“What do you think? There was a man who had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and changed his mind and went. Then the man came to the second son and said the same thing; and he replied, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of the father?” Matthew 21: 28- 31 Holy Bible Amplified Version
Which Son are You?
Personally I am the first son.
There have been so many times I believed Jehovah to be insane when He sent me on a task. Many times I stomped my foot and flat out refused to obey such a ludicrous suggestion. Upon reflection in quiet times I would slowly submit ( even though I was certain it was going to end disastrously for guess who). To my total shock and amazement the task was gloriously completed and I could not cease proclaiming His awesomeness and me admiration of Him. As my walk with our Beloved Heavenly Father progressed and these tasks became more challenging my attitude evolved from one of : “ Are you nuts; this is certain disaster. “ to : “ Okay my Love, I do not know how You are going to do it and am certainly looking forward to Your unusual way of providing for this child of Your to not only complete the task but to do so in a manner which glorifies You. “
Jehovah does not care if you argue as long as you obey. Joseph- Anthony: Green
On the other hand I have met many who openly profess to be obedient children of God yet refuse to obey His leading. They are the naughty second child.
Which one are you?
Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Abba (God our Father) for blessing me with the Holy Spirit to prick my conscience into obedience unto You. I love You and always desire to be a loving obedient child of Yours. I humbly thank you in the name of my big brother Jesus Christ. Amen
May the gentle assurance of Jesus’ sweet love encompass you today and every day.
One of the advantages of getting old is seeing the hand of Jehovah in others lives during the course of a few decades. ‘
If then, you act with hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times in accordance with your sins.” Leviticus 26:21 Amplified Bible
I have witnessed many of the proud and arrogant laugh as they foolishly believe they can live their lives as they see fit and are cruel and dishonest with their neighbours. Through the course of time their mental, physical and spiritual health deteriorates until they are living a daily life of living hell all alone. They are angry and bitter. The strange thing is that they know if they repent at least they will have mental and spiritual health but because they are arrogant they refuse, even unto death. At the moment of death they are alone and terrorized knowing that they are doomed to be cast into eternal Hell where they belong. There is a deep sense of doom and gloom in the room and you cannot wait to get out of there. It is a very sad and pitiful site to see no matter how bad they were to you.
“Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the [steadfast] lovingkindness which He swore to your fathers.He will love you and bless you. Deuteronomy 7:12-13 Amplified Bible
I have witnessed those that love Jehovah and are obedient unto Him. They are kind, loving, joyous and generous. They age gracefully and are surrounded with a swarm of others to constantly help them when they need help in their old age. They are enveloped with an aura of peace, love, joy and gentleness. You cannot help but love to be around them and help them. When it is time for them to pass on to the other side they are surrounded by loved ones. There is a peace in the room when they pass on. You cannot help but cry with joy at the honour of being their friend and look forward to being with them in Heaven.
“Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance.” C. S. Lewis
Prayer: Thank you my Beloved Jehovah-‘Ori (the Lord is my Light) for blessing me with Your divine guidance to walk in Your Heavenly light. Thank you that the fruit of this light is love, joy and peace and with the numerous opportunities to share this light with others in a cold, cruel dark world. I praise you in the name of the Prince of Light Jesus Christ. Amen.
May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.
Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Proverbs 15:22 New International Version
One time I experienced problems with my computer and attempted to repair the problem on my own. Not only did the problem get worse but other problems occurred which made matters worse. Finally the computer was taken in to the shop to be repaired.
Isn’t that the way we are in life?
We are cursed with the “I know, I know” syndrome when we try something on our own without asking for help and end up messing things up real bad and have worse problems than when we started, especially us men. Then, we end up taking it to those who know to get the problem solved.
Why do we do that?
The simple answer is pride, we refuse to humble ourselves.
Should we not always seek advice before we attempt important thing in our lives?
How many less divorces or bankruptcies do you think there would be if we sought wise counsel with honest God fearing councilors first?
Prayer: Thank you Holy Spirit my wise Guidance Councilor for all the wonderful council You have so generously blessed me with in my difficult walk with You on the path to Heaven. I humbly apologize for the times in my arrogance, pride and lack of faith I stubbornly refused to be Your obedient student. I exalt You in the name of He whose suffering and sacrifice made it all possible Jesus Christ. Amen
May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.
But to Jonah this seemed very wrong, and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord, “Isn’t this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” Jonah 4:1-3 New International Version
Johan went to Nineveh to give a warning that if the city refused to repent they would be destroyed. When his arch nemesis repented he felt cheated and angry.
