Genesis 22:16-18
“and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son — blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.””
INSIGHT
-Seed in Hebrew is written as zera & it means an offspring or descendant.
-God in His tripartite nature made a covenant with Abraham given that; an oath should be administered by two or more parties. The covenant had silent conditions which were revealed after Abraham obeyed Gods’ word. Abraham demonstrated the highest form of self denial & resignation to the will God when he was instructed to sacrifice his only son Isaac. We know that faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1). His faith in God bore fruit as he became a father of many nations, his descendants possess the gates of the enemies through Christ & finally those who are in Christ shall inherit the promised land. This covenant was sealed when God gave us His only Son Jesus; making us His offspring; that whoever has faith in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. We are therefore the children of the promise through faith as we partake of Christ through His word & believe that all things are possible with Him. We are also called to sacrifice our time, efforts, finances & ideas to those who need us most; in our homes, families, work places, churches & societies in the quest to bear each one in the love of Christ. Just as Abraham obeyed Gods’ will, may we also remember to follow the will of God in our thoughts, words, actions, dealings, interactions & reflect Christ for we are His children according to the promise.
PRAYER
We thank You Jehovah our Father for giving us this opportunity to see another day in perfect health. We know that many did not make it today, have mercy on their loved ones & satisfy their hearts with total peace. Be with our children Lord, bless them & keep them in perfect health especially during this holiday season & as they prepare to go back to school. Mould our hearts Father & help us to always believe in You & be obedient to Your word. We are Your seed Jesus, help us to bear much fruit in Your love & to overcome every difficulty that come our way. You are not a man that You should lie or a son of man that You should repent Lord, may Your promises come to pass in our lives & in the lives of our descendants for the glory of Your name. Amen
Numbers 11:7-8
“Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. The people went about and gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans, and made cakes of it; and its taste was like the taste of pastry prepared with oil.”
INSIGHT
-God provided manner in form of a seed which required further processing so that the Israelites may cook & eat. This also happens to us some times when we pray & God provides for our requests. Some answers may require further processing as God directs us; so that we get the best out of them. Part of these are our skills & gifts which need to be developed for excellence in a particular field & gain success. Others ask for spouses & are given marriage partners who over time become compatible & their weaknesses are converted to strengths as they become one in Christ. Our work also requires patience as we learn & increase in wisdom; & later multiply our revenues. Same applies to salvation where Apostle Paul tells us to work out our own salvation with fear & trembling (Phil 2:12). Salvation is a step by step process where God refines us slowly by slowly like purification of silver through His word so that we may always reflect His image.
PRAYER
We thank You Father & glorify Your holy name for this far You have brought us. We thank You for all You have provided for us that we have not lacked any good thing. We humbly ask You to hear the cry of those who have been displaced by floods, war, disease outbreak, drought & others challenges; & settle them in more secure locations, according to Your mercy Father. Remember Lord the widows, orphans, fatherless, poor, the unmarried, divorced, childless, jobless & all of us in our challenges; that You answer all our prayers. Direct us Father so that we may know & develop our talents, improve in our work, marriages, relationships & salvation, so that Your love may always take precedence in our lives. Receive all the glory, honor & power, Lord now & forever. Amen
2 Corinthians 9:10-11
“Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.”
INSIGHT
-Apostle Paul applauds the Corinthians for their generosity & boasts to the Macedonias about their giving. He encourages them to continue sowing seed by giving & prays for them to bear more fruits. He places a caution though; that giving should be voluntary as one purposes in their hearts, not because of necessity or grudgingly for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7). A sower sows seeds by faith hoping for a bounty harvest in the future. Abraham sowed seeds of faith in his life time & received the fruit of righteousness for many nations through Christ (Rom 4:22-25). Faith in God therefore helps us to bear much fruit which is pleasing to Him & an account of righteousness, for He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11:6). Through faith in God therefore, we receive fruits when we sow & obtain freedom in Christ Jesus.
PRAYER
Oh God Almighty Father; full of majesty & love, we adore You & glorify Your holy name. We humbly ask You to increase our faith in You Father; in our daily lives as we sow seeds with love that we may bear much fruit for our benefit & all those who depend on us, not for self exultation but for the glory of Your name. Help us Father to give more, to rely more on Your grace, to value humility more & to seek You first in all things. Search our hearts Lord & increase the fruit of righteousness in us; that we may be enriched in all things by Your grace & remain in liberty forevermore. Amen
Luke 8:5-8
““A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!””
