Be careful what you ask for…

Have you ever heard the proverb (or saying): ‘‘Be careful what you wish for: it might happen’’ or ‘‘Be careful what you ask for: you might get it!’’ 

In my posting ‘‘Pray for me…’’, I explained how it was often risky to ask God to come back on His sanctions. I exhorted us to trust in the Lord who is well aware of what He is up to and who always chastise knowingly. I also said that even though He can grant the request of any of His servants because of a covenant, the price to pay for this type of intercession was frequently very high. 

The two examples below are going to illustrate the danger that some answered prayers represents. 

2Kings 20:1-6, “In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.'" Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, "Now, O LORD, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: "Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD, and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake."… 12 At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, "What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?" And Hezekiah said, "They have come from a far country, from Babylon." 15 He said, "What have they seen in your house?" And Hezekiah answered, "They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them." 16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Hear the word of the LORD: 17 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD. 18 And some of your own sons, who shall be born to you, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon." … 21 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place. 2Kings 21:1 Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign… 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel.” 

God was pleased with the life that Hezekiah had lived and He wanted to give him the opportunity to make a beautiful exit (I mean, to die in style). Unfortunately, like many of us, Hezekiah clung onto life. He pleaded his cause before the One that he had faithfully served with integrity and tired of his tears, God gave up and granted him 15 more years. He had won; he was happy and yet, he should have been crying. Had he been able to see in advance what would have been the fruit of those 15 additional years, I am not sure that he would have still wished so much to live…just for the pleasure of living. 

Indeed, soon after his spectacular recovery, Hezekiah got carried away by pride and could not resist the urge to display his glory and his power in front of a nation traditionally hostile to Israel. This time, God’s judgment was swift: the people would be captivies in Babylon precisely, and his sons would be eunuchs for the king of Babylon: they would be emasculated... 

As if that was not enough, Hezekiah also turned the 15 years that the Lord granted him to ‘profit’, by giving birth to the most despicable king that Israel would ever have: Manasseh. He was so despicable, that he became the standard of wickedness for all the sovereigns after him. Each time any of them would do what is evil, they would say of him that he “walked in all the ways of Manasseh, his father.’’ Idolatry, profanation of the Sanctuary, all sorts of divinations, spiritism, human sacrifices etc., he did not deprive himself of anything and, neither did his son after him (see 2Kings 21:1-9, 18-21). The situation was such that the Lord’s wrath finally fell on the whole Nation: 

2Kings 21:10-12, “And the LORD said by his servants the prophets, "Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle.” 

2 or 3 years ago, I saw on TV, the testimony of a Man of God who had been mightily used by the Lord. After 9 years of marriage and despite many miraculous healings and even a few cases of resurrection of the dead, he was still childless. As usual, some of those who are always very quick to judge and to slander had already started suspecting him of being a fake because after all, ‘‘it was impossible that God could so abandon one of His faithful and true servant!’’ 

Then the miracle happened; his wife conceived and gave birth to a son. They were all in bliss when Death came to fetch his wife a few months later. The Man of God was devastated, especially at the thought that his dearest wife would not be there to see their long awaited son grow. Nevertheless, he went on with the ministry. 

One day, his son fell sick and quickly died ; he was about 5 years old. The pastor locked himself up in a room with his son’s body and for two days, he cried out to God: ‘‘You took my wife, and I said nothing. Now You also want to take the only thing that she has left me? No way, never! Either You give my child back or I give you back Your ministry.’’ At some point, he heard God say to him: ‘‘But, I also love this child; I want him next to me because I also delight in him.’’ The Man of God repeated: ‘‘Either You give my son back, or You take Your ministry back.’’ Finally, the Lord brought the child back to life and the father came out triumphantly with him, in the midst of the cheering crowd of his amazed members. Everything seemed perfect in the most perfect of worlds… 

C.S Lewis said: “There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, have it your way’.” Our guy was just about to find it out. 

