Psalm 85.11-12
Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
The Lord will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.
Reflection: The Cultivating Life
By John Tillman
The Lord is seeking a harvest of faithfulness from the earth. When we partner with him and cultivate the soil of our hearts, we ensure that Christ’s power will take root in us and bring forth a harvest of the fruit of the spirit.
We have written before, “cultivation is supernatural,” but the simple actions of cultivating faith are not ethereal or fanciful. They are the practical, steady doings of the farmer.
Water the ground with prayer
Praying is like watering the soil of your heart so that it doesn’t become hard and dusty and so that the things God plants there can grow.
Jesus taught his followers to pray to God as our father. It is easy to forget to converse with God like a trusted friend or a parent. Praying is also listening, so when we pray, listen—the Holy Spirit is trying to tell us something.
The Good Seed of the Bible
The Bible, the Word of God, is the good seed that God plants in us, his fields.
It is a false dichotomy to attempt to set The Holy Spirit (or Jesus) against the Bible as if we could cancel the one with the other. If Satan’s kingdom would fall when divided against itself, how much more Christ’s?
The Bible is the writing of—the very breath of—the Holy Spirit, given to the men and women who wrote the Bible. So, to hear from the Holy Spirit, the most direct method is to pick up a Bible and read.
Nourish the soil and Pollinate through corporate Worship
Many plants growing near one another will share water and nutrients with one another. Other plants, when they detect a closely related plant will put out less extensive roots, so as not to soak up all the resources for themselves.
When we gather to worship we are helping others to experience the fruit of the Spirit and to share our physical and spiritual resources.
The cultivating life is not an out of the box, pre-prepared spiritual solution. But when we keep worshiping God with others and planting the right seeds of what we learn about the Bible, and we keep watering the soil of our hearts with prayer, “faithfulness will spring up from the earth,” and “our land will yield its harvest.”
Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Sing to the Lord and bless his Name; proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations and his wonders among all peoples.
For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; he is more to be feared than all gods. — Psalm 96.2-4
– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.
Today’s Readings
Deuteronomy 3 (Listen – 4:33)
Psalm 85 (Listen – 1:25)
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Read more about Cultivation Is Supernatural
Truly abundant harvests aren’t accomplished by merely planting a seed. Harvest implies cultivation…Cultivation is not natural. It is supernatural.
Read more about For Sustainable Cultivation :: A Guided Prayer
A growing faith that produces a sustainable harvest is one that is cultivated. Faith that produces harvest is supernatural.