Feast of the Harvest--the first fruits of thy labor

 “And  it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts2 :21)

This is Peter speaking to the people on the day of Pentecost. Curious, I looked up Pentecost to see what its meaning might be. It means fifty. The Feast of Pentecost happens fifty days after Passover according to Jewish law. It is also called the “Feast of the Harvest – the first fruits of thy labor.”  1 Corinthians 15:23) tells us that Christ became the first fruits of them that slept. That being so, Christ having completed his work here sent “another comforter… even the Spirit of truth” John (14: 13 -15) on the day of the Feast of the Harvest and the apostles and Disciples of Christ in that day became the first fruits of the Spirit.   

Some of us who are converts are the first fruits of our families in the Lord. I think of my dear grandmother who read her scriptures daily and lived by the percepts taught there.  Her example and love of our Lord Jesus Christ influenced my life to receive Christ. I see her influence in other members of the family and in their children and grandchildren.  We can all be examples to others through that Spirit of truth received on the day of Pentecost thousands of years later.

Enter with thanksgiving

“Know ye that the Lord he is God. It is he that hath made us and not we ourselves; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise. Be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good. His mercy is everlasting, and his truth endureth to all generations.”  (Psalms 100:3-5)

Nothing wavering

“If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.” (James 1:5-6)

Who among us does not lack wisdom in some area? Of course, you know that when the scriptures say men it means mankind. I make no apologies for the lack of gender sensitivity. Asking “in faith nothing wavering” does not mean that you could perform feats of magic if you had faith and did not allow it to waver. It means instead that you use faith when asking the Holy Spirit that a thing is right. If the Spirit wavers, then this is not something that is approved of and even if you succeed in making it happen it was not by the Spirit. If instead by the Spirit, you know a thing is right, then nothing can stop it from happening if you have faith.

The Prison of Your Mind

“If I had the wings of an angel over these prison walls I would fly.” These are the words to a song my father used to sing to me as he played his guitar. Those words came back to me recently as I was developing a character, the antagonist, in one of my stories. I thought about how some people may be imprisoned within stone walls and yet their spirits cannot be restrained. Others are free to come and go at will, but their minds and spirits are bound as securely as if shackled to walls of cement surrounded by iron bars and barbed wire.

My personal opinion is there are no bad people. There are only people who are trapped in a prison either of their own making, or because of abuse or some genetic weakness.

Fear, I believe, is the strongest prison in the world and is reinforced by anger and hate. Addictions, of many kinds, pave the way to strengthen the chains through abuse and neglect. Minds so damaged often take years, even a lifetime, to free themselves, and many never do.

I believe that the strongest antidote for recovery includes forgiveness of self and others, and a belief in God or a higher power. Generous applications of understanding, knowledge of worth, and the ability to let the past go and move on, are necessary to make these strong medicines effective. 

Fear does not come from God. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7) With him there is peace, and love.

Endure

“Behold, we count them happy which endure.”  (James 5:11)

What kind of habitation would the Lord be happy in?

“Then sang Moses and the children of Israel…The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation, he is my salvation. He is my God and I will prepare him an habitation.” (Exodus 15: 1-2)

What kind of habitation would the Lord be happy in? Definitely the Temples, but what about our homes? Sometimes it is difficult to remember to pray and read the scriptures and meditate, bless the food and all those other routine things some take for granite. There may be some that have it all down pat and allow no discouraging words or evil past their front door but for most of us it is a daily struggle. I mean how can we close our door to the family member who has slipped and fallen and still believe what we believe? It is especially difficult in this election year as we strive to be good citizens and make the right choice.

We need not fear neither man, nor demon

A long time ago when I was a child, maybe ten or twelve, my best friend and companion in mischief died of Scarlet Fever. This was my first real experience with death. It seemed unreal to me that someone I cared about so much, someone so young would stop living. I refused to accept it. The day of the funeral came. Everyone was dressed to go except for me. When Dad inquired why I wasn’t dressed, I finally confessed that I thought that if I pretended my friend had not died all would be well.

Dad sat down next to me and among other things he explained to me that we all die. Young or old we must all die. From the moment we are born and begin to breath we begin to die. We should not fear death, he explained. If we live our lives well, in honesty and truth we will return to heaven from where we came. If we have done the best we can, death can be a good thing.

That was a long time ago and I don’t remember his exact words, but they made an impression on me. As Paul explains, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)

 

While in this mortal body things happen that are good, bad, painful, unfair, horrible, wonderful and glorious. There is a purpose for our being here and for each of us that purpose is different. The scriptures tell us that we each have different gifts that we may bring to pass the purpose of God. The point I want to make here is that there is a purpose to our lives and at some point we will return to give accounting for what we have done in this body we were given.

We need not fear neither man, nor demon if we walk in faith, believing then knowing that God lives.  If we know this then God knows us and will welcome us home when our work here is done – “For we walk by faith not by sight.”  (2 Corinthians 5:7)