Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12

In 2010, God is calling us to remove obstacles. He wants to rain down righteousness, but in order to receive it we must break up any hard ground in our hearts. The ground becomes hard when it’s trampled. In the same way, life can make our hearts harden so that fresh rain runs off instead of entering the soil of the heart. A tender heart is absorbent.

Water is essential to life. In Genesis, the Philistines filled Isaac’s wells with dirt, which stopped them up and blocked the flow of life-giving water. Isaac had to work at re-digging the wells until he finally reached a place where water flowed and he could live in peace.

He went on from there and dug yet another well. But there was no fighting over this one so he named it Rehoboth (Wide-Open Spaces), saying, “Now God has given us plenty of space to spread out in the land.” Genesis 26:22 The Message*

Just as Isaac literally dug wells to restart the flow of life-giving water, God is asking us to break up the fallow ground in our hearts to clear the way for His flow of life. Analyze the places where the enemy has thrown dirt down your wells and cultivate your heart with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23). Bitterness, hurt, and the flesh can clog up your heart. Be careful what you watch and listen to, and bridle your tongue. There is so much at stake!

The world doesn’t need your limited human resourcefulness; it needs living water flowing out of you. You are designed by God to be a dispenser of wisdom, an answer to someone’s problem, help for the hurting, and a carrier of the presence of God. Believers are designed to be conduits of God’s love and care. Jesus said, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:38). Clear out the obstacles and let rivers of living water flow through you!

Press On!
Pastor Jeff

Copyright © 2010 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. *Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Sow with a view to righteousness, reap in accordance with kindness; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you. Hosea 10:12

Preparation precedes opportunity (Matthew 3:3). God is telling us to get our hearts ready for what is up ahead. We need to remove every obstacle in our path in preparation for a greater level of spiritual growth.

So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way . . . in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth. Ephesians 4:17-24

Ask God to help you identify anything that is dulling your spiritual appetite, and then humble your heart and ask Him to help you remove it. “And it will be said, ‘Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstacle out of the way of My people’” (Isaiah 57:14). Step up and prepare for what God has called you to do. This generation needs a touch from God and we must be ready to step through the door and reach a hurting world.

Get Ready!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Mark 4:18-19

We live in a fractured world, and our enemy, Satan, is strategizing to take us out. We must be careful not to let the worries of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things hinder us from moving forward in effectiveness.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 1 Peter 5:6-10

Jesus became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). He allowed humanity to put the crown of thorns on His head and nail Him to the Cross so the blessing of God could come into our lives (1 Peter 2:23-25). So choose to flat out trust God with the choices you have to make. If things are freaking you out, take them to the Lord. Cast down imaginations, take thoughts captive, speak God’s Word over your situation and refuse to back down, despite whatever kind of ridiculous battles, losses, or difficulties you’re experiencing. Life is full of thorns, but if we deal with those thorns properly, by casting all our cares and worries on Jesus because He cares for us, we will see the victory.

God has a good plan for your life!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength and . . . you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31

God has called us to be activated doers and out-of-the-box thinkers. It’s easy to become so bogged down and preoccupied with our own little set of problems that we don’t even see we carry a life-saving message. By obeying the Scriptures to “honor God and help people®,” we can strip away the distractions of life and get down to the bottom line:

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8

Jesus redeems us and then invites us into the ministry of reconciliation, sending us out into the world to find people who have broken lives. The world can’t relate to pious self-righteousness, but it can relate to love and kindness that emanate out of our love for God.

We serve a big God, and He wants us to pursue big visions — to get out of the four walls of the church and be the wide-awake world-changers He’s called us to be (Mark 16:15). “Then they [the people Jesus redeems] will rebuild the ancient ruins, they will raise up the former devastations; and they will repair the ruined cities, the desolations of many generations” (Isaiah 61:4).

Think Big!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him [Jesus]. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:17-18

God placed this anointing on Jesus but He has also given this job description to the church. God has activated us to be world-changers. You are anointed to carry hope into dire situations, to speak a word in season, and to address the suffering around you.

As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him. 1 John 2:27

God’s Spirit comes into our lives and changes us: “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things” (1 John 2:20 NKJV). The Holy Spirit is here to empower us, to give guidance so that we are not left in the dark. Situations that are out of the range of human knowledge are not out of God’s range of understanding, and He has given us His anointing to address impossible-looking problems and see them turn around.

As realistically as our bodies need certain foods to add bone density, we need to press past stagnation and pursue spiritual effectiveness so that we can hit the target of those things we are called to fulfill. I hope this motivates you to crack open and read your Bible or put it on your iPod. You are called to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14). With the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, take up your job description and see God use you in amazing ways!

We’re anointed!

Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.