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Wandering in the Wilderness by Faith – Part 2

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On our trek last week, we explored part one of our three-part series on wandering in the wilderness by faith. If you miss any of our Wisdom Notes please visit our blog to read past newsletters.

This week we will focus on living by faith, so that we invest our time with purpose. This is part two.

Living by Faith

How important is faith? In Hebrews 10:37-38 we learn that “…in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay. And my righteous ones will live by faith. But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”

“My righteous ones will live by faith” is both a statement of fact about the basis of a Christian’s life and a command. It is so important that this same phrase is repeated once in the Old Testament and three times in the New (Habakkuk 2:4; Romans [1:17]; Galatians [3:11]). In each case, the context is somewhat different, but its importance to a Christian’s salvation is not lost.

The concept is not difficult to understand. Paul further clarifies it in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we live by believing and not by seeing.” A simple definition of “faith” in Webster’s New World Dictionary is “complete trust, confidence, or reliance.” At the end of the definitions, “belief” is listed as a synonym. “Belief” means “faith, esp. Religious faith; trust or confidence.” The dictionary definitions show that the two words are virtually synonymous. However, in the Bible and in the practical application a very wide difference separates merely believing and living by faith.

The practical application of faith is more than simply acknowledging the reality of God. Living by faith involves qualities that are better expressed by the word “trust.” This kind of faith produces loyalty or faithfulness expressed in the Christian’s life by works of obedience.

Do you think for a moment that the Israelites in the wilderness disbelieved that God existed? A few may have argued that the miracles they had experienced from the arrival of Moses in Egypt until they died in the wilderness were nothing more than natural phenomena. There are always some doubters and scoffers of that sort as is mentioned in 2 Peter 3:3, “Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.”

The vast majority of Israelites could not deny to themselves God’s mighty acts on their behalf. They had heard the voice of God at Mount Sinai, had seen the wind from God part the Red Sea, and had escaped death on Passover while the Egyptian firstborn had died. But when God required a higher level of obedience to follow His cloud across the wilderness and depend on Him to supply their every need, the record shows they did not trust Him. Their loyalty dissolved, and they rebelled! They did not have it within them to live by faith.

Living by faith is an outward manifestation of an inward belief that everyone will see. Romans 13:13 put it this way, “Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see.” And Ephesians 4:1 reads, “Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God.” Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 10:3 reminds, “For we live by believing and not by seeing.”

The Israelites of the Exodus definitely lived according to the flesh, fulfilling the desires of their bodies and minds. Somewhere along the way, they lost the vision of entering the promised homeland. They forgot about settling on their own property and living free under the government and laws of God. Yes, that older generation literally lived in following the pillar of fire and cloud as it moved toward the Promised Land, but their manner of life under the bright fire and cloud corresponded to living in darkness. So, they never made it to Canaan.

The Right Kind of Faith

We can tell whether we have the right kind of faith. Hebrews 11:1 provides a definition, “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” This confidence and assurance are the very bedrock of the Christian faith.

Paul is saying that, for Christians, faith underlies what is seen externally in the conduct of their lives. Underneath a building is its foundation, and in most buildings, the foundation is rarely seen. If it is seen at all, usually only a small portion is visible, but it is there. If no foundation exists, the building soon becomes crooked and warped. In most cases, it will collapse and be completely unusable. We understand that underlying the conduct of a Christian’s life is not merely believing that God is, but a constant and abiding trust in Him.

How much of what you do is really motivated by an implicit trust in God’s Word? This is how we can tell whether we are living by faith. We must be honest in our evaluation, though. We find it very easy to shade the truth through self-deception. We justify disobedience by rationalizing around God’s clear commands or examples, saying that our circumstance is special because . . . (fill in the blank). Remember when we rationalize we are telling ourselves rational lies that we choose to believe as truth.

The great examples of faith that are listed in Hebrews 11 were not perfect people by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, many of them had significant flaws in their lives. But in their cases, faith undergirded how they lived even when the going really got rough.

We like to think of ourselves as rising to the occasion when a time of great crisis arises. We all hope to emulate what the examples of faith did. But as great as they were, Jesus specifies what living real faith is in John 15:13-14, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.You are my friends if you do what I command.” Our obedience to God through loving Him and others is one sign of living by faith.

Matthew 22:37-40 also sums up a life lived by faith, “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Jesus made it very clear that if we are His friends, we will show it in our obedience to His commands. But before we can obey, we must trust Him. If we trust in Christ, he is more than a friend, we are a close family. Matthew 12:50 says, “Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”

Many in the nation of Israel did not trust God by faith and obey Him because they still considered themselves slaves, and not family.

