Reaping What We Sow, God's Judgment, Testing the Spirits, etc.

 Did you know many common sayings come from the Bible? If you haven’t heard them, your parents or grandparents may have been called “the salt of the earth” (best part of society) or said “Those who sow the wind reap the whirlwind.” (Actions have consequences, & any trouble you cause will come back at you with far greater trouble than you imagined.)

That 2nd sounds like a cool comeback to a challenge in sports. I first heard it on a Lone Ranger rerun where the Masked Man helps a woman see the danger of her intense hatred against natives; anger that leads her to send men to kill a man who is her own son, she doesn’t realize he was adopted when little by natives who thought his parents were dead. (I searched for the title - “The Law and Miss Aggie” if you’re curious – the Lone Ranger is on Youtube.)

The saying is from Hosea 8:7. God says Israel caused trouble by turning from God and ignoring His commandments, and they would reap lots of trouble. Yet, He still forgives and loves them and wants them to turn back to Him – and one day Israel will know Jesus is the promised Messiah and turn to Him.

Jesus says a lot about sowing since even those who don’t grow up on farms can grasp planting a seed and letting it grow. He wants us to see that our actions have consequences, and that is one reason why we need to act according to God’s Word.

How do we sow good things? The Fruit of the Spirit is one way. Temperance, for instance, is the self-control God wants us to have to be a peacemaker, show kindness to others even if we are upset, etc.. When we let God’s joy keep growing in us, we’re less likely to be like the woman in that episode and fall prey to bitterness, resentments, and so on. By sowing trouble and not good things, we see the works of the flesh come out instead.

From previous lessons on walking in light, how only light can cast out darkness, etc., we see the Bible flows together, line upon line, precept upon precept. The world’s problems come from not following Biblical principles, but instead feeding the flesh. It’s easy to get caught up in our frustration at things, but that’s why it’s vital to let the Holy Spirit control you each day, so God can use us to make peaceful change and work toward solutions.

Eph. 5:17 says to be filled, but remember, each born again believer has the Holy Spirit, like a great singer is born with a great voice. But, to get better they nurture it, practice, develop that talent. At 3-4 they can sing “Jesus Loves Me” well. About 20 years ago a then-7YO, Shirley, on the Canton Baptist bus I helped on, had a great voice and sang the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy” really well. But, the more difficult the song, the more they have to develop that voice. (If you’re curious, I don’t know what happened to her, I think the family moved to Akron, but pray for her, the kids all trusted Jesus to save them, but really bad behavior kids taunted them too much and they stopped coming. That’s one reason why we must share Jesus with people while we can.)

You can tell if it’s really the Spirit leading by reading the Bible; God is always consistent with His Word. He wants us to be born again and grow in Him, like that musician would want to keep getting better. And, He wants us to pray that His Spirit will work in others to convict them of sin (the need to turn away from sin and to God), righteousness (the fact God’s ways are right and should be followed), and judgment (the fact Jesus will judge sin.) John 16 shows He’ll work in the unsaved person’s heart and life. But, we must pray.