Around 15-16 years of age, the boy became rebellious. He joined a gang and started terrorizing the neighbourhood. Many people left the church because the pastor was unable to bring him back to order. Incapable of taking it any longer, the Man of God found himself begging the Lord to take his son if He would not change him. After many days of supplication, the Lord told him: ‘‘When I wanted him because I found pleasure in him, you refused him to Me. Now that you no longer want him and that nobody wants him, you are begging Me to take him: I will not; he is yours.’’ The kid was later shot dead by the police during an armed robbery that went wrong. Telling the story, his father confessed that he would have given a lot to turn back the hands of time, and let his child go at 5 years of age. If only he had known… 

But must we necessarily know first, to believe? Must we know to trust in the All-Power and All-Goodness of God? “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29 

I started this post saying: ‘‘Be careful what you ask for: you might get it!’’ And you might get what might make you miserable for life. You might get what might alienate your progeny forever. Do you really want what you want?

Let us have faith in the omniscience, the wisdom and the goodness of God: He knows what He is doing, He knows where He is leading us to. His choices are right and sure. We do not know the future, we live in the present and if we could foresee the result of some of our fervent requests, the fruit of our intercessions, we would sometime wish to die. As St Theresa of Avila said, ‘‘What amount of tears will be shed on answered prayers...’’

God bless you.

Jesus at the Mosque?

I can already hear the general outcry and so much the better, because I promised you some ‘edgy’ postings. 

What do you think the answer would be, if you sincerely ask yourselves these questions: What could prevent Jesus from going to a Mosque, a Buddhist or a Hindu temple? Why wouldn’t He? Without any intention of reviving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in this forum, let’s just remember that Jesus was an Israelite, born in Palestine but, one can hardly say that He was of Jewish religion, at least if we take Judaism for what it was in those days. And the New Testament is a proof of that because if He had been ‘Jew’, we would still have the Old Testament only, at our disposal. Nevertheless, despite His frequent altercations with the high dignitaries of Judaism and though He had come to build His Church, He was regular at the Temple and the synagogue. The apostles and the early Christians did the same, on top of attending their house meetings during which they would take the Holy Communion and meditate on the Lord’s teachings. 

“And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the 6^th hour. 7 A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."… 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?" (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." 11 The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock." 13 Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water." 16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." 17 The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, 'I have no husband'; 18 for you have had 5 husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true." 19 The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship." 21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." 25 The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things." 26 Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he."” (John 4:4-26, ESV) 

This woman’s religion foretold the coming of the Messiah and requested that she goes to Mount Gerizim in order to worship (that’s the mountain she is talking about). Jesus used these, along with some details of her private life, to make her understand who He really was and what He could do for her. Up until this day, Christians, Jews and Muslims, to name only a few, are still waiting for the coming of the Messiah. And to all, the Lord wants to say today: ‘‘I who speak to you, am the Christ”; ‘‘I, Yeshua who speak to you, am the Mâshiach’’; ‘‘I, Issa Ben Mariam who speak to you, am the Mahdi.’’ 

“Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for "'In him we live and move and have our being'… 29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead." 32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, "We will hear you again about this." 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.” (Acts 17:22-34, ESV) 

Paul followed the spirit and the example of His Master when he met with the Athenians. He could have started a controversy or violent attacks on their deities but he chose to admire their piety and found how he could use their beliefs to sail in the direction of Christ. He knew he would gain nothing by dragging what these people held in high esteem, in the mud. His goal was to do every possible thing to save the more of them, and to save them through love and tolerance instead of losing them with arrogance and narrow-mindedness. Indeed, he even said: “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” (1Corinthians 9:19-23, ESV) 

In a vision, as he was looking, John saw in Heaven, people from every tribe, every language and every nation (Revelation 5:9 & 7:9). I do believe that if Jesus would come back in our midst, He would go wherever men and women of all colours and backgrounds come together to worship God, even though they might be doing it without intelligence. Then, starting with what is sacred to them, like their Holy Book, He would open the pages that point to Him, as He did with the two disciples met on the way to Emmaus. Beginning with Moses and then, the prophets, He explained in the Scriptures, everything that related to Him (Luke 24:27). Though there is no direct mention of the Name ‘Jesus’ in the Old Testament, since they were Jews, He still used it (the O.T) cleverly to lead them to Him. The prophets ALL spoke about Him (Acts 10:43). If those two disciples had been Muslims, Brahmins, Buddhists or animists, just like Paul with the Athenians, He still would have known how to open their eyes on the elements of their worships that lead to Him. Has He not said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me ”? (John 5:39) 

Jesus is indisputably the Way, the Truth and the Life; but we will not draw souls to Him if with our present behaviours. We must imitate Paul, as he himself was an imitator of Christ (1Corinthians 11:1). Let us become all things to all, that is if we really wish to see many hear the Good News of the Gospel. 

