Judypie’s Seeds to Success

Planting Seeds of Righteousness

Holy Spirit, help me plant the good seeds of righteousness. I expect to reap a crop of peace and love. I plow up the hard ground of my heart for now is the time to seek the Lord. Test me, O Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth. I am a peacemaker planting seeds of peace and I will reap a harvest of goodness in the name of Jesus. Amen.

I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,
and you will harvest a crop of love.
Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
for now is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come
and shower righteousness upon you.’

Hosea 10:12 [NLT]

Examine me, O LORD, and prove me;
Try my mind and my heart.
For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And I have walked in Your truth.

Psalm 26:2-3 [NKJV]

And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.

James 3:18 [NLT]

All is Well

Jesus is Lord, and everything is all right! Your plan is to prosper me and not to harm me. Your plan is to give me hope and a future. Thank You for listening to me when I call upon You, when I am praying to You. I love You because You first loved me. And I know that in all things, Father-God, You work for my good because I choose to love You. I have been called according to Your purpose. Even in the face of adversity I declare, “All is well.” Amen!

Run to meet her and say, Is it well with you? Well with your husband? Well with the child? And she answered, It is well.

2^nd Kings 4:26 [AMP]

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah 29:11-13 [NIV]

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28 [NIV]

I Run to Win

Father, I thank You for all the pioneers who blazed the way, all the veterans cheering me on. I will never quit! I lay aside every weight and every sin that would hinder me. I fix my eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of my faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. I am running to win. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Amen!

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

Hebrews 12:1–3 [Message]

You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.

1^st Corinthians 9:24-25 [Message]

I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.

Philippians 3:13-14 [AMP]

Success

Lord, the plans of the mind and orderly thinking belong to me, but from You comes the [wise] answer of the tongue. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but You, Lord, weigh the spirits (the thoughts and intents of the heart). I roll my works upon You [commit and trust them wholly to You; You will cause my thoughts to become agreeable to Your will, and] so shall my plans be established and succeed. In the name of Jesus I thank You for directing my paths. Amen!

¹ THE PLANS of the mind and orderly thinking belong to man, but from the Lord comes the [wise] answer of the tongue.

² All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits (the thoughts and intents of the heart).

³ Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.

⁴ The Lord has made everything [to accommodate itself and contribute] to its own end and His own purpose--even the wicked [are fitted for their role] for the day of calamity and evil.

⁵ Everyone proud and arrogant in heart is disgusting, hateful, and exceedingly offensive to the Lord; be assured [I pledge it] they will not go unpunished.

⁶ By mercy and love, truth and fidelity [to God and man--not by sacrificial offerings], iniquity is purged out of the heart, and by the reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord men depart from and avoid evil.

⁷ When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

⁸ Better is a little with righteousness (uprightness in every area and relation and right standing with God) than great revenues with injustice.

⁹ A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.

¹⁰ Divinely directed decisions are on the lips of the king; his mouth should not transgress in judgment.

¹¹ A just balance and scales are the Lord’s; all the weights of the bag are His work [established on His eternal principles].

¹² It is an abomination [to God and men] for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established and made secure by righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation).

¹³ Right and just lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right.

¹⁴ The wrath of a king is as messengers of death, but a wise man will pacify it.

¹⁵ In the light of the king’s countenance is life, and his favor is as a cloud bringing the spring rain.

¹⁶ How much better it is to get skillful and godly Wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.

¹⁷ The highway of the upright turns aside from evil; he who guards his way preserves his life.

¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹⁹ Better it is to be of a humble spirit with the meek and poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.

²⁰ He who deals wisely and heeds [God’s] word and counsel shall find good, and whoever leans on, trusts in, and is confident in the Lord--happy, blessed, and fortunate is he.

²¹ The wise in heart are called prudent, understanding, and knowing, and winsome speech increases learning [in both speaker and listener].

²² Understanding is a wellspring of life to those who have it, but to give instruction to fools is folly.

²³ The mind of the wise instructs his mouth, and adds learning and persuasiveness to his lips.

²⁴ Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body.

²⁵ There is a way that seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but at the end of it is the way of death.

²⁶ The appetite of the laborer works for him, for [the need of] his mouth urges him on.

²⁷ A worthless man devises and digs up mischief, and in his lips there is as a scorching fire.

²⁸ A perverse man sows strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.

²⁹ The exceedingly grasping, covetous, and violent man entices his neighbor, leading him in a way that is not good.

³⁰ He who shuts his eyes to devise perverse things and who compresses his lips [as if in concealment] brings evil to pass.

³¹ The hoary head is a crown of beauty and glory if it is found in the way of righteousness (moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation).

³² He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, he who rules his [own] spirit than he who takes a city.

³³ The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly of the Lord [even the events that seem accidental are really ordered by Him].

Proverbs 16 [AMP]

Conclusion

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord! (Joshua 24:15)

Mission Impossible

“By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.” (Hebrews 11:4 NASU)

Now faith is hearing, believing and obeying God. Knowing God is a just God we must believe that He gave both Cain and Able instructions concerning the sacrifice. Able followed God’s instructions and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Rather than following God’s instructions Cain devised his own plan---he did what he wanted to do and totally failed in his efforts to please God.

“By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.” (Hebrews 11:7 NASU)

Noah was warned of a devastating flood that was to come upon the wicked and then was given instructions to build an ark; Noah heard God, believed Him, and built the ark according to God’s instructions. Thus he “became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith;” he was pleasing to God.

“By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8 NASU).”

Abraham was called and given instructions; he heard, believed and obeyed, thus it was reckoned unto him as righteousness; he was pleasing to God.

Before ascending into heaven Jesus commanded His disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they had been baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). And then He added,

“You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even in the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8 NAS)

The disciples followed His instructions and did as He had commanded. They waited in prayer and one accord; not knowing when the Holy Spirit would come but never doubting that He would.Ten days later, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came anointing all who had been faithfully waiting for Him (Acts 2).

Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit the apostles began to speak with great power and authority. As the people heard the anointed preaching they became convicted of their sins and cried out,

“Brethren; What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37)

With these instructions,

“Peter said to them, Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38 NASU)

Three thousand heard the message, followed the Spirits instructions and by “grace through faith” they were added to the church that day.

Throughout the Book of Acts we read accounts of the Holy Spirit giving instruction to our Lord’s Apostles; they followed these instructions with great success.

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” (Hebrews 1l:6 NASU)

To take a “leap of faith” without instructions from God is to take on a mission impossible. One may meet with some success or even great success in the eyes of men and self but he cannot be pleasing to God.To please God one must receive the gift of faith.

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17 NASU)

The word of God quickens the spiritual ear and causes the soul of man to hear His instructions. When the hearer believes these instructions and acts upon them he has received the gift of faith; thus he is pleasing to God.

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14 NASU)

And there are those who take off on their own without instructions from God (take a “leap of faith); or like Cain, have instruction but do not follow them but do their own thing. These are on a mission impossible.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS’” (Matt. 7:21-23 NASU).

Our heavenly Father tells us to seek Him and He will reward our efforts with instructions for living a life pleasing to Him (Hebrews 11:6).

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 NASU)

James C Sanford