Seeds For Thinking

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* Good and Faithful Servants
* Scripture: "Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him, for he refreshes the soul of his masters." Proverbs 25:13, NKJV

Farming is an occupation that is critically dependent upon the weather for successful planting, growing and harvest of crops. A few days delay of planting or harvest can make a big difference in yield, or even cause a total loss or failure of the crop.
Field crops, such as grain, need rain after the planting is finished, during the growing season, but wet fields delay planting.
Too much rain during the growing season is bad, and hail, wind, or even drought can destroy the crop at any stage of growth. Timely, moderate rain is essential, and totally beyond control of the farmer.
Probably no stage of growth of any crop - field, orchard, or vineyard - is more critical than at harvest time. The ripe grain can be flattened by wind or hail. Untimely rain, or, heaven forbid! A snow storm at harvest time is a grower's nightmare.
The little verse from Proverbs 25:13 puzzled me for two reasons. First, I can't imagine any farmer happy about snow on a ripe crop, especially standing grain in the field.
Second, the verse is about harvest time in Israel. I know that they do have snow, but I doubted that it happened often in summer, during the harvest season. I had to check this one out.
And I am glad that I did! It opened up a new insight on living in God's kingdom.
I found that it does indeed snow in Israel, usually only in the depths of winter, and even then the snow quickly melts. Harvest time is usually hot, and intensive manual labor in the fields is hard on the workers. Oh! For a cold drink to slake the thirst of one and all. Enter Mount Hermon, which usually has snow even in the summer time. Snow! The ideal cooler for drinks in a hot, arid climate. No ice houses, no refrigeration equipment. Snow from the mountain in the time of harvest to refresh the soul.
Now notice the rest of that verse. It is not about farming or the harvest at all. It is about messengers, good and faithful servants! (See Matthew 25:21.) About faithful friends, leaders, wives and husbands. Pastors and laity. About you and me, servants one and all.
What an insight we gain when we learn the real purpose of that one little verse. God made all things for good, at the right time, in the right place, in the season of need.
Pray that we all come to embody the qualities of that "good and faithful servant" who refreshes the soul of his masters like a drink cooled by snow in the heat of the summer.
July 23, 2006

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* Covetousness
* Scripture: Jesus said, “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:21, NKJV

God was with Joseph. Even Pharaoh was convinced that there was no one else in the kingdom of Egypt more discerning and wise as Joseph, “a man in whom is the Spirit of God.” (Genesis 41:38)
Joseph was made ruler over all of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. By his command, granaries were built throughout the land, and filled with much grain, “as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable.” (Ge. 41:49)
Jesus told a parable of a man who did the very same thing; he built additional storage facilities to hold the grain his fields yielded in abundance. (Luke 12:16-18)
At this point, the stories diverge, however. Although both Joseph and the man in the parable stockpiled sufficient grain to last many years, God’s providence was intrinsic to the plans of Joseph and Pharaoh. God provided the dreams for Pharaoh, and the ability to interpret them in the person of Joseph. The storehouses in Egypt were for the benefit of the people, including Joseph’s own family, with whom he was reunited. When the time of famine came to all the land, the granaries were opened, that the people might have bread.
The “Rich Fool,” for as such is the parable known, had no plans for sharing with anyone, saying, “Soul . . . eat, drink, and be merry.”
Did Robert Southey have this parable in mind when he wrote “God’s Judgment On A Wicked Bishop?” I do not know, but there are certainly parallels. Both hoard their grain, to the exclusion of others, and both forfeit their soul because of it.
Bishop Hatto, like the Rich Fool, had a plentiful store of grain; his granaries were ‘furnished well’ with grain from the preceding year’s harvest. Not so the starving poor, for the weather had been so bad that there had been no harvest, and they were starving
In response to their clamoring, Bishop Hatto set a day, and bade them to come to his great barn, that “they should have food for the winter there.”
When the barn was full of women and children, and young and old, Bishop Hatto locked the doors, set fire to the barn and burned them all. His rationale?

“And the country is greatly obliged to me
For ridding it, in these times forlorn,
of rats that only consume the corn.”