The aim of this posting is not to make us desert our churches for mosques and the likes, but to help us out of religious bigotry. God cannot be enclosed or restrained within a geographic area, a building or a people. If such was the case, He could and would no longer be God, but a mere local or territorial spirit. 

There is NO reason why He should ONLY make His entry into our churches and places of worship. Nothing can force Him to do so. He is free to go to other sheepfolds whenever He wants and call those of His sheep who are there (John 10:16).

Finally, Jesus at the Mosque? Yes, why not? … ;-)


Have a 'wonderblessed' week! 

A few more words on divine provision…

Mat 6:25-26, 28-33, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? …28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” 

My daughter asked me a question about my previous posting, and I think the answer I gave her might be of benefit to many. She wanted to know how to reconcile the act of just giving thanks to the fact that during our family devotions, we most often found ourselves making requests to God. I gave her a response using an image. 

When a baby is hungry or wants to sleep, he cries and his mother understands the message. When he is a little bigger and can speak, he expresses his hunger more or less patiently with words. Then, as a young teenager or adult, he enters the kitchen and makes himself a sandwich or heats-up the food. In everyone of these cases, the solution was in the house even before the child became hungry. 

A mother who has bought the fruits and the cereals that her 17 year old daughter loves, would be shocked if the latter came to beg her for a fruit or to eat a bit of cereals whenever she would like to. The normal attitude would be that the young teenager comes home, sees the groceries, simply says "thank you mom, for the fruits and cereals…," and then, eats whenever she needs to, wouldn’t it? 

During our family devotions, we are conscious of the various spiritual ages and we have to accommodate everybody and make sure the younger ones understand what is going on and grow at their own pace. 

Nevertheless, we must realize that God is a lot more than this mother: He has already shopped for EVERYTHING that we will need. We only need to thank Him for that, then, enter in His kitchen and help ourselves. 

What did He tell Elijah? When famine and drought raged in Israel, God told Elijah: "Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." (1Ki 17:3-4). And the Bible tells us that the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening. Then, when the brook dried, God told him: "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you." (vs 9) 

God did not say, “Go by the brook Cherith and sort yourself out. Go to Zarephath and look around; maybe someone will have pity on you.” No. He told him, “Go there, don’t worry about anything, I have already put your sustenance systems in place. I have already taken care of EVERYTHING. I have already given orders to ravens and to a widow, concerning you.” 

That's why I say it’s impossible, and I mean IMPOSSIBLE to lack of provision while we are where God wants us to be (the right place), when He wants us to be there (the right time) and actually doing what He sent us to do (the right desires). 

Food, drink and clothing are guaranteed to children of God. They should NEVER be worried about these things, they don’t have to cry or beg for them. They should simply give thanks to God for these things and listen to Him telling them -like Elijah and Abraham- where they are. 

If you find yourself in lack, simply ask yourself these questions: 

1) Am I at the right place? Did God ask me to settle here? To take this job? To leave my country? If Elijah had gone elsewhere than to the brook Cherith or to Zarephath, he would have starved to death and deprived the nation of a prophet. 

2) Is it the right time for me to be here? God can tell you to go here or there; but, you may go there too soon or too late. There was a precise period during which Elijah was to stay at the brook. Had he decided to go to Zarephath a few days later, he may have died of thirst (even along the way; God alone knew how much reserves he had). Had Joseph brought his family back sooner, Herod would have had Jesus assassinated (Matthew 2:13). 