INSIGHT
-Jesus taught the parable of sower where the seed represents the word of God. The seeds that fell by the wayside are those who hear the word but the evil one comes & steals that which has been sown into their hearts, lest they believe & get saved. The ones that fell on the rock are those who hear the word & receive it with joy but have no root. They thus believe for a short time & when temptation comes they fall. The ones that fell among thorns are those who hear the word & when they go out are choked by cares, riches & pleasures of life thus make it unfruitful. Lastly, the ones that fell on the good ground are those who hear the word with a noble & good heart, keep it & bear fruit with patience; some a hundredfold, some sixty & others thirty fold. May we continue asking God to enrich our hearts with good soil that retains His word so that we can bear much fruit.
PRAYER
Lord our Father full of mercy & love, have mercy on us & on the whole world. Our hearts are weak & vulnerable, help us Father & increase our faith so that when we are faced by temptations, cares, tribulations, anxiety & difficulties, we may remain rooted in Your word Lord. Cleanse our hearts from all evil Father & enrich the the soil of our hearts that when we hear Your word; we may retain it & bear much fruit according to Your loving kindness. We thank You for this far that You have brought, it is not by our power or might but by Your Spirit Lord. We thank You & praise You. Amen
Galatians 3:16
“Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.”
INSIGHT
-The Seed that was promised in the Abrahamic covenant was Christ who died for our sins so that we may remain victorious through Him in everything & have life everlasting. We know that a seed has to die before it grows into a plant that yields fruit. Further, before the seed/ word of God germinates; it has to find habitable ground which is our hearts to start producing. The Seed is Christ Who when planted into our hearts; we become productive in all things & bear good fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility & self-control; by the help of the Holy Spirit.
SUMMARY
-Seed in Hebrew is written as zera & it means an offspring or descendant.
-God in His tripartite nature swore an oath to bless Abraham & his descendants. Abraham demonstrated the highest form of self denial & resignation to the will God when he was instructed to sacrifice his only son Isaac. His faith in God bore fruit as he became a father of many nations, his descendants possess the gates of the enemies through Christ & those who believe in Him will inherit the promised land (Gen 22:16-18). This covenant was sealed when God gave us His only Son Jesus; making us His offspring; that through faith we may inherit life everlasting. God also provided manna in form of a seed which looked like coriander seed with the colour of bdellium to the Israelites in the wilderness. The people gathered it, ground it on millstones or beat it in the mortar, cooked it in pans & made cakes that tasted like pastry prepared with oil (Num 11:7-8 ). In the same way manna had to go through further processing, some of our answered prayers have to be worked on as God directs us; so that we can get the best out of them. Some of these include:- growing our gifts & talents, overcoming bad experiences & enjoy good ones in our work as we expand in revenue & ideas, going through ups & downs in relationships & becoming one in Christ during matrimony, overcoming tribulations & living in grace through salvation etc. Apostle Paul tells us to work out our own salvation with fear & trembling (Phil 2:12). Salvation is a step by step process where God refines us gradually like purification of silver through His word so that by believing in Him; we may reflect His image. When we believe in Him & His word that He is our provider; we give freely & receive freely according to His will. Apostle Paul also applauds the Corinthians for their generosity & boasts to the Macedonias about their giving. He encourages them to continue sowing seed by giving & prays for them to bear more fruit. He places a caution though; that giving should be voluntary as one purposes in his/her hearts, not because of necessity or grudgingly for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7). We sow seeds by faith hoping for a bounty harvest in the future. Jesus tells us to follow His will as He prepares our hearts to receive His word; in the parable of the sower. Seeds that fall by the wayside represent those who hear the word but the evil one comes & steals that which has been sown into their hearts, lest they believe & get saved. Others fall on the rock representing those who hear the word & receive it with joy but have no roots for they believe for a short time & when temptations come they fall. Others fall among thorns represent those who hear the word & when they go out; are choked by cares, riches & pleasures of life thus become unfruitful. Lastly, the ones that fall on the good ground represent those who hear the word with a noble & good heart, keep it & bear fruit with patience; some a hundredfold, some sixty & others thirty fold. Christ is our Seed, our bread of life. Let us continue to partake of Him that we may have life in abundance now & forever. Amen
PRAYER
We welcome You Holy trinity one God into our hearts to dwell in us. We need You Lord more than anything else & our desire is for You alone. We put all our trust in You Father, strengthen us in faith; that we may always believe in Your word & bear much fruit according to Your will. There are many who do not know You Lord; have mercy on them & make them Your heirs so that they may inherit Your kingdom by Your loving kindness. You are the First & the Last, our only God, direct us in all things. All glory & praise belong to You Father. Amen