A Fruitful Harvest: He provides

4.  He provides

After planning, preparing and planting the gardener now provides the necessary elements for the plants to grow.  They need food and water.

Food:

Plants need food to grow strong and healthy and to produce abundantly.  Without the proper nutrients, they will be weak, sickly and stunted.  They will never reach their full potential.

In the same way, we also need spiritual food.  God’s Word is food for our spirit.  After we have been planted in Him, we need to feed on His Word so we can grow strong and healthy and bear fruit.  Without this food, we will be weak, sickly and stunted in growth.

       I Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babes, long for (crave) the pure milk   
                         of the Word, that by it you may grow in respect to
                         salvation.”

       Matthew 4:4 “Jesus answered and said, ‘It is written, ‘Man
                         shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the 
                         mouth of God.’”

      Jeremiah 15:16 “When I discovered Your words, I devoured them.  They are my joy and
                         my heart’s delight.”

      Psalm 119:97;103; 116 “O how I love Your law!  It is my meditation all the day…How
                         sweet Your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey to
                         my mouth…sustain my according to Your Word, that I may live.”

Water:

Water is essential.  Without it, the plants will wither and die. 
A deep soaking is always better than a light sprinkling.

Water is the vehicle that carries the food into the plants…it is necessary for them to absorb the nutrients.  Food and water work together to give life, health and growth.

       Psalm 1:2-3 “His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in
                             His law he meditates day and night.  He  
                             will be like a tree planted by streams of
                             water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.”

Water also helps to keep the plants healthy by washing the dirt and bugs from the leaves.

      Ephesians 5:25-26 “…Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her that He 
                        might make her holy and clean by the washing of the water of the Word.”

In Israel, flowing water was called ‘living water’. It was fresh and clean and life-giving as apposed to stagnant pools that were foul and carried disease.

      Isaiah 58:11 “The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength.  You will be like a well-watered garden like and ever-flowing spring..”

      As the Master Gardener, God lovingly provides all we need to grow and flourish and bear fruit.  His Word is our food… the Holy Spirit is the water.

      John 4:14 “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the 
                        water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up to
                        eternal life.”

      John 7:38-39 “He who believes in Me, as the scripture says, ‘From his innermost being
                       shall flow rivers of living water.’ This He said of the Spirit, whom those who
                       believed in Him were to receive.”

Just as water is necessary to carry the nutrients into the plant, so also the Holy Spirit is necessary to carry the Word into our hearts so we can be nourished by it.  Without the Holy Spirit to give the understanding, the scripture becomes just words on a page to us.

      I Corinthians 2:11 “No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own
                     spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.  And we
                     have received God’s Spirit so we can know the wonderful things God has   
                     freely given us.”

      John 14:26 “The Holy Spirit…will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all
                     that I said to you."

      John 16:13 & 16 “The Spirit will guide you into all truth.  He will tell whatever He 
                     hears from the Father…He will take the things that are Mine and will reveal
                     them to you.”

~~Watering early in the day gives the plants what they need to carry them through the stress of the heat later on.

~~In the same way, we are better prepared to face the challenges of our day when we have taken time to feed on the Word and have allowed the Holy Spirit to bring it into our hearts.

                  Our Master Gardener has provided everything we need to

grow and be strong and fruitful!

~~~Are you taking the time to feed on His Word and to allow the Holy Spirit to bring the understanding into your heart?

~~~Are you allowing Him to wash you, revive you and refresh you daily?

      I pray you will see the importance of feeding on and drinking in what God has provided for your spiritual life…and that you will take time out for a periodic “deep soaking”… so your roots can go deep as you grow into all He has planned for you.

        Hebrews 6:7 “Ground that drinks the rain which often falls upon it and brings forth useful fruit, receives a blessing from God.”

       2 Peter 3:18 “Grow in the grace, recognition, knowledge and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

     

Psalm 139

I love Psalm 139....this is my own personalized version of this Psalm.  I pray you will also take time to meditate on this Psalm and see just how much God loves you...He thinks about You continually and has only the best plans for you.  Even when it seems like He is not there in your circumstances...know that He is.  We will not understand the 'whys' until we can see Him face to face one day...then we will know and understand how all the dark threads of the tapestries of our lives fit together with the other colors to make something beautiful..something only He can see now.  Trust Him...Father does know best.

Psalm 139

Thank You, Lord, that You search my heart and You know me very intimately. 

You know when I sit down… and when I get up. 
           hYou are always watching me.  You know every detail of my daily life.

Even before I have a thought in my mind, You have already known it...

            h Even before I speak…You know what I will say.

