In Tandem With Him~

Jorge and I have owned a tandem bike for almost 10 years now, and those of you who know me know that I never thought riding around town with Jorge could get any better. 

I never thought waving at the curious onlookers could be more satisfying. 

I never thought I could get more pleasure out of yelling, "God loves you!" to the vulgar folks who yell obscenities at me when I rest my feet and Jorge does all the pedaling.

I never thought I could possibly enjoy the closeness we share any more than I already did because when we upgraded to a new tandem a few months back,  it just so happens that Jorge's bottom sometimes rests on my handlebars!

I WAS WRONG!!!

Every single thing about riding the tandem just got exponentially better because someone new has joined our team: Hershey Pie!  And contrary to some scientific law somewhere, our rides are easier than ever.  Something about having Hershey Pie along for the ride has actually lightened the load.  Jorge and I are invigorated with Hershey Pie's presence, and by the way he regally sticks his head out the ventilated top of his carrier, Hershey Pie enjoys hanging with us. Plus, I am pretty sure Hershey Pie appreciates that his daddy is careful to avoid potholes and any other uneven terrain so his carrier doesn't go flying through the air.  Together we ride faster and farther. 

The same can be said when we team up with our Lord - when we live in tandem with Him.

Proverbs 3:6 "Seek Him in all you do, and He will show you which path to take."

When we invite God along for the ride, when we ask Him to weigh in on our plans, our path becomes clearer; we avoid many of life's pitfalls, detours, dead ends, and bumpy roads. 

We live in tandem with Him, we team up with Him, and He joins us on our journey when we pray.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We seek You today knowing that as we do, You will show us the way to go.  We need Your guidance for our lives, and we gladly invite You along for the ride.  Show me what to do about this particular situation: ________________________________.  In Jesus' name, AMEN!

 

The Perfect Seed~

Greetings, all you precious saints of the Lord!

Today we continue with our lessons in farming.  The most important thing to remember is that God has given 

each of us the perfect seed; if we plant it in rich earth, it guarantees a bumper crop!  What is this seed?  

Luke 11:8 “The seed is the Word of God.”

God’s Word needs to be planted and take root in our lives because, “There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing us the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us (2 Timothy 3:16-17).”

After reading these two verses I realize that there’s a lot at stake.  I want – make that I need – to make sure that the soil of my heart is receptive to receiving God’s Word because when my faith is optimized, when I have all the truth I need to address the problems in my life, when my hard-headed and prideful ways get in the way of enjoying relationships and God gently nudges me to make things right, when I love the way God wants me to love, and when I am able to serve my family and others, well then, that’s when life is joyful and worth living!

The key is to plant in rich, fertile soil because while God offers the same seed to everyone, where it’s planted is quite another.  This paragraph from yesterday’s DEVO reveals some hindrances to that seed being successfully planted:

Birds eat up the seeds, seeds land in gravel

and don’t grow for a lack of good roots, and

seeds fall on weeds and try to grow but those

weeds strangle them. 

How do we prepare the soil to avoid these pitfalls?  We will continue with our farming series next week, but in the meantime, let’s ask God to begin the process by protecting the seed He has given us from those hungry pesky birds and by gently removing any gravel or weeds that might be growing in our gardens.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, So much gets in the way of Your life-saving, joy-giving Word from taking root and growing into a beautiful crop of blessings.  Help us today to be receptive and ready to all the good You want to do in us and to all the good You want us to do.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~