This rather gruesome tale concludes with an army of rats devouring not only all of the grain he so covetously refused to share, but the Bishop himself! The closing line is this:
“For they were sent to do judgment on him.”

Covetousness has its reward, declared Jesus, in that he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God, loses both the store of ‘things,’ and the soul as well.
February 20, 2005

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do no worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” Mt. 6:25, NRS.

Fashion is fickle! The hot mode of dress and hair style today is disgraceful and grossly offensive tomorrow. At least to some people. One only needs to look at pictures representative of even the last fifty years to see proof that fashion is indeed marked by a lack of constancy, or stability, and given to erratic changeableness - fickle!
Religion is fickle! At least as some people practice it, those who seem to put it on as a fashion. Their profession of beliefs is marked by a lack of constancy, or stability, and given to erratic changeableness - fickle!
Such trends in fashion or religion are not unique to our own times, since a search through the Bible will provide many examples of fickleness in following the True God.
King Solomon was no doubt a fashionable man, probably a trend setter in the courts. Unfortunately, he became inconstant, fickle, and turned his heart away from The Lord, following the religious fashion of his wives. Deities such as Moloch are designated “abominable” and “detestable” in various translations of 1 Kings 11:7. Solomon was held accountable for his folly.
Psalms 1:4 compares the godly to fruitful trees planted by streams of nourishing water. The ungodly are like chaff, blown by the wind, doomed to destruction because they have no roots, no source of nourishment. The truly righteous delight in the law of the Lord, and are rewarded for their steadfastness.
“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches,” we are advised by Proverbs 22:1, “and loving favor rather than silver and gold.”
Jesus rebuked the Scribes and Pharisees for their fashionable interpretation of righteousness, ( Mt. 5:20) and warned against “acts of righteousness” just to be seen by men. (Mt. 6:1-4) “Hypocrites,” Jesus called them; persons who put on a false appearance of virtue or religion. Deceivers, pretenders, play-actors. While popular, fashionable shows of religiosity will not meet the requirement to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Luke also records Jesus’ criticism of those who “like to walk around in long robes” and seek honor, favor, and respect for their status. Their long prayers are offset by their true beliefs; they devour widow’s houses. (Luke 20:45-47)
Paul warned the Colossians against false teachers and their human commands and teachings promoting self-imposed piety and humility. (Col. 2:23)
Fashion, you say? Read James’ observations on the subject, and the perils of showing special attention to the fashionable. (James 2:1-4)
The Living Bible translation of James 4:5 reads, “If your aim is to enjoy the evil pleasure of the unsaved world, you cannot be a friend of God.”
June 8, 2003

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Jesus said, “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning.” Luke 12:35 NIV

Suppose - just suppose - that you are on your way to town. You decide to pull over, stop, and just sit there. People stop, ask if you are having a problem, if you need help, etc. You decline assistance, say you just got tired of going forward, and don’t want to go back, either.
Doesn’t make sense, right? Nobody in their right mind would likely do such a thing. Yet people do things with their lives all the time that make no more sense.
Jesus told the parable of just such a person, which we know as the Parable of the Rich Fool. The man tore down his barns, built bigger ones, and stored up enough that he said to himself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.” (Lk. 12:19)
What of the future? He decided to “pull over, stop, and just sit there.” Someone else got what he had prepared to enjoy.
Jesus goes on in Lk. 12:35 by advising to “be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning.” Jesus cautions against knowing the master’s will and not getting ready or not doing what the master wants.
Check out once again Jesus’ words to the disciples in Mt. 28: 19., “Therefore go . . .” He did not say, “Sit.” He did not say, “Take it easy; this is as good as it gets.”
All Jesus’ disciples (and I think that includes us) are encouraged to be active participants in God’s Kingdom. I will point out only a couple:
Hebrews 13:15, 16 - “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise - the fruit of lips that confess his name. And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
1 Peter 5:2 “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers - not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be.”
Peter also calls us to an active life, moving forward, to “add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our lord Jesus Christ. “(1 Peter 1:5-8)
Are you actively adding in increasing measure to your Christian growth, or have you pulled over to the side to take life easy?
January 5, 2003