You are all around me…like a wall…protecting me

                   h Your hand is always upon me.

 

 

All this is so far beyond my ability to comprehend it.  It is too wonderful to grasp!

There is no place I can go that You do not see…

hYou are with me everywhere and always. 

hYou never leave me alone. 

 

 

There is nowhere in heaven or earth that You aren’t there. 
           hAnywhere I go Your hand is leading me and holding on to me.

Even in total darkness….You see me. 

hThere is no difference in day and night with You. 

You are my creator…


You formed me and put me together exactly the way You wanted. 

hYou planned all my days long before I was even conceived. 

hYou know every thing that will come about in my life.

You have so many thoughts toward me that they can’t be counted.

h I am continually on Your mind.

h I can’t even begin to comprehend that!

I align myself with You against all evil and unrighteousness. 

Search out my heart, God. 

Reveal to me the things that are not pleasing to You…
           hthings that will hurt me and others.... and my witness of You. 

Lead me in the direction that You have planned for me…

hthat will stand forever…

                     Lead me closer to You, Lord.

The Lamb that is the Shepherd

I love the way the scriptures all come together.  From Genesis in the beginning of time... to Revelation at the end of time, we see the plan of God laid out before us. Track with me here as I follow this thread:

 In Genesis, sin entered into the human race and God made a covering for their sin by the slaying of an innocent animal.

 In Exodus, God had the Israelites kill an innocent lamb, perfect with no blemishes, and apply the blood to the doorposts of their house as protection from the final plague He was bringing on the Egyptians.  If they did this, they would be spared…the blood would be their covering.

Exodus 12- “Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household…..

Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight…

They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses.

 On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the LORD!

 But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you.”

                                

                                                               

This seems pretty strange to us.  I am sure it seemed very strange to them also.

            

      But God had a reason..... He was setting up His plan.   

All through history since that time, the Jewish people have celebrated the Passover…the time when God spared them from death and delivered them from their slavery in Egypt.  He spared them because they applied the blood…the life source of the lamb…to their household.  An innocent life was exchanged for their lives.  Every year as they celebrated this Passover, they were reminded of what it meant….. 

…….God made a way to set them free from slavery and death. 

As they traveled through the wilderness to the promised land, God instituted the sacrifices to be the covering for their sins.  But these were only temporary...they had to be continually offered up…over and over again...

In the rest of the Old Testament....down through the years, they were constantly reminded of their sin and that they had to make a sacrifice to cover for it.

In the New Testament...on the last night with His disciples, Jesus was celebrating the Passover feast with them.  When they came to a certain part of the meal, Jesus did something different.

Luke 22:19  He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then He broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying,  

                                             "This is My body, which is given for you.

                                                          Do this to remember Me."

 After supper He took another cup of wine and said,

                     "This cup is the new covenant between God and His people—an agreement confirmed with My blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.

                                                            

I wonder what they were thinking at that moment.  They had been celebrating the Passover meal to remember how God had delivered their ancestors from slavery and death… through the death of an innocent lamb.

Now Jesus was saying something they couldn’t understand. 

     ~Was He saying He was going to die?

     ~What about ushering in the kingdom and overthrowing the Romans who ruled over them?

     ~What did He mean ‘new covenant'? 

 I wonder if they remembered what John the Baptist had said at the start of Jesus’ ministry:

John 1:29  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

                                  

John was proclaiming Jesus as the Lamb….the sacrifice for the sins of the world!   

     ~That would mean that Jesus would have to die!

                ~His blood would be poured out! 

                        ~That could not be!

 Didn’t He make it a point to explain to them that He was the Shepherd? 

The one who watched out for them and made sure they were safe and taken care of?

                            John 10:14  "I am the good shepherd; I know My own sheep,

                                                        and they know Me"

When did they connect the dots?

Genesis....sin brings death....death of innocent covers sin

Exodus....death of sinless lamb frees from slavery.....sacrifice brings life

John....Jesus the Lamb of God.

Was it as He was dying on the cross…or when He appeared to them alive again and connected the dots for them?

Luke 24:27  "Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."

                   ~Maybe that is when they remembered the rest of what He said about being the Shepherd.

John 10:14  "I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me,  even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep." 

                               ~Maybe that is when they finally connected the dots…

                                      ........the Shepherd is the Lamb!

                                 What a marvelous, wonderful mystery!! 

                      Only God could have thought of a plan like that. 

                                                    

                                                       Hallelujah!

Rev 7:17  "for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes."

Thank You, Jesus!

Really great video if you have the time to watch...The Revelation Song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3LK3wIHnVE&feature=related