Jesus!

Amanda
 
Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved

Devo 57: Where the Seed Falls

Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.


But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
Luke 8:11-15

Jesus said that understanding the parable of the sower is key to understanding all the other parables. This parable has more truth in it than I fully comprehend right now, but there are several things I want to point out which are crucial for us in the time in which we live.

By the Wayside: We all have seen how the seed falls by the wayside and is stolen before a person has time to receive it and believe. This happens everytime the Word is preached to an unbeliever and they remain unbelieving.

However, the other three types of soil apply to people who believe or have believed the Word in some capacity during their lives.

On Rocky Soil: For the first type of soil—or rock rather, the person hears the Word and receives it with joy, but then when trouble or temptation comes, they fall away (Mt 13 & Mk 4 say tribulation and persecution). These are people who get saved, but they only have a surface-level knowledge of God and relationship with Him.

However, it is not just that they have never developed a root or had personal growth any, but their root did not grown as fast as the plant, and they have not tilled the soil for the root to grow. So, the storms come or temptation or persecution, and that plant does not stand up to the testing, because it has not developed a root system.

Jesus said that anyone who does not abide in the vine or abide in His love will be cut off (Jn 15), but He gives many promises for those who remain in Him. Paul prayed in Ephesians 3:17, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, may be rooted and grounded in love, and may be able to comprehend with all the saints, what is the width, the length, the depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes all knowledge…” We must be rooted in God’s love. We have to believe that what He says about us is true and ask Him to constantly fill us with His love and make us able to receive it.

Among Thorns: Other seeds fell among thorns. Some thorns are the cares of the world—sickness, disease, financial hardship, relationship trouble, circumstances, etc. Other thorns are riches, pleasures of this life—things that distract us. These things pull our attention away from growing. They outgrow us quickly, become taller than us, and consume all the light, so that we are stifled out, and get no light.

If you have ever grown plants, you will know that they always grow toward the light. If you turn a houseplant away from the window, its leaves will reach toward the window. However, say that a plant was surrounded by thorns and so focused on the fact that there where thorns, that it does not grow towards the light. This is how a plant dies from lack of light, and this is how our spirits get choked out from the cares of the Lord. Want is our focus on? Is it on the thorns or the light?

We have to focus on the light rather than on the things that are choking us. Paul said that when we behold God, we become more like Him (II Cor. 3:18). We must focus on Jesus and what He is capable of doing, rather than on everything surrounding us and what they are capable of doing.

James 1 talks about how the testing of our faith produces patience, which when patience is perfected, it makes us perfect or complete, lacking nothing. Being perfect here means mature. The Lord allows testing to produce a fruit of the spirit in us called patience, which brings us into maturity.

However, many times, we allow that testing to choke us out and keep us from bringing any fruit to maturity (Js 1, Lk 8:14). Jesus said that anyone who abides in Him, must bear fruit or it will be cut off and thrown in the fire (Jn 15). We must not only have a deep root, and grow tall, but we must bear fruit.

In Good Soil: Finally, the seed falls on good soil. These are those who hear the word, keep it, and bear fruit with patience. They hear the word, receive it, cultivate the ground, and grow towards the light. They keep the Word, which means they hear His word and obey it. They are ones who abide in His love, and because they love Him, they obey His commands (Jn 15: 9-10, 14).

Those who cultivate good soil bear fruit. Jesus said we must bear fruit (Jn 15). However, we cannot bear fruit by our own strength—that would be works of the Law or works of the flesh, but we must bear fruits of the SPIRIT. We cannot grow this fruit without abiding in the Spirit and allowing Him to prune us, and produce these fruits in us.

This includes coming against things that keep us from believing in His love, which damages our root. This process of bearing fruit includes focusing on the Light—Jesus, rather than the thorns surrounding us. It says those with good soil, bear fruit with patience. They allow the testing of their faith to produce patience, and the patience to bring them into maturity.

Ultimately, this parable is not about different types of people, but about different experiences of discipleship as we grow in the Lord. We go through each process many times in all areas of our lives.

After Jesus told this parable, He said, “He who has an ear, let Him hear!” The Lord is speaking to us through this parable, and it is especially important for the time we live in as the wheat and tares are being brought up into maturity and the harvest is made ready. The Lord will return soon for a Bride who has been brought into maturity, and we must take heed, so that we do not allow the things of the world to keep us from bearing fruit that will last for an eternity.

“Lord, help us to cultivate good soil. Help us to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Strengthen us with might in the inner man that we may know the love of Christ that passes all knowledge. Help us to abide in your love. Guard us and deliver us from the evil one. Give us ears to hear and eyes to see. Come, Lord Jesus. Amen”

Love,

Amanda

Copyright © 2010, Amanda Rich, All Rights Reserved