On Being Well-Seasoned

(Photo: Justin Meckes @ unsplash.com)

Some timely words from the journal…

If you are an old-fashioned New Englander, this truck is a great image for this time of year. Whether it is firewood or harvested fruits and vegetables, fall is for “putting up” — for storing up fuel and nourishment for cold weather months when it will be greatly needed and appreciated. And when it comes to canning, “putting up” is done in such an intentional way as to “kill off organisms that would create spoilage.”…

“My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you.”—Proverbs 7:1, NIV

…This truck is a good reminder that every day, and every time within a day, that  I pick up the Word that I don’t just try to read it like a novel. It's unlike any other book ever written, and so it is vital to ask the Holy Spirit to “open my eyes that I may see wonderful truths in Your Law.” (Psalm 119:18)… to help not just to read good words but to harvest some Truth that God is speaking to me at that moment — and He will if I will just ask. And then, storing it all up inside for fuel when I will need it most, and to help “kill off” the lies of the adversary that are whispered in my ears.

Yup, nice truck. But "putting up” isn’t just for autumn—it’s for every season of life.

Therefore, be well-seasoned, because...

The atmosphere may be thick right now with hateful words, anger and division

But there’s a light for that:

So speak Life.

Speak encouragement to someone along your path today.

Speak value into someone’s humanity.

You don’t have to be great with words or with speaking.

Some of the quietest people you know seem to be best at speaking “the right word at the right time.”

God has appointed each of us for such a message, for such a time as this.

And today is always a good time for that kind of good word, 

And good Word.

To maybe hear, “thanks, that’s just what I needed.”

A simple word, even one stored up from the Word, that may be the one to break discouragement, depression, fear, or hopelessness.

And who knows what larger door for conversation of Light may open after that?

And to remember...

That though all seems bleak, Hope has a Name, and He is still at work!

And He still reigns, no matter what the headlines try to say,

And He is coming again soon to take us Home—maybe sooner than ever.

So, therefore, be ready and watchful ... 

“…let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out His anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when He returns, we can live with Him forever. So, encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”

—1 Thessalonians 5:8-11, NLT

And to remember most of all…

"We are indeed the light of the world ... but only if our switch is turned on." — John Hagee