A teaching by Rev. Barbara Williams, President of the Ministry of the Watchman International
Week of August 26-30, 2024
MONDAY
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
Galatians 6:7
What is deception? Deception is an act that deliberately misleads someone into believing something false. When one is deceived he refuses to accept the obvious. Denial is a type of deception. The apostle here admonishes us not to be deceived in this one area. The area is the law of sowing and reaping. The person who believes that he will not reap what he sows is deceiving himself.
To mock God means that we have the advantage over Him. It implies that we can get away with something. Obviously, this refers to a person who goes about his life doing whatever he wishes without one thought of the consequences, or worse yet, one who never takes advantage of the fact that he can deliberately do good works and reap good things in his life. Because God has built in to the world certain laws, these things occur naturally, automatically. As sure as grass grows from the seed of the grass, we will reap what we sow.
If you are in need of healing, there is good news! Proverbs 4:20-22 SAYS:
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
So there is life and health in God’s word. Since God’s word is medicine, we must take it like we would a prescription. I suggest three times a day, like you would your food. Remember, healing is the children’s bread. Consider this your “dose” for today. Remember, read, and meditate three times a day the following:
Rx: Jeremiah 33:6 ~ Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15
If you’ve never studied the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we invite you to join us as we read through the Bible in a year. Read and meditate on these chapters this week:
August 26: 1 Samuel 18, Romans 16, Lamentations 3, Psalms 34
August 27: 1 Samuel 19, 1 Corinthians 1, Lamentations 4, Psalms 35
August 28: 1 Samuel 20, 1 Corinthians 2, Lamentations 5, Psalms 36
August 29: 1 Samuel 21-22, 1 Corinthians 3, Ezekiel 1, Psalms 37
August 30: 1 Samuel 23, 1 Corinthians 4, Ezekiel 2, Psalms 38
August 31: 1 Samuel 24, 1 Corinthians 5, Ezekiel 3, Psalms 39
September 1: 1 Samuel 25, 1 Corinthians 6, Ezekiel 4, Psalms 40-41
TUESDAY
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
Galatians 6:7-8
There are two systems into which we can sow. We either sow to the flesh or the spirit. Often when we think of the flesh, we think of certain distasteful lusts, bad habits, and the like. What pops into our minds usually is a picture of someone else’s bad behavior and not our own. We all have our pet scapegoats from time to time. We often do not think of the flesh as being the selfish side of us. The side that puts off doing what God told us to do because we don’t feel up to doing it now.
Many times, our selfish side is not as considerate of others as it needs to be. Our selfish side has little or no regard for the feelings of others, their comfort, to say nothing of esteeming the other person more highly than ourselves. Our selfish side can often mouth the words but never follows through.
The flesh disconnects us from the righteous right way and allows us to seek what is convenient and self-gratifying rather than what is loving and giving. Sowing to the flesh produces death. Imagine all the works of the flesh as anti-seeds that are planted in your garden. Nothing ever grows, and when you go out looking for fruit, there is only the hard earth that you started with.
WEDNESDAY
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
Galatians 6:7-8
The second system into which we can sow is the spirit. When we sow to the spirit, it is like planting Burpee’s best seeds into rich, black soil. We can know that God will bring to pass whatever we desire because the spirit is a no-fail system. We will get what we give, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.
We have a good and secure future because we are sowing into everlasting life. This is a more abundant life. This is the life in the spirit that Jesus talked about. We know that we have passed from death into life because we have love for the brethren. The life force of God’s love allows us to be able to live a life of giving on purpose. We are able to give to God and receive good things.
We don’t ever have to be afraid of tomorrow, wondering if certain things that we have done will catch up with us. There is no looking over your shoulder for fear of divine judgment. Judgment is a good word to the person who habitually sows to the spirit.
THURSDAY
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Galatians 6:9
Farm work and gardening are hard work. It is a fact that the farmer is continually at work tending his garden. He must dig up and loosen the earth before planting. He must often pull weeds, rocks and an assortment of obstacles from the garden before planting can occur. He must plant in the right season. After the seeds are planted, then he must water, fertilize, weed, feed, apply pesticides, loosen the earth around the plant, and water some more. All of this is backbreaking work. If it were not for the encouragement he gets when he sees the blades of the plants springing forth, he would feel that his work is in vain.
Can Christians feel this way? Can we feel that our praying, giving, standing and believing are all in vain? Of course we can.
Since faith deals with the unseen realm of the spirit, it is perfectly reasonable to feel weary, tired, and discouraged when we have gone for months without an encouraging sign that our prayers are being answered. That is why we are admonished not to grow weary in well doing.
FRIDAY
And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Galatians 6:9
There is a due season for every seed that we have planted. Every act of obedience, every plan of God, every word of blessing spoken is a seed that is planted. Every act of obedience to God’s word and every act of blessing is a seed planted.
Each time we choose to love and forgive, we water the seed in the juice of the fruit of the spirit. We are admonished to not become weary in well-doing for this reason. If we look at the things that are seen, we will become discouraged.
Often fruit appears on the tree suddenly. It is as though we are waiting forever and then suddenly there is more fruit than we can eat. We have an overflow. We have more than a sufficient amount for ourselves and for others. This is the due season.
God determines the times and seasons on the earth. He is just and He knows how to deliver the righteous out of temptation. He is God, and above Him there is none other. Trust Him to bring you fruit in its season.