“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, is slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin (Ex. 34:6-7).

This verse says that God is abounding in love and faithfulness. The word abounding means to exist in large numbers or amounts, to be plentiful and abundant!

There are reminders of it all around us

When I was a young man and living near the ocean, we would go surf-fishing each year during the summer grunion runs. Grunion are small slender fish that swarm onto beaches at night to spawn. Each wave was filled with fish and they were easy to catch. We used special surf-nets strung between two poles that were hinged together at the bottom and open at the top. When a large wave would roll in, we would dip our nets into the wave and catch huge numbers of fish as they fell into our nets. It was always a bountiful catch! It would often take more than one of us to drag the heavy net to shore. It reminds me of how Peter was directed by Jesus to catch a large number of fish. “He said, "Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.” (John 21:6 NIV). It was a truly a bountiful catch! This reminds me of just how amazing and bountiful our God is!

God abounds towards you, and you must abound towards others as well!

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, since you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58 NKJV)

“And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Cor. 9:8 NIV)

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” (Col. 2:6 ESV)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Rom. 15:13 ESV)

“He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." (Psalm 46:10 NIV)

We live in a very noisy world

We have gotten used to being constantly plugged into noise makers of all kinds! Smart phones, iPads, laptops, flat screen tv’s and iPods keep us constantly engaged. But, if you want to hear God's   “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12), unplug from the sources of noise around you, be still, and then listen!

Psalm 46:10 defined, a few words at a time

Be Still: Be quiet. Not moving or making a sound, transfixed, static, motionless, silenced, and hushed.

And Know: Be certain. Be sure. Be aware of, through observation, inquiry, or information.

That I am God: That I am the  creator and ruler of the universe and source of all authority; the supreme being, the Lord almighty, the Father, the  Son, the Holy Spirit, the Alpha and The Omega.

I will: I shall for certain.

Be Exalted: Be placed at a high or powerful level; held in high regard: elevated, superior, lofty, prestigious, illustrious, esteemed, and distinguished.

Among the nations: Among the people, the lands, the countries, the kingdoms.

In the earth: In the world, planet, globe.

Now, go back and read just  the definitions above as one continuous sentence.

Make a decision to listen to God!

“I will listen to what God the LORD says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants-- but let them not turn to folly.” (Psalm 85:8 NIV)

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season. And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.”(Psalms 1:1-3 ESV)

Cows, camels and sheep, oh my!

Cows are amazing animals! Like camels and sheep, they process their food by chewing their cuds. They swallow their food and bring it up repeatedly and chew on it all day long. This enables them to extract everything of nutritional value from what has been swallowed. This process is similar to meditation. You start by getting the Word of God into your head. You then think about it and dwell on it deeply. You chew on it, so to speak, to receive many wonderful benefits from it. Our promise verse for today says it very well. “And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season. And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. These are wonderful benefits, indeed!

Pleasing in God's sight

“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”(Psalm 19:14 NIV)

“May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD.”(Psalm 104:34 NIV)

 Dwell on these things

“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”(Phil. 4:8 ESV)

“Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." (Eph. 5:19 KJV)

What are Spiritual songs?

According to the International Bible Dictionary,  “It includes all lyric poetry, but is limited by the word "spiritual" to songs inspired by the Holy Spirit and employed in the joyful and devotional expression of the spiritual life. While songs, like psalms and hymns, were used in public worship and praise, they were more intended for, and suited to, personal and private and social use; as, e.g. in family worship, at meals, in the agapai ("love-feasts"), in meetings for prayer and religious intercourse from house to house.”

Singing with grace in your heart to the Lord

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Col. 3:16 NKJV)

God puts a new song in your heart!

“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him.” (Psalm 49:3 NIV)

It’s the pathway to joy

• Psalms 5:11: “Let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you.”
• Psalms 9:2: “I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.”
• Psalms 51:14: “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.”
• Psalms 59:16: “I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.”
• Psalms 63:7: “For you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.”
• James 5:13:  “Is anyone cheerful?  Let him sing praise.”

Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” (Matt. 9:37 NIV)

I really blew it!

