Sowing and Reaping

Scripture:

Jeremiah 44:23 "Because you have burned incense and because you have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord or walked in His law, in His statues or in His testimonies, therefore this calamity has happened to you, as at this day".

Observation:

The book of Jeremiah and the word of the Lord in this book constantly remind me that the laws of sowing and reaping are very true. When we sow bad seed, we will get bad fruit. You can't get around it! Jeremiah is constantly telling the people that they are going to pay for their worship of other gods. He reminds them of their waywardness and lets them know that punishment is coming. It seems like today most Christians don't believe God still punishes disobedience. We look at God as the Santa Clause in the sky who only brings wonderful gifts to His children. Punishment of children lets the child know they are loved and that the parent wants to see them mature into an adult who takes responsibility. God does chasten those He loves, that they may grow. He is the giver of every perfect gift, but He also knows how to discipline His children.

Application:

God loves us, but He loves us enough to try to get us back on track when we get off. He loves us enough to let things go wrong when we are not properly relating to Him. We cannot look at every bad thing that happens to us as being from the devil and every good thing as being from God. We must realize there is a law of sowing and reaping. Sometimes things are not good because we have an evil enemy. Sometimes things are not good because we have slipped up in our walk with God. We need to pray until we discern the difference.

Prayer:

Lord, let us walk close enough to You that we know the difference. Let us always hear Your still small voice beckoning us home. Let us understand Your discipline and grow thereby. Help us to walk in righteousness and truly experience Your incredible blessing. When we take a wrong step, do whatever it takes to wake us up and get us back on the trail. Keep us from falling into wrong thinking. I love You Lord and I appreciate the words of Your servant Jeremiah.

Your Son,
Jeff