3) Do I have the right desires? Jesus introduces His remarks about worries with: "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money (Mammon)." (vs 24) And concludes with: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (vs 33) In other words, “Let your needs be God’s needs and you shall always see His provision.” If I'm contented with what God wants for me and for which He has already provided, instead of desiring what Mammon (the God-money) can and will give me, I will have no worries. However, I can be in the right place at the right time, but refuse to settle for the ravens’ bread and meat or the widow’s food. I can refuse any frugality and modesty in my tastes and let myself be seduced by all the 'best' and all the luxuries that money can offer... At Moriah, the ram provided by God was waiting for Abraham on the mountain. Imagine what would have happened if Abe had decided that he’d rather sacrifice a cow? At the brook Cherith and Zarephath, God had also prepared Elijah’s menu ahead of time; what would have happened if the prophet had disdained it, having something else in mind for his meals? He would have experienced lack and would have died of hunger. 

What is your situation today? Are you running after things for which there is no provision in your environment? If so, watch out because you'll be quickly frustrated and may turn to solutions that are not divine. However, if you're where you ought to be, when you ought to be and actually doing what the Lord wants and nothing else, then God will supply ALL your needs… because they are His. 

 
God bless and prosper you.

A few words on Divine Provision

I was recently going somewhere with a friend when she started telling me how for weeks or months, she had been going to a place without ever noticing that some specific services that she now needed, were offered there. Then, she concluded: “It’s funny how one never notices certain things when one doesn’t need them.” And that was it! Her comment triggered something in me and opened my eyes on how God supply our needs. 

Before creating Adam and Eve, the Lord first of all set the stage of where they were going to live. In other words, everything that we need to live on a daily basis, what we need to fulfill our destiny, everything we need TO BE, has already been provided for by the Lord and just lies there, within an arm’s length. It is not as if, it is coming from nowhere: it has always been there; but only, as long as we did not need it, our eyes did not see it. 

Genesis 28:16-17, “Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it." And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven."” 

We will not discover some of the features of our computers, our navigators or our phones, until we need them. They were nevertheless always there, well before we even had the desire or the need to use them but, we were simply not aware of them.

Jacob had just lied down in a place that seemed banal enough to him. But during the night, he had a dream in which he saw angels climbing up and down a ladder between the Earth and the Heaven. Then, God appeared to him, made him a promise and Jacob suddenly became aware that the Lord was in that place. It was not Jacob’s presence that changed or triggered anything because those angels were probably at work there, long before he arrived; but God simply wanted his eyes to be opened on the fact that His help is never far away. 

When you understand this spiritually, 

1) You stop asking for anything in prayer. 

We cannot start crying for bread, for a house, for a job or a spouse because God knows we need those; and if we need them, then they have already been taken care of. It’s all there; everything is ready. Indeed, what responsible father would wait for his children to ask to go to school before thinking of registering them? Most of the time, the school has been chosen and the children registered before they could even understand what going to school is all about. What mother in her right mind, will wait for her baby to ask for food before thinking of going out to shop for it? Usually, the milk and the baby food are ready long in advance. And God is more than responsible; He has already thought of and provided for EVERYTHING. That’s why Jesus could say: ‘‘... Your Father knows what you need before you ask him… 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” (Matthew 6:8, 31-32) 

2) You realise that those who have celestial affections cannot experience lack. 

It is written indeed, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33) In other words, those things (that the world seeks) are given on top of others, to those who mind the Kingdom’s business. It is a firm promise: they no longer have to ask for them in prayer. 

3) You learn that God is always on time and there is an appointed time for everything. 

“Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Matthew 6:34) It is pointless knocking one’s head: God is Faithful and will infallibly answer ‘present’, when the need will arise. It is in the same spirit that Jesus said to His disciples, “ When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.’’ or, “And when they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."” (Matthew 10:19-20, Luke 12:11-12) 

4) You become a channel that allows the Grace to flow. 

I am now convinced that every Christian should experience all (yes, ALL) the spiritual gifts. I am not saying that he should possess them all, but I do say that he can easily end up experiencing ALL of them. Indeed, if we simply allow ourselves to be led by the Spirit of God with zeal and docility, we will notice that the gifts of miracles, healings, prophecy, knowledge etc., will manifest through us whenever the NEED will be felt. God will put us into circumstances where, without having previously thought of it, and according to what was said in the previous paragraph, the Holy Spirit who pours out gifts, will also release the appropriate gift in us, in that very moment. (See 1Corinthians 12). 

