Working on a Harvest

Friday, June 3, 2022

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God.  You will always harvest what you plant.  Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature.  But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.   Galatians 6:7-8

The simplicity with which the Scriptures lay out our choices is sometimes too startling for 21st century minds.  We do not really want “simple” – we want multiple-choice, categories, and options…not just live or die.  To say there are only two choices, life and death, is to court the wrath of the “wokeness police”.  Yet, there it is, in Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, King James, and whatever other language you need or want, the harvest will be what you plant, no matter whether you intended it to be that way, or, for that matter, if you think you’re entitled to something different.  The choice is only, plant, or don’t plant.  In short, the laws of harvest remain absolute; you reap that which you plant.

The harvest in the last week or so in America uncovers what we have been planting, cultivating, and are now horrified to own – at least 35 murders in 3 mass shootings…21 in Uvalde, 10 Black persons in Buffalo, and, just yesterday 4 more at a Tulsa Oklahoma medical center. 

Once again we have sowed violence to the wind, and are reaping a harvest of death’s whirlwind.[1]

If you want to pigeon-hole me as to which tribe I follow concerning the gun issue, here are the details (or ammunition if you will):

1.    I own a handgun, loaded, ready to defend our home if invaded.  I never wear it, concealed, or openly.  It stays under locked conditions for safety.

2.    I do not judge anyone…God’s Word is enough, and better at that, than my thoughts by an infinitely exponential mile.

3.    I do blame our culture that twists and bends every sense of goodness to turn a profit, including the NRA’s promotion, lobbying, and lack of decency, and Congress facilitating such under the guise of freedom.  I also include the purveyors of violence who pander to the culture with video games teaching children who cannot put a coherent sentence together, but are fluent in how to kill 98 “enemies” to reach the next level.  They learned this way of life, because we, the American public allow profiteers to spoon-feed violence to our children, and the weak-minded among us.

God has always judged, and will continue to judge, any who add to that.  It is the nature of He who Created us, and holds the next breath we may (or may not) take.  The choice is to be under His will of peacemaker, or under His judgment for peacebreaker.  Simple, uncomplicated, and lovingly just.

For You Today

My Dad was of the generation that didn’t mind letting you know there are consequences for our actions.  Have you ever heard this phrase:

You upset because you don’t think I’m being fair? 

I’ll give you something to be upset about!

I kinda think Dad knew something about reaping the whirlwind.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road with Jesus; have a blessed day!  

[1] Images:  Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©  

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[1] A loose borrowing of Hosea 8:7a  “They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind….”

Harvest of the Earth

 

Monday, July 20, 2020

Revelation 14:12-20

This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.  And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on.  Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”  Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man.  He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.  Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.”  So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested.  After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.  Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar.  He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.”  So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath.  The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle.

Sorting out the imagery John uses may have been easier for those raised on farms.  The whole issue of “harvest” is alien to me.  The only time in my life when I tried to have a vegetable garden, I invested in seed, fertilizer, a tiller, and many days of work and watching; my “harvest” was one sickly-looking cucumber, a couple of tiny tomatoes, and a summer squash no bigger than your pinky finger.  By my math it came out to around $48 per veggie.  I went back to Food Lion the next day!

John wrote that the angel thundered the crop is ready…ripe…get the sickle!  The harvest is two-fold.  The first is started by the angel coming from the temple, carrying the Father’s message from the throne room to Jesus, the “Son of Man” sitting on the cloud.  This image comes right after the encouragement of patience to the saints; they who die in the Lord will be in this harvest as those whom Paul wrote will be in the first resurrection[1].  There is nothing fearful in this, as it is God’s promise of firstfruits.  After Jesus’ resurrection He told the disciples that they would never be away from His presence or providence.  That includes death.  This is why the Scriptures refer to those who have died in Christ as “sleeping” – it is a picture of what will happen.  Eventually you awaken from sleep to a new day.  This “harvest” is that day when the dead in Christ are called out of the graves.  This is a harvest of life!

