DAILY ENCOURAGEMENT WEDNESDAY - TRANSFORMERS. Part 3.

Every problem is an opportunity to prove God's power. Every day we encounter countless golden opportunities, brilliantly disguised as insurmountable problems. - C. Swindoll.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. - Phil 1:6.

The hills ahead look steep and high,
And often we behold them with a sigh;
But as we near them level grows the road,
We find on every slope, with every load,
The climb is not so steep, the top so far.
The hills ahead look harder than they are.
- Douglas Malloch.

We realise that we are going through a period of change we call life, that is preparing us for our role in eternity with Him. Now, we are going to find out how this is happening to us, and it will explain the "whys" of many things we go through. There are four elements involved in our transformation; THE NEED, THE SEED, THE WEED and THE APPEAL. This week we will look at each element separately, yesterday we looked at THE SEED, and today we continue with…

THE WEED
Weeds can kill a garden! There are spiritual weeds that can prevent God's nature from being fruitful in our lives if we allow it… So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. - Mat 13:26. The devil will try and destroy our growth in God, and he will have seedlings of sin for every seedling of grace. The minute we start to do in God’s nature, the enemy will try and prevent this!

An old farmer frequently described his Christian experience by saying, "Well, I'm not making much progress, but I'm established!" One spring when he was hauling some logs, his wagon wheels sank down to the axles in mud. Try as he would, he couldn't get the wagon out. Defeated, he sat atop the logs, viewing the dismal situation. Soon a neighbor who had always felt uncomfortable with the farmer's worn out testimony came along and greeted him, "Well, brother Jones, I see you're not making much progress, but you must be content because you're well-established! - Source unknown.

The weeds that can kill God’s nature in us are:

THORNS - Cares of this world… As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. - Mat 13:22. The thorns flourish and the character sickens and dies, choked to death for lack of spiritual food, air, and sunshine.

“Lust for money and care go together and between them spoil many an earnest religious nature” – F. F. Bruce.

NEGLECT - To be more concerned about "other" things, than the things that matter most, which is Godly things… "But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. - Luke 11:42. Let’s keep our eyes firmly fixed on Jesus the author and finisher of our faith!

EXCUSES - To try to "reason" away why we haven't weeded our gardens. This can kill our spirit very quickly , such excuses are spouse, career, children, Church business etc. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. - John 15:22. Let’s not make any more excuses, let’s become the solution instead of the problem!

If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. - Abraham Maslow.

LAZINESS - One of the greatest killers of the church today… For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, - 2Thess 3:7. Laziness has no part in God’s plans for us; we need to be imitators of God, hard-working and particular about His work! The servants of God must be obedient to the commands of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. If we are lazy in any way, the enemy and a disobedient heart will find us something to do, if we are not employed in doing good, we will be doing evil!

For an extraordinary pitcher he performed few extraordinary feats. Though a veteran of 21 seasons, in only one did he win more than 20 games. He never pitched a no-hitter and only once did he lead the league in any category (2.21 ERA, 1980). Yet on June 21, 1986, Don Sutton rubbed pitching elbows with the true legends of baseball by becoming the 13th pitcher to win 300 Games.

His analysis of his success is worth noting. "A grinder and a mechanic" is what he calls himself. "I never considered myself flamboyant or exceptional. But all my life I've found a way to get the job done." And get it done he did. Through two decades, six presidential terms, and four trades, he consistently did what pitchers are supposed to do: win games. With tunnel vision devotion, he spent 21 seasons redefining greatness. He has been called the "family sedan" of baseball's men on the mound. - Source Unknown.

Let us tend to our gardens with diligence, and keeping the weeds from choking the plants!

Loving Father, I ask by the power of the Holy Spirit, that you would change me. Transform me into the character of your dear son Jesus, that I may be more like Him, in His wonderful name I pray! Amen!

GBYAY