Category: Article

Signs Along The Way

Pay attention to the signs

Along the paths you walk.

Some are smooth and pleasing,

others hard as rock.

 

Pay attention to the scenery.

While going along your way,

There are many, many signs,

speaking, as if to say.

 

Yes this is the way,

Or do not venture here.

Others seemingly shouting;

Run, take cover, danger is near.

 

While we must be able

To discern as we travel,

Wisdom first in the heart,

Into the mind it goes to unravel.

 

Thoughts locked down,

Unable to bend,

Will create a life,

That has to mend.

 

Take to the highway

Look for the sign,

Legal U Turn-

It’s been here all the time.

 

Teach my heart

Oh Lord to discern,

No more to hold on

How to unlearn.

 

The ways of man

The road I followed,

Now seem barren, hard,

empty, shallow, and hollow.

 

Tutor my heart,

As I turn these pages,

Learning from The Law,

Prophets and Sages.

 

Searching and listening

Inspired word pouring in,

This is “The Way” and

And how to begin.

 

I’m following directions

Looking for the signs

“The Way” marked correction

good for the heart, changes the mind.

 

Lord, You have patiently waited

When I lagged sluggishly behind

Loving me even when

I was deaf, mute, and blind.

 

Grant to me new vision,

light shining on my path.

Seeing clearly now, Jesus,

in Your love, no fear of wrath.

 

Poem written by laurette laster © 2018

 

 

Activity is not necessarily productivity.

Many years ago I used to believe people who looked busy were accomplishing many things. I later realized this often isn’t the case at all. Often when people appear to be busy it is just that, an appearance. I thought about this while preparing the Teshuvah Devotional for today. The Pharisees looked the part but actually they were not producing the fruits of repentance. As a matter of fact we hear John the Baptist call them a brood of vipers. Vipers as we know are snakes. While the fruit John is speaking of here is something that can be produced, gathered and shared.

Teshuvah is a season of repentance and a time for introspection.

In the book of Matthew we read the story of John the Baptist preaching in the wilderness saying, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand: “ (Matthew 3:2) In these scriptures We are given a place in the crowd as John talks to the Pharisees, saying, “bear, therefore, fruits worthy of the reformation,” (Matthew 3:8 YLT). Young’s literal translation describes this passage using the words, bear and reformation. I like this translation because if we read between the lines or look beneath the surface, we can understand the meaning of this text and how it applies to us in our lives.

In order for something to be re-formed it is necessary to understand there was an original pattern. Somewhere the original has been changed or has been replaced with a counterfeit and is no longer recognizable when compared to the original. How else could we understand what reform is and what it should look like? Other translations say; to prove by the way you live or produce fruit in keeping with repentance.

The Good News Translations says, “But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”(Galatians 5:22). We are told this is the fruit of The Spirit. So the fruit produces fruits, which are evident in our lives and in the lives of others when true repentance is at work and growing.

We know that the Pharisees liked to prove their righteousness by their works and outward appearances of keeping the law. Yet, John is using a phrase that points to production and growing and seasons which if planted will yield a harvest.

We know that seasons are very important to our Father, and so is productivity. John is likening repentance to fruit. By using the metaphor of fruit, John is pointing out to us that there is tangible sweet evidence attached to true repentance. This evidence should show a change of heart that reproves and reforms our mind. John cautions the Pharisees not to rely on their religion. Religion can hinder and cut off relationship. We do not want to get lost in the traditions of men.

The message that John the Baptist preached was to repent and be baptized for the forgiveness of sins and to prepare the way for The Lord. We read in the gospel of John, that John the Baptist is called, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, saying, “Make straight the way of The Lord.” (John 1:23)

From this we surmise that John was teaching the only way to straighten things out, (pun intended), and prepare for the Lord, and avoid and leave crooked hard paths, is only through repentance. To turn (shuv) or return (Teshuvah) to the straightway from which we came.

Jesus began His ministry by preaching and saying, “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17).

Jesus said, “I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance,” (Luke 5:32).

To prepare our hearts and repent is to be ready to receive the blessings The Lord has planned for us. Repentance is a cleansing and clearing away of the road blocks that will make crooked ways straight. After we have done the work of repentance, the way becomes clear. We get back on the highways and off of back roads and gravel roads that have dangerous pot holes and usually do not have road signs.

When we are traveling we begin to look for signs along the way. We look for signs that say your destination is 187 miles ahead. Or maybe we see a sign that says destination exit 1 ¼ miles ahead. Today we have global positioning systems or GPS, that give us clear directions with voice commands telling us destination exit coming up in 2 miles, stay in the right 2 lanes.

Well, I know I want to be in the right lane and not miss my exit leading to my desired destination. I hear The Lord saying, “Blessings straight ahead repentance next exit.”

The Lord is not holding our sins against us. He has a clear path lined out for us with road signs all along the way. As we continue to travel His path and His will for our lives “The Way” is confirmed over and over to us. We see signs along the way that point us in the right direction so we can proceed on the path of peace. He gives us specific directions on how to prepare ourselves to meet with Him. He has an appointment set; I pray we don’t miss it.

