HARVESTING THE SURE BLESSINGS OF GOD

Then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled… then the Lord will drive out all these nations from before you, and you will dispossess greater and mightier nations than yourselves. Every place on which the sole of your foot treads shall be yours: …. No man shall be able to stand against you; the Lord your God will put the dread of you and the fear of you upon all the land where you tread, just as He has said to you. Deuteronomy 11:14-15, 23-24

The bane of the human race is its reluctance to live according to the instructions of the One that created it. We tend to rely exclusively today on the technology we have built, the societal structures we have designed and have left no place for God, our creator who has given us the power to do these things. We have become like a wild tree that have grown so many branches and some of the branches now feel they can live independently of the stem or the root that nourishes them.  The temptation to feel content with what we perceive has “worked” for others is great and many times we tend to apply such to our situations not minding whether it goes against God’s instructions to us or not. The Lord says “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.” (Deuteronomy 11:26-28)

God has promised through Moses in Deuteronomy 11:13-15 and 22-24 that if we earnestly obey His commandments, to love the Lord our God and serve Him with all our heart and with all our soul, His sure blessings will go with us: He will create the right environment for our pursuits to flourish; He will give us the ability to compete with mighty nations and businesses and we shall dispossess them of their lead. Everywhere we tread shall be ours and no one shall be able to stand against us.  Despite our failings, God has continued to bless us because He is merciful and seeks our repentance that we may live in abundance of His blessings rather than the curses that can follow our disobedience (Isaiah 30:18, 2 Peter 2:9). He is also a God of justice and Hebrews 10: 30c-31 says “The Lord will judge His people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

A harvest thanksgiving is an occasion or season where we reflect on God’s mercies, favours and blessings upon our lives and appreciate Him for what He has done. Psalm 37:4 says “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.”  Today, we are focusing on the children and young persons, appreciating God, with our substances, for giving us these young ones or His sure blessings of our own children as we wait upon Him. But we need to reflect on our responsibilities in growing them to be Godly children that would delight our creator. God said through Moses in Deuteronomy 11: 18-21

”Therefore you shall lay up these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.” We need to commit  ourselves to studying the word of God and carrying all our family along  that we may be guided in our daily living by His mighty hands.

We congratulate our children and the young persons of this church on this their  special day.  As you delight in the Lord today you need to reflect on your life and ask how you are showing appreciation for God’s love for you. The Scriptures say in Ecclesiastics 12:1 “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them”.

Where do you place God in your scheme of things? Do you honour your father and your mother (Exodus 20:12). Samuel was taken to the temple at about age 2 and it is believed God spoke to him at age 12 or 13. Are you thinking you are too young to serve God? David and Jeremiah are some of the young persons that were used by God at their ages as they made themselves available. Be available today and God will make use of you in His service.

Have a joyful celebration as you steady your heart to please God always.

Your brother, Vicar & Archdeacon

S. Igein Isemede