Do you do that?
When someone does you wrong and repents do you feel cheated and angry instead of filled with joy for them?
When you do wrong and Jesus forgives you, you feel glad as does He.
As a Christian should we not follow Jesus’ example and feel glad for them?
Prayer: Please Jehovah Chanan (God is gracious) bless me with a gracious heart to truly celebrate with joy when anyone repents of any offence against me just as I know the angels in Heaven do. I obediently implore You in the name of He who cried “Forgive them Father” from the cross Jesus Christ. Amen
May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”
Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived.
When she knew she was pregnant, she began to despise her mistress. Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the Lord judge between you and me.” Genesis 16:1-5 New International Version
When Sari nagged Abram to have sex with her slave to have a child and when the slave became pregnant she lorded it over Sari. Then Sari blamed Abram.
Why was it his fault?
Was she not the one that did not have faith in Jehovah and decided to take matters into her own hands? Was it not her that constantly nagged Abram to impregnate the slave even though she was told that the blessed child would come from her womb?
When she paid the consequences she blamed someone else.
How many times do we do that?
We do not have faith in Jehovah or patience with Him and take matters into our own hands. When things go wrong we always find someone else to blame.
The mantra of every narcissist is : “This is not my fault, it is your fault!” Joseph- Anthony: Green
It could be in looking for a marriage partner, looking for employment or a place to live but we always need to take it to Jehovah in prayer first, wait for His reply second and finally to be obedient to His guidance when He answers.
Prayer: Please Jehovah Shalom (God of peace) grant me the wisdom to always be willing to accept reasonability for my reckless actions and to have the wisdom to take the necessary action needed to rectify my mistake so that there is peace with You, my nieghbour and in my spirit. I meekly request this in the name of He who helped Peter become right with the Master on the seashore Jesus Christ. Amen.
May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.
He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.” Genesis 22:5 New International Version
Abraham had such strong belief in Jehovah that he believed even if he sacrificed his only beloved son that Jehovah would bring him back to life.
How about you?
Is there something precious in your life that Jehovah is telling you to sacrifice it to Him? Could it be your marriage, children, home or career?
Do you have the faith to put it on the alter?
I have on numerous occasions.
No I did not gain material wealth I my obedience and it was difficult during and after.
I was asked by Jehovah to sacrifice the security of my home to go to another country to serve Him. It was difficult in both going and being there.
The blessing was that in the difficulty it drew me into a deeper relationship with Him and that is the greatest reward He could bless anyone with.
Prayer: Please Jehovah Adonai (God is sovereign) bless me with an trusting heart to always be obedient to Your will in every aspect of my life. I submissively ask this in the name of He who obedient to Your will all the way to the cross Jesus Christ. Amen.
May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.
Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. Joshua 2:8-11 New International Version
Why was it that the Gentiles saw the hand of Jehovah on the Israelites but the Israelites did not?
Has that occurred to you?
Do people see the hand of Jehovah on you, yet, because of your lack of faith you refuse to obey Jehovah and move forward to your blessings?
I can think of many times when I had a lack of faith and needed a good strong push by Jehovah to get me moving. It was through very hard times that the Lord moved me to where He desired for me to be to serve Him in the manner which He predestined form me to serve Him.
I am not saying once the call was obeyed everything was like a walk in a garden. Indeed almost all of them included a great deal of suffering and anguish. Reflecting back on those experiences though I can now see He was doing so much in me and through me that I was not even remotely aware of.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.Ephesians 2:10 New King James Version
So when Jehovah blesses you with your calling (and He will) do not sit on your hands but get moving in faith.
Prayer: Please Jehovah Saboath (Lord commander of the armies) encourage this soldier of Your to always be obedient to His commanders orders now matter how difficult or scary they are. I submissively request this in the mighty and great name of my awesome King Christ Jesus. Amen.
May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.
To him who is able to keep you from stumbling. Jude 24 New King James Version
We all have them.
We have inherited them from our parents.
Sinful disposition traits are handed down from one generation to the next. This is why it is important to trace your ancestors. Doing so helps you understand why you are the way you are.
So if say you have relatives in your family tree that were alcoholics you would know it to be very wise to abstain from drinking.
As well it is also of extreme importance to pass this knowledge onto your children to help them avoid much grief and destruction in their lives.
Now there are some bad traits that try as we may we can never conquer them.
