(The ground was hard, dead and lifeless).
(2) The Lord appeared to Isaac.
(3) God tells Isaac to stay in this land of famine.
God assures Isaac that He will be with him.
God says He will bless Isaac.
(12) Isaac planted seed in the ground during
the famine. God blessed the seed.
Isaac reaped a hundredfold.
So the day started with a discussion and study on "Seed Planting." It's so easy to think that we have no seed -- nothing to plant. But that's a cop out! Truth be told, we all have something. Sometimes we have to start by just asking,
"God, What seed do I have to plant?"
SEEDS: Seed could be money. It could be time. It could be talent -- something we are good at doing. It could be something that we happen to have an abundance of. Sometimes we don't have an abundance at all. We just have a small amount... I like to refer to that as "Sacrificial Seed". Remember the little boy that had that small lunch with him? He gave his lunch (seed) to Jesus (soil), who blessed it, multiplied it, and fed over 5000 (harvest). Wow!
SOIL: Seed is to be planted in good soil. What are you investing your seed in? A ministry perhaps? -- Maybe you donate cash or food (seed) into the local food bank (soil)? Or maybe you are investing your time and expertise (seeds) into someone's life (soil), to help them out?
There's a great church in our city, which happens to be called "The Harvest", and when they pray for the offering, everybody holds their envelope in the air and shouts...
"Lord, I'm planting good seed,
into good soil,
and expecting a good return."
In other words...
"Lord, I'm taking the money I worked hard for,
investing it into this ministry that does so much good,
and expecting that you will multiply it in amazing ways
that I could never imagine".
HARVEST: In due time, the harvest comes. That's when you reap what you have sowed.
If you have planted
a lot of good seed in good soil...
there will be a great harvest!
As I left the morning Bible study, I had no idea that all that I had learned would be personally applied in my life before the day's end. Within hours I got a call from a Christian gal in need of help. She is in the middle of transitioning from a bad situation to a new way of life in Christ. I immediately prayed and asked God, "What do I have to plant?"
The Holy Spirit reminded me of a lucky RED purse that my mom had given me years ago. All of a sudden I remembered exactly where it was. I found it, looked inside and saw that it had nothing in it. My mom always told me that you never give anyone an "empty" purse. I didn't have any extra money... just some money set aside to pay my bills. Well... $10 less wasn't really going to make a huge difference, so I took it and stuck it in the purse. I would trust God to replace that $10 for my bill payment. I headed off to my discussion group for the evening. I knew the girl in need was going to be there.
On the way, I stopped to pick up some donuts for the group. I sacrificially bought a $10 gift card and stuffed that into the purse too. My friend who I was driving to the meeting with asked what I was doing. He took out his wallet, pulled out a bunch of bills and stuck them in the purse. When we got to the meeting, I briefly explained the need and we passed the purse around the circle. Anyone who wanted to contribute could do so.
This is a New Believers group! This is where the rubber meets the road. If you've given your heart to Christ so that you can show up on Sunday, sing a handful of songs that make you feel good, pat yourself on the back for doing the Christian thing by showing up for church, and walk out the door... you've totally missed it! On the other hand... If you've made a decision to follow Christ, in times like this, you have to ask Him, "What do I do, Lord?" and follow his direction.
I'm not sure what was stuffed in that little purse. I never looked. I shut the purse and stuffed it into the gal's handbag. We gathered in a circle, grabbed ahold of one another's hands and prayed up a storm on her behalf. We asked God to bless that purse. -- that He might multiply what's in it, to provide for her needs in the days and weeks ahead. Needless to say, the gal was very thankful for all the encouragement and support. We are continuing to undergird her in our prayers, as she steps out with courage in the new direction the Lord is taking her. We are expecting a harvest one day in her life that will bring glory to God! Hallelujah! (It's ok... you can shout praises with me!)
As we left the church tonight and headed to our cars, the gal shouted to me. "Thank you Gail for the Lucky Purse!" I prophesied back to her.... "Someday, you'll be passing that lucky purse on to someone else... and don't forget, you have to give it away with something in it!" We smiled and went our separate ways.
Isn't it great how God works? My RED shoes had me looking for God first thing this morning in that Bible study, held in that little back room, at the bookstore. Yeh... Good things happen in that room! I didn't know when I was receiving that direction from God, that I would need it quite so soon. But as my mentor always says,
"God gives us directives.
He shows us what we must do.
And when the opportunity arises
to move into action, we must!
Tonight I looked down at the RED shoes on my feet. It seems I have already worn out another pair. LOL. My RED shoes are getting worn out with all the adventure that God is bringing my way. I don't remember the last time I "wore out" my shoes! I think I was ten years old.
So, just this week, I donated several pairs of shoes to a local charity. They're not RED, so I have no use for them. I'm an adventurer now! Those shoes don't belong in my closet. Yup, you guessed it! I "sowed" them. They went to people who need them.
Isn't it a GREAT life with God? Who would have thought that The Red Shoe Project would make me an Adventurer and a Farmer of sorts ? I may be sowing seed now, (in good soil, of course), but it's only a matter of time before there's an abundant harvest!
I'm trusting God to multiply my seeds,
Gail