Pray this prayer:

Oh Lord, I want to be on the straight path of peace with my life. I ask that you show me the signs along my way that allow me to be in the right place at the right time. I am tired of struggling with going my own way or unknown ways. I am going to be looking for the signs that I know You have placed in front of me. I am looking and watching for the signs that lead me in “The Way.” Lord Jesus, I want to bear good fruit and have a fruitful life. I want to go the way that You have planned for my life. I believe there is more to see than I am seeing. Open my eyes that I may see. Give me eyes that see and perceive, and ears that hear and understand what The Spirit is saying to me at this time during this season. Amen

He has prepared “The Way” and more over He is “The Way”, and He is The Truth and is The Life. He is Jesus and, He did it for you and for me. Repent and turn around.

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling oh sinner come home.

Don’t miss this season.

Teshuvah, is my favorite time of the year.

God bless you and keep you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, and give you Shalom.

Today is the day.

Until next time, thank you for listening with me. Laurette

excerpt from poem, About The Father’s Business

Stop all this nonsense

Stand still and see,

The salvation of The Lord

Offered only by Me.

 

 White unto harvest

The fields do gleam,

We have work to do and

I need a strong team!

 

With head bowed down

Repent, ask for My forgiveness,

Don’t you know it is time to be

about The Father’s business?

 

Poem written by laurette laster ©

Isaiah 55:6-7
seek the LORD while you may find Him. Call on Him now while He is near. (The King is in the Field) Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn (shoov) to The LORD that He may have mercy on them. Yes, return (Teshuvah) to our God, for He will forgive generously.

Last year I was outside watering a flower bed when I noticed another flower bed that needed attention. The flower bed needing attention is full of Lilies and Irises. This flower bed also has three crape myrtle trees growing at the fence line. A few years ago while out weeding, I noticed a vine that had grown up into one of these crapes. This vine had grown up at the base of the tree and wrapped itself around the trunk of the tree. This tree had become ensnared by an unknown vine and was literally being choked and held back. The vine had grown up around the crape myrtle and was wrapping, and warping the tree. The scars, now nearly 4 years later, are almost unnoticeable. I had to cut the vines out of the tree, and the tree almost seemed to gasp as it was let go by the vine. The crape myrtle actually lifted up with a whishing sound and was able to stand up straight. I didn’t notice how bound the tree had been.  This vine was so concealed I hadn’t noticed it. This scene spoke volumes to me about becoming entangled with the cares of the world. The cares of the world will choke the life out of the word of God, that  has been spoken over our lives.

While working in the flower bed needing attention, I pulled up Johnson grass, small oak trees, and other weeds out of this bed. I even had to get my shovel and do some digging to remove and dig up what I believe was a bois de arc tree. The tree was about 10 inches tall and had a substantial root system in place that took some digging to get it out. None of these things I have mentioned  are deadly to the flowers on their own. But if the are left to grow they would eventually choke out the flowers and take over the bed, disallowing what is chosen and intended the needed room to grow.

We have seventeen, very large mature Oak Trees on our lot so we were not in need of more. This flower bed is set aside or consecrated for different plants. This bed was meticulously planted by a previous owner. Hmmmm- makes me think of the verse, we are not our own we were bought at a price. 1 Cor. 6:20

I have never heard anything good about Johnson grass nor have I ever heard of anyone who planted it. Actually what I have heard is this; kill it and get rid of it as quick as possible before it goes to seed. I looked online and discovered that Johnson grass is a perennial weed. One definition listed Johnson grass as a troublesome perennial grass weed, that reduces yield in corn, wheat, and other grains. What? Did I read that right? Reduces the yield of grains, what about that? In the bible there are two types of grain mentioned by our Lord. So Johnson grass weeds will hinder and reduce the  yield of wheat.  The two grains that our Lord Jesus makes mention of in the Bible is wheat and tare. Jesus goes on to explain to His disciples that the wheat are the children of the kingdom and the tare are the children of the wicked one. So I guess we could say that Johnson grass is from _ _ _ _. 🙂

As I was working in this flower bed, I remembered a saying about the month of Elul, ‘The King is in the Field’. This is said to occur once a year during this season. The king leaves his royal palace and comes to be near his citizens. It is a special time when everyone is welcome to approach the king. He visits the citizens of his kingdom personally. He is concerned and comes to check on their condition. The king wants to see firsthand how his citizens are, and let them know he cares. It is said, the king, takes special requests and grants special favor to every citizen who asks.

As I worked in the bed I thought of how Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. He doesn’t condemn us or berate us, but He gently nudges at our hearts. This is how conviction works. His conviction is a warning to get our attention that some unwanted weeds are trying to grow in our flower bed or our heart. Weeds like apathy, laziness, unresolved feelings of rejection, or hidden anger, maybe even a little envy might have began to grow.  He is showing us what to uproot, dig out and dispose of. He wants us to be aware of what is choking out and reducing our yield. He is pointing out what we need to repent of and remove from our lives. This is why we do the work of Teshuvah or intercede and lead others.

