Wednesday's Big Idea - Sowing and Reaping for 2006

I'm playing catch-up here, but Wednesday had such a great big idea that it would be wrong to overlook it. We were led by Roy, who is the senior of the group at 61, but with age has come much wisdom. He presented several scriptures having to do with reaping and sowing, planting and harvesting. These are in the context of "what will we be sowing and reaping in 2006?" I will list the scriptures below, but before that I want to start with three questions which he gave us to think about:

1. Do you have an idea of what God's "harvest" or destiny is for your life on earth - your life vision?
2. Do you have an idea of what seeds He is wanting to sow into your life in 2006?
3. Do you have an idea of what seeds in the areas of the Word, time, finances and relationships He is calling you to sow into your life and through your life to others in 2006?

These are powerful questions and important ones. Seeking answers to them will help us to remain focused on what God has for our lives, rather than wander aimlessly through the year. Proverbs 3:5-6 says:

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

It's a well-know verse but worthy of meditation. The last part of verse six can be translated as "...will direct your paths." I don't think Solomon was simply making a metaphor for righteousness. I believe he really means the paths of our lives. As we trust in the LORD, lean on His understanding and acknowledge him in all of our ways, our lives will be directed down the paths He chooses for us. Our life passions will be activated, the means to achieve our purposes will be provided and the answers to the above questions will be clarified. This process isn't necessarily a quick one, but it is one that will bring a great harvest.

Here are the verses which Roy gave us (by no means an exhaustive list):

Genesis 8:22

As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease.

Isaiah 55:10-11

¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

2 Corinthians 9:6-11

⁶Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. ⁹As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."^{[a] 10}Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. ¹¹You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

Galatians 6:7-9

⁷Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature^[a]will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

John 12:24

²⁴I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

Matthew 13:23 (parable of the sower)

²³But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

Finally, here's a chart that illustrates the ideas of sowing, gestation and harvest. The seeds often seem tiny, the gestation period long, but the harvest is inevitably huge.

Sowing	Gestation Period	Harvest
Noah - 120 years, ark Joseph - 13 years, prison You in 2006: Your resources (seed): Time The Word Finances Relationships	Intimacy with God Prayer Worship Waiting upon God Persevering Steadfastness Faith Testing	Preservation of creation Preservation of a nation Your destiny on earth

I hope that helps you think about and focus on what 2006 has in store for you. I know it has already been immensely useful for me.

Tuesday on Isaiah on Thursday - Moab (huh?)

Boy am I behind. Not only do I have this post to complete, but yesterday's as well. I haven't done a Thursday or Friday post in a while. I definitely need to get on the ball and get posting, but for now I'm playing catch-up. It seems that the inertia of the holiday season is a bit hard to overcome, but here we go! Isaiah 15 and 16:

Sometimes when I'm reading along in the scriptures I come across a section or passage that makes me say, "What are you tawkin about!?" Either the sentences just aren't making sense or I have no context or ability to interpret the words in any meaningful way. Isaiah 15 is like that for me, for the most part. The general idea is that Moab will be destroyed and it will be pretty bad. Isaiah can't just say "Moab will be utterly destroyed and it's gonna be bad." He has to proclaim it in poetic Hebrew and outline every city, town and geographic entity that is affected.

Last week I wrote about interpreting ancient texts for today's world, but I'm having pulling anything but the literal out of the 15th chapter of Isaiah. Occasionally the scriptures are simply descriptive is my conclusion. In terms of prophecy, I suppose it is useful for us to look at the prophecy and determine whether it actually occurred or not, which adds validity and weight to the author. Other than that, I have very little to offer in the way of this chapter.

Chapter 16 proves somewhat more interesting, though there is still much that is confusing in this oracle. It appears to me that Isaiah is telling the Moabites to send lambs as tribute to Jerusalem. Further, there will be refugees and fugitives which will ask for asylum of Israel and though they were arrogant, the tone indicates that asylum should be granted.

A curious thing is inserted in the middle of this prophecy, promise and hope injected amid the destruction (v.4b-5):

The oppressor will come to an end,
and destruction will cease;
the aggressor will vanish from the land.

⁵ In love a throne will be established;
in faithfulness a man will sit on it—
one from the house of David—
one who in judging seeks justice
and speeds the cause of righteousness.

Here we have a Messianic prophecy right in the middle of a very bleak prophecy. This to me is an amazing thing - a mercy, grace and light of hope even while the darkness is upon them. The destruction and oppression is temporary and the perpetrator of violence will vanish. More than that, the destroyer will be replaced with a man of faithfulness, justice and righteousness.

This chapter really has a mixed message - the Moabites are both worthy of lament, but verse 6 says:

⁶ We have heard of Moab's pride—
her overweening pride and conceit,
her pride and her insolence—
but her boasts are empty.

Moab will face destruction and oppression, but it will come to an end. It reminds me of chemotherapy in some ways. Destruction must be wrought upon the body to make it better - it is agonizing, but the hope of recovery is worth celebrating.

I continue to be amazed at the writings of Isaiah. In the middle of a confusing barrage of names and places, metaphors and poetic devices comes a statement of clarity and hope amidst the rubble of destruction. For me, this is inspirational because I can return to the words and know that I believe in a God of hope, redemption, mercy and grace. Even in the midst of chaos and violence, God is able to point to a time of joy and peace. This message is repeated hundreds of years later on the cross - violence and destruction is overcome by resurrection and redemption. A message that echoes again and again to this day.