So say you are short tempered it does not matter how hard you try to control your temper you will always be short tempered.
All is not lost however.
We are blessed with the gift of the power of the Holy Spirit when we accept Christ as our savior and surrender these weaknesses to Him in complete faith that He shall conquer them.
As well He will bless you with knowledge of what triggers your temper to go off and the necessary steps to avoid these ruinous situations. There will come occasions when you cannot escape them. Then it is time to run to the safety of the Holy Spirit. Call upon Him quickly with complete faith He shall deliver you and He will.
I speak from personal experience on both of these weaknesses.
There were inherited weaknesses that were destroying my life that I had no power over. It was only when I completely surrendered them to Christ that I was saved.
There are ruinous dispositions that require daily prayer to prevent me from disastrous situation that the Holy Spirit either prevent from occurring or guided me through them when they do occur.
Prayer: Thank you Jehovah-Chatsahi (The Lord is my Strength) for blessing me with Your Devine strength to eternally conquer the fleshly weaknesses in my life that was spiritually destroying me and making my life a living Hell. Thank you for blessing me with wisdom and strength on how to keep them at bay. I exalt You in the name of Your strong Son my Beloved Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
May the sweet sunshine of Jesus’ beautiful love bless you today and every day.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 New King James Version
When we become Christians all of our past sins are washed away when we confess and repent of our sins. We are considered clean before our Holy Father by the blood of Christ our sacrificial lamb. They no longer have a hold on us. Those chains that held us are smashed and we are eternally free of them.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8 New King James Version
Now that is not to say we are perfect and blameless.
How many times can you go through a day without sinning?
Try as we may we are still in a fleshly body and therefore still have weaknesses in us no matter how hard we try to be sinless.
Just try to keep all of the Ten Commandments in a day and see if you can. Yes the Ten Commandments are just as important today as they were in the Old Testament times.
I tried and it is impossible.
That is why we need to confess our sins with a truly remorseful heart. Then we are cleansed by the precious blood of Christ.
But to receive this you must truly desire to conquer your short comings and work with the Holy Spirit to conquer them.
So it is no use to ask Jehovah to deliver you from viewing pornography while searching porno sites on line.
To willfully sin is a double sin. One, you make the choice to sin and second, you follow through on your desires. Try as you may there is no forgiveness of this sin. Joseph- Anthony: Green
Now when and if you come to your senses are realize the wrong you have done and with tears confess your short comings unto Jehovah then you will be cleansed of your sins again.
Prayer: Jehovah-Go’el (The Lord is my Redeemer) for the supreme sacrifice Your cherished Son made to cleanse me of all my filthy sins and make me pure in Your loving eyes.
Thank you Jehovah-Mephalti (The Lord my Deliverer) for delivering me from a life that was Hell bound through Your Beloved Sons blood. Thank you for providing a means to escape these chains and the strength to eternally conquer them. Thank you that when I sincerely fess up You forgive me of my sinful weaknesses. I thank You in the name of He whose precious blood made this all possible Jesus Christ. Amen.
May the sweet sunshine of Jesus’ beautiful love bless you today and every day.
Just as the Lord instructed the Israelites to coat their doorposts and they would not suffer the fate of the Egyptians so to was Rahab instructed to tie a red cord outside her window of her apartment, which was on the wall, at Jericho and her family would be spared.
Do you see any similarities there?
Has there been any time in your life that destruction was coming and the Lord is instructing you, you must do something in order to escape doom?
For me, it was articles on a web site that exposed a country that I was dwelling that certain doom was coming and it was time to get out. Boy am I glad I was obedient.
If you neglect to obey these warnings you do so at your own cost.
The Israelites that refused to listen when warned about the Babylonian destruction coming and then the ones before the destruction by the Romans paid a very heavy price.
Prayer: Thank you Jehovah Yeshua (God our rescuer) for Your mercy in warning me numerous times to evacuate from some place or situation to avoid certain calamity. I laud You for this amazing grace in the name of He whose sacrifice ultimately blesses us from eternal destruction Jesus Christ. Amen.
May the sunshine of Jesus’ sweet love bless you today and every day.
'Because Souls Are Like Gardens' is a collection of fictional and non-fictional musings—anywhere from life's quirky moments and general happenings, to thoughts and experiences around Jesus, the Kingdom, and truth. Much like a garden, what is planted here today, will be different to what is planted here tomorrow. Happy Pickin's!
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus," Ephesians 2:4-6