The field is where we work, remember? Jesus said the fields are white unto harvest, but the laborers are few. We are to clear our hearts and get them ready so we can  be used only for the things God has planned for us. The things He has planned from the beginning. Jesus, is the same, yesterday, today and forever. He is immutable and changes not. He does not change His mind.

No matter what  issues we may have overlooked or the weeds we have allowed  to grow, we can do the work of uprooting them and pulling them up, simply by repenting. When we notice  these sprigs growing, we should stop and pull them up (repent) immediately. However it is easy in the busyness of life to overlook a few seeds that have become lodged in our hearts, during the year. Seeds like doubt, envy, apathy, anger, and others seeds, that have affected our fields and are trying to take root in our hearts. Isn’t it nice to have a set time each year to do an inventory and survey our fields which are our hearts?

Holy Spirit is helping us return, to Teshuvah to the Lord’s will. Holy Spirit  knows the desires that The Lord has  placed in our heart, and He is guiding us into all truth. I thought how this flower bed was absolutely dependent upon me to notice what was growing, and that this bed needed my help to recognize and remove the weeds. It doesn’t have the means on its own to recognize and cut off the life force that causes the weeds to grow. It was willing to let me do this work.  We have a lot in common with this flower bed. Left to our own devices we would not be able to discern or know what was growing in our hearts. We need the word of God which is alive, to teach us. We are totally dependent upon The LORD of the harvest, in order to discern what is growing. We must be able to answer this question, are we producing wheat or tare in our fields.

Isaiah 1:19 says if we be willing and obedient we shall eat the good of the land.
In the book 40 Days of Teshuvah, written by Perry Stone with some of Bill Clouds research, Perry tells a neat story about one of his friends. A friend of his, Pastor Bob Rogers from Louisville, KY once told Perry this story. After my father passed away, I saw him in a dream. He was giving me instructions about the ministry and had messages for me about what I had been praying about. As my father turned to leave he stopped and looked at me and said, “Bob, remember, August is the month of answered prayer.”

Since Teshuvah generally falls during the months of August and early September on the Gregorian calendar, this could be a very important nugget or truth. One that Pastor Bob Rogers was told about from heaven. Is the Lord attempting to remind us that His ministry began with repentance and then Him healing all who were oppressed.

There are seasons and cycles in God’s Kingdom. These are  The Lord’s Feasts, His Mo’edims, His Seasons and Appointed Times. And God says, these are ‘My Feast and Holy Convocations’ and they shall be unto you a statute forever.” Wow that is pretty plain to me.
The Lord wants to do a mighty work in our lives. The King is in the field; we do not want to miss our appointed time. Teshuvah is my favorite time of the year.

God bless you and keep you, and be gracious to you and give you Shalom.

We know who our King is, He is Jesus. And we also know He has sent us Holy Spirit so we have access to the Father at all times.

Pray this prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, I believe You have plans for my life that I am not walking in. I want to be prepared and equipped for my call. Show me Lord anything in my life that is choking out what You are trying to grow in my life. Teach me how to nurture the things of You.  Lord if I am neglecting anything that causes You grief, give me eyes that see what they are. Help me become more sensitive  Holy Spirit. As You nudge and tug on my heart, don’t let me miss it. Show me what is choking out my desire for you and what is robbing me of my time, my money, my energy and my happiness. I want to know the joy of being one with You. Amen

Teshuvah is from our rich Jewish heritage and roots. Tehsuvah is the 29 days of Elul, prior and leading up to the 10 Days of Awe, Rosh Hashanah or Yom Teruah. Yom Teruah is also called Feast of Trumpets. Blow the shofar to sound the alarm to get ready or be ready.

Chabad.org Based on the teachings of Lubavitcher Rebbe
In the latter respect, the month of Elul resembles the “holy” portions of the calendar. Elul is a haven in time, a “city of refuge” from the ravages of material life; a time to audit one’s spiritual accounts and assess the year gone by; a time to prepare for the “Days of Awe” of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur by repenting the failings of the past and resolving for the future; a time to increase in Torah study, prayer and charitable activities. Elul is the opportune time for all this because it is a month in which G d relates to us in a more open and compassionate manner than He does in the other months of the year. In the terminology of Kabbalah, it is a time when G d’s “Thirteen Attributes of Mercy” illuminate His relationship with us.
Regarding the month of Elul, however, there are no such restrictions from work. The transcendent activities of Elul are conducted amidst our workday lives in the field, shop or office.
The month of Elul, says Rabbi Schneur Zalman, is when the king is in the field.
The Field
Indeed, the field is the prototype employed by Torah law to define the “work” that distinguishes between the holy and mundane days of the calendar. The Talmudic passage which lists the types of work forbidden on Shabbat reads:
For eleven months of the year, our lives alternate between the field and the palace, between the “process of bread-making” of material life and the sublime moments in which we leave the field to enter into the royal presence. In the month of Elul, however, the king comes to the field.

God bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and give you Shalom.

Until next time, thank you for listening with me. Laurette