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As the Lord plants good seed, the enemy plants his weeds.  While we must navigate life today with this infiltration of evil, we can rest on the promise that the future day of harvest will banish those weeds forever.

This Christian life is about surrender, which will require that we give everything to God.  This expectation of generosity and willingness to let go should not make us nervous or bring thoughts of scarcity and need.  God's abundance is revealed when we abundantly surrender all to him.

Some of us wait too long for the Lord to gives us clear confirmation after clear confirmation before taking that step.  Faith just might require us to move much sooner than that.  Let us pray for a change in us, that we would create opportunities to serve and honor God instead of waiting for them to come our way. 

There is an abundant life awaiting us on that Day, but we also have an abundant life to live now.  Regardless of what you see or how you feel, regardless of how long you have been waiting for prayers to be answered and life to change, press in and learn to live in God's abundance now.

The word is clear. If you commit your ways to the Lord, He will establish your plans. He did it for me. He can do it for you. The book that has been on my heart to write is now complete because of him. Just like that, He made a way. You can check it out at the link below. Mosaic: a man in pieces

Where do you place your trust?  Whether life is going well or has become an utter nightmare, where do you find your security?  If we think for a moment that we are sustained by any of our worldly possessions or achievements, we should think again.  Those have never paved the way to everlasting life.

Our hope is not in this life or in this world, but do we all have the same measure of hope in our future promise?  Do the circumstances of this life guide our measure of hope?  Do they change how willing we are to let go of this life?  Should they?

They got it right.  The shedding of innocent blood cannot stand.  But this battle is not yet over.

The joy of the Lord is to be our strength, but what is it?  Have we experienced it?  Can we define it?  We certainly need his joy in this world, and if it is a source of our strength, then we must know how to find it.

Where do we hang our hope?  Who do we seek in our need?  What fuels us to face our days with purpose and honor?  What gives us our sustenance and support?  Is there not one place, one person to fulfill all these?  Do we not already have all we need in him and his kingdom?

The story of Samson and Delilah is short but compelling.  We will encounter many people, things and ideas in this world which might seem good to us in one way or another but really have seduced us for our harm.  Let us pray to have more discernment than Samson, to see the seductress for who she is and flee her.

Jesus is the Lion of Judah.  He is the original lion, but there is a counterfeit on the hunt.  He went after Job, and he will go after us.  The question is whether we are conscious of this daily battle and prepared for it.

We come before God with filthy rags, poor and dirty.  He gives everything so that we can gain everything, and then He rewards us for the work He himself has done through us.  He does it all, then He gives us eternal reward in return.  How rich we are! 

Today we celebrate the birth of our Savior, but this was not the beginning of his work. That birth does not mark the beginning of our salvation story. The victory already was secure before the foundations of the earth were laid. The eternal Christ has been ready and able to save since the beginning.

We do not need to reap a great harvest before shouting and dancing for joy at the Lord's provision. In many ways, He gives us a daily harvest. Whether spiritually, financially or physically, He provides all. Let us choose to respond with praise rooted in joy.

God has allowed us to be stewards of some valuable resources.  It is not just money but time, energy and many other things.  It is our choice how we use those temporary treasures to store up eternal treasure.  It might look like we do not have much at times, but God honors even the small acts of stewardship which can amount to a great heavenly prize.

Esther, Mordecai and the Jews of their time certainly had their flaws.  Yet, God used them in a mighty way, and we are still talking about it today.  For them, the question was simple.  Would they be willing to face death individually and corporately in order to save their people from annihilation?  They would be.  Would we be willing to do the same?

To pursue God and his kingdom is about more than what we can gain.  Blessings, treasures, gifts, mercy and eternal life are great.  Who would not want them? However, pursuing God is about pursing holiness in us as well, a transformation only He can bring.  If we are not pursuing the development of godliness within us, we are not pursing God.

The story of the tortoise and the hare teaches us that slow and steady wins the race.  Spiritually, there is a similar call to slowness, to deliberation in how we comport ourselves.  Let us learn how to take the time to act and speak in a way that shows temperance and honors God.

Church unity means a lot of things. If the Church is really united, we can walk into any number of buildings on a Sunday morning and be among God's people worshiping him together in Spirit and in truth.  It should be like family even if we never have met them.  I pray that we all have that.