Wheat field Banner

Gleanings From The Word

Tag: Devotional

  • The Gospel – Spreading Joy

    The Gospel – Spreading Joy

    Johnny-jump-up (viola tricolor) has a lot in common with the gospel

    If you’ve known me for any length of time, you likely know that my favorite flower is the Johnny-jump-up (Viola tricolor). It seeds prolifically, pops up in unexpected places, grows in rough conditions and brings a smile when you see one. It reminds me in many ways of the gospel, bringing joy.

    Only God knows how many gospel calls have gone out (He sows prolifically). The gospel is seeded through the words of the Bible. The life of Christians calls people. Our testimony calls people.  The Holy Spirit calls out the good news of the gospel in ways we can only imagine. Like Johnny-jump-up seeds, the gospel is being sown everywhere, bringing joy as it grows.

    The gospel takes root in what we might consider the hardest of soils and the worst of conditions. It’s sown into the hearts of the enemies of God, people who love their sin, and people who had no idea that they needed a savior or who at times rejected the concept entirely.

    It happens unexpectedly. Even you and I were transformed by the power of the gospel and God’s incredible, unending grace. The Lord died to cover our sins and bring us to life.

    When the gospel takes hold, the person is changed forever. It’s a beautiful sight to behold. The newborn is far from perfect yet (what newborn is?), but they are undeniably changed.

    A sinner is forgiven. An enemy is now an heir. A former slave to sin is welcomed into the Kingdom of God.

    I have to rejoice and smile every time I see or hear of the gospel bearing fruit. I know it isn’t just me. The Lord rejoices and all the angels in heaven do as well.

    Yahweh your God is in your midst, A mighty one who will save. He will be joyful over you with gladness; He will be quiet in His love; He will rejoice over you with joyful singing. Zephaniah 3:17

    I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Luke 15:7

    In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. Luke 15:10

    My Johnny-jump-ups bring temporary smiles and joy. The fruit of the gospel brings everlasting rejoicing.

    Let us do our part to sow seeds of the gospel and rejoice when we see what the Lord does with them.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God) 

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone) 

    Did you know that we have an email version? Subscribe today 

    Visit our homepage

    SUMMARY

    The Johnny-jump-up becomes a picture of the gospel: spreading unexpectedly, taking root in hard places, and bringing lasting joy wherever God causes it to grow. Just as the flower thrives in unlikely conditions, the gospel transforms sinners through God’s grace and produces eternal rejoicing in heaven and among believers.

    KEYPOINTS

    ·  The gospel spreads widely through Scripture, Christian witness, testimony, and the work of the Holy Spirit.

    ·  God causes the gospel to take root even in hardened hearts and impossible circumstances, transforming lives completely.

    ·  Every repentance and changed life brings joy not only to believers, but also to heaven itself.

    Enjoyed this? Want daily devotionals? Subscribe today 

    This might be the best news you’ve ever heard. You may also like “Spread of the gospel”

  • Is self-help the answer? What does the bible say?

    Is self-help the answer? What does the bible say?

    "Self-Help ?" superimposed

    The self-help industry is estimated to generate over $50 billion a year worldwide, with about 40% of that in North America. That tells me people know they are a mess. I have no doubt that some of that money brings at least temporary results for some people. I’m all in favor of better people.

    The problem is that very little, if any, self-help material addresses our key problem. Our problem is sin, and the effects of that sin.

    The Bible is not a self-help book, and the gospel is not a self-help program. The Bible tells of our need for God and His plan of rescue. The gospel is that plan.

    The gospel tells us that when we become believers, we are no longer the same person.

    Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

    That person no longer exists. The new creation still has problems, but we are reconciled to God and transferred into the Kingdom.

    … giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Who rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:12-24

    That doesn’t immediately clear up all of our other problems. For that, the Holy Spirit works in us. As we draw closer to God, our behavior and character change. Our ideas about what is and isn’t truly important transform over time.

    Other than Jesus, no one has been born without sin. Adam and Eve were sinless for some short period of time, but they fell in a most spectacular way. You and I were born with a sin nature and a propensity to sin. We cannot defeat it on our own, no matter how many good works we do or how many self-help books we read.

    The Lord is our helper. The Lord is our healer. He created us in His image, and His desire is for us to be more like Him.

    We are works in progress, but we are His workmanship.

    For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

    He will not fail to finish what He started in us.

    For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

    Get help where you need it, but never forget that your true help and healing is supernatural. The God of the Bible is the ultimate helper.

    Trust Him.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God) 

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    You might enjoy: A progressive revelation of Heaven. Seeing Jesus more clearly every day.

    Summary:

    The self-help industry may offer temporary improvement, but the Bible teaches that humanity’s deepest problem is sin, and true transformation and healing come only through God through Jesus Christ.

    • The gospel is not a self-improvement program but God’s rescue plan that makes believers a new creation reconciled to Him.
    • Human effort alone cannot overcome sin; lasting change comes through the work of the Holy Spirit shaping believers over time.
    • Christians are God’s workmanship, and He faithfully continues the work He began in them until it is complete.

    Enjoyed this? Want daily devotionals? Subscribe today 

    Self – the source of our problems

    Adrift? Find your way back

    Two old farmers ask where is God in a broken world?