As we finish part two this week, we explored living by faith and having the right kind of faith. Faith is required for all aspects of life even to the smallest of actions like having faith that the chair you sit in will not collapse. We must learn to live by faith, not by sight. We have the entire revelation of God’s Word in the Bible, yet many times we struggle with faith and obedience as well.

On next week’s trek, we will explore choosing to live by faith. Encourage your friends and family to join us each week in our Wisdom Notes, and then come along for our daily podcast.

Wandering in the Wilderness by Faith – Part 1

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On our trek last week we asked “How heavy is your backpack?” I must follow up this week with the question, “Have you taken steps to lighten your load?” This concept will be important during the next three weeks as we explore wandering in the wilderness by faith. If you miss any of our Wisdom Notes, you can go back to prior installments on our blog.

It has taken many years to build a lifestyle business where we can work as we do. We still work hard, which usually includes many hours each week, but being location independent has been a reality for over 10 years now. It allows us to wander from various locations and still be able to complete our work.

As we consider the concept of wandering, we want to ponder what it means to be…

Wandering in the Wilderness by Faith

When I hear the phrase “wandering in the wilderness,” it brings to mind how the nation of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years on their way to the Promised Land. This was due to their lack of faith that God would help them occupy the Promised Land. They could have possessed the land in less than a year from leaving Egypt, but because of their disbelief, the trip stretched out 40 times longer.

We see that the older generation of the Israelites whom God had freed from slavery in Egypt die in the wilderness. The story of their journey through the wilderness shows that they never overcame their slave mentality, the mindset they brought with them from Egypt. They were set free, but in their minds, they were still as shackled as if they had never left. Their thinking—and thus their attitudes and conduct—constantly reverted to the way it had been molded in Egypt.

The nation of Israel witnessed the terrible plagues that were God’s punishment on the Egyptians. They also witnessed awesome miracles that demonstrated God’s mercy upon them. The Red Sea opened up for them. They lived under a cool cloud during the day and a warm pillar of fire at night. They had their daily needs supplied directly by God, and yet the Israelites found the wilderness to be nothing more than a huge cemetery in which they wandered for forty years.

It is not unusual for all humanity, and even Christ-followers, to be slaves to past practices, teachings, and mindsets. We need to be free from our mentality of slavery. Galatians 5:1 tells us, “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”

What the nation of Israel experienced in their period of wandering in the wilderness serves as an example for us as is mentioned in I Corinthians 10:11, “These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age.”

In this spiritual journey, Canaan, the Promised Land, represents the Kingdom of God to us. But those older Israelites never made it there! They fell short of the goal because of a lack of faith that was controlled by their mindset of slavery.

In graphic language, the apostle Paul writes in Hebrew 3:17, “And who made God angry for forty years? Wasn’t it the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness?” To use a modern phrase, they were dropping like flies.

According to some commentaries, the last phrase indicates a scattering of dismembered bodies as if they had been left unburied. These “corpses” were the same people who came out of Egypt with great joy, exulting in their new-found liberty. They yearned for a settled and free life in a land that was their own. But, instead of knowing the joy and plenty of the Promised Land, they chose to sentence themselves to live a life of homeless wandering in a barren land and to die and perhaps be buried in an unmarked grave. They were chosen to be the beneficiaries of God’s great blessings in a rich land, but they instead lived poor and hungry in the wilderness, discontented and often at war because of their sins. Their example ought to be a sobering warning.

As Christ-followers we are promised by Jesus in John 10:10, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” Are you living that rich and satisfying life, or are you still wandering in the wilderness?

Paul puts his finger on the source of their problem of why their heart could not be changed, why they consistently and persistently sinned and rebelled in Hebrews 3:19, “So we see that because of their unbelief they were not able to enter his rest.”

Paul later turns this thought into an admonition for us in Hebrews 4:1-2, “God’s promise of entering his rest still stands, so we ought to tremble with fear that some of you might fail to experience it. For this good news—that God has prepared this rest—has been announced to us just as it was to them. But it did them no good because they didn’t share the faith of those who listened to God.”

Not only did Israel have the witness of numerous demonstrations of God’s presence and power among them to provide a foundation for faith, but they were also given the Word of God by His servants Moses and Aaron. In addition, they had living examples of faith in Moses, Aaron (most of the time), Joshua, Caleb, and others. God supplied these men with gifts by His Spirit as a testimony that should have provided more incentive for the Israelites to believe Him. But Hebrews [3:17] says He was angry with them forty years! If ever a people almost drove God to the point of exasperation, it was Israel in the wilderness.

