Daily Devotions |
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Matthew 6:33 |
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” |
being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. | Philippians is my favorite book of the Bible. So many powerful scriptures come out of the very short but dense collection of letters written by Paul and Timothy. This week we are going to spend time in some of those power packed scriptures, including today's passage: Philippians 1:6. |
While this scripture definitely applies to the calling God has placed on our lives, the writer was speaking specifically about the God work of Jesus' cruxifixion. Whatever the work is that God is busy bringing to fruition in your life trust this one thing: He will bring it into completion. Even more so, trust that the good work of salvation that God has started in you will be carried out. You don't have to question whether God will keep your feet from slipping on this path because he promises that he won't. He will finish what he started.
As you prepare your heart for this week, let your confidence grow. God knows what he is doing.
It would be remiss of me to talk about the use of rain in the Bible without talking about the former and the latter rains. Both rains, also referred to as the autumn and spring rains, have been mentioned in this week's study of God as rain and I wanted to take time for us to learn more about their differences and how they apply to us as #ExcellentChallengers. I would be remiss again if I pretended that one devotion and one week of studying this metaphor is enough. I hope that all of us have taken our time to seek the word for ourselves. Listen to today's recording by clicking play on the Youtube video. The recording is from this morning's study of the word. It was added today specifically for the purpose of the reader of daily devotion's who don't get to join the call daily. I believe it will be helpful. | Get involved with the #31DayStretch today! Register for the challenge and commit to calling in every weekday morning at 6AM. |
Former or Autumn Rain
21 Do not be afraid, land of Judah; be glad and rejoice. Surely the Lord has done great things! 22 Do not be afraid, you wild animals, for the pastures in the wilderness are becoming green. The trees are bearing their fruit; the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. 23 Be glad, people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for he has given you the autumn rains because he is faithful. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. 24 The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. 25 “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm— my great army that I sent among you. 26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed. | Former rain in the Bible refers to the season of rain that occurs between October and November. It specifically represents the rain that is needed for the crops to grow once they have been planted for harvest. This week have prayed for God to rain down his power so that we can accomplish the goals set before us. As we step into preparation for 2017, this rain, the former rain is what we should be asking God for. We need the Lord's divine hand in the process of planting the seeds for next year. It is my prayer that December gets us ready spiritually and mentally to make the year to come one for God's glory. Joel said that God will provide the autumn rain "because he is faithful." We pray for rain as instructed in Zechariah in faith and expectation. Our expectation is rooting in God's power and in his promises of rain sprinkled throughout the Bible. The former or autumn rain is a connection of God's power into the natural rain. And it is not foolish of us to expect the autumn rain to prepare us for the work of the harvest. |
Latter or Spring Rain
I have heard people talking about reaping in the church my entire life. By some perspectives, the harvest is a time of experiencing the glory of God that requires nothing from us. But, I disagree. Harvesting takes work. Reaping what you have sown takes work. When the people who worked in the field had a successful crop they didn't look at the flourishing plants and shout hooray. They looked at their spoils then prepared themselves to | 17 “‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. |
do the work to reap the reward. I believe the latter rain is God promising to do his part when we are at work reaping what we have sown.
The latter rain comes to restore the soil after the crops have been harvested. It is an insurance that the soil will continue to bear good fruit. Imagine if you had a great harvest but then didn't replenish the land so that the prosperity would continue. You'd be left with a blessing that would only last so long. The spring rain or the latter rain was the rain that came to show that God's blessing would continue.
Many studies of the former and latter rains have compared the two in a historical sense; The former representing the first coming of Christ or the Old Testament; the latter representing the second coming of Christ, the rapture, or the New Testament. I won't make speculations about those comparisons. But, I will say this. The promise of the latter rain just means one thing to me; God's blessing will continue to flow.
I know that for some more mature Christians that this season of rain is less about God sending the rain for the seeds we have planted but more about a season of restoration. The latter rain is what many of us need. We need the Lord to step into our present day hand give us a refreshing of his power in our lives. God has what we need to step into 2017 with grace for the tasks at hand, but also what we need to be restored from the work we have put forth for the Kingdom.
I'm in expectation of God's outpouring. I have the sound of great rain in my ear. I am ready for the showing of God's hand; rather it be the former or the latter. The second passage we looked at is the day of Pentecost. God dealt with his people through the Spirit. The passage explains the first example of God pouring out on his people after Jesus' ascension. Though the word rain is not used, every description aligns the presence of God on that day to the rains. I won't declare any conclusions on whether that outpouring was the former or the latter rain. But one thing is clear: God rained!
It is my prayer that we won't get caught up on differentiating God's outpouring because we have an understanding of these two rains now. I hope that this explanation helps you to see that it doesn't matter which rain God sends but that his rain is the chief concern. Pray this prayer with me.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, I thank you that you connected divine movements to naturally processes so that I can have a greater understanding of your work in my life. I thank you that, like the rain, you can be a restorer, replenisher and conduit for my growth. Father, today I pray for rain! Send your anointing like you did on the day of Pentecost. Pour over my life, my home, my family, my city with your power. I trust your plan. I submit to your will. And I receive your rain.
The latter rain comes to restore the soil after the crops have been harvested. It is an insurance that the soil will continue to bear good fruit. Imagine if you had a great harvest but then didn't replenish the land so that the prosperity would continue. You'd be left with a blessing that would only last so long. The spring rain or the latter rain was the rain that came to show that God's blessing would continue.
Many studies of the former and latter rains have compared the two in a historical sense; The former representing the first coming of Christ or the Old Testament; the latter representing the second coming of Christ, the rapture, or the New Testament. I won't make speculations about those comparisons. But, I will say this. The promise of the latter rain just means one thing to me; God's blessing will continue to flow.
I know that for some more mature Christians that this season of rain is less about God sending the rain for the seeds we have planted but more about a season of restoration. The latter rain is what many of us need. We need the Lord to step into our present day hand give us a refreshing of his power in our lives. God has what we need to step into 2017 with grace for the tasks at hand, but also what we need to be restored from the work we have put forth for the Kingdom.
I'm in expectation of God's outpouring. I have the sound of great rain in my ear. I am ready for the showing of God's hand; rather it be the former or the latter. The second passage we looked at is the day of Pentecost. God dealt with his people through the Spirit. The passage explains the first example of God pouring out on his people after Jesus' ascension. Though the word rain is not used, every description aligns the presence of God on that day to the rains. I won't declare any conclusions on whether that outpouring was the former or the latter rain. But one thing is clear: God rained!
It is my prayer that we won't get caught up on differentiating God's outpouring because we have an understanding of these two rains now. I hope that this explanation helps you to see that it doesn't matter which rain God sends but that his rain is the chief concern. Pray this prayer with me.
Prayer:
Dear Lord, I thank you that you connected divine movements to naturally processes so that I can have a greater understanding of your work in my life. I thank you that, like the rain, you can be a restorer, replenisher and conduit for my growth. Father, today I pray for rain! Send your anointing like you did on the day of Pentecost. Pour over my life, my home, my family, my city with your power. I trust your plan. I submit to your will. And I receive your rain.
About the Challenge
The 100 Days of Excellence challenge is a 100 day journey to completely rearrange the course of your life. It is about seeking the thrown of God to hear what his plan is for our lives. It is a commitment to carry out every action in your future in the spirit of excellence.
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