Leviticus 7:28~9:6, Mark 3:31~4:25, Psalm 37:12~29, Proverbs 10:5

~ Feb 19: Click here for today's readings ~

Old Testament - The ordination of Aaron and his sons. The regulations surrounding the offerings and the ordination are very meticulous, and obviously very important to get right - exactly as the Lord commanded. We'll see just how critical this is in the next OT reading.

New Testament - This is one of the most powerful readings in the OYB. It is full of wisdom. Let me start by asking the following question; how would you like Jesus to consider you his brother, or sister or mother? Here's how: Mark 3:35 "Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." I pray that each of us gains knowledge of the will of God and develops the discipline to do it.

Next is The Parable of the Sower, which is one of my favorite parables. Here is my feeble attempt to paraphrase the parable:

• The Lord is the farmer, sowing the Word of God.
• For some of us along the path, as soon as we hear the Word, Satan comes and takes it from us.
• For some of us, we have not allowed the Word to penetrate deeply into our hearts and minds, and it doesn't take root.
• For some of us, we hear the Word, but we allow the thorns around us, worldly things, to distract us from using the Word to bear fruit.
• Others of us have fertile hearts and minds, and we accept the Word, and it grows within us, and we produce a crop.

Can you relate to all of these types of soil at different stages of your life, bouncing back and forth between them, even on a daily basis sometimes? I can. I think we need to work very diligently to tend to our garden, the garden of our own heart and mind, and nurture the Word of God sown within us. Put a hedge around your garden so that the enemy of your soul does not come in and steal the Word from you through deceipt or temptation. Meditate on the Word so that it penetrates deeply into you and becomes inseparable from you. Do not allow the worries and desires of this world to distract you from your real purpose - that is, to bear fruit for the Lord. And finally, produce a crop. The Word of God can be spread from one person to 30, 60 or even 100 other people who in turn will produce a huge harvest for the Lord.

Consider this challenge... What if you shared the Good News with one new person a week? In two years, you would have already shared the Word with over 100 people. How many people could receive the Word in your lifetime? How many people could be saved in the years and generations to come? Picture standing in heaven, looking out over the crop that you helped to produce, and hearing the Lord say "Well done."

Psalms - A couple of verses stood out to me: Psalm 37:21 "The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously;". This makes me think about the trouble with getting into financial debt. When we borrow so much and pay so much interest to banks and credit card companies, we have less means to reduce our debt and to give generously. If we focus on reducing our discretionary spending and reducing our debt, we can give generously to those who really need it, rather than the banks who certainly don't need it.

Psalm 37:27 "Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever." This reminds me that it is never too late to change. Maybe you've been a sinner all your life. Maybe you still find it difficult to avoid sin. But you can still turn from evil, do go, and be forgiven.

Proverbs - Once again, today's proverb perfectly complements today's gospel reading. Proverb 10:5 says "He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son." It reminds me also of something that Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 9:37 "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." The following graphic is reprinted from Adherents.com:

According to Adherents, approximately 2.1 billion, one-third of the world population, identify themselves as Christians. That's 2 out of every 6 people. Approximately 1.1 billion, or 1 in 6 people, are identified as non-religious. The remaining population combined, just under 3.5 billion, identify with some religion other than Christianity. That's 3 out of 6 people. So the harvest is indeed plentiful, but the workers are few. How do we reach over 4 billion people? We start with the 2 out of 3 people around us that have not yet accepted Christ. I pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out more workers into his harvest field.