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

Scripture: Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. John 6:35 NIV
We are -If we eat! Food, including water, is the most basic of our needs. It is not surprising that the Bible has many references to food and drink. One of the first things God provided for Adam and Eve was the privilege to eat the fruit of the trees in the Garden.
Following the Fall, having eaten of the only thing they were commanded not to eat, food was to be had only through painful toil. (Genesis 3:17-19)
Still, the Lord has provided when the need was great, and the people were worthy.
Noah, a “man of the soil,”according to Gen. 9:20, planted a vineyard soon after coming out of the ark. The ‘vine’ remained one of the symbols of fertility and abundance for the nation of Israel through the ages. Even today, in modern Israel, the desert blooms; the Israelis have advanced the science of irrigation to gain the maximum productivity from the scarce water allotment.
The lack of food, or the variety thereof, was one of the complaints of the Hebrews as they wandered the desert areas during the Exodus. Even though they brought it upon themselves, having refused to enter the “Land flowing with Milk and Honey,” the Lord God provided them with a daily supply of manna, of quail on occasion, and miraculous supplies of water out of rock. (See Genesis Ch. 16-17)
It was a famine, after all, that caused the Israelites to be in Egypt in the first place. Joseph brought his family to Egypt to survive the “seven lean years” as foretold in the Pharaohs dream. (How/why God worked it all out is another story.)
Fast forward - time of the Kings. Another famine, in Israel, during the reign of the evil Ahab and Jezebel. 2 Kings 1:7 tells how Elijah was fed by ravens in the Kerith ravine. When the brook dried up, Elijah befriended a widow and her son in Zarepath. The Lord provided flour and oil for the three of them, until the day that the Lord brought rain to break the famine.
Elijah’s protégé, Elisha, also multiplied a jar of oil until a widow had enough to sell and pay off her debts (2 Kings 4:1-7.) He also fed a hundred men with twenty loaves of barley bread, and had some left over, as the Lord had said to Elisha.
Jesus, too, multiplied the few loaves and fishes, and fed thousands. (John 6)
His greatest “feeding” is that which is not “food” alone, but by the very word of God.
May 13, 2001

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Scripture: Isaiah wrote, Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.” - Isaiah 55:6

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying,
And this same flower that smiles today,
To-morrow will be dying. ROBERT HERRICK

So - take time to smell the roses!
“Carpe Diem” is a Latin phrase that is sometimes used to express the thought of making the most of an opportunity. Literally, “Seize the Day,” with roots in the word for pluck, gather or harvest.
I can picture a rose - yes, any flower - at its peak of perfection, filled with the aroma which we are admonished to enjoy. How quickly, how fleetingly, is that moment snatched from us.
Fruit, also, the sometimes fullness of the flowering, may be in the developing stage that we call ‘green’ for an extended time, reaching ripeness with its own aroma and taste only briefly before passing into inevitable decay. The fullness of time, Yes! That is the moment to harvest, to savor, that which the Lord has prepared.
The harvest is only half of the given opportunity, however. If someone gives us a gift, we respond with an expression of gratefulness; a “Thank You” is appropriate. The flower, the fruit, I may pluck and present to you. I have not caused it to bloom, to ripen, though; that is The Lord’s gift.
All too often the phrase “Carpe Diem” is taken, especially by poets and lovers, as the enjoyment of the pleasures of the moment without concern for the future. And, I might add, without concern for the Giver of the moment.
I think Jesus expressed the earthly, unthankful viewpoint well in the parable of the man who built many barns for his harvest, and enjoyed the moment as a time to “eat, drink, and be merry.” No thanksgiving, no thought of sharing his bounty, which he would not have received except the Lord provided it. (Lk 12:16-21)
Paul wrote, “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith,” Galatians 6:10, NKJV
That is the double opportunity; as we receive from the Lord, we need to remember to call upon Him when His presence is evident in the gift. Seize the moment, yes, the moment to ‘Seek the Lord while He may be found, to call upon Him while He is near.’
And give thanks!
November 20, 2005