We must not allow such a powerful lesson to pass by unheeded. Paul tells us in Romans 15:4, “Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.”

The lesson is clear. Those who believe God reveal their faith by obeying Him. Those who do not believe, disobey. Hebrews 3:12 warns, “Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.”

As we finish part one this week, we explored wandering in the wilderness by faith where the young nation of Israel struggled in their faith and obedience, even though God showed them many miracles. Let’s put it in perspective. Are we that different today? We have the entire revelation of God’s Word, in the Bible, yet many times we struggle with faith and obedience as well.

On next week’s trek, we will explore what living by faith means through the right kind of faith. Encourage your friends and family to join us each week in our Wisdom Notes, and then come along for our daily podcast.

How Heavy Is Your Backpack?

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Within our Wisdom Notes, we continue to explore our daily trek called life. The hills that we climb, the twists and turns on the paths that we face, and the steep slopes that we find ourselves on can be challenging and very interesting. If we are not careful as we trek through life, we will allow our backpacks to become full with cares and concerns that weigh us down and cause us issues. So, this week as we start up the trail let me ask you…

How Heavy Is Your Backpack?

Imagine carrying a backpack filled with rocks everywhere you go. Now that would be exhausting! It gives new meaning to the phrase “doing the heavy lifting.” If the weight of that backpack seems like too much to bear, just imagine the impact of the emotional baggage that we carry every day! Think about it…We fear getting fired, we complain about the service we receive, we express disgust over the politics of the nation, we envy the person “next door,” we worry about meeting deadlines, and we discredit our colleague for “stealing” the promotion. Emotional baggage? You bet.

Now ask yourself, “What do we gain by gossiping about a colleague, badmouthing politicians, or ranting about our frustrations on Facebook?” Answer: We get upset, with little to show for our efforts. It’s as though we believe that if we gossip, rant, and rave loud enough and often enough, people will accept our way of thinking. The truth is, besides being a colossal waste of time, nothing really changes — except that we’re not much fun to be around. Who needs that?

Even when we don’t overtly express our negative feelings of worry, prejudice, fear, criticism, guilt, anger, and envy, we play out these “dramas” in our heads like a chess master plotting his next few moves. These negative thoughts race through our minds like a whirlwind, making us more and more anxious each time we revisit them. In fact, some people get so overwhelmed and depressed that they worry themselves into a frenzy, making it tough to concentrate during the day and causing sleep issues at night. Taken to the extreme, emotional baggage can be absolutely debilitating if not controlled.

In days gone by in a labor-intensive society, hard work resulted in tired bones and sore muscles. In the Information Age, our bodies tell us that enough is enough by reacting with stress-related ailments ranging from headaches to backaches to anxiety attacks. And over time, these stresses add up.

The bottom line is that these “emotional tirades” are unproductive, unhealthy, and exhausting. They cause us to lose focus, snap at people we care about, and waste precious time because we’re stuck playing these ridiculous mind games. No wonder we’re exhausted.

Take a Load Off Your Mind

Here are some simple suggestions to reduce your emotional baggage masquerading as worry, prejudice, fear, criticism, guilt, anger, and envy.

Food for thought.

One of the first steps that people take when trying to lose weight is writing down the food they eat each day. It’s surprising to see it in writing and represents an important motivator toward changing eating habits. By listing the negative thoughts that cross our minds each day, we can use the same technique to reduce our emotional baggage.

Keep it positive.

Cautious thinking isn’t always bad. In fact, having some fear and worry keeps you on your toes, forces you to prepare early, and encourages you to anticipate future events by asking yourself, “What if?” That’s positive. On the other hand, when emotional baggage makes you angry, increases your anxiety, or overwhelms you, it’s a negative to avoid.

Is that a fact?

It’s very helpful to determine if the assumptions behind your fears, worries, prejudices, etc., are factual and realistic. When you’re tired, emotional, or stressed, negative thoughts can spiral out of control and ruin your day, even if the premise behind your anxiety is far-fetched. That’s a fact.

The sky is falling!

How often do your fears and worries actually come true? If they rarely come to fruition, why are you getting all worked up? The odds are that you’d have a better chance of getting hit by lightning.

Make it happen.

Many situations involve matters beyond our control. If you can’t affect the outcome, you may as well enjoy your day – because even a Herculean effort won’t make a difference. Therefore, if there’s a problem that’s waking you up at 3 a.m., and you can do something to make it better, even at that hour, DO IT. If not, it’s better to forget about it and get some sleep. Deal with it in the morning. And if it’s truly beyond your control, then all your worry and sleeplessness won’t change the situation. It’s time to put the worry behind you and move on.

