Tag: Devotionasl

  • The Unproductive Vineyard

    I have spent the bulk of my life living in Alberta, but, for a few years, growing up, we lived in the Lower Mainland.  I was recently reminded of that time when reading a passage about a vineyard in Isaiah’s prophecies.

    We didn’t have vineyards, but there were wild grapes aplenty for the picking. They were typically small and bitter, but we loved to pick and eat them. The vines were wild, untended and scraggly. Unlike the beauties you would find in a well-tended vineyard.

    Now that’s clearly a prophetic passage for the nation of Israel. God had provided everything they needed to produce a crop of righteous believers, but they failed. He sent them into exile in Babylon.

    Let me sing now for my well-beloved, a song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stones and planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it and also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He hoped for it to produce good grapes, but it produced only worthless ones. “So now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between Me and My vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I hoped for it to produce good grapes, did it produce worthless ones? So now let me tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will remove its hedge, and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall, and it will become trampled ground. I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed, but briars and thorns will come up. I will also command the clouds to rain no rain on it.” For the vineyard of Yahweh of hosts is the house of Israel and the men of Judah, His delightful plant. Thus, He hoped for justice, but behold, bloodshed; For righteousness, but behold, a cry of distress. Isaiah 5:1-7

    God brought them back, and still no harvest was produced, so in 70 AD, they were dibursed again and scattered them across the globe.

    The fact that it was a prophecy for Israel doesn’t mean we can ignore it. The same principle can be applied to the church today.

    God has given us everything we need to produce a harvest. We have been born again, carry the imputed righteousness of God and are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. We have the Word in more languages, formats and translations than ever before in the history of the church. Here in the West, at least (for now), we are free to worship as we choose and to proclaim the gospel.

    There is a crop to be gathered. We know that Jesus said, “

    . Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Luke 10:2

    We need to look at our collective hearts. Are we faithful to the Great Commission? Are we exercising our gifts and talents to grow the kingdom? Do we even care that people are perishing and going to eternal damnation?

    It’s not my desire to beat anyone up over this issue. It’s simply a reminder to keep our priorities straight. As believers, God has expectations of us, and we have been provided with everything we need to get the job done. 

    Let each of us do our part to bring in an abundant and healthy harvest.  That part might be to seed, water or reap, but whatever part we have been called to, may we be faithful.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God) 

    Kevin 

    SUMMARY

    Drawing on Isaiah 5’s vineyard parable, this devotional traces God’s patient provision for Israel and their repeated failure to produce a righteous harvest. The application turns to the church: we have been given every resource we need, and the question is whether we are faithfully doing our part in the Great Commission.

    TAKEAWAY

     God’s expectations are inseparable from His provision. He does not demand what He has not supplied. 

    The harvest is real and waiting. The shortage is not opportunity but workers willing to enter the field. 

    Every believer has a role, whether seeding, watering, or reaping. Faithfulness in your assigned part is the standard, not someone else’s calling.

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  • SHEEP ARE SMARTER THAN YOU THINK –

    like sheep, we need a shepherd

    Let’s clear up a misconception about sheep this morning.

    Many people consider sheep unintelligent, but scientific research tells a different story. Sheep can recognize and remember dozens of individual faces, both other sheep and humans, and retain those memories for years. They learn simple tasks, solve problems, and navigate their environment through memory and experience.

    Their reputation for foolishness comes largely from one behavior: they follow the flock. But this is not stupidity. It is survival. Prey animals are safer together than alone, and what looks like mindless copying is actually a deeply practical instinct honed over thousands of years. Their caution around unfamiliar situations tells the same story. What reads as hesitation is often careful decision-making.

    Sheep also possess complex social skills, recognize hierarchies within the flock, and experience a genuine emotional life. Fear, stress, comfort, contentment. They feel more than most people expect.

    So, when the Bible compares us to sheep, it is not calling us dumb. It is saying we need a shepherd for the same reasons sheep do. We go astray easily. We follow the crowd. We are vulnerable creatures who fare better under wise guidance than on our own.

    The comparison is not an insult. It is a diagnosis. And thankfully, it comes with a prescription.

    Yahweh is my shepherd, I shall not want.
    He makes me lie down in green pastures;
    He leads me beside quiet waters.
    He restores my soul;
    He guides me in the paths of righteousness, for His name’s sake. 

    Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
    I fear no evil, for You are with me;
    Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
    You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
    You have anointed my head with oil;
    My cup overflows.
    Surely goodness and lovingkindness will pursue me all the days of my life,
    And I will dwell in the house of Yahweh forever. Psalm 23

    He knows our problems, and He cares. He gives us the remedy and guidance. The LORD adopts us into the flock by faith in what He has already done and gives us His Spirit and His Word.

    He understands our propensity to wander and stray yet leaves the 99 behind to find the one.

    He blesses us and protects us in this life and beyond. Praise the Lord, for He is the Good Shepherd who knows His own sheep. Praise Him who has given us ears to hear His voice calling.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God) 

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    SUMMARY

    Sheep are far more capable than their reputation suggests, and understanding that reframes what it means when Scripture calls us sheep. The comparison is not about our intelligence, but our need for a shepherd, a relationship Psalm 23 describes beautifully.

    KEY POINTS:

    Sheep are smarter than we think, which makes the biblical comparison more meaningful, not less.

    Like sheep, we are vulnerable, prone to wander, and designed to thrive under wise guidance rather than on our own.

    Yahweh (the LORD) is the Good Shepherd who knows us, seeks us when we stray, and blesses us in this life and beyond.

    Some others you may enjoy

    Close to the Master: Embracing Life’s Journey

    The Gospel: The best news you will ever hear.

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