A few years ago I sat down with a young businessman and for three hours discussed with him things he could do to promote his brand new business. He was enthusiastic, friendly, open, and very easy to talk to. I told him I would follow up with him as soon as I returned from a business trip I was leaving immediately for. I came back a few days later and was shocked to hear that he’d been killed in an automobile accident the very day I had spoken with him! Even though I had met with him for three hours I hadn't asked him about his relationship with God, and I should have! If I had known it was going to be his last day alive I certainly would have figured out some way to speak boldly with him about God. I could have broached the subject any number of ways during our lengthy conversation. I could have asked, “Do you have a church you are attending here in our community?” And spoken about Jesus from there. Or, even asked, “Does God play any kind of role in your personal life and business?” Or, I could have come right out boldly with, “Are you a follower of Jesus?” But I didn't! I spent three hours with him on the day he died, and yet I said nothing about the most important subject in existence, knowing Jesus! Truthfully, I don't know if he was or wasn't a follower of Jesus Christ, I sincerely hope he was! But, I do know I had spent three hours with him on the last day of his life on earth, and I didn't even ask him! I failed him and I certainly failed God! I am truly ashamed and greatly saddened about it!

Most Christians have never introduced someone to Christ!

Most Christians don't share Christ even to a family member or to a close friend! This, in spite of the fact that Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful.” He was speaking about people who are already “ripe for harvest” and willing to be brought into fellowship with God. He said the reason they don't come into a relationship with God is because, “the workers are few.” The problem is that God’s people aren't actively working to reap the ready harvest!

Many are in the “secret service”

Many claim to be believers and followers of Christ, but you'd never know it by watching them. They are behaving as though they are in the secret service! If they were put on trial for being a Christian, there wouldn't be enough evidence to convict them! I believe God has provided lots of opportunities to share with those around us, but we just don't speak up! And what if we don't tell them? What if they die without anyone telling them the good news about Jesus?

How will they hear if no one tells them?

“But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” (Rom. 10:14 NLT)

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (2 Peter 2:9 NIV)

This verse declares you to be four things.

 1. You are a chosen people

“He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him In love.” (Eph. 1:4 ESV)

“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” (John 15:16 ESV)

“For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.” (Deut. 7:6 ESV)

“But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.” (2 Thes. 2:13 ESV)

2. You are a royal priesthood

“You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:5 ESV)

“He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father--to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Rev. 2:6 ESV)

“But you will be called the priests of the LORD; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God You will eat the wealth of nations, And in their riches you will boast.” (Isa. 61:6 ESV)

3. You are a holy nation

“That He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” (Eph. 5:27 ESV)

“The LORD will establish you as a holy people to Himself, as He swore to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.” (Deut. 28:9 ESV)

4. You are God’s special possession

“Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine.” (Ex. 19:5 ESV)

“who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” (Titus 2:14 ESV)

The purpose of all this is to bring praise to God

“That you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (2 Peter 2:9b ESV)

“Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.” (Psalm.150:2 NIV)

"My tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your praises all day long.” (Psalm.35:28 NIV)

 "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - just as the Father knows me and I know the Father--and I lay down my life for the sheep.” (John 10:14-15 NIV)

A boy and his dog

I heard a story about a little boy and his dog traveling on an ocean liner. The boy was playing on the deck with his dog and a ball. He would roll the ball across the deck and the little dog would run after it, get it, and then run back to the little boy with it. And the little boy would do it again and again with the same results. But, in his enthusiasm, the little boy rolled the ball too hard and it went off the edge of the ship and into the ocean. The dog, who was in hot pursuit of the ball ran off the edge of the ship, too. Frantic, the little boy ran to the captain of the ship and cried loudly, “Captain, Captain! Please stop this ship because my dog has fallen overboard!” The captain replied, “Young man, I can’t stop this big ocean liner to save a dog!” And the boy said, “But, wouldn't you stop it to save a little boy?” And the captain said, “Of course I would!” And with that, the little boy ran and jumped into the ocean! Immediately, the captain stopped the ship, lowered a lifeboat over the edge, and saved both the little boy and his dog!

Jesus gave His life to save us!

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” (1 John 3:16 NIV)

The world was saved through Him!

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17 NIV)

If you have the Son, you have life!