Will it even matter?

Some situations appear larger than life, yet in hindsight seem inconsequential. The key is to gauge the issue beforehand. As a simple test, ask yourself whether you’ll remember the problem in a year or two. If not, it may be a trivial issue unworthy of your concern.

Break Free from Your Backpack

It’s unfair to assume that it’s easy to unpack the emotional baggage that we’ve accumulated over a lifetime.

Romans 6:8 tells us, “So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.” With this in mind, it’s vital to take control of our lives. But let’s be realistic.

The anxiety that we create in our minds is often worse than reality. We worry about impressing our friends when the truth is that real friends remain good friends in good times and bad. We worry about being late for a meeting. If we are, it won’t change mankind. We also get angry waiting home all day for a delivery person. And that too shall pass.

The truth is, in most cases, life goes on. You have the power to make yourself happy or miserable during your life journey. There are very few times in life when we hit a wall so hard that we don’t recover from it. So pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move on. The difference is if you take a pledge to be positive, and start lightening your backpack, you’re going to lead a happier, healthier, more fulfilling life. When you change your thoughts, you change your world.

Let me ask you, “How can you lighten your backpack today?” We need to learn to travel light and to leave all the unneeded emotional baggage behind. Next week in our trek, we will explore wandering in the wilderness of faith. So, encourage your friends and family to sign up for our weekly notes and also join us listening to our podcast for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Life Is Like a Seed, Part 3

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Within our Wisdom Note this week, we continue with part three of a three-part series on how life is like a seed. There are so many lessons that we can learn from farming. It is rich in its analogies of life. Growing up on a farm, more specifically an apple orchard, we learned first hand the struggles and hardships of farming. So it is with life at times, but unless we plant good seeds continually, we will never reap a good harvest.

God instructs us to learn spiritual principles from Creation. Have you considered the example of the seed?

The past two weeks on our trek, we used a simile of how life is like a seed. Today we will finish this comparison with part three. There are many parallels from both a physical and spiritual perspective. We have already learned about seeds and the conditions needed for germination. Let’s continue on our trail today as we seek out more information about planting seeds and what is required for growth.

The Work—Planting Seeds That Grow

Ultimately, the seed’s sole purpose is to reproduce its own kind, but there are various levels of harvest. In front of a large crowd, Jesus told the parable of the farmer scattering seed. This story is found in Luke 8. In verse 5 it says, “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field…”

We see there were different growing environments within this field, yielding varying rates of failure and success. Christ explained to his disciples privately the types of soil that were in the field in verses 11-15 where Jesus said, “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.”

We see that the purpose of doing God’s work is to scatter the seeds on whatever soil is around us. We are not responsible for the size of the harvest. God will take care of that.

Through the ages, the way seeds were scattered was through the technology available at that time. Today we have the capability of scattering God’s Word to practically the entire world from wherever God has placed us. The Internet has become a powerful tool in spreading the “seed” of God’s Word, and this is only the beginning! We must not pass up this opportunity.

We can compare this growth to either a fruit or nut-bearing tree. At first, the tree is a sapling with just one stem. But it soon grows more branches—at first two, then four the following year, and even more every year after. Eventually, the tree will become mature enough to bear fruit or nuts but only as much as the branches are able to bear. For instance, the oak tree will usually not produce a significant amount of acorns until approximately its 20th year. But every 20 years afterward, it will more than triple its production of acorns.

Yes, God does start things small, even in the plant kingdom—setting an example for us to learn. Consider how tiny the Church was in the early years of the Apostles. Through the years as technology has improved and the population has increased, we have many more ways to “scatter seeds” to reach the entire world.

Growth by Trial

Just as some seeds need to be exposed to fire, we may endure trials—sometimes even fiery ones—throughout our lives. We can be confident that we will not be destroyed by these trials. We can endure them as I Corinthians 10:13 tells us, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

Also in 1 Peter 4:17 we are told, “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”

When a seed is exposed to fire, extreme heat, or a period of freezing temperatures, a chemical change occurs that triggers the seed to grow.

In the same way, trials trigger us to grow. God uses problems, troubles, and afflictions to strengthen His children—to cause us to learn, change, grow, endure, and overcome.

As stated earlier, some seeds must be exposed to complete darkness for germination to occur. Likewise, we sometimes go through periods of darkness—when life seems bleak and all hope has faded. This has occurred to some of God’s greatest servants, including Job, Joseph, and David.