5) Like Jesus, we simply pray to give thanks:  

“Father I praise You and I give You thanks because once more, as always, before I even thought of it, You had already anticipated the solution for this or that. Just open my eyes that I may see where You have kept it. Open my mind that I may understand…’’ And we pray to avoid any distraction and stay vigilant. Thus, at the appointed time we will be able to see and recognize God's provision. A provision that sometimes uses ways as strange as coins in the mouth of a fish (Matthew 17:27)… 

Genesis 22:14, “So Abraham called the name of that place, "Jehovah Jireh"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided."” 

On that mountain, God provided the sacrifice: He opened Abraham’s eyes on the ram that was tied not far from where he had built an altar. 

What do you need this year? If like Abraham, you decide to focus on God’s will and on spiritual things, the Lord will also open your eyes for you to see in your immediate surroundings, all the blessings that He has prepared for you in advance, but that you still have no conscience nor knowledge of. You will also be able to say that in the year of the Lord, in this year that the Lord has made, in 2011, it has been provided for you. BELIEVE this in your heart, and you shall SEE it pass. We have EVERYTHING in full in Christ. 

 
God bless you and Happy Valentine Day!

The parable of the sower (part 2): The power of the Word

John 1:1ff, “In the beginning was the Word… 4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. 9 There was the true light, even the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world… 11 He came unto his own, and they that were his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he the right to become children of God…” (RV) or, “12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God…” (KJV)

(For the purpose of this posting, bear in mind that the French versions render this passage like this: “In the beginning was the Word… 4 In It was life; and the life was the light of men. 9 There was the true light, even the light which lighteth every man, coming into the world… 11It (the Word) came unto Its own, and they that were Its own received It not. 12 But as many as received It, to them gave It the power to become children of God…” 

If nothing is done to a maize seed, it is no more than something with an unused potential; but if sown, it becomes many cobs and therefore, many seeds. 

Hence, the word that God speaks to us contains a potential for life; but like the maize, if it is not planted in a heart, it will produce nothing and will remain sterile. We must therefore receive the Word. And contrary to a generally accepted idea, ‘‘receiving the Word’’ does not make one become a child of God; it only gives the RIGHT, the POWER to become one … 

The Word came to Its/His own: the Bible doesn’t say that those who did not received It/Him, ceased to be its/His; it simply says that to those of ITS/HIS that received It/Him, It/He gave THE POWER to become something more: children of God.

In other words, as long as we do not receive the Word of God, in whichever form that it may come to us, we fail to receive a power: power to grow in the manifestation of the divinity. 

That’s why I said in a previous posting that we really cannot afford the luxury of neglecting what the Lord is telling us. He even warned: “…Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” I can rephrase it as follows: ‘‘Whoever will neglect/despise My words, I will also neglect/despise them when I come back.” 

His words are like the minor details that end up making a significant difference. When an artist is painting, at the beginning, the sketch doesn’t look like anything; but slowly, brushstroke after brushstroke, the painting takes shape and finally becomes a masterpiece. Every word from the Lord is like these brushstrokes: it is indispensable in order to get to the final result. 

I know that this is not very obvious at first glance; but I pray that the message reaches its target, and above all, that everyone enters in the gap that I have opened, in order to try and deepen what I have shared. 

Finally, once the Word has been sown into fertile hearts, one must now: 

1) Water it with praise, worship, thanksgiving etc. and remove any possible weeds that may choke its growth (vigilance, avoidance of doubt, spiritual warfare…) 

2) Wait. When someone plants a seed, they don't go back each day, in order to check how well it’s doing. If one does that, the growth will stop and one will never see the fruits. Similarly, we have to wait for God’s seed in our heart to follow its natural course. Don’t worry, for it would produce beautiful fruits because it is the power of God for the salvation of those who believe. And since it can take months before the harvest, we’d better not wait until December to start receiving the Word of life in our hearts at last. If we want to reap in 2011, it is NOW that we must also allow the Divine Sower to plant in our hearts, the seeds of health, success, prosperity etc. that He’s gone out to sow. 

Let us cherish everything that God tells us. Let us allow His words to become flesh, so that we may behold the glorious and gracious fruits that they would bear in our lives. 

 
God bless you !