There is a second angel, possessing the power to destroy.  The angel (not Jesus) also has a sickle for a ripe harvest.  This is the time of judgment for sin.  The second resurrection is a second death.  Those who have rejected Christ in this life will embrace an eternity of being rejected at the judgment seat in Heaven.  The full weight of sin will be born by those who choose to remain apart from Christ, the One who came to bear our sin.  But, for those who accept Christ’s offer of forgiveness here on earth, there is no condemnation, no judgment or punishment.  They participate in the first resurrection, never to suffer or die again.

Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.  Revelation 20:6

Let’s Pray Together:

Father, we are thankful for the promise of forgiveness and eternity of life.  We are also fearful for our loved ones, neighbors, and many around the world who are caught in unbelief.  Help us to effectively carry the message of your holy child, Jesus, that others might believe, and be saved.  Lord, in Your mercy…

For You Today

If there is one thing I do know about harvest, it is that the signs are unmistakable.  To the skilled farmer/gardener, when the signs are there, it is time, and there is no time to waste.  God’s vineyard is awaiting that harvest, some to joy in the presence of their longed-for Lord…and, sadly, the rest to the winepress. 

May God have mercy and grant us all the courage to deliver this message to a world that may not have long to wait for the sickle.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO                                                                                                                  

Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For other posts on this text:  Harvest Time and When You Have a King for a Friend and Blood River

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[1] See Revelation 20:4-6

Measuring What's in the Basket

[1]

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Now there was a wealthy and influential man in Bethlehem named Boaz, who was a relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimelech.  One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go out into the harvest fields to pick up the stalks of grain left behind by anyone who is kind enough to let me do it.”  Naomi replied, “All right, my daughter, go ahead.”  So Ruth went out to gather grain behind the harvesters.  And as it happened, she found herself working in a field that belonged to Boaz, the relative of her father-in-law, Elimelech.  While she was there, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters.  “The Lord be with you!” he said.  “The Lord bless you!” the harvesters replied.  Then Boaz asked his foreman, “Who is that young woman over there?  Who does she belong to?”  And the foreman replied, “She is the young woman from Moab who came back with Naomi.  She asked me this morning if she could gather grain behind the harvesters.  She has been hard at work ever since, except for a few minutes’ rest in the shelter.”  Boaz went over and said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter.  Stay right here with us when you gather grain; don’t go to any other fields.  Stay right behind the young women working in my field.  See which part of the field they are harvesting, and then follow them.  I have warned the young men not to treat you roughly.  And when you are thirsty, help yourself to the water they have drawn from the well.”  Ruth fell at his feet and thanked him warmly.  “What have I done to deserve such kindness?” she asked.  “I am only a foreigner.”  “Yes, I know,” Boaz replied.  “But I also know about everything you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband.  I have heard how you left your father and mother and your own land to live here among complete strangers.  May the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge, reward you fully for what you have done.”  “I hope I continue to please you, sir,” she replied.  “You have comforted me by speaking so kindly to me, even though I am not one of your workers.”  At mealtime Boaz called to her, “Come over here, and help yourself to some food. You can dip your bread in the sour wine.”  So she sat with his harvesters, and Boaz gave her some roasted grain to eat.  She ate all she wanted and still had some left over.  When Ruth went back to work again, Boaz ordered his young men, “Let her gather grain right among the sheaves without stopping her.  And pull out some heads of barley from the bundles and drop them on purpose for her.  Let her pick them up, and don’t give her a hard time!”  Ruth 2:1-16

When it comes to wealthy and influential people, harvest time is for measuring how well they’ve done business.  But it is not only a matter of raking in the profits of a harvest, it’s also about the lives of all who are in any way connected to the process.  In the case of Boaz measuring what was in his baskets would take more than a reputable accounting firm; how do you measure kindness?