Once a seed has germinated and developed into a mature plant, it still faces many obstacles. The strongest trees are the ones that face heavy winds when they are young. Any time we face adversity, we need to consider it an opportunity for great joy because it will strengthen us as James tells us in James 1:2-4, “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

As we consider how life is like a seed, we need to realize the purpose of every seed is to reproduce its own kind. Each seed has the potential to grow into a new, fully mature plant. In the same way, God is reproducing His “own kind” through us as is written in Romans 8:29-30, “For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.”

In our Wisdom Note today, we had our third of three lessons on how life is like a seed. So the next time you do a little planting in your garden or see a farmer planting his field, remember the example God has given us in the little seed! Next week, we will consider “How Heavy is Your Backpack?” Encourage your friends and family to sign up for our weekly notes and also join us listening to our podcast for another day of our Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Life Is Like a Seed, Part 2

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Within our Wisdom Note this week, we continue with part two of a three-part series on how life is like a seed. There are so many lessons that we can learn from farming. It is rich in its analogies of life. Growing up on a farm, more specifically an apple orchard, we learned firsthand the struggles and hardships of farming. So it is with life at times, but unless we plant good seeds continually, we will never reap a good harvest.

God instructs us to learn spiritual principles from creation. Have you considered the example of the seed?

This week we will investigate the five basic conditions that all seeds need to germinate and for the plant to grow. Similarly, Christians need these five spiritual conditions to grow. Let’s look at how and why a seed needs each of these conditions and how they spiritually apply to a Christian’s life.

1. Light

Sunlight, which changes in length and intensity throughout the year, is a plant’s signal to start germinating at the right time. It also helps show the plant which way is up and where to send its leaves to receive light so that it can produce its own food.

Notice what Psalm 119:105 states, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” God, in His Word, shows us through daily Bible study which way to go.

Alone, man does not know how to plan his own course as mentioned in Jeremiah 10:23, “I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course.”

As a result, he gropes in the darkness of this world, ignorant of the only way that produces true and lasting peace, happiness, and prosperity. The light of God’s Word reveals the path that leads to the kingdom of God and eternal life.

2. Water

Water is also a vital key in the life of every plant. As mentioned last week, some seeds need to be immersed in water to germinate. All seeds need to absorb and fill up with water, which is the first step in germination. This happens by either a chemical trigger or a change in the seed coat.

When we accept Christ as our substitution or sacrifice for our sins so that we become holy in God’s sight, we are washed clean. A comparison to how husbands are to love their wives is how Christ loved the church which is described in Ephesians 5:25-27, “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.”

A parallel can also be considered with baptism and the story of the Samaritan woman at the well when Christ told her in John 4:13-14, “Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.'”

3. Soil

The soil will determine the health and strength of a plant. The better the soil, the healthier and stronger the plant. The soil should not be too sandy or too hard, and it must supply the right nutrients for the plant to grow strong.

Soil nutrients provide the proper building blocks for a plant to build its cells. For example, it must have a good source of calcium to have strong stems and branches. Soil also needs magnesium to make its leaves green, which enables it to harness the power of the sun.

Jesus told the parable of building a good foundation in Luke 6:48-49, “It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

Although this passage is referring to building on a solid foundation, our “soil”—our spiritual foundation—must contain the right “nutrients.” Christians must build their Spirit-led lives upon the doctrines and traditions of God’s true apostles and prophets, whom He has used to instruct and lead His people.

Ephesians 2:19-20 explains it in this manner, “So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.” Also in John 13:34-35 Jesus tells us, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

4. Time

Time is crucial in the germination process. As in life and business, it is usually better to get things done sooner rather than later—yet, some things cannot be hurried because they need to be done right.

In our Christian lives, we need to remember that it takes time to grow, change, and overcome. This means that we should strive to be patient with our spiritual development. James 5:7 uses this analogy, “Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen.”

5. Temperature

In addition, the temperature is important in the germination process. If a seed is in an environment lacking the right temperature, its chance of success is severely limited, even if all the other elements are present.

Many Christians today have a “temperature” problem. In Revelation 3:15-16, Christ warns His people, “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!” None of us can afford to let our zeal for brotherly love and doctrinal truth wane. Therefore, we must be diligent to have and maintain the right temperature to survive this lukewarm age!

In our Wisdom Note this week, we had our second of three lessons on how life is like a seed, we considered the example of the seed, what the seed is made of, and that to produce fruit the seed must die to itself. Next week we will explore planting seeds that grow. Encourage your friends and family to join us each day to listen to our Podcast: Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.