I love to work in the garden, and in my flowerbeds. There is something about helping to make things grow, and look nice that inspires me. For the first time in a while I had the opportunity to work in the yard. A neighbor had given me several types of flowers to plant. Since our house is on the market, I took them to our land to plant. As I was digging a hole for the plants and adding water, something caught my attention. All around the plant where the dirt was untouched, the water simply ran down the hill never penetrating the ground. The whole point was to get as much water to the roots as possible. What seemed to be the problem? I had not cultivated, or tilled the dirt around the plant; I had only dug a hole. Because I had not taken time to prepare all the ground around the plant, it was not receiving the full benefits of the water.
I wonder how often we find our self as Christians in this situation. We may wonder why we don’t seem to get much out of Bible Study, preaching, or Sunday school; why God does not speak to us; or why we can’t sense the Holy Spirit. Have you ever been there? Most of the time we want to blame the person bringing the lesson. The truth is that sometimes we simply don’t take the time to cultivate our self in preparation for the sermon, or lesson we are about to hear. It is amazing to me how many people walk into church never picking up their Bible even once during the week, praying, or anything else, and expect to miraculously hear from God. Now I am not saying God cannot speak in this situation, because He most certainly can speak at any time, but to really know His will I believe we have to walk with Him daily.
This week in Kids Worship we studied about Joshua taking over as leader of the Israelites for Moses. You see God didn’t just randomly speak to Joshua, or give him a leadership position. Joshua had been allowing the Lord to cultivate his life for years. He was the spy that came back and gave a good report that they could take the land of Promise. The Bible had referred to him as Moses aide, or helper. You see when it was time to lead, it was time to go; he had no time to think about how to be a leader. It was the time spent with God and Moses, which prepared him to receive God’s instructions, and to have spiritual knowledge.
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
If we really want to know the will of God, and what He has in store for our life, we have to spend time with Him. If we don’t spend time preparing our hearts to receive what God is going to give us through His word, it will be like the water that could not penetrate the hard soil. His Word will leave us untouched, and unchanged. The Lord says, “do not turn from left or right, and to meditate on His Word day and night”. How many times have we walked out of church untouched and unchanged? It is not enough to be emotional, or to say it was a good sermon; the Word should literally change something in us every time we hear it. The next time we want to blame someone for us not receiving a Word from the Lord, maybe we should take a closer look at our own preparation to receive it. Everyday of our life is a teaching moment from God, if we are prepared to learn.
Make a plan now to keep a daily appointment with God. The enemy is going to tell you to set it aside, but you must carve out the time. If you're too busy to meet with the Lord, friend, then you are simply too busy"
(Chalres Swindoll )
"Every experience God gives us, every person he brings into our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only he can see" ( Corrie ten Boom )
“The will of God is not something you add to your life. It’s a course you choose. You either line yourself up with the Son of God…or you capitulate to the principle which governs the rest of the world.”
― Elisabeth Elliot
I wonder how often we find our self as Christians in this situation. We may wonder why we don’t seem to get much out of Bible Study, preaching, or Sunday school; why God does not speak to us; or why we can’t sense the Holy Spirit. Have you ever been there? Most of the time we want to blame the person bringing the lesson. The truth is that sometimes we simply don’t take the time to cultivate our self in preparation for the sermon, or lesson we are about to hear. It is amazing to me how many people walk into church never picking up their Bible even once during the week, praying, or anything else, and expect to miraculously hear from God. Now I am not saying God cannot speak in this situation, because He most certainly can speak at any time, but to really know His will I believe we have to walk with Him daily.
This week in Kids Worship we studied about Joshua taking over as leader of the Israelites for Moses. You see God didn’t just randomly speak to Joshua, or give him a leadership position. Joshua had been allowing the Lord to cultivate his life for years. He was the spy that came back and gave a good report that they could take the land of Promise. The Bible had referred to him as Moses aide, or helper. You see when it was time to lead, it was time to go; he had no time to think about how to be a leader. It was the time spent with God and Moses, which prepared him to receive God’s instructions, and to have spiritual knowledge.
1 After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. 5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
7 “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
If we really want to know the will of God, and what He has in store for our life, we have to spend time with Him. If we don’t spend time preparing our hearts to receive what God is going to give us through His word, it will be like the water that could not penetrate the hard soil. His Word will leave us untouched, and unchanged. The Lord says, “do not turn from left or right, and to meditate on His Word day and night”. How many times have we walked out of church untouched and unchanged? It is not enough to be emotional, or to say it was a good sermon; the Word should literally change something in us every time we hear it. The next time we want to blame someone for us not receiving a Word from the Lord, maybe we should take a closer look at our own preparation to receive it. Everyday of our life is a teaching moment from God, if we are prepared to learn.
Make a plan now to keep a daily appointment with God. The enemy is going to tell you to set it aside, but you must carve out the time. If you're too busy to meet with the Lord, friend, then you are simply too busy"
(Chalres Swindoll )
"Every experience God gives us, every person he brings into our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only he can see" ( Corrie ten Boom )
“The will of God is not something you add to your life. It’s a course you choose. You either line yourself up with the Son of God…or you capitulate to the principle which governs the rest of the world.”
― Elisabeth Elliot
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