It’s indisputable that Boaz was a kind-hearted man.  Arriving in the middle of a workday in the harvest he greeted his workers with a blessing.  The fact that they greeted him with an equally warm blessing spoke volumes about the relationship the boss had with his laborers.  On top of this was the fact that Boaz considered the welfare of Ruth, a foreigner who was gleaning.  In that culture the poor were permitted to come behind the work crews to pick up whatever harvest scraps the workers missed.  A greedy heart in Boaz’ basket might have treated Ruth like a freeloading nuisance.  Boaz treated her like part of the family, even calling her “daughter”.  He made room for this daughter of Moab, not part of his clan, perhaps as a kindness to his relative Elimelech, Naomi’s deceased husband. 

Of course, having read the rest of Ruth’s story, and the story of generations that followed, we can also see in Boaz’ harvest baskets the preservation of God’s promises to not only Israel, but all humanity.  God had promised a Messiah, a deliverer, one who would save us from our sins.  Ruth was part of that plan.  In the lineage of Boaz and Ruth Jesus would one day bless eternity with blood that cleanses all who will trust.

For You Today

In the end the kindness on both sides means Boaz got the girl, and her virtue is sung through the ages.  But this isn’t a Hallmark movie; it’s a reminder that each of us has a “harvest basket” that has the same kind of potential as that of Ruth and Boaz.  The question is ever there – what will YOUR basket hold.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO

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[1] Title Image:   Pixabay.com    Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

Blood River

[i]

Monday, July 24, 2017

Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man.  He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.  Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.”  So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested.  After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.  Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar.  He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.”  So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath.  The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle. Revelation 14:14-20^(NLT)

A favorite in many churches, especially on Independence Day is The Battle Hymn of the Republic.  On such days I have seen on the faces of many a worshipper, waves of patriotic nostalgia as we sing Julia Ward Howe’s inspiring hymn:

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;

he is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;

he hath loosed the fateful lightning of his terrible swift sword;

his truth is marching on.[ii]

It must be that the patriotic thoughts accompanying those verses are visions of a mighty marching American army vanquishing all enemies, solidifying America as supreme authority in the world.  It’s hard to not have a puffed-up chest over such notions.

But the song isn’t about American victories; the hymn is about a blood river, 180 miles long, and deep as the height of a standing horse’s jaw bone.  The song is about a sickle harvesting the lives of all human beings in the judgment of God…some to everlasting fellowship with their Creator, and the rest squeezed in the winepress of God’s judgment, resulting in everlasting condemnation in Hell.

The modern (and foolish) picture of that kind of preaching is caricature; skeptics give the eye-roll treatment to any kind of end-times talk these days.  But, then, God has always had some of His creatures who didn’t believe, and didn’t behave.  In the long run, it is not what humans believe or ridicule as fable which matters; rather it is what God has decreed will happen – that will happen!

This part of Revelation’s prophecy about the final judgment time on earth is particularly chilling to the bone.  To tell you the truth, I don’t feel patriotic when I sing Ward’s hymn; I do not want to stand up and wave an American flag.  Rather, I feel a sense of forebode in my spirit that wants to cry-out to anyone who will listen, come to the altar, reject sin in every way, and turn their your life towards the mercy seat of God’s love.  That is the only place of safety against the Day of Judgment.

For You Today

Whether a person is a skeptic or saint there is nothing that stops the truth from marching on.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!

Go to VIDEO

NOTES

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[i] Title Image: Pixabay.com

[ii] Battle Hymn of the Republic, Julia Ward Howe, 1861, (United Methodist Hymnal, Nashville, UMC Publishing House, 1989, p.717)

Harvest Time

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand!  Revelation 14:14 (NLT)

A Sickle 

The sickle, or hook, is a tool of harvesting.  The scene depicted in Revelation has an angel emerging from before the throne of God in heaven.  He tells another angel, the time is now; begin the harvest.  The angel receives the message and begins the harvest; we call it Armageddon, that last and final battle.

