I was recently reminded of the Lilly plant that did grow even though it blossomed after Easter.
I recalled hearing someone pessimistically state that they guessed the Lilly would die. We may have days when things just don’t look like all is going to turn out very well. As a matter of fact we know there are times when things don’t turn out the way we want them to.
It does not help to believe bad reports. It isn’t a good thing to let negative thoughts permeate our being.
Some of us have a fighting spirit that says, “I want it to live. I want the plant to survive.” Those are the same kind of words spoken at times when someone is diagnosed with cancer or some other dreaded disease. We hear the bad report about a health issue and our fighting response comes forth. We start saying, “I want my friend to live!”
No wonder Adam was placed in a garden when time began. We can learn much about life by working with plants.
When I work with plants I call on God asking for His help to get those plants growing. One person may place seeds in the ground. Another person may water the plants. God is the one that causes the plant to grow.
You can be a winner. You can thrive. You can bear good fruit, too!
If you want to succeed concerning the things of God it is imperative that you do things God’s way.
The Lord must have me recall the basic things a Christian needs to do in order to serve HIM fully. There are Scriptural things I was taught and these things come to my mind when I write or speak about God.
God wants people to succeed. It keeps coming to my mind that in order to succeed in God’s way one must realize that God’s Kingdom is not of this world.
Look at John the Baptist. He was beheaded for what he believed in. He simply told the truth. He told Herod it wasn’t right for him to have his brother’s wife, Herodias. Herodias was so angry that she looked for an opportune time to get John killed. She was so sick she asked her own daughter to make the request for John’s head. John wasn’t seeking the temporary things this world has to offer or he wouldn’t have risked making that woman angry at him.
I’m guessing that Christian people are not always going to look like winners while they walk on this earth. We already know that some people who call themselves Christians don’t even fear God. Some of the so-called Christians only care about how much money is in their bank account and how much they’ll have when they reach the age of retirement. They must have forgotten that their life may be required of them long before they reach that age. When they see Jesus face to face will it matter how much was in their bank account?
Real Christians don’t just talk about doing the right thing they do the right things. If they’ve made mistakes they do absolutely everything they can to correct those mistakes. I met a man that was a real winner in my book. He became a Christian and later remembered he had stolen something. As a bonafide Christian he made restitution for whatever it was he had stolen. This story is not a new idea. There are people who love God so much they will do everything they can to correct things of their past.
A man that calls himself a Christian asked me to pray with him that God would help him correct things of his past. This man quoted Scripture about how he wanted God to complete the work in him that God had first begun. Now this man was no stranger to me. I had gotten to know him well enough to know some of the things he needed to correct. I prayed with the man but the man showed absolutely no signs that he was going to do the right things to correct past sins against God and man. Maybe someday he really will get serious about doing the right thing. Maybe he will wait until he hears cancer struck him or something like that. What if he doesn’t have time to know before he is going to die? What if he isn’t given a way to make those things right before he passes from this life into the next?
I know we can’t control another person’s life. If we could we’d make everyone do the right thing, wouldn’t we?
Which kind of man do you think is the kind of man that will bear more fruit for the Kingdom of God? Will it be the man that corrected the things of his past getting things right with God in every way he knows how or the man that only says he wants to do the right things?
We will meet winners and be glad we met them. When we read about or hear about the losers we’ll pray for them asking God to help them do the right things before it’s too late. If we want to be winners we will make right choices.
We’ll bear it in mind that being a winner for God’s kingdom is something that starts within us. If we listen to the Holy Spirit of God who lives in us we will obey God’s voice. People that obey God do the best they can to do the right things.
In my opinion a real winner walks with God daily. The winner has peace in his heart because he not only knows his redeemer lives but his heart is pure before God because he has his sons covered by the blood of the Lamb. A man that follows God will not knowingly continue to walk in sin. He will also confess his sins.
They ask this question often: “What Would Jesus Do?” The answer is simple: “Jesus Always Does Good Things.”
Remember you cannot serve two masters. Choose who you will serve. Follow God and be a winner or follow the devil and reap eternal damnation.