Showers of Blessings
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· 21 viewsRegular Bible reading and study always result in blessings. Neglect of it brings serious consequences.
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Last Sunday, we sang the song “Dios manda lluvia”. One of the stanzas says, “Manda la lluvia, el rocío de tu amor, visita hoy mi vida, cámbiame Señor”.
That reminded me of a recent comment made on the news about worries of another drought in the state. It has not rained enough this winter yet!
On the agricultural society such as Israel at that time, one of the ways God showed His discontent with the rebelliousness of the people was withholding the rain.
Judah was suffering the consequences of a drought. The cisterns were empty, the fields were dry and cracked, there was no harvest, the animals were dying; and the people in danger of dying too. That might be the condition of many Christian living in spiritual drought, who have not received rain for long time.
Metaphorically, the rain can be compared to God’s Word in our life.
Drought is due to prolonged lack of rain.
Drought is due to prolonged lack of rain.
“the gound is cracked, for there has been no rain on the land” 4
Willful abstention of the Word dries up your soul.
Willful abstention of the Word dries up your soul.
“the cisterns [have no water]. They have returned with their vessels empty” 3
Very little rain in five years brought a state of drought to California. The lakes were drying, farmers were suffering, and water was rationed for the residents.
Willful abstention of the Word dries up your soul.
Willful abstention of the Word dries up your soul.
When we do not have regular intake of the Word, our soul becomes dry. We lose our joy, we lose interest in the spiritual, our behavior changes; and others can easily notice it.
Our spirit weakens and die of thirst; thirst of the living water, the water of life, the water that satisfies the soul, the Word of God.
but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”
Abstention of the Word is disobedience.
Abstention of the Word is disobedience.
Abstention of the Word is disobedience.
Abstention of the Word is disobedience.
“they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check.” 10
Abstention of the Word is disobedience.+-
Abstention of the Word is disobedience.+-
Drinking of the Word is not optional! It is a commandment given by God:
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;
Every commandment given by God is for our benefit and welfare. Drinking from the heavens’ rain is not an exemption.
“This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
How come we are willing and make the time to read the newspaper or watch the news on TV, but not to set time aside to read the Scriptures?
Too much rain after a drought could be harmful.
Too much rain after a drought could be harmful.
The soul cannot receive too much at a time.
The soul cannot receive too much at a time.
Without rain, the first effect is on vegetation: plants wither and dry. When vegetation is dry, the land is prone to fires. Just like it happened last year. California had the worse fire in its history.
When the rain came, in January, the soil, without live vegetation, could not hold too much water. That resulted in mudslides!
When the soul has been away from the Bible for long time, it is not ready to receive a lot of Bible at a time. It will not hold it! It needs to be watered little by little.
As Moses expresses so well:
that He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early and late rain, that you may gather in your grain and your new wine and your oil.
De
“Give ear, O heavens, and let me speak; And let the earth hear the words of my mouth. “Let my teaching drop as the rain, My speech distill as the dew, As the droplets on the fresh grass And as the showers on the herb.
What is better? What would you prefer? Two or three heavy storms every year or dew or droplets every day? It is better to be fed a few verses every day than several books twice a year.
It may harm those around you.
It may harm those around you.
The starving soul that receives a lot of rain may become like a mudslide in his zealous without control and destroy instead of building up others.
One hundred homes were completely destroyed and three hundred damaged in the Montecito’s mudslides. Twenty people were killed. All due to too much rain for a dry and dead terrain.
After you have not read the Bible for long time, do not think that read all in a week will replace what you missed for a year.
Frequent and measured rain brings life.
Frequent and measured rain brings life.
“The wild donkeys stand on bare heights; they pant for air like jackals, their eyes fail for there is no vegetation.” 6
Even a little bit would keep them alive!
The Word is the tool to changes your life.
The Word is the tool to changes your life.
The Word is the scalpel that God, the expert soul-surgeon, uses to remove the malign tumors of your soul.
Daily exposition to the healing light, the Word, reveal and purifies the soul. It is like a spiritual laser that cuts and heal,
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Heb 4:12
It is like the hyssop that purifies and cleanses our soul, like David cried out in his prayer:
Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Going to the Scriptures is better than going to a counselor or therapist. It is like going to the doctor that really knows your soul.
The Word brings success to your life.
The Word brings success to your life.
What was the promise given to Joshua if the Law was a daily part of his life? Success!
That promise is also confirmed thru the psalmist:
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.
Psa 1:1-
Success in life is not necessarily wealth or possessions, but living in peace with God and neighbor; experiencing the peace that surpasses all understanding, enjoying God’s blessing, and living in communion with Him.
Success in life is giving your best to God and life. It is being able to enjoy life having little or much; doing your best to accomplish your mission in this side of life.
How is your intake of the Scriptures? Do you read it daily? Weekly? Once in a while?
Bible reading is never in vain. It is for your blessing!
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
Isa
Why don’t you make it a priority? Why other things become more important to you than listening God’s voice thru the Scriptures?
Why don’t you make it a priority? Why other things become more important to than listening God’s voice thru the Scriptures?
Make a plan to read it completely every year. It takes only 85 verses a day! If that’s too much, read it completely in two years, It will take you only 43 verses a day! But do it! Do not procrastinate! It will be the best invested time of your life. The profits will be amazing.