A Swing

This harvesting activity is a picture of the grain harvest.  In Matthew 13 Jesus told the parable of wheat and tares.  Darnel (tares) is false wheat; actually it is a weed.  What we have is a picture of genuine believers and false professors.  This harvest separates the wheat from the weeds. 

Many see this as reflecting the imagery of rapture – the wheat being taken from the earth is a picture of how quickly believers will be reunited with Christ and loved ones.  The Apostle Paul says it will be like the twinkling of an eye. ^{(1 Corinthians 15:52)}

The primary lesson we learn here is that not all judgment is to be feared.  This harvest should hold no terror for the child of God!  The Bride of Christ longs for her husband.  The harvested wheat will be taken to God's home.

But the grain harvest also shows how those who have rejected Jesus Christ in this world have no place in God’s rewards for believers.  If Christ had no place with you in this life, you will have none with Him in eternity. 

God’s Word warns – weeds have no purpose other than fuel for the fires. ^{(Matthew 13:30)}

For You, Today…

If you are a true child of God, having placed your life and eternity in His hands…the whole idea of going home should bring chills of joy, reverence and wonder to your heart every time the thought comes to mind (and that ought to be often).

Carry that joy into your workplace, or school or errands today. 

Wheat that is ready to be harvested is a beautiful sight!

Omnipotent

Monday, March 31, 2014

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,  so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.   Isaiah 55:10 - 11 (NRSV)

If the rain which falls from above is supposed to bring water to grow the crops, but falls on solid rock, is the purpose of God thwarted?  Not according to Isaiah.  These verses declare that God’s irrigation process is without flaw.  Water that splashes off a rock will eventually find its way to the needy place.  God’s design at that point is always fulfilled.

So much for the farming metaphor – what about the power of God’s Word in the earth today?  The candle seems to be growing dim, eh?  Evidence points to the fastest growing segment of population as “nones,” people who are not affiliated with any church and don’t intend to change.  God?  No thank you!

Is the Word of God growing weak and ineffective?  That would mean the omnipotent God is not really all-powerful.  Or, if He ever was, He isn’t so now…he’s changed, weaker.  IF so, that would also mean God is untruthful, and, by definition…not God.

But God said His Word would accomplish His purpose.  And that purpose does not always result exclusively in harvest; sometimes it results in disaster.  Consider the rain Noah encountered; he preached to a whole generation of “nones”.  There was the salvation of eight souls – but the majority report was tragic.

For someone like me this is one of the most important truths to grasp…that God’s Word will not always produce harvest as we understand harvest; sometimes “crop-failure” points to the omnipotence of God.

Compare the “bumper crop” to the “dry-bones harvest”:

Billy Graham comes to town and there are 32,853 decision cards filled out; new Christians are popping up in churches all over the place.  What a harvest!

I have preached several revivals where not even a single person was saved.

Question:  Did Billy preach a different gospel than Russell?  Was it the skill of the preacher in focus?  Or was it the condition of the soil (rock-hard hearts)?  Or was it a season of drought?  Or was the Word of God effective in both cases?

The Glory of God Revealed

In both cases – whether it is a “glorious harvest of souls” or if the voice of heaven seems distant and silent – the Word of God is accomplishing its task, pointing to and glorifying the omnipotent God of Heaven.  Those who bow the knee to Christ glorify Him by obedience; those who refuse to bow will show His glory by judgment.

That is true now, and it will be true throughout eternity:

For the Scriptures say, 

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the LORD, 

‘every knee will bend to me, 

and every tongue will confess and give praise to God.’”

Romans 14:11 (NLT)

That is an omnipotent God, Who is still so, and will be forever.

Today…for you

If your efforts to proclaim God’s Word seem ineffective and pointless, remember it is God’s Word which is tied to the omnipotence of God…not your effort.  God will, in His grace and because of His love for you, honor your effort. 

Don’t get discouraged, saint!

Remember, the Lord, God, Omnipotent reigneth!