“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11-12 NIV)

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.” (2 Cor. 2:14, NASV)

Life was very different when I was a kid

I grew up in a time where many still used ice boxes to keep their food cold during the summer. Everybody heated their homes with fire wood, cooked their meals on big wood stoves, and used outhouses (no indoor plumbing). We got our water from the creek – nothing was convenient back then. Doing things like bathing and laundry were major chores. Water had to be hauled, heated on the wood stove, and used carefully – it was a precious commodity!  Doing laundry was a complicated hard job and you had to set aside an entire day to it. There was no such thing as modern washing machines or indoor dryers. Clothes had to be hung outside on clotheslines and then brought in and ironed. We didn't have special laundry soaps or fabric softeners. There was no such thing as permanent press or easy care fabrics. And someone has called them “the good old days!” I remember those days as hard work days.

We now live in a wonderful age of many marvels of technology that most take for granted

We drive beautiful air conditioned vehicles in complete comfort with amazing entertainment systems and satellite controlled GPS systems. Homes have heating/cooling systems, hot water heaters, refrigerators, toasters, electric mixers, blenders, modern cooking ranges, microwaves and convection ovens. Much of our food is prepackaged and instant. We have big flat screen televisions, personal computers, the internet, and smart phones. Most of this was only a fantasy when I was a kid growing up in a log cabin in Alaska!

But wait! There’s much more to come!

Even though we've made many incredible  advances, there is so much more we haven't discovered yet as knowledge increases. The Bible predicted this would happen.

“But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase." (Dan. 12:4 NASB)

We haven't even scratched the surface of what is possible.

New discoveries are happening every day. When God created the world all the raw materials for everything we presently enjoy was already available, but we didn't have the knowledge to use them. And more discoveries are on the way. Soon cars may all be driverless and we will get into driving pods and tell them where we want to go (we already give verbal commands to our GPS devices). Think of all the ramifications of that!

We need to use what God has given us to share the Gospel!

In the so called “old days” of doing business, it took us a long time to get some important information to a group of people. Back then we didn't have instant email, texting, social media or the internet, like we do today. We had to type our message with a typewriter onto a stencil, attach it to a hand-cranked duplicating machine, print the copies onto special paper, hand fold them, insert them into envelopes, lick them shut, address them (by hand or type), attach a first class stamp, and then bundle and take them to the post office. It always took us a day or two to get our monthly newsletter prepared and into the mail! Today, we can get the same information delivered to a selected group of people instantly!

The Gospel message can be sent to a group of people by anyone, even you!

With over 1 billion active Facebook users, the potential is amazing! What to share? Share your personal conversion story, or share how God has blessed you, or answered one of your prayers. Your personal testimony is unique to only you and could be a powerful witness of God’s grace and even change lives. Write it up and send it out to your family and friends. Many of them may share it or  “like” it, and then their friends will be able to see what God has done in your life. It could be powerful!

Here’s an easy way to organize your testimony

1. Share briefly what your life was like before receiving Christ (keep it short and factual).
2. Share how you received Christ (tell how you heard, what words you prayed.)
3. Share briefly what your life has been like since you've received Christ (how He has helped you, changes that have resulted).
4. Share a meaningful verse of Scripture to close with.

And you can depend on God to lead you “triumphantly in Christ to present the knowledge of Him in every place!” (2 Cor. 2:14)

“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." (Gen. 8:22 NIV)

I love Spring!

It's my favorite time of the year! It's when the first flowers like crocuses, daffodils and tulips appear in my yard after a long cold winter. And boy did we have a frozen, snowy winter this year! It's such a relief to see the weather turning warm again. Spring time is also when we get the gardens ready to receive fresh seeds. I have always been amazed at how something so small, like a flower seed, can have such a wonderful miracle trapped inside. When placed in a properly prepared flower bed, fertilized, and watered, beautiful flowers come fourth! Without fail. And so it has been since the day God created the earth. It's a huge promise!

There are three words found in “seedtime and harvest” – seed, time and harvest.

It takes all of them working together to produce any kind of crop.

• Seed: God provides seed for the sower, and He increases it!

“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.” (2 Cor. 9:10 NIV)

• Time: Whenever you plant anything, it involves time in two ways.

First, you must plant the seed at the right time. “The sluggard does not plow after the autumn, So he begs during the harvest and has nothing.” (Prov. 10:5 ESV)

Secondly, you must wait for a period of time for it to grow.

“All by itself the soil produces grain-first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.”

“There is a time for everything … a time to plant…” (Eccles. 3:1-2 NIVa&b)

• Harvest: You reap what you have planted on the day of harvest.

“A man reaps what he sows.” (Gal. 6:7b NIV).

And another huge blessing is that you get more than what you planted!

“Